This is part seven, set in the retro-boot, and a lot has happened since it started. The team has greatly expanded and have several planetoid bases.


The Academy's planetoid is situated 2 light minutes galactic north of Saturn's northern pole and is called HOME BASE. They have an average of 300 students at one time, of which 250 or so are meta-staff from the Science Police or UP militia on three-month long secondments. The tutors include former Legionnaires.

Tutors:

Triplicate Girl - Luornu Durgo of Carggg, able to split into three identical duplicates (part of Duplicate Girl)
Cosmic Boy - Rokk Krinn of Braal, manipulation of magnetic fields
Night Girl - Lydda Jath of Kathoon, incredible strength and durability out of direct sunlight
Colossal Boy - Gim Allon of Earth, increase personal size and mass at will
Wildfire - Drake Burroughs of Earth, composed of sapient anti-energy, extreme strength, speed, durability, space flight, anti-energy blasts
Invisible Kid - Jacques Foccart of Earth, invisibility
Chameleon Girl - Yera Allon of Durla, shape changer
Shadow Lass - Tasmia Mallor of Talok viii, summon and manipulate total darkness

Science Police training staff:

Jumping Jack - Science Police Senior Training Officer Jaxi Delgrado-Hynd of Morshesh 5, hyper-awareness, reflexes and agility
Ms Big - Science Police Officer Erikka Chowdrey of Venus, increase her own muscle mass at will, combat specialist
Brain Girl - Science Police Officer Ella Drottmi of Titan, telepathy and telekinesis
Dream Boy - Pre-Commando Sergeant Rol Purtha of Naltor, precognition
Tues El - Science Police Officer Vae Loct of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability.

Support Staff on LWHB:

I.Z.O.R. - Gear ii - infrastructure manager - nannite collective being, technomorph
Henry - Anti Lad - Spatial warp controller
Numbers Guy - M?Rissey of Earth, super-efficient business management skills
Dr Boom - senior physician and United Planets Government envoy - Danii Schwartz-Geltt of Myar, physician and alchemist


.........................................


Phantom Girl and her junior deputy leader Thunder have taken half of the team out into the United Planets in the former Tyrazzian battle planet they call FIRST BASE.

Their remit is to actively defend the United Planets, so this part of the team stays very much within the UP's sphere of influence and generally have high profile missions. As the team suffered badly as a result of the negative media manipulation by Psyche from the Dark Circle ruled alternate reality, they often invite journalists to report on missions from this base.

Legion World First Base (previously LW2):

Phantom Girl - Team Leader, Tinya Wazzo of Bgtzl Dimension, intangibility
Thunder - Deputy Leader, Cecelia Becks of 21st Century Earth, immense strength, speed, indestructibility, space flight, wisdom
Chameleon Boy - Espionage Squad leader, Reep Daggle of Durla, shape changer
Sun Boy - Senior Team member, Dirk Morgna of Earth, generation of intense light and heat
Lightning Lass - Senior Team member, Ayla Ranzz of Winath, electrical generation and manipulation
Tellus - Ganglios of Hykraius, telepathy and telekinesis
Comet Queen - Grava of Extal colony, spaceflight, comet gas extrusion
Chemical Kid - Hadru Jamik of Phlon, catalyzes chemical reactions
XS - Jenni Ognats of an alternate dimension Aarok, phenomenal speed
Otaki - Bina Nawoti of Earth, mindsense
Kid Quantum - Jazmin Cullen of Xanthu, creation of temporal quantum bubbles, flight
Ferro - Douglas Nolan of Earth, can assume invulnerable iron isotope form
Dragonmage - Xao Jin of Earth, dragon magics
Kinetix - Zoe Saugin of Aleph, telekinetic animation
M'Windaji - Gahaji of Kiringyaga, super tracker, carries the Ruby of Life allowing tactile transformative magic
Backlash - Mrruaw M'Nau of Simballi, enhanced strength, speed, senses, absorbs kinetic energy to boost own size and mass
Comet King - Drinchnar Lamment of Extal colony, spaceflight, comet gas extrusion
Atom Girl - Sylva Nrilsan of Imsk, can shrink to microscopic size

Newly promoted from Academy student to full membership (Mentor in brackets):

Ultra Girl - Li-Fahn Qiong of Xanthu - incredible strength, speed, indestructibility, spaceflight, and projection of force blasts, effectively limited to one at a time (Thunder)
Polar Girl - Mel Lassar of Tharr - cryokinesis (Lightning Lass)
Friction - Janee Whittakka of Xanthu - manipulates the force of friction (Sun Boy)
Spoiler ii - Gord Eno of Naltor, precognition, specialising in short range visions for combat situations (Chameleon Boy)

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

Captain Heavyweight - Science Police Captain Tuk Shir of Daxam, Senior Team liaison, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability
Replicator - Science Police Officer Tarev Jusool of Talok viii, can mimic meta-abilities of those nearby for limited periods of time
Gravity Kid - Science Police Officer Tel Vole of Earth, manipulation of personal or nearby gravity
Power Boy - Science Police Officer Jedidiah Rikane of Earth, personal density control

Other seconded members currently based on Legion World First Base:

Gazelle - J'izl Dtutuu from the Khundian Battle Brigade, of Khundia Prime, enhanced strength, speed, agility and metabolic control
Cosmic Kid - Po Miman, Justice Legionnaire of alternate dimension Mars, energy manipulation and flight

Support Staff on Legion World First Base:

Dr Richard Kent Shakespeare -Impulse - Chief medical officer - enhanced strength, speed, durability, stamina
I.Z.O.R. - Gear iii - infrastructure manager - nannite collective being, technomorph
Danielle Foccart - Kid Computo - Technical support - technopathic communication and control over advanced technology
Drura Sehpt - Infectious Lass - medical officer - containment and control over bacteria and viruses
Henry - Anti Lad - Spatial warp controller
Ming Sul - Amp Girl - investigative officer, hyper-enhancement of her own sensory capacities
Silver Shaman - Shardwurd Gandussen of the Ten Peaks from Avalon - biokinetic healing
Science Police Psychiatrist - Doctor Anje Falkner, alpha-level telepath
Flaurianarelle of Zerox - Greensleeves - magical manipulation of plant life
Theena Greglenn of Silgor Marregorraus - Network - Communications officer, hyperpathic communication through symbiote

.............................................


Tyroc has taken the remaining team members with him onto SECOND BASE, another battle planet won from the Tyrazzian warmongers. Their remit is a bit looser than the team on First Base in that they do not necessarily have such high-profile missions and they are not fixed within the United Planets.

They rarely invite journalists onto their missions.

Legion World Second Base team:

Tyroc - Deputy Leader - Troy Stewart of Marzal city pocket dimension, sonic control
Duplicate Girl - Senior Team member, Luornu Durgo of Carggg, creation of multiple identical duplicates of herself
Mon El - Senior Team member, Lar Gand of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability
Element Lad - Senior Team member, Jan Arrah of Trom, elemental transmutation
Dawnstar of Starhaven - Senior Team member, space flight, incredible speed, tracking
Timber Wolf - Brin Londo of Zuun, enhanced strength, speed, agility, reflexes and senses
Dragonwing - Marya Pai of Earth, breathes dragon fire and acid
Glorith of Zerox - manipulation of magical energies
Shield - Laurel Kent of Earth, physical invulnerability, tactile psychometry
Monica Sade of Rimbor - strength, reflexes, line of sight teleportation
Lexikon - Princess Daheenisha of Tamaran iv, enhanced speed, strength, durability, flight, omni-linguist
Titan - Nasir N'Cube of Titan, alpha-level telepathy
The Huntress - Ambassador Amynta of Nostos ii, incredible strength, speed, invulnerability, space flight
Karate Kid iii - Mithindrivithis Ngandraffa of Lythyl, strength, reflexes, mimetic motor learning giving incredible combat skills
Thirteen - Dann Hortra of Naltor, line of sight probability manipulation
Babbage- I-45ENG/Nth Series, of the Robotica Confederated Worlds, strength and durability, internalised weapons, hyper awareness and analytical skills.
Sister Eclipse - of Rhoohanisett iii, durability, heightened senses, physical possession of any living being.
Starkling - telepathic swarm-being composed of indestructible ball bearing sized components
Retro - Deen Toro of Ventura, limited reversal of personal timeline
Spy (also team counsellor) - Dr Noah Kabbo, heightened awareness and limited telepathy

Newly promoted from Academy student to full membership (Mentor in brackets):

Bouncing Boy ii - Stoor Chamble of Pasnic, creation of personal spherical force field (Tyroc)
Southern Lights of Starhaven - spaceflight, magic user (Mon El)
Atomsmasher - Ergus Wraithcat of Betelgeuse, spaceflight, durability, hyper senses, telepathy, radiation manipulation (Dawnstar)
Kid Pulsar - Neel Koduah of Earth, incredible strength, invulnerability, projection of explosive blasts (Duplicate Girl)

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

Captain Phantom - Senior Team liaison, Science Police Captain Gryal Vrizza of Bgztl Dimension, intangibility
Power Lass - Science Police Officer Nel Duwi of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability
Magno - Science Police Officer Dyrk Magz of Braal, manipulation of magnetic fields
Changer - Science Police Investigative Officer Urill Yagthal of Durla, shape changer

Other seconded members currently based on Legion World Second Base:

Green Lantern - Dkyun Mu of Xudar, wearer of a Green Lantern power ring

Support Staff on Legion World Second Base:

I.Z.O.R. - Gear iii - infrastructure manager - nannite collective being, technomorph
Henry - Anti Lad - Spatial warp controller
Hethuk Bran Drommsi - Smith from the Green Rift Forge of Talok viii, weapon maker and engineer
Dr Shoodixi Singh - Science police medical officer, bio-empathic

Laipas - hunting dog from Nostos ii, enchanted to never lose a trail, fast and tough

....................................


The most successful students from Home Base are offered an internship that allows them special privileges including joining the team on selected missions, with potential to join the team as full Legionnaires once their internship is successfully completed. Currently there are 14 interns:

Tectonik - Hardal of Granite Falls from Mondriak iv - geokinesis Solar Gorilla - D'Nadka Endarooga of Dmansca - generate and project extreme heat and light
Dragon Lass - Mari Baertling of Rimbor - enhanced strength, durability, echolocation and flight
Strobe - Denal Lort of Dryad - assume electro-magnetic energy form
Non - negative energy being - spaceflight, alter own dimensions and density, explosive touch, limited telepathy
Tesseract - Sar Jerash Mor Toark of Mars, access to intra-dimensional space
Impact - Dillon Blackstream of Myar, incredible strength, speed, durability, stamina, motion sense
Orion - Science Police Cadet Tw'gg of H'lven, tracking skills and awareness of flaws or weaknesses
Poltergeist -Jaun Vineo of Titan, alpha-level telekinesis
Mosaic - Science Police Officer Rish'ha Nor of Lallor, tactile mimicry of material properties
Triple Nova - Elthur Mundo of Carggg, split into three seperate bodies, each with either strength and durability, speed and reflexes, or laser vision
Mindbender - Marmud Illic of Titan, alpha-level telepath

Booster - Solstin Wang of Earth - medical support - awareness and manipulation of physical properties of those around him
Glory - Gloriana Crestellen of Grighshtall iv - medical support - read and manipulate L- and T-auras



....................................

Legionnaire on secondment to the Khund Battle Brigade:

Gates - Ti'Julk Mr'Asz of an alternate dimension Vyrga, creation of spatial warps

Academy Student currently within the Khundian Empire:

Inferno - Sandy Anderson of Earth, fire generation and manipulation


On long term leave:

Brainiac 5 (Personal leave) - Senior Team member, Legion Worlds Operational Manager and chief scientist - Professor Querl Dox of Colu, 12th level intelligence
Star Boy (Parental leave) - Thomas Kallor of Xanthu, induce mass
Dream Girl (Parental leave) - Nura Nal of Naltor, precognition
Matter-Eater Lad (Medical leave) - Senator Tenzil Kem of Bismoll, mega-omnivorous consumption
Harmonia (Personal leave) - Professor Harmonia Li of Earth, manipulation of the natural environment
Loutrahim Mango (Personal leave) - 'Death Boy' - Professor Li?s laboratory assistant, exemplary biochemist, sweat activated neuro-toxic palm secretions


Other affiliated teams:

Weber's World ambassadorial team:

Quislet - . of Teall dimension - able to animate inorganic matter though this causes the matters destruction
I.Z.O.R. - Gear i, Chief Maitre D', nannite collective being, technomorph
Oodoo Shanair of Lallor - empath
Sentinel of the Khund Battle Brigade - strength, durability, manipulation of magnetic fields
Princess Shooradel of Tamaran iv - enhanced speed, strength, durability, flight, omni-linguist
Proty iii of Antares - shape changer, limited telepathy

The League of Super-Heroes (former Academy Students):

Kid Dynamo - Ja Vlo of Dryad - incredible strength and invulnerability
Ballistix - Crishtrakrek 714 of Zuun - synthezoid with great strength, speed, durability, stamina and spaceflight
Magno Lass - Josi Rista of Braal - Magnokinesis
Kid Nimbus - Kendall Mekensy-Wolff the Fifth of Dryad - assume gaseous form
Flipside - Drannananna Otticolli of Grathvarth V - fast, agile, manipulate personal gravity orientation
Slingshot - Prince Alfon Gundrix Maunheesta of the Grindlaw Colonies of System Mondarsh - hyper-charge kinetic potential of objects by touch


................................

Gadgets and paraphernalia:

Flight Rings: as well as giving their wearer the power of flight the rings are choc-full of useful functions. Their apps include an eco-protect setting that automatically protects the wearer in hostile environments, they create a link to the artificial telepathic grid between fellow Legionnaires and their bases, a loud hailer, an alarm function that automatically broadcasts to the Bases if a Legionnaire is injured including sending appropriate medical data, a scanner, access to the Legion's AI database and calling up hard light holo's to display requested data.

The belt buckle includes a Distorter that projects a life-like holo around the wearer to disguise them, and can give a 'stealth' effect that, while is far from invisibility, at least helps blend the wearer into their surroundings. The belt buckles also have a spotlight setting that projects a beam of light.

Incapacity Cuffs are standard kit for all Legionnaires. These are small tubes (think lipstick) that when flicked release a chord that adheres to whomever they touch and analyse their bio-signature before releasing an appropriate anaesthetic to knock them out. Virtually all Legionnaires carry a supply in pouches on their belt.

Phantom Girl - Team Leader, Tinya Wazzo of Bgtzl Dimension, intangibility
Sun Boy - Senior Team member, Dirk Morgna of Earth, generation of intense light and heat
I.Z.O.R. - Gear iii - infrastructure manager - nannite collective being, technomorph


Tinya and Dirk had coincidentally both been in the upper gymnasium on First Base when Gear appeared before the team leader.

The Linsnarian had translated the final data stream from the Tyrazzian battle world Tinya had been considering for the teams next big mission. The report also included a rough description of the other remaining planetoids that the alien warmongers were using as they pirated their way across the Milky Way. The Linsnarian thought that Tinya might be interested in this so had regrouped his nannites in the gym and extended his consciousness into this new body to share the news. Dirk had overheard and joined in."They'll be expecting us Tinya, you know that." Dirk said. He wiped a hand through his sweaty hair as he spoke.

"Yup, so why let them down? We have two of their worlds now to call our own. We can use them... and you know the team are ready to take on another. The students have all turned out fine so we can rely on them, Lu and Rokk are reporting amazing results from the Academy... I think you're being too cautious Dirk." Tinya's voice trailed off at the end of her sentence and she considered her colleague. They had never been particularly close and there were definitely things about his character that she didn't approve of but for all that Dirk Morgna was an intelligent and loyal Legionnaire whose opinion on matters to do with the team she fully respected.

"Tinya, we took two in quick succession as we had the element of surprise and a lot of luck... we don't have the staff to man them both fully though. Let's be realistic, it'll take us years to get enough staff for that. Do you think we should hand it over to the SPs... they'd loved us for it. What if..."

"What if? You know I can ask that sort of questions too Dirk. What if the Fatal Five reform and Validus stands on us? Splat!" She smiled cheekily as she asked the rhetorical question in reply.

Dirk smiled back."Fair point Tinya. I just think we shouldn't overstretch ourselves too quickly. We've a lot of new members and new bases and all... I'd rather we focused on getting ourselves fighting fit and organized before trying our luck against a planet full of warmongers. You do understand that, don't you?"

"Yeah, of course and I also agree in principle, it's just... I dunno Dirk, something inside me says we need to get there while the Crzzhaxxl's in its cave... oh, sorry, Bgltz saying... it means get it done while the opportunity is there in front of you."

"Ah, yeah, I figured. Flex while the magnetosphere is expanding." Dirk agreed, using the solar engineering phrase his father would say at times like these. "You're the boss Tinya, I'll follow whatever you decide to do, you know that." He grinned once more before giving her a mock salute and flying up to the upper mezzanine running track.

Tinya watched him for a couple of seconds before turning to Gear."Can you send the high-level findings from our target as well as the locations of the other Tyrazzian battle worlds through to my personal quarters please Izor? I'll look at them later. Thanks for your assistance, I'm really grateful for it."

Chameleon Boy - Espionage Squad leader, Reep Daggle of Durla, shape changer


Chameleon Boy did not have a good feeling as he read through the hard-light file before him.

Sa Lok had set up a seriously sophisticated gene-mod operation with six outlets that specialised in manipulation of meta-abilities. From the records in front of him Reep reckoned there had already been easily several thousand beneficiaries of the treatment from each.

While most of the meta-gene mods were minor - a weakened level of Titanian's telepathic abilities or enhanced strength being amongst the most common - there was also a side-line in more experimental operations that worried him that used mixed DNA grafts from some rather unique beings.

He had scanned the lists of clients and quickly came upon the six students and former students from Dryad, one of whom was currently an intern. There were a few more of Home Base's students listed, though he was glad to note not many... if word got out about this it could be troublesome.

It was three hours later after he had thoroughly checked the clients listed and the matched them to UP records that he contacted Tinya. If even half of his suppositions were correct, they needed to take action quickly.

This was going to get messy; he could feel it.

Amongst this lists he had discovered twelve senior asset brokers from a major interplanetary arms dealership with added telepathic awareness, a planetary senator with a sudden pheromone producing ability, eighteen famous athletes from major league sports with a range of enhancements and a large number of UP soldiers who it seemed spent their wages on becoming the meta-elite. These were all worrying, though the data that caught Reep's attention was the hundred or so people for whom he could find no historic record on any legitimate UP database. Worryingly, when he cross-referenced these names against Sa Lok's files, he established that forty four of these were on the former Under Secretary's payroll. It appeared that Sa Lok had created his own meta-army!

Chameleon Boy knew that with some further digging he would find even more to be worried about, but for now there was enough in the files to take to the Senior Team to discuss.

He knew that gene-modifications were not technically illegal, but he also felt the team needed to shut down these shady operators quickly. There were too many people out there with unknowable agendas and access to incredible powers for the team to turn a blind eye to this issue any longer.

Reep hoped the Senior Team would back him up when he took action.

Lightning Lass - Senior Team member, Ayla Ranzz of Winath, electrical generation and manipulation
Kid Quantum - Jazmin Cullen of Xanthu, creation of temporal quantum bubbles, flight
Dragonmage - Xao Jin of Earth, dragon magics
Backlash - Mrruaw M?Nau of Simballi, enhanced strength, speed, senses, absorbs kinetic energy to boost own size and mass
Polar Girl - Mel Lassar of Tharr - cryokinesis

Replicator - Science Police Officer Tarev Jusool of Talok viii, can mimic meta-abilities of those nearby for limited periods of time

Intern:
Orion - Science Police Officer Tw'gg of H'lven, tracking skills and awareness of flaws or weaknesses


Ayla had decided before they had even started that their Hit Squad missions would prove successful.

Her optimism was infectious as the whole team seemed pumped and eager to go. With a seasoned reporter in tow, they stepped through a warp to Ventura and their first case.

The kidnapping of the child of a local politician had made the news and a reward was offered but with Orion on the team it was fairly straight forward to find her and the estranged mother that had taken her daughter. The angry mother said some fairly uncomplimentary things about the team as she was led away, and the crying girl was reunited with her obviously relieved father. Polar Girl cheekily waved to the SP aircar as it took the kidnapper off. With the reporter pointing his eye-spy's towards both the Legionnaires and the reunited father and child Ayla asked if the reward money could go to a local orphan's charity. Of course, the answer was an emphatic 'yes', and with that bit of happy news in the can they stepped through another warp.

Their next case involved a bank heist that had just been reported on a satellite outpost of Nurus Iopitus Prime. There where half a dozen hostage at the scene but as Henry had warped the team into the middle of the gang Kid Quantum had frozen them and, remembering to take the reporters hand so he would not be affected by the stasis field she had created, she then simply slipped incapacity cuffs onto the armed gang members before dropping her quantum bubble. It really had been that easy. The team stayed for five more minutes to make sure the staff and clients in the bank were okay then stepped through another warp.

This time they arrived in a mega-dome on Frentoni Six. Orion noted that his fellow student Granite Girl was from this world. He told the team that she had always described it as rather unexciting but that wasn't what the Legionnaires found as they stepped through the warp. The news feed had said there was trouble reported with the structural integrity of the dome that covered the city-state and imminent loss of life was expected leading to panicking being widespread. The Legionnaires stepped through the warp into a broad well-lit avenue. Around them residents were indeed panicking - there was little order as the crowds pushed and screamed, in fact, pandemonium would have been a far more accurate description.

<Dragonmage, take Kid Quantum and Orion, find the problem with the dome. The rest with me, we need to get the folks here safe>

Although the reporter wasn't party to the telepathic link between the team, he sent one of his eye-spy drone cameras to follow them as soon as they took to the air.

They could see the dome above them was made from semi-transparent hexagon blocks but weren't aware of just how huge it was until the cleared the buildings. The edges of the dome were at least several klicks in each direction from them. Orion zipped in front of the two Legionnaires, expanding his senses to become aware of any weak points in the large dome above them. For several long seconds the intern from H'Lven strained to find the problem.

<There's nothing wrong with the dome... totally sound and steady!> He sent to the two Legionnaires.

<You sure? That's weird...> Xao replied.

<So, who originally said the sky was falling? And, what's in it for them? Y'know what, I bet creating this sort of confusion is a great way to cover for some real sneaky actions> Jazmin added.

<Okay, can you track the person responsible?> Xao asked the intern.

<Not how my skills work, sorry. You'd prob'ly need M'Windaji for that...> there was a sense of embarrassment as Tw'gg replied.

<Not to worry, you've given us the first piece to this puzzle already... let's get back to Ayla and see where we're at>

Frentoni Six

Lightning Lass - Senior Team member, Ayla Ranzz of Winath, electrical generation and manipulation
Backlash - Mrruaw M'Nau of Simballi, enhanced strength, speed, senses, absorbs kinetic energy to boost own size and mass
Polar Girl - Mel Lassar of Tharr - cryokinesis

Replicator - Science Police Officer Tarev Jusool of Talok viii, can mimic meta-abilities of those nearby for limited periods of time


Ayla floated above the crowd and, using the loudhailer app from her flight ring, announced that the Legion had arrived so they should settle down and return to their homes until instructed differently. The crowd didn't listen, and across the concourse a large group appeared to be brawling.

<folks, we need to split up a bit to get this under control, they're too spread out...M'rruaw, stay with Mel and call if you need me. Tarev, with me> With that Lightning Lass and SPO Jusool flew across the broad concourse towards a large crowd that appeared to be rioting.

With a couple of carefully placed electric bolts zipping between rioters Ayla dispersed the raucous crowd though the general level of aggression and fear on display remained incredibly high. The sheer amount of people meant there were skirmish fights and small brawls erupting as quickly as the Legionnaire and SPO could stop them.

"They are not in control of themselves." Backlash said out loud to no-one in particular.

"No... so, what's causing them to panic? What would scare them all, and... Why aren't we scared too? ...our training perhaps?" Polar Girl replied as she checked for any major situations in the frantic crowd around them that might need the Legionnaire's intervention.

"Our flight rings give us some protection..." Backlash mused, his deep voice was felt as much as heard.

"Eco-protect! Ah 'Lashy, you might be right. It must be in the air... Whatever's going on is caused by something in the air."

<Ayla!> the junior Legionnaire sent across the artificial telepathic grid <Backlash's figured it out - there's something in the air causing them to act like this... We need to check their atmospheric filtration plant>

<Good job you two. That makes sense, can you get to the air plant? We'll send Xao, Jaz and the intern after you if you need a hand>

Polar Girl had a momentary pause as she realised her mentor was sending her on a mini-mission without being there to guide her. Mel Lassar had a burst of pride at the knowledge that Lightning lass must think she had proven herself to be truly capable as a Legionnaire.

<Of course, we'll get right on it, thanks Ayla> And with that Polar Girl and Backlash took to the air.

Mel Lassar checked a map of the settlement on a hard-light screen that sprung from her flight ring. The actual atmospheric filtration system ran through the struts that supported the dome above them though the control mechanism was stationed in a huge, bleak looking ferro-concrete building on the edge of an industrial estate nudged up against the protective dome. As the two Legionnaires approached the building, they could see no signs of a forced entrance, or in fact of anything much. The air-pad was half empty and there appeared to be no-one around.

<can you pick up any scents 'Lashy?> the junior Legionnaire asked. She was scanning the surroundings with her flight ring and examining the hard light read-out as the Tigerram strolled around the empty lot.

The pair cautiously made their way into the stark building, Backlash insisting he led the way. Polar Girl didn't argue. The entrance led to a large, dimly lit atrium that was empty. There was a huge reception desk with holo-screens behind, but no-one sat there to welcome them. Polar Girl accessed the plants schematics and they decided to make their way to the upper levels and the main filtration control and engineering section. Backlash bounded up a broad staircase with Polar Girl floating close-by. The Legionnaires were halfway up the spiralling stairs when Backlash sent a warning:

<we are not alone, there is a fresh scent and I hear a heartbeat approaching>

<can't see anyone but if they're invisible let me find them> Polar Girl held her hand out and extended a bubble of intense cold around them. The Legion flight ring's eco-protect function kept her colleague from freezing. Almost instantly, ice formed in sharp tendril over the stairs and bannister. Twenty feet up the stairwell icy streaks began to twist around the unseen form of a man. As they did Polar Girl focussed her abilities to encase their opponent in a thick sheet of ice.

<smells like a Khund> Backlash sent as he approached the frozen figure.

<Ayla, team, we just caught us an invisible Khund, so you need to be careful out there in case there's any mo...*OW!*> Polar Girl's telepathic call to the rest of the team was cut off as the icy block that surrounded their opponent exploded sending fist sized chunks of solid ice in all directions, including onto the two Legionnaires. As Polar Girl took her breath Backlash had jumped forward and issued a roar.

The challenge was unmistakeable and the Khund accepted. The Legionnaire pounced on the Khund, using his weight and momentum to knock the cyborg backwards. Polar Girl flew overhead and blasted the Khund, pinning his right shoulder and upper arm to the floor.

<Find the source of the trouble Mel, I shall contain this one> Backlash sent as he placed an enormous paw across the struggling Khund's face.

<Hang on 'Lashy, one mo...> The short Tharrite swooped down and quickly grabbed a set of incapacity cuffs from a pouch on her belt and wrapped them around the Khunds frozen arm rendering him unconscious.

"Thank you. Those cuffs are difficult to work when one has paws." The gentle humour in the great feline's deep voice made his colleague smile. "There were invisible Khunds during Thirteen's try-out test, weren't there? I wonder if this is one of them? Backlash mused.

<Ayla, team, hi...> Polar Girl sent, suddenly remembering that she had been cut off during her last broadcast.

<We're on our way Mel, ETA no more than two minutes> Ayla replied.

<Thanks. We're fine now, just making our way to the control booth> Polar Girl replied.

"Okay 'Lashy, what do you say we try to figure what's going on before the rest of the team get here and steal the glory?" Mel asked.

"Sounds perfect." Backlash replied, already walking ahead of his colleague, the great cat's nose was pressed onto the steps as he searched for fresh scents. His tail was pointed straight up; the tip quivering as he took each step.

"Purrr-fect." Polar Girl replied with a small laugh as they continued up the broad spiralling staircase.

Theena Greglenn of Silgor Marregorraus - Network - Communications officer, hyperpathic communication through symbiote

Dr Richard Kent Shakespeare -Impulse - Chief medical officer - enhanced strength, speed, durability, stamina
Drura Sehpt - Infectious Lass - medical officer - containment and control over bacteria and viruses



Theena felt tired.

The Communications Officer role for the Legion wasn't quite as exciting as she had hoped.

Not that she was complaining really... the first three days had gone quickly as she got to know the bases, and the staff on board of them. Tinya and the senior team had given her a list of tasks and asked her if she was able to create enough work to keep herself busy. Theena had agreed without really thinking about it. The list had looked enough initially, especially the part about getting press releases ready and organising media support for First Base's missions, but in truth within an hour or two she had that all planned out for the next month, barring any emergencies that arose and issuing statements from live missions in real-time.

Theena set about trying to arrange interviews with all active Legionnaires, updating their official profiles for the wider UPNet and generally tidying up any personal data-feeds they might post onto already. As much as she would have enjoyed this, after several hours of trawling through the team's media-feeds she discovered that many months before Querl Dox had set up an AI algorithm to do it that ran in the background constantly.

And, annoyingly for Theena, she had to admit to herself it did a better job than she could have.

At least she managed to use her symbiote's hyper-pathic skills to set up links between the team's flight rings and hers that would let her know immediately when any alerts broke so she could manage any media fall-out as it happened. As her third full day on First Base came to an end Theena was grateful that at least this one task had been completed. She knew that the next day she was rostered to cover the Monitor Board so, she hoped, it would go better than this day had.

"Knock knock!" Theena was startled and turned away from the data-feed before her. Stood in the doorway Dr Shakespeare and Drura Sehpt were watching her, both had big grins on their faces.

"Shardwurd is watching the med-bay so we thought you might like a proper tour - what rec rooms are busy and which are quiet, the lowert deck gymnasia where you won't be shamed by show offs......" Kent began to say.

"...Where all the bathrooms are. There are so-o-o many!" Drura interjected with a smile.

The tour was informative though First Base was huge and they had only covered perhaps a third of it when Drura suggested they drop by Shakes for a quick beverage. Theena wasn't quite sure what the medical officer was talking about but agreed, though a little suspicious as she spotted Kent and Drura exchange a quick glance.

Kent allowed Theena to stroll through the swinging double doors first and she was totally suprised at what was waiting for her. At least half the active Legionnaires from both Bases and the tutors from the academy were inside to formally welcome her, and the students that had made internship, into their organisation!

As the evening progressed they were treated to champagne, games, a lot of laughs and story-telling from the majority of those present. Theena made a point of shaking hands with everyone present - in part because her symbiote would use their DNA markers to create strong hyper-pathic connections. Also it felt really good to talk to each of the Legionnaires on a purely personal level after years of seeing them in news-holos or having them as tutors.

Ferro and Titan tried to arrange an arm-wrestling contest but Amynta of Nostos ii put an end to that as she quickly defeated everyone who came near her. Both Douglas Nolan and Nasir N'Cube laughed at how easily the Amazon beat them all though Gazelle was annoyed as she hadn't had the time to set up a betting syndicate on the matches.

It only took an hour or so before the music volume increased and some serious dancing broke out. This included some of the best and worse examples Theena had ever seen. She would remember in future to never get too close to Jed Rikane on a dancefloor, he was a gyrating menace!

Over the next couple of hours teammates came and went and returned again, every one of them genuinely happy to welcome Theena and the interns to their rather exclusive ranks. They mostly all had encouraging words and stories to tell. Phantom Girl tried to offer a toast for the interns but the general raucousness in Shakes meant she had resigned herself to giving it individually to the former students. The team leader really didn't mind, she needed this evening to reaffirm the positives as much as anyone else did.

As the night wound down into the small hours of the following morning Theena realised that she would happily put up with the non-excitement of days like today if it meant occasional evenings like this one in return.

Yay, more Legion Worlds! I will read these later and write something more substantial, but I just wanted to say...I don't know if this is something new or I just had forgotten, but I love that M'Rissey's codename is Numbers Guy

What fun! Some nice action scenes, I really loved Polar Girl and Backlash making a really nice duo. Orion in action is cool too. And Theena as Comms Officer also dealing with media relations is a nice upgrade to her role.

More, more, more!

Ming Sul - Amp Girl - investigative officer, hyper-enhancement of her own sensory capacities

Evolvo - Sev Tcheru of Lallor, manipulation of person evolutionary characteristics


Ming Sul sighed just before she walked through the warp.

Sev Tcheru waited on the other side. As Evolvo, he was the leader of the Lallorian Heroes, a group of government sponsored meta-powered mutants that were long-time allies of the Legion. He had also spent a rather fun night with Ming Sul after Cosmic Boy and Night Girl's wedding several months prior, which she assumed would have led to a relationship - that was what they had discussed and agreed anyway. The Legion's Investigative Officer had tried to contact him a few times after, but he had been "busy", so she had stopped trying.

Then about three weeks ago he had contacted her out of the blue with an apology and had offered to explain why he'd been so distant over dinner. Ming had had a tough day so wasn't in the mood for what she presumed was nothimng more than an attempted Booty Call... so, she said she was busy and cut the holo-comm before he could say another word. He tried over the next few weeks to speak to her half a dozen times after that, but each time Ming declined to talk. She had heard that the Lallorian team had helped with the Talokean refugees but was grateful she hadn't seen any of them on the few occasions she had been helping out.

Yesterday, she had met up with Grava, Laurel Kent and Zoe Saugin for the evening in Shakes as they welcomed the new interns and had finally told them of the situation. Zoe had seen it as good news, the scuzbag had obviously come to his senses and was trying to make up for his earlier rude behaviour. Laurel wasn't so sure; the invulnerable woman told her friend it sounded like he was looking for some sort of a strings-free arrangement. Grava had been the most thoughtful and asked if she had spoken to anyone else about it - wasn't Retro still seeing Gas Girl after that night? Perhaps there really was something else going on... her friends had all booed as Grava had said this and playfully mocked her. The conversation had quickly moved on though Ming kept thinking about what Comet Queen had said... she hadn't realised that Deen was still seeing Tal Nahii so perhaps her colleague would be able to give her some insider information regarding the Lallorian team.

Earlier this morning Ming had holo-ed Deen Toro. She had always liked Retro as he had a calmness about him that felt very reassuring. The time-manipulator had just been away to go to Home Base for a day of training but smiled warmly as she explained why she wanted to speak. He nodded and agreed with her that it was an awkward situation but reassured her that from the dozen or so times he'd warped to Lallor in the last couple of months he could absolutely confirm that the Lallorian Heroes were incredibly busy updating their planetary defences. Retro also added that he assumed that as Evolvo was their leader and the planetary technical genius the onus to be on top of it all probably fell on his shoulders. As she finished the call Retro had kindly added that no matter what Ming now chose to do, he wouldn't tell anyone of their conversation.

Within ten minutes Ming had sent a private holo to the leader of the Lallorian Heroes.

And three hours later here she was, the planet Lallor...

The initial awkwardness was soon overcome. For one thing Ming's hyper-senses immediately alerted her to how quickly Sev's pulse raced as she gave him a quick hug. She then noted that his eyes dilated, and there were no micro-expressions signalling anything other than relief and happiness. Well, there was a tinge of guilt but she saw that as perfectly justifiable.

"Ming, I'm so sorry I've been so busy but... I've cleared my schedule for the rest of the day." Sev Tcheru said, his eyes momentarily downcast.

"Me too Sev, I'm sorry too. I was..." She stumbled with what she felt she wanted to say.

"Amazing! That you called me after all this time... you're amazing." Evolvo smiled again and they had another, longer, hug.

Ming Sul was relieved that the man she had spent such an enjoyable evening with all those weeks ago was as decent as she remembered; too work-focussed for sure, and definitely geeky and self-conscious, but underneath it he was someone that obviously really liked her... as much as she like him.

Well, she thought, it was time someone had a long overdue chat with him about managing his work-social life balance better. After all, all work and no play would make Sev Tcheru such a very dull boy.

...and if Ming's memory served her right, he was certainly anything but dull.

Frentoni Six

Lightning Lass - Senior Team member, Ayla Ranzz of Winath, electrical generation and manipulation
Dragonmage - Xao Jin of Earth, dragon magics

Intern:
Orion - Science Police Officer Tw'gg of H'lven, tracking skills and awareness of flaws or weaknesses


Lightning Lass assembled the rest of the team and asked Kid Quantum and the Replicator to stay in the city centre. Between them they could use statis fields as the most effective - and least destructive - opton available to the team in containing the frenzied crowds. Ayla took Dragonmage and Orion with her and flew off to help Polar Girl and Backlash. The small eye-spy camera drone followed behind them automatically placing itself, so it was 20 feet from the Legionnaires.

Ayla's small team were close to the atmospheric re-processing plant when the attack happened.

Ayla had taken the lead when from out of nowhere she was knocked sideways with a loud crunch! The electric Legionnaire was momentarily stunned but Dragonmage saw what had happened and whispered a spell into his hands before he released a stream of swarming insect sized dragonforms that spun in the air like a tide in a globe around them. There seemed to be a point where they were colliding with something unseen but amongst the swarming tiny dragons it was unclear what, or even exactly where, it was that was causing this as it moved erratically.

<Your senses are keener than mine Tw'gg, can you pinpoint them amongst the swarm? Mel mentioned an invisible Khund, is there another...?> The intern sniffed the air around them as Dragonmage sent his query.

<of course, this way> The fox-like intern pointed to a spot just to the side of where Ayla had been, <There!> The tiny dragon swarm appeared to be crashing against a moving shape. Xao Jin concentrated and more tiny dragons streamed around the invisible attacker, blinding and limiting their movement even more.

<You want the honours of slapping the cuffs on them?> The Legionnaire asked <It would be your first official collar, I believe>

Orion grinned at his Legionnaire colleague before reaching out to find the invisible attacker as they struggled with the dragonform swarm and slipping the cuffs upon them. As it turned out, the cuffs were around the invisible Khund's ankle not wrist like standard operating procedures dictated, not that it mattered as the effect was the same. As soon as Dragonmage dropped the spell and the green swirling swarm dissipated the unconscious Khund faded into visibility. His anti-grav harness had kept him afloat in front of the Legionnaires. Lightning Lass used several choice expressions to describe him as she rubbed her head where he had struck her.

"Right, let's not do that again folks..." Lightning Lass announced as she took the lead again. This time there were sparks crawling across her skin - anyone, visible or not, who tried to touch her now would be quite literally in for a nasty shock.

Backlash - Mrruaw M'Nau of Simballi, enhanced strength, speed, senses, absorbs kinetic energy to boost own size and mass
Polar Girl - Mel Lassar of Tharr - cryokinesis

The top floor was open plan with only several dozen work-stations to show how this space was used.

At the back of the cavernous room sat a large machine that hummed as it connected the air filtration system to the struts in the dome above that processed the settlement's atmosphere. Two men ran at the Legionnaires while there was another person crouched at the far end of the room.

Polar Girl reached down and as her fingers touched the floor a sheet of ice shot out from her. The attackers continued to approach but were a lot more careful as they slipped and slid on the sudden frozen surface.

<I'll take the left> She sent to Backlash as she raised her hands and let loose with a stream of icicles that shot across towards the approaching man. He batted them aside though almost lost his footing as he did. Polar Girl took this opportunity to blast at his feet, encasing them in solid ice. The attacker swayed as he struggled, though by the time the Legionnaire had floated across to him he seemed to have calmed down. Mel Lassar activated her belt buckle light and pinned him in the spotlight it projected. The young man appeared to be human, wearing a dark red and black outfit. He smiled up at her and his eyes started to glow with electric sparks... as she saw this Mel blasted out again, covering her opponents head in a ball of solid ice. She could see cracks quickly beginning to form in it so kept up the pressure of the icy blast. Polar Girl flew towards her opponent and dug out another set of incapacity cuffs from the pouch on her belt and while still maintaining the icy pressure on her opponent's head, she slapped them onto his arm. He was quickly unconscious after that. Mel released the hold she had on the ice and it crumbled around him. At least now he would be able to breath she thought as she turned to see if her teammate needed any help.

Backlash had run towards the man on the right, the tigerram's claws gave him purchase on the icy floor. The Legionnaire pounced on the man that was running towards them though instead of colliding as he expected he started to pass through until it appeared that the man had dissolved, and a bubble of liquid remained that engulfed the Legionnaire.

"You'll drown soon kitty-cat" A voice said as the tigerram tried to fight against his liquid prison. Backlash realised that his opponent clearly didn't know about the Legionnaire's flight ring eco-protect mode.

The bubble rose up with the Legionnaire inside and slammed the him into the ceiling then dropped to slap against the hard floor. It repeated this process several times in half as many seconds. Within the bubble Backlash held onto the energy these assaults had given him and, after a dozen or so more times being slammed against the ceiling, he activated his mutant growth ability, trebling size in a second. As expected, the liquid bubble burst and as it reformed it changed into an unconscious man in a dark blue outfit laying on the floor before the Legionnaire.

"I don't like water." The tigerram said in his low reverberating voice as he sniffed his opponent to ensure they were not too badly hurt.

<You okay there 'Lashy?> Mel Lassar's message sang across the flight ring generated telepathic grid.

<Polar Girl, could you cuff this one for me please?> Backlash asked.

The Tharrite happily applied her last set of incapacity cuffs and they turned to look for the final member of the gang that had been crouched beside the large air filtration machine. Neither were surprised that this other mysterious opponent had escaped while they had been dealing with the attackers.

Backlash smiled broadly as he announced he had their scent!

Retro - Deen Toro of Ventura, limited reversal of personal timeline

Chameleon Girl - Yera Allon of Durla, shape changer


Deen Toro laughed.

Like all Legionnaires, Retro was obliged to spend one full day a month at the Academy to help the tutors and familiarise the students with potential future teammates. Currently he was playing a game of reverse-tag with a group from Yera's latest training squad. The rules were simple - to win one of the six-strong student team had to place a hand on him for a whole second. That was all, they were all 'it' and Retro was their prey.

The students were getting increasingly frustrated as he easily avoided them, and it certainly didn't help that Retro laughed as he did. His laughter was getting increasingly mocking as he had managed to have four full minutes without a single hand being anywhere close. The students were becoming sharp with each other, shouting their plans while tripping over or barging into their teammates as they failed to listen to each other. The Legionnaire's natural athleticism together with his skill at using his flight ring and time-spinning power would have made him a tricky catch for any group, but this groups poor attempts had been particularly clumsy.

Where he had been enjoying the exercise when it had started, he was thoroughly unimpressed by the time Chameleon Girl called for an end to the game.

<Can I suggest they get some training in teamwork pretty fast?> Retro sent through to the Durlan tutor.

<That's what this is supposed to be> She replied with a heavy sense of resignation.

"Okay," she said out loud to the students, "...can anyone tell me why you didn't succeed there?"

The students squabbled among themselves, several of them blatantly blaming their squad mates. The disagreements and name calling quickly got personal and loud.

<Can I deal with this Yera? I believe it's time to set out some facts for them.>

<Knock yourself out Deen, I'm at the end of my wits with this group here>

"Enough!" Retro said loudly. "You are supposed to be a team so learn to act like it. Honestly, we've run this exercise every time I've been here in the last few months and you were by far the worst yet. You were awful! You are all to blame, you all have ears and eyes so why aren't you using them? Listen to each other and learn to trust your teammates, that's what Legionnaires do. We'll do it again but this time there's one difference. You..."

He pointed to a short girl with red skin and pointed ears who backed away a step as he continued.

"You will be team leader, none of the rest of you are allowed to speak during this exercise, if you do you are out." The students all stared as he continued. He looked each of them in the eye before turning to the student he had nominated to lead the next attempt. The Legionnaire spoke much softer though they could all hear the disappointed tone in his voice: "...and, if after three attempts, the team fail to catch me you nominate who will take over as team leader and sit out the rest of the exercise. Okay? Do you understand? Let's hope your team can succeed this time before you're all 'out'. You ready?" He directed this question to the red skinned girl he'd chosen as team leader.

The students were all momentarily stunned; Retro was usually seen as a fun guest tutor to have! None of their fellow students had ever said he could be so stern.

The red skinned girl nodded and gulped nervously.

<Wow! Thanks> Yera sent, her tone sarcastic <If I'd wanted to scare them, I'd have gotten Lu in here>

<Fear's healthy, if they can't cope with it how they gonna deal against Mordru?>

"Okay" he yelled, "Go!"

This time he lasted one minutes and eight seconds until the red skinned girls' third and final plan worked, and Retro was caught and held onto for the required full second.

"So, what did we learn?" He asked after congratulating the squad for their greatly improved result.

"Not to piss off you legionnaires, you're fierce!" The girl who had just led her team to their first win responded without a second thought.

Deen Toro laughed.

hahaha more great stuff Harbi,

Nice to see Ming Sul get more screen time, and a perfectly realistic situation between her and Evolvo Lad. The reactions of Zoe, Grava and Laurel too, and very normal for a group of friends to have different opinions on something like this

Retro: loved him switching from mocking laughter to stern tough love really quick. also LOL at Lu being the strict feared teacher!

And Polar Girl and Backlash continue to impress, as do Dragonmage and Orion. I especially loved seeing Polar Girl in battle, she knew EXACTLY what to do to incapacitate her opponent harmlessly!

I like Tinya and Dirk's relationship here, how they can have banter and she respects his contributions to the team but she still acknowledges there are parts of him she doesn't like. It comes across like they're work friends who have nothing to do with each other outside of that because their friendship only really exists within that context.

Polar Girl and Backlash are fun working together! "Purr-fect!" I like how Polar Girl's so resourceful with different applications of her ice powers too, it helps to set her apart from Polar Boy who generally only has a couple tricks up his sleeve.

While I am always keen on shining a spotlight onto the Academy and I enjoyed Retro's training session, I think my favourite of the above instalments was Theena's interlude. I like those little scenes that show how the cogs turn in the background, and it was a nice way of highlighting Theena's not very flashy power as well as showing the camaraderie of the Legion!

I was thinking the same thing, Polar Girl is doing such a great job that it doesn't look good at all for Brek!

And I have to say... I am actually rooting for Polar Girl despite how I am a fan of canon Brek. But Harbi's done such a good job with Brek's irresponsibility that I can't help preferring Polar Girl.

Hey guys, thank you once more for your very kind words.

IB, glad you liked the Amp Girl part, I realized that she's been MIA so will be giving her a bit more attention. And her friends...

Raz, your take on Tinya and Dirk is exactly as intended and I'm really happy you picked up on it. They're both adult enough to be professional when they need to be.

There's about a dozen or so posts ready to go but want to reread them as I've a bigger storyline for this arc to work out fully so may need to make a couple of tweaks before they're finally ready to go.

Funnily enough, one of them is centred on Breks (mis)fortunes which will be included in the next batch. Also glad you both picked up on how much more versatile Polar Girl is as I just dont see Brek as being too imaginative about anything other than getting more attention for himself. Poor Brek, I'm not a fan and it probably shows.

There's three more Academy students to be introduced so expect them soon too.

Ever since I decided to stop binge watching Netflix I've been really inspired to write so there's load to come.

Thanks again,

C

Yay! Looking forward to it!

Lightning Lass - Senior Team member, Ayla Ranzz of Winath, electrical generation and manipulation
Dragonmage - Xao Jin of Earth, dragon magics
Backlash - Mrruaw M?Nau of Simballi, enhanced strength, speed, senses, absorbs kinetic energy to boost own size and mass
Polar Girl - Mel Lassar of Tharr - cryokinesis

Intern:
Orion - Science Police Officer Tw'gg of H'lven, tracking skills and awareness of flaws or weaknesses


Backlash led Polar Girl up a set of stairs to the rooftop.

The great tigerram bounded up the stairs as the Tharrite flew close behind. As they barged through the locked door onto the flat roof a small aircar was taking off at the other end. It was too far away for Mel's ice to reach in time but still she tried, straining to reach the sleek vehicle as it manoeuvred to blast away from them. Backlash bounded across towards it. As the aircar reached 20 feet above the rooftop a lightning bolt tore through the air and smashed into its tail fin causing it to spin erratically.

<Hey gang, thought you might appreciate that> Ayla sent to the two Legionnaires on the rooftop as she swooped down from high above with other members of the mission's team.

Backlash leapt up and wrapped his paws around the front of the still spinning aircar and dragged it to the rooftop where it landed on its side with a loud whoomph!

<It's empty...> he sent; the disappointment was clear in his tone.

<You still got their scent?> Polar Girl asked as she approached, already blasting ice onto the fire where Ayla's lightning bolt had struck.

<not really, no. I believe they got into a vehicle here...and have left> Backlash replied as he sniffed around the rooftop.

"Must have a stealth setting as we saw nothing as we flew in. Sneaky to distract us with that one on autopilot take-off." Xao Jin said as he landed beside his teammates.

"Okay..." Ayla was absentmindedly scratching her shoulder as she spoke, "So, they drive the citizens crazy, why?"

"Jazmin suggested to cover for a crime." Dragonmage replied.

"Yup, but what? Does this colony have something going on that we don't know about?"

Even as Lightning Lass said this both Polar Girl and Orion were checking info-feeds on hard-light screens from their flight rings.

"No banking sector really... no really financial highlights..." Mel mused as she scrolled.

"They have their Ancestor Pits... umm, says here they have memory stores going back five centuries in them. And, quite close-by too...Only thing that looks interesting as far as I can see." Orion looked up hopefully.

"Okay. If that's all you can find let's check it. Thanks." Ayla took to the air, her team following close be

<Jazmin, Tarev, how're things? Can you find and check the Ancestor Pits? I think that there's something in them that our opposition are really after. Orion will send you the location. We're on our way back, will be a few minutes>

<Affirmative Ayla. Will do, see you soon> Jazmin sounded confident as she replied.

"Right team, let's see how fast our rings will take us." Lightning Lass said as she zoomed on ahead.

Second Base main gymnasium

Dragonwing - Marya Pai of Earth, breathes dragon fire and acid
The Huntress - Ambassador Amynta of Nostos ii, incredible strength, speed, invulnerability, space flight

Gravity Kid - Science Police Officer Tel Vole of Earth, manipulation of personal or nearby gravity
Power Boy - Science Police Officer Jedidiah Rikane of Earth, personal density control

Hethuk Bran Drommsi - Smith from the Green Rift Forge of Talok viii, weapon maker and engineer

Laipas - hunting dog from Nostos ii, enchanted to never lose a trail, fast and tough


As Amynta bounded around the lower mezzanine running track Laipas, the great hunting dog that had been a gift from the goddess Artemis to her, ran alongside.

On the floor of the gymnasium Marya Pai and Hethuk Bran Drommsi were in a game with Jed Rikane and Tel Vole. The game was an adaption of 'Happy Sack', a childhood game the Marya had played with her sister. Ther rules were simple - the 'Sack', or in this case a ball, had to be kept in the air and passed between the players who could use any part of their bodies other than their forearms or hands. They had adapted the game slightly, so the two sides had to steal the sack from their opponent's mid-pass, and whichever side got to twenty consecutive passes without losing the ball won. They had quickly agreed that no powers were allowed otherwise Tel had an unfair advantage.

Marya and Hethuk were clearly winning and Jed and Tel were becoming increasingly frustrated as the other couple laughed at them with each successful pass they completed. There had been eighteen clear passes between the fire breathing Legionnaire and the Talokean weaponsmith when Tel reacted without thinking, reaching out with his gravity manipulating abilities to shoot the ball straight up into the air above them and out of Marya Pai's reach.

As the four of them looked up Laipas leaped off the mezzanine and caught the ball in her mouth. The great hunting dog landed twenty feet away from them, her tail wagging ferociously.

"She won't give it back to you now. You'll need to try to catch her. Good luck with that." Amynta called down from above with a chuckle as she leaned over the bannister to watch what was happening below.

Hethuk started to laugh as Tel and Jed both ran at the dog. Laipas easily avoided them and dropped the ball before her and yipped at them, chiding them for their poor efforts. Marya stepped forward, crouching as she got close to the great hunting dog. Laipas bowed before her, the dog's front legs either side of the prized ball. Laipas never took her eyes off Marya as the Legionnaire approached with a hand outstretched as if to stroke the dog's head. Dragonwing swore as Laipas bit into the ball and easily jumped aside as the Legionnaire tried to grab at it.

Laipas danced around for a few seconds before stopping in front of Jed Rikane, the dog's tail wagging wildly as it once again crouched before the ball, her sharp eyes watching the Legionnaire's every move.

"You'll need to offer her something of greater value to trade for it." Hethuk offered as a potential solution, still laughing. The Talokean Weaponsmith had not tried to engage with the dog as he knew immediately it would be futile. Instead, he rather enjoyed watching Marya and the guys make fools of themselves as they tried to get their ball back.

"Forget that... get her!" Jed yelled as he ran at the hound. Tel took to the air and flew over the top of his husband. Marya joined them. For several rather embarrassing minutes the Legionnaire and two Science Police Officers chased the hunting dog but for as often as they got close, they never once even managed to lay a hand on her or get their ball back.

Amynta had been watching from above on the mezzanine, smiling as her colleagues realised that Laipas was anything but an ordinary dog to play with: this was an Amazon hunting dog that the goddess Artemis herself had blessed... The Amazon ambassador jumped down to the main floor area and called out:

"Laipas, here now!"

The dog turned mid-dash and bolted between Jed and Marya straight towards the Amazon, stopping abruptly only a metre from her. Without another word Laipas dropped the ball at Amynta's feet and sat down, her tail was still wagging.

"...and you couldn't have done that before now, why exactly?" Marya called from across the gymnasium floor as she wiped sweat from her forehead.

Amynta smiled.

Home Base Academy


Polar Boy was a complete and utter jerk!

At least, that was the general consensus of the training squad he had been put into, the majority of the students he had interacted with and several of the tutors on Home Base.

Lydda wasn't particularly relishing the conversation she was about to have with him but knew that she had to at least try. If she couldn't get through to Brek now, he would not get through training with a pass score that Tinya would accept as eligible for a return to full membership.

Brek Bannin was currently in a small gym on one of the lowest levels of Home base. He had taken to exercising alone after a run in with a Daxamite from the UP Militia in the main gymnasium complex had not gone his way. Rumour had it that Brek had very publicly announced on his first day at Home Base that as a former leader of the Legion he had every right to jump the queue to a popular piece of equipment and had tried to shoulder the Daxamite soldier out of the way. It had really not gone well for Brek after that. At least the Tharrite didn't end up in hospital, which was what many of the onlookers expected after he tried to encase the soldiers' head in a block of ice for laughing as the Tharrite bounced off the soldier's invulnerable torso.

Lydda knew well enough that with Brek he could break his bones and he would remain absolutely fine, but the moment his pride was damaged... well, hence why he had retreated to using a small, isolated gym out of the way of any of the students or tutors here.

"Brek, how are you?" Lydda said as she approached him. He was smart enough to realise why she was here so she wasn't going to try any artifice with him, "... y'know, I'm a bit concerned for you and would really like us to talk. Can you give me a few minutes?"

"Gotta get through my training regime Lydda, you know the rules. You can talk while I do this if you really want so knock yourself out." He hadn't looked up from the bench where he currently struggled with some weights. His body language screamed of anger and hurt to Lydda and she knew that the straight-forward approach she had planned might not be the best way to deal with him right now. There were red rings under his eyes, and he looked paler and more drawn than usual. Lydda looked at him, one of her oldest friends, and fought the urge to give him a hug...

"Brek, put those weights down please, look at me and talk. We used to be close so let's try to recapture that and figure out what's going on... okay?"

"Yeah... nothin' like some more underhand humiliation to nail home the point that I'm not wanted any more. I get it."

"Oh, for the sake of your own pride if nothing else Brek just stop this self-pity party already, you idiot." Lydda spoke sharply, "If I wanted to humiliate you, I'd challenge you to a wrestling match." Her voice was stern and she put her hands on her hips and stared at him.

Brek put down the weights and sat up, staring back at Lydda. His expression showed how hurt he was feeling. Lydda found it difficult to hold his gaze.

"What are you doing here Lydda? We aren't close anymore... not been close for quite a while. But then why should we be? You've finally netted your Founder so you don't need any of us Subs anymore." He said, before quietly adding, "You never bothered to keep in touch with me after you got what you wanted..."

"I invited you to my wedding and if you hadn't drunk yourself unconscious... I was looking forward to talking to you." Night Girl said softly.

"Yeah, right! What else did you expect me to do, eh? Talk to all my 'good friends' on the team? They all turned their back on me, even Hadru and Grava... you all turned your back on me when I needed you. With friends like this... you know how the rest of that saying goes, right?" His voice was sharp with his hurt and anger.

He turned away and picked up the weights again. Lydda waited a moment as she collected her thoughts and took several deep breaths before she spoke .

"You do have friends here Brek, please remember that and don't push us away. Don't make this into something it's not.. you're better than that." Lydda said softly. Her voice cracked and she turned away from him.

Before he could reply she walked out of the gym. He didn't see the tears swell in Lydda's eyes as she left, which was probably just as well as Brek would have fully understood then that her heart was breaking. She finally knew and accepted that he would fail at this attempt to re-join the Legion. Brek had pushed many relationships to breaking point, burning bridges both here in the academy and within the Legion itself with his inappropriate and selfish behaviour. It was becoming too regular an event for it to be over-looked... and he just wasn't mature enough to ever admit any personal responsibility for any of it.

If he didn't turn it around really fast there wouldn't be room made on the team for such a damaged ego.

Kid Quantum - Jazmin Cullen of Xanthu, creation of temporal quantum bubbles, flight

Replicator - Science Police Officer Tarev Jusool of Talok viii, can mimic meta-abilities of those nearby for limited periods of time


Officer Jusool smiled rather bleakly.

From what Jazmin had explained to him after her very quick skim-read of a hard-light info sheet on the Ancestor Pits, they were built around the site of the first landing on this world. They were the salvaged remains from the mainframe AI that had set up the terraforming of this world. After sixty-three years of successfully managing the transformation of this world, it had awoken the first colonists before leaving high orbit and landing on Frentoni Six. It was common knowledge that the Pits contain AI simulations of the memory engrams of every person that had lived and died on this world in the last half millennia. They were said to be in a highly secured underground location, and reputed to be haunted...

The Legionnaire and Science Police Liaison swooped in towards the sacred gardens where they would find the historic site. The planting of trees and brightly coloured flowers and the placing of statues and ornamental pathways all circled the wide dome that housed the entrance to the Pits themselves. It was obvious that one of the large glass panels that made the dome had been shattered. Even before they landed, they could see several bodies - municipal garden workers perhaps or those simply unlucky enough to have been out for a stroll at the time of the attack - clearly murdered. Each had had their throats torn out and lay in pools of their own blood and gore.

<I'm going to activate a quantum bubble around us, okay? That way if anyone tries to attack, they'll be frozen before they can do... that... that to us> Across the shared telepathic link it was clear that the usually stoic Kid Quantum had been shaken by the sheer level of violence that had occurred in this otherwise pristine location.

As the message was received a hazy lilac bubble filled the air for several meters around them. Officer Jusool knew to mimic the Legionnaire's abilities so he could function within the stasis sphere.

The pair flew through the hole in the glass dome and were immediately struck by the near total darkness within. The Pit, it turned out, was quite a literal name, which surprised Jazmin. Below them a hole fell into utter darkness, even with their buckles shining twin spotlights. They had only just started down into the Pit when the first attacker leapt out of the shadows at them. The creature hung suspended in the air four feet from their faces.

"A werewolf? A frickin' werewolf!" Jazmin said, shocked by what was in front of her.

"I am unaware of the species..." Officer Jusool said as he reached for a set of incapacity cuffs to wrap around the creature's arms. Kid Quantum started to laugh until a second and third appeared on the edge of the stasis bubble she had spun around them, having leapt out from the dark walls as they dropped downwards towards whatever it was that lay at the bottom. Again, the SPO coolly slipped incapacity cuffs on their wrists.

A voice came from below them, a deep male voice, followed by a scurrying noise.

Jazmin leaned forward so her buckle light would catch the person who had spoken and there, at the edges of the beam stood a tall man in a dark cloak alongside a woman with short dark bobbed hair.

"Don't think you're gonna get far." Kid Quantum said quietly as she dropped her quantum sphere from around herself and the Science Police officer so she could re-channel the energy towards the two figures. As she did there were 'whoops' from the walls around them and more dark blurry shapes started to leap towards them, distracting her. Thankfully, Officer Jusool had mimicked the Legionnaire's ability and set up his own quantum sphere to protect them. Another werewolf was caught in it as it attempted to attack them. The SPO snapped cuffs on the frozen lycanthropes as quickly as he could. As the Legionnaire's dropped towards the ground the unconscious beast floated down with them, pinned in place by the quantum field.

"Fume, deal with them while I get the last of the data-drainers..." The man in the cloak said before disappearing into the darkness, leaving his companion to face the Legionnaire and the Science Police Officer.

Kid Quantum swooped down towards the woman but she leaped up catching the Legionnaire by surprise. The woman called Fume held her hand at the Legionnaire's face and almost immediately Jazmin Cullens fell unconscious, landing with a loud Whump! on the hard floor.

"Your rings may give you protection you from my dispersed pheromones out there in the city but they're no match for getting up close and personal." She gloated as the Talokean SPO landed close-by.

"Perhaps...." He slipped a stasis bubble around her and slapped a set of incapacity cuffs on her wrists. The SPO recognised this woman from SP files of known meta-terrorists so was aware she had fought the Legion before and was renowned to be especially cruel. He made sure the cuffs were tight. After she had succumbed to their anaesthetic Tarev Jusool placed her gently on the ground, quickly checked Kid Quantum was okay and went looking for the cloaked man.

Even though Talokeans had slightly better night vision than humans SPO Jusool still struggled.

The spotlight from his buckle spewing out illumination before him but it was obvious the darkness had somehow been enhanced. He was originally from the City Folk so had looked up to the Shadow Champions all of his life, though until this moment had never appreciated what a boon their abilities really were.

<We're on our way in guys> Ayla sent across the telepathic grid, and behind him Tarev was aware of a flickering light within the Pit.

<Be careful, there may be more werewolves> He replied <I'm following a man in a cloak; he said he was getting the last of the data-drainers...Jazmin and Fume are unconscious at the bottom of the Pit >

There was a sudden eruption of light and a smoking body crashed into the ground at the bottom of the Pit behind the SP officer. A lone werewolf had tried to attack the incoming Legionnaires, but Ayla had efficiently dealt with it in her own explosive style. In the flickering light a green tinge appeared as Dragonmage sent magical creations to find any more lycanthropes or other attackers waiting in the darkness.

The Science Police Officer had floated perhaps forty meters along the corridor, leaving the drop shaft behind when it opened out into a circular room with sheets of a reflective metal covering the walls and floors which bounced the light from his spotlight around. In the sudden illumination he could see the cloaked man was desperately scrabbling around at a control panel.

<I am right behind you> Backlash sent across the telepathic grid to the Science Police Officer a second before appearing at his side. Polar Girl flew above the tigerram.

<Ayla and the rest will just be a mo, just cleaning up the mess back there> she sent.

"You should stop now. You are officially under arrest." Tarev said loudly. There were no doubts in his voice.

The cloaked man turned around, a small box in his left hand. He didn't speak as he pulled open his cloak and a figure seemed to tear itself out of his torso and run at the Legionnaires. Another werewolf! Backlash jumped at the creature and headbutted it, entangling it in his great curled horns before smashing it onto the ground and landing heavily on its chest. As Backlash had fought the creature Polar girl had projected an icy blast towards the cloaked figure sheathing him in its cold grip.

As the Tharrite tried to contain their cloaked adversary SPO Jussol flew up to him and slid a set of incapacity cuffs around his wrist. Before he could activate the cuffs, a werewolf tore through the ice and clawed at the Talokean. Thankfully, his body armour deflected most of the blow but instinctively Tarev activated his mimicry ability and ice blew out of him re-covering their opponent in a frozen cocoon.

"You guys got this under control?" Ayla's voice sounded almost mocking as she asked from the entrance to the circular room.

"I recognise him... he's the War-Wolf!" Xao Jin levitated towards the frozen figure, "He's a total savage! He's caused a lot of trouble in the magical community..."

"So, what's he doing here?" Ayla asked, trying to surreptitiously point towards a floating camera that the reporter that had followed them here had set to record their mission.

"They were trying to steal the data from this facility." Officer Jusool said, "... it appears they had Fume drive the colonists crazy with her pheromones as a distraction."

"Why would they need this information? Surely all the data has public access on the planetary info-net?" Jazmin Cullen mused. She had floated in behind the team, still woozy from the lung full of Fume's pheromones.

" ....umm, perhaps War-Wolf and the rest of them didn't check first, eh?" Ayla was conscious that the team were discussing matters that may cause questions that they didn't know the answers to if broadcast so hoped to divert the conversation before it went any further.

<Team, let's not speculate here with that camera, okay?> She sent.

"I've contacted the Science Police; they will have a squad here soon to investigate." Officer Jusool said. Ayla gave the muscular Talokean a thankful smile.

"That's great, okay let's get these crooks to Tarkon-Galtos. Everyone ready?" Lightning Lass smiled at her team as she lifted her hand up to her face to speak into her flight ring. "Henry, can we have a warp to T-G please, we've a special delivery to make."

<Umm, Ayla, remember to get the reporter too, we don't want to leave him here, do we?> Polar Girl sent through.

<Once we're done on T-G we'll get him. Reporters aren't allowed there anyway. Though thanks for reminding me Mel, I had actually totally forgotten about him>

Lightning Lass laughed as she stepped through the warp.

....................................


Almost a hundred light years away a figure watched a holo of the Legionnaires' victory on Frentoni Six.

"Damned children... I needed that information. It's past time I made sure they're kept too busy to get in the way again."

ooh that War-Wolf is a nasty piece of work!

I feel sorry for Brek too, even though this is all his own fault....I am hoping this all leads to him redeeming himself somewhere down the path!

That last line is a bit foreboding too...I wonder whose way the Legion have got in now and what keeping them 'too busy' entails? A mystery!

Oh! I nearly forgot! I already love Laipas! What a good doggo

Laipas reminds me of my family dogs awwww

Heh funny, that reporter is like Chekhov's gun, nice way to keep him in the story but not

War-Wolf is definitely an interesting villain

Alas poor Brek. I mean I get it, his pride, but wow he really needs to shape up. Lydda's concern was so well done.

Harbinger,

So begins another fun and fantastic ride. Vol. 7 is shaping up to be an interesting ride already.

I liked Tinya and Dirk's chat and I'm not 100% who I agree with. I'm partial to what Drik said. It might be a bad idea to go after that war world so soon. I can't imagine how you'll split the team up more. But I can't but help feel a war of the Legion Worlds is coming.
Raz is right. they totally sound like work friends.

Cham's exposure of Sa Lok, has really let a cat out of the bag. I'm intrigued by this plot and how it could change the Legion's world. The secret Meta-army is a fun plot. There's many a mission I can see coming from all those nefarious unknowns with gene-mods.

The hit mission for Alya's team was super fun and the teamwork was well done. Backlash and Polar Girl work well together. Polar Girl's application of powers is inventive and I think Berk is definitely going to have a hard time impressing the team again with her around.
Orion is trying so hard and the moment when he admitted to not having that type of tracking power, kind of heartbreaking. I could feel his need to want to be liked by others and be of value. Which made his moment to shine that much sweeter.
The team's deduction abilities were well done too. Each of them figuring out a piece of the puzzle and how the dome wasn't really falling.
I wondered how Backlash dealt with the inhibitor cuffs.

Invisible Khund's?? is this a gene-mod or part of their cybernetics?

Thenna's segment was well done. I wondered how she was going to be used, especially once you made it clear that Brainy developed an AI that does much of her job. I like the quieter moments sometimes and the welcome she got from the team was fun. It's a good reminder of how they are more than a team or an organization. But friends and family for some of them.

Ming Sul and Evolvo's segment was cute and realistic for two people who just met. I'm glad it did turn out to be because he was busy and not because he was blowing her off.
Retro's time at the academy was one I enjoyed. He made some good points and sometimes a firm hand and a reality check are needed.

A Memory Store and five centuries worth? that could definitely be interesting loot to steal.

The gym moment with Liaps was super cute. I think a game with her and more team members would be fun as a training exercise.

poor Berk. But he really is doing it to himself. Lydda tried and that's all she can do. But I hope he can turn it around.

werewolves? Fun and dangerous. Is it a pack of them? wait...War-Wolf? that's a new power for sure!

i liked the line from Alya about forgetting about the reporter. having them along could create some interesting story ideas.

Can't wait for more!

Guys, thank you for your kind words. I am very grateful.

You'll be seeing more of War-Wolf soon (ish) and the mystery villain will be putting their plans into action right after the next Hit Squad storyline.

Don't feel too sorry for Brek, he's definitely on a character arc and I've some long term plans for him. Actually, knowing where it leads him too, I think you might feel a little bit sorry...

Omni, I first introduced 2 invisible Khunds on Ventura when the team went up against that crime boss, so I imagine theyre a pair of thugs for hire. We'll be getting into more about them soon (ish, again).

I'm hoping to have at least half a dozen posts up by the end of the week as after that I'll be away for a week or two.

Coming up, Mon El and a team from Second Base try to stop a war somewhere they don't have UP peacekeeping authority and there are other big players involved, we'll also have a face off between Shady and Lady Memory with unexpected consequences, the interns discuss their love life, Troy and Monica go on a date, and Southern Lights gives himself a good talking to (kind of).

Thanks again guys, really appreciated your support

C

Southern Lights of Starhaven - spaceflight, magic user

Southern Lights meditated.

Within him resided some vestige of the soul of another dimension and in moments like this the young mystic from Starhaven felt something of the connection. It felt like the memory of a taste from childhood , so close to being realised but ultimately elusive. He knew it was there and, after Mysa Nal and her magical companions had commented on its nature while they were above Talok viii, he was desperate to find out more.

In the Voligaxxian System this other-dimensional entity had been running an experiment with the indigenous peoples, somehow manipulating them, chosing their Emperor... Southern Lights was not certain exactly how far the manipulation went but he was certain the natives of that distant planet had little choices in their planetary development. While there on a mission, he had opened himself up to this entity in an attempt to communicate with it and it had somehow used the magical connection to infect him with its being...

<<you are wrong>>

The voice wasn't heard so much as understood at some visceral level within his core. Southern Lights shot to his feet and looked around. After several deep breaths the young mystic resumed his lotus position on the floor.

<can we speak?> he asked, unsure if the consciousness could fully hear or even understand.

<<you are wrong>> again the words rang within him.

<will you explain?> he asked, trying hard to keep his fear and apprehension out of the tone of the message.

Images and sensations flooded his being. It took several seconds for Southern Lights to realise he was being shown the history of the Voligaxxian System. In sensations that went beyond his own sensory perceptions he became aware of the symbiotic relationship that had developed between the small inhabitants of the world and the consciousness of the far-distant realm. As these sensations expanded, the young mystic learned how this strange relationship had grown and evolved over many hundreds of millennia.

As the history presented itself Southern Lights learned that the trans-dimensional rift within the Voligaxxian system had exposed all live from the first cells through to the feral natives and this ...soul to each other. Neither had understood the other but as the small world skipped across the edges of the rift the strange consciousness had no option than to feel the emotions and disharmony that the natives of the world all shared.

The consciousness had tried to sooth these beasts' passions as they burned through its existence like a virus. It had failed in many attempts over a thousand cycles until this alien soul had been in possession of the being that had fought its way to be the leader of a group of the dominant species that held control over a small area on one of the land masses on this planet. All of this had been very strange to the inter-dimensional consciousness - independent thinking beings were truly unknown to it and concepts of society, leadership and even fighting were all counterintuitive to its timeless and alien omni-inclusive perspective.

Over another millennium the inter-dimensional soul had taken control of more and more leaders as they could order their followers to stop fighting amongst themselves and it had eventually led them to accept one true ruler for their entire planet that it kept a tight rein upon. A side-effect of the symbiosis was the feral creatures became immune to aging, much as the consciousness had been (as it had no understanding of time prior to encountering this reality). The Voligaxxian's also became sterile, another side effect of the symbiosis to the non-gendered, unique consciousness.

As much as the alien soul had calmed the natives the consciousness grew to have an understanding of the native's inbuilt natural urge to battle among themselves to better their offsprings opportunities and so, the choosing of each new Emperor grew to become a ritualised brawl that helped ease these primitive urges.

Over time it had learned about the wider universe the Voligaxxians inhabited and this too had been shocking; the concept of infinite space and independent worlds were something it truly struggled to comprehend.

The few beings alien to the world that it encountered did not have the symbiotic nature of the small natives of this world, so the consciousness was never able to learn anything more of these alien being's perspective of the reality they inhabited. The consciousness longed to understand these strange beings, so, over the centuries it began to make plans...

The previous Emperor had leaked a story that his life was under threat. That Emperor had been acting upon urges that the distant consciousness had been drip-feeding for a decade. It needed to see beyond this one wild world and had hoped for an off-worlder it might communicate with. The consciousness had the urge to learn if all the independent beings within this dimension that ruptured into its own existence were as strange as the feral Voligaxxians.

With Southern Lights spirit-magic bridging the gap between them, the consciousness had entered the Legionnaire: it had finally been given the opportunity to view the universe through a being not limited to one small planet.

Southern Lights reacted at this point as, like all natives of Starhaven, he had been brought up to firmly believe in the role of self-determination on a person's lifepath. That the alien soul could stowaway within him was a concept he found repulsive. As strongly as he could, the mystic tried to explain his beliefs though the consciousness still struggled with the concept of independence; from the reality it inhabited there was only it... it and that dimension were one and the same. The only existence the soul had known was its own.

It had no true understanding of Southern Lights' anger, no real feel for his passions. And, as the Legionnaire and the truly alien soul considered each other, the words of the Black Witch came back to Southern Lights:

"Be true to your heart..."

To be true to his heart.... Southern Lights had always been told he had a kind heart; he was well known to give support to those around him, sometimes even to a reckless extent. Was this what Mysa meant? She had also said he had an important role to play regarding this most alien of beings...

<I will allow you to remain and observe only if we agree that you will never interfere in any of my choices> Southern Lights offered as a compromise. He held his breath for several seconds until the voice within his core replied.

<<agreed>> The swensation of agreement and gratitude flooded the young mystic's body.

<thank you> there was a sigh of relief as Southern Lights sent this thought. There was silence between them for several long seconds before the Legionnaire added:

<I would also be happy if perhaps you could teach me of your reality as well, as sharing of understanding may help us communicate clearer going forward>

<<...agreed>> There was a lightness to this message, as if the consciousness was surprised and happy at this arrangement.

Southern Lights meditated for a further four hours that day. He only stopped when Mon El contacted him regarding a mission. The mystic from Starhaven smiled as he happily confirmed he would join his Daxamite mentor, feeling lighter and more focussed than he had in weeks.

Tyroc - Deputy Leader - Troy Stewart of Marzal city pocket dimension, sonic control
Monica Sade of Rimbor - strength, reflexes, line of sight teleportation


Tyroc and Monica Sade had been on a date.

It hadn't gone well as the meal wasn't great, the wine was too sharp and they had a long wait for a rather tepid dessert. The ambient music was loud and the lights to dim, so they ended up communicating through their telepathic link as they could neither hear or see each other clearly.

Just to complete an otherwise disappointing evening one of the restaurant staff had tipped off paparazzi. As they stepped out into the cool Sydnopolis evening onto a plaza overlooking the holo of the ancient Opera House, there had been a fleet of camera drones and a scrum of reporters waiting. The Legionnaires were not really all that surprised as the lights flashed and voices started shouting questions about everything from personal matters regarding their relationship to the current whereabouts of Second Base.

Troy had given his best statesman-like smile but refused to comment as he called for a warp from Henry. Monica had not smiled as she turned away from them. The warp appeared beside the two Legionnaires and they stepped through to their personal quarters on the distant planetoid. As they did a drone flew after them and got through to Second Base. As the warp was closing Monica punched it, sending it back through to Earth.

"That'll be news Tinya won't want broadcastin', y'know that?" Troy grumbled.

"Legionnaire punches intruding inanimate object... not much of a story, is it? Shouldn't spy on us like that, bloody vultures!" She said, her anger at the intrusiveness of the media was clear. This had been their first night alone in weeks and she was obviously annoyed now.

"Better let Network know." Troy stomped to their holo-pit.

"Whatever you want. I'm going to the gym Troy, come join if you fancy getting physical." Monica Sade popped out of sight before he could reply.

Troy Stewart activated the holopit control panel and called for First Base. A holo of Theena appeared before him, a small grin on her face.

"Hey Troy, everything okay?" Her tone made it obvious she had already tracked some story regarding the Second Base team leader.

"yeah, kind of... it's manageable anyways."

"Oh-kay. Ahh... I take it you're calling about the story that just broke saying you and Monica are splittin' up. Says you went for a meal, looked miserable and didn't talk the whole night then Monica broke a media-drone as it tried to ask a few questions... any truths?" Theena asked.

"Kind of accurate, 'part from the splittin' part. And the not talking, we used TP as the music was too loud. Food was pretty much less'n average so not much t' smile 'bout in there. We won't be back or giv'n' it any rec'mendations. She did punch that bloody drone though, it followed us back through Henry's warp to our apartment... you able to deal wit' this? You want me t' give a statement?"

"Don't worry yourself there, I'll make sure the press knows this sort of intrusion isn't welcome and let slip it's a fairly rubbish restaurant too and that's why you weren't too happy. That should keep the media satisfied." Theena gave a big smile before adding, "Enjoy the rest of your night Troy, catch you soon." And with a wave of her hand the holo-transmission ended.

Troy Stewart smiled to himself. With that dealt with, he wondered if it was too late to rescue the plans he had for this evening... one super-quick sonic shower and then he'd join Monica in the gym and, who knows, perhaps it wouldn't be a write-off after all.

Mon El - Senior Team member, Lar Gand of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability
Lexikon - Princess Daheenisha of Tamaran iv, enhanced speed, strength, durability, flight, omni-linguist
Otaki - Bina Nawoti of Earth, mindsense
Karate Kid iii - Mithindrivithis Ngandraffa of Lythyl, strength, reflexes, mimetic motor learning giving incredible combat skills
Green Lantern - Dkyun Mu of Xudar, wearer of a Green Lantern power ring
Southern Lights of Starhaven - spaceflight, magic user

Intern: Strobe - Denal Lort of Dryad - assume electro-magnetic energy form


Science Police alert: increase in skirmishes between Gedunian and Dreggraranian fleets at the outskirts of the B'laxor system.

Excerpt from 31st Century History - Minor Wars and Other Troubles: History will look back at the animosity between the Gedun and the Dreggraran and wonder why they ever bothered. Both races were from the same mother world originally, though neither would ever mention that long dead world's name. They shared technology and culture; even their most common languages were similar enough that they could communicate without much trouble. It seemed the only thing they differed on was agreeing which ruling class was correct in assuming their ultimate position, with neither wishing to cede ground. As is often the case where the ruling elite have the choice between compromising their own ego-fuelled belief in their automatic superiority or having other sentient's children killed in battle to prove said superiority the two races had been fighting against each other on and off for almost five hundred years. The UP issued a quarantine around the systems where the most trouble was concentrated though it has often been known to spill over into neighbouring planets jurisdictions.

Mon El flew ahead of the cruiser with the Green Lantern close behind.The ongoing tension between the two planets from neighbouring systems had bubbled and boiled for almost half a millennium now and lately it had escalated. The UP Council were concerned that the increasing tension over the last month or so would lead an all-out conflict. If it did, it could mean serious destabilisation within one of the buffer zones between the United Planets and the Dominion. While neither the Gedun or the Dreggraran's systems were official members of the United Planets, they both had many trade agreements and had signed several non-aggression treaties with the UP in the last century. It was very much in their interest to keep the Gedun and the Dreggraran from committing to any horrific action that might send their ongoing conflict spiralling out of control and leave the Dominion with an easy route through to the UP.

The Legion had been asked to intervene in the latest skirmish and attempt to create a dialogue between the two worlds.Dkyun Mu was the first to act.

A pulse of green energy spat from her Oan power ring that disabled the approaching battle cruiser. Mon El signalled that he would go ahead to discuss the current situation with Southern Lights and Lexikon, while the Green Lantern waited in space and Otaki, Karate Kid and the new intern Strobe stayed onboard the cruiser.

The flight ring created a communication link onto the command deck of the huge, heavily armed craft, and the Daxamite Legionnaire asked for permission to board. His tone made it perfectly clear that he was only being polite by asking...After several seconds of silence, the Gedun commander accepted. Henry provided the warps that allowed Mon El in space and Lexikon and Southern Lights from the cruiser to step into the surprisingly luxurious command deck. The Green Lantern remained out in space, her Oan Power Ring keeping the war craft immobile.

"Legionnaires, you cripple my ship and now come for spoils..." there was little warmth in the voice as it came from the small Universal Translator disc on the bi-peds throat.Mon El approached the pale blue bi-ped that had spoken and bowed his head in respect.

"Sir, your ship is merely frozen in place while we seek a less destructive solution to your problem."

"Kill the Dreggraran. Kill them all ...then we will have peace."

"That's not how we operate, you know that sir so please let's all try to be reasonable." Mon El sounded calm, almost dismissive as he replied.

The blue skinned bi-peds shuffled awkwardly around, muttering in a guttural language to one of its colleagues. They each exhibited small jerky movements that Mon El assumed were part of their species language.

<The one on your left wants to attack us but his colleagues have told him not to be stupid, he said he still might...> Lexikon sent through the flight ring generated telepathic matrix. Mon El sighed before he turned to the Gedunian that he had just been warned might attack him.

The Daxamite smiled broadly as he spoke."How about we arrange a meeting between your two people's leaders and I will personally assure everyone's safety? I mean, between the Legionnaires present, we are more than capable of easily tearing your fleets apart if we really wanted to, so...", he casually shrugged as if to signify how minor an effort this would be before continuing, "...surely no-one would be stupid enough try anything silly, now would they?" The Legionnaire smiled again, this time with the edge of a threat showing.

The two Gedun quickly agreed with his assessment.

The Legionnaires were immediately struck by the awful smell - it was something akin to three days dead fish and rotting sewage in an ammonia bath.

Mon El had asked if the Legionnaires could host the meeting on their cruiser though this was quickly scuppered with both sides wanting any talks to take place in the Helix Citadel - a space station created countless generations ago that sat on the border between the two worlds, built to house ambassadorial meetings and culturally the only neutral space either people would acknowledge. Both sides had invested technology to neutralise each other's weapons, sophisticated surveillance systems and, as far as the Legionnaires could determine, it was the only place where they would not kill each other if the discussions became heated.

Karate Kid remained on the cruiser, monitoring the Citadel. She had not shown her disappointment at being left behind but Mon El knew the young martial artist was hoping to see the inside of the Citadel as part of her Legion experience. Still, he wanted someone watching their backs from the relative safety of the cruiser.

Inside the ornate meeting room on the Citadel Otaki willed the eco-protect filters from the atmosphere that her flight ring generated to scrub the smell from around her so she didn't gag. She knew that starting a potential peace process dialogue by vomiting on the hosts floor was never going to work out well or give you the credibility to carry off such a delicate mission. As she fought the initial gagging reflex her psychic abilities reached out and she touched each mind on the ship.

The representatives of the two people were stood in groups on opposite sides of the large, starkly furnished room. Bina could sense their confusion and resentment. Outside of the room there were half a dozen others associated with the two groups that echoed these feelings. As she reached out to scan the entire base, she found several dozen of the Gedun and Dreggraran working on the maintenance of this station. Suddenly, the young psychic became aware of two more minds that were definitely not of this race. She knew what they were immediately.

<There are two Dominators on the lower decks, just caught sense of them> She sent to the team. Mon El nodded though didn't respond to her. The intern, Strobe turned and stared at her though, his face showing his surprise.

"Fellow sapients," the Daxamite said to the Gedun and the Dreggraran representatives, "in order to ensure we have a secure and fruitful meeting I have asked our teammate, the Green Lantern, to remain out in space. She will ensure there are no outside forces at work here. Neither of you know of any outside forces that may be trying to involve themselves in our attempt to bring peace here today, do you?" He stared at the Gedun before turning his stern gaze on the Dreggraran.

It didn't take Lexikon's translation abilities to see that both groups looked uncomfortable.

"So... there's more going on here than just a few gun-happy ships facing off in space then? Would you like to explain it to me, please?" Mon El's voice didn't betray his disappointment.

"Her Majesty, the Eternally Young Queen..." Began the Gedun representative, while the Dreggraran shouted over the top, "His Most Daring Royal Highness..."

"Enough!" Mon El barked. His eyes flashed red. "Just answer me this - why are there Dominators below?"

There was a sudden silence in the room as both sides realised that the Legionnaire was aware of their other guests at the Citadel.

"Perhaps we should bring them up to join in with this conversation?" Lexikon added with a vicious smile.

The Dominators had obviously been monitoring the conversation as less than two minutes later they walked through the doors into the state room.

One was tall and thin while the other was more bulky and noticeably shorter. Both were wearing red cloaks with gold embroidered around the edges while bearing large red circles upon their foreheads showing them to be of high status.

"Legionnairesss, you have no durisssdiction out here." One of them said, its voice grating in its coarseness.

"Neither do you." Otaki replied immediately. Mon El gave her a reproachful glance before speaking.

"We are here to stop a war. Can you say the same?"

"They are traders who wish to share technology..." the Gedun ambassador said.

"With the Dreggraran people... and only with the Dreggraran..." His counterpart interjected. The two groups stared at each other, much as the Legionnaires and Dominators were staring. There was no love lost between any of the groups present.

"No, they're high-caste so won't just be traders... why are you really here?" Mon El said.

"Our busssinesss is busssinesss sso none of your consscern, Legionnaire." the taller dominator hissed.

<If it helps, I could cast a truth spell... it would affect us all though> Southern Lights sent to Mon El along a personal bandwidth.

<Let's wait, though keep it ready. Thank you>

"If your trade leads to a war then it will become our business." The Daxamite turned away from them and returned his attention to the Degun ambassador. "Why are they here? What do they want to give your people that you'll risk going to war?"

"Weapons... they have offered us a way to defeat the Dreggraran once and for all." As the ambassador proudly announced this his opposite number started shouting that it would be the Dreggraran that would do trade with the Dominion.

The Dominators both laughed in the scratchy chittering that annoyed Mon El. He had seen enough of their manipulative practice over the centuries to know that neither the Degun or the Dreggraran would win here.

<Otaki, keep an eye on the Dominators please, let me know if their moods change... I have a feeling we're missing something here so want to keep them under the microscope>

The Dominator cruiser spun out of warp several light-seconds away from the Helix Citadel.

Dkyun Mu sent a message to Mon El letting him know what was happening as she sped towards the huge ship. The Green Lantern created an emerald bubble around herself that matched the size of the approaching craft and with a thought she altered the energy's shape so it became the Legion's symbol, writ large against the stars. Those aboard would immediately recognise it and realise what they were facing, and she hoped it might give them pause...

Three missiles fired from the underside of the ship. Dkyun had several seconds to react - more than enough time to alter the energy shape into three twisting tubes that turned the missiles around so they flew back towards the Dominator craft. Surely, she thought, they were smart enough to not risk annoying a Green Lantern? They must know what the Oan power ring allowed her to do... the missiles exploded harmlessly a dozen klicks from their mothership.

Dkyun Mu's ring warned her as a warp opened only metres away from her. A tall four-armed Dominator stepped through. It had a red hexagon with a white symbol on its forehead - a caste designation she did not recognise. She also quickly realised it was not wearing protective equipment against the vacuum of space. She knew the Dominators had tried to create a super-powered slave race over the last few years and realised that now perhaps they had succeeded. Only this one did not look like anyone's slave!

<Legionnaire Lantern, ssstep aside. We are here to trade with these sssavagesss> The Dominator's telepathy felt rough, as if it had scratched its words into her thoughts.

<We are here to stop a war between the Degun and Dreggraran. If it continues, your trade will be affected so it is of utmost...> Dkyun replied.

<I do not care. You have one Terran minute to remove yourssself or I will obliterate you> And with that a warp appeared and the Dominator stepped through leaving the Green Lantern alone.

I'll try to get a few more posts in before Xmas, but if I run out of time hope you enjot these and have a marvellous time over the holidays.

C

Science Police Psychiatrist - Doctor Anje Falkner, alpha-level telepath
'Captain Heavyweight' - Captain Tuk Shir of the Science Police from Daxam, Senior Team liaison, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability


As the counsellor to the Legion Anje had expected there would be difficult times, but the current level of anxiety and fear that quite a few members of the team were experiencing since dealing with the terrible situation on Talok viii was beginning to feel almost overwhelming. She had needed to request assistance from the Titanian Institute on Naltor.

She had spent eleven hours straight in her office today and had held twelve sessions with various team members as they processed the feelings that remained after their possession by the Blight. All of them were finding it difficult to deal with the mood swings, fear and anxiety that they now experienced. In the last two days Anje had asked three of them to remove themselves from the active-duty roster, which hadn't gone down well in two of the cases. When she checked the duty roster before leaving her office, she was relieved to see that they all had done as asked.

It had been a tough day, on the back of a week of tough days with at least a solid week more already booked into her calendar ahead of her. The Blighted Legionnaires needed support and she intended to give them every iota of help that she could.

Captain Tuk Shir, her Daxamite husband, was in their apartment as she arrived. As usual, the place was spotlessly clean. This was one of the many reasons Anje loved her husband so much; he had an intense dislike for clutter so would happily clean up after her. It was one of the few habits that Anje didn't share that she had never tried to get him to stop.

"Tuk, darlin', is there any wine open?" She called out as the door irised closed behind her.

Within a second the powerfully built Daxamite was at her side with a freshly opened bottle of clear Chablis and a tall glass flute. He smiled broadly and kissed his wife on the forehead before presenting her with the glass, half full of freshly poured alluring dry white wine.

"Oh, I think I might just love you. " She said wearily as she rested her head against his shoulder, "Like totally love you... for real." She added with a small cheeky grin.

"Bad day?" He asked before kissing the top of her head gently.

"Was, yeah... It's better now." She lifted her head to his and they kissed.

After Anje had showered and pulled her warm bath robe around herself, she made her way through to their kitchen area. She could hear her husband clattering around and smiled as she wondered what he was up to; cooking wasn't one of his strengths really but she was almost always grateful for whatever he presented to her when she got home if she'd had a long day. The circular room had pale dusty olive-green walls and white units with several flag banners from the worlds where the couple had previously been posted hanging in the dining section.

Upon the circular dining table was a freshly pressed white cloth. On it stood a tall gothic looking candle holder with a happily twinkling candle and two small bulbous red glass vases each with several long-stemmed yellow and white roses. Tuk Shir dimmed the lights with a word as his wife entered.

"I thought tonight we could... well, after we've eaten, we might want to relax and enjoy ourselves. We've both had a hectic couple of weeks." As he spoke Anje could see the knowing smile on his face, the same mischievous half-grin that she had seen the very first time they had met at a Science Police conference almost a decade before. Without even acknowledging it she knew that the Legionnaires and majority of the SP's seconded here would never have believed just how flirtatious and god-damn sexy the big Daxamite could be once he got out of his stuffy uniform.

"Uh huh, and how do you think we'll manage to do that? Have you seen the size of my caseload?" Her tone was teasing and the smile she gave her husband echoed his.

"To be honest, it wasn't the size of your caseload that I've been admiring..." His cheeky reply.

Anje spontaneously laughed for the first time that day.

Mon El - Senior Team member, Lar Gand of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability
Lexikon - Princess Daheenisha of Tamaran iv, enhanced speed, strength, durability, flight, omni-linguist
Otaki - Bina Nawoti of Earth, mindsense
Karate Kid iii - Mithindrivithis Ngandraffa of Lythyl, strength, reflexes, mimetic motor learning giving incredible combat skills
Green Lantern - Dkyun Mu of Xudar, wearer of a Green Lantern power ring
Southern Lights of Starhaven - spaceflight, magic user

Intern: Strobe - Denal Lort of Dryad - assume electro-magnetic energy form


Mon El considered his options.

The Gedun and Dreggraran were squabbling while the Dominators chittered their rude laughter. Lexikon stood to one side watching them all with a cool aloofness. Otaki stood at the other side of the Daxamite, while Southern Lights and Strobe were behind him.

Dkyun Mu had seconds until the Dominators would potentially attack her yet he was stuck here trying to resolve this stupid situation. Southern Lights could survive in space though his magics were not up to stopping a Dominion battle-cruiser. Karate Kid was onboard the cruiser and while she had, after much training, mastered the controls Mon El doubted that she would be entirely competent in a fire fight. There was only one option left and he hated to use them in this level of confrontation though couldn't see any other way to support the Green Lantern.

<Strobe, if you are up to it son, do you want to support Dkyun against a Dominion battle-cruiser? It seems there's a meta-Dominator with it so she might appreciate some support>

<Oh.. of course. Yeah, I'll get right out there> And with that the intern vanished from sight as he altered his form into a stream of x-rays and sped to the Green Lantern's side.

<I think these two are more than they appear so be prepared. Dkyun just met a Dominator that exhibited meta-abilities, I wonder if these are the same>

<They both feel very certain of themselves> Otaki shared with the group.

<Their kind always does. It makes it a pleasure to teach them the errors of their ways> Lexikon sent as reply which gave Mon El a smile.

As Strobe appeared to vanish, Mon El told the assembled ambassadors that his colleague had gone to deal with another matter, intentionally being vague, and he hoped to keep the meeting from being disturbed. The Dominators laughed again.

<Okay, listen we have no real authority here so need to make sure the Gedun and Dreggraran find out for themselves what the Dominion are after> Mon El shared, <Southern Lights, do you have that truth spell? Better warn the team what to expect...>

Mon El knew he could be causing more problems but realised that technically the Legion had no legal authority here and was desperate to show the Dominators up for what they truly were. Anything would be better than these two races fighting over a bogus trade agreement and the Dominators carving another system up for their own gain.

<The Truth Spell will make it impossible to tell a lie... if it's easier, you do not have to speak but if you do it will be 100% honest and heartfelt. It will only last for a quarter of one hour but in that time, everything said will be the whole truth>

<Okay... we all understand?> Mon El asked the team. They all agreed. <okay Southern Light, do it, let's try having an honest conversation for a change>

The young mystic smiled as turned away from the groups present and went to stare out of a portal at the vastness of space outside the station. As he did, he muttered arcane words and stretched his fingers out, releasing the truth spell onto everyone present in the room at that moment.

Dkyun Mu was not surprised when the intern approached her.

Strobe remained in x-ray form, amazed that somehow the technology within his also transformed flight ring allowed him to still access the telepathic grid. He had no idea how Brainiac had created the miraculous rings but was grateful for them at that moment.

<What do you need me to do?> Denal Lort asked the Green lantern.

<Perhaps if I distract them you could disable their craft. Dominion ships have multiple small Q-generators arranged much like a helix within their crafts. It is the gestalt that gives them power. If you could disturb the magnetic holding fields in a couple of them, I believe it would cause severe power fluctuations in their cruiser without risking their lives> The Xudarian Green Lantern had been an astro-engineer before Soddam Yat had asked her to join the Lantern Corps and it appeared she knew more than just standard design parameters.

<Oh... okay, if I bounce off a few in concentrated x-ray form that might work>

<good luck, and be careful as I believe there is at least one meta-being on board>

In x-ray form the intern from Dryad found the cruiser's docking bay and snuck aboard. He knew that trying to enter through the hull would have been impossible as all space-faring vessels would have protection from radiation.

When Strobe had first been given the gene-tailoring that allowed him to transform into electro-magnetic energy he had most struggled with how different his senses were in his new form. Instead of sight and hearing he could now sense matter, energy and vibrations by their size, strength, density, direction and output. Colours and textures were things he could gather by the output signal, though they were still something he found strange. These altered senses did help in this case though as the Q-engines radiated intense energy fields that his senses could clearly define even through all the floors separating them.

In concentrated x-ray form the intern bounced through the ship intentionally colliding hundreds of times per second against the magnetic shielding around several of the Q-generators that Dkyun Mu had told him of. In under ten seconds the magnetic fields started to wobble, creating redundancy programming to click into place and power outages within nearby sections. Strobe had intentionally struck close to the lower levels where the weapons section was housed hoping that this would save the Green Lantern from having to deal with any more attacks. With that thought, Strobe decided to see how long it would take him to disrupt the entire cruiser's energy supplies. He reckoned he could do it in a minute, at the most.

Outside of the Dominator cruiser, Dkyun Mu maintained her distance from the craft. Karate Kid had contacted her and asked if she wanted the Legion's ship to support her but the Green Lantern declined saying the martial artist would best serve the team if she remained closer to the Citadel.

As expected, the Dominion ship released a volley of missiles. They were easily caught and dismantled a safe distance from the Legionnaire in bursts of emerald energy. Even as the last of them was shattering a flare of pulse-light blasted out towards the Green Lantern. She easily avoided these, setting up a circuit of reflective discs that sent the blasts back towards the huge craft. Dkyun was smart enough to know that the Dominators were merely testing her as these assaults were not particularly impressive. As a second barrage started the weapons system appeared to twitch before the firing stopped entirely - Strobe had obviously disabled the power supply.

There was a couple of seconds of calm before a warp opened in front of the Legionnaire and the four-armed Dominator that had approached her earlier stepped through.

<I do not know how you disssabled my Q-enginesss but that will not ssstop me>

The Dominator lunged at the Legionnaire. Their yellow fists pounded upon the energy bubble the Green Lantern created around them.

<You will remain there until this situation is resolved> Dkyun replied and turned to watch the cruiser.

<No! You are wrong> A warp appeared underneath the Dominator and it dropped through to escape from its emerald confinement.

First Base

Titan - Nasir N?Cube of Titan, alpha-level telepathy
Spoiler ii - Gord Eno of Naltor, precognition, specialising in short range visions for combat situations


Gord Eno practiced his combat skills blindfolded.

He had been in this small dojo on a quiet lower level for half an hour fighting the robots and hard light constructs that the AI generated. His hair was sweaty and he felt the burn in his muscles as he pushed himself to complete each level of the AI generated training program.

Nasir N'Cube walked into the dojo and gave a respectful bow before stepping onto the large mat.

"Hey, Titan, so glad you could make it. Hope you don't mind me asking for your help with this." Gord shouted out as he dodged a combat droid's attempt to slap him down.

Before the fight sequence could go any further Gord said "Computer end combat session please," pulled off his blindfold and walked over to his fellow Legionnaire. The tall telepath and the stocky precognitive stood together at the side of the mat.

As Gord explained his idea to Nasir they both began to smile - it was outrageous but also surprisingly simple. The new Legionnaire called the Spoiler wanted his telepathic colleague to psychically carry his consciousness out of his body and then run a series of tests. Gord had a hypothesis that his precognition could be used to give Titan the warnings of imminent threats instead of just himself. If they could get it to work, then perhaps, they could also telepathically transfer Gord's precognitive essence to other Legionnaires in serious combat conditions.

It took two hours, and both had serious headaches afterwards, but they eventually came to the conclusion that while it was great as an idea it just simply didn't work. The Naltorian's consciousness was scattered across divergent probabilities and possibilities making it incredibly difficult if not actually impossible for the Titanian to fully capture it.

Nasir knew that he never wanted to try anything like that again as the strain of trying to gently but thoroughly collect multiple versions of reality expressed through someone else's sensory perception without losing the nuances necessary to make precognition effective had beaten him. Meanwhile, Gord felt as if his mind had encountered a psychic deep-sea trawler that had dredged up every thought imaginable and churned them all together and left disorder in its wake. It was all rather disorientating and unpleasant.

Eventually, Titan had to ask to stop. Gord was surprised when he opened his eyes as the tall telepath looked totally exhausted! Neither wanted to train anymore after that so they retired to a near-by refectory.

"So, you enjoying being here Gord? You always seem really positive but I couldn't help sense ...unhappiness, I guess that's the word, like an unfulfilled longing perhaps, when I was in your thoughts. Sorry if this is intrusive by the way, I didn't intentionally peak..." Nasir N'Cube held both hands up, palms out, in the universal sign of surrender as he finished talking.

"That's alright, really." Gord Eno smiled, "It's... well, the mission I went on with Reep was.... umm.... really boring to be honest." He chuckled and gave a shrug. "So, I thought once I became a full Legionnaire it would get more exciting but it hasn't, not really. There are so many of us that there's often not much to do on missions. Don't get me wrong I'm very grateful for being here but it's not what I expected. Guess I'm just getting my head around the difference between my expectations and the reality."

"That's true. I was with the Science Police before joining just like you were a Pre-Commando, and I don't know about you, but we definitely dealt with more... well, just more! It took me a while to realise, but it's the scale of the problems we deal with now that are so much larger ...so the way I see it is we should appreciate this time to train and prepare. We're no longer having to separate drunken brawlers or chase down graffiti artists, we're in the big league now. When things go down, they tend to have much more serious consequences so we gotta be at the top of our game."

"That's true, I hadn't thought of it like that... yeah, you're right Nasir." Gord smiled thankfully to his telepathic colleague.

"Anytime you want to talk, you know I'm here for you... anytime at all."

"I'll take you up on that, thank you."

"Well... yeah, guess you'd know." Nasir chuckled at his attempt at a joke.

They clinked their glasses of matcha tea together in cheers.

Chemical Kid - Hadru Jamik of Phlon, catalyzes chemical reactions

Hadru Jamik was not happy.

He had been benched by the team's Shrink and the rest of the team seemed to be avoiding him.

He had gone to the gym that morning at 0600 as usual in the hope of having a training session with SPO Jusool but the Talokean was away on a mission. Intellectually, Hadru knew this was just the way circumstances would work, but emotionally he was bitterly disappointed even upset by this turn of events. Even Grava hadn't replied to his last call. He had heard she was a bit out of sorts after Talok viii but how much would it take for her to just hit the reply function on the holo? Hadru was not impressed.

Like all full Legionnaires the Chemical Kid was obliged to give a full day a month to the Academy as a guest tutor. As he checked his personal log, he noticed that these days had been struck through in his calendar with a note from Dr Falkner telling him that he was to take it easy... so, he thought, he wasn't even seen fit to play with the newbies on Home Base?

Hadru knew he needed to do something, or he would likely end up burning down his apartment.

With a swipe of his hand, he called up the student rota on the Academy to see what was on Polar Boy's schedule for that day... Legal studies with an hour's obligatory gymnasium and a team building exercise in the evening. It all sounded rather bleh to Hadru and he was certain that Brek would agree.

Well, the young Phlonite thought, perhaps Brek wouldn't mind skipping things for the day and join his old buddy on a mini adventure. They hadn't really spoken since Brek had been muscled off the team but Hadru was totally sure that they could reconnect in no time!

Anything would be better than spending another day going slightly mad on First Base.

First Base

Shadow Lass - Tasmia Mallor of Talok viii, summon and manipulate the Darkfield
Lady Memory - Kahnya Nahtahnie of Talok viii, access to, and manipulation of the memories of those around her


Shadow Lass and Lady Memory had never considered themselves as natural allies while their planet existed.

Currently the two Talokean Champions sat opposite each other in the staff refectory on Home Base. When they had arrived Kinetix had rushed up to them with small bowls of guacamole and a plate of small crackers. After pushing the bowls into their hands Kinetix gave the biggest smile.

"It's my favourite holiday on Aleph today, Avocado Day, so... Happy avocados to happy people!" She said, "Hope you enjoy!" She blushed slightly at the stern expressions on the two Talokean's faces before rushing out of the refectory to find other colleagues to share her holiday cheer with. Both Shadow Lass and Lady Memory gave small smiles as the telekinetic Legionnaire left, though their faces returned to a more neutral expression as they sat down and faced each other.

Kahnya had travelled here from Senfrathras Minor 6 to give Tasmia some of Grev's personal belongings that she had managed to save from Talok viii before that world had disappeared from this reality. Initially Tasmia had been hesitant to see her old nemesis. The Desert People and the City Folk had historically been opposed to each other and several thousand years of savage cultural bias had been passed onto both of these women as they had grown up. They had fought and argued and despised each other until Grev had proposed marriage to the leader of the Memory Clan two years before.

Kahnya and Grev had met several times before his proposal and, surprisingly, they had actually gotten along reasonably well - far more to do with Grev's open and forgiving nature, she was sure. He had sold the proposition of their marriage as a way to heal the unhealthy divide between the two peoples and Kahnya knew that he was unlikely to lie to or try to manipulate her... his nature was far too trusting and honourable for such deceit. It was also, she hated to admit, a good idea.

Tasmia had absolutely despised the idea of her cousin having any sort of relationship with one of the Memory Clan. In fact, when she found out the Legionnaire had publicly assaulted him as she had seen the engagement as an affront to their people's history. After Grev had pointed out that the engagement had done more to ease the tensions between the two Peoples and improve living conditions for many thousands of innocent Talokeans than a thousand years of useless conflict, Tasmia had known he was right.

Tasmia was a proud woman and it would have taken months for her to forgive him had the Emeral Empress not had the shadow casting Legionnaires memories stripped from her mind and so Tasmia had been forced to re-learn her place in the galaxy. Tasmia knew now, of course, Grev had been right. He always had an annoying habit of being right.

As she said this to Kahnya both women started to smile. To start with, Kahnya replied with a small laugh, why couldn't he have at least been a little bit smug about it so we could have at least hated him for that, but no... Grev had to have that frustrating kindness about him. Tasmia agreed and started to tell a story about a misadventure they had endured as teenagers. The two women paused and looked at each other, both aware that despite their cultural biases they shared a strong love for the same man who was no longer with them. Kahnya was smiling though had tears beginning to pool in her eyes so Tasmia made an excuse to refill their drinks from the food replicator and left the table for a few moments to allow the other woman time to collect herself.

By the time Tasmia returned they had both regained their composure and continued to talk in more formal tones for another ten minutes or so.

They knew though that simple conversation about a man that had been an important part of both their lives had very probably put an end to the animosity that they had felt. By extension, it was likely that the Peoples that looked to them for leadership and guidance would notice and so relations between two tribes of Talok viii that had been in an unofficial war for a couple of millennia would only improve.

Grev's legacy would be bigger than either of them.

"Do you plan to stay here Tasmia?" Lady Memory asked.

"I will split my time between here and our people's new home." She replied, "The students helped our people in so many ways so it seems churlish to forget about that and not give them something back in return. And, if I'm here we can access their support easily if we need it again." Tasmia smiled before adding, "There could be a place here for you as well if you want it?"

Kahnya shook her head and gave a small smile of gratitude for the offer. It was far more than she had ever expected. "Grev was so proud of you. He looked up to you, you know that? He thought you were the very best our world had to offer the galaxy." Kahnya said quietly.

"He was so annoying being right all the time, wasn't he?" Tasmia replied with a warm and very teasing smile. Kahnya gave a snorted laugh.

"I need to return, thank you for being a gracious host Tasmia. I have ...enjoyed being here with you." Lady Memory stood up and bowed her head towards the Legionnaire.

"Thank you Kahnya," Shadow Lass said as she stood up, bowing in response. "Please know that you're always welcome here."

The two women nodded formally to each other before Tasmia called for a warp from Henry to return Kahnya to her People.

Shadow Lass had begun to turn around when a voice behind her said hello.

Science Police Senior Training Officer Jaxi Delgrado-Hynd approached with a warm smile on his face. They had met two days before at a meet-and-greet that Yera and Gim had set up for her. She had found the athletic tutor to be quite intense, and also interesting...

"Tasmia! Just the person I was hoping to see. How do you fancy re-configuring the combat training module so those blinkin' Daxamites don't always win?"

She grinned in reply.

Senfrathras Minor 6

Tesseract - Sar Jerash Mor Toark of Mars, access to intra-dimensional space
Poltergeist -Jaun Vineo of Titan, alpha-level telekinesis

Element Lad - Senior Team member, Jan Arrah of Trom, elemental transmutation
Dr Richard Kent Shakespeare -Impulse ? Chief medical officer - enhanced strength, speed, durability, stamina

The two interns were on a Hope Squad mission helping the Talokean refugees where they had been given team leader roles over two teams of students from Home Base and sent them off with a list of tasks that needed completing. Both interns had finished their lists within a few hours and returned to ask for more.

While the students had been working, Element Lad had led a small team of Legionnaires and support staff to help finish building a huge aqueduct system that ran over thousands of klicks across a quarter of the continent supplying fresh water from the mountains to several dozen newly built towns and villages that spread across the plains. Both Poltergeist and Tesseract had helped out with the final installation of the pump for this village and were currently taking a break, sat in the shade of a tree. They watched as Element Lad discussed the workings of the new irrigation pump to a group of village elders.

Jaun Vineo wanted the Legionnaire to notice how useful his telekinesis had been, in part to boost his chances of becoming a full Legionnaire himself one day. There was another reason though... Sar Jerash was not renowned for her tact and unfortunately for Jaun, she was also very observant so had quickly spotted who her fellow intern had been watching. And had figured out why.

"He already has a boyfriend. The muscley doctor that he hangs around with... you know that don't you?"

"Hey, mind your own business..." Jaun snapped, before adding in a much more resigned tone, "...and even if he wasn't with the Doc, I doubt he'd even notice me anyway."

"Yeah, well, he is at least five inches taller and ten years older than you, and a respected Legionnaire of long-standing with a very nice body... so you're most likely right." Tesseract responded with her usual bluntness.

"Yeah, thanks for that... so who do you like then? Is there a Legionnaire that sets your heart a-fluttering?"

There was an awkward silence between them for several long seconds before Jaun Vineo turned to Sar Jerash Mor Toark and gave a quick laugh.

"You like him too, don't you?" He half whispered, obviously delighted.

"I totally get that I have no chance, so didn't plan on giving it another thought." Her response didn't sound entirely authentic.

"True. Very true." Poltergeist's reply sounded as genuine as her's had, before he continued with a grin, "Oh well... guess I should be grateful at least I'm not the only member of the Never-Ever-Gonna-Get-Him Club." He started to laugh and after a second she agreed and joined in with a chuckle.

"Hey you two!"

Kent Shakespeare called out to the interns from across the courtyard. Element Lad had joined the doctor and they both now stood beside the control valves for the pipes they had put in place that morning. The Trommite Legionnaire's arm was casual slung around the big doctor's waist. Dr Shakespeare mimed turning on the pump that would start the auto-irrigation feed, letting the interns know what was away to happen. He smiled broadly as he continued to shout to them.

"...Do you wanna come watch as Jan and me make the magic happen here?"

Sar Jaresh and Jaun exchanged a quick glance and tried somewhat unsuccessfully not to laugh inappropriately as they got up to join the Legionnaire from Trom that they both had an unrequited crush on, and his excessively handsome and muscular partner, as they turned on a pump that would bring life-giving water to this new community.

Mon El - Senior Team member, Lar Gand of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability
Lexikon - Princess Daheenisha of Tamaran iv, enhanced speed, strength, durability, flight, omni-linguist
Otaki - Bina Nawoti of Earth, mindsense
Karate Kid iii - Mithindrivithis Ngandraffa of Lythyl, strength, reflexes, mimetic motor learning giving incredible combat skills
Green Lantern - Dkyun Mu of Xudar, wearer of a Green Lantern power ring
Southern Lights of Starhaven - spaceflight, magic user

Intern: Strobe - Denal Lort of Dryad - assume electro-magnetic energy form


The short hairs on her neck suddenly standing up alerted Karate Kid to the spatial warp opening behind her before it was even fully formed.

She had been monitoring the Green Lantern so knew what had happened and, as she turned to see the dark warp open on the flight deck, the young martial artist also knew what she had to do.

The Dominator strode through expecting to find the Legion cruise on auto-pilot. They had been monitoring the team for years and had noticed that the Legionnaires had taken to travelling in groups of six. It did not realise that while this was mostly true, the interns were extra numerary to standard Legion mission protocols. Its colleagues had alerted it to five of the team on the Citadel and with the Green Lantern in space the Dominator assumed that the cruiser would be empty.

It was met with a fast-moving foot to its face!

As it stumbled, the Legionnaire slid between its legs and struck out with her elbow spikes at the back of its knees. The Dominator yelled in pain as it started to fall. Karate Kid had flipped onto her feet and caught the Dominator as it tumbled backwards. She quickly grabbed it by a hip and shoulder before flinging it as hard as she could face-first onto the deck. Then with practiced efficiency the Legionnaire wrapped incapacity cuffs around the arm she was holding painfully up its back. The Dominator intruder fell unconscious.

<Dkyun, I have your opponent here>

<It can create spatial warps so be careful>

<I did not give it the opportunity. It now has incapacity cuffs on so is unconscious>

<Thank you> The Xudarian's chittering laugh came through the telepathic message <I believe Strobe has immobilised their cruiser as well so Mon El should have peace to resolve the diplomatic matter at hand>

In the Helix Citadel things were not going quite as successfully for the Legionnaires.

Southern Lights had released his truth spell into the room. Mon El then asked the room what they most wanted from the meeting and almost immediately the Gedun and Dreggraran ambassadors had announced how much they wanted to kill their opposite numbers while the small secretarial and security parties each had brought to the conference room began reacting with further threats of violence. Otaki and Southern Lights had positioned themselves between the two warring sides.

The Dominators had both stiffened and appeared to be suddenly feeling awkward. Meanwhile, Lexikon laughed.

<They are obviously very uncomfortable being honest> the Tamaranean sent before erupting in further laughter.

<Pull yourself together please, we need to stop the ambassadors from killing each other before the Dominators show their true colours> Mon El replied sternly.

"Legionnairesss... you betray usss," the shorter Dominator pointed at Mon El, "We have jussst heard that your p-pet G-Green Lantern hasss attacked our sship."

"My colleague defended herself. You fired first. Why are you here? What do you hope to gain?" Mon El said, trying to control his reply. He knew that Strobe had disabled the craft while Karate Kid had immobilised the intruder on the Legion's cruiser but didn't want the Dominators to hear about either of these from him. Instead, he hoped to goad the two beings before him to open up about their true intentions.

"The Dominion will get the foolisssh animals to fight each other for our entertainment then we shall s-sstrip their petty little worldsss of their mineral wealth and make the nativesss our s-sslavesss and foods-s-sstuff..." The shorter Dominator hissed proudly.

The tall Dominator hissed at the Legionnaires as it pointing across the room to the two ambassadorial parties, "Once we have your g-genomesss we will have you asss our foods-s-sstuff. You will not enjoy thisss experience... you are worthless-s primitivess-s."

The two Dominators stopped suddenly and looked at each other, aware that they had said far too much. The room went quiet as both the Gedun and the Dreggraran realised what the 'traders' who they hoped to buy weapons from had just announced.

"A trick... the Legionnairesss have trick-k-ked usss. We will make you pay! You will all sssuffer before you die. You will not ssave thessse worldss with your trick-kss-s..." The one that had just spoken said.

The other Dominator held a hand up and spoke towards a mic in a slender bracelet on its wrist, "Warpmassster, we need to leave thiss c-cradle of filthy."

"I believe you won't be going through any warps today. We arrested an intruder on our craft, and they won't be coming for you anytime soon. We do have diplomatic status here by the way so they are answerable to UP law now. We'll be taking them with us and questioning them... thoroughly... about their trespass." Mon El felt rather smug saying this.

"Then we take our reveng-g-ge now!" As it said this the Dominator reached under its robe and pulled out a small gun.

Before it could fire the weapon Lexikon was upon it. The Tamaranean had clearly understood its body language so knew before it had spoken that it would pull some desperate act. She forcefully held it down, face first on the cold floor. The other Dominator stepped back, hissing in alarm.

"We will deal with these monsters. They will face our law. We may be 'petty little worlds' but we know how to deal with treacherous animals like these. " The Gedun ambassador stepped towards the two Dominators.

"Agreed, the Dreggraran will also ensure they face justice." The other ambassador stepped towards his Gedun counterpart. They both looked at each other and realised that for the first time in many centuries they shared a common cause that did not involve the destruction of each other.

"You can work together. You don't have to like each other but at least take this opportunity to bring an end to your violence. It really is pointless to continue killing yourselves when there are bigger threats out there. You must start thinking ahead..." Otaki surprised herself as she spoke though realised the truth spell was making her say exactly what she felt.

The ambassadors looked at her then each other before shuffling apart. Their security personnel had surrounded the Dominators and were pushing the two out of the conference room. Both ambassadors thanked the Legionnaires and promised to work towards finding an armistice, if not actual peace, before following their staff out.

"Good job everyone, I'm proud of you all." Mon El said, smiling to his team before calling on Henry to warp them across to their cruiser.

"Do you think they'll stop fighting each other?" Otaki asked.

"A common enemy is often a good starting point for an alliance." Lexikon said.

"Hmmm... let's hope so." Mon El mused as he stepped into the honey and violet warp that spun in the air before them.

I've got about another 20 or so fully written out posts but rather than overwhelm you with them I'll leave it there for this week.

Next up:We learn what our mysterious villain has set in motion as Avocado Day celebrations goes awry, Laurel learns never to blindly trust Brin's choices, Tinya has bad news and Hadru and Brek make a really poor choice...

Hope you are enjoying this. Please feel free to let me know.

C

Hi Harbi, sorry I haven't commented for a while - I have spent most of the last three weeks partying way too much lol...happy new year anyway, and it didn't occur to me to start taking notes till I was like halfway through these so I have probably missed a lot but here's some scattered thoughts/reactions!

Southern Lights' dealio with his new cohabitant - I like this subplot and it says a lot about his strength of character that he's working past his fear and revulsion to try and make the relationship work (also, as someone who has trouble giving up my independence in any way, VERY RELATABLE!)

Mon-El has exactly the senior matured hero vibe that I would expect when it comes to dealing with the Dominators, and they are always fun to see! I thought the truth spell was gonna cause things to go much much worse, but Mon handled it really well! I liked Otaki surprising herself too

Dr Falkner and Captain Heavyweight - their relationship is really believable and that exchange made him a lot more likeable....I also continue to like that the Legion's experience with the Blight has had real and lasting consequences and they're not all over it just in time for the next story arc.

This is one of those things that has literally never occurred to me but now that I've read it, it's like...embarassingly obvious (he says as he files it away for a particular character some time) Clever thinking!

Titan and Spoiler - this is another clever bit, we usually only see superhero training as being wildly effective so it's good to show the other side of the coin. I also liked their chat about the different scale of problems the Legion deal with compared to conventional law enforcement.

Hadru and Brek's little side adventure is going to go so pear-shaped, I can tell already...I think I'm scared!

I like that Lady Memory actually genuinely loved Grev and that it wasn't purely a political marriage. I think the way she and Shady interacted rings true as well, just enough distance mixed with genuine feeling.

Oh, and before I forget - Jan's new fan club is super cute and the fact that there's an Avocado Day and that Zoe obviously gets so excited about it cracked me up

I think Chemical Kid and Polar Boy are probably the two I'm most looking forward to reading about next because I can almost feel how awfully they're gonna screw up lol

Science Police Officer Droo Vri of Daxam regretted not accepting the Legion internship he had been offered while a student at Home Base.

He had only been back on Daxam for ten standard days and already the young soldier was totally bored. The new Daxam Meta-Response Unit - the reason he had turned down the Legion internship - were not a success. Daxamites were too reserved, too stuffy, too stuck in the same routine as countless generations had been before, too flippin' boring to appreciate having their very own meta-team. The Daxam Meta-Response Unit... four members of the militia that had undergone six gruelling months of testing and experiments before being given the serum that allowed their bodies to store and metabolize yellow sun light which meant they could access incredible abilities.

And no one cared.

Not on Daxam, not in the wider United Planets, not even within his own family... Droo Vri realised that there were already three Daxamites from the Science Police program he had been involved in as part of the wider Legion organisation as liaisons for the SP Meta-teams. And of course, the legendary hero Lar Gand was there as well.

Droo now realised he really should have guessed that the idea of even more Daxamites all powered up and being heroic was never going to capture the general populations attention. Especially when these four more powered-up Daxamites were only zipping through the sky on their way to do exciting things like rescue pets from trees for the feel-good stories that their handlers wanted the public to see.

As far as the young officer could tell, this whole experience was all just a failed PR crock-pot!

He had only been a student at the Legion Academy Home Base for three months but he had seen more excitement and action there than he expected to see in his probable lifetime here on dreary Daxam. Droo Vri felt sick at the thought of spending his career here, of getting more and more bored. He sat in his apartment and stared at the holo-pit wondering if Phantom Girl would take his call? Was there a chance she would accept his apology and offer him the internship again? Would he get permission to leave the Unit if the Legion said they wanted him back?

Well, Droo Vri knew nothing would change unless he initiated it so it was time to make the call...

"Hello Officer Vri, how may I help you?" A holo of someone he remembered from the academy appeared before him.

"Theena? Wow! You're looking really good there. How you doing?" He asked to cover his confusion. She had been a student when he left Home Base not even two weeks before. They had danced together on a night out and he had assumed it was going to go further and while their night had pleasant enough it had ended with them sleeping in their own, separate quarters.

"I'm doing really well, and all the better for seeing you. I'm the new Communications Officer here ...cool, eh?" she gave a warm smile, "What can we do for you? I trust there's nothing too serious on Daxam you want our help with?" Her expression suddenly serious as she realised the holo-call may have been urgent.

"Oh... no, no at all, not unless there's been another child got stuck in a grating or... well, no. I was wondering if it was too late to accept the internship I was offered? Could you ask Phantom Girl for me, please? I... I realise it was a mistake coming back here. If the Legion would have me, and if she could square it with my government, I'd really, really like to return and take the post Tinya kindly offered me."

"Of course. I'll let her know Droo... and will keep my fingers crossed for you too." Again, Theena smiled at the Daxamite. This time he smiled warmly back at her.

"Thank you Theena. And ...it is really good to see you. Hopefully we'll catch up properly soon."

"I'd like that as well Droo. We'll speak again." And with that the holo transmission was cut and the young Daxamite let out his breath and sat down.

The conversation had left him more exhausted than all the so-called missions he had been on since he had returned to Daxam put together.

Lunar London, Earth's Moon, Sol system

Kinetix - Zoe Saugin of Aleph, telekinetic animation
M?Windaji - Gahaji of Kiringyaga, super tracker, carries the Ruby of Life allowing tactile transformative magic


Zoe and Gahaji had been on a date when the attack happened.

The two Legionnaires were strolling through a relatively quiet section of historic Old Lunar London on their way to one of Zoe's favourite restaurants. They had spent the last couple of hours at a local children?s hospital meeting patients and congratulating staff. It was the sort of high-profile feel-good publicity story that the First Base team were encouraged to participate in.

Afterwards, Zoe had insisted they eat at a particular restaurant as this evening was one of her home world Aleph's favourite holidays and the chef, also from that distant planet, would understand how important it would be to celebrate it properly.

"It's a celebration of the first harvest grown on Aleph after the colonists had finished the terraforming... it's always a total treat! We'll eat avocado with each course then exchange heartfelt gifts." The red head had said brightly as a response to her partners question about what they were celebrating.

"Ah, gifts... you didn't say... I mean, look I didn't know Zoe... I'm so sorry I don't have ...ah.. anything for you!" Gahaji spluttered his reply.

She stared at him intently for several seconds before cracking up laughing, "hah! Can't believe I got you with that one... nah, you're okay there Gahaji, we just eat avocado and get drunk, it'll be fun."

At this point the cobbled street directly in front of them erupted in a flash of electricity. The pair were thrown off their feet and landed awkwardly. Gahaji had taken the brunt of the blast and was dazed. Kinetix got up quickly and looked around. As she did the molecules of her stylised green and gold summer dress changed into her Legion uniform. As Zoe looked up, she saw who was responsible and immediately willed the alarm function on her flight ring.

Four or five figures were running towards them from out of the darkness. Telekinetically animating the broken stones around them, Kinetix flung as many missiles as she could at their attackers. Blasts of energy and sparks of electricity shattered the stones before they could impact.

"Wha's goin' on?" Gahaji muttered as he tried to stand. Zoe put an arm under his and pulled him up as she concentrated on using the stone from the buildings all around them the create a solid dome around them and over their heads to protect them from the electric blasts that were raining down. She used the material from the pebbled road underfoot to reinforce it.

<We're being attacked, help! Gahaji is hurt...> Zoe shouted across the telepathic grid. She knew that her alarm would have been caught already but she wanted the team to know how urgent it was.

There was a loud crash and a slab of a hand tore through the stone shield Zoe had erected above them.

"Ah'm gonna get yous..." As their incredibly strong attacker put his face towards the hole to peer at the Legionnaire's, M'Windaji reached out to touch his cheek.

"Sleep." The Legionnaire said, channelling the power of the Ruby of Life, the magical artifact he wore on a chain around his neck. There was a thump as the attacker immediately collapsed.

With the knowledge that their colleagues would be there soon Zoe stopped focusing on reinforcing the protective barrier she had created and turned to Gahaji. He looked awful. There were cuts across his face and upper torso and it was obvious that one of his arms had been broken. Their flight rings would have pumped an anaesthetic into his system already to help neutralise the pain and alerted the medical bays on their bases to expect him. The tracker smiled at his telekinetic partner and pulled her towards him for a kiss.

"You're not getting your blood on this outfit mister." She said with a smile before giving him a peck on the cheek. "Come on, we've got to get out of here and deal with this. But later... we'll do that later." And with that she disassembled his vest top to create a sling for his arm, psychically closed the cuts on his face and body, and then turned her focus towards dismantling the protective dome layer by layer with a thought.

"Let's show them that attacking Legionnaires was a big mistake." Gahaji said.

"Yeah, no-one tries to ruin Avocado Day and gets away with it!" Zoe replied.

Reep Daggle had presented his findings to the majority of the Senior Team earlier that day.

They had agreed with him that a list of those named in the data as recipients of Sa Lok's unregistered gene-mod chop shops should be shared with the Science Police and UP Security Council. The Durlan had made sure to send this information to multiple sources within a hour after the Senior Team agreeing.

They had also discussed a potential Espionage Squad mission to investigate these establishments. Chameleon Boy had declined. Reep wanted a team to visit each facility and shut them down, but without full legal recourse this action would more likely cause problems than solve anything. The more Reep thought about it the more he knew they needed laws to change. Busting the mod-shops and knocking down a few of the clients would only drive it further underground. Perhaps a leaked media story or two showing the down-side of these operations might help as well...

Two hours after the meeting had ended Reep had a message informing him that the Science Police were now setting up monitoring of the majority of the gene-mod customers. Reep hoped the SP's would keep any potential situation contained until legislation would allow them to act directly upon this growing problem.

There were several Senators of the United Planets Security Council that the Legion had access to, and it certainly helped that Chameleon Boy had full access to his father's finances as that could also open doors to politicians' offices... Perhaps, with a little help from these friends in high places, the Durlan might be able to stop, or at least substantially slow down Sa Lok's gene-mod activity.

Chameleon Boy knew that if he wanted the UP council to take an immediate draconian approach to unregistered gene-modifications he needed to go on a charm offensive... Reep planned on visiting some friends to get assistance. The ambassadorial team on Weber's World were perfectly placed to help.

His plans had to wait though as an urgent alarm came in alerting the Legion that two of their teammates were under attack on the Moon. Reep rushed to Henry's warp control room for the rescue mission.

Home Base. Sol system

Chemical Kid - Hadru Jamik of Phlon - catalyses chemical reactions

Students:
Polar Boy - Brek Bannin of Tharr - cryokinesis
Haze - Science Police Cadet Tkemwa Autmi-Hu from Ungara - strong, durable, transmits confusion


Hadru had warped onto Home Base and as arranged, Brek was waiting.

By his side was a muscular young man with bright pink skin - Hadru recognised him as the Science Police Cadet from Ungara that they called Haze. The Legionnaire was unsure why the student was there but didn't think about it. The student wasn't important here, only grabbing Brek and going out...

"Brek, hey there buddy!" He said cheerily.

" Hadru, hey... have you met my roomie? Did you hear? All students have to share an apartment, they say it'll help build bonds... or something like that." Brek's disappointment was fully evident in his tone.

"Roomie? Seriously? Wow... yeah, hi there." Chemical Kid didn't look at the student as he spoke, clearly not interested, "...so, Brek, we going out or what?"

Tkemwa Autmi-Hu knew that neither Legionnaire particularly wanted him there but he wanted to keep an eye on Brek. He had promised Luornu he would report any untoward actions when she placed him in the same apartment as the Tharrite. The young Ungaran didn't really enjoy the prospect of reporting back to his tutors but he assumed everyone was given the same talk... so long as they didn't do anything too outrageous surely it would be fine.

And, Tkemwa had heard last week that his secondment to Home Base was being extended by eight weeks so the idea of an evening off to celebrate really did appeal to him. Since joining the Academy he had only left twice for socialising; once to visit his parents and once for a trip to Ventura with a couple of students for a night out at a casino - where he had lost almost two weeks' worth of his budget... though as it sounded like Brek and Hadru wanted to go to a club rather than a casino the young student from Ungara was happy to join them. People watching the humans was always entertaining as they were such a diverse and endlessly colourful race, and he didn't like alcohol so wouldn't need to spend much money. It actually sounded like a good plan to Tkemwa, so long as they weren't too long, an hour or two at most.

"We need to keep this on the quiet." Brek said quietly, "I don't wanna give Tinya-Our-Lord-and-Master more excuses to bust me up."

"No worries, we'll get a quiet nook and catch up and have a laugh for the night. I'm just planning to chill man. And of course I'll neutralize the worst of the alcohol and can give your metabolism a boost before we get back in the morn. How's that sound?"

"Ah... we can't be that long Brek, we have a test tomorrow that'll go towards our final..." Haze was interrupted before he could finish by a hand in front of his face.

"Cool your jets there kiddo, this is a mission for Legionnaires only. Studentoes deffo not included." Hadru snapped his fingers an inch from the student's face as he finished speaking.

"Well, off you go then Legionnaire. In case you didn't know both Brek and I are both 'studentoes' so you'll be flying solo tonight." Tkemwa said abruptly, his demeanour was suddenly serious as he stared at the Phlonite. Hadru lowered his eye-screens and gave the Ungaran a filthy look before turning his attention back to Polar Boy.

"C'mon Brek, let's get going. Party time awaits." Chemical Kid said, holding his hands behind his back and puffing out his chest, a wicked smile on his face.

"Brek, don't do this, you know the tutors are monitoring our actions... we can go for an hour, two max. You know that don't you? What's.... what .... ahh..." Tkemwa stumbled and grabbed onto the edge of a table to steady himself.

"Your body's glucose receptors are shutting down; you'll likely be unconscious for a while." Hadru gave a chuckle. With a smirk he called on Henry to open a warp to the Intrepid Satellite in Mars orbit.

"No." The word was quiet but as Haze spoke, he pushed his own ability towards the Legionnaire. Tkemwa hoped Hadru would be unable to use his abilities if he was too confused to remember which way was up, let alone the mechanics of bio-catalysation.

The Legionnaire started moaning and sunk to his knees. Strangely, his expression was one of near bliss. The student felt his strength return as Hadru's catalysation stopped while the Legionnaire struggled under the psychic assault. Tkemwa took a step towards the now drooling Hadru when Brek acted.

Polar Boy had been watching the scene before him in a growing state of horror! He really did want to go out with Hadru and knew that, despite this, Tkemwa was right - the Tharrite had hoped that the Ungaran student would either join in with them or leave them alone and keep his mouth shut.... Instead Hadru had to show off and use his freaky powers on him. As soon as the Tharrite saw that happen, he knew his days at the Legion were over, probably Hadru's too. As Tkemwa had struck back against Hadru, Brek knew it was time to take action.

The Science Police Cadet that had been his roommate was reputed to be really tough; strong and durable, which was probably just as well as Brek could only think of one way to end this horrible situation: Without a second thought he used his abilities to encase Tkemwa in a block of solid ice before dragging Hadru through the spinning warp away from Home Base.

Hi Harbinger,

So sorry it's taken me so long to get in a review. Holidays and just general life has gotten away from me. But now I'm here and ready to ready!
I'll be commenting as I'm reading as always. lol.

Southern Lights Post -
- This was a nice quiet post that gave so much information and I really liked it. I'm sure you won't say, but has this "outsider" consciousness ever been seen in the comics? The idea of an urging force has been brought up recently with Perpetua, the creator of the DC multiverse being released from the Source wall revealing she had been behind some of the biggest upsets in DC history, like urging Hal Jorden to embrace Pharrolax(sp?). Could this reality be related to her somehow or maybe another super-celestial, but maybe a super young one who doesn't know what they are yet?
- the idea of a living reality that doesn't understand self or individuality is possibly the most sci-fi concept you've come up with yet and I'm here for it.
- I'm glad this turned out more communal instead of outright possession. I like that they were able to communicate. So do they share a consciousness now or is it inside his body floating around like a specter kind of deal?
- So now that the "outsider" is gone from the Voligaxxian System, will the feral ones start to age again? maybe even rapidly? Will they be able to have kids again? Will they start to fight on a primal level all the time without its guidance? There are just so many implications for what happens to Voligaxxians.

Tyroc and Monica Slade post -
- A lot of personality in a short post. I'm with Monica on punching those drones. But now I kind of hope we get a mission where a reporter has to come along and she's on the mission.
- Love seeing Theena/Network again!
- Tyroc's reaction is great. I like seeing that this is just another facet of the Legionnaire lifestyle. Even just ready to give a statement because he knows how the media can be and that none of its a big deal. Especially after the last volume of Legion Worlds, it's good to see things like this that are still having an effect on them.

Science Police alert: increase in skirmishes between Gedunian and Dreggraranian fleets at the outskirts of the B'laxor system posts -
- I'm Excited off the bat for a possible space battle!
- Love a good history lesson!!
- The description for the Gedun and Dreggrarans wars sounds all too familiar. I wonder if that is the path our world will take one day.
- I'm a bit worried about this buffer zone with the Dominion on the other side.
- Mon-el is so commanding. But and it could be just me, but when I read the way you write him sometimes, he comes off as borderline bored with what he's doing. If that's not the intent, please know that's not a slight against how you are writing him. I thought it might be leading to a bigger story with him. But I guess after 1000 years watching the world as a phantom, one would have seen a lot.
- The Gedunian speaking with their own language was well done. I like how Lexikon altered Mon-el to this but wasn't worried in the slightest, kind of like Mon-el who does make an excellent point that this small team really could take down their ship with ease.
- I laughed a little at Otkia using the eco-protect to scrub the smell of the ship from her senses. It really wouldn't be good negotiation tactics to vomit on the floor. lol.
- Oh snap! Things are about to go down with the Dominators on the base and both parties are guilty?
- That Hexagon Dominator sounds creepy. "<Legionnaire Lantern, ssstep aside. We are here to trade with these sssavagesss> The Dominator's telepathy felt rough, as if it had scratched its words into her thoughts." gave me some chills.
- The teamwork here is really well done. Otkia is proving to be very useful.
- Green Lantern is certainly powerful. that was cute with the Legion symbol.
- the plan begins to form and it all works well. Mon-el is such an old hat at this directing them all so easily
- a truth spell? uhmm this could be very interesting.
- I like how you revealed that Dkyun was an engineer. It helps to know these small tidbits with Lanterns as it usually plays in how they use their power ring.
- But looks like that Dominator isn't staying put. Is he teleporting through his own power or has the Dominion created a personalized warp technology?
-ooo ok, so they got a hold of warp/teleporting genes? what else do they have access to?
-Go Karate Kid! she took him down no problem.
- Lexikon laughing, I really liked it because she's usually so cool and collected, and clearing the spell released her from that a little bit. Then Mon-el telling her to stop. I can only imagine how this could have gone.
- The Dominator's reactions were great!
-wait...they eat humanoids? I did not know this! the creepy factor has just been raised even higher!
-Common enemy does it every time! I hope they really are able to work it out and come together to keep the Dominion in check.
- Go Lexikon!

Falkner and Cap. Heavyweight post -
- Wow that's a lot of work for the good Doc. But I'm glad that those three Legionnaires that were most affected took the time off as she requested. But couldn't she have had then taken off if they were really that bad?
-very cute moment with the pair and Cap. Heavyweight is surprisingly cute.
- is he hinting at children?

Spoiler and Titan -
- this was a nice side moment and I liked seeing a new friendship forming among the two. Gord's idea about combining powers did sound interesting. But I loved your reason for why it could work with the many probabilities and sensory information Titan would have to try and grasp.
- reality vs expectation. It's understandable that Gord feels this way, especially with his first mission. But I like Titan's explanation for why even though it's different and kind of boring the problems and consequences are so much bigger. But I think with the hit squad missions Gord might being to think differently. But he does make a good point that there are a lot of them on missions. Could a minimum and maximum team number be instituted?

Chemical Kid -
- He's such an arrogant snot. it's hard not to hate him and I don't feel sorry for him. Idk why. But I just don't.
- I hope Brek doesn't go with him. Brek needs to get his own act together.
- I'm starting to wonder just how much longer Chemical Kid will be on the team...

Shadow Lass and Lady Memory -
- Avacado day? haha I'm sorry, I couldn't help but laugh at this. just the thought of it as a holiday tickles me.
- This was a beautiful moment for the two of them. Especially considering where your story started with the of them. This was almost like a coming full circle moment to LW vol. 1.
- The sadness between them was so strong. But I'm glad they are moving forward together and that they are inspired by Grev's memory to do so. It would be interesting to see Lady Memory join the team on an adventure someday.

Tesseract and Poltergeist -
this small moment was cute and that both of them are crushing on Jan is kind of funny. but I guess I get it. He's a sweet soul when he hasn't been totally tortured. Or maybe its the wounded bird thing they like...
Tesseract is growing on me. her bluntness here was much funnier than I was expecting it to be.
I busted out laughing at the end of this one. their reaction to being asked to watch was perfect.

Officer Droo Vir-
So each world is looking to start to have their own Meta-human teams? Lallor has one, Earth has the subs, now Daxam. are there any others?
It must have been a hard decision. But I'm not surprised that he would miss life with the legion. Although, I wonder if he'd feel the same if he experienced it the way Gord has.
Theena and him were cute.

Kinetix and M'Windaji -
- avocado day sounds a lot like St. Patrick's day. lol
-cute trick Zoe. Ghanji seemed so worried for a second. I love that your Zoe is still playful.
- is this more from the secret meta-human army?

Cham-
- I'm glad the senior team was able to agree quickly and I hope they can do something about the underground gene-mod shops. But I really wish that it didn't still take the "greasing of the palms" to get things done in Government.
- Back to webers world? It's been so long since we've seen them. Looking forward to their return.

Hardu/Berk/Haze-
Are you kidding me? Brek WTF! you worked hard to get back in and this is what you do?
Haze, good for you for standing up for yourself. take Hardu down!!!
Yeah, I agree i think the two of them are gonna be gone soon.

Can't wait for more!

oof I knew Hadru and Brek were gonna get into trouble, but I was not expecting them to lash out at one of their own - they are gonna go down hard!

Hey guys, thanks for your feedback.

Omni, you've nailed it regarding Mon El as the way I see it he's pretty much weary of the whole thing after having lived for a 1,000 years just watching the universe go by so he's probably seen it all happen several times before.

I wouldn't say Brek worked particularly hard at getting back in though, he kind of used the press to force Tinya to accept him back after he had stropped out because he was told off quite justifiably for pretty poor behaviour.

And, yes there wil be repercussions for Brek and Hadru very soon. I've re-written one post about four times now so am looking forward to your reactions.

My thanks again,

C

Kinetix - Zoe Saugin of Aleph, telekinetic animation
M'Windaji - Gahaji of Kiringyaga, super tracker, carries the Ruby of Life allowing tactile transformative magic

Chameleon Boy - Espionage Squad leader, Reep Daggle of Durla, shape changer
Sun Boy - Senior Team member, Dirk Morgna of Earth, generation of intense light and heat
Tellus - Ganglios of Hykraius, telepathy and telekinesis
Comet King - Drinchnar Lamment of Extal colony, spaceflight, comet gas extrusion
Friction - Janee Whittakka of Xanthu - manipulates the force of friction
Spoiler ii - Gord Eno of Naltor, precognition, specialising in short range visions for combat situations

Dirk led the team through the warp and immediately could see who was attacking their teammates.

<Pick you dance partner folks, I'm taking zappy>

Sun Boy sent the message to the team as he flew towards the attacker he had chosen to tackle; the opponent that crackled with electricity.

Dirk reckoned his opponent wasn't as powerful as Garth or Ayla but his streaks of blazing electric energy made him potentially the most dangerous - long distance attacks were easy to overlook but incredibly effective at taking out the opposition - he knew as he had used that tactic many times before.

As much as the electric flashes looked impressive, Dirk quickly realised that the person producing them wasn't terribly well practiced in aiming them as none came all that close to the Legionnaire. Sun Boy increased his own temperature until he burst into flames as he dived at his opponent. As he expected, they flinched away from his fiery form and the Legionnaire quickly overpowered them and set incapacity cuffs on their arm. As they dropped unconscious Dirk saw that the attacker had been wearing some sort of an electricity generating net across their torso, arms and head - an interesting weapon, he thought, but clearly not much more than a proto-type given how ineffectual it was to aim. Dirk smiled to himself, glad to have gotten that technology off the streets.


There was a figure in front of Friction that hurt her eyes to look at.

She thought it was like the spots one might see after staring at the sun that were really difficult to focus on. A person made of those sun-spots...? Janee Whittakka was grateful that her abilities reached across wide areas and weren't specific to a defined spot. With a thought, she loosened the effects of friction's grip from around her strange opponent. Despite being difficult to focus on it was obvious they were finding standing up on such a slippery surface to be rather difficult. It only took a couple of seconds before they collapsed, banging their head as they fell. As they landed their cloak fell off their torso revealing a young man wearing some old looking military gear laying dazed on the street. His ancient (and obviously malfunctioning) chameleon-cloth cloak had covered the wide range of weapons strung about his body. Janee quickly increased the frictional forces pinning the young attacker.

<Let me help> Tellus sent as the Hykraian telekinetically placed a set of incapacity cuffs on the fallen attacker's arm.

Janee signalled her gratitude. Someone with that sort of arsenal on them was much better off being asleep as far as she was concerned.


Spoiler dived at his opponent.

The woman wore a green uniform with white vertical lines. Her skin was dark and her hair was bright red. Her thick gloves appeared to glow. Gord had his standard issue Pre-Commando titanium baton in one hand ready for combat. They were away to clash when the Naltorian foresaw what was just away to happen and turned away: Comet King tore into the side of the woman in green, slamming her into a wall before blasting away to grab one of their opponents that had tried to make a break for it across the slate rooftops of the town. Gord swore to himself as he reached for a set of incapacity cuffs to put around the woman's arm. He had been speaking to Titan only a couple of hours earlier about wanting some more excitement and Comet King had taken this opportunity away from him.

As he reached down his precognition warned him to pull his hand away. Just in time, he retreated as she appeared to exude an acid from her gloves that sizzled as she put a hand on the wall to steady herself as she stood up. Gord Eno smiled, perhaps he would get a challenge after all. The woman charged towards him clumsily though he had already seen the move ahead of it happening so leapt into the air and delivered a solid blow to her head with his baton knocking her unconscious. He slipped the cuffs on her arm, tore the acid exuding gloves off her and looked around to see if any of his colleagues needed assistance.


Comet King flew after the escaping thug.

Drinchnar Lamment was in the perfect mood for a scuffle. The day before, Grava had been signed off from active mission duty by that Nebulonic-headshrinker Anje Falkner. Then this morning they had their first ever argument - Drinchnar wanted Grava to formally object to being signed off from missions, sure that a bit of nova burst excitement would spin her out of her black hole moods... Grava had said 'no', just that one word then she had flown through to their bedroom and locked the door behind her so he couldn't get in. He had pounded on the door, shouted and pleaded, cajoled and begged, but she had not allowed him in and in the end, he had respected Grava's wishes and put himself forward for a mission to give her the peace she said she wanted.

He hoped the cowardly thug would put up a fight, Comet King really wanted to punch someone right now...as it was, he never got the chance as the attacker that had fled from the Legionnaires slipped on a slate rooftop and landed on the pebbles below with a loud crash. They looked pretty messed up but at least they were alive as the Legionnaire got to them. Disappointingly for Drinchnar, rather than fight, the Legionnaire had to order a warp and take them to a hospital to get fixed up. Comet King made sure to remove their weapons and request the hospital's security kept an eye on them before the Science Police arrived. As he flew through a warp back to the scene of the fight, Drinchnar hoped at least one of his colleagues would need his help...


Chameleon Boy tackled the muscular woman with the asymmetrical bobbed hair.

Assuming the form of a horned Grecharrian devil-bear the Legionnaire pounced on her. Unfortunately for the Durlan, her reflexes and strength were enough to turn him around and throw him over her head. He quickly changed into a Venusian golden hawk and turned back to dive at her before again changing; this time Reep became a large Braalian ferropotamus and crashed down, pinning his opponent underneath him.

<I have cuffed her> Tellus sent. The Hykraian had used his telekinesis to wrap a set of incapacity cuffs around one of her wrists as she struggled underneath the Durlan. Tellus had been telepathically monitoring their colleagues and helping where necessary.

"Thank you... anyone need our help?" Reep looked around.

<I believe everyone is fine, these were not much of a threat to our team> Before the Hykraian could continue there was a loud crashing noise!

The dome that Kinetix had created to protect her and M'Windaji from the sudden attack burst open and they rose into the air. Zoe was clearly supporting the obviously injured Gahaji though they both looked as if they were ready for some action.

"Oh, hey guys, you okay?" Sun Boy said lightly as he flew across to join them.

"Umm... is the fighting over already? Wow! You guys are good." Zoe looked about at the destruction around them - she realised that most of it had been created by her telekinesis as she tore material from around them to create the protective dome over Gahaji and herself.

"Yeah, no problem, bunch of low-level thugs really. Nothing much to worry about. Gahaji, you want to get to a hospital?"

"Ah, I'll be okay." As he said this, M'Windaji knew it was a lie. He could use the Ruby of Life's magic to prop himself up for a short time but it would not sustain him forever. "Maybe though I'll get Kent to check me over... just to be sure, like." He added with a shrug. Sun Boy smiled at him and called for a warp.

"Good idea." Chameleon Boy stepped forward, "Dirk and Janee can get these guys processed with the SP. Zoe do you want stay to help the rest of us clean up this mess? Lunar London is usually rather pretty so we can't leave it looking like this. The Tourist Board would be ever-so disappointed if we did." The Durlan smiled at her.

Second Base main gymnasium

Comet Queen - Grava of Extal colony, spaceflight, comet gas extrusion
Atom Girl - Sylva Nrilsan of Imsk, can shrink to microscopic size
Thirteen - Dann Hortra of Naltor, line of sight probability manipulation

Gravity Kid - Science Police Officer Tel Vole of Earth, manipulation of personal or nearby gravity
Power Boy - Science Police Officer Jedidiah Rikane of Earth, personal density control


Grava forced herself to go to the gym.

She had been sat in her quarters mindlessly watching a holo of the monitor board and noticed that Drinchnar had left to go on a mission. She knew he had been upset by their argument earlier - more because he was worried for her than anything else - it was just she couldn't stand the thought of anyone being too close to her right now. Especially Drinchnar...

On impulse Grava called a warp to Second Base and made her way from the central Warp Control Room to the lower level Gymnasium. She wanted peace to exercise and knew Drinchnar was unlikely to look here for her. As she got to the door of the gymnasium Grava had to fight an urge to flee back to her apartment. Unconsciously, a small parp! of gas was released out from her head, creating a mini-smoke screen behind her as she flew into the gym. There were a few others inside but, she was thankful to see, not enough that she would be forced to talk to anyone.

Atom Girl was sparring with Thirteen. They had both agreed that they weren't to use their abilities and they'd win a point by holding the other on the ground for three seconds. Sylva had given him an advantage by tying one arm behind her back but it wasn't a surprise that she was still winning by a solar mile! The Naltorian had laughed gracefully the first couple of times that she had quite literally floored him but was becoming less and less happy as she continued to beat him. Dann had asked sylva here to help him but he was clearly not enjoying the learning process as much as he had imagined.

Jed Rikane and Tel Vole where the only other people present. The two had a training schedule to complete each month from the Science Police so were eager to get on with it as quickly as possible in case any missions came up that they could be on. Gravity Kid was running an AI generated flying course that tested his agility and reflexes while his husband, Power Boy, tried to distract him by throwing objects at him: solid light constructs of bricks, blocks and generic 3D shapes. They had laughed and joked amongst themselves as they did. Tel Vole had generally been successful at avoiding the various objects Jed had flung, though had exclaimed after a brightly coloured stuffed toy flew past his head.

"Did you just throw Squiggly Joe at me? He better not be damaged!" and with that the young gravity manipulator flew off course to rescue the fluffy animal as it arced across the gym. Below him, his husband laughed loudly.

Thirteen and Atom Girl stopped their combat training to watch as Gravity Kid swooped through the air to retrieve the stuffed animal before landing not too far from his husband to berate him. Without consciously thinking of it, Grava flew over to Sylva and Dann and joined them as the two Science Police Officers squabble quickly got serious.

"Jed gave that l'il fluffstar to Tel on their first date. Tel's like extra stellar-sweet on it since as he had vacuum-zip like it when he was a-sproutin', at least that's what Jed said... supposedly Tel grew up in a real darkstar cold lab. When Jed gave that l'il cuddle-comet to Tel, Tel knew it was like real moonlight and rockets romance 'tween them." As she finished Grava felt a sudden wave of panic come over her. She had hoped to avoid people yet had swooped right in towards her colleagues and started a conversation. Before she could move away though the argument between Tel and Jed escalated even further.

Tel had started shouting, a finger pointing at his husband's face as the argument got more heated. The gravity manipulator clutched the cuddly toy to his chest protectively as Jed accused his husband of lacking in a sense of humour, the purple skinned man's temper started to flare in response to his husband's nastiness. Tel's response was brutal. As Jed tried to explain that he was only pulling a prank Tel's words became more and more personal and vicious. Jed tried to defend himself against the accusations but they kept coming, louder and nastier.

"They need to stop; this is so embarrassing." Atom girl said.

"Yup, well, maybe it's time we gave them something else to think about..." Thirteen muttered as he stepped forward.

"Guys!" He said loudly, waving his arms above his head to attract their attention, "Hey, you two want to stop..."

"Wanna stay out of it, pretty pretty boy? Maybe go wax your ass instead?" Tel snapped in response.

"You're funny Tel, given the way you stare at my ass when you think I can't see you; you shouldn't be casting aspersions about my looks. What's the matter, you after a bit of prime Naltor beef there?" Thirteen cupped his crotch provocatively with one hand while slapping his backside with the other as he asked.

Both Tel and Jed stopped arguing with each other and stared at Dann.

"Okay guys... you want something to fight over, try this." Thirteen shrugged off his waistcoat revealing his bare torso. He flexed his broad shoulders and twisted his arms to highlight his extraordinary cable-like muscles before starting to unfasten his belt. He teasingly looked towards the two Science Police Officers as he slowly undid the fly buttons on his trousers. After he had unfastened the top three, he looked them both in the eye with a provocative grin on his face.

Both Tel and Jed were absolutely silent by now. Dann smiled broadly as he said, "Hah, you've got to see this..."

Before their eyes, as he undid one more button in his fly the sculpted torso of Dann Hortra started to bulge and expand, his immaculate hair lost its curls and hung dankly, his height diminished and his chiselled good looks faded.

"Still watching there, Tel...?" Thirteen chuckled as he resumed his natural form. "See, this is me without using my powers. I changed myself 'cause day-to-day I had to deal with nasty controlling behaviour from people talking just like you did Tel when you were shouting at Jed. I had to hide myself, change myself into something I wasn't and only present what others wanted to see. I had to stop being true to myself just so other people would be happy and not be so judgy and cruel." His voice cracked as he finished. Dann had fully resumed his natural form. Both Tel and Jed were silent, so Dann smiled crookedly and continued, "...So, unless you want Jed to start doing the same on some level and you end up married to a phoney, I'd suggest you stop bullying your husband for pulling a harmless prank ...and definitely stop thinking you know anything about other people."

Thirteen, still in his natural shape, turned to Atom Girl and Comet Queen, both of whom were staring with their mouths open, surprised and shocked by what they had just seen.

"This is me ladies, when I don't use my abilities. Wotcha think? Do you still love me?" He asked with a cheeky grin.

"Dann, you're outrageous..." Before Atom Girl could say anything else, Comet Queen flew at the young Naltoran and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. After she had unravelled herself from him, Dann turned back to the now sheepish Science Police Officers.

"It's the after-effect of the Blight that's making you so savage Tel, we all know that, but that nasty shit still came from inside you. We've all had to deal with the mood swings that bring out the worst of us since Talok. You gotta learn some control. I can show you some meditation techniques that'll help calm you down if you like?"

"Like Starshine, would you mind if I...?" Grava choked as she interrupted, suddenly extremely self-conscious again.

"Of course, Grava, whenever you want you call me." Dann smiled and his eyes glowed as he resumed his muscular altered form before her eyes.

"Dann... " Gravity Kid stepped towards Thirteen, a hand held out before him, "I'm so sorry... I don't know what..." It was obvious that Thirteen was not going to shake the offered hand so Tel awkwardly took it back to his side.

"Whatever man, just get help from somewhere okay? You know your husband doesn't deserve that sort of abuse... and no-one else needs to hear that sort of toxic rubbish either. We're all better than that... should be anyway." There was a slightly disdaining look on his face as Thirteen spoke but his tone was neutral and he ended on a small smile.

Jed Rikane slung a muscular arm around his husband's shoulder and thanked Dann. The Naltoran nodded towards the two of them, picked up his waistcoat from the floor and walked towards the exit of the gym.

Dann smiled to himself as he left the gym, especially as he overheard Jed whisper to Tel, "See, I told you no-one was naturally that super-hot."

Home Base, Sol System

Student:
Haze - Science Police Cadet Tkemwa Autmi-Hu from Ungara - strong, durable, transmits confusion

Tutors, former Legionnaires:
Shadow Lass - Tasmia Mallor of Talok viii, summon and manipulate total darkness
Wildfire - Drake Burroughs of Earth, composed of sapient anti-energy, extreme strength, speed, durability, space flight, anti-energy blasts

Tutors, Science Police training staff:
Jumping Jack - Science Police Senior Training Officer Jaxi Delgrado-Hynd of Morshesh 5, hyper-awareness, reflexes and agility
Brain Girl - Science Police Officer Ella Drottmi of Titan, telepathy and telekinesis


It was his student flight ring that ultimately saved Tkemwa Autmi-Hu from seriously freezing.

It had registered his encasement in ice, out of combat lesson time, and sent an alert to the tutors. Despite being several times stronger than an average human, the student called Haze struggled against the pressure of the ice that trapped him but as Chemical Kid had badly affected his metabolism, he was not even close to having the strength to break out of the icy block that trapped him. The student flight ring generated a layer of warmth around him as the eco-protection mode kicked in. Tkemwa tried in vain to free his arms at least but he was still too weak, small stars flashed before his eyes and his muscles started to cramp in pain.

There was a loud crunch! and a large chunk broke away from the top half of his body.

<Tkemwa, are you alright? I have requested medical assistance> Ella Drottmi telepathically checked that the student was not hurt while she used her telekinesis to crack the solid block that surrounded him. He was too cold and weak to fully reply but allowed her to access his memories so she understood the situation.

"What's going on?" Tasmia Mallor said from behind them. With her was the Science Police officer Jaxi Delgrado-Hynd. They had been going over some potential tweaks to a training module when the alert had sounded. Without turning round Ella telepathically showed them what had been in the student's memories.

"We'd better go get them. Brek is mine." Tasmia said. Her face was tight with obvious anger. The two Science Police officers shared a concerned glance. The Talokean was well renowned for her ferocity. There was a roaring sound behind them as Wildfire flew around the corner, also investigating the alert that had registered.

"Brek and Hadru assaulted Tkemwa." Jaxi Delgrado-Hynd said, before the anti-energy being could ask. "We're going after them, you wanna join us Drake?"

"Oh yes, absolutely." The anti-energy former Legionnaire growled. As he answered Tasmia called Henry and asked for a warp to the location of Brek and Hadru's flight rings. A violet and honey coloured warp spun into existence and Shadow Lass, Wildfire and Jumping Jack flew through it.

As the three tutors left to find Polar Boy and Chemical Kid, Ella Drottmi had finished freeing the student from his icy prison and was stood with her arms around him trying to warm and comfort him as they waited for Home Base's medical team to arrive.

- Drinchnar fascinates me, the idea of CQ having her own version of herself...I'm intrigued to see where they go now that she's had a more adult experience than he probably knows how to deal with.

- your Sun Boy seems like a really solid part of the team. He's always kind of hovering around the ranks of the 10 least used active Legionnaires in my stories, but I think he's definitely a core member of your team and I am always interested about how you use him to show that.

- ferropotamus is brilliant, I love it

- I DEMAND A SQUIGGLY JOE MINI-SERIES!!!

- aww, Thirteen is such good people and I love how far he's come in terms of how he sees/projects himself; and of course Grava loves him in his natural form, lol...weirdly, I kinda think Comet Queen reminds me of Meggan from Marvel's old Excalibur comics, they're both just purely emotional beings and when they love someone it doesn't feel exploitative or fetishistic, they just love you that way <3

- Shady + Wildfire was never a pair of Legionnaires I thought of being united in anything, but I also would 100% not want to be the people on the other side of their righteous anger either...I don't see this being a good time for Hadru or Brek, yikes!

Thanks Raz,

Yeah, Comet King, I really love him, and by extension Grava has become one of my faves to write too, so they will get a bit of spotlight soon as they work through things.

I always really disliked Dirk so have been really trying to make him work (before I kill him of course - joking!...maybe) so glad that you like how he's developing. He's going to have to do something he really doesn't like soon so hopefully he's mature enough to do the best he can. There's a follow up of him and Gim coming soon too.

Ferropotamus was my favourite part too

Actually plan on using Squiggly Joe soon, haha, be careful what you wish for.

Thirteen is always good, he's the teams conscience in a way, though Grava is their heart. She really is great isn't she?

Shady and Wildfire... yeah, things will get messy. Sorry Brek and Hadru fans (not really).

Coming up, fall out from the attack on the Moon, Brek and Hadru make an escape and Tinya gets more bad news. Things will heat up quite quickly as several things come to a head.

Thanks,

C

hey Harbi, real life has been crazy, haven't gotten to read yet, but it's on my list. glad to see more installments!!!

PS i did read the same with Jed and Tel, and Dann revealing himself. it worked, though i do think feel a bit for Tel. Grava rightly noted that Tel grew up in a test tube or something, and of course the influence of the Blight. I felt a bit bad for him, when Dann was so disdaining and didn't shake his hand. Idk if that was what you were going for.

he was definitely in the wrong, but i have been in situations before where I blew up at someone cause i felt they were ignoring my requests and needs. i was also in the wrong, but i empathize with Tel a lot because he clearly realized he was wrong in the end

I loved that bit with Dann saying "I know you check me out when nobody is looking' plus Jed being all "nobody can be REALLY that hot!"

Hey IB, thanks for the quick review, I totally empathize with being busy so hope it settles down soon.

There's a story coming up regarding Tel's background and also a reveal that will explain something more about Dann...

Hope all's going well,

C

ooh looking forward to that!
yeah, I was just scrolling and happened to glance on the scene with Jed, Tel and Dann and decided to read... rest will follow! all generally well, just crazy-busy at work... but that's a rant for another day

will catch up soon!

Cheers!

okay, so i glanced at the cliffhanger with Brek and Hadru assaulting a student... and I just had to catch up!

The entity in Southern Lights (was gonna say possessed, but he definitely still has control of himself). Intrigued to see where it will go, you obviously have something cool planned. Maybe Lights will teach it something... ordering the leaders of a society towards peace, heh, I like it

Loving the Sade and Troy relationship, looks healthy, they get each other. And Theena's media-and-PR-savvy, I love the spin you've put on her

Love Lexikon being able to read BODY language!

And your Mon is one of my fave iterations of Mon-El, yours has a teeny bit of the confidence and knowledge of intimidation that my favorite versions of Superman have!

A Dominator that's NOT afraid of a Green Lantern...! excellent set-up for this mystery... what DO the Dominators want?

I love how you are dealing with the Blight fallout. Lovely scene between Anje and Captain Heavyweight

miraculous flight rings indeed was there ever a story that addressed that - how do the flight rings work with the powers of Violet, Gim, Strobe, etc...?

Dkyun used to be an engineer, so cool!

Nice look into Strobe's head, to see how his altered perceptions work

Love the mental experiment between Spoiler and Titan. Loving these two and their go-getter attitude. Were you inspired by the Titanet idea in the Reboot, where Nura wanted to see if it would boost her precognition? Also, the beginning of a beautiful friendship? interesting point on the scale of things the Legion handles... rather than the quantity...

Avocado Day on Aleph! hahahaha! that is so... Zoe.

I like your proud Tasmia who knows when she's wrong and someone else is right... Can you remind me how Grev died, was it because of the Blight attack? I love this regal "champion" on "champion" interplay, mutual respect, between Tasmia and Lady M, and the insight into Grev's character. Tasmia offering lady M a place was sweet!

LOL at Tesseract's observance and bluntness. A Legionnaire with a very nice body... the muscley doctor... hahahaha! Funny how both Tesseract and Poltergeist had crushes on Jan... lol at Kent being excessively handsome... ah, those two... tee-hee, I would certainly not mind double-daitng with Kent and Jan

curious to see Poltergeist's telekinesis in action. How different would it be from Kinetix's or Tellus', for example

The Dominators assuming the Legionnaires would only be in groups of 6, ha!

Love the resolution to that story. the beginnings of peace? and a simple truth spell solved it all, ha!

Zoe using her telekinesis to close wounds, whoo!

Reep is such a strategist. Charm offensive, legislation, I like where this is going. Fits into Reeps crafty character


Haze and not spending money, hee. I like how he was asked to keep an eye on Brek.. gosh, Brek is so out of control...



Friction has an interesting powerset! you use it more imaginatively than i could



poor Grava she must be feeling the Blighting hard





can't wait to read more more more!!!

Encyclopaedia Galactica: The Intrepid Satellite of Mars was originally established as an orbiting immigration inspection point for the red planet in the mid 23rd century. It was reputed to have processed over 200 million immigrants fleeing Earth after the Second Great Collapse. As Mars Colony had access to the earliest warp drives at that point in history (the technology was seen to be too expensive for any of the struggling Earth based confederations and crumbling empires), the fourth planet in the Sol system became the focus for those that wanted an escape from their damaged home world. In the centuries since the satellite has been added to and rebuilt at least a dozen times. Currently, it is one of the biggest leisure facilities in Sol system, with a huge range to offer from the family orientated to the exclusive and intimate to its galaxy renowned Ultra Mega Rave-Pits - often seen as a rite of passage for youths wanting to tell tales of experiencing the non-stop excessively hedonistic parties. It is said that Sun Boy took Lightning Lad and a group of their colleagues into one of these for his Bachelor Party though no Legionnaire has ever confirmed this story.


Chemical Kid - Hadru Jamik of Phlon - catalyses chemical reactions
Polar Boy - Brek Bannin of Tharr - cryokinesis


Almost immediately after stumbling through their warp Hadru started to recover from Haze's psionic attack.

The warp had dropped them off at an up-an-coming club that occupied a section of the outer wall of the satellite, offering tremendous views of the red planet below from its wide force-field covered terraces and balconies. Chemical Kid was furious but Polar Boy pulled him away from where they had just arrived and yanked off both their flight rings and threw them into a trash bin on the edge of the enclosed balcony. The club appeared to be relatively quiet - Brek was happy that there was no-one around to see them as they had arrived.

"They're gonna be after us Hadru. We've got to get away quickly. I'll sort this out once we catch our breath, but right now we need to leave!"

"What? Why? He had it coming..."

"Come on, we'll get through this alright, but we need a bit of space first."

Hadru could see the panic in Brek's expression and realised that the Tharrite was making some sense. As far as the Tinya would care they hadn't done exactly as she dictated so they would immediately be in the wrong, despite the provocation and slights they had both endured lately.

"Okay, way I see it we've got two choices... go back and face the music or leave now and figure it out." Brek said looking around nervously.

"We can't go back right now, everyone will be... yeah, let's go." Hadru replied quietly. His smug expression had turned into something more serious as he considered their options.

"So, wotcha say we use our distorters so any AI-peepers won't clock us..."

"They'll be able to track them. As soon as we get a ship away from here then the sooner we can ditch all of it." Hadru stood up straight and started look around at the exits.

Brek put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Hadru, if you want to go back, I'll take the fall for this. I know Tinya wants rid o' me. You can still have a career. Listen, you don't..."

"It's okay, really. It's been a drag for an age now Brek. The Legion... it's not a happy place so let's just go. I have enough credits to give us a start somewhere else." What struck Brek most of all about what Hadru said was the sense of relief he knew the Phlonite was feeling. Brek was sad that his friend felt that way because he understood it perfectly.

The two activated the distorters on their belts so they appeared to be a completely different couple and walked through the bar and out into the satellite. Although they had been to the club before and knew that the Intrepid was huge it wasn't until they got to the nearest concourse that they fully realised how big it was. They were in the Western Section - devoted to clubs, bars and more adult orientated entertainment establishments - and the concourse faded from view before them as it was so long... Brek estimated two or three klicks at least! Of non-stop clubbing! Why, he thought fleetingly, had they never visitted here properly before? He doubted he'd get the chance to visit again for some time...

"We need to get going, let's get to a docking bay and find a decent ship." Hadru nodded as Brek made the suggestion.

After checking a holo-display the two men hurried to a grav-lift and their escape.

First Base, medi-bay

Kinetix - Zoe Saugin of Aleph, telekinetic animation
M'Windaji - Gahaji of Kiringyaga, super tracker, carries the Ruby of Life allowing tactile transformative magic


Less than half an hour after being warped to the medi-bay Gahaji was told he was fine to leave.

Zoe was waiting for him and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his face.

"Kent says the Shaman kid fixed me up so I'm good to go now." Gahaji said, worried that Zoe would be fretting about his injuries.

"Yeah, he told me that ten minutes ago. Glad you're okay. So, you wanna hear the latest? It's pretty awful really..." Zoe spoke quickly, her body language was tight like a coiled spring. Gahaji knew it was not going to be the best of news.

"Tellus read the minds of those scuzzlers and it turns out someone posted a ten million credit bounty for the head of any Legionnaire... Ten. Million. Credits! Like, it was even on some webnews streams until Theena persuaded them to stop broadcasting it. Now all the idiots in the galaxy know that they can make a killing if they just, well ...kill one of us. We've got huge targets on our backs!"

Gahaji could see in Zoe's eyes how nervous this made her.

"Hey, what you saying? We've always had targets on our backs, that's what being a Legionnaire is. We got to keep our chin up and not let them get to us, same as always." He said this without much emphasis, as if it were a simple everyday matter.

"Yeah... yeah, your right." Zoe didn't sound completely convinced but gave a bright smile and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on the nose. She stepped back; there was mischief twinkling in her eyes as she spoke again, "C'mon, Tinya is calling a meeting then we can find something fun to do... maybe we can go finish celebrating Avocado Day in my apartment."

He put an arm around her shoulder as they walked to the grav-lift.


Drura Sehpt and Jacques Foccart had been leaving the medi-bay just after Gahaji and Zoe and had heard their conversation.

?Ten million credits is an awful lot of money. That will attract the wrong sort of attention."

"I do worry mon cher... we will 'ave to wait and see though if enough of ze wrong sort of people 'ave 'eard of this .. if they 'ave then ze team will need to be more careful."

"Yeah, it worries me thinking we'll never know who's gonna come for us now..."

"Oui, but we will get through this Drura. Ze Legion is not so easily scared off."

The Intrepid Satellite, Mars orbit, Sol System

Chemical Kid - Hadru Jamik of Phlon - catalyses chemical reactions

Tutors, former Legionnaires:
Shadow Lass - Tasmia Mallor of Talok viii, summon and manipulate total darkness
Wildfire - Drake Burroughs of Earth, composed of sapient anti-energy, extreme strength, speed, durability, space flight, anti-energy blasts

Tutors, Science Police training staff:
Jumping Jack - Science Police Senior Training Officer Jaxi Delgrado-Hynd of Morshesh 5, hyper-awareness, reflexes and agility

Students:
Polar Boy - Brek Bannin of Tharr - cryokinesis


Wildfire had found the two flight rings in a bin and swore loudly.

"I got their scents, don't worry." Jaxi Delgrado-Hynd said as he bounded through the club towards the exit. Shadow Lass and Wildfire exchanged a glance before flying after their colleague from the Science Police.

"Yup, I can see their footsteps, hot spots on the floor. This way!" The anti-energy being flew ahead of the Talokean and Science Police trainer and they made their way out into the main concourse.

"Goddamn... too much footfall!" Drake grumbled. The infra-red foot prints were lost under those left by the hundreds of patrons that were on the satellite at that moment.

"This way, I still got them." Jumping Jack ran along a walkway that had an anti-grav lift in the centre. "Where do you think they'll be going?"

"Another bar knowing Brek." Drake said, his suit's vocal modulator conveying a disgusted tone.

"No, they'll know we're after them. They're running. What is the quickest way off of this place?" Tasmia Mallor pressed a hard light display to bring up a schematic. "Now, if I were running, I'd need to steal a vehicle, does that sound right? There's no warping tech in here. The docking bays are ...here." She enlarged the hard-light display and pointed towards the nearest section designated for transport.

Without waiting for a grav-lift to take them down four levels to the docking bay the three tutors flew down the circular lift shaft. They reached the docking bay moments later. Wildfire flew in first and scanned the dozens of vehicles immediately before him but without any luck. Shadow Lass and Jumping Jack followed as quickly as they could. The Science Police Officer quickly found the two fugitives' scent and led his fellow tutors down a further two levels. In amongst the half-lit parking bays, they could hear a clatter and muttered curses. One of the voices had a noticeable Tharrite twang...

"Got them!" Wildfire said as he flew towards the noises. As he roared over a stack of parked shuttles and personal pods a cocoon on thick ice sprang up around him throwing the anti-energy tutor into a wall. It didn't take many seconds for wildfire to blast himself free but by then it was over.

Shadow Lass covered the area in a deep darkness and flew towards the two figures she could still see. Behind her, the acrobatic Science Police Officer quite literally followed his nose as he too moved to catch Brek and Hadru.

Brek was firing off chunks of ice randomly into the darkness in a vain attempt to discourage the former Legionnaire he now knew had followed him here. He was desperately twisting around when he heard a breath behind him.

"I'm sorry Tasmia, please..." He had meant to also say 'don't hurt me' but was unconscious after one of Shadow Lasses feet smacked into his head. While he didn't feel any hurt at that moment, when he awoke an hour later he had a justifiably ferocious headache.

Hadru had watched as Brek froze Wildfire to the wall so knew their time left before being forcibly returned to the Legion was short. He was desperately trying to manipulate a dna-lock pad when the darkness fell over them. He stood up and closed his eyes. As he concentrated on the sounds around him all he could hear was Brek. He was totally surprised for several milliseconds as Jumping Jack landed solidly on top of him and punched him stoutly on the face. After that Hadru lay on the floor unconscious, blood streaming from the ruins of his nose.

Tasmia lifted her darkness and gave Jaxi a triumphant grin.

"I'm quite protective of my students, they're like the children I never planned." The Science Police Officer said as he bent down to place incapacity cuffs on Chemical Kid.

"Yeah? Personally, I hate bullies... and quite enjoy kicking them in the head." Tasmia said, her smile never leaving her face as she put a cuff on the fallen Polar Boy.

"And I'm pissed you didn't leave anything for me. Can?t believe Brek caught me like that... Don?t tell Gim or I?ll never live it down.? Wildfire said as he flew overhead.

"You snooze you lose Drakey." Jaxi said with a cheeky grin, "Though sorry t'tell you but I set my ring to auto-record and report so it?s already gone back to Base.?

Tasmia laughed as she called for a warp to return them to Home Base.

Tinya was furious though desperate not to show it.

The Senior Team had held an emergency meeting after Sun Boy had reported Tellus' findings about the massive bounty that had been offered for killing a Legionnaire. It had been their second meeting that day as Reep had called them together only a few hours before to discuss his findings from Sa Lok's files taken during the recent espionage squad mission. That meeting had focussed around the meta-army that the Rimborian appeared to have created. That had been depressing enough for Tinya without finding out there was now a massive bounty on her, and all of her colleague's heads being offered by an anonymous source. They all agreed that it was likely there was a connection between the two.

Tinya understood that if she didn't get ahead of this situation quickly then there would be ugly rumours and god-only-knew what else to deal with in the days to come from within the team. She already knew that certain of her teammates would want to rush off and deal with this head-on. Until they knew for certain who had set this bounty though there was little chance of them doing anything other than kicking an already stirred up hornets' nest. There would be a lot of questions that she didn't have answers for but wanted to be as up-front as possible with her teammates to try to keep a lid on the situation.

Phantom Girl had issued a recall notice to all Legionnaires and Support Staff currently off base that weren't on registered mission. An emergency meeting was to be held in 30 minutes and it was absolutely compulsory they were on their respective bases for it. Tinya had quickly returned to her quarters and jumped in the sonic shower for three minutes before putting on her uniform.

Tinya was making her way to the Senior Team Ready Room when Home Base sent a message that tipped her mood from bleak into incandescent. It appeared that Hadru and Brek had assaulted a student from the Science Police contingent and then ran away... The student was recovering well according to Home Base's medi-bay, thankfully. Meanwhile Wildfire, Shadow Lass and the SP trainer called Jumping Jack were in pursuit. They had found their two flight rings but neither Brek nor Hadru were in sight. Tinya had to stop and take several deep breaths. She swore heavily to herself before she stood up straight, pulled her chin up and made her way to the Ready Room. Just before she arrived a message reached her from Ella Drottmi on Home Base that Brek and Hadru had been caught and were on their way to the medi-bay.

Tyroc, Dawnstar, Duplicate Girl, Thunder, Chameleon Boy, Lightning Lass and Sun Boy were waiting for Tinya to arrive. They had planned on issuing the announcement about the ten million credit bounty and inform their colleagues that until further notice they were advised not to leave their Base without being in a group of four or more. It was the minimum number that the senior team had agreed on for safety. As Phantom Girl entered the Ready Room, she could see that the Senior Team had obviously just been told about Brek and Hadru's actions as well; now they just had to decide how to deal with them...

"It never rains, Tinya." Thunder said to the team leader, her eyes full of compassionate understanding.

"Brek's been playing up for an age and Hadru's always been a handful, but I'm stunned by this... attacking a student, a Science Police officer at that! They're back on Home Base now so, any ideas?" she said without any preamble. The quicker they dealt with this mess the better.

"They both have to go." Luornu said, her face sad even though her voice was firm.

"What w're the circumstances 'round it? What do we know?" Tyroc asked.

"From what Ella just told me, Hadru and Brek wanted to go out clubbing for the night and Tkemwa didn't think they should go out for more than an hour or two. Hadru attacked the student, he fought back, Brek froze him in a block of ice and the two of them left in a warp leaving the student severely weakened and trapped. Shady, Drake and one of the SP's have retrieved them. Haze,s in the medi-bay, seems to be recovering. I don't know the state of Hardu or Brek but imagine it isn't too happy." Tinya said. Her voice was level, though everyone present knew she would be livid about this situation.

"If tha' is what happened then they gotta go. Attacking an SP student because they want t'get drunk... What a pair of jerks!" As Tyroc spoke Sun Boy agreed.

"Were they both Blighted?" Dawnstar asked.

"Only Hadru. Still, he's never been much of a team player. His recent actions have been increasingly erratic." Tinya said, her mouth turned down at the edges as she spoke, making her look sadder than she felt. She was too angry right now to be sad.

"What was psych assessment after his little scuffle the other week?" Chameleon Boy asked quietly.

"Ah... privileged, insecure, increasingly violent fantasies... That's all I remember off hand, not that I was told everything. It really wasn't good. He'd looked like he was flaking out before that which was why I moved him to First Base, I wanted to keep an eye on him." Tinya replied.

"We need to make sure it is safe to release them. And I mean, safe for other sapient beings. Hadru obviously needs professional help and Brek... actually, I believe you were right Troy, Brek is a jerk." Dawnstar shook her head as she finished speaking.

"So ...what? Hand them over to the Science Police? If we go that route, we would need to make a public announcement and that'd humiliate them... both have pretty damaged egos so that'll not end well." Dirk said.

"We need the full team to vote, and credible information from Home Base, Dr Shakespeare and Dr Falkner before they decide. Terminating membership is tough but before we can do that, they need to be called before the whole team to explain themselves or we could potentially lose other teammates in the furore." As Thunder spoke the rest of the Senior Team present knew that she was correct.

Polar Boy and Chemical Kid would go on trial in front of the team for assaulting a Science Police Officer, as well as other minor misdemeanours. If they were found guilty it was likely they'd have certain memories stripped from their minds, all Legion privileges revoked and possibly jail sentences.

None of the Senior Team were looking forward to the next 48 hours.

Whew!

Brek and Hadru... very realistic, how you showed them moving down this path. No sympathy for them for sure.

Loved the senior team meeting. very realistic. Thunder's wisdom shows through.

Loved the take down too. man, what were Brek and Hadru thinking... and their thoughts and actions also show that leaving is probably for the best, Hadru obviously isn't happy anymore

and the bounty... chilling! it's true that being a Legionnaire is dangerous, but... bbeing actively hunted for a bounty...

more more more!!

Timber Wolf - Brin Londo of Zuun, enhanced strength, speed, agility, reflexes and senses
Shield - Laurel Kent of Earth, physical invulnerability, tactile psychometry


K'Frean the Wilderness World

Encyclopedia Galactica - K'Frean the Wilderness World.

Terraformed in the mid- to late 27th century, this world is now an ecological treasure with only very limited access given. The 3rd planet in the K'Fri system was seeded with a huge range of plants and animals before the settler ship carrying human colonists was to arrive. Unfortunately, the Bubble Arc that carried the colonists had a catastrophic accident en route and no human set foot on the world until the early 29th century when this world was re-discovered. By that time the ecosystems were firmly in place and, as it is a relatively mineral poor world far from major trading routes, the United Planets decided to name it as an Environmental Heritage World, thereby stopping any hi-tech settlements from being developed upon it.


Laurel Kent was feeling more than a little bit disappointed.

Brin Londo had taken her to the Wilderness World of K'Frean for a mini-vacation. As soon as Timber Wolf stepped through the warp, he had immediately gotten naked, which Laurel thought boded rather well, before he dived off of their treehouse and swung amongst the branches scattering flocks of arboreal creatures as he passed. He called out to her to join him but she only laughed and shook her head.

Laurel had watched her partner from the rustic balcony for a minute or so before she decided to go looking for a mini bar. After several minutes searching through the rudimentary hut suspended several hundred metres above the forest floor the invulnerable girl realised that the only touches of modernity were a flushing toilet and old-fashioned water shower. There wasn't even an auto-chef! Was she expected to hunt for her own food? Laurel was beginning to regret letting Brin choose where they went for this break...

"C'mon Laurel, you gotta try this!" Brin shouted across the treetops. She could see him charging along a huge branch, laughing as he did.

She knew that between her flight ring and natural invulnerability she would be perfectly fine if she did start jumping about in the trees like Brin, but Laurel was feeling just a little bit deflated. When Brin had suggested they try something truly wild for a weekend... well, this wasn't what she thought he had meant. It didn't help that her tactile psychometric abilities showed her that the previous residents of this very exclusive resort had experienced the sort of wild weekend that she had hoped for.

The most disappointing thing was, when she considered it, that this really should have been exactly what she had expected! This realisation made her laugh. Brin Londo may not be the deepest man she had ever met but he certainly had a physical poetry about his movements that Laurel appreciated as she watched his play amongst the trees. There was a visceral beauty about the way he interacted with nature, and he would share with her only after he had connected the deepest point of his soul to the wilderness around them.

With that thought Laurel Kent tore off her own clothes, took a deep breath and leaped from the balcony onto a nearby branch.

It was two hours later, while the pair were enjoying a game that involved chasing spider monkeys through the trees when the alert came informing them that all Legionnaires off base were to immediately return. Brin swore loudly and Laurel admitted to herself that while this hadn't been exactly what she wanted from a weekend's break with her fella, she still felt disappointed to be called back to Second Base. Brin surprised her by growling that he hoped that everyone was fine and this was just some stupid drill...

They both grabbed their clothes and quickly dressed before Henry's warp arrived to take them back to the base.

First Base

Mon El - Senior Team member, Lar Gand of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability

Science Police Psychiatrist - Doctor Anje Falkner, alpha-level telepath


Mon El sat in front of the team's counsellor and sighed.

"It's the damned predictability of it all. It would be funny if it weren't so sad. I saw the Dominators and knew immediately what they had planned for those people... they've been doing the same sort of thing for millennia."

"Tell me Lar, from your perspective, what could the team do to break the... these cycles?"

"I think we already do that to a degree just by existing. The team get amazing results and I'm very proud of being a part of it, especially the last couple of years since Tinya made the decision to expand off Earth. That was overdue."

"Okay, so I don't understand, can you explain it for me. If the team are breaking these cycles that you said are sad, what are you concerned about?"

"That they still exist. That we have to deal with the same problems as the heroes a thousand years ago dealt with. It's frustrating. It's annoying... I guess it just angers me that I know Super Man had the same mess to clean up. Kal would have been so disappointed..." Mon El trailed off and looked at a picture on the wall of Dr Falkner's office, clearly avoiding eye contact.

"Why does Kal El's opinion matter to you now Lar?"

"Not his opinion, that's not it... it's more that if we have to fight the same battles then surely, we aren't really progressing anything are we? I'd hope that Kal's legacy would be more than a pattern for us to follow, intentionally or not. We should be leaving something better for the next generation, surely?"

"Okay, while that's understandable I need to say I disagree that Kal El didn't leave things better, as I believe he did. And we must remember he was not responsible for what happened next..."

"I know, I witnessed it, remember?" Mon El snapped before apologising.

"So, Lar... tell me exactly why you wanted to speak to me today? What prompted you to come if, as I assume, you have felt like this for so long. Why now?"

The Daxamite took a deep breath and considered his answer.

"It has been building for a while, but ...I guess with the team expanding so much in the last year or two and the depth and range of power available... we have three other Daxamites assigned to the team, there's the Spear of Artemis.... or whatever she calls herself now... and Thunder so there's enough raw strength here to turn a Sun-Eater! I'm not really... I guess I feel ...it isn't so vital to the team that I'm here so I'm perhaps relaxing and no longer avoiding all my thoughts." Again, he turned away from the counsellor, though this time he looked embarrassed.

"Are you saying you're considering leaving the team?" Dr Falkner asked quietly. The silence sat between them for several seconds before he answered.

"Maybe.... I thought Tasmia and I would have done this together... she never really wanted to, to be fair, it was my dream."

"Has there been anyone since Tasmia that..."

"No." The single word was said with such a lack of emphasis that Dr Dr Falkner could feel the Daxamite Legionnaire's loneliness like a third person had entered the room.

At this point Phantom Girl's announcement requesting all Legionnaires return to their bases cut through the room.

Mon El stood up to leave.

"Okay, so before our next meeting can you do me a favour and consider what exactly would be necessary to make you feel more content. I look forward to speaking to you soon Lar. Good luck Legionnaire."

As the last word left her mouth he sped from the room in a blur.

First Base

Comet Queen - Grava of Extal colony, spaceflight, comet gas extrusion
Comet King - Drinchnar Lamment of Extal colony, spaceflight, comet gas extrusion


Comet King kept this head down as he crept into the apartment he shared with Grava.

After the mission team had returned from Lunar London, he had strolled around First Base looking for distractions.

Drinchnar knew that Grava was annoyed at him and desperately wanted to see her but the gnawing worry wouldn't let him face up to it. He had briefly popped into Shakes where he had spoken to the robot bartenders the team had affectionately christened Malone and Tortelli about his worries as he sipped an iced fruit tea. They had given him the support and suggestions that their programming allowed but ultimately when he left Drinchnar felt as bad as when he had entered. Still, the bar-bots had given him a few ideas...

As he was working on procuring one of those ideas an announcement went out stating that all Legionnaires and Support Staff must return to their bases and there would be a further announcement to follow in half an hour. Drinchnar knew then he needed to get to the apartment right away in case they were going to be sent off on a horror-mission and things turned sour and his and Grava's relationship ended with their argument that morning being the last conversation they ever had... the very thought terrified him!

Comet King rushed to the apartment and panicked just before he flew through the doors. Instead, he screeched to a halt outside their quarters and snuck in. He was shocked by what was waiting for him!

"Drinchnar, sunbeam!" Grava called out, obviously surprised to see him, from the kitchen nook. She had a frilly pink and white gingham apron on as she stirred a bubbling concoction in a copper pot. There was evidence of less successful attempts at cooking... spilt flour, scattered condiments and a blackened pot with a strange green goo sitting on top of the small bin. "I was... like trying to cook you a nucleonic-nice meal to apologise, like bright as starlight, to say I'm so sorry..." She didn't get any further as Drinchnar swept her in his arms and kissed her passionately. The flowers he had been holding behind his back that he had cut from various gardens around the planetoid and planned to give to Grava as a peace offering fell to the floor.

"I wanted to apologise to you..." As he started to speak, she kissed him back. They slowly spun in the air until a loud pop! and crash! interrupted them. The pan Grava had been stirring when Drinchnar arrived was now on the floor spilling a bubbling off-ochre substance across the tiles.

They both laughed and called for a cleaning-bot to clear the mess away. Drinchnar swoped down to recover a couple of flowers which he then presented to the love of his life with a great big smile.

Tinya's holo popped up in front of each Legionnaire.

The team's leader did not look happy despite the smile she tried to force. Before she spoke Tinya swept her hair back from her face. Currently every Legionnaire, Academy Tutor, member of support staff, Science Police Meta-Squad liaison officer, and intern, were on one of their three bases.

"Everyone, thank you for returning to base. We've had several bits of news today that will affect us all in the days to come so I believed it is vital to share them with you so you can understand the decisions the Senior Team and I have made." She stopped to sip at a glass of water: a stalling technique she had taken to use when she wanted to take a moment to collect her thoughts.

"Earlier today, Kinetix and M'windaji were attacked on Lunar London. Thankfully there were no major injuries but it led to us discovering some worrying information. As some of you may have already heard; several news feeds have broadcast that an unknown source has offered a ten million credit reward for anyone that kills a Legionnaire. These streams have been shared across the UP and, while we have managed to shut them down, we must believe that enough people have seen them to make them common enough knowledge. The group that attacked Zoe and Gahaji were members of an underground ancient weaponry appreciation club that thought they'd take their chances against two Legionnaires that they had seen were visiting a local hospital... They were five supposedly normal people with no prior records that were tempted by the reward."

She paused for three long seconds before continuing.

"While that is worrying, we have also learned that unregulated gene-mod shops have been operating on Rimbor and a few of the Outer Worlds at a much greater rate that we previously believed. We have uncovered records that show they have to date successfully given meta-abilities to over 400 people that, so far, the location of remains unknown. The majority of those we can identify have connections to Sa Lok, the former UP Under-Secretary that backed Psyche's attack on us. This leads us to believe that an army of meta-beings is being created. With these facts in mind, effective immediately, unless you are on a team mission, the Senior Team and I ask that you do not leave the bases unless you are in a party of at least four. I appreciate that a lot of us wish to spend downtime with friends and relatives away from the bases, and while this should not stop, we ask that you are careful and do not do so alone."

Again, Tinya paused. She knew that there would be teammates arguing, complaining and swearing at her holo at that moment so she gave them five seconds before continuing.

"Finally, in 40 hours' time, at 0800 standard on the day after tomorrow, all active Legionnaires and support staff must present themselves for a meeting of the most serious order. Unfortunately, it breaks my heart to announce this, but we have a member of our team and a former member that we will put on trial for serious breaches of our constitution. Many of you will know that this is not something we take lightly, though for the sake of fairness and justice for all those involved I ask that you do not discuss this outside of the team until after the trial has finished."

Anyone watching her holo at that moment could see how upset and angry Tinya was, even through the thin smile she offered before ending the transmission.

Hey IB, thanks again for your kind review.

The trial is definitely going to happen soon, but as it's two days in the Legionnaire's future from this point there are two more missions and a few inter-personal moments to come first.

The bounty, and who's behind it, will play a part in one of those but the pay-off won't be for a while yet. It's only just begun (she typed channeling Karen Carpenter ).

Thnks again, more coming soon,

C

More lovely scenes, Harbi.

Chuckled at Laurel being the one wishing for a loud weekend - realistic! Well done writing relationships, I enjoy each of your snippets with couples in them, you do it so well. And Brin connecting his soul with nature, awesome. Gosh, Laurel's psychometry must be inconvenient at times lol

Comet Queen and king: adorable, love that they both wanted to apologise to each other

And Mon. Poor Mon. a nice exploration of his character and how being +1000 years old AND comparing then and now must be...

and dun dun dun. i am so eager to see the trial. i cannot wait!!

Phantom Girl - Team Leader, Tinya Wazzo of Bgtzl Dimension, intangibility
XS - Jenni Ognats of an alternate dimension Aarok, phenomenal speed
Ferro - Douglas Nolan of Earth, can assume invulnerable iron isotope form
Atom Girl - Sylva Nrilsan of Imsk, can shrink to microscopic size
Gazelle - J?izl Dtutuu from the Khundian Battle Brigade, of Khundia Prime, enhanced strength, speed, agility and metabolic control
Cosmic Kid - Po Miman, Justice Legionnaire of alternate dimension Mars, energy manipulation and flight

Intern:

Mindbender - Marmud Illic of Titan, alpha-level telepath


In a bid to keep herself busy Tinya called on a team to join her on a Hit Squad mission.

Within two minutes she had received fourteen requests to join her, though she decided to only take those that were next on the mission rota. On impulse she requested the telepathic intern they called the Mindbender as she felt the team had enough physically powered individuals on it. As the team arrived, she explained that they were on the lookout for meta-criminals with the hope that word would get out to any of the rogue-metas from the gene-mod shops that the Legion were a force to be reckoned with, and hopefully dissuade them from thinking of trying to get the bounty on them.


An attempted robbery on a refuelling satellite in the Proxima Sagittarius system involving a telekinetic and two muscle bound henchmen was quickly stopped. Tinya wanted the intern to deal with it, firstly to give him a confidence boost but also so the news would state that a trainee took down three meta-terrorists. They walked through Henry's warp and stood there, staring at the three robbers. One grabbed a terrified customer in an attempt to take a hostage.

"Mindbender, take them down. They don't need to have nice dreams." After Tinya said this the young intern gulped before reaching out telepathically to force the robber's brains to shut down into a dreamless state of sleep. Within seconds the three meta-robbers were unconscious on the floor.

The teams first mission of the day lasted five minutes including XS cleaning up and the rest of the team taking time to speak to staff, customers and the attending SP officers. Tinya was ready for more...

The next mission led them through a warp to a township on the Inner Rim colony of Garandakesh IV. The settlers were being forced to hand over resources to a band of cybernetic raiders.

XS raced to the settlers and rushed them out of harm?s way while Phantom Girl and Cosmic Kid flew up to their gunship that floated ominously above. The rest of the team attacked the raiders on the ground.

Atom Girl had shrunk to a minuscule size and hitched a lift on Gazelle as the Khund cartwheeled into the fray. Ferro flew as fast as he could, while protecting the intern that stuck close behind from the blaster fire that erupted around them.

Gazelle landed squarely in amongst the raiders and immediately spun it action. In a frantic blur she struck kicking and punching out, knocking several of the raiders flying. While she did Atom Girl let go from the Khund and flew as fast as she could towards the raider that appeared to be the leader of this ground force.

A split second before she reached him Sylvia started to grow. The force of her blow knocked the cyborg raider off his feet. As he crashed onto the ground, she fully resumed her height and snapped an incapacity cuff on his arm. The young Imskian turned around to survey the remaining battle so did not see the raider get up behind her...

Ferro landed on top of a raider, crunching them into the dirt, behind him Mindbender reached out again and projected a psychic blast at the attacking force. While half of them staggered under the psi-blast the other dozen or so kept fighting.

<Ow! They've got serious psi-shielding... that really hurt!>

<Marmud, help Jenni with the colonists...> even as he spoke to the intern Ferro was wrestling a cyborg twice his size to the ground, <Go now>

As the intern took a final glance around the scene of this battle, he spotted the cyborg behind Atom Girl.

<Sylvia, behind you, watch out>

Without asking questions Atom Girl shrunk down as fast as she could, just as the cyborg swung a bladed arm which would have beheaded her had she not acted.

Sylva could clearly see the organic part of the raider had been knocked out by the incapacity cuff, unfortunately the technological part remained animate. At minute size she flew into the chest carapace and started randomly pulling out the few wires she could see in the hope she might dismantle the metallic menace. It took several long seconds and a lot of sparks that thankfully her flight ring eco-protect spared her from the worst of, but eventually it stopped moving. She had sent a warning about this turn of events out through the telepathic grid to her colleagues as she damaged the inner workings.

<Atom Girl, a Khund warrior knows how to dismantle cyborgs> Gazelle replied matter-of-fact.

<Yeah, an' I'm just smashing them up, so all's good here, thanks anyways Sylva> Fero responded.

As her team dealt with the raiders on the ground, Phantom Girl flew through the outer hull of the gun ship and punched the first person she saw. He fell backwards but was quickly back on his feet, a blaster in his robotic hand released a shot that passed straight through her and exploded the console before him. As he fired, she slipped incapacity cuffs on his organic arm and left the room, searching for the control deck.

If the raiders were all as stupid as that one, she thought to herself, this would only take her a minute. As it was, it took slightly under that to find the control deck, and another few seconds to slap a set of incapacity cuffs on the pilot. It was at this point that she heard Cosmic Kid's second broadcast...

Outside the gunship Cosmic Kid floated twenty metres from its front hull. He watched Tinya fly towards the craft and knew his role would be to distract the raiders allowing her the time to take control of the gunship.

"Stop now and give up. You have ten seconds or I will stop you." He had spoken through the flight ring loud hailer app, willing it to broadcast across a wide range of communication channels. At the same time, he pulsed all the ambient energy around him into a flashing light to draw their full attention to him.

As he expected, the gun ship let loose a firestorm of lasers and pulse blasts upon him. It was exactly what he wanted. The energies flowed around him, making it look as if he were in the middle of a gigantic energised string ball. After twenty-five seconds of continuous firing the raiders obviously realised their attack was not having the desired effect and it stopped. At this point Po Miman released the energy back at the craft, though rather than simply blasting the ship he formed the attackers weapons fire into fifty long spears of energy that surrounded the craft. The reshaped energies throbbed with potential explosive charge as they hung all around the raider's gunship metres away from the hull making it impossible for it to move without risking striking one. They hung there ominously for ten long seconds before Cosmic Kid sent another broadcast to the gunship.

"I'll take it that you'll surrender now." He smiled as he spoke into his flight right for the message to be broadcast, confident that he would have distracted whomever was in charge long enough for Tinya to get to the bridge and take control. It was several seconds later that she sent the message he had been waiting for.

<Po, hey, I've got it under control here now. You want to make some room underneath so I can land this garbage scow?>

<and I suppose you want us to move these bodies for you too?> Ferro sent from below. Cosmic Kid looked down, smiling as his teammates stood over the unconscious and deactivated bodies of the raiding party they had tackled.

Thirty minutes later, after Henry had warped the raiders straight to Talkon-Gartos, and Tinya and the team had cleared up the mess and reassured the locals that they were now safe they stepped through a warp onto their next mission.

The team's next mission was to help a CityState on the tropical paradise world of Mauratanius Primo that was threatened by an enormous tsunami after a major undersea earthquake had struck. XS ran with all her might out over the sea and smashed her way through the wave again and again and a thousand times again pushing the volume of water back so the massive sweeping tower of sea water would not hit with such a destructive edge. It was still heading in towards land, and would cause flooding, but at least it would not flatten buildings in its path anymore.

By the time Comic Kid had caught up with his fiance she had flattened the dangerous curve of water that was rushing in towards the exotic city. Po reached out and softened the kinetic push. He knew he would only have a limited effect as ultimately, he was fighting the push and pull of the sea itself that wrapped itself around this entire planet. Kinetic energy, generally, was not something he could easily manipulate, certainly not as easy as light or other radiations but he stretched his abilities to slow the wave down as much as he could... blunting the force with which it would eventually strike the land.

As both Legionnaires attacked the wave, their colleagues helped the population evacuate the beaches and shore up the sea defences against this sort of event. Mauratanius Primo was not a particularly rich world but its tourist industry, that more-often-than-not catered for the well-heeled of the galaxy, had provided its beaches and costal resorts with some protection and an efficient early warning system that helped clear their beaches and provide effective shelter in plenty of time. The Legionnaires quickly saw this and so focussed their attentions on the city which lacked the hi-tech infrastructure of the resorts.

A small fleet of fishing catamarans were airlifted to shore by Ferro and Gazelle while Phantom Girl, Atom Girl and Mindbender dealt with the public beaches and shoreside residences and businesses. Flight ring generated loud hailers and telepathic broadcasts woke up the sleepy city and helped save hundreds of lives.

The Legionnaires remained for over five hours after the wave struck. The impact was nowhere near as devastating as it might have been. There were no reported lives lost but the wave still caused a lot of structural damage that Tinya wanted the team to help to check out. Cosmic Kid rested for part of that time, exhausted by his efforts, that gave Ferro, Gazelle and Atom Girl plenty of opportunities to tease him. He laughed along with them and often joined in with a self-effacing humour that they all appreciated.

Overall, the team were feeling very good about themselves as they stepped through the warp to their next mission.

First Base:

Dirk did not want to defend either Hadru or Brek but had agreed to take on the role when Tinya had suggested it.

Luornu would lead on the prosecution, something Sun Boy believed would be a far easier job, but still this was the hand he'd been dealt so he planned on giving it his best effort. He had approached Hadru first but the catalyzer had told him where to go and turned away from him to face the cell wall and refused to speak after that. Brek had ranted about how awful everyone else was yet he had ended up in a cell... Dirk persevered, making the point that as the Legion were authorized law enforcement officers, they had 48 hours before the team were obliged to release them or send them to the Science Police to be charged. If either Brek or Hadru wanted a public trial for assault and possibly a custodial sentence afterwards, then he was fine with that, but before they left the Base there would be a trial under the team's constitutional rules. Brek hung his head and told Dirk to leave him alone.

Dirk felt numb.

They had all done dumb stuff, him more than most if he was being honest, but the way Brek and Hadru acted as if they were the victims here... it was incredulous! He knew that if he didn't get it off his chest soon, he'd just get angry and then he wouldn't be much use to anyone. A quick call to Gim and ten minutes later they were both running laps around the upper mezzanine level of First Base's main gymnasium. Gim Allon knew his friend well enough to realise that there were things on his mind that it would take time to get to so had remained virtually silent while Dirk thought about the situation. Midway through their second lap Dirk started to talk.

"Do you remember how Garth used to give everyone those little zaps on their asses and then claim it was a static build-up?" Dirk asked as he overtook Gim.

"Ha! Yes, he stopped after he tried it on Tinya but she phased and he zapped Imra instead... that was the end of Garth the butt-burner!" Both men laughed as they reminisced.

"Didn't get a choice, did he? Imra used to keep him on a fairly short leash." As he said this Gim charged in front with a laugh.

"Do you miss those days Dirk? The feeling that we could do anything?"

"We still can, in fact we do a lot more these days than we ever did back then... just got more paperwork to fill in afterwards, sadly." Dirk laughed and pulled ahead of his friend as they took a corner. Gim sped up and the two started to race along a 500-metre stretch. Gim won the race, which wasn't a surprise to either, though Dirk made him work for it as he pushed himself as he sped along the track. At the end Gim had suggested they do a circuit or two on the floor before grabbing a caffe-pod in one of the refectories.

The two friends spent the next forty-five minutes doing a circuit of exercises the gymnasium AI had created for them, occasionally bumping into each other as they moved between different apparatus. As there were several other Legionnaires present, they didn't speak about Dirk's obvious concerns over the trial and just teased each other about how poorly they saw the other doing.

Afterwards they had both taken a quick sonic shower and made their way to the nearest refectory for refreshments. Half way down the corridor Dirk asked the questions he needed to ask.

"So, do you think they're both guilty?"

"Hell, yeah!" Gim stated emphatically.

"Me too... how can I defend them?"

"Do your best, everyone knows Tinya gave you the job because you and Brek were BFFs for a hot minute and no one else on the Senior Team has been that close to him. Do your best Dirk, they may be dicks but they still deserve a fair trial."

"You're right. Mr Allon, you're a good egg, thank you."

The two men were walking side by side and Gim put an arm around his friends' shoulder to pull him in for a sideways hug. Dirk patted his friend on the back as he did.

"You'll do the right thing Dirk; they might have acted like idiots but the team gotta take responsibility for our failures as much as successes."

IB, thanks again, very grateful for your review.

The trial will be... ummm... unpleaant for all. I've drafted it out and written the first three posts in full, but we've a couple of missions and individual moments to get through first - Tinya's one that started above will lead to one of the team really needing to push themselves to get through it, Lu will take a team out to investigate a histooric artefact, Yera goes looking for a friend, and a couple ges into a fight.... it'll be a rollercoaster ride

Thanks again, more more and more coming soon,

C

hiya Harbi more amazing stuff. Mindbender gets some action, also liked Ferro's teamwork and his kindness in thanking Atom Girl for a warning that might not have been needed (for him). Cosmic Kid being all shock and awe as a distraction was priceless.

Great use of XS softening the force of the tidal wave (and IMO a better use of her than saving people one by one like in Legionnaires Annual 2!)

nice scene with Dirk, I like how you have him acknowledging many have done dumb things... but the difference is most are genuinely sorry about it, while Hadru and Brek can't even see they were wrong. Him resolving to do his best in a bad situation was great. Also nice insight into how the team has changed (more paperwork now). Also, the little detail about Gim being just a little bit fitter - makes sense, his power is more physical! Impressive though that Dirk almost kept up! Your Dirk/Gim friendship is one of my favorites among your cast, and one of my fave Legion friendship INCLUDING the "canon" ones!

Chameleon Girl - Yera Allon of Durla, shape changer
Starkling - telepathic swarm-being composed of indestructible ball bearing sized components
Mordecai of Rimbor - golem with incredible strength and durability


As Gim was stepping through the warp to First Base, Yera waved her husband off with a less than genuine smile.

Her husband had been asked by Dirk if he had time to catch up, though of course Gim and Yera both knew Dirk wanted more than that. She felt bored almost as soon as he had gone; they had hoped to pop down to Earth to visit a couple of galleries and perhaps indulge in a bit of shopping this afternoon but after Tinya's announcement earlier on they understood that those sorts of lazy days would need to wait.

Yera was harumphing around their apartment when the idea struck her - she knew exactly what to do! After checking with her flight ring that the Legionnaire she wanted to see was on one of the bases she called up a warp and walked through it onto First Base.

The warp opened out into a bland corridor, facing a large doorway. She knew exactly where she was, this was the entrance to Tellus' methane sea filled environment. She had never been inside but had heard that it was almost the size of the docking bay on Home Base.

As she stood there, contemplating her next move, a telepathic invite welcomed her and the huge doors irised open. Yera smiled and darted into the airlock. It only took a few seconds for the door to lock behind her and the pod she was in to fill with the methane sea that Tellus liked. With little more than a thought Yera transformed her legs into a long V-shaped fishtail and she happily swam out.

Before her stood the golem known as Mordecai and, wrapped around it was the Legionnaire Yera had come to see.

<Starkling, my friend, how are you?>

The composite being released a string of its parts towards her, inviting her to come closer. The Mordecai didn't move, though Yera was aware that it knew she was there. As physically intimidating as the great golem was, Yera found it to be quite a sad creature, lurking in this area for the most part and having little or no contact with the majority of the Legionnaires.

Yera realised that this was an opportunity to get to know it as well as catch up with the composite being that had unwittingly helped her decide to give up being a Legionnaire to focus full-time on being a tutor. She really wanted to make sure that Starkling was okay after its experience on Talok vii, and perhaps, with a bit of support they would be able to integrate the Mordecai fully into the Legion family. She already had ideas how it might be able to help out at the Academy...

She reached out and touched the leading edge of Starkling's welcoming tendril and sent her happiest thoughts to her friend.

Titan - Nasir N'Cube of Titan, alpha-level telepath
Spoiler ii - Gord Eno of Naltor, precognition, specialising in short range visions for combat situations
Gravity Kid - Science Police Officer Tel Vole of Earth, manipulation of personal or nearby gravity
Power Boy - Science Police Officer Jedidiah Rikane of Earth, personal density control


Jed and Tel avoided each other.

The two Science Police Officers had both returned to their apartment after arguing in the gym but before their tiff could continue Jed had made an excuse to run an errand and left. Four hours later he ended up sat in the Romper Room talking to Thirteen and Spoiler.

They had been swapping outrageous stories of their experiences working in law enforcement prior to being Legionnaires and Jed asked to join them. He had a few tales from his time on Tarkon-Galtos to share. Initially, the two young men had only smiled politely but Jed quickly got to the funny stories involving several failed attempts at escaping the facilities... and that was just the staff, he added to knowing laughter. Soon the three men were enthralled in the stories they each had.

Three quarters of an hour later they were all in howling with laughter when Tel Vole walked in. Jed's body language immediately changed, becoming far more closed off than it had only moments before. Both Nasir and Gord followed suit, though they sniggered as the humour from the last story spilled out.

"Hey guys," Tel said, "do you mind if I join in?"

"Of course, no bother..." Nasir said with a smile. Tel smiled back at the telepath, though without much warmth.

"Yeah, please do." Gord added. Tel nodded his thanks.

"It's okay, I'm coming..." Jed started to stand up but Tel put and hand on his shoulder to stop him from rising. Jed quickly sat down again.

"So, what you talking about guys? I could hear you all laughing right down the corridor." Tel smiled at Gord and Nasir. Both noticed he had kept a hand on his husband's shoulder ensuring he couldn't leave. As Gord answered Tel sat down next to his husband though didn't look in his direction as he did.

The next fifteen minutes were not comfortable for anyone as Tel tried to tell stories but wouldn't allow Jed the chance to add anything to them as he focussed entirely on Nasir and Gord. Eventually they both made excuses and left.

"Well, that was nice." Tel said brightly as he stood up. He still didn't try to make eye contact with his husband.

"Why are you so mad at me?" Jed asked, his voice was quiet, dulled by his obvious sadness. He made a point of remaining sat down.

"Y'know, sometimes I'd like some quality time with my husband too. Doesn't seem he feels the same though." Tel said as he started to walk out.

"Tel, listen, this... I don't know what this is about, but it's hurtful. It has to stop. I'm... ah, I do love you but I'm not gonna be a punchbag..."

"Oh, stop whining already. You need to make an effort with me too, not just the fair-weather friends you pick up on the base."

"Hey... I think you need to cool it now 'cause if you can't see what a bitch you're being then I'm not gonna hang around much longer."

"Yeah? Suit yourself. Oh, your dinner's on the table waiting for you back at our apartment. I'm going out to see who I can find now... don't wait up." And with that Tel Vole took flight and sped from the room.

Phantom Girl - Team Leader, Tinya Wazzo of Bgtzl Dimension, intangibility
XS - Jenni Ognats of an alternate dimension Aarok, phenomenal speed
Ferro - Douglas Nolan of Earth, can assume invulnerable iron isotope form
Atom Girl - Sylva Nrilsan of Imsk, can shrink to microscopic size
Gazelle - J'izl Dtutuu from the Khundian Battle Brigade, of Khundia Prime, enhanced strength, speed, agility and metabolic control
Cosmic Kid - Po Miman, Justice Legionnaire of alternate dimension Mars, energy manipulation and flight

Intern:

Mindbender - Marmud Illic of Titan, alpha-level telepath


They stepped through a warp into a small town with three suns overhead.

<Hey team, we're on Zuun. According to the Monitor Board there's been some troubles here at the zoo so be careful, this place may be full of nasty surprises>

Despite Tinya's warning the mission was surprisingly easy - the local zoo had their prize exhibit of rare indigenous creatures called Torryquines stolen overnight from their pens. Tinya had taken one look at the tunnels used to get the animals away and she immediately accessed the planetary population database. In under two minutes she had found the address of the person she suspected responsible.

As she expected, the person responsible lived on the very outskirts of town, their grounds had no fences and despite track marks clearly indicating that the animals from the zoo had been there, the tracks also indicated that they had returned to the wilderness of the Mushroom Forests. The owner of the farm came forward when he saw the Legionnaires and gave himself up. He had merely wanted to see the animals return to the wild, not live the rest of their lives in cages anymore. When he asked how they had found him so quickly, after he had done everything he could to ensure there was no evidence left behind, Tinya smiled and said she had seen another Bismollian eat their way into and out of places before so it was pretty obvious to her how the tunnels had been created ...and as he was the only one from that distant planet currently registered on this Rim world... the animal thief nodded and agreed to join the team down to the local police station without any fuss after that.

The next warp took them to the Siver Forest on Hullien-Kolnnus Prime where a reported monster was attacking the local tribes' villages. Rain was tipping down, blurring their surroundings as the Legionnaires made their way across the resplendent treetops towards the last sighting of the beast.

<it's weird but I can't sense anything alive down there> Mindbender sent to the team, <not for a good way all around...no people, no animals. I don't think this is right>

<What is it Marmud?> even as she asked Tinya signalled the team to stop.

<there's nothing ahead of us but in an ecosystem like this there should lots of life so I should sense...something?>

At Tinya's command XS zoomed ahead, darting through the forest below. They waited several seconds and heard nothing before a static blast tore through the telepathic grid that connected the team.

"Jenni!" Po still clutched his head with a hand as he dived into the trees to look for his fianc?.

"Ferro, go with him." Phantom Girl ordered before turning to the intern, "the rest of you stay close here, Marmud, what was that? Psychic feedback?"

"Technological... and it hurt, whoever did that has compromised the grid so don't use it. I'll keep us linked up. Ah... I think I've found Jenni, she's in an electric net. She's hurt, I'll point Po and Doug towards her." The young telepath looked angry as he scanned the forest below them, "That feedback is generating more static... this is tough".

Gazelle and Atom Girl had both flown closer to the tree tops while their team leader was talking to the telepath. There was a rumbling below and a giant erupted through the lush canopy and reached up with both hands to grab the Legionnaires. Atom Girl shrunk and flew as fast as she could towards one of his ears - she knew how to take him down. Meanwhile, Gazelle acrobatically dodged, keeping his attention while she dived and ducked through his enormous hands. The Khund struck at nerve points on the giant's hands and arms, as well as managing to smash the giant's nose with one particularly savage spinning kick.

<Gazelle, Atom Girl, I'm taking Marmud to get Po and Jenni...>

<and Douglas!> the Khund interjected.

<He's not the one I'm worried about J'izl. Have fun 'til we get back> Tinya replied with a smile as she dived into the thick foliage, the telepathic intern flew close behind. They could hear a loud roar and the giant stumbled and lashed out, entangling himself in the ancient trees around him. Tinya smiled, realising that Sylva was probably using one of Violet's ticks and attacking the giant's inner ear sending his balance askew.

Ahead of them they could hear shouting and a small detonation.

"Follow as fast as you can." Tinya said to Marmud before phasing straight through the huge trunk in front of them, going straight towards their colleagues and the sounds of fighting.

The intern smiled as he swung around the tree and wove his way through the forest towards the sounds. His telepathy was being hampered, not blocked entirely but there was definitely some strong interference he'd need to tackle to be of full use to the team. He could hear a definite fight as he approached where Tinya had been flying towards.

There were several unfamiliar minds alongside his teammates. Unfortunately, the three Legionnaires were unconscious. The must have been taken prisoner quickly, efficiently... the young telepath realised that whoever it was only metres away must have prepared to face this team.

Marmud Illic had a moments panic until he realised that Atom Girl and Gazelle was still free so they still stood a chance. He activated the distorter on his belt, willing it onto the Hide Mode and levitated up into the branches above. As the hologram sprung around him showing foliage and shadows like his surroundings, he took a deep breath. The intern concentrated on his colleagues and let his immense metal powers stretch out around him. The artificial psychic static made this usually simple task quite tough though he eventually found them... both unconscious, with another three unknown minds around them.

The intern was all by himself in a distant rain-soaked forest with a gang of meta-terrorists that had just taken out a full squad of Legionnaires...

The Siver Forests of Hullien Kolnnus Prime:

Mindbender - Marmud Illic of Titan, alpha-level telepath


With the rest of the team unconscious and an unknown group at large the intern called Mindbender felt justifiably worried by his predicament.

He had activated his flight ring comms-function but only received static as a response. As well as blocking the telepathic grid between the teams their opponents had also blocked the wider communication functions. Marmud knew that according to his Academy training he should by rights go for help but as he was unsure where that help would be found he doubted that would work. His choices were either to flee and hope to get help soon or risk capture and try to get his colleagues free... Marmud Illic had a strong IQ, far above average, but the choice he made would be thought of as stupid if it was presented as a case study in the Academy classroom.

Using his telepathy to pinpoint the location of his teammates was painful through the static but Mindbender quickly realised they were being moved away from him, while four of the opposition had remained behind. Marmud took another big breath as he focussed his strength. He contemplated his options again then decided he would fly as quietly as he could towards his teammates, all the while looking out for their attackers... a solution would come to him, he hoped. The constant downpour and the thick foliage on the branches of the trees made both difficult. He was thankful that whatever problems he was having in seeing too far ahead was probably shared by the gang that had attacked them. He also had the benefit of his telepathic sense to alert him if anyone got close, though due to the artificial TP static this was limited.

And several times his telepathy, as strained as it was, helped him avoid the people that were hunting him. One of them had a brutish mind that was clearly hoping to hurt anyone that crossed their path. Marmud was especially quiet as they stomped underneath him on the sogging forest floor. Another flew close-by, leaving a trail of sparkling lights in the air behind them. That one was moving fast and Marmud only had a second's warning that they were close before they tore through the forest not ten feet away from him.

The third one was a man, apparently human from what Marmud saw, wearing fairly standard body armour with a crest of some kind on his belt buckle. He had stopped about ten feet from the hiding intern to shelter under a bushy branch from the ferocious rain. Marmud quietly levitated closer, hovering a few metres above and behind them, and gently probed their mind, careful to be as sneaky as possible.

The man had very recent memories that showed he was part of a group that had been sent here specifically to cause a news story that would attract the Legionnaires on their Hit Squad mission. They had known who was on this team as they had followed the daily news-streams dedicated to the Legion's missions. There was no monster attacking villagers here, in fact there were no more villagers as they had been murdered to ensure no-one could warn the Legionnaires when they got here. They had set this trap to catch Legionnaires so they could publicly execute them.

From the memories Marmud scanned he found that there had been seven on this team of rogues. This man, Charrafen Maller, was a former UP soldier... had gene-mods to mimic Braalian's magnokinesis as well as increase his physical strength. He was now a high-priced mercenary... His job on this mission had been specifically to catch Ferro, which he had done quite easily as the metal skinned Legionnaire tore through the forest.

Realising that this gang must know about him and his own abilities Marmud considered what he needed to do next.

Marmud used Titanian breathing and relaxation techniques to fake being unconscious as he was carried through the forest across the former soldier's shoulder.

The intern could keep coontrol if they maintained physical contact - it was a fairly basic telepathic trick to shift the mercenaries mind into a drean state and give him basic commands like 'walk'...

The other three gang members had joined the former soldier as he carried the intern towards the rest of the gang and the Legionnaires. The psychic static made it impossible for Marmud to take control of their minds as he had the soldier carrying him but he had enough strength to mine their memories - all knowledge of an opponent is good knowledge! The training from the Academy stood him in good stead as he learned everything he could from the attackers without tipping them off that he was snooping inside their heads.

The one that he thought of as a brute had a gene-mod that allowed him to grow in size, while one had only gained his abilities recently so wasn't confident in his powers of flight and heat generation. The third could induce intense nausea and pain in her victims. She was also a weapons expert and had helped take out both Phantom Girl and XS. Marmud gently planted an urge to ignore him in their minds, hoping it would be enough to slow them down a little if he got into a scrape, but he wasn't able to do much more.

As they pushed through the forest Marmud could finally sense the other gang members and the unconscious Legionnaires. Going by how dulled the Legionnaire's minds were, he realised that his teammates were most likely in a drugged state. XS seemed the closest to consciousness so Marmud called psychically to her in an attempt to wake her up so she might assist him. After unsuccessfully trying to rouse Jenni, he decided that it would be best for now to focus on his breathing and keeping control of the mercenary that was carrying him towards his teammates. He'd need all the strength he could muster soon enough.

Ten soaking minutes later, after trudging through the muddy forest floor, the former soldier that was carrying the psychic intern reached the air-cart that the Legionnaires had been slumped onto and covered with electric netting.

Mindbender realised he had seconds to act.

The cyborg ring leader of the group stood to the side of the air-cart. Even trying to telepathically scan in her direction brought sharp static busts so Marmud realised that she must be the source of the interference that was hurting him so much. He knew she would have to be the one he took out first if his crazy plan stood a chance of succeeding.

As the former soldier threw the intern onto the cart Marmud commanded him to release an aggressive magnetic pulse to disable the cyborg. At the same time the intern twisted and kicked the woman who could influence moods in the face, knocking her off her feet. As he did, the cyborg crumpled onto the ground as the magnetic pulse disrupted her systems.

The painful telepathic static immediately stopped.

<SLEEP!> Marmud commanded the gang around the cart, just as the brute was reaching for him. Thankfully his psychic command knocked the seven mercenary's unconscious.

The intern's flight ring kept him hovering in the air above the cart, as he took several deep breaths.

<Wake up> Marmud telepathically sent at his colleagues. As expected, they remained unconscious, though XS started to moan and wriggle in the netting. Her Speed-Force infused metabolism was burning through whatever drug the gang had used.

The intern looked around for the control for the nets and after finding it in the dirt beside the cyborg he switched off the electric field. He quickly ripped the netting from his colleagues and threw it over the gang that had attacked them. He took a surprising amount of pleasure activating the electrics again to hold the gang that had attacked his colleagues and him in this rain bleary forest. He then got back onto the cart and checked on his colleagues.

It took a few seconds before he realised that he could smell something like burning. Looking over the side of the cart Marmud saw the gang members were all starting to decompose at an incredible rate. The smell became truly nauseating. They had all started to rot, their flesh and muscle bubbling as it decomposed at an alarmingly accelerated rate. It had begun once the nets had covered them but he had been too focussed on resuscitating his colleagues to notice.

In front of his eyes their bodies disintegrated into piles of bones and mulch.

"What is that... *cough... smell?" XS said as she started to sit up.

"Jenni!" Instinctively Marmud hugged the Legionnaire, "I think I just killed them all!"

XS extricated herself from the intern and quickly jumped off the cart and ran around the scene, scanning everything with her flight ring.

"You called for help? Where's Henry's warp?" Jenni asked.

The intern called Mindbender's jaw fell as he realised that he had forgotten the first rule of working with the Legion: If in doubt, ask for assistance. As soon as the cyborg's static had lifted, he could have sent an alarm through to the Bases for support.


Within two minutes there was a team of Legionnaires and support staff at hand to help.

Ming Sul had the Green Lantern gently scoop up the remains of the gang that had attacked the team to be transported back to First Base for a thorough examination. Mindbender felt dejected as he saw Dkyun Mu take the remains back through Henry's warp. If only he'd sent the alarm...

Phantom Girl had been revived by Dr Shakespeare and called Marmud over to speak with her as the team's doctor supported her to a warp to his medi-bay. The Legion leader looked exhausted as she smiled at the intern.

"You did good, thank you Marmud."

"I wish I'd only thought to..."

"No! Don't think anything Marmud. Today you saved six Legionnaire's lives. You are a credit to yourself, the Academy and the intern program. The thugs must have had a kill-switch implant that you couldn't have done anything about. Whoever sent them here ensured they wouldn't tell any stories if they were caught. Take a couple of days off. I have a feeling you may not be an intern for too much longer after today."

While Marmud Illic was pleased with Tinya's comments, the most pressing thought he had was that he wondered how long it would take to get the smell of rotting flesh out of his nostrils. He didn't feel particularly heroic as he stepped through the warp back to First Base.

Phantom Girl - Team Leader, Tinya Wazzo of Bgtzl Dimension, intangibility

Intern:

Mindbender - Marmud Illic of Titan, alpha-level telepath

Support staff:

Henry - Anti Lad - Spatial warp controller



It was two hours later that Tinya requested that Marmud join her for an informal meeting.

The team had been given the all-clear by Dr Shakespeare after he had neutralised the drug that had been used to knock them out and a quick check. Atom Girl had a broken arm and Cosmic Kid would have some serious bruising, but Dr Shakespeare reassured them they would be back on active duty within a few days.

The young telepath that had risked his life to save them had been unable to rest since returning to First Base so immediately agreed to meet with the team leader. Within ten minutes he was sat opposite the legion's current leader detailing what he had read in the minds of the gang that had attacked them.

"So, you're saying they knew who was on the mission due to real time media-streams? And that team of mercs were chosen specifically to counter us?"

"That's what two of them thought. They were chosen as their abilities could counter the Legionnaire's on that mission's roster."

"And who picked them?" Phantom Girl asked, eager to know if they had a name to track down.

"A dark silhouetted man on a holo, that's all I could get. Sorry... though they each knew if they succeeded, they would get their share of the bounty."

" ...that bloody bounty again." Tinya muttered.

"The mercenaries know that there will be many more like them lined up to take a shot at one of our teams whenever they can find them. That group were happy to go first as they thought they'd have the best chance to kill us."

"Okay, I thought there might be more coming after us. We'll need to stop live feeds... blast! I'll ask Theena to work out a way we can share random mission feeds to keep anyone watching interested, but the mercs off guard. It won't stop them trying something like that again, but at least they won't know who'll turn up."

"One other thing Tinya..." Marmud remembered something that had struck him as a little odd at the time, "they had their gene-mod or cybernetics in the last year. None of them were planetary norms like Braalians or me or you."

"That makes sense. I think this all leads back to Sa Lok on Rimbor. He's been running gene-mod shops in the fringes for a while now. Thank you Marmud."

After the intern had left Tinya contacted the senior team to discuss what she had learned. They all agreed that the media stories on their missions would need to be monitored and managed going forward. The senior team were less certain what to do regarding the bounty and potential mercenary traps springing on them when on missions. After twenty minutes of to-ing and fro-ing between various suggestions Tinya asked if they would all consider their options and they could meet the next day to finalise a plan. The Senior Team agreed and their holos winked out leaving her in a darkened room.

She sat in silence for several minutes before calling for the only member of the team that she thought might know something more about this situation:

"Henry, come to me when you're free please, we need to talk."

The holo-man from the 75th century appeared before her.

"You know what's going on, don't you?"

"Of course."

"I told you that I didn't want to hear any future history from you before, well forget that now. What is going on?"

Henry gave a humourless smile and nodded his head.

"I do not have full access to the minutiae of history but if you are certain, I can share a little."

Tinya nodded.

"According to the history that I still remember, at this time you are facing the challenges set by the Dark Man."

"That was Tharok's clone, we defeated him, didn't we?"

"No, I believe that version was a clone sent on a mission to test your colleagues, and the Fatal Five, by the United Planet's Security Council. They wished to test-run their own potential meta-army in case the Legion ever went rogue. The League of Assassins was their first attempt."

"That actually makes more sense..." She muttered darkly to herself.

"The real Dark Man is the person pulling the strings. At this point in your history, it is my understanding that you do not know exactly who or where he is. What you do know is what he is doing though." Henry gave a bland smile and stopped talking.

"Ah... so, we go after the gene-mod shops? Reep will be happy. Thank you again, Henry. As ever, I'm very grateful for you being on our side." She gave a warm smile as the holo-man faded from view.

hey Harbi, more great stuff! Though I see you posted the same installment twice, and there seems to be one missing in return?

loved the bit about Marmud's actions being used as a case study for what NOT to do!

Also, is a full Legion membership in his future? I love Tinya's emphatic praise of him - and I am glad Marmud wasn't too hard on himself for momentarily forgetting to call for back up.

XS metabolizing the drug, great use of her speed.

Also love Tinya's practicality in getting some info from Henry!

whoops, that'll learn me for trying to get these all posted while setting up a zoom call that's it fixed now.

Thanks B, grateful for you pointing it out to me.

thanks Harbi! and my pleasure, I love reading your work and that bit was amazing.

Really impressed by Marmud, such telepathic tricks he knows, I daresay he's even more competent than some versions of Saturn Girl have been shown. Like putting people in dream states or accessing memories WITHOUT tipping the subject off

Thanks again IB, Marmud has obviously practiced being sneaky since his first appearance when Gim caught him reading his mind

oh that was him! I remember that scene well, forgot it was him though nice bit of growth there!

Loved Marmud saving the day! I also like that the bad guys were prepared and intelligent, and not just dumb grunts...having the live feeds disadvantage the Legion like that is a development that makes sense.

Trouble in paradise with Jed and Tel too, that awkward scene was unfortunately very well written, you could feel the discomfort at that table lol

Awesome intro for the Dark Man! I think Tinya's gonna have her work cut out for her this time!

Oh, nearly forgot...Tinya recognising Bismollian tunnel digging waa a cute thing to throw in there too, I really liked that scene

Home Base, Sol system

Dawnstar of Starhaven - Senior Team member, space flight, incredible speed, tracking
Southern Lights of Starhaven - spaceflight, magic user


Southern Lights was floating in space a klick outside of Home Base.

As a Legionnaire, even one with a few weeks left of having Mon El as his mentor, Southern Lights was obliged to have one day a month working at Home Base to help support the tutors and get to know the students. On his last two shifts, he had worked with the students that exhibited magical gifts. This time though Rokk asked him to help out with a group of the students that could naturally operate in the vacuum of space. These were Wildfire's training team as unfortunately Drake was busy elsewhere.

Having been a member of Wildfire's first training squad after the anti-energy being had become a full-time tutor, Southern Lights felt a little bit uneasy at the prospect. Drake Burroughs had been so incredibly supportive and encouraging of his squad that the young mystic felt unworthy to take over from him, even if only for a day. He knew that he did not have the patience with immaturity that his former tutor had, as for one thing, Southern Lights did not find it particularly funny.

The Wildfire Fighters, as the training squad now called themselves, wanted to spend more time asking him about the transition from student to Legionnaire, as well as any gossip he could dish on his teammates, rather than work at the course that the training AI had holo-generated for them. The young mystic remembered his own time at the academy - he had found the majority of students to be childish and unprofessional in outlook back then. It appeared things hadn't improved. The only good thing about the training so far was that Startstorm stayed at the back of the class and did little to engage with him. He realised that his own disdain for his former academy squad mate was very probably reciprocated.

They had been training for a little over two hours when Dawnstar approached with a group of Science Police cadets that she had been asked to train that day. There was an awkwardness between Dawnstar and Southern Lights that the young mystic could not quite understand. He assumed that because they had both come from Starhaven and shared so much of their home world's culture and customs that things should be easier between them but that was clearly not the case.

The next four hours had been quite intense as Southern Lights pitted Wildfire's training squad against a group of mainly Daxamite Science Police Officers in a series of increasingly difficult training exercises. By emphasizing to the Wildfire Fighters the benefits of teamwork and using the varied abilities within the squad they eventually come out on top against the SPO's, though it had been very close. Almost as soon as the competition was completed Dawnstar had called an end to the exercise and sent the SPOs back to Home Base to pick up further training from Tues El.

Southern Lights excused the Wildfire Fighters, saying they deserved an early end to their day after all their hard work. As they drifted back into the planetoid base Southern Lights called out across a private bandwidth to his fellow Legionnaire before she could leave.

<Dawnstar, would you mind waiting for a moment. I would be very grateful if we could talk>

<I would prefer to...>

<Why do you always seek to avoid me? We are of the same people, if not the same Family, so I would think we have more in common...>

<I do not know you to avoid you Southern Lights. And we have work to do...>

<You are not being honest Dawnstar. I am a Spirit-Talker; you know we see through lies. Why are you lying to me now? Do the changes I have gone through alarm you?> He motioned his torso and his blue skin.

<no, no your changes do not alarm me. I have been a Legionnaire for half of my life Southern Lights, do you really believe something as petty as blue skin would alarm me? You are arrogant and ill-informed>

<...I do not wish to undermine or embarrass you Dawnstar. My apologies> He bowed his head in respect to the Senior Team member as she hovered close by.

<Southern Lights, you should be focusing on yourself more than others. Take that advice from one who has walked the path you are on for many years more than you> And before he could reply she flapped her white wings and sped away from him.

After Dawnstar had left the young mystic remained floating in space for several minutes, his mind racing. He was not so inexperienced to miss that there had been an ...attraction between them. Southern Lights knew what he had seen and felt was true, yet she continued to rebuff him at every opportunity.

Perhaps, he thought sadly, she would never be open about what she seemed to feel so it was time for him to look elsewhere if he really wanted to find a special connection with another. As she had advised, he needed to focus more on himself...

Duplicate Girl - Senior Team member, Luornu Durgo of Carggg, creation of multiple identical duplicates of herself
Monica Sade of Rimbor - strength, reflexes, line of sight teleportation
Babbage- I-45ENG/Nth Series, of the Robotica Confederated Worlds, strength and durability, internalised weapons, hyper awareness and analytical skills.
Spy (also team counsellor) - Dr Noah Kabbo, heightened awareness and limited telepathy
Kid Pulsar - Neel Koduah of Earth, incredible strength, invulnerability, projection of explosive blasts

Science Police meta-squad member seconded to Legion World Second Base:
Magno - Science Police Officer Dyrk Magz of Braal, manipulation of magnetic fields

Intern:
Solar Gorilla - D'Nadka Endarooga of Dmansca - generate and project extreme heat and light

Encyclopaedia Galactica: 'Bubble Arc' is a generic term used to cover any colonist transport crafts from the Sol System used between the end of the 22nd century and the early 26th century that held over a thousand colonists. These crafts carried technology that typically cryogenic froze passengers to ensure the colonists would remain at the same age and peak health for their arrival to their new home system as when they left. There were just over one thousand nine hundred that are known to have left during this time frame of which over nine eight percent reached their target systems. As was legislated at the time that they left Sol, all were fitted with a beacon that automatically sent out updates on their position along an ancient radio carrier system. Fourteen are now known to have been destroyed, through mechanical failure or natural disaster, three have been discovered intact after over-shooting their target system and floating intact afterwards, their beacons attracting their rescue. Another three are known to have malfunctioned at some point during their journey meaning the colonists were woken up years, if not decades, before they were due to arrive at their new world. Only two have never been found.

Encyclopaedia Galactica: The Lesser Spider Nebula is several hundred light years away from Sol in thearea of the Milky Way usually called the Outer Rim. It is renowned as being one of the smallest yet densest nebulae ever discovered. It was created by the remnants of a nova several hundred million years ago. The nebula measures just less than fifteen light minutes across (15 x 17,987,547.5 klicks, approximately 2AU). As it sits between two major binary systems it has been theorised that the gasses that are contained within the nebula are kept in place due to the strength of the heliotropic bubbles of the neighbouring star systems. It is also rumoured to be the base for a race of Terran-like beings that are ferociously anti-social. What little information that is known about these people has been mainly gained by second-hand accounts. All of these point towards a race technically capable of space flight but that have not yet reached a faster than light level of technology, that do not welcome outsiders and, will not partake in trade. In recent years the expansion of the Tallatanri Empire from system BH-1211113184 into the binary system galactic north of the nebula has led to concerns about increasing tensions with the people in the nebula next to this system.


Luorno had piloted the cruiser towards the Lesser Spider Nebula.

While the nebula itself sat almost 50 light years outside of the United Planets in the neutral space of the Outer UP Rim, there were settlers in this region that originally came from the Terran colonies. One of these had sent an interesting signal that Second Base had intercepted stating that a scavenger had found signs of ancient Earther-tech and was requesting assistance in retrieving it. Due to imminent threat from the Tallatanuri, they had not been able to salvage what they assumed were some remains from a late 24th century Bubble Arc. As there were only a couple of these massive crafts left undiscovered the potential monetary gain was worth an awful lot of credits. Though, there was the huge risk of coming up against the supposedly anti-social natives and the expansionistic Tallatanri for any that would want to assist with the task. The offer was put out into the Rim aether... help to retrieve the beacon as proof they had found a lost Bubble Arc. 50/50 split on Salvage Rights... any takers?

Duplicate Girl had decided that the Legion should assist.

The team needed a mission to take their minds off the recent announcements by Tinya, and a trip out to the edge of the Rim would definitely help...

Luornu had put out a call asking for a team to join her on a non-urgent mission and was pleased that within minutes she had five volunteers making the team quorate. She realised that her request had been answered so quickly due to the moratorium on the team leaving the bases alone meant that there were more of the team available than usual for these kinds of 'softer' missions.

It surprised her that Monica Sade had agreed to join as usually she stuck pretty close to Tyroc, though Lu knew better than to ask. Whatever was happening, or not, within their relationship was nothing to do with her.

Instead, Lu asked Babbage why it was wearing a cloak: a warm sky blue on the outside with a wide white trim along the edges, and a black starfield pattern with a hint of aurora flashing on the inside. The large Robitican wore it around its neck and had it fall to the floor across the right-hand side of its body. Babbage pulled up the hood over its head and tugged the cloak around its whole body before standing before the team. If the Robotican wasn't striking enough before, it certainly made an impression now! Magno congratulated Babbage while Monica Sade looked away with a small grin on her face. Kid Pulsar asked if he should get a cloak as his powerful frame was often seen as intimidating as well. Luornu smiled at him and shook her head.

The Robotican Legionnaire stated that it wished to alter its appearance as it believed organic beings often found intelligent robotic individuals to be inherently threatening and so had designed the cloak to look less alarming. Lu resisted the urge to laugh and simply nodded and said that it was being very thoughtful. Dr Kabbo stated that it certainly softened the Robotican's edges so was probably a good psychological trick. Luornu gave a quick glance towards the former team counsellor though was unsure if he was being serious or not.

As the team took their seats on the cruiser Lu checked who was next up on the Intern's rota and called up Solar Gorilla, offering her a place on the team if she wanted to join them. Of course, the student agreed and happily bounded into the docking bay a minute later. Within seconds of the student intern joining them on the cruiser bridge the team were ready and Lu piloted the craft out of the docking bay. They arrived at a point ten light minutes Galactic west of their target just under an hour later.

"Okay... scanning. The nebula seems to be giving some trouble to our scanners but there's a small craft close to its boundaries..." Sade said as she called up a holo of the nebula.

Babbage stood behind the Rimborian teleporter intently staring at the holo-display as she read out what was flashing before them.

"Definitely two human beings on board..." Sade said as she read off the hard-light screen.

"Technological footprint equivalent to late 23rd century. It appears the scavenger was correct." Babbage added.

Duplicate Girl smiled, "Right team, let's go investigate some living history."

And with that she piloted their cruiser towards the Lesser Spider Nebula and the small craft that had recently come out of it..

Ahead of them they could see a small shuttle craft.

Their scanners showed it did indeed have occupants. Terran, female, mid 20's... and a baby no older than a standard day! Lu wanted to talk to the young woman before the legion took their own craft into the small nebula.

The team tried hailing across a range of common frequencies though none elicited a response. After several minutes of trying to contact the person board the small craft Luornu decided they needed to bring them onboard the Legion's cruiser.

The cruiser's grav-array gently carried the mysterious craft into their docking bay. As the craft was pulled closer to the cruiser the scans made it apparent that there was only a limited amount of oxygen on board, with an estimated supply for only another few hours. Whoever was in the small craft would probably not survive without the Legionnaire's assistance.

Duplicate Girl, Babbage, Spy, Solar Gorilla and Magno went to the cruiser's docking bay to investigate.

Luornu walked up to the pod, a hard light data scroll that shone from her flight ring gave her an in-depth scan of the ancient looking vehicle. At its longest it was no more than ten feet and looked as if it had originally been made for a single use, perhaps an escape pod, though the scratches and dents on its otherwise silvered surface told a different story. This was a craft that had been used many times before. It lay horizontally on the docking bay floor, perhaps four feet tall. There was a transparent section at the highest point and Lu went up and looked inside. The material was scratched and misted but it was clear enough for the Legionnaire to see a young woman clutching a small baby to her chest, the woman's eyes were tightly closed and she looked to be terrified.

"Okay, stand back, I think this is a first contact situation... and she looks really scared so I'm going to be extra gentle now."

With a thought Luornu activated a protocol through her flight ring that contacted the control circuits of the small craft and commanded it to pop open the top.

The woman inside screamed!

Home Base

Chameleon Boy - Espionage Squad leader, Reep Daggle of Durla, shape changer
Titan - Nasir N'Cube of Titan, alpha-level telepathy

Intern:
Strobe - Denal Lort of Dryad - assume electro-magnetic energy form

Students:
Nemesis Girl - Mi Pra of Dryad - neutralisation of energies
Rebounder - Lozaro Koosta-Nevarra of Rimbor - physical density giving strength, durability and reflection of attack


Strobe, Nemesis Girl and the new student called Rebounder had been requested by Chameleon Boy to meet in one of the offices on Home Base's lower levels.

The Durlan Legionnaire was sitting at a large round table with Titan when they arrived. Reep Daggle smiled and asked them to join the Legionnaires. He reassured them that they were there to help the team, they weren't in any trouble, he only wanted to ask a few questions. Strobe and Nemesis Girl appeared eager to help while the latest student from Rimbor was hesitant. Reep smiled to him and motioned for him to sit down.

"Thank you for coming here, it is appreciated. We've had some ...startling information regarding the proliferation of establishments that offer meta gene-modifications and hoped you could share your own experiences so we can understand them better." Again, the Durlan gave a smile. "My colleague here, Nasir, is here to ascertain if there have been any memory modifications while you underwent the processes that gave you your abilities. If you are uncomfortable with him entering your mind let us know, it is perfectly understandable to be wary of telepaths if you are not used to being around them." Chameleon Boy glanced at Rebounder as he said this.

"Nope, it's fine." Said Strobe. Nemesis Girl nodded, her expression never changing. Rebounder looked less than comfortable but after a couple of seconds said "ah...okay."

"Thank you. Denal, can you start please. What do you remember about your own experience?"

The intern called Strobe told the story of him and five friends from Rim colonies that had survived the destruction of Dryad became meta-humans. He told the Legionnaires how they had each suffered the embarrassment of knowing that the League of Assassins had used the Legion's help with evacuating that world to justify their murderous spree. The six youths decided that they would do something about it. Each had received the standard UP Survivors Financial Support package, a sum given to those needing to relocate from their home world due to some disastrous stellar event, which, along with family money meant they were all reasonably wealthy... It took six months of planning and research before they found the gene-mod shop that could give them what they were looking for - working analogues of the abilities of the League. Both Strobe and Nemesis Girl agreed that the processes were laborious, painful and took almost a month to complete, and they each had a further six weeks in isolation afterwards where only auto-docs would monitor their progress.

"Was nothing like that on Rimbor!" Rebounder said, "I was strapped to a chair, given half a dozen injections and put in this big casket thing and then exposed to a weird light which knocked me out an' four hours later I was woken up an' told to take a couple a days to rest."

"Lozaro, do you mind if I look into those memories? It might give us a hint..." Titan said.

"Yeah, go on." The young student did not appear happy with the prospect but conceded anyway.

"Interesting..." Titan nodded as he gently probed Rebounder's mind. "It appears that they almost randomly assigned the gene-mods to you... as if testing their creations."

"Yeah, two of us din't make it. I was a lucky one." the student looked away from the rest of them as he spoke, his face clearly showed how upset he was.

"A third of the test subjects died." Titan said bluntly, "Whoever set up this organisation was not as thorough or careful as the one Denal and Mi visited."

"Or, they had the information they needed from their earlier experiments and were developing it so the meta-gene transference would be quicker. Denal and Mi spend a couple of months getting their abilities, it took Lazaro less than a week..." Chameleon Boy mused.

"I remember one o' my group asked if she would be able to read minds after the treatment and they said there are certain powers weren't possible to copy properly..." Lozaro said, looking hopeful, "like, everything had to be manipulation of energy or some type of change to the body. They said true telepathy wasn't possible as it took a lifetime to learn properly, and I think they said Cargggite replicating and invisibility was a no go. Even changing shape like you do..." He looked at Chameleon Boy, "they said it was too tricky. We were to be the test subject for their latest batch of mods... we asked a lot of questions as I don't think none of us really wanted to be there."

"What were the others gifted with?" Titan asked.

"Umm... Ardulman could, like glow and I think do fire stuff, Garetta made people scared and anxious and I heard her sister Griffa grew spikes and armour and was real strong ...and I think H'kromasal had some gravo-metric power. We was all different. O'Gryet and Moddi didn't survive, not sure what mod they were supposed to get."

"Do you know if there were any other groups experimented on before you? What talents they received?" Reep asked.

"Oh yeah, there were dozens, the gangs were lining up to send folks in to get powers. It's an arms race goin' on, I said that when I applied to the Academy." Lozaro looked surprised that Chameleon Boy wasn't aware of this.

"Okay. Thank you for coming in, I think we have everything we need now. You should resume your studies now." Reep was abrupt, surprising the students. After they left the room Titan asked him if he was okay.

"No.... no, this has obviously got out of hand. We need to shut down these operations as fast as we can before we have a super powered war on our hands."

Yay! more! i just finished dinner and this is the perfect dessert

Scenes between Legionnaires from the same homeworld are always nice. Classic Dawny, aloof and hiding her feelings. Her being all "YOU are arrogant and ill-informed!" was so her.

Fun mission, those space arks!

And I like where you are going with this super-powered arms race... is there something behind Cham kind of not knowing, about what Lozaro said when he joined? Is this a big plot point?

I like the Dawny/Southern Lights interactions too, I am glad we got another scene to explore that a bit!

Lu's team seems like a bit of a mixed bag, it'll be interesting seeing how they all gel together...and I really dig the idea of a Terran colony going all Mad Max like that and just becoming fiercely insular and refusing to play well with others.

The super-powered arms race is an interesting subplot, Cham in investigator mode is best Cham

Weber's World, the artificial planet that houses the ambassadorial workforce of the United Planets.


Chameleon Boy - Espionage Squad leader, Reep Daggle of Durla, shape changer
Titan - Nasir N'Cube of Titan, alpha-level telepathy

Weber's World ambassadorial team:

Oodoo Shanair of Lallor - empath
I.Z.O.R. - Gear i, Chief Maitre D' on Weber's World, nannite collective being, technomorph


Before arranging the meeting with Oodoo Shanair on Weber's World, Reep had called Rokk on Home Base.

The Durlan had calmly explained that the student called Rebounder had just told him that he had mentioned a potential meta-gang war on Rimbor at his entrance interview, but the main team had not heard of this potentially troublesome news. Rokk blushed slightly as he tapped on the virtual control to bring up the minutes from that meeting.

"Reep, he's right, he definitely mentioned this. I'm so sorry, we ... ah... we missed it. I'll make sure we have an algorithm set up to catch these in future so it won't happen again."

It was ten minutes later that Chameleon Boy and Titan walked through the warp into a large meeting room on Weber's World.

Oodoo Shanair stood at the side of the long dark wooden table that dominated the room with a huge grin on his face. The Lallorian ambassador approached the two Legionnaires with his hand outstretched to shake. After they had exchanged pleasantries the three men sat down and discussed the matter at hand.

Chameleon Boy quickly got to the point and shared his concerns regarding the meteoric rise in back-street gene-mod operations within the Rim Worlds. Oodoo immediately saw the risks and started to scroll through a hard light screen as he decided which ambassadors he should contact first. Chameleon Boy stopped him from going any further as he explained that according to the list of recipients they had procured from Sa Lok's personal files, there may be people of strategic importance - Oodoo understood that Reep meant senators and ambassadors - that had benefited from these gene-mod operations. Reep slid a data-crystal across the table, stating it had been set to be opened by the Lallorian's DNA alone and it would be best perused in strictest privacy. Oodoo grimaced and stood up from the table.

"IZOR, can you join us please?" He spoke up towards the ceiling.

It appeared as if particles of dust were swirling before them and over a matter of a few seconds they assumed the humanoid shape that the Linsnarian they called Gear used when in company.

"Hello Reep, hello Nasir, it is good to see you both." Gear bowed his head in acknowledgement of the Legionnaires before continuing. "We are secure here Ooodoo, I have enhanced psi-buffers and ensured we cannot be disturbed."

Titan looked around as he felt the psi-buffers slide into place - a low level static that interfered with his psionic talents. It wouldn't affect him as long as he didn't try to probe too deeply through it. As he looked around, he noticed that there were no doors into this room, instead there were only four blank walls with no point of entrance. He smiled at how efficiently Gear operated, altering the material surroundings around them without the Legionnaire noticing.

Oodoo took the crystal from Reep and activated the holo-function. For five solid minutes they remained silent as the Lallorian read through the data-scroll.

"This is incredible! We knew Sa Lok was corrupt but this is... it's mind-blowing! How did you get this data Reep? In case it goes to a formal investigation, you understand." The thin ambassador looked up to the Legionnaire as he asked his question.

"Surreptitiously." the Durlan Legionnaire replied with a small grin.

"Okay, I suppose that makes sense. So... it seems that our former Under Secretary has been making his own army. That obviously needs stopping. The financial information can be leaked to the appropriate auditing authority but the meta-army... hmmm, there could well be some serious breaches to the Genome Laws here. I'll definitely help you with that, and as I have the ear of a few judges and senators we will have official warrants for you within the next twenty-four hours to close down these gene-mod operations. What do you plan for Sa Lok himself? We can easily monitor the situation ...but do you feel that we need to take direct action?"

"Direct action will be difficult. From what the information at hand tells us we know there are definitely over forty on his compound on Rimbor but more worrying is when I cross-referenced, I found over four hundred metas that are no longer on any planetary registries so could potentially be in his pay. Who knows where they are and what they're doing right now? And, technically it?s not a crime to have received a meta gene-modification or work for a former UP dignitary so we would have no grounds to hold them if we find them."

"Unless they've taken some action that we disapprove of... okay, leave it with me Reep, I'll see what we can do."

"Thank you Oodoo, we are very grateful for your help." Chameleon Boy and Titan stood up to leave and shook hands with the Lallorian ambassador once more.

Henry's warp opened before them and the two Legionnaires returned to First Base. After the warp had closed Oodoo looked around the room before he turned towards Gear.

"Um.... you can let me out now IZOR.." He said with a smile.

Weber's World's Maitre'd smiled and the wall closest to them dissolved into a door sized opening.

"Splendid, thanks awfully." Oodoo Shanair whistled to himself as he set out to get the warrants the Legionnaires would need to close the gene-mod operations. He rather enjoyed the challenge of persuading senators and planetary judges to agree to this, without sharing the potentially illegally gotten data or using his mutant abilities. He smiled at this thought.

Who was he kidding, he knew fine he'd simply shake their hands and they would do whatever he asked them to...

It was so much fun being part of the Legion's covert squad on Weber's World, he thought to himself as he made his way to the apartment of the Rimborian ambassador's Cargggite mistress. With a whisper in their ears his words would reach the ambassador far faster than if Oodoo went through formal channels.

The mutant from Lallor had to admit, he loved playing politics!

The Lesser Spider Nebula:

Duplicate Girl - Senior Team member, Luornu Durgo of Carggg, creation of multiple identical duplicates of herself
Monica Sade of Rimbor - strength, reflexes, line of sight teleportation
Babbage- I-45ENG/Nth Series, of the Robotica Confederated Worlds, strength and durability, internalised weapons, hyper awareness and analytical skills.
Spy (also team counsellor) - Dr Noah Kabbo, heightened awareness and limited telepathy
Kid Pulsar - Neel Koduah of Earth, incredible strength, invulnerability, projection of explosive blasts

Science Police meta-squad member seconded to Legion World Second Base:
Magno - Science Police Officer Dyrk Magz of Braal, manipulation of magnetic fields

Intern:
Solar Gorilla - D'Nadka Endarooga of Dmansca - generate and project extreme heat and light


The Legionnaires remained quiet.

As the woman in the capsule screamed her baby awoke and started to cry and this made the woman stop her own yelling. There was a silence for about five long seconds before she sat bolt upright and looked around the docking bay. Luornu stood eight feet away with a small smile on her face. The other members of her team were ten feet behind her, allowing their team leader to deal with this situation.

"Hi there. I'm Luornu. We rescued your craft. Do you need any medical assistance?" As she had spoken the woman's eyes grew wider and a look of horror crossed her face. For a few seconds there was silence and neither moved.

"Stay away, you are Non-Conforms!" The woman said this but she did not sound terrible convinced as she looked around the docking bay again. "Your kind are not true, you are...." Her eyes widened as she stared at Babbage, "You mock my faith!" She clutched her child closer to her chest and pointed at the Robotican.

"This one does not mock..." Babbage said, its tone of voice was perfectly modulated to give the appearance of calmness.

"He'd need a humour program first to do that." Magno muttered and smiled at Solar Gorilla as the intern giggled. Luornu turned to face them, her stern expression making it perfectly clear that their banter was to stop immediately. It stopped immediately. Magno blushed.

Duplicate Girl turned back to the woman in the small craft and smiled again, "We're really sorry if we've scared you but I assure you we mean no harm and have not intentionally set out to mock you. Can you tell me your name please so we can discuss this further?"

The woman stared at Babbage before turning away, tears started to fall down her cheeks, "My name is Maiara... it was my grandmother's name as well, it goes back to the First Colonists."

"Maiara, that's a sweet name. We're happy to meet you. As I said, my name is Luornu and my colleagues here are..." She pointed to her team and they one-by-one introduced themselves. Maiara had nodded as Spy said his name was Noah but seemed dismissive of the rest and refused point blank to look in Babbage's direction as the Robotican took its turn to speak.

It took a few more minutes before Maiara allowed Luornu to help her out of the capsule. Noah Kabbo had been gently influencing the scared woman so she would feel a little bit more relaxed. He didn't really like manipulating people like this but knew right now they needed information so they could keep the woman and her child safe more than they needed an ethical dilemma.

The Legionnaires had used that time to find as much information as they could: Maiara said her people knew they were originally from another place, a green and blue world with a single satellite moon. They called themselves the Blue, and as she said this she started crying again. She had been taught that there were alien races and other descendants of her home world outside of the Nebula - which she called the Home-Glow - though these beings were Non-Conforms... she didn't know what they were non-conforming to but that didn't matter, it was the name her people gave to anyone not born within Home-Glow.

Solar Gorilla had used the cruiser's facilities to create a new set of baby clothes for the child and a warm red shawl for the scared woman. Maiara seemed taken aback!

It took several minutes for the team to establish that her people all wore shades of blue or green to show that they were Conforms, to wear red was to say one was willing to die... it was a colour usually reserved only for the terminally ill. D'Nadka asked Maiara if she had a problem with the Legionnaires wearing red, pointing to her own uniform of red and gold, to which the woman from the pod scoffed, "You all live in the Cold Outside, you clearly want to die."

"Maiara, do you want us to take you back into your Home-Glow?" Luornu asked.

"No. They say Gerral is Non-Conform. He would not survive. He has a red mark on his leg..." She started to sob and held her baby out towards Luornu. Duplicate Girl took the child in her arms and gently removed the pale blue romper suit from him. There was a bright pink mark on his thigh.

"It's a simple birthmark... why would they want to harm him for that?" Dr Noah Kabbo asked. He had intentionally not disturbed Luornu as she spoke with Maiara but he couldn't help himself but ask.

"Non-Conforms! you really don't understand, do you? As a child we all learned that the Blue gets you through, Red means your dead." She shook her head and looked at Luornu as if she had just explained the simplest of facts to a child.

"Rad-counters... It's radiation! That's it, isn't it? The old ships had rad-counters on every level, probably every room, and if they were blue, it meant it was safe but red meant there was a problem. Your people... do you know about stellar radiation?" She gave the young Braalian a withering look as a reply.

"Maiara, there are more of the races and peoples from outside of your Home-Glow that want to get closer... they may not be as open-minded as we are, so, how do you feel if we take you home?"

"No! We can't go back. They'll kill Gerral!"

"Perhaps we can convince them..." As Luornu spoke the woman ran over to Babbage and knelt on the floor before the Robotican.

"Will you tell them to spare Gerral, will you? You wear the Old World's Sky across your shoulders like the Titan that the Priests threaten us Grafters with, they might listen to you... please!"

As the rest of the team exchanged concerned and confused glances the Robotican gave an affirmation that he would indeed speak to Maiara's people on her son's behalf. With that Luornu sent a message across the telepathic grid to Monica Sade and Kid Pulsar on the bridge to take them into the Nebula.

As they entered the nebula the cruiser shook.

<We've been fired upon, nothing our shielding and structural integrity can't easily compensate for though. Guess the natives aren't happy to see us> Monica Sade sent through to the team in the docking bay.

"The Finders are here... they are looking for Gerral." Maiara held on tightly to her son as she looked around the bay.

"Don't worry, you're perfectly safe here Maiara, though can you tell us what to expect out there please? If we're going to help you then you need to help us." As Lu spoke Noah gave the scared woman another psychic push.

"They bring us back to face the Trials... to show if we conform." Maiara started to hug her child tighter.

<Lu, there's a message coming across an old radio bandwidth saying they want their sacrifice back. What should I reply?>

<Tell them we're coming to them and this will all be settled soon, thanks Monica>

On the control deck, Kid Pulsar monitored the scanners as Monica Sade piloted the ship towards the enormous construction they had discovered at the heart of this small nebula. Around the cruiser were a dozen or so small crafts shepherding them towards the huge structure at the heart of the nebula. These weren't what interested Monica though.
From the readouts it appeared to have a massive central body which led to hundreds of interconnected tubes and pods of varying sizes. Due to the intense magnetics and concentration of dusts in the nebula the scans could not give a definitive picture though of what exactly they were flying towards.

It took nearly thirty minutes to reach the structure within the nebula, by which time the Legionnaires had a pretty good picture of what they were approaching. Maiara had opened up and told the team of her people's home - the Big Bubble, they called it. Her people had arrived here centuries before and used the nebula as both a place to seclude themselves from the galaxy outside and as a source of the resources needed to keep their Big Bubble running. The society that had developed was led by a council of elders, though it appeared to be more of a collective from what the Legionnaires could gather. All adults were allowed to speak at the council meetings and everyone could vote if they desired. They seemed peaceful enough though they had some surprisingly strict rules. The Priests Under the Old Sky were both spiritual counsellors and law enforcement agents whose proclamations were seen as the final word on any matter. One of their strictest laws involved anything seen as a detrimental mutation. Maiara told them through her tears that anything marked with "the Red" was seen as dangerous to the People of Home-Glow and had to be expelled. She had held onto Gerral as she sobbed. Lu could see clearly on her teammates faces that none of them would allow anyone to harm the child, regardless of the laws on this colony.

As they got closer it became apparent from their scans that before them was the remains of a huge bubble arc, obviously cannibalised to make the structures that stretched out from it. Scanners began to pick up life signs - over 8,500 humans and a wide range of flora and several dozen types of animals all native to Earth. If there had been any doubts before this, they were now dismissed - this was clearly the remains of a colonising ship from the late 23rd century with the descendants of those early colonists still eking a life out here in this most inhospitable of environments.

As Kid Pulsar watched the read-outs he saw clearly where they were being taking and knew he needed to let the team know.

<They're guiding us towards some kinda landing pad, so get ready folks as we're away to meet the natives>

Duplicate Girl led Magno, Spy and Babbage out onto the landing pad.

A dome had moved over the cruiser, seemingly spinning out of the walls around the landing pad, as they landed and Kid Pulsar noted that an atmosphere was being pumped in.

The Legionnaires waited until they confirmed that it would be safe for Maiara and Gerral before leaving their cruiser. They stood protectively around Maiara and her baby.

Luornu had decided that the intern should remain onboard the cruiser for now with Monica Sade and Kid Pulsar. Solar Gorilla was disappointed but understood the rationale, her presence was unlikely to engender the team to this separatist society. Luornu promised that if things went well, she would introduce the intern as well as Kid Pulsar and Monica Sade to the People of the Blue. She didn't say it, though they all understood, that this also meant that there would be a small team on board the cruiser in case things didn't go too well.

Their welcoming party were actually less than welcoming. The dozen guards before the team each wore armoured space suits and held assault rifles in their arms, pointed towards the Legionnaires. They all stared at Babbage though despite their obvious awe signalled for the Legionnaires to walk into a tunnel that opened before them.

<Hey, don't worry, there's a lot of metal in those guns. They're not going to get the chance to hurt us> Magno sent reassuringly.

<Don't do anything unless they do Dyrk. We need to quieten this situation down for Maiara and Gerral's sake. Noah, what are they feeling?> Lu shot back.

<Scared mainly, though also happy to see Maiara back, like they've won a prize... I'm calming them down a bit, should be enough to stop any twitchy fingers> The counsellor responded.

The guards guided them through a maze of narrow dimly lit corridors towards a central point where they were told they could explain their transgressions to the Council and the People of Home-Glow. The Legionnaires each used their flight rings to scan their surroundings as they walked through the ancient ship, the readings being immediately sent to the small team still on the cruiser to analyse.

The scans and cautious approach the Legionnaires took wasn't enough to stop the trap from springing: Luornu was leading the way with two guards by her side when a metal wall dropped in front and behind her, immediately separating her from her team and the young woman and baby they hoped to help.

The guards must have known it was going to happen as they easily side-stepped so as not to be isolated like the Cargggite Legionnaire. Behind her the same thing happened to the whole team. Magno managed to get trapped with Maiara and Gerral, and reassured the woman that they would be okay. Noah Kabbo and Babbage each had their own individual cells behind the Braalian SPO.

<Everyone okay?> Lu sent through the artificial telepathic grid. Her tone was light, almost amused.

<I've got Maiara and the baby here, I can get us out in a second!> Magno sent.

<Do we want to tip them off that we're meta?> Lu asked, <As long as they don't try to hurt us, I'd advise taking it easy. This way we might be able to persuade them...> There was a loud crunch from behind Luornu.

<My apologies> Babbage sent <but I have already torn through the first steel barrier that fell in front of me. Are you suggesting I delay liberating you?>

<You're okay Babbage, they've probably guessed you're not an ordinary guy by now> Magno added, his laughter followed.

<I am not any sort of guy> Babbage responded with a little indignity <I am a single unit advanced combat-droid with adaptive...>

<Okay, okay, let's have Babbage get us out of here, which is probably what they expect. Noah what can you feel going on around us?>

<They're watching us...curious what we'll do, equally excited and scared> Spy sent, which didn't surprise any of the team.

<Hey guys, Maiara has just become unconscious... I think they gassed us but our rings' eco-protect...> Before Magno could finish the walls of their small cells started to collapse inwards. With a loud crunching noise, the ceiling pushed downwards as the floor started to rise as well. The boxes the Legionnaires had been trapped in were contracting in upon them.

IB and Raz, thank you both again for your kind reviews.

Dawnstar will pop up soon, let's hope she hasn't just blown her chance at finding happiness in a relationship... oh dear.

IB, as you've probably read above I did plan on covering the Academy's forgetting to tell the main team about the Rebounders info on Rimbor gangs, so you beat me to it Looks like a beauraucratic error, they happen to the best of us.

More coming soon as Lu and team make their way to the Bubble Arc's council, Sade's sub-team deal with a crushing problem, Dirk has words with Hadru and Brek and we learn a bit more about what's going on with these blasted gene-mod operations.

Thanks again,

C

Nice bit, re the Academy forgetting to tell the main team about the Rimbor stuff, Harbi! very realistic - I work in a large organization and this kind of thing happens all the time I like how Cos had to consult the minutes too - very realistic, with so many facts and interviews... I just wish we could also set up algorithms that easily in real life!

Love the bit on Weber's World. Intrigue, relationships, working within government channels... very nice! Also nice seeing Gear and Oodoo.

And the plot thickens on the nebula... can't wait for more!

Monica Sade of Rimbor - strength, reflexes, line of sight teleportation
Kid Pulsar - Neel Koduah of Earth, incredible strength, invulnerability, projection of explosive blasts

Intern:

Solar Gorilla - D'Nadka Endarooga of Dmansca - generate and project extreme heat and light


The people from this colony had moved well away from the Legion's cruiser.

"Monica, ah reckon we're gonna have something more serious comin' our way soon... scans pick up movement in the infrastructure around us."

"Where?" She peered over the muscular young man's shoulders. "Okay, so what are they gonna try next...?" As she finished there was a loud clanging noise and the cruiser shook.

"Somethin' just grabbed us from underneath." Neel Koduah said as he scanned the read-outs before him. The landing pad had folder up around the cruiser gripping hold of the front and back of the craft.

"Auto-defences should deal with it okay though, shouldn't they?" D'Nadka Endarooga approached her colleagues to check the hard-light scans herself.

"Perhaps not. We'll have to do something to dissuade them, I think. D'Nadka, someone needs to stay on board and I'm sorry to say this time it's you. We won't be gone for long, let us know if there are any other problems pop up on the scans, okay?" Monica Sade looked sad for the intern as she said this, but right now felt it was for the best to leave the fiery gorilla behind as she took Kid Pulsar out to teach the natives a lesson in manners and free the cruiser from whateverhad just grabbed it.

While Kid Pulsar left via an air lock on the underside of the cruiser Monica Sade activated her distorter to full Hide-Mode before she teleported out onto the front to the craft. She knew that they were being watched so had every intention of taking their watchers attention away from Kid Pulsar as he freed their ship from the vice-like grip of the mechanism that held it in place.

She could see several vantage points where she knew she would likely find people monitoring the ship. With a smile she popped! out of existence in one point and reappeared at another. The three men that were trying to hide as they spied upon the Legion's cruiser were quickly overcome as the Rimborian teleporter easily overpowered them. She scanned their equipment so the cruiser AI could work out what they were up against and looked around again. It didn't take long before she spotted what looked like the top of an old space suit helmet sticking out from another balcony on the wall along from her. Sade smiled as she teleported across to pay a surprise visit on whomever was hiding there...

Kid Pulsar was not feeling particularly comfortable. He estimated that the docking pad was built from some early form of smart-material that could be plied into various shapes by remote control. Currently he was laying on his belly, in the dark with the very front of the cruiser less than three feet above his head. His belt buckle light would be of little use in this situation so the young man reached out with his fingertips and felt exactly where the landing pad had folded up to grab the Legion's craft. With little more than a thought he released a blast of explosive energy. The detonation rocked the landing pad but it still held onto the cruiser. Once again, Neel Koduah reached out and felt for the indentation where his blast had struck... as his fingers traced the edge it moved - the smart material was healing itself. Neel sighed; he had hoped to avoid creating too large an explosion as it might damage the cruiser but another small blast wouldn't help. He could focus the blast away from their ship but knew there would be some blowback from it.

<cover your ears guys, I'm going to have to really blast this sucker> And with that the young Legionnaire released another explosive blast. This time he was hurled backwards and slammed into the cruiser. The pad beneath him cracked and started to crumble, releasing the cruiser.

<You okay there Neel?> Solar Gorilla asked.

<Yup. will do the same at the other side then you'd better set the cruiser to hover>

<Totally, good luck>

It took several minutes for Kid Pulsar to wriggle his way to the rear of the cruiser where he once again detonated another blast under the cruiser releasing it from the folded docking pad.

<once you get back inside Neel we'll hover here and keep an eye out for anymore smart-tech until we hear from Lu and her team> Solar Gorilla sent.

<cool, on my way. So, how's Monica doing?> He replied.

<Oh, she's having a ball. I think we'll have trouble getting her to come back...>

<you do know I'm listening, don't you?> Monica Sade interrupted <though, ahem, I miiiight stay out here ...just for a wee while to guard the cruiser you understand>

Sade laughed as she finished sending her message, knowing full well that the intern was right - after being cooped up on board, it was simply too much fun being out here dealing with these descendants of the Bubble Arc colonists as they tried to get into their cruiser.

Duplicate Girl - Senior Team member, Luornu Durgo of Carggg, creation of multiple identical duplicates of herself
Babbage- I-45ENG/Nth Series, of the Robotica Confederated Worlds, strength and durability, internalised weapons, hyper awareness and analytical skills.
Spy (also team counsellor) - Dr Noah Kabbo, heightened awareness and limited telepathy

Science Police meta-squad member seconded to Legion World Second Base:
Magno - Science Police Officer Dyrk Magz of Braal, manipulation of magnetic fields


Magno reached out with his abilities to push holes through the floors beneath each of the Legionnaires, all the while holding onto the unconscious Maiara and Gerral.

The Legionnaires each levitated down to the dark space below, activating their spotlights from their belt buckles they easily avoided the mechanisms that had pushed the floor up towards them. Magno used his abilities to block the holes he had just created with the debris around them. No-one would easily follow them from here.

Noah Kabbo took Gerral from Magno's arms and scanned the baby with his flight ring. There didn't appear to be any serious harm so Noah cuddled the sleeping child against his chest while Magno and one of Luornu's selves checked the unconscious Maiara. Thankfully the young woman appeared to be fine.

From the obvious dust and decay this part of the bubble arc had not been used in a good while. After she checked that Maiara and Gerral were safe Luornu decided the team needed to make their way straight to the council - they needed to resolve this situation. The unconscious woman and her baby deserved the chance of a decent life and Lu seriously doubted that Maiara would settle easily into living amongst the 'Non-Conforms' of the United Planets.

Magno and Spy were helping Maiara as she regained consciousness just as Lu finished examining the map that the cruiser's scans had revealed of the insides of the Arc. Babbage had been looking at the read-outs over Duplicate Girl's shoulder and pointed out a route that avoided areas that seemed to have workshops or residential units but led through to what appeared to be a large central space. Lu agreed that it appeared to make sense but first of all she wanted to ask Maiara for some input. After Maiara had been helped to her feet and her son had been passed back to her Lu asked if she agreed that they should make their way to the council and try to resolve the situation.

While she was still scared there was an anger in her expression now that the young woman hadn't exhibited before.

"I will take you before the council Luornu. They will not listen to you as you are from the Cold Outside, though they will have to hear me! Let them deny my claim when I stand with a Titan ...one wearing the Old Sky at my side, the priests will have no say!" She reached out and patted Babbage on the arm as she spoke.

The Legionnaires exchanged worried glances amongst themselves. And with that Maiara marched ahead of them down the gloomy corridor.

It took Maiara twenty-five minutes to lead the Legionnaires to the central area of the Bubble Arc.

As they had made their way through the tunnels and ducts to get here Magno had collapsed several of them behind the group, hoping that it would delay anyone that was trying to follow the Legionnaires. They crept through a gardened area that had row after row of fruit bearing tree surrounded by barley and oat grasses. The walls of this space held growing pockets of herbs and spices that filled the air with deliciously pungent smells. Luornu thought to herself that Harmonia would love this place.

Maiara said she expected the council chamber to be full as her people would be discussing the strange craft they had captured. They would also have figured out by now that Maiara and the Legionnaires had escaped from the crushing prison traps that had been set for them so the team had to be careful.

An idea struck Luornu: she asked Babbage to scan for any internal information network - they needed information - historical, legal... anything that may help when they faced the council of this secluded society. As it appeared that the Robotican would likely be their focus it was imperative they were armed with as much information as possible.

Several minutes after leaving the dark disused corridors they found themselves in a broader walkway where several dozen of the natives congregated. Maiara told the Legionnaires they would need to walk behind her or they would be attacked. Non-Conforms needed to be seen as subservient if they wished to stay alive in the common areas. Magno and Duplicate Girl remained close behind while Spy and Babbage walked at the rear of the group. The inhabitants of the Bubble Arc started approaching, shouting angrily at the strangers but as the small crowd saw Babbage, they fell quiet and backed off. The Robotican did not acknowledge them, instead it extended its perceptions to better understand their surroundings. &#8203;By the time the Legionnaires got to the large double doors at the entrance to the council chamber there were easily several hundred of the colonists around them, all eager to see the strangers that had returned Maiara and Gerral to them.

<Duplicate Girl, I have been accessing the on-site Infonet and it appears that the 'Titans' that Maiara refer to were the robotic technicians that kept this ship running while the original colonists slept. This arc encountered a massive coronal mass ejection from the nearly red giant causing an EMP to critically damage the onboard systems. It is recorded that the titan mechanics forced the arc into this nebula to start repairs. The crew were revived as the robots were too damaged to finish repairing this craft themselves. The priests have predicted that a titan shall return when the People of the Blue most need it. I extrapolate that Maiara believes I am that titan>

<Okay, let's play it by ear Babbage... I mean, let's deal with things as they arise, okay?> Luornu quickly added as she knew the Robotican could take colloquialisms literally, before continuing <I think we may have the advantage if they think you are their saviour...>

<Surely you do not infer I pretend to be figure from their religious text to facilitate interference with this culture's development? I cannot find that as a viable option within the standard UP First Contact protocols!> Babbage's tone almost sounded indignant.

<Okay Babbage, though these human colonists have had contact before, they just don't like it so it's not quite the same...> Duplicate Girl sighed to herself <let's make sure Maiara and Gerral are okay first before we save the rest of them, okay?> She knew that if they needed to use Babbage's status as a religious figure to save the young woman and her baby and the Robotican rigidly stuck to established protocols then things could easily go from pretty bad to far worse...

First Base


Dirk had tried to speak to Hadru and Brek twice in the last twenty four hours but so far, they had been dismissive of his offers to help.

As their trial was due to start in only sixteen hours Dirk knew needed to get some straight answers or they would both be looking at stretches on Talkon-Gartos in their near futures.

Hadru had been, as Dirk expected, non-cooperative from the moment he had approached the cell. The front wall of the holding cell was a transparent force field that meant anyone could see exactly what Hadru was doing. The only part not immediately on view was a discreetly placed washroom. Chemical Kid had been sat on his bed watching a holo-novella and absent-mindedly scratching his crotch as the senior Legionnaire approached.

"Hey Hadru, you being helpful yet or just counting the hours until you're off to Talkon-Gartos?" Previously Dirk had tried a more tactful approach but he was feeling less charitable as he increasingly felt that they were wasting his time. The catalyser didn't even look at his solar powered colleague, instead he blew a raspberry and continued to watch the holo before him.

"Okay then... see you tomorrow morning. Just remember don't antagonize Lu when she starts asking the tough questions, you don't want things to get any worse 'cause if you're snarky it'll end badly for you. Okay? You hear me Hadru? Be on your best behaviour tomorrow. At least give me a chance to save you from being the present that every prisoner looks forward to opening in the TG shower block, eh? Unless of course that's what you really want..."

Before Hadru could reply Dirk turned and left.

The last time he had approached Brek the short Tharrite had let loose a string of obscenities before dropping his pants and telling Dirk in gross anatomical detail what he could do to relieve his current anguish. Dirk wasn't sure if he could deal with that again, though knew he had to at least try one last time. While this cell was architecturally arranged exactly the same as the last, where Hadru had kept his cell immaculately neat, Brek had thrown his bedding onto the floor in rough piles alongside clothes and some debris from his meals. As he saw this Dirk really hoped that Brek wasn't planning on holding a 'dirty protest'...

"Brek, hi, no displaying genitals this afternoon please, I'm only here to chat." Dirk could see that Brek had curled up into a ball on a crumpled sheet on his bed, clearly sobbing to himself.

"Brek... c'mon, talk to me. We'll work something out..."

"I didn't want to hurt the kid, I just wanted him to stop fighting Hadru and get away." Brek looked up from the bed, as well as having noticeable bruising across one side of his face, his eyes were red and puffy.

"I thought as much matey, believe me." Dirk and Brek stared at each other for a few seconds until Brek looked down into his hands. Dirk carried on, hoping that his former friend would see how genuine his offer to help was, "I really don't want this to get any worse, so... do you want to give me something to work with and we'll do what we can to get you out of this mess?"

Brek Bannin groaned as he sat upright, wiping his face with his hands.

"Yeah... I mean, if I must."

Dirk gave Brek a withering look and smiled. Brek looked away for a couple of seconds before turning back towards Dirk.

"Okay Dirk, so, wotcha need to know?" His belligerent tone made it clear that Brek was not happy to be helping.

"Just take me through it from the start bud. What happened, no detail is too small."

Heh! the mission with Lu's team continues to entertain. I like the fire in Maiara. Your story is a wonderful examination of the power of beliefs - and religion (?) As someone born into a Catholic country/context... and whose personal beliefs completely do not match... I am fascinated.

Ah, Hadru continues to be a little slot. Brek at least is a bit more sympathetic. This will be extremely painful, and my heart goes out to Dirk for being such a trooper/professional and doing his best.

Thanks again IB, your right that Lu's team are having to challenge hard core beliefs, it'll be a toughie! Hopefully we'll get to the end of it next time, along with a look at the rules of Acturrian Ringball and a new member takes a tumble.

The trial will be next up after this. I've written it all out and I hope it'll keep you guessing, as there's a sting in the tail that hopefully will surprise you.

Anyway, thanks again, always appreciate your feedback.

C

Man, Hadru's really working his way toward becoming a bitter Legion reject...though if he does end up breaking bad, he has an interesting powerset for a villain!

I am also into the story with Maiara and I think putting Babbage through this kind of a development is an awesome way of showcasing his personality beyond the superficial "he's a robot" stuff...I am really enjoying that and looking forward to seeing where it goes

The Lesser Spider Nebula

Duplicate Girl - Senior Team member, Luornu Durgo of Carggg, creation of multiple identical duplicates of herself
Babbage- I-45ENG/Nth Series, of the Robotica Confederated Worlds, strength and durability, internalised weapons, hyper awareness and analytical skills.
Spy (also team counsellor) - Dr Noah Kabbo, heightened awareness and limited telepathy

Science Police meta-squad member seconded to Legion World Second Base:
Magno - Science Police Officer Dyrk Magz of Braal, manipulation of magnetic fields


Monica Sade of Rimbor - strength, reflexes, line of sight teleportation
Kid Pulsar - Neel Koduah of Earth, incredible strength, invulnerability, projection of explosive blasts

Intern:

Solar Gorilla - D'Nadka Endarooga of Dmansca - generate and project extreme heat And light


The doors swung open and they entered the council's chambers.

They all noticed the small blue lights indicating safety from radiation that ran round the wall of the chamber. There had been very few on display in the side-corridors the team had taken to get here.

Lu was surprised to see the council chamber was a circular room. The ceiling, forty feet above their heads had three lines of text writ large in a language that Luornu didn't understand. She had been expecting something more like a court room... There were a dozen rows of pew-seating that enclosed a central dais. Every single seat was occupied, though most of the audience were on their feet shouting at the centre of the room. The noise of the crowd made it impossible to hear any one particular voice, though as Maiara led the Legionnaires up the walkway towards the central dais the crowd fell silent.

In front of the team stood four people covered head to toe in white robes. One held a staff with an ornate hoop on the top end that glowed with a blue light. Lu didn't need to be told these were the priests that Maiara had said decided her son would have to be sacrificed for the 'sin' of simply having a birth-mark.

<Right, let's see what these whack-jobs have to say before we act...> Lu sent through to the team.

<there are a lot of personal and cultural reasons why people behave the way they do ... though actually, in this case whack-jobs is as good a name as any, so, umm, sorry Lu, carry on> Dr Kabbo interjected.

<Okay Noah, thanks> Lu continued <Babbage, are there any laws that will allow us to address the council?>

<None; as Non-Conforms we have no legal rights here that I can find on their databases> The Robitican responded.

<So... get ready, we may need to break a few rules>

"Maiara, are these Non-Conforms brought before us as you think they'll satisfy the law of sacrifice? Your mutant must die to keep us safe. You know the rules." The priest with the staff stepped forward as she spoke. Lu couldn't tell if the rest of them had noticed Babbage because their hoods hid their faces, and wondered if they had actually done much more than glance at the Legionnaires - she realised that as Non-Conforms the team were probably not seen as worth the effort.

"No," Maiara shouted, her voice was raw with emotion, "the fore-telling is true, a Titan walks with us to take back on the true path!"

Tbe priests and many of the crowd started shouting abuse at the exhausted woman and two of the priests rushed forward to grab her for saying such blasphemous words.

"No" Babbage stepped in between Maiara and the priests, throwing back the sky-blue cloak to reveal the Robotican's mechanised body. Positioning itself between the advancing priests and the scared woman and child, Babbage was not going to allow them to get close to her. The challenge was clear.

<Babbage, what are you doing?> Lu went to take a step towards her colleague but Maiara sharply waved her back.

The crowds around the council started to shout again, some were praising the Legionnaire while other thought this was some sort of trick. Some in the crowd were baying for the Legionnaires immediate death. The four priests all stepped back, obviously shocked.

"That cannot be a Titan, this is a trick! The child is marked with the Red and must die or we will all perish." The priest with the staff shouted, pointing the lighted end towards the Legionnaire.

<Babbage, have you downloaded their history? Is there a way we can get out of here that saves Gerral and doesn't disrupt their culture too badly?> Lu sent across to her Robotican teammate.

<The original orders issued from the Titan mechanicoids have been distorted...>

<always happens, usually to suit whoever's in charge. Can you remind them what was originally agreed?>

<Affirmative, this unit has now accessed the Arc's mainframe and has sufficient data to proceed>

"You are unaware of what you speak." Babbage's voice rang out across the council chambers. "You were tasked to keep your people safe from outside harm, to protect your children and ensure the Arc survived. Murdering offspring was never in the covenant between the People of the Blue and the Titan mechanics. This one states it must now stop."

<Babbage, I really hope you know what you're doing as the priests are terrified! Scared people make real bad choices> Dr Kabbo sent across the telepathic matrix. Around them the crowd had started shouting louder and several were approaching the dais, clearly angry. A few started throwing objects at the Legionnaires. Magno caught these missiles within a magnetic field and as the angry crowd saw their projectiles suddenly stop in the air and drop to the ground they paused and reconsidered their attack.

<You need to do something quick or we'll be fighting our way out of here> Magno sent to the Robotican. The Braalian SPO was watching the crowd hawkishly, preparing to create further barriers if needed to protect the team, Maiara and Gerral.

"You will all return to your seats now!" As Babbage loudly announced this the Robotican's shot up ten feet into the air and as it hovered there it turned its head a full 360 degrees around on its neck so its face could be seen by the entire crowd. There were many gasps and scurrying as the People of the Blue dutifully returned to the seats around the council chamber. All four priests sat down on the floor of the dais.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Babbage returned to the floor without a noise other than the ruffling of the new cloak it wore.

"This Titan returned to save my son!" Maiara stood up and shouted at the top of her voice, holding Gerral up for the crowds to see. There was a general muttering though none of the assembled people argued outright as Babbage stood only feet away from the young woman.

One of the priests jumped to their feet and started yelling "The child carries the mark. Red means dead!" which some of the crowd started to echo back, stamping their feet after each word. The other priests took to their feet and encouraged the rest of the crowd to join in. Several dozen of the crowd started to inch towards the dais all the while the chanting and foot stamping got louder.

The Legionnaires positioned themselves protectively around the young mother and child.

<Damn it, don't want to do this but we've got to get ready to fight our way out of here. Magno on my mark can you push out a bubble that'll knock them away, give us some space to act...> Lu sent, her tone was clearly anxious. The crowd circled the Legionnaires, less than twenty feet away, feet stamping and shouting as loud as they could.

Red! *stamp!
Means! *stamp!
Dead! *stamp!

<didn?t Maiara say they have prophesies that a Titan would return to save them, so who's to say that isn't you Babbage? Can you use their own history to educate them? I'll attempt to cool down the moods in the crowd while you try> Dr Kabbo sounded remarkably calm, especially as he could clearly feel the angry and aggressive mood of the mob around them.

Red! *stamp!
Means! *stamp!
Dead! *stamp!

The Robotican levitated off the dais causing some of the crowd to quieten down again and start to retreat. There were still many more shouting demands that the Non-Conforms be put to death, easily half of the hundreds of people present were in the crowd that threatened to engulf the Legionnaires.

Theatrically, Babbage indicated the Legionnaires beneath him.

<please follow me> it shared along the telepathic matrix.

Magno put an arm around Maiara before he urged his flight ring to lift them from the floor. The young mother that the Legionnaires had rescued gave a scared whoop and clung tightly onto her young son. As the Legionnaires took to the air the crowds moved back, their faces showing their awe. Babbage floated twenty feet above the dais, while the Legionnaires were a few feet underneath. The crowd stared at the spectacle before them.

"People of the Blue, you will listen." This time Babbage's voice roared like thunder around the council chamber.

Second Base - Combat Training Zone

Tyroc - Deputy Leader - Troy Stewart of Marzal city pocket dimension, sonic control
Timber Wolf - Brin Londo of Zuun, enhanced strength, speed, agility, reflexes and senses
Dragonwing - Marya Pai of Earth, breathes dragon fire and acid
Shield - Laurel Kent of Earth, physical invulnerability, tactile psychometry
Karate Kid iii - Mithindrivithis Ngandraffa of Lythyl, strength, reflexes, mimetic motor learning giving incredible combat skills
Bouncing Boy ii - Stoor Chamble of Pasnic, creation of personal spherical force field


Brin Londo was enjoying himself!

Spending a couple of hours breaking things in the newly opened Combat Training Zone was exactly what he needed right now. Tyroc had commissioned Gear to create this space to mimic the training space in the Academy, built to simulate trying situations where the Legionnaires would need to rely on their abilities to get through. Brin had been the first person here this morning and had immediately took advantage of the situation. He ran six hostage scenarios, had a fight against a holo-space dragon and taken out half of the LSV in his last, particularly bloody, holo-fight.

As the day slid into the afternoon more of his colleagues arrive until it was no longer safe to operate his solo missions with such wide latitude. Troy had started playing some rather strange game with Marya and Stoor that Brin thought they were being entirely too loud about. Still, that wouldn't stop Brin from taking full advantage of the training technology available. He had found a holo-scenario that totally appealed to him and was thoroughly enjoying practicing his flying kicks against a holo-avatar of Lightning Lord when Laurel arrived.

"BRIN!"

Timber Wolf spun in the air and quickly flew down to find out what was so urgent that his girlfriend would need to shout so loudly.

She stood close to the wide entrance, the young Karate Kid and Tyroc were on each side. The new Bouncing Boy and Dragonwing were stood behind the group, chatting.

"You okay there Laurel?" He asked as he landed softly in front of her, as if on cat-like feet.

"Oh... yeah, fine." she sounded a little surprised as she answered, "We was wondering if you wanna game of Acturrian Ringball, y'see we need teams of three aside to play it." The pretty young woman gave a hopeful smile. Brin sighed and scratched an armpit as he looked around the cavernous room.

"C'mon Brin, it'll be us old-guard 'gainst the youngsters. We'll show 'em we still got the moves." Troy smiled at Brin hopefully.

"Okay," Brin gave a half-hearted smile back at his friend, "...though the losers take a forfeit. We gotta make things a bit more interesting, add some stakes to the game." This time Brin's smile was genuine as he looked at his teammates.

Everyone agreed.

The games rules were widely understood - teams of three had to pass the ball between them and would gain points, after completing a full set of the rings that were marked upon the field that included a set number of successful passes, if they scored in any of the three hoops that rotated in the centre of the court. The first team to score in each of the hoops, without the other team scoring in between, were the winner. The teams started at the outermost ring of the court and would move inwards with each successful string of passes. Only once in the shooting area at the centre where they were allowed to attempt to score a hoop.

Each member of a team was allowed one attempt to get the ball from a member of the opposing team within each of the marked rings that radiated out from the hoops while the team with the ball needed to make a full circuit of the ring to progress to the next area. Other rules included no biting, strikes to opponents' eyes, throat or groin, and definitely no breaking of your opponent's bones. That was seen as particularly bad form.

Tyroc, Timber Wolf and Dragonwing were on one team while Shield, Karate Kid and Bouncing Boy were on the other.

Just before they started Laurel casually announced that she had seriously considered taking up this sport professionally before applying to the academy instead... she had heard that the potential sponsorship deals for the descendant of the legendary Superman were off the chart!

The game began with the ball, slightly larger than a standard Magno-ball, flying out of the central hoop and both teams scrambling, within the allocated rings, to grab onto it. Timber Wolf pounced and as he reached out Bouncing Boy slammed into the back of him and snatched the ball centimetres from the Zuunian's fingertips. Marya Pai had watched the play and realised that her opponents could easily get a full circuit before her team so she ran back towards Shield. Marya seriously doubted she would match Karate Kid's dexterity but she'd certainly try to get the best of Laurel.

As expected Stoor threw the ball for Karate Kid to catch. The young martial artist easily caught it, somersaulting over Timber Wolf as he dived towards her before side stepping Tyroc as the Second Base team leader flew at her back. Marya positioned herself in between Laurel and Karate Kid, waiting for the ball to be passed. She heard Timber Wolf land beside Shield, obviously waiting for the chance to snatch the ball if Dragonwing failed to intercept it.

Karate Kid pulled off a deviously swift dodge and slid past Dragonwing to pass the ball to Laurel. As the invulnerable young woman reached out to take it from her teammate, and so to progress to the next circuit closer to the hoops where her team could score points, Timber Wolf pounced. As Brin reached out Bouncing Boy landed on his back again, though wasn't ready for the Zuunian's preternatural reflexes that twisted the force of the blow, throwing Stoor slap-bang into Laurel.

They both flew across the training space and crashed loudly onto the floor, Stoor on top of Laurel. His face was rather unfortunately planted right between her breasts.

"If your face stays where it is it'll be punched." Laurel said ominously.

Without moving his body, the dazed Stoor arched his neck to look up, right into the angry face of Timber Wolf who was standing over them looking decidedly menacing.

"Punched!" Brin agreed emphatically, spitting the word out at the young man currently laid on top of his girlfriend.

It was agreed by both teams that after that unfortunate incident Bouncing Boy never really fully committed to the game and consequently his side lost much faster than expected. Dragonwing teased him mercilessly about the forfeit he'd be called upon to perform at a later date...

Hey folks, I meant to finish posting the Bubble Arc storyline today but seem to have deleted the next two posts - it's damned inconvenient as I can't find them anywhere but know I had them yesterday.as I gave them a final read through to make sure it all worked out.

Anywhere, more soon, thanks for your kind words.

C

The game rules made me laugh; specifically "definitely no breaking of your opponent's bones. That was seen as particularly bad form"

Timber Wolf taking on the LSV would be an awesome open for a comic, took me back to when the X-Men still had a Danger Room

So annoying losing posts, good luck! It takes me ages to get back into writing mode again when it happens to me...I am looking forward to seeing what happens with Lu's team, I just read Handmaid's Tale this week so I am looking at Maiara's story with a new perspective. Babbage in that last instalment reminded me of Shady and Dream Girl tricking Hagga on Orando way back when (which is a compliment, I thought that was quite cleverly done).

Thanks Raz, appreciate your feedback.

I had a laugh writing out those rules, originally it was going to be a lot less physical but given the players I thought it needed a bit more Oomf!

I bought the first four New Xmen omnibuses a couple of years ago (Len Weins and David Cockburn New Xmen, so not all that new really) and love the danger room so the combat training room is a direct homage to that rather than just hinting at it as I?ve done before.

More from Lu?s team next time as they try not to start a full on riot. Didn?t plan for Babbage?s spinning head trick as a reference to Nura and Shady but I understand why it can been seen like that, tbh I just thought it was a funny image.

Rewrote one post already though the other was more complicated so it?ll take a bit more time and though. It really is frustrating as I?m already writing out story arcs three or four arcs ahead of this so even though I remember it my brain is kind of struggling with it. Hopefully it?ll be done by the end of the week. Fingers crossed.

I read the Handmaidens Tale years back, picked it up in an airport as a holiday book - that wasn?t a cheery choice! Great book, just really dark and sadly prescient

more awesome stuff, Harbi!

loved Babbage taking control - you write Babbage way better than I have!

Dragonwing is one of the old guard now - I like it! Shows how much your team has grown.

Brin hesitating, shades of the old Lone Wolf, hee hee. Scratching at an armpit, hahaha that is so Brin

Poor Stoor... it was an accident, after all. I hope Laurel and Brin will see that, it seems a bit mean of them (and Stoor was quite dazed, not everyone has healing or invulnerability!)

Hope your posts are ok! Writing sure takes a lot of effort eh? Take your time, I'm sure it will be worth the wait!

The Lesser Spider Nebula:

Duplicate Girl - Senior Team member, Luornu Durgo of Carggg, creation of multiple identical duplicates of herself
Monica Sade of Rimbor - strength, reflexes, line of sight teleportation
Babbage- I-45ENG/Nth Series, of the Robotica Confederated Worlds, strength and durability, internalised weapons, hyper awareness and analytical skills.
Spy (also team counsellor) - Dr Noah Kabbo, heightened awareness and limited telepathy
Kid Pulsar - Neel Koduah of Earth, incredible strength, invulnerability, projection of explosive blasts

Science Police meta-squad member seconded to Legion World Second Base:
Magno - Science Police Officer Dyrk Magz of Braal, manipulation of magnetic fields

Intern:
Solar Gorilla - D'Nadka Endarooga of Dmansca - generate and project extreme heat and light



"What are the three laws?"

Babbage's voice echoed again as the Robotican asked its question. There was silence and many of the People of the Blue ducked their heads and backed away.

"First law: Keep our people safe from the outside!" It was one of the priests that shouted the answer. Babbage lowered its head to stare at the priest. They cowed a bit but then looked back up at the orange Legionnaire, defiance and hostility were clear from their body language.

"The second law?" Babbage lowered the volume with this question.

"Protect the children so the next generation can thrive..."

"Indeed, so why would you attempt to murder an innocent like Gerral? It is a breach of the second law!"

"Red means dead!" The priest shouted back, and several of the crowd joined in the chorus.

<Babbage, we've been here, what are you doing?> Lu sent across to her Robotican colleague.

<This one has discovered a flaw in the AI data crystals the Bubble Arc use and believe our cruisers computational matrix will resolve this issue. Allow this unit 120 seconds more>

"People of the Blue, that teaching is not absolute! It is this unit's understanding that...." An object bounced off Babbage's side, flung from the crowd below it. With incredible speed and precision, the Robotican spun around and a pencil-thin red light sprung from one of its fingers, pointing at the guilty party. The crowd scattered from around the young man with the red dot of light on his chest.

"Is it not the People of the Blue's teachings that the Titan mechanics were deserving of respect?" Babbage asked, its voice rising in volume again. The young man, clearly terrified, nodded.

<Umm... you're not a Titan mechanic> Magno sent through.

<He does not know that> Babbage responded, which gave the team a smile.

While its finger still pointed a light at the scared man's chest, Babbage turned its head back to the priests and continued.

"This unit had identified an error within your Bubble Arc's library AI matrix, and as the Titan mechanics once strived to ensure your survival, this unit is at your service to resolve this issue."

The priests looked confused and conflicted. Dr Kabbo had been gently easing their mental anguish and pointing them towards accepting the offer given to them. After several seconds they agreed that any mechanical or computational flaw needed examining and correcting.

Babbage floated quietly above the crowd for several seconds before it lifted its arms up. The crowd gave a collective moan. The space in front of the Robotican began to glow as a holo materialised.

"This unit has restored access to the full historical databanks. The People of the Blue can now access their complete history."

Before the assembled crowds the air filled with recordings of their ancestors, telling their stories before they went into the deep freeze that would keep them alive until they had completed their three-hundred-year voyage to their new home world.

<I have discovered the appropriate messaged to highlight>

"People of the Blue! Listen to this unit one more time. You must witness these instructions before you continue."

The holo's before the crowd faded away leaving only one. In it a middle-aged woman with short hair and a pointed face was giving technical instructions to ensure whoever came after her would have the information they needed. The holo zoomed through a large part of it before freezing and restarting.

"...and remember, if these lights..." The holo showed the long dead engineer pointing to the ring of lights that still ran around the council chamber, "ever turn red you'll only have seconds to act. It'll mean the radiation buffers haven't worked. So, to keep it simple; red means dead, blue gets you through..." The holo froze. Babbage re-wound it and played the part about the lights again.

There was an audible moan that ran through the crowd.

The priests looked alarmed and several of the crowd shouted their protests towards them. They had only ever seen the last few seconds of this holo, the data crystal had been unable to access any more of it after the EMP had damaged the Bubble Arc. Several dozen of the crowd started screaming at the priests for misleading them.

"People of the Blue, the priests have not lied to you. They were unaware of the entire message. Your data crystals were damaged. This unit has retrieved all of the messages that were upon it. You can now access this data." Babbage's voice cut through the crowd.

Many in the crowd were pulling small personal info-units from their pockets and bags. As Lu watched the crowd that surrounded them turned their attention to the holos that were springing up around them. Several had approached Babbage to thank the Legionnaire. The priests were too busy scrolling through the sudden influx of historical data to notice that the Legionnaires had stopped floating above them and were interacting with the distracted crowds.

Interest in their ancestors and history was thankfully far more important to these people than attacking the Legionnaires or murdering Gerral. Maiara hugged Babbage tightly, which drew some awe-struck glances from those around her as the Robotican gently patted her head.

Lu breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the Legionnaires were no longer the centre of attention.

In total the Legionnaires remained on the Bubble Arc for a further six hours.

In that time Babbage had introduced the team, including those that had remained on the cruiser, to cheers from the crowds. Solar Gorilla was initially treated with fear but Babbage insisted the intern was a trusted friend that should be respected, and unsurprisingly the children of the colonists appeared to be particularly drawn to her.

Duplicate Girl and Spy spent the majority of the time speaking with the priests and civil leaders. They explained the history of the Great Terran Diaspora, the United Planets and the role of the Legion. Dr Kabbo reassured the priests that the UP would not invade their territory or disturb the Lesser Spider Nebula, and by setting up Protectorate Status the UP could keep outsiders from straying too far into their Home Glow. Lu and Noah knew the priests were dealing with generations of prejudice and ignorance but came out of their meeting feeling at least hopeful that the People of the Blue would not be so quick to attack outsiders in the future, and may possibly reintegrate into the United Planets at some point in the future. Before they left, Lu asked the priests for a small favour...

Magno and Babbage helped with technical issues - a broken hydroponic tank room was quickly fixed, the internal lighting within a closed section was sorted and the outer air locks in that area were secured, several one-man shuttles that were damaged had their twisted frames and shells magnetically re-shaped and their circuitry was made functional again. Babbage noted deterioration within the central air pumping mechanism and, using materials and technology from the Legions cruiser rebuilt the failing system. Everywhere the Robotican went, it was surrounded by small crowds that 'ooh'ed and 'ah'ed at its every utterance; it made sure to mention the benefits of cooperation and kindness at least half a dozen times, hoping these would be picked up and considered by the crowds-folk.

Monica Sade spent time with the Hunters, those tasked with protecting the Bubble Arc, and initially their hostility was almost overwhelming. By the time she left, the Rimborian teleporter had won them over by showing them martial art moves they never knew, complimenting them lavishly on their dedication and determination, setting up and winning a target practice competition, and reminding them how easy she found it to take out over a dozen of their group when they had the Legion's cruiser held in place and the team onboard surrounded. This last part brought her the most respect.

Kid Pulsar was surrounded by many young, and not so young women who spoke about their reproductive cycles in quite frank detail. It made him incredibly uncomfortable so he telepathically requested Solar Gorilla join him. The intern's presence drove most of the eager crowd away. Neel promised that he would make it up to D'Nadka later. She told him that she would definitely remind him of that when she had a monitor board shift. They both laughed.

Five hours after the Legion had arrived the priest invited them to share in a meal. Lu asked the priests to ensure it was vegetarian, not because her team were but as she had noted on the scans when they had approached the bubble arc that there were comparatively few animals on board. she couldn't contemplate the thought of one of their goats or chickens being killed just to feed the Legionnaires when the Bubble arc's resources were so meagre.

The meal was surprisingly delicious and all of the Legionnaires complimented the chefs that brought each dish out to them. There had obviously been a competition of sorts behind the scene to provide the Legionnaires with the best course of the lavish meal.

After they had finished eating and conversations were beginning to dry up Lu asked Babbage to announce that the team were leaving. The crowds that only hours before had been chanting for their death now pleaded that the Legionnaires stay. Maiara hugged each of them, whispering in each of their ears that she would name her future children after them so the Legion would never be forgotten. She cried as Babbage gently, and rather awkwardly, stroked her hair.

As the team left the nebula Lu made sure to inform the scavengers that were waiting outside that the Legion were personally protecting the people found inside. Lu called the pilot that had issued the alert that had initially brought the team here and invited them onto the cruiser. The man flew his bulbous craft alongside the sleek Legion cruiser and an access corridor was extended between the two crafts. Lu met the pilot and shook his hands. In her other hand she held a small pipe like piece of mid 23rd century technology. He recognised it and his eyes grew wide.

"This should be yours I believe." Duplicate Girl smiled broadly as she passed one of the Bubble Arcs black boxes to the scavenger. With this as proof he could claim a hefty reward for finding it. By the time it was verified and word got out Lu was sure the protectorate status would be in place so the People of the Blue would be spared from treasure hunting opportunists.

All in all, she thought it had been rather a successful mission.

First Base


It had been nine hours since Duplicate Girl's mission to the Lesser Spider Nebula had returned and forty hours since the arrest of Hadru Jamik and Brek Bannin.

Tinya, Dirk and Luornu stood together and looked directly at their colleagues in the great horse-shoe shaped tiered seating of the First Base team's central meeting room.

They were several chairs and tables around the three Legionnaires, arranged to face their assembled colleagues. The team were either there in person or had live stream holo-avatars present. All Senior Team members, including the two SP liaison officers and Dr Shakespeare were sat at the front row of the crescent with the Home Base Academy staff sat in the row behind them.

Dirk made sure to look around the room making eye contact with as many of his teammates as he could, his hands behind his back and a small smile on his face. He was trying to exude as much quiet confidence as he could without appearing too cocky, which as he was feeling surprisingly nervous was harder to do than he thought it would be.

Tinya thanked everyone for attending and reminded them that in eight hours they would need to release Hadru and Brek so the day would be spent interviewing witnesses with a planned hour-long session at the end to discuss their findings and vote on the outcome. After finishing speaking, the team leader quickly left Dirk and Lournu to it, joining her Senior Team in the front row above. As was tradition, before either could begin their cases the defendants were brought in. Captain Heavyweight led Brek and Hadru into the room with Thunder and Ultra Girl following behind.

This blatantly obvious show of strength was, Dirk thought, rather distasteful.

While Hadru had his chin up and was unconvincingly pretending to be unfazed by the whole situation, Brek looked as if he were ready to throw up. Dirk's heart went out to him in that instant and he knew that whatever the outcome he would try harder to stick by the Tharrite in future.

Sun Boy looked up at his teammates sat in judgement around the room and he could see that several felt the same, though it angered him that just as many looked quite happy with the tableau before them.

"We've all heard what happened, but if this is to be fair, we need to put the rumours and speculation aside and focus on the facts of the case. We will present evidence from Flight Ring monitors, Dr Shakespeare and Ella Drottmi, as well as statements from the victim, Tkemwa, and our two defendants. It is my assertion that you will join me in believing that Hadru Jamik and Brek Bannin broke Legion constitution and UP laws when they assaulted and..."

"Allegedly assaulted. They've not been found guilty yet." Dirk interrupted Luornu with a smile. She stared at him, incredulous, for two long seconds before continuing.

"Hah, yes indeed. Not yet. So, their actions... I will prove beyond reasonable doubt, were clear breaches of our constitution and UP law." Luornu stopped and turned to look at Dirk as the flamboyant Legionnaire sat on a desk and quietly picked at his nails.

"You really believe they're not guilty of assaulting one of our students, do you Dirk? Really? Wow! I'm going to shut up and let Dirk speak... this'll be interesting." Luornu stepped off the stage and sat on one of the seats at the side, her arms crossed and a small smile on her face.

Dirk stood up and thanked Luornu before moving to the centre of the dais and smiling up to the Legionnaires before him.

"So, let's be clear here: Hadru and Brek acted like a pair of jerks. But, as a friend reminded me, they are our jerks. We need to stand by the mistakes just as much as we take credit for our successes. We've all known that Hadru was suffering; he was brutally beaten when we captured Second Base and then suffered again under the Blight."

Several of the Legionnaire's present tried to interrupt but Dirk shushed them and continued, ignoring their protests.

"Brek has been seen as a weak link, despite being a former leader of this team he has always stood in the shadow of his once being a Sub, and it's well known he suffers from alcoholism and has struggled with withdrawal symptoms. Also, we can all acknowledge he has a badly wounded ego that craves validation. And in front of his former colleagues and friends he was humiliated by being made to attend the Academy before re-joining the team.... actually, that should be potentially re-joining."

This time Brek also protested. Dirk ignored him as he continued.

"And we allowed them to be broken, to be broken and stay broken ...now we have offered some support, that's true... but really, we haven't actually supported either of them. Not as friends should, not as family should. And as embarrassing as it is to admit this, I include myself firmly in that category. Whatever they are guilty of we share part of the responsibility."

Dirk was quiet, and surprisingly, this time so were the seated Legionnaires. It was Laurel Kent that broke the silence first.

"Nah, they're both entitled idiots Dirk. I'm not responsible for their stupidity or for their attacking a student. They are!"

And with that the team in the tiered seating erupted into arguments about the two defendants.

"Sterling job there Dirk, that went well." Luornu smiled as she spoke.

As had been the precedent for a millennium, the prosecution went first.

Danielle Foccart's holo-avatar had been the first witness called. The young technopath that ran the various AI's and technical infrastructure that kept the bases operational appeared withdrawn as she presented before the assembled team. Everyone knew she had difficulty in social environments and both Lu and Dirk planned on making this as easy as possible for her.

Danielle had plainly laid out a timescale of when Hadru had warped to Home Base, the times of the warp that took Chemical Kid and Polar Boy to the Intrepid Station and the times that the tutors had followed and returned.

Luornu then asked for flight data regarding use of abilities. Dirk knew that this might be the proof that could sink any chances of the two getting off but he couldn't think of a way to stop it.

An almost twenty feet tall hard light screen appeared before the Legionnaires. On it the assembled team could clearly see that Hadru had struck first, almost a minute before TKemwa retaliated. Brek then exhibited a burst of his freezing abilities and it was several minutes later when Shadow Lass had used her light nullifying powers. As both Wildfire's and Jumping Jack's abilities were part of their physicality there were no clear records for them, though Danielle had accessed the bio-metric data for the Science Police Officer that showed a spike of adrenaline when he had leapt at Hadru, and Wildfire's suit reading clearly displayed the energy release used to free himself from the ice trap Brek had created.

Luornu emphasised that Hadru had struck first and then Brek had used his abilities to strike the student while he was defending himself and then again against Wildfire before the tutors could reach him.

It looked fairly damning; Dirk had to admit.

Hey IB, thanks for your kind words.

I agree that Babbage is difficult to write - I'm going to try to use them more so I can get a better handle on its personality.

The way I see it, any character that was a member of the team that is canon is one of the old guard. Not sure if that's really accurate, especially when Marya is one of that group, but it'll do as a distinction for now

Anyway, the trial is upon us, expect a couple of twists and turns. Hope you enjoy.

Thanks again,

C

hi Harbi, what a lovely end to the Nebula mission. Babbage using some subterfuge (pretending to be one of the ancient Titans), but clearing things up by showing the real history. and the Legion reminding the people that the priests were honestly misled, not lying. A wonderful conclusion! If only this happened more in real life.

The trial, the trial! You are off to a great start. I love that the team is clearly divided about this. Dirk had a stunning opening statement, it does not excuse in my mind BUT it does give some food for thought.

Also, Brek and Hadru indeed have very different issues and motivations...

I am hooked!

Thanks IB, once again I'm very grateful for your kind feedback.

I've written out the trial in full and am really looking forward to hearing your thoughts as it goes on. It's not going to be too easy for the team and there's a twist coming that I think will surprise you too.


More soon,

C

I am so eager to read it, C! As always, I remain a big fan!

I just realised tonight that there have been updates and I am very excited to see that we're into the trial!! I kept a notepad with some thoughts as I went along so here goes:

- I really liked the resolution to the Bubble Arc arc, it had a nice classic Star Trek feel to it with Babbage revealing that one of the things this society believed was a sacred rule was based on a misunderstanding

- I also got a chuckle out of the image of Babbage awkwardly patting someone's head while they hug him earnestly And his final goodbye to Maiara was quite wooby, well done!

- Also a good LOL: "Kid Pulsar was surrounded by many young, and not so young women who spoke about their reproductive cycles in quite frank detail. It made him incredibly uncomfortable so he telepathically requested Solar Gorilla join him."

- oof, I do NOT envy Dirk....for one thing he doesn't have much to work with in terms of a defence, but Luornu is definitely in my top three Legionnaires I wouldn't want to be opposing in a trial!

I am eagerly anticipating where you take this, Harbi...I like how Hadru and Brek are being presented with different approaches; I kind of feel like your Brek is someone who is at heart not a bad person but his lack of confidence and desperate need to be validated lead him to stupid decisions, whereas Hadru seems like he's just a little entitled nasshead Part of me is hoping Hadru breaks bad actually, we've never really seen something like that happen outside of Jan in Legion Lost as far as I can think of!

Ready for more, more, more!

I'm of the same opinion re Brek vs Hadru Definitely have more sympathy for Brek. though Harbi / Dirk raised a good point re Hadru being Blighted; how did that affect him? of course, we haven't really seen any of the other Blighted act out to this degree. except maybe Tel vs. Jed

Next up was the student they called Haze.

Tkemwa Autmi-Hu stood before the assembled Legionnaires wearing his Science Police Cadet uniform.

He was not particularly tall but had an obvious muscular build that leant itself to his presence on the dais. His answers had been short and polite, though he did not smile once. Lu had him describe the day in question and asked how he felt during Hadru's assault (Dirk countered saying it was not yet proven as an assault, Lu replied with a saccharine smile and rephrased her question) and then so soon after having had his metabolism tampered with, how it felt to be encased in ice. Tkemwa gave a blow-by-blow account of what had transpired after Hadru had warped into the apartment he had shared with Brek.

This was the only point during his questioning that the young student showed emotion. His eyes briefly flicked across to Hadru and Brek; the disgust he felt was obvious.

Dirk felt sorry for the kid as he knew no matter how today went several of his colleagues would see him as the person responsible for this trial... as much as he didn't want to harm the kids chances of progressing from the Academy, Dirk knew he had to discredit him if Brek and Harry stood a chance of avoiding custodial sentences.

"Your questions Dirk." Lu said with a small smile on her face. Dirk gave a bright smile in return before questioning the student.

"Tkemwa, from what you just told us it was Hadru that initially provoked the situation. You said he disrupted your glucose receptors causing you to feel weak. So, he tried to slow you down, is that correct?"

"Yes, he did..."

"And you responded by negatively influencing his mind so he wouldn't have been able to concentrate on using his powers on you anymore. That's correct, yes?"

"Yes."

"Then what?" Dirk smiled at the student as asked.

"Brek used his cryo-kinetic ability to attack me."

"No, that's not correct. Can you answer the question again please?"

"Pardon?" The student looked confused.

"From your own earlier testimony, you influenced Hadru with your psionics knocking him to the floor and then approached him... do you think this could have been seen as a precursor of a more physical retaliatory attack?"

"Oh please, what are you saying Dirk? He can't tell you what those idiots were thinking..." Lu had stood up and spoke, interrupting the flow of the questioning.

"I'm saying clearly that this student who we all know has enhanced strength could have looked like he was away to physically assault Hadru despite having already freed himself from the catalysation." Dirk didn't smile as he replied.

"Hadru deserved it, if he did slap him." Lu muttered darkly as she sat down.

"Nope... gotta disagree with you there Lu. So..." Dirk turned back to the student, "Were you going to physically attack Hadru? You must have felt annoyed, provoked even..."

"I don't believe I would have, no." Tkemwa looked a little confused as he replied.

"Do you want to take a minute there?" Dirk said, with a knowing smile on his face.

"Stop provoking him Dirk, he's not the victim here." Lu snapped.

"Perhaps... though it could explain some later actions. If the defendants believed there was a physical threat against them from someone who's at least ten times stronger than both of them what would we expect them to do? Stand there and take a beating because of a ...a stupid moment of high spirits? It's my point that the student escalated the situation, perhaps unwittingly, so Tkemwa needs to take some responsibility as well for his actions that day."

"Tosh! And you know it, Dirk." Lu snapped.

Dirk turned to Luornu and gave her a bland smile.

Hadru Jamik took to the dais to be questioned.

Lu took an aggressive stance against him from her first question which, surprising the majority of his colleagues, he didn't rise to. Instead, he seemed to become almost inert, neither shrinking away or responding in kind. His calm demeanour looked to be shaken a few times but he kept his cool and didn't once raise his voice or use a snarky response. Thankfully, Dirk thought to himself, Hadru had listened to his advice about not antagonising Luornu...

Hadru told the team of his frustration and unhappiness being a Legionnaire and how he wanted to speak to Brek about potentially quitting. He made a quip at this point about how, regardless of the outcome of the trial, he was out now. Lu didn't respond.

Hadru continued talking about the day in question, how he really just wanted a friend to talk to but it felt as if the Student was forcing his way into the situation.

Lu asked what exactly had led Hadru to assault Tkemwa. Hadru laughed and spoke about the various races' metabolisms he had researched in the last few years. He stressed that he knew the limits of what he could do to Haze and so only planned on putting the student to sleep, nothing more. After Tkemwa struck back things were a blur until he arrived on the Intrepid Satellite. He mentioned how Brek had offered to take the fall for it if he wanted to go back but instead Hadru had offered to financially support them if they got away. After that they made their way to a docking bay and a possible route off the satellite where they were caught.

Hadru paused for a second or two before continuing, telling the assembled team how once Tasmia Mallor had covered Brek and him in darkness on the Martian Satellite he had merely stood up. If he wanted to, he said, he could have easily shut down everyone present at that time by interfering with their body's chemistry. Instead he simply stood up. He planned on giving himself up but wasn't given the opportunity. He heard Brek try to apologise to Tasmia then the sound of a blow and a second later he was unconscious himself. His next memory was waking up in pain on Home Base.

Lu smiled as she said she had no further questions.

Dirk's questioning of Hadru took an unexpected turn.

Dirk smiled and thanked Hadru for his account of that day and reassured the Phlonite that he would not have to relive it anymore. Instead, Dirk started discussing tricks and jokes that various Legionnaires had pulled on their colleagues over the years, from Garth's 'butt-burning' phase (Dirk made a point of including Tinya in that recollection), this gave the newer Legionnaires a laugh as the story was told. Dirk then reminded them of Jo finding it amusing to eat at super-speed all of his teammates rations while on missions, which went into reminiscing over Reep jumping out at colleagues in various shapes to surprise or scare them - at least once ending with the Durlan getting punched. Hadru mentioned how Lamprey would haze new students in Montauk Point by running electric currents across tables and chairs. They both laughed.

Dirk took an unsurprising amount of satisfaction as he recounted that Luornu had used her triplicating ability to trip up the original Invisible Kid after he made a comment she interpreted as sexist back in her early days - hence the nickname 'Trips' was seen more as a warning than a shortened version of her code-name to those in the know. Hadru laughed and told the team that back when they were in the Academy even the usually straight-laced Gravity Kid had used his abilities to joke around with classmates which in one memorable case led to a fellow student needing hospital care after a prank went wrong and they were dropped on their head.

In the seating area above, several Legionnaires were laughing while others spoke with friends and colleagues about jokes they had either participated in or been on the receiving end of...

Lu interrupted, asking if there was a point to this random detour down memory lane. Dirk clarified why he had taken this turn of thought - each of those 'jokes' inconvenienced teammates, some could easily be seen as sexual harassment and in more than a few cases they had led to bodily harm, yet they were written off as high spirits or personality clashes that were soon forgotten about. He wondered how Hadru influencing Tkemwa's glucose receptors just enough to slow him down was any different. Certainly, Dirk mused, if it had been a member of the team closer to the senior team or current team leader he seriously doubted that this trial would have been called at all.

There was uproar from the Legionnaires sat watching as several started shouting their objections at Dirk while a couple agreed with his assessment.

It took several minutes before order was restored.

Dirk remained quiet as he stared up at the teammates objecting to his line of reason. His expression was fairly neutral, though those that knew him well could see there was a determined anger behind it.

Dirk's last question to Hadru was: "After today, regardless of outcome do you have any plans?"

"Leave this place and forget about ever being in the Legion. I don't fit in and don't want to stay anymore."

There was muttering from the Legionnaires that sat on the raised seating, some agreeing that he should leave while other clearly uncomfortable for letting the situation reach the point where one of their colleagues felt like that.

Brek Bannin took to the dais.

This was the man that had set up and led a covert support group to the main Legion through strength of his own chatacter, who then made it onto the main team and even led it for a while. Until recently Brek's service record was as good as any of his teammates. Yet here he was; unshaven and with a dirty yellow stain of bruising on his left cheek. Brek put his chin up as he looked around at the Legionnaires staring at him in an attempt to look defiant though they could all see in his eyes that he was already resigned to having lost.

Lu's eyes widened for a split-second as she took in the state of the man before her and her tone of voice softened. She was remarkably compassionate as she addressed him. The whole team were silent as they watched.

Brek looked broken.

Dirk glanced up at his teammates in the seats looking down. The majority looked uncomfortable.

After Luornu asked him for details Brek rambled a bit about what happened and then abruptly stopped mid-sentence.

"You know what, I know damn fine I'm not worthy of a flight ring anymore. Prob'ly haven't been for a long time if I'm being honest. Mel Lassar is far more deserving of being the hero that represents Tharr than I am. And, I know it was a cluster-fuck of a day but I only wanted to protect my friend when I saw that...that slab of muscle approach Hadru," he pointed towards Tkemwa and turned to face the student, "see... That's why I put you on ice, I never wanted to hurt you, just slow you down so we could leave. You wouldn't give us any room and you looked like you wanted to kill Hadru after he did his schtick on you. I just wanted to stop you..." Brek rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hand before carrying on.

"I knew Hadru wanted to talk and, yes, I wanted a drink despite being told not to have any. So, everything was going around in my head and Hadru zapped him and he zapped Hadru back, and... and then Haze lunged forward so I encased him to stop him hurting my friend. Am I proud? No. Am I a role model that a Legionnaire should be? Not by a light-year. But I was stressed and my friend was too and wanted to talk to me and I wanted to protect him."

Brek looked up at the Legionnaires in the raised seating and continued, "And I gotta say I'm sorry too Wildfire but you were roaring towards us and I just panicked. I could have frozen any of you but I knew you'd be okay Drake, that's why I chose to freeze only you. And... ah, that's all I gotta say... that's my statement ...now you can all decide if you're gonna throw us in a jail or let us go home."

And with that Brek Bannin got up from the seat and left the dais to sit on a pew at the back of the room.

Lu gazed over at Brek and shook her head before announcing she would call the next witness.

Raz and IB, thank you for your comments, they're always greatly appreciated.

Hadru and Brek are definitely very different fish, so their reactions as we go on might interest you - hopefully I've done them justice.

Next, things get down to the nitty gritty and it will be savage. One person in particular is in for an enlightening conversation that will have ramifications for the entire team.

More soon, hope you enjoy.

C

Oh, sorry, meant to add, IB I've added quite a few blighted reactions so don't think Hadru and Tel are the only ones - from Grava and Drinchnar arguing, Lar's loneliness/depression, KK and Amynta went to Nostos as both felt that something was wrong and Amanda in particularwas suffering, Starkling reaching out to find comfort, even Brin needing to reconnect to nature, as well as Thirteen acknowledged he had been moody despite his Naltorian training could all come under 'Blighted" reactions. That's how they were all meant anyway though I didn't categorically label them as such so apologies if it wasn't clear.

Harbi, these were 3 excellent segments!!! Dirk's defense is amazing... shows how a situation can be interpreted in so many different ways. That bit of walking everyone down memory lane re pranks was golden.

Impressed at Hadru for listening to Dirk's advance and not antgonizng Lu...

And Brek and Hadru both giving their reasoning for their actions (just standing up and not attacking; only freezing Wildfire)... well, this has also made me rethink my opinions.

In short, this is a masterful bit of writing, I am super impressed and dare I say this is even better than the Adventure Era trial of Star Boy !


Hi Harbi! Oh, sorry too, I also was not clear. I know/remember some of these at least, as being Blighted reactions. But I meant more that Hadru and Tel had the most violent ones - or at least the ones that impacted others. Even with Grava, she only argued vs. Drinchnar and was clearly sorry afterwards. And the others didn't lash out at anyone else or anything. If I remember right, only Hadru and Tel really lashed out...

Glad you like it IB, thank you for your very kind response. Having went through a court case a few years ago I've seen how individuals perceptions of events can vary and influence results. It's all down to who is believed the most. The best/worst is still to come.

Re: Hadru behaving himself - well, the man's not daft!

And my apologies as I've just rer-read your comments above and it's clear that you meant lashing out like that, I totally misread earlier. Sorry..

I may post more tomorrow or Friday as I'm just so excited about this storyline, I'm really looking forward to seeing how yours and any other readers opinion changes by the end of it all - I think its 3 or 4 more posts of witnesses being cross examined before the verdict is given.

Also, just noticed and love how my autospellcheckimp changed Amynta to Amanda in my reply, haha.

Anyway, it's almost 2330 and I'm up at 0530 so must go to bed now. Night night.

Thanks again IB.

C

Hi Harbi,

This is so good - Lu is the perfect choice to play prosecutor, she's so self-assured! I really do feel sorry for Dirk having to oppose her, but I like how you're showing he has a different type of intelligence/confidence in the way he uses his charisma to good effect.

I really feel sorry for Brek...there's a good argument to be made that he has been on a downward spiral since he joined the Legion, as things have been going progressively worse for him since he actually joined the team. He went from being the biggest fish in a small pond with the Subs to just being completely lost once he joined his dream team.

I like the way you're writing Chemical Kid and it doesn't surprise me at all in retrospect that he of course would know how to manipulate a courtroom. I have no doubt he's been in trouble before given how snotty and entitled he always comes across, so his calmness on the stand doesn't come as a shock at all. Very much looking forward to seeing where this goes!

The next witness was Science Police Officer Ella Drottmi of Titan.

The psychic tutor was precise and factual in all her answers. She sensed Tkemwa's distress as the alarm rang so rushed to help him. As well as smashing the ice that surrounded him - two to three feet thick, she estimated- she took a look at his immediate memories to find out what happened.

The student was her primary concern so when other tutors arrived moments after she had found Haze, she told them what she had learned and then took the injured student to the infirmary where she remained until he was released two hours later.

Dirk tried to get her to go back on how thick the ice was but the psychic Science Police tutor simply restated her previous statement. He then tried to have her speak in more detail about the extent of the student's injuries but she would not be drawn out. It didn't take him long to realise Ella would not help his case so he thanked her for her testimony and called for the next witness.

Dr Richard Kent Shakespeare smiled as he took to the dais.

The Legion's Chief of Medical and Support Staff smiled pleasantly as he listed Haze's medical condition upon arrival at the medi-bay: glucose deficiency which for his species could potentially lead to unconsciousness with an extreme possibility of falling into a coma if left untreated, the beginning stages of frostbite on fingertips and toes, and mild shock.

Lu thanked him as Dirk got up from his seat and approached the witness. He asked Kent to rate these injuries both individually and as a group out of ten, with 1 being no harm and 10 being death. Dr Shakespeare appeared thrown by the question.

"Just answer, are any of them, or in fact are all of them when put together, a 5 out of 10 or above? Given the physicality of the student did you believe there would be any lasting harm to him at all?"

"... no. No to both questions. Tkemwa was perfectly fine in a under an hour. I only kept him in longer as a precautionary measure and had no doubts he was fighting fit when he was discharged."

"Okay, thanks." Dirk scratched his chin as if an idea had just struck him, "Just one more question... how would you rate the damage Hadru and Brek presented with when they were brought back to Home Base: Less, same as, or more than the student's? Just talk us through what injuries they presented with please..."

"Well, ah, let's see... both had broken noses, Breks' orbital bone was fractured and he had lost two teeth, both had serious facial bruising and mild concussion, Hadru had damaged his knees and twisted muscles and ligaments, scrapes and scratches, so ...more. Both Hadru and Brek needed to be in our care for four or five hours, so considerably longer than Tkemwa. But I also ..."

"That's all. Thank you, Dr Shakespeare." Dirk waved his hand at the doctor, dismissing him from the dais.

Wildfire and Shadow Lass took their turn on the stand.

Luornu asked for their take on the events that happened on the day Tkemwa was found encased in ice. Their stories all matched, as was expected.

Drake and Tasmia both told Dirk they were proud of their actions for catching Hadru and Brek. Dirk resisted the urge to make Drake repeat telling the assembled Legionnaires the part where Brek had frozen him to a wall. As funny as he thought it was, Dirk knew that it might prove counter-productive. Still, he would ensure it wasn't forgotten after all the hullaballoo of the trial was over and done with. As much as Dirk had a genuine fondness and respect for Drake, he knew a little bit of ego deflation was often in order.

Science Police Senior Training Officer Jaxi Delgrado-Hynd took to the dais and confirmed his fellow tutors accounts of the events that day to Lu. Sun Boy didn't really know this tutor but had thought highly of him when he had watched him in action with his students on Home Base.

Luornu asked him the same questions she had asked the Legionnaires that had been on the retrieval mission and he had given broadly the same answers. She smiled as she passed the witness over to Dirk to question.

Dirk felt a pang of guilt for what he was away to do to the accomplished Science Police trainer.

Jaxi's answers were almost guaranteed to be the same word for word as the Legionnaires that had preceded him onto the stand. Dirk had entirely questions in mind for this witness.

"Jaxi... tell me, did anyone try to stop Hadru or Brek by talking to them? Maybe requesting they stop doing whatever it was they were doing and return to Home Base to help with an enquiry?"

"No."

"Yet it is a long-standing SP protocol that all arresting officers are first obliged to de-escalate any potential combat situation by attempting communication before taking physical action, isn't that correct?"

"The two had attacked a student, Brek had attacked Drake... "

"Well, perhaps though perhaps not. No-one for a nano believes Brek could ever hurt Drake so let's not use that as an excuse. Not if we want to be taken seriously anyway." Dirk gave a laugh and glanced up at Wildfire in the raised seating above. Several of his colleagues laughed and teased the anti-energy Legionnaire. Dirk waited a couple more seconds before continuing.

"Still, you jumped on Hadru, broke his nose, twisted muscles on his neck and shoulders, your forcing him onto the ground resulted in damage to both knees and his right arm. Did he use his ability against you that he deserved such an aggressive action taken against him rather than just slipping on cuffs? Actually, don't answer that, just tell me, did he act in any way to put you personally at risk that your actions are acceptable under any Science Police arresting procedures?" Dirk didn't smile as he asked and Jaxi didn't look happy as he heard the question.

"...to my point of view at that time we were facing two meta beings with significant Legion combat training that had used their abilities against a student so we had to assume they might try to use them against us and so we acted accordingly."

"No, that's not correct at all, is it? Not according to Science Police procedural policies anyway. You know that though, don't you? I mean, you've been a trainer for the SP's for over a decade so I assume you should know the regulations around lawful arrest by now. It is fairly clear... I spent two hours last night reading them though please do tell me if I've misremembered." Dirk paused here, his expression was that of a raptor with its prey firmly in sight.

"So, when arresting anyone that can be perceived as potentially hostile it is the arresting officer's obligation to try in the first instance to de-escalate the situation through opening direct communication. Also..."

Officer Delgrado-Hynd tried to interrupt but Dirk bluntly told him to be quiet before he continued.

"Your regulations state that only after communication has been tried and failed, or if the situation becomes increasingly dangerous or threatening to life, may force be considered. The minimum force necessary to end a situation is to be used at all times. Now, i believe that's a fairly basic summary of about sixteen whole pages of text on the subject though please correct me if I got it wrong... no? You're not going to argue with that summary? Okay..." Dirk paused and looked up at the team around him before he got to the crunch.

"So, my final question then... given these protocols, why aren't you on trial today Jaxi? After all, you aggresively assaulted a Legionnaire without following the legal protocol you are sworn, and paid to uphold. Do you believe your actions were more, less or about the same amount of illegal as Hadru's and Brek's? If this went to a proper legally accountable court, that is... well, which is it officer?"

The silence that stretched out between them was harsh until Luornu requested they all take a 20-minute comfort break.

Dirk smiled and took the dais. "As Luornu has called all of her witnesses, after the break I only have one more witness to call... Tinya Wazzo, in twenty minutes please come join us down here."

Dirk had sat between Hadru and Brek, refusing to speak to Lu during the comfort break.

Exactly twenty minutes later and Tinya floated down to the dais as requested. She gave Dirk a smile that he knew instantly meant she was not happy with him.

He really didn't care.

He was here to represent Hadru and Brek at her request so he planned on doing the best job he could to get them off the hook. He knew, technically, that they were both guilty but if he raised enough doubts in his teammates minds then he hoped to at least save them from a trip to Tarkon-Galtos. That was the best outcome that he could see coming out of this...

"My witness Lu, I go first." Dirk said as he stood up and walked to the central space.

"Tinya, hi, I've only got a couple of questions for you, then I'm done, is that okay?" The Legion leader nodded her agreement so Dirk proceeded, "Hadru was recently moved from being part of the Second Base team to First... why did you do that??

"We wanted to even up the abilities available on the bases, and so with Jan joining Second Base..."

"Uh huh, were there other reasons?"

"Well, you know as a member of the Senior Team, we had discussed how Hadru had been looking less confident after we took Second Base. He had been badly beaten and he seemed to be... volatile, vulnerable, emotional. I thought if he was on First Base, closer to Dr Shakespeare and Dr Falkner, he would have better access to support if it was needed."

"So, you wanted to keep an eye on him as he appeared to be struggling?"

"Yes."

"Did you have Tkemwa placed in Brek's apartment to monitor him? Have someone there to keep an eye on Brek as he was struggling as well?" After Dirk asked this everyone could see Tinya's expression change. There was a few tense seconds that followed where every eye in the room focussed squarely on the team leader.

"Yes." The huge room fell silent as Tinya admitted this.

Dirk waited several more seconds before asking why.

"Several reasons, I had spoken with the tutors on Home Base about ways of hopefully managing our ...potentially more troublesome students and we decided that all students would share their apartments going forward, as a kind of Buddy scheme. Tkemwa, being Ungaran has a natural sense of order so I hoped he would be a calming element on Brek."

"You said several reasons...?"

"Tkemwa is as honest as a G'rfflr's tongue is long, so I knew if we needed to ask him about anything regarding Brek's behaviour he wouldn't try to cover it up."

"And you suspected Brek would break the rules?"

"Yes." The flat look that Tinya gave Dirk told him she was not happy with being questioned.

"So.... are you in fact saying you expected Brek to fail at the Academy?" Dirk walked away from her as he asked this question.

"I hoped not..." As she replied Dirk turned back to look her way again.

"That wasn't the question." Dirk said it quietly but everyone heard.

"Okay, yes I did not expect Brek would succeed at the Academy."

"So, if I've got this correct, it sounds that you set Brek up to fail. Why go through all the hassle of having him placed there if you suspected he wasn't capable of making it through the placement?"

"Well... Obviously, he deserved a chance." It was clear that Tinya did not fully believe her own statement.

"Really? If he deserved a chance, why wasn't he simply allowed back on one of the bases and added to the monitor board as mission ready? Was there any other reason why you would want Brek to go through the ... the humiliation of attending the Academy when he had already earned his stripes as a full Legionnaire?" Dirk realised that his tone of voice was beginning to show the anger he was feeling so he made a point of turning away again and walking over to his chair. Once there he turned back to her before perching on the edge of an arm.

Tinya was silent. She looked up to the assembled Legionnaires and shrugged.

"Okay... For those of you that are unaware..." Tinya looked up at the faces of the team as they watched the proceedings, "Several months ago, Brek quit in the most monumentally childish huff I have witnessed in my career because we pulled him up about his highly inappropriate behaviour. Once he'd left, he made no attempt to contacted us to discuss the situation or, as far as I'm aware, to respond to calls from his friends here. Then, just when it looked like he'd run out of money and favours Brek used our media contacts to manipulate his way back in. I used to have some genuine respect for Brek but after that... well, that was the C'hhrxx that broke the Dryggrn's back, y'know? I wanted him to learn to be respectful. He... You know I didn't want to hurt him, certainly didn't want anything like this ...I ...I just wanted to teach him a lesson that he couldn't treat the Legion so shabbily and expect us to be happy to see him. All things considered; I think it was fair."

"You think it was fair to treat someone you say you used to respect and also knew was struggling with addiction problems in a way that would publicly humiliate them?" This time Dirk's voice clearly showed his annoyance. His expression was that of a man barely containing his feelings of anger. Tinya's eyes narrowed momentarily as she stared at him, her emotions were also rising to the surface. The unsaid challenge between them was clear for anyone paying close attention.

"Yes, yes I did and still do." Tinya straightened in her chair, her voice became harder as she replied, "Brek needed educating so he fully understood there would be consequences for that sort of behaviour. His addictions are a separate matter entirely Dirk..."

"Did you ever address them with him?" Dirk interrupted Tinya to ask, the smirk on his face and voice made it clear he knew the answer was 'no'.

"You know the answer, I saw it as a problem he could easily request help for and that you certainly didn't help with either when you'd take him out partying all the time... So watch your tone with me."

Even as she finished speaking Tinya knew her answer had ended on a shrill note. She could feel the blush rise on her cheeks. At that moment she wasn't sure if she wanted to slap Hadru, Brek or Dirk the most for putting her in this awful situation.

Dirk gave a huge and clearly false smile before thanking Tinya for her answers and asking Luornu if she had any questions for the witness.

Both women looked confused, though happy that he had finally stopped baiting the team's leader. Lu asked Tinya to go through the timeline that led up to the arrest of Brek and Hadru, mentioning all the incidents both defendants had been involved in the last few months that had raised concerns to her. After she had finished Lu asked Dirk if he had any final questions and, as he declined, the team leader was told she could re-take her seat.

Raz, hi there, thanks for your review - greatly appreciated.

I totally agree that Hadru will know how to play the system, he's such a little schemey at heart

Dirk has always been shown as incredibly smart, so it was fun figuring out how someone with his mindset would defend Hadru and Brek. Hope this reads as well as it was planned.

Next: the verdict!

fun, fun, fun....

C

hi Harbi more great stuff!!

Re mis-reading, oh no worries, I do it all the time too! Hope you had a good sleep!!

I am also excited about this storyline, so thank you so much for posting more. I eagerly checked to see today!

Dirk, he is so clever, kudos for shining a light on his intelligence!

Dirk's questioning of Jaxi was masterful... also makes me think! Will this force a reckoning re the Legion's own protocols? Because the question he asked Kent... Hadru and Brek were significantly more hurt indeed...!

Dirk and Tinya's scene. Wow. I felt Dirk's anger at Brek's treatment, after all Brek is his friend...

Goodness... I do respect Tinya for her honesty. But whew! I am so interested to see the aftermath... Relationships are being broken down all around, and of course I cannot say any of this is unearned, I do not think anyone is free of blame here...

I absolutely cannot wait for the end! Oh Harbi you continue to amaze, I am hooked!

I forgot to add, the bit about Brek looking so broken that even Lu softened while questioning him. Poor, poor Brek. And I think this marked a turning point re Lu, as well.

Oh, and Hadru's line about not fitting in and not wanting to stay anymore. Yes, Hadru can be a little snot but that broke my heart too.

IB thanks, glad you enjoyed it.

As Dirk is a member of the Senior Team so had sat in the meetings where these things were discussed I don't think Tinya could evade the questions without him calling her out in front of the whole team. Relationships will definitely be very different after this, one in particular will have a lot of work to do to recover. Ouch!

Oh, and I imagine Jaxi and Tasmia were especially hard on Brek and Hadru as they wanted to catch those they had seen as betraying the team by attacking a student.

Anyway, it'll be Tuesday or wednesday next week before I have time again to drop by and post some more, though the verdict isn't in yet - remember Lu said to judge the case by the facts not friendships.

So which way to you think it'll go?

Thanks again,

C

I look forward to see where you're taking all these!

And yeah totally get Jaxi and Tasmia. I'm sure they did what they felt they had to do. And I applaud you having Dirk's feelings show, re being sorry he had to ask in a certain way etc. etc. But he is doing his job to the best of his ability for sure

Oh I can hardly wait

It's too close to call IMO. The verdict will be a vote, I do think Dirk has swayed some people. I think in the end it will be a technically guilty thing, but I don't think Brek or Hadru will be imprisoned... I do not think they will be fully exonerated though... gosh it's tough!!

Hope you have a good weekend ahead!

Both Dirk and Luornu knew that there was very little that could be added so both gave their closing speeches.

Ultimately, they all knew the both Brek and Hadru were out. Both had expressed these views themselves so it was certain that regardless of the vote they would no longer be part of the team after today. What needed to be decided was how their leaving would happen...

Luornu argued that the two had caused intentional hurt and disruption that led to the hospitalisation of a student and disruption on a private satellite, and as such needed to feel the full force of the law. She stated that as Legionnaires they had to be prepared to live by the laws that they enforced, so to her mind there was no other choice than recommend both Brek Bannin and Hadru Jamik be transferred to the Science Police to face charges of assault of a registered law enforcement officer, affray, attempted theft and disturbance of the peace. She also argued that both should be stripped of any benefits from their time with the Legion including a thorough memory wipe of any sensitive information. Her final statement was to remind the team they were here to vote on the facts of the case, not their feelings regarding the defendants.

Dirk started by asking for the team to consider that both Hadru and Brek had been through enough. Both had suffered and lacked the support they needed while on the team. This was something, he stated, that any of them could have had to live through... Both men wanted to leave and he asked that the Legion should consider letting them go. There was no need to have their relationships ('working and platonic' Dirk had stressed with a small smile) be damaged any more than it already was when they all knew there was nothing left to fight over. Brek and Hadru had come out the worst from the recent escapade and, really, what was the point of including the Science Police in this situation when it had been clearly documented that their own officer had not followed their own arrest procedures. This was an internal matter that the only win-win outcome would be to let the two men go live their lives elsewhere as former Legionnaires.

The team had ninety minutes left before they were obliged to either hand the pair over to the SP's or release them. So, as agreed by the Senior Team earlier, a two thirds majority would decide their fate. The team would discuss and vote amongst itself to decide whether or not the two defendants should be handed over to the Science Police or not. If not, a solution would be expected to be discussed and offered.

Dirk led Brek and Hadru out of the meeting room, with Luornu and Thunder following behind. No-one spoke as they went to a nearby room where the two defendants waited to hear the team's decision. Dirk and Lu sat out in the corridor, both deep in thought as they relived the trial and wondered if they had done enough...

Neither spoke.

Fifty minutes later XS appeared before them.

The rush of air that followed in her wake blew into both Dirk and Lu's faces as they looked up at her from their seats.

"We've made a decision, you coming back in?" Jenni gave them a mock salute and smile.

Lu thanked her and followed the speedster back into the meeting room. Dirk went to get Brek and Hadru from their cells. They silently followed him back into the huge room where their former colleagues and friends sat on the raised horse-shoe shaped dais. Neither Brek nor Dirk looked up at them as they made their way to the centre of the room, though Hadru stole a glance. He was disappointed that he had not spotted Grava as he knew her expression would tip him off to the outcome.

Phantom Girl, Thunder and Tyroc stood waiting for them.

"Hadru Jamik and Brek Bannin," Tinya said, "the team have reached a two thirds majority after considering the charges that were brought against you. We have decided the following are a fitting solution to the problems you brought before us."

Tinya paused here to wipe her hair back from her face.

"Firstly, you have both been found guilty of the charges brought against you by your peers. So, we have discussed acceptable outcomes and reparations and have agreed on the following: you are to be stripped of your membership and all benefits that you may have gained while members of the Legion."

Hadru smiled though his expression was not exactly happy.

"Secondly, before you leave First Base all information that you have gained while in our ranks that could be seen as sensitive is to be removed, both physical information storage you may possess and all memories that could benefit anyone or organisation outside of the team."

Sun Boy looked away from the team leader as he knew the next part would be the crucial part, whether or not the team thought the two men should serve time.

"Finally, you are to leave our bases and will no longer be allowed any form of access back onto them unless it is under the most dire of threat. Henry will open a warp for you to wherever you wish to go and you are not welcome to call on his services or any of your former teammates again."

Hadru smiled broadly, obviously happy at the outcome. At his side, Brek put his hands over his face. Dirk put an arm around the Tharrite's shoulder and the short man turned his face in towards the senior senior Legionnaire's chest and cried. His body shook as he wept, though it was uncertain if it was due to sadness or relief or a mixture of both.

"If there is no appeal against this ruling...?" Tinya looked at Dirk, her eyes showed a surprising amount of compassion, "Dirk... no? Then Dr Faulkner, if you can arrange for the psychic extraction. Let's get this awful situation over and done with."

Phantom Girl turned and levitated off the dais before she strode through the walls without saying another word. Tyroc and Thunder exchanged a brief glance before taking their two former teammates that had just been stripped of their membership to the medi-bay where the team's Titanian psychiatrist had the unenviable task to securing their memories.

The team had watched from the raised seating above. Hadru looked up just as they left the meeting room and saw both Grava and Marya had moved towards the exit to be closer as he was taken away; both looked heartbroken, Grava's tears streaked down her face. He resisted the urge to wave to the team, instead he simply nodded towards the two women that had joined the team at the same time as he had.

While some of the team met in Shakes later on that day the majority spent the next few hours alone as they contemplated what had just happened.

Tinya Wazzo was proud that she didn't cry until she reached her quarters.

It was less than an hour later that Dirk Morgna offered Tinya his immediate resignation. His holo stated the group he had joined, the club for adventurous super-kids, had changed into something he no longer recognised so he no longer felt aligned to the ethos of the organisation it had become.

He wished her every success and before she could reply cut the holo-link.

Coming up, big trouble in Rimbor Town.

oh my! I thought this verdict would indeed be the outcome... being able to hear Hadru's and Brek's sides certainly shed a lot of light on their thoughts during what happened... enough for mitigating factors to come to light.

My Harbi, you know to keep us on our toes! Dirk resigning was a surprise! Is he going to strike out with Brek for a bit? You write the best Dirk ever!

Hadru nodding to Grava and Marya, as the two cry. Poignant. So well done.

Looking at Grava as a tip off to what would happen. So her.

Tinya. "Awful situation," indeed.

Oh, there is so much to unpack here!

I think not having the discussion and vote be shown was the best writing choice too! just the two simple scenes, and let it sink in. Oh, so masterful!

Wow, that was a fast - and very kind- response IB, thank you.

I do have plans for Dirk, but it doesn't involve Brek. More soon on that, though next up the team go visit the gene mod operations on Rimbor.

Thanks again,

C

I was eagerly awaiting the verdict, so dropped everything to read once you posted, Harbi And I'm just telling the truth about how much I loved it.

Can't wait to see what's next!

Oh, you have such writer-ly discipline! I would have not been able to resist the urge to delve into each Legionnaires thoughts during the deliberation phase and had each argue for one outcome or another, and show off some of their distinctive personalities in the process, and it would have run on and on for three or four pages, and you just efficiently and effectively moved on to the important stuff, and skipped all that egregious business I would have gotten bogged down in! Nicely done, and masterful.

I am intrigued by how you manage to have no one feel completely 'right' in how things are breaking down. Sun Boy might be giving some good huff here, but he's more or less avoided any of the hard responsibilities of leadership that Legionnaires like Tinya have been taken on, and is now flouncing out over the idea that it might be time to grow up and accept some oversight, that times have changed and what is and isn't acceptable changes over time, and that the sort of frat-boy antics he fondly remembers from 'back in the day' could indeed count as assault or harassment in a more enlightened time. The first real sign that words and actions might have consequences, and people might be accountable for their shenanigans and 'pranks' and he's out the door? Not a good look, Dirk!

Very timely, in this era of ever-increasing awareness on this subject!

Hey Set, thanks for your review.

You know I did start to write about who thought what and the conversations and debates while the team voted but very quickly realised it would spin out into a novel so binned it and just cut to the chase. Probably saved myself about 3 months worth of anguish as I would have struggled to give everyone a voice.

It's really interesting to read your thoughts on the motivations for Dirk's reaction as they aren't quite how I intended it to be read - though not 100% removed.

Dirk has been in leadership roles throughout my stories and was deputy leader at one point dealing with the yucky interpersonal issues that arose. He can be tough with teammates when necessary- his treatment of Tel when he was being an idiot as an example. As, in canon, Sun Boy is a character I didn't really like I've consciously tried to push him to grow up from the very first Legion Worlds when his father was murdered by Regulus.

In this arc I feel he was more annoyed with Tinya's leadership and treatment of Brek (and to a lesser degree Hadru) than trying to run away from his responsibility, afterall the outcome was broadly what he was pushing for.

Anyway, whatever the rationale,, it was a dick move him quitting like that and there will be some fallout from it soon. He's not flouncing away without consequences.

Anyway, thank you for your feedback Set as it's great to hear how these stories have been taken. Whether or not you like Dirk's actions i hope you enjoyed the story.

More soon as things get physical- enough of the talky-talky stuff

C

Ah, that's my bad then, I go for long stretches between reading your stuff, and forgot entirely that he'd had some leadership experience here, thinking more of 'generic' Sun Boy who has always been a bit more free to enjoy all the benefits of Legion membership, but not really had to sweat the responsibilities as much (although I think he was deputy leader once, in the classic continuity?).

It is always fun to stretch yourself and write characters that you don't necessarily love. (Quislet, in my case.)

Oh wow, I didn't expect Dirk to quit! He is such a staple of the team even though he rarely actually drives any storylines or anything, I am intrigued to see where he goes from here! I do like that he didn't throw a tantrum but it's more along the lines of him being disappointed that the Legion isn't something he's entirely comfortable being a part of...and I think you did an awesome job showing that there's probably some fault on all sides as well; I had initially thought his defence for Brek and Hadru was just a tactic, it's interesting to see that he really felt that way. By the same token they were very clearly in the wrong with what they did, and it makes sense that Tinya wouldn't want to go easy on them.

I think you did a great job of portraying a not entirely black and white situation

Harbi - do you have links to the different editions of your series? I'm trying to start from the beginning, but the site search isn't working well for me for some reason.

Hey GL, I'm so sorry but I'm a techno-idiot and don't know how to set links.

I just looked them up and the first part - Legion Worlds (fanfic -finished 23 April) is on page 8, part 2 - Legion Worlds Two is above it on that page as well.

Hope this helps! And thank you for giving them a try, I hope you enjoy it.

If you can't find it I'll try tomorrow when I'm at home on my laptop, rather than on my phone like now, just let me know.

Thanks,

C

No worries! Thanks for the pointers - I'm pretty tech saavy (Its my career) but sometimes these nuances with the search systems fly totally over my head.

I'll PM you if I'm still unable to track it!!

First Base

Gravity Kid - Science Police Officer Tel Vole of Earth, manipulation of personal or nearby gravity
Power Boy - Science Police Officer Jedidiah Rikane of Earth, personal density control


The two Science Police Officers sat on separate seats about a metre apart.

They had decided to try couples counseling after their recent spate of arguing, and so had approached Dr Falkner to ask if it was possible to arrange. They had requested a counselor that was not based on any of the Legion World bases, which Dr Falkner had agreed with a simple nod. She said in a quiet tone that she understood perfectly how awkward it could be for couples to discuss any issues in front of work colleagues. Both agreed, and Jed thanked the team's counselor for her kindness. And now, two days later, straight after the trial of Brek and Hadru had finished up, here they were.

In front of them floated a round glass tabletop with two small boxes of scented tissues on it. Opposite them sat one of the oldest people they had ever seen before: Dr Griffor of the Sol Psychiatry Association had been legendary on the holo talk-show circuit before either of them had been born though was still a recognised figure. Often cited as the mother of modern counseling techniques - something she heartily denied - Dr Griffor was famed for making opposing parties sit in the same room and talk to each other, rather than using holo-contact or any other method that involved transmitting information. She stated hundreds of times in many, many interviews that she simply advocated returning counseling services to their roots where parties actually spoke to each other. That had been over forty years before, not long after she had turned 65. She had resisted obvious aggressive anti-aging techniques and instead had apparently aged with a rare grace. Never the tallest person in the room, she had shrunk with age. On top of her Birdlike head she had white hair in a tight bun and a hooked nose that became something of a personal brand. She was also incredible intimidating with her bright eyes that stared at the two young men with hawk-like clarity.

"So, gentlemen, before we go any further, I want to establish some ground rules..."

"Sure." grumbled Tel shooting an angry glance towards his husband. "That would be great." Jed replied with a forced smile on his face.

She looked at the two men and smiled warmly as she explained that she would not tolerate either direct rudeness or lies, and made both promise to follow these rules. She then mentioned that abridged notes would be sent to the Science Police though any explicit or deeply personal details would be redacted.

"It'll be the headlines only gents, don't fear, the details don't leave this room. Do you agree?" They both agreed.

"So, before I go any further... Mr Vole, what is that in your arms?" She looked at the gravity manipulator with an open expression.

"Squiggly Joe... he's..." Tel's voice trailed off.

"I bought it for Tel." Jed interrupted brightly.

"I can speak for myself Jed. Yes, you bought him... him, not it... but he's mine."

"May I see please?" Dr Griffor asked, cutting off the two men before they started arguing. Tel grudgingly held the plush toy out and used his abilities to float it across to the counselor. The cuddly toy settled on her palm gently. She smiled as she examined it; two feet long, covered in soft purple and pink fake fur with a beige pointed nose and eyes that rolled around when it was moved. She estimated it would cost no more than 20 credits to buy, but it obviously held much greater significance to Tel Vole than the purely fiscal.

"This is what caused the argument in the gym the other day? Or rather..." both Tel and Jed started to interrupt so Dr Griffor held up a finger to her pursed lips to signal to the two SPOs not to speak, "as I was saying, Jed took this into the gymnasium and his using Squiggly Joe in a training exercise upset you Tel and led to you both being involved in a public argument. Is that correct?"

"Yeah... it's more than that though..." Tel Vole looked down towards the floor, the picture of uncomfortable awkwardness.

"Why don't you let me know Tel, I'd be very interested to hear it."

"It's kinda complicated but here goes..."

Cloning is technically illegal within the United Planets, and it has been for centuries.

That said, there were so many loopholes that the legislation was often seen more of a hindrance than a help to any law enforcement agencies that tried to bring charges against those caught violating the laws. And so it was, when three students at Metropolis Science University applied for research rights to begin trans-genetic cloning experiments just over five years before.

Their thesis involved developing gene-mapping technology for urgent medical procedures involving hormones and neural-relays. They requested permission to incubate a dozen clones each with the mixed genetic code taken from random samples from the University's own gene-bank and monitor how the clone's DNA reacted to a series of tests. The Principal of their department later said that as the students involved were at the very top of their year, he assumed they would follow standard protocols which included not allowing the development of higher brain functions so did not explicitly state these regulations when agreeing to their proposal.

The students force-grew their six clones over the next semester and after their summer break began their experiments. Each clone had been kept unconscious in a sterile containment tube. The age markers had been set for mid-teens after the onset of puberty as this was the point in a human's development when the body's hormone levels were at their most urgent and dynamic.

It was after the first six of the clone-batch had gone through their testing cycles and been returned to their component proteins that a young first year student discovered an awful truth. The remaining clones appeared to react to outside stimulus. It could only mean one thing - the batch had full higher brain functions. The three students that were running the experiments swore her to secrecy, saying they had simply forgotten to remove this capacity when setting up the equipment. The first-year student told several of her friends what she had discovered and within two days word had spread and the media arrived on campus.

At this point Earth-Gov also got involved.

The experiment was immediately shut down, the university severely censured and funding was withdrawn for several high-profile projects. The Principal quit, before he was fired, after making several strong apologetic statements.

The Earth-Gov technicians involved in closing down the experiment noticed something very odd - human clones never lived beyond 72 hours after being released from their growth pods. The process of forcefully aging a cloned body caused dramatic changes resulting in destruction of molecular bonds within the nucleonic proteins within their cells. It was said the Dominion had somehow managed to find a way around this problem but it was not known how within the United Planets.

The six clones weren't dying as expected. Something about the experiments had managed to achieve a breakthrough that had baffled UP scientists for centuries. As the students had used a mixture of old and new equipment, as well as some they had designed and built themselves, the process was not simple to follow. It didn't help the investigation that the laboratory had been closed and equipment sold or destroyed after the story broke.

The clones were put into suspended animation pods while mnemonic transfers were attached. If they were to live, then they needed to understand what they were waking up to. After a further few months of study each of the clones were given names - drawn from a random pole of staff at the UP-institute facility where they were now being kept - and introduced to each other. Up to this point they had not seen or touched another living being in their short lives.

Three were seen as sociable though became frustrated and sometimes aggressive, displaying excessive tantrums more expected by overstimulated toddlers rather than the teenagers they appeared to be. Two others were very withdrawn, uncooperative and rarely socialized. Tel was the one remaining.

Of them all, Subject: Tel Vole appeared to be by far the best adjusted. He was also the only one that eventually exhibited meta-abilities beyond the norm...

Gravity Kid - Science Police Officer Tel Vole of Earth, manipulation of personal or nearby gravity
Power Boy - Science Police Officer Jedidiah Rikane of Earth, personal density control


"What happened the first time you used your abilities Tel?" Dr Griffon asked, her voice was low and quiet.

Technician 4123 had taken a specific interest in Tel's development. Of all the clone's he was seen pretty much as the boring one as he hadn't exhibited any extreme behaviours. The young technician rather liked that he had been given the least troubled of the batch.

Of course, the technicians knew that the clones were not as emotionally mature as they appeared, and this was very evident in the rest of the batch, but Tel seemed different. He was studious without being either introverted or aloof, and personable without being excessively needy or manipulative.

The technician though could not read the clone's thoughts so was unaware of the crush Tel had developed for him. In hindsight the review of the incident said it was obvious, though at that point in time the psycho-social/serial growth of Subject: Tel Vole had not been seen as a top priority so the clues of the growing feelings Tel felt were easily overlooked.

Over the months Technician 4123 had slowly lost a lot of his clinical detachment and would often speak with Subject: Tel Vole on matters that were not strictly within the standard official guidance for integrating fugue state patients into the 31st century. They discussed hopes and aspirations, politics and, of course, sex. It was this final subject that, once acted upon, caused the problems for Tel that shaped the rest of his life.

During the previous week Technician 4123 had introduced the concept of aspirations to Tel, in part to get the clone ready for when he could leave the laboratory for good. The plan had been to introduce differing concepts each week for the next five months or so, until Tel would be assessed to decide if he was ready to take control of his own life away from the institute.

They were in Little Central Park in Metropolis, just the two of them with one security officer trailing behind. Technician 4123 and Tel had been on a run, pushing each other to go faster and further until they finally reached the designated resting point: a small cafe that specialised in traditional Terran Shawarma as well as a wide range of ice creams. It was the second time that Tel had been allowed out of the laboratory and the only time he had eaten anything as decadent as ice cream!

Tel was feeling high, verging on euphoric, from all the natural endorphins after the morning's exercise, the sugar from his pistachio and lime ice cream, and the thrill of being outside of the laboratory. They had sat on a bench at the edge of the cafe's plot, enjoying a well-deserved cool drink and a cone of deliriously tasty ice cream. Both were hot and tired, though happy-hormones pumped through their systems as natures little rewards for all their efforts.

The technician had asked if Tel had considered any careers.

"You know what, I'd like to do something that... well, from what I've learned, people are basically fallible but mean well. Not everyone though... but ...so is there a way I could help those that aren't so successful and get knocked down in their life?"

"What kind of 'unsuccessful' do you mean? Financially, socially...?"

"I... yes, that is a question I need to consider."

Technician 4123 put a hand on Tel's bare shoulder and asked if there was anything more personal that Tel aspired to. He meant the contact to be supportive as they were hopefully going to talk about personal issues, not general 'life-stuff, in the coming week as part of Subject: Tel Vole's conditioning to be ready for a life on 'the outside'. With a lack of social skills due to his brief and very unusual life Tel misinterpreted the move and turned towards the technician and pulled him in towards him for a kiss.

Their lips met for barely a second before the technician pushed him away. Tel fell backwards off the bench, landing roughly on the gravel around their bench.

"Tel, what...? Stop..."

Tel pushed himself off the ground and as he did the combination of his unique genetic heritage along with the sudden rush of hormones and adrenaline to his system reacted to shoot him twenty feet straight up into the air!

This was going to be after the next storyline, but as this was completed weeks ago and I'm struggling with the taking of gene-mod shops storyline thought I'd post this now. Hope it's okay.

C

This is off to a great start, Harbi! I already love Dr Griffor, and Tel's origin is unique while also serving as some good world-building with the discussion around cloning technogies and how they're being acclimatised to modern society...looking forward to more!

Indeed, an amazing start Harbi! Nice to see a full origin for Tel, and also the background you thought up to explain why cloning isn't more often done. (also explains why evil overlords everywhere do not simply clone armies to take over their sectors!)

And a very realistic depiction of how someone grown like that, would lack social skills!

Dr. Griffor is an excellent character! I love her already. "Just talking" indeed

Gravity Kid - Science Police Officer Tel Vole of Earth, manipulation of personal or nearby gravity
Power Boy - Science Police Officer Jedidiah Rikane of Earth, personal density control


"Wow! Most first kisses are memorable, but yours was truly unique, you unlocked meta-abilities!" The counselor smiled warmly.

"It did take the focus off my awful attempt to kiss him, I suppose." Both Tel and Jed laughed.

"What happened after that Tel?"

"Well... they back-peddled on their plans to getting me ready to let me loose on the galaxy and I found myself back in that cell with the single cot bed having technicians and scientists prod and poke and test me!"

"It was a nightmare!" Jed said supportively.

"But you didn't know him at that point, am I right?" Although the words were said gently, Jed knew he had just been told to let his husband speak about his experiences for himself. Tel carried on, oblivious to his husband's censure.

"I was in there for another six months before Professor Querl Dox got involved."

"Ah, so that's how you got involved with the Academy?"

"Not immediately..."

Tel had not seen Technician 4123 again after the day in the park. Instead, he now had about a dozen new technicians and scientists monitoring his every move. They were watching him and asking questions at all hours of the day. He had been poked, prodded, scanned and scrutinised. And after all the testing they had become certain of one thing: Subject: Tel Vole had begun to exhibit signs of depression and was becoming increasingly unfriendly towards the scientific staff. He endured just under six whole months of this treatment before anything changed...

The story of clones that had survived beyond 72 hours without exploding had made ripples within the scientific community and when eventually word got out that one of the subjects had probable meta-abilities there was a sharp rise in interest. One person in particular was keen to offer his scientific support and they would radically alter Subject: Tel Vole's life - it was at this point Professor Querl Dox got involved.

Tel had noticed that for a couple of days there had been some intense activity around the laboratory and he had been asked to retake several tests that he had already endured. This one morning though the lights had gone on earlier than usual and he was requested to shower and change his clothing before he progressed to his breakfasting station. With a sigh he had followed the regimen set before him, assuming that this was some stupid test to ensure he could follow orders or some such nonsense... As he entered the breakfast room Tel realised, he wasn't alone today. Sat at the table was a man he didn't immediately know; golden hair and green skinned, though Tel was sure he should recognise him...

"Tel, hello, please join me." The green man signaled for Tel to sit at the table between them. "I am Professor Querl Dox of Colu, though some prefer to call me Brainiac 5. Would you mind if we spoke for a few minutes?"

Tel agreed, though grabbed a caffe pod before joining the Coluan at the stark white table. Querl smiled and watched the young man before he began to ask a few simple questions... in total Tel and Querl spent forty minutes together before the Coluan asked Tel to forgive him but he had another meeting to attend, but promised he would be in touch within 72 hours. Tel really didn't expect to see him again but thanked the Coluan genius for his time, more to be polite as he really hadn't seen the worth in anything they had discussed.

It was the evening of the next day when Duplicate Girl had arrived. This time Tel realised the institute had not had warning of her arrival as there appeared to be quite a fuss around her. She had smiled at all the scientists and technicians and administrators as she walked through the complex but did not allow any of them to stop her. One security guard did try to block her access to a door way but she simply showed him her flight ring and a hard light screen. Tel had no idea at the time what was on it but the guard moved quickly out of the way.

Of course, he now knew in hindsight it was a court order, and as she was a Legionnaire delivering it the guard knew that they could either choose to move out of her way or be moved...

Luornu reached Tel's stark cell, introduced herself as a colleague of Professor Dox and asked him if he fancied going on a journey up-state. There were two scientists, several technicians and someone in a grey suit behind her that all looked aghast. She didn't even need to explain where they were going or what they would do when they got there before Tel agreed.

He later learned that the Institute where he had been living had no legal right to hold him against his will as, by United Planets law, he was a fully formed adult human with corresponding intelligence and enough social awareness not to be thought a risk to either himself or the general public... and the Legion were offering him a place to stay. All he had to say was 'yes' and he could leave this awful place for good.

Of course, he agreed in a heartbeat! He was eager to see what the world was really like outside of this sterile environment. As he agreed Luornu stepped forward and hugged him. Tel couldn't help himself as he started to cry.

He never told her but that was the first hug he ever remembered receiving in his life.

"Jed, can you tell me what happened when you both met? Do you remember?"

"Well, it wasn't for another year or so after that..." The muscular man said, looking around at his husband for confirmation.

"Yeah, I didn't go to the Academy straight away, instead Chuck Taine's second cousin Arrold took me in. Chuck and Lu arranged for me to have a room and a fairly normal place to stay out in Pennsylvania... he lives in a rural spot. To be honest, after living at the institute it terrified as much as it excited me. Everything was new there... Chuck and Lu would check in every few days. I think they were seeing if my abilities had kicked in properly. They asked me to practice and y'know, looking back those were some of the best days of my life. Arrold ran a small farm and let me help when I wanted but never put too much real pressure on me. He suggested a few holo-files to watch, history and local events and that sort of stuff.Before that I'd never touched another living animal other than the limited human contact we had in the lab, so chasing those piggies and chickens and learning to ride a horse... it was a lot... and trees, you should have seen the height of them, and their smell was delicious." Tel smiled to himself as he remembered those glorious first few weeks away from the sterility of the institute.

"So, I spent my time learning about my gifts and helping Arrold a bit. I learned I could fly pretty easily and lift things and stuff like that. In the months that followed Arrold would ask me to do more and more small jobs around the place that tested me. At the time I thought he was just asking for help..." Tel laughed at the memories, as more and more complex tasks were set before him under the guise of helping run a farm. "I'd been there a year, made a couple of friends ...acquaintances I guess really, in the town nearby, and was thinking about setting up a farm myself when Luornu appeared again. She sat me down and explained about the academy and how it helped support the Legion, and asked if I wanted to attend. Arrold said it was obvious I was made for more than muck spreading..." Both Tel and Jed laughed at this.

"So, you then became a student at the Legion's academy at Montauk Point?" Dr Griffor asked.

"Yes, that's right, and I'd been there about three weeks when I ran into this one." Tel gave Jed a small smile, which was quickly reciprocated.

"What did you think of him when you first saw him?"

"Clumsy..." Tel said, "That first time we didn't really speak but ...he seemed nice enough, but... I wasn't looking for anyone, I was there to study. I was there to prove to Luornu that I deserved her support... like, I was totally work focussed. It was all I thought about back then."

"He was so uptight!" Jed interjected into the conversation. his tone was light though he gave a quick reassuring glance to Tel as he spoke.

"Jed was going on a drinks run with Tayla and popped his head in the library one evening while I was studying to ask if I wanted anything. I hadn't tried alcohol at that point, to be honest..."

"You've never been a fan, have you?" Jed said glancing away from the counselor towards his husband.

"I told him I had much better things to do. Y'know what... Jed's right, I was really uptight when I look back at it." Tel gave Jed a small smile.

"Cute though." Jed replied, echoing his husband's smile.

"Ah hah... so, tell me about Squiggly Joe, what he means to you Tel." Dr Griffor said, taking the conversation back on track.

"We didn't really have much to do with each other those first few months I was at the academy, but were assigned a job which went really well. Afterwards Jed invited me for a meal to celebrate."

"I thought he knew I was asking him out on a date."

"I'd never been on a date before... not properly. I'd met a couple of guys when I was on Arrold's farm from the town but not like that, they weren't so romantic."

"I brought him a potted Pelusian three-headed flower..."

"It almost died from over-watering... sorry. I gave it to Glorith who looked after it much better than me."

"And Squiggly Joe..." Jed continued.

"Who I immediately fell for." Both Tel and Jed smiled as Tel said this. "He was the first cuddly toy I'd ever had, something ...It sounds stupid, I know, but to me he represented the childhood I never enjoyed and reminds me to soften my own edges, if that makes sense ... I like to rub his fur... he's still something that takes me away from my stresses, help's me relax a little."

"Yes, it doesn't appear that you have had much experience of relaxing Mr Vole. Even from our limited time today I would estimate your learned reactions are like that of a scientist... And little wonder given how you came to be. You appear to be pragmatic, focused, rule-bound and perhaps sometimes unintentionally lacking in nuance or empathy. Not that any of that is bad per se, but you might perhaps try to be more patient and open to the chaotic, random and emotional to fully benefit from your time as a Legionnaire. Wouldn't you agree?" As Dr Griffor said this Tel's eyes widened.

Jed realised that Dr Griffor had just summed up his husband perfectly though knew better than to agree on his husband's behalf.

Tel Vole held her eye for a few long seconds before agreeing.

"...and what was your childhood like Mr Rikane?"

Jed gulped before answering as the counselor's hawk-like gaze fell on him.

"I was the fourth son of four kids, kind of the opposite of Tel's really. I grew up in Mexicopolis. My family are mostly cool. Usual stuff, y'know, plenty of arguments with my brothers but we were pretty tight really. It... they're a great family I suppose, there's the usual chaos but I know I'm loved and all those things you expect from a close-knit unit. Yeah, it was okay. It was good. Safe, fun, kinda normal really, I think. My mutation started kicking in when I was thirteen and I joined the academy at fifteen. Spent five full years there before we joined the Science Police." As Jed finished, he took a deep breath as he had forgotten to while speaking.

"And what do you think of Tel's reactions lately? How would your family unit have dealt with them?"

"Tease him, most likely."

"Like you did when you threw Squiggly Joe at him?"

"Yeah, probably. Though since the Blight a lot of the team..."

"Are not here today Mr Rikane," Jed was cut off by the counselor before he could continue, "So let's help you gentlemen first before solving everyone else's problems." The old woman smiled warmly as she spoke. "And Jed, if teasing didn't work to resolve a family problem, then what?"

"We'd have a serious sit-down discussion most likely... they could get quite tense but it cleared the air usually. "

"Which is what we're doing here. Okay gentlemen, let's end today's session there. I have tasks for you both though. Jed, for next time, in keeping with your family's serious-sit-down chats, what would you like to say to your husband? You need to be honest and open as you consider this as I will be asking that very question at the start of our next meeting. I also want you to do the following before then. You must remember to compliment Tel every day and take time to compliment yourself. You both deserve kind words as you are both constantly under tremendous pressures. Are you okay with that?" Jed Rikane smiled at the counselor as she finished speaking to him. She smiled back.

"Tel, I believe your colleague Dann Hortra is running Naltorian Mediation classes, so before our next meeting I want you to apologise to him for being rude and ask to join that class. Naltorian meditation is a marvelous technique that brings many benefits if you can master it, and I believe that with your obvious intelligence and strength of will you shall excel. From what I've heard about the Blight effect it appears to amplify the more negative thoughts and moods you experience so give yourself the help you need to keep these darkened emotions in check. I'm not saying deny these feelings entirely, as they come from a place within you, but you must control their narrative and examine your motivation in relation to how you exhibit them. Hopeful the Naltorian techniques will allow you to keep hold of your full composure. And one more thing, be kind to both your husband and yourself. You are both fatigued from recent events so need to look after each other ...that's what the best of couples do." Tel grinned at the counselor and thanked her.

"I'll arrange another appointment in a few weeks. Mr Rikane, don't think you're off the hook as we'll be examining the family dysfunctions that you've brought into your marriage at our next meeting. Right, on you go gentlemen, go be heroes and keep the galaxy safe." She gave them both a kind smile as she waved them out of the door.

After the two men had left Dr Griffor remained sitting on her chair and dictated her notes for the official records. When prompted to give her diagnosis of the situation that had led the two Legion Secondees to her she simply said:

"They're fine, just young and still working things out. Give them time."

HARBI!! This legit got me teared up, you have done so so well at giving Tel some much-needed human qualities to sympathise with, and he and Jed when they're in sync are the cutest thing ever! I feel like they must be protected at all costs and I love that Dr Griffor realises they're just normal young men exposed to ridiculously abnormal levels of stress.

I would honestly be happy reading a whole series of posts with her helping the other Legion couples, and I can't wait to see what Jed's story is going to be like. Amazing job!

Aww! i loved that, Harbi.

a) both Tel and Jed are held accountable, and both contribute to the situations - good and bad

b) there's a lot of obvious love and affection between the two

c) great origin stories that flesh out both guys

Dr. Griffor is awesome and I love her already!!!

Also nice touch having Jed be from Mexicopolis... and the whole teasing-each-other thing reminds me of a lot of my Latin-American friends!

Hey Harbinger,
glad to see so many post for me to catch up on. Sorry for the delay in my reviews. Life has gotten away from me these last few months since my last reply. So I'll be commenting as i read.

Dirk's team -
All weaponized powers...interesting but nothing biological...That's pretty much the exact opposite to Alya's mission from earlier. I guess the enemy is putting everything out to have any type of Meta-army.

Spoiler- i understand Gord wanting excitement and a challenge. But to be honest how can a precog be challenged unless they don't have their visions? I don't see this going well. This could lead to a lot of risky behavior.

Poor Comets. but I think Comet King may need to see someone for his "fighting" fixes things with Grava take on what she needs. Maybe they need couples counseling to learn how to deal with fights.

M'Windaji - uhmm no get to Kent/the hospital now!!!
I love that Cham asked Zoe to stay and clean up her mess. But that simple line about the tourist board was a nice added touch. So often it seems like the team doesn't have to clean up after themselves. Something i think i need to work on in my own work for sure.

Second Base Gym-
Aww good for Grava trying to work out was nice.
Tel and Jed are cute. love that Mr. Hardnass Tel has a soft side.
Thirteen really needs to get used to not using his powers and i'm glad Atom Girl is able to help. Here's hoping he can adjust.
Even Grava can't resist some good drama it seems. But is something else going on with Tel?
Well that's one way to defuse an argument Thirteen. But he makes some good points. especially that the darkness they are all feeling from the Talok mission isn't just the mission but comes from a part of them. That part is looked over when it comes to the Blight's infection sometimes. I loved that he offered help for Tel and Grava.

I'm glad Haze is alright and that the tutors got to him.
Man, Tasmia is going to break Brek for sure.

A station that went from an Ellis island like place to a thriving business that ranges from family friendly to hedonistic pits? its amazing what the passing of time can bring.
Wow...well i guess Hardu and Brek are gone. Even though Brek understands how Hardu feels does he still feel that way though or just trying to protect Hardu because he sees himself in him?

wow! a bounty on the head of any Legionnaire? Now i'm really scared for Brek and Hardu...
I understand that Brek and Hardu were in the wrong and that their isn't the most love for these two. But idk the handling of them seems rather callous...especially Tasmia laughing at the end.

I'm glad the senior team agreed to a trial before the whole team as Thunder makes an excellent point. Their are those who would take their side or at least be sympathetic enough to question their place in the Legion especially once they hear all the evidence.

Nice vacation moment with Laurel Kent and Brin. it was a cute moment for them to reconnect a bit. Brin is much more wild in your version than in most but still connected to his humanity. its a fine balance that i think you've mastered well.

Mon-el being frustrated with the way things don't change or only change ever so slightly is totally relatable. Feel that way often about our own world.
But he makes a valid point...wait he wants to leave? i don't know how i feel about this. I think maybe its time but its hard to think of the Legion without him.

Aww glad that Grava and Comet King could work it out. i liked the untidy kitchen and the dropping a pan to kiss was super cute.
man that message from Tinya puts all of that into perspective for this volume.

Tinya's missions were nice quick missions and sometimes those are nice to have.
I liked that she thought about Mindbender being a good tactic to deter people from attack them if a trainee could take out the villain.
It was cool to see Cosmic Kid get to strut his stuff and XS too! That wave trick was cool.
loved Atom Girl's attack and the comradery between them as they talk about taking out cyborgs.
Again glad Tiny had the team stay to help with clean up.

Loved Dirk having to contemplate how to defend Brek and Hardu.
Gim and Dirk's relationship is really fun to watch. mainly because it shows the history of the team so well. from their brash days to now. I like that Dirk makes a point that they do a lot of good work and even more so now than they used to.
Glad to see Starkling is recovering and that Yera has come to see him. Mordecai being added to the academy maybe. But i don't know how he might feel being away from Tellus more or now Starkling. Their little unit is an interesting one i'd like to see more of.

Man poor Tel and Jed. couples therapy!!!

Harbinger, these have been some really good post with good character developments. I look forward to getting to continue my review. But sadly i'm out of time for today.
be back soon for more reviewing!

Hey Harbinger,

I've found a moment to finally finish my review of the great ride your bringing us on.
after seeing some of the comments about Tel and Jed, I have to agree, they are one of the few couples i feel utterly protective of them and I do hope they can work this out!

The Zunn mission was interesting. Its too bad they couldn't make the wilds of Zuun more like an animal sanctuary instead of having Zoos.
Loved Tinya's deduction skills. I couldn't help but laugh that it was how the tunnels were made that is what tipped her off.

And now it happens...please please don't kill XS!
I really liked that Mindbender figured out there were life forms.
Mindbender makes a good observation that this mission. The sentients taking out this team were ready for this particular team...i wonder if they followed them throughout the day on the feeds....i knew it! its a smart move... i wonder if this changes protocal and makes hit/feel good missions a thing of the past even if they just started.
I love going along with Mindbender for this ride and that is a great tactic i've never thought of before! tactile mind control is very useful.
I don't think Mindbender killed them, i think it was planned that way. i hope there's not a hover came near by.
I'm glad Tinya met with Mindbender. This really is only going to get worse as more mercenaries come for them.
Man, i'm thankful for Henry being on the side of the Legion but he creeps me out and i he knows more than he ever lets on/can.

I wonder why Dawnstar and Southern Lights do have such a hard time connecting. is it because of their attraction?
I find it odd for Dawnstar to tell him to focus more on himself. He seems to have done that quite a bit, to the point of outside of a couple other cadets i don't know of anyone else he really interacts with...

I loved the moment with Babbage and its cloak. The idea that a cape might help him seem less intimidating is a great idea.

Only three students with Gene-mods...not bad. But Cham's right this is gonna lead to a war if they don't do something soon. I'm glad Titan was able to help out. I like how you've worked out that certain powers aren't possible like true telepathy. Although i find it odd that invisibility isn't on there considering how both Invisible Kid's got their powers.

Nice, little mission to Weber's world. I hope Ambassador Shanair's able to work fast. especially if Rimbor really is going to devolve into a meta-war. i wonder how much of this will connect to the Dark Man. Could Sa Lok even be the Dark Man himself?

Rad counters! i love that Magno figured that out. Something i never would have thought of. But its always interesting to see how a culture evolves and changes based on information they have, or in this case the lack of it.
Babbage is like a god to her people or is it just because of the cape?
They called the baby a "sacrifice..." that doesn't bode well.
I love Lu's reaction and Babbage explaining what he is again. "Should i not try and liberate you then." ha
Babbage's lines give me such chuckles.

haha of course Monica is having fun beating people up.
Good job Kid Plusar!
Nice save Magno.
Mairaia is strong willed, i think maybe she could make it outside the colony.
I love that Lu is trying to teach and get Babbage to understand that its not always by the book with certain protocals.

Man, not gonna lie I kind of hope Hardu doesn't get off. But Brek i can't help but feel bad for. hopefully his help will help slightly. But idk maybe this is what he needs too. Although with the current way things are i wouldn't put them on Takron-Galtos. i think they'd get killed even more so than just law enforcement going to jail but that bounty might make some of the guards take part too.

I hope Babbage can do something but I'm glad he was able to access the mainframe. it might help set these people back on a better path.
Haha. poor Stoor that was an odd place to land.
I have to agree with Raz this was very much like the X-men's danger room mixed with a new version of basketball.

I'm glad the Babbagr was able to resolve this and able to help the Home Glow in so many ways. Sometimes learning the truth about ones history can open up a lot of doors.
Kid Pulsar as the optimal mate? Haha, i wonder why Magno didn't get the same treatment.

So the trial begins. I'm with Dirk. the fact that so many seem to already have case judgment isn't good.
Dirk''s showboating could be an issue...
Lu's absolutism isn't something i like on her. She's a hard ass but this seems a little vindictive.
This trail is so hard and as much as I hate Hardu, i feel for him. But I feel for Brek more and Dirk makes an excellent point, after all these two have been through, they weren't offered the help they really needed or at least it wasn't enforced somehow to get it to them. but also about how the team seems to treat issues within the team based on the hierarchy.
I'm glad Lu softened towards Berk for a moment.
Considering the world we live in today and Police protocol in the U.S. and how much that is in question, rings so true and close to the real world. Jaxi would totally be on trial too and well Tasmia too. i love that you bring up de-escalation!
I have to wonder how the team will be after this. There is a lot of tension between Dirk, Tinya, and Lu.
Dirk's questioning of Tinya was also well done.

this whole trial has torn my heart apart. Mostly for Brek. But i'm glad that they aren't going to Takron-Galtos.
Wow Dirk quit? I was not expecting that. but i can understand his reasoning.
I'm with Set and am very curious about how each Legionnaire felt about the trail and the verdict. But i disagree and don't see Dirk and running away or ditching responsibility. He made really good points that seems like he realized the group needs to change or maybe that he needs to change. When you've been with people for a long time its hard to see their faults and unfortunately this has laid them bare for him and it seems to have laid bare his own short comings to him.

I guess i'm in the minority when it comes to Dirk quitting.

Oh man, Poor Tel. As angry as i get at him, after reading this i can't help but feel for him. OMG Thank you for that! reading Tel and Jed's session really pulled at my heart and I'm happy they can hopefully work this out. She gave great advice. its true you have to kind to yourself just as much as others. I also love that Dr. Griff'r makes it clear that they both have issues to work through.

This has been a great read that's pulled at so many parts of my heart and broken them and strengthened them. Thank you and can't wait for more!

Two and a half hours after the trial had finished Reep sent a holo to Tinya.

She didn't respond immediately; the team leader kept her Durlan colleague waiting almost half an hour before she sent a reply. Reep knew as soon as he saw Tinya that something had happened to upset her.

"Reep, hi, I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting. There's been another issue to deal with unfortunately. Dirk has quit. I'm not going to dump all my thoughts on what a self-righteous bastard I think he is on you, but it's something I feel we need to get ahead of. The media are always going to look for cracks in our shell, and right now we have quite a few..."

After they had discussed Dirk's resignation and the measures the team could take to lessen any scandal that might arise from it, Reep shared his news: The warrants Oodoo Shanair had promised had been delivered. They had been sent an official UP sanctioned arrest warrant for any and all person, beings or otherwise sentient life, involved or affiliated with the unlicensed use of genetic modification technology for the purpose of giving the user meta-abilities as described under the existing Genome Laws for their use in any known criminal activities.

Tinya was very grateful for the news.It was time to draw up their plans for dealing with these gene-mod operations.

Tinya smiled to herself as she thought that after the pain the team had been through in the past few weeks this mission would hopefully be a positive action that would help re-establish the bonds and respect that had been tested and frayed of late.

Billionaires Row, Metropolis, overlooking Old Central Park, 0645 Eastern Seaboard Metropolis Standard Time.


Derek Morgna had bought this penthouse apartment almost 30 years ago and his son Dirk had inherited it after Regulus had murdered the industrialist eighteen months before. Last night was the first time the former Legionnaire had returned to it for more than a few minutes since his father's funeral.

Dirk's first impulse had been to call a few of his favourite Earth-based party friends but before initiating a holo-call he decided to spend the night by himself instead. He struggled with his thoughts as he contemplated the future: Dirk knew he wasn't as ruthless as his father so starting his own business probably wouldn't work and to be frank, he had been Legionnaire since his mid-teens so he knew very little about any one specific subject other than law enforcement. That was the one area he wanted to steer well away from. Dirk knew that as soon as word got out that he had left the Legion there was bound to be opportunities to front campaigns and promotions and the like but he felt a little wary of getting drawn into those kind of situations. His engineering and astro-navigation skills weren't as up-to-date or proficient as he'd have liked. He doubted there would be much call for him in many other fields, though perhaps if a rich open-minded brunette were to come along he could put his favourite hobby to good use...

With an ease that would have surprised those that believed the good-boy hype that surrounded the solar powered Legionnaire, he drank an awful lot of expensive whiskey in a short time and ended up curled on the couch in a dreamless stupor. He was awoken a couple of hours later by loud and insistent tapping on one of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the park below.

Instinctively, Dirk willed his flight ring to lift him up as he increased his temperature so he would be ready for battle. Unfortunately, as he was still half-asleep he had forgotten that in his drunken state several hours before he had taken off his ring and flung it at a wall. Instead of floating in the air prepared for whatever was coming for him, Dirk fully awoke to the couch erupting into flames around him and the real-wood structure collapsing underneath his prone form.

To add insult to injury, the central AI that monitored the apartment activated the fire suppressant system and as he stood up from the flaming wreckage several jets of green goo sprayed across his face and torso. Dirk wiped the glop from his face with one hand while squishing it back from his hairline with the other. He then glanced up at the now silent window.

The sun was rising and its light stabbed into his rather painfully hungover eyes, but he could easily identify the figure floating above the balcony - Cecelia Beck! He was happy to see his former teammate Thunder had come to visit him... he spoke the code to initiate opening the balcony windows and she floated in. There was a small smile on her face as she surveyed the damage he had caused, though he noted there was very little real warmth in her expression.

"So good to see you Cece. Please excuse the mess but I wasn't expecting visitors this early in the day..." As he signaled the smouldering remains of the couch, small cleaning 'bots appeared and started to tidy up. "To be honest, I expected Gim to be the first one to check how I'm doing." As he said this, he saw her jaw ever so slightly clench and knew he had misread her intentions.

"I'm not here to check how you are Dirk. I want to know what you think you're doing flouncing off like that." Although her tone of voice was level Cece's expression was hard.

"Flouncing? Ah... Oh, okay... Listen, I left because I am seriously unhappy. The trial was an offensive joke!" Dirk's expression never changed though he was clearly unimpressed with Cece's choice of words.

"So you think we should go back to the good old days Dirk, days of bullying and misogynistic hazing without consequences for the abuser?"

"Hah, no... lord no. You know I don't want that Cece so don't play dumb, I'm too hungover to spar with you. And if anyone got abused it was Brek and Hadru. They literally got their faces kicked in while the student was perfectly fine an hour after their encounter. Brek and Hadru got punished and there was no talk about any other reprimands or discussion about the lack of due-process or even the legality of the Home Base team's actions. Who are the bullies in that picture Cece? I know you're smart enough to see that." As he was speaking Dirk shook his arms and wiped at the green snot-like substance clinging to his body, throwing ropes of fire suppressant glop around the apartment as he did that the cleaning 'bots scurried to deal with.

"Yup, we can discuss all of that and more, I agree. For starters, we can call for an urgent Senior Team meeting this morning and put it to them to consider implementing some changes. Though it won't help any your quitting like that. It doesn't give your point of view any gravitas. You know that don't you? Seriously Dirk, you look like an entitled coward who has run away as he's scared that his own past misdemeanours might be called out. It really was a really weak move..."

"Oh, that's it." Dirk said softly. He wiped at the goo that had slowly slid from his forehead into his eyes before he started speaking again. His expression was no longer friendly. "Okay Cece, I've had it now... you think I'm weak? really? We'll see..." Thunder started to interrupt but he shouted over the top of her. "Enough!"

There was a couple of seconds of silence before he continued. "Once you have given over half your life to the team you can judge me but until then you can get the hell out of this property. I do not owe you another word of explanation, not one damn word. Get out... right now!" Dirk pointed to the still open window Cece had flown through.

"Dirk... come on." Thunders tone of voice and expression was one that would be expected from a parent speaking to a stubborn child that was testing their patience.

"You have three seconds until I tell the AI to issue an urgent trespass and threat-to-life alert to the Science Police. Given the address I guarantee a response within sixty seconds. I will publicly press charges too Cece. I reckon it's time the Legion saw what proper legal action looks like." His face was tight with anger. "Three... Two..."

There was no hiding the look of disappointment on the Legionnaires face as she hung in the air before her former colleague and friend for two heartbeats, then in a blur of super-speed the Legionnaire was gone.

0800 Earth Standard Time, First Base


Phantom Girl called the meeting to order.

In thirty minutes, they would send teams to Rimbor, where it would be 0345 in Rimbor City, to execute an order that had come through from the UP. The mission parameters were to close down six known sites of operations that were currently offering meta-gene modification treatments. All teams were to expect some serious push-back. Tinya smiled as she said this and with a flick of her fingers a holo popped up in front of the assembled Legionnaires showing what Gear's nannites had transmitted back overnight. It made worrying reading.

Each of the gene-mod shops on Rimbor had laboratories in underground chambers, with shielding several metres thick around them. The technology was staggering - both what was being used to treat their clients and the range of defensive measures they had built into the establishments. As well as this there were at least a dozen guards in the shops while a further half a dozen were in the lower levels - each of these guards had received treatment so exhibited a range of meta-abilities. To add to the teams' difficulties, each of the gene-mod shops had at least a dozen members of local gangs hanging around on street level - it was assumed that they had each received some treatments themselves and were paying their debts by helping keep the premises secure.

"So, we're going up against an army?" Timber Wolf interjected, "It won't be the first time y'know."

"I know Brin, " Tinya replied patiently, "..but we're also going into confined spaces where they know the lay of the land, and will most likely need to deal with whatever gangs are hanging around the shops... who also will have some meta-gangsters on their side. We probably could barge in there and smash the places up, but why bother if we don't need to? Do you really want to risk getting smacked by thugs with Daxamite-class strength?"

"On top of that..." Chameleon Boy stepped forward as he spoke, "The only access between the shop fronts and the laboratories in each case is a single transit grav-lift with weapons on a separate system to the rest of set-up. We believe they are remotely accessed so Gear's nannites were unable to get hold of any real data for these parts of the set-up."

"So, we let Henry warp us in to the labs surely? We close them down and get out before the guards and gangs upstairs can do anything about it." Several of the team were surprised Atom Girl had said this, though when they glanced across it was clear the young Imskian was sat forward obviously concentrating on the data-flow displayed before them.

"Ah... that is kind of what we were planning, though not exactly." Reep smiled widely.

After the moments silence that followed Tinya took over leading the conversation.

"Gears nannites have infiltrated the majority of the systems but so we don't risk too much collateral damage from a frontal strike Reep and I believe a stealthier approach is needed." Several of the team agreed while others looked disappointed. Both Tinya and Reep smiled.

"While that side of things happens, we need some distractions so if you'd prefer to hit things there's a job for you too." As Tinya said this all of her teammates body language perked up.

"Here's what we're planning to do..."

Set, thank you for using the expression 'flounced out' about Dirk, I went back to re-write the part with him and Cece to add that in as it's so good.

Raz and IB, thank you for your kind words, I've had Tel's backstory worked out almost from the start so it was great to finally write it out. And, aren't clones in canon prone to exploding? I remember that one story with Lyle, Andrew Nolan and Chemical King (what is his name again?) visiting Superboy and him freaing out that they were alive, but in the end they exploded... weird 70's story really, but kind of wanted to reference it.

Omni, thank you for another momumental review. You have a knack of picking up on things really quickly which is great - keeps me on my toes. I won't tell you what you got right (again!) but you'll know it when you read it.

Zuun's zoo - well they need something to teach the kids what to avoid in the wlderness, especially as I've already established there's a whole continent of dinosaurs and the Anubai. TBH I didn't give it too much thought, just wanted an established world with a low population that could mean a Bismollian would be easy to find.

Dawnstar is a bit of a mess in my eyes, trying too hard to be perfect so she's going to find it really hard to express things she doesn't entirely understand. Southern Lights is probably as bad though a little bit more forthcoming - you're right to say he doesn't have many friends, though that may change soon.

And, just to clarify, Kid Pulsar attracted a lot of attention for two reasons - firstly he's a big muscular man, so would be seen as prime mating material, and also Magno was off helping fix things with Babage so never really got cornered.

More coming very soon as things get heated on Rimbor.

Thanks again

C

More great stuff Harbi.

Dirk - favorite party friends, heh. Yes, I have them too - the people I would call on for partying, but not for anything deeper than that. Good boy hype also, I would never imagine womanizing Dirk as a good boy. Nice mention of his engineering and science skills, but indeed those are fields that advance all the time so a few years of not keeping up would be tough...

a very realistic confrontation between him and Cece. Though I think Cece was too emotional still (which is understandable and very human) when she went to see him... they both have a point, but indeed Dirk quitting, rather than staying on the team and changing it from within, well... also not the best way

but yes, former friend...


Go Atom Girl! She is stepping up. She's one of my favorites among your "new" Legionnaires

also funny that some team members would like a stealth approach, while others would prefer a big brawl. hah! i'm going to have fun thinking of who's who. and Tinya/Cham coming up with a very stealthy tricky clever plan, oh I'm so looking forward to it.

Gru Al Moothi was struggling to stay awake.

The security detail at this time of night in the laboratory was, he thought, too much. They had never seen any trouble here in the laboratory , or at least nothing that took six of them to solve. There had been that one character that had started to explode a few weeks past but the neutraliser ray had stopped him from doing any damage.

Gru Al had received enhanced strength, speed and durability and in return for these gifts he would do security at his Guilds bidding for the next few years. He had spent five years in the local military so knew his way around a broad selection of weapons and had earned a reputation as someone who would not ask more than once. With his skill-set he had quickly become second-in-command to Jurasadra Sorrfril, but that son of a bitch made sure he never worked these midnight to midday shifts himself. One of his colleagues had muttered to Gru Al that he had been given the posting to keep him out of sight of the guilds men who ran this establishment. Sorrfril wanted them to only see him, not his second in command. Gru Al knew he had been stuck on these shifts due to simple politics that all of those in thrall to a Guild knew happened.

The team with him were all reliable and steady so if things were to get crazy then he knew they could sort it in no time. Gru Al was fed up of the night shift but when he stopped to think about it, he was doing well, all things considered. He was well paid for how simple the work was, had a decent enough crib and regular helpers sent to him at the end of the day to tend to his every need. As he thought this he smiled. The Guild Helpers were all non-Guild or Gang that needed protection so were always more than eager to help him in any and all ways... he had thought of quite a few rather exotic ways that the two blonde teenagers helped him out, and their begging and crying didn't hurt him none either, it only added to the 'help' he felt.

Jiunna Leh was his favourite of the team he had on with him this night as she tended to keep her mouth shut so didn't annoy his ears like some of the others, and she was very curvy so appealed to his other senses. He had previously been warned off hitting on co-workers but was fairly sure that Jiunna wouldn't mind a little flirtation... He gave her a quick smile as their eyes met and she returned it. There was definitely some mischief sparkling in her eyes, he thought, perhaps tonight would be his lucky night!

That was the last thought he had for that day.

Henry's warp had rose up from the floor and captured the entire laboratory, including all the people, machinery and technology inside, and transported it into a custom-made cell on Takron-Galtos. Waiting in the cell was Kid Quantum who slipped a stasis field over the entire area. She then flew in and slapped incapacity cuffs on everyone present. After flying out Jazmin dropped the quantum field and high-fived two of the Science Police Officers that were eagerly waiting to get into the captured shop to arrest everyone in it. There were a team of students from the academy that Lu suggested may benefit from a bit of real-life experience stood by, ready to assist, that were ultimately left a little disappointed that they hadn't had the opportunity to deal with any of the security staff from the gene-mod shop.

In under a minute the gene-mod shop had been taken out of commission and its staff and clients had been apprehended.

One down, five to go.

Phantom Girl - Team Leader, Tinya Wazzo of Bgtzl Dimension, intangibility
Otaki - Bina Nawoti of Earth, mindsense
Ultra Girl - Li-Fahn Qiong of Xanthu - incredible strength, speed, indestructibility, spaceflight, and projection of force blasts, effectively limited to one at a time
Solar Gorilla - D'Nadka Endarooga of Dmansca - generate and project extreme heat and light


Otaki sat on top of the building watching the crowds below.

The distorter on her belt was on full Hide Mode and as it was dark, she knew it would be virtually impossible to see here. Her role here was to monitor the crowds and find the leaders of any troubles that may erupt when word got out that the gene-mod shop had vanished. Bina knew that Gear's nannites would have neutralised any electronic alarm from inside the basement laboratory, but it was only a matter of time until someone at the shopfront realised there was no-one there and the Legion wanted to find out what would happen next... would the gangs that ran these streets get involved? Phantom Girl, Ultra Girl and the intern called Solar Gorilla where down there mingling with the crowds below, and would be first-responders if anything were to happen. Tinya had hoped that the junior teammate and the intern would be relatively unknown so would have an advantage if things got dicey. Other teammates were close by with a dozen heavily armed Science Police Officers in riot gear waiting to be called into action if it went badly.

<Someone is upset and scared, coming your way>

As Otaki sent this across the artificial telepathic network there was a roar and three bulky men ran out from the gene-mod shop and started screaming into the street that their basement levels had vanished. Although her teammates were disguised, Bina could sense them closing in on the men. The ambient emotions of the Rimborians on the street seemed to spike as well. A sudden rush of fear, excitement and anger punched through the psychic ether. She knew what this meant, things were likely away to kick off!

<A lot of folks around you are getting angry team, be careful>

"What have you done?" The voice was clearly Solar Gorilla's, though due to the distorter she wore it appeared to come from a middle-aged woman wearing a dark leather jacket with red flaring. "My husband was in there!" She screamed and started pointing at the security guards as if they were personally responsible for the disappearance of the laboratory underneath the premises. "What have you done to him?"

<Play along, blame the security and keep 'em off guard> she sent to her teammates. One of the guards was standing over the disguised intern with his hands out as if trying to calm her down. She, of course, was acting as if she were hysterical and so drawing more attention to their immediate situation and away from the problem of the laboratory vanishing.

"What you done to her man?" Tinya's voice screamed out. "Yeah dogs, what you done to her man? You coverin' up your mistakes again? Where is her man?" Ultra Girl, disguised as a young gangbanger added into the screaming. The crowds around them had stopped looking outwards to find who was responsible and turned towards the security detail who looked bemused to suddenly be the focus of this angry attention. The guards retreated back towards the shop as the crowd of gang members and civilians started to turn on them. One of the guards started to radiate heat, his gene-mod being triggered by the fear and pressure he was feeling. In turn, the half dozen or so gang members that had been keeping an eye on the establishment saw this as the start of an attack and began to push forward in an aggressive wave.

The guards turned and ran into the shop, quickly followed by about a dozen of the crowd and the two Legionnaires and the intern.

As Tinya, the last of them to enter, got through the door she sent a message to Gear's nannites which activated the security shutters. With a loud crash the metal shutters crashed down over the front of the shop locking everyone in.

<Ladies, as discussed, do you want to deal with these reprobates?> They could all hear Tinya's enjoyment as they followed the plan.

Solar Gorilla and Ultra Girl remained in the centre of the room as the crowd followed the guards towards the back wall.

"Hey mudsuckers," D'Nadka shouted, "Wanna see something amazing?"

The crowd, swarming around the now terrified guard, turned to face her. With a big smile she switched off her distorter and held up her hand to show the Legion flight ring. Before they could react, the intern generated a pulse of pure brilliant light catching the majority off guard, temporarily blinding them. A second later, Ultra Girl stepped in front of her intern colleague and release a blast of her Red Energy which slammed the crowd into the wall.

"Night night." Ultra Girl turned to congratulate her intern colleague.

"No!" A gruff voice said as one of the crowd clawed his way out of the mass of unconscious bodies, "Yer powers din't work on me! Ya wanna try bein' onna receiving end o' this gene-mod?" The broad Rimborian gang member had dark grey skin that looked like granite and his fingers extended into claws.

"Oh, they're part of a team... unlucky." Phantom Girl said as she floated out of the floor and slipped a set of incapacity cuffs onto his wrists. He crashed to the floor unconscious.

"Right, let's cuff the rest of them and wait for Henry to warp them to T-G for processing." Tinya Wazzo gave her colleagues a wide grin as she turned to deal with the mass of unconscious and semi-conscious gang members that sprawled along the back wall of this former black-market gene-mod establishment.

XS - Jenni Ognats of an alternate dimension Aarok, phenomenal speed
Cosmic Kid - Po Miman, Justice Legionnaire of alternate dimension Mars, energy manipulation and flight

As the second basement laboratory was transported by Henry into the Takron-Galtos holding area XS ran into it and snapped incapacity cuffs on every person she could find. In total there were four security guards, three technicians, one obvious scientist and three clientele. Jenni rushed out and stood beside Cosmic Kid, her fianc?. He instinctively put an arm across her shoulder as she snuggled in against his ribs.

The Science Police staff on hand applauded and both Jenni and Po smiled broadly as thanks.


Chameleon Boy - Espionage Squad leader, Reep Daggle of Durla, shape changer
Titan - Nasir N'Cube of Titan, alpha-level telepathy
Friction - Janee Whittakka of Xanthu - manipulates the force of friction
Dragonmage - Xao Jin of Earth, dragon magics


On Rimbor Chameleon Boy, Titan and Friction were in the small group of people on the street outside the establishment that Henry had just transported away. As expected, the guards came running into the street. One of them flexed his shoulders and broad dark feathered wings sprung out from his back as he took to the air and flew into the dark skies above.

<Well, that was unexpected... Xao, can you take him down while we deal with the rest of them?> Reep sent the message along the artificial telepathic network. he was certain that the young mystic was more than capable of taking care of one flying guard, though there were a dozen heavily armed Science Police in reserve as well, just in case.

<On it. I've already sent a dragon to take him out, just waiting to get out of sight of the street> The young mystic responded, his tone of voice revealed his concentration as he focussed on the matter at hand.

<Thanks. Nasir, you're up>

The telepathic Legionnaire was stood ten feet away from the squad leader, disguised as a tall Talokean merchant wearing slightly care-worn clothing. He had swept the area psionically to check for any hidden watchers, found one that he gave a psychic command to sleep, and then telepathically implanted the urge to go in the gene-mod shop and lie down on the floor to the security, customers a d staff that had rushed out, and the gene-modified gang members that had been casually standing around. It took about 45 seconds for the street to clear.

The three Legionnaires followed the crowd in and Chameleon Boy gave the order for the shutters to close and Gear's nannites complied. After the metal shutters had slammed shut Reep nodded to Friction, the newest member of the team. As Titan projected a command to sleep Friction used her abilities to stick the gang members and security guards to the floor. Chameleon Boy smiled as he walked around slipping incapacity cuffs onto everyone currently on the floor. It was clear that two were not fully under Nasir's control but with Janee having stuck them to the ground they were unable to resist.

"That was a lot easier than I imagined." Janee said, the relief was obvious.

"Sometimes direct attacks are a mistake, it's knowing when to utilise strength and when to use guile." Reep smiled at her as he spoke. With Dirk having quit he knew the new Legionnaire would be missing her mentor so he planned on keeping an eye on the young woman and giving her whatever help he could.

<Chameleon Boy, I've caught and cuffed the escaping guard. Is there anywhere you want me to take him?> Dragonmage shared across the network.

<Just out of sight for now should be fine. Henry'll pick him up soon. Good job Xao , let us know if you need any assistance as we're almost done in here>

"That was remarkably easy." Titan said as he looked around at the twenty-five or so unconscious beings on the floor, "I hope all the other teams have as much luck we had."

More soon as things will start to go wrong

oh Harbi, how brilliant, simply warping the whole laboratory into a cell! (also some nice character work on Gru Al Moothi, what an unsavory character!)

I love this practical approach

great acting from Solar Gorilla and team! Otaki's mind-sense is formidable here as well! great idea using their acting to catch other, uh, interested parties

loving all the practical approaches the teams are taking, with each playing a part. of course, things won't run smoothly for long - poor Titan's words! hee hee. looking forward to the next bit, as always!

Dirk's scene made me believe he could end up like his 5YL counterpart way more than anything in the comics leading up to that point ever did...let's hope it doesn't get to that stage! I do like how you brought up that the classic Legionnaires have been superheroes since they were young and how most of them haven't had the chance to develop career skills outside of that. We can't all be princesses and planetary champions, huh?

I really enjoy how professional and capable your Legionnaires are, it makes sense that most of them are so good at this that a lot of extraordinary things would be BAU

Tyroc ? Deputy Leader - Troy Stewart of Marzal city pocket dimension, sonic control
Glorith of Zerox - manipulation of magical energies
Bouncing Boy ii - Stoor Chamble of Pasnic, creation of personal spherical force field
intern: Triple Nova - Elthur Mundo of Carggg, split into three separate bodies, each with either strength and durability, speed and reflexes, or laser vision


The third and fourth gene-mod shops were neutralised just as quickly as the first two. Duplicate Girl led one of the missions while Lightning Lass had led the other. Both reported successes within a couple of minutes, without any major disturbances being recorded. The Legionnaires and interns on the ground in the streets around these establishments all managed to catch the staff and clientele, as well as the gang members that hung around as unpaid security.

Kid Quantum, XS and Cosmic Kid were at hand as Henry's warps brought them one after the other to the holding areas that had been built on Tarkon-Galtos to accommodate them. The dozen students at hand hoping to have a bit of the action themselves were not impressed that they were not asked to help other than to move those caught in the premises to their waiting cells. Jazmin probably didn't help matters much when, in an off the cuff manner, she described this chore to them as 'character building'.

The capture of the fifth and final planetary gene-mod shop didn't go so smoothly. This operation was set in an industrial estate in the city of Oldchurch, almost 500 klicks south west of the edges of the sprawling metropolis of Rimbor City. It was said to be on the site of one of the first settlements on Nu-australia when it had been established as a penal colony, centuries before Rimbor had become the world it is now.

Glorith was sat on a rooftop close-by, hidden by her distorter, muttering a spell of similarity that highlighted to her those with an active meta gene-mod. With concentration she sent this information through the shared flight ring generated telepathic matrix to her colleagues on the street below.

In the same large building not 50 yards away sat Jastor N'berru, a young member of the Black Street Boys, the local gang that were in debt to the owner of the gene-mod shop. He had never received any treatment to gain abilities, but then he didn't need to as by a quirk of fate he was born with a singular ability that would prove useful to his gang this night. Jastor was descended from a long line of warlocks and witches and so had inherited the ability to sense magic. He'd aware of this ability since he was eight and had been troubled by a traveling show that his family had taken him into. The Ringmaster's costume had glowed an unhealthy green, which he initially thought was part of the show, until he found out that no-one else saw it. His step-father was one of the Council of the local gang and used his connections to help figure out the boy's strange visions. It took a couple of years but eventually they discovered it was due to his sensitivity to the mystical. In his life he had seen the magical glow a maximum of three dozen times but tonight it was flaring in his eyes like never before on the roof above the Business the gang were protecting... Jastor knew he needed to investigate as, where anything to happen and the Council found out he had spotted something, he would regret his inaction. With a quick call to his gang, he rounded up half a dozen of them and they made their way to the spot where Jastor insisted he saw tendril of glowing green lights erupting from.

One of the gang members that had joined Jastor to investigate had received a gene-mod treatment making her able to mimic Tharrite cryokinesis. As they stepped onto the dark roof courtyard, she let out a blast of intense cold in front of her that coated everything in sight with a layer of biting frost. Glorith was aware that they had been approaching so was ready for the group and with a word that pre-dated known history and hand signal the Legionnaire rendered them all unconscious. Unfortunately, she was too late to stop the blast of intense cold from spreading over the rooftop and spilling down the walls of the buildings around them. Many of the gang members keeping a watch out saw that something had happened and almost immediately an alert was raised.

<Tyroc, I have been discovered> Glorith sent across the telepathic link.

<are you okay?> he replied immediately.

<of course,> Glorith sounded slightly indignant <though I do not believe it will have gone unnoticed>

<no, no it hasn't> Tyroc paused for a second <it's gettin' nasty here, you'd best get outta there>

Glorith could hear shouts and angry voices from the street below so cast a pall of darkness around herself and gently levitated up from the roof into the sky above. She would try to keep watch on the team below in case they needed her help.

On the street things weren't going so easily. The group of people from the local gang that were hanging around were already agitated by the sudden burst of cold that had crept down the wall when a security guard ran out of the entrance to the huge building where the gene-mod shop had set up shouting that the laboratory had vanished. That's when pandemonium erupted!

Tyroc told his team to remain calm, just act like everyone else and mingle in the crowds while trying to keep close to those that Glorith had identified as gene-modified. Unfortunately, the spell that had located these had been broken when Glorith had left the roof. As more and more people quickly took to the streets though keeping tabs on the half -dozen meta gang members became an almost impossible task.

<Glorith, can you put some sorta mark on those we need to catch?> Tyroc sent to the sorceress as she levitated a hundred metres above.

<Everyone shall see it once it's done> She counseled.

<Just do it, team get ready t' grab everyone with Glorith's sign, an' set y'r eco-protect to shelter you from sonics as I'm gonna do somet'in' loud. Glorith, you need to get into the shop too so we can all catch the warp out>

Tyroc took several deep breaths and, as Glorith had warned, glowing rings of light appeared above the heads of those with meta gene-mods. Several of the crowd started to panic, aware that they were somehow being marked, but before they could do much more the Legion's team leader let loose a tremendous howl that threw those nearest to him across the street.

As the team leader acted, Bouncing Boy charged up his force field and smashed into the largest person he could see with the tell-tale magical halo, throwing them towards the shopfront. In seconds Stoor had bounced his way into three of those marked by Glorith, throwing them towards where the team wanted them.

The majority of the crowd were cowering from the ferocity of Tyroc's attack, covering their ears and trying to avoid glass that had been shattered and was falling onto the street so Bouncing Boy's actions were mostly ignored as the resident's primal urge at that precise moment was to reach some sort of safety.

One of the guards from the gene-mod shop was a broad woman with dark blue skin that appeared to be untouched by the sonic assault. She saw through the crowd that Tyroc appeared to be whistling and the crowds were covering their ears and running in fear, so started to charge towards the Legionnaire. As she was aware the inter-gang politics of Rimbor could be sometimes life-threatening if one were to mis-guess an action she figured that if she was wrong no-one would notice in the chaos that was erupting around them. If she was right though she might get a promotion!

Tyroc kept up the modulating assault on the crowds senses unaware of the danger he was in. Thankfully one of the selves of the intern Triple Nova was close-by and noticed in time. While the strong self was hurling the gang members that Glorith had marked as gene-mod'ed into the shop doorway and his fast self slapped incapacity cuffs on them as soon as they landed, the self that had laser vision stood close to the team leader using his ability to temporarily blind anyone that got too close. The dark blue skinned woman charged through the crowd towards them and so Triple Nova pulsed a burst of intense light into her face. She shook her head, as if to clear it then continued. All the other gang members he had struck like this had been blinded and further incapacitated so the intern was momentarily taken aback. He quickly realised she must have a physical durability that would make any direct attacks ineffective. Instead, he directed his optic lasers to the ground at her feet, melting the ferro-concrete into a sticky heated hole. She fell up to her knees in it and yelled in pain as the intense heat scorched her. As she desperately scrambled to get free the young intern from Carggg ran up and slapped incapacity cuffs on her arm.

Tyroc saw what the intern had done and gave him the thumbs up before levitating across to the shop front where Bounding Boy and two of Triple Nova's selves were finishing cuffing the gang members they had caught. As far as Tyroc could see the only one that Glorith's spell had marked that wasn't in the now emptied gene-mod shop was the woman stuck in the melted ferro-concrete that had just been cuffed. He was quite prepared to leave her if it meant getting his team out safely.

<Glorith, can you come join us, we need to leave now> As he sent this message Tyroc saw the sorceress had taken the initiative to levitate towards the trapped guard and weave a spell that released her from the still bubbling floor. Triple Nova's strongest self bounded across and picked the unconscious guard up, slinging the blue skinned woman over his shoulder before flying back to the entrance of the gene-mod shop.

Tyroc was continuing to generate a loud disorientating screech that had the few people left in the surrounds desperately searching for cover.

<Well done for getting through that team, ah'm proud o' y'all> Tyroc slammed down the shutters of the gene-mod operation and stopped his howling. With a big smile he called on Henry to transport them to Tarkon-Galtos and the waiting Science Police.

It may not have gone as smoothly as they had hoped but at least they managed to close down another of these gene-mod shops. Although he didn't admit it, Tyroc was happy that they had been the last of the planetside missions, as had they been the first there would have been no way to stop word of what happened getting out to alert the other establishments...

Rimbor System Oort cloud:

Mon El ? Senior Team member, Lar Gand of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability
Dawnstar of Starhaven - Senior Team member, space flight, incredible speed, tracking
Green Lantern - Dkyun Mu of Xudar, wearer of a Green Lantern power ring
Starkling ? telepathic swarm-being composed of indestructible ball bearing sized components
Southern Lights of Starhaven - spaceflight, magic user
Atomsmasher - Ergus Wraithcat of Betelgeuse, spaceflight, durability, hyper senses, telepathy, radiation manipulation

Science Police meta-squad seconded to Legion World Bases:
Power Lass - Science Police Officer Nel Duwi of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability
Captain Phantom - Senior Team liaison, Science Police Captain Gryal Vrizza of Bgztl Dimension, intangibility

interns:
Non - negative energy being - spaceflight, alter own dimensions and density, explosive touch, limited telepathy
Poltergeist -Jaun Vineo of Titan, alpha-level telekinesis
Impact - Dillon Blackstream of Myar, incredible strength, speed, durability, stamina, motion sense

While the gene-mod set ups had been targeted on Rimbor, Mon El's group in the Oort cloud had been preceded by Starkling.

The composite being had floated close to their target: a small planetoid that Mon El estimated was two thirds as big as Home Base. It been created almost a century before to be an exclusive spa catering for the uber-wealthy on the edge of Rimbor's Oort cloud. Over the following decades it had become something a lot less wholesome and currently it housed a gene-mod shop as well as a military-like training base for those with newly given meta-abilities. It was most likely central to Sa Lok's operation. That the corrupt former politician could have his own version of Home Base scared the team's leader. With the warrants signed by the Rimborian Senator and backed by the Science Police Tinya aimed to close it down as quickly and quietly as possible.

Starkling circled close enough to the planetoid to passively pick up thoughts telepathically. The team didn't want to scan the planetoid directly in case it had alarms for this sort of intrusion. Starkling's components were scattered across almost a klick of space as they slowly passed the planetoid. Any sensors should note them as a small shower of space debris so Lar was quietly confident that they would get the information they needed.

After several long minutes the composite Legionnaire reported that it could sense sixty-one beings within. This matched what Gear's nannites had reported. Atomsmasher could have confirmed if there were any doubts though the Wraithcat was not able to get as close due to sensor drones that swarmed near to the planetoid. Atomsmasher had though used its incredible senses to locate precisely where inbuilt weapons had been arranged around the small planetoid. Due to a high percentage of lead and other heavy metals in the original rock that this base had been carved into neither Mon El or Power Lass could see them with their enhanced vision. The Legionnaires now knew where to strike first to maximise their chances of completing the mission unscathed.

As Gear's nannites had sent through what schematics they could of this small planetoid the team where still not completely able to establish where the command area was. The nannites had managed to take full control of the life support control in the engineering section. On command they would switch off all lights and artificial gravity. The team each had their own mission, and Mon El hoped it would all be over in a matter of minutes...

The one problem was that there appeared to be an organic component to the control systems that ran the command deck. They assumed it was Dominion bio-tech from the details that the nannites had sent back. The risk of what could happen if they didn't attempt to take the base was greatly outweighed by the risk that they might not gain full control so the Senior Team had decided to go ahead with the mission.

Lar was waiting for the signal to say Henry was ready to spin a warp into the planetoid. Other than Starkling and Atomsmasher the rest of the team were stood around him in a crater on a nearby Asteroid, not much bigger than a Moopball pitch. As they had warped straight here, they were fairly sure they had remained unseen so far.

Southern Lights had approached all of the team that were going into the planetoid; in his hands were five long black hairs he had pulled out from his scalp. He wrapped a single hair around the right middle finger of Mon El, Captain Phantom, Power Lass, Impact and Poltergeist, assuring them as he did that this would keep them immune to the spell he would be casting when they arrived. Impact appeared a little bit anxious though the winged mystic reassured her with a gentle smile as he muttered the arcane words that would extend the protection to them.

<I probably won't be able to put them all into a slumber but at least those not asleep won't be fully awake either. It should slow them all down enough for you to have to face only minimal resistance. It's an exhausting spell so I'll only be able to hold it for a few minutes over the distances involved> Southern Lights smiled once more as he explained.

<You'll do fine> Mon El sent. The Daxamite gave a reassuring grin to Southern Lights and turned towards Impact. The young intern from Myar smiled back though he could tell she was worrying.

<Dillon> Mon El sent across a personal bandwith only shared between the two of them <Either the plan will work and we'll be in the clear in minutes, or it won't and we'll improvise. Either way we know how capable you are so take a deep breath and have faith in yourself... we do>

<uh, thanks Lar. I... I'm sure we'll be okay, I just... yeah, actually I was worrying a bit> She gave a quick embarrassed smile to the Daxamite; he nodded and smiled back reassuringly.

<you'll be fine, we all will> Mon El's flight ring vibrated - it was the signal he had been waiting for.

<Right, you all know what to do, let's get this place shut down> As the team leader sent this message Henry's warp spun into existence before the team and Mon El led the way into it.

Thanks for your kind words guys, they are appreciated.

More soon as Mon El gives some villainous characters a chance of escape, we meet a sort of new member of the cast, and Danielle to the rescue...

Hope you are all enjoying the summer (Though Raz, did you once say you are in Australia, in which case I hope you're enjoying the winter )

C

Heh, I sympathize with the students who felt a little let down by the exercise. Jazmin's tone-deaf remark was comedy gold.

The Black Street Boys! Oldchurch! You have such a knack for coming up with funny names that reference real life things.

Glorith's indignant "of course I'm ok", a nice touch of fire to the shy young lass (based on the canon characterization!) glad you added some fire to yours.

Nice look into the blue-skinned woman's thinking re "well, not much risk if I'm wrong, but great rewards if I am right!"

Love Bouncing Boy II's power in action! Bounce, off you go...

Triple Nova's unique Carggite ability is a great touch.

Tyroc's team still got out unscathed and with minimal damage/attention, nice outing!

Ooh, Mon giving some a chance of escape... part of the plan? Or, things going south? looking forward to more more more!

Dawnstar of Starhaven - Senior Team member, space flight, incredible speed, tracking
Green Lantern - Dkyun Mu of Xudar, wearer of a Green Lantern power ring
Starkling - telepathic swarm-being composed of indestructible ball bearing sized components
Atomsmasher - Ergus Wraithcat of Betelgeuse, spaceflight, durability, hyper senses, telepathy, radiation manipulation

intern: Non - negative energy being - spaceflight, alter own dimensions and density, explosive touch, limited telepathy

Dawnstar signalled the Green Lantern, Atomsmasher and Non to follow her as she tore through space towards the planetoid.

The Green Lantern used her Oan power ring to generate a swarm of metre-long arrowheads that tore through the defensive drone network that surrounded the small planetoid. The drones were smashed in a wave of emerald destruction that ran around the small world on the dark edge of this system like a wave of primal force. Dkyun flew behind the wave collecting the debris in a sphere of energy that she then flung at a silo on the northern-most point of the small planetoid, blocking it from opening and discharging its deadly missiles.

Atomsmasher and Non knew their role on this mission was to destroy as many weapons as possible so they dived towards the planetoids surface just a ridge of x-laser guns, each as big as a workhorse rose up from the ancient rocks and began to turn to target the Legionnaires. The Negative Energy being tore through them at supersonic speed leaving a trail of exploding weapons in its wake. Phasing itself into the power conduit that led to the weapon silo proved to be simple; the conduit had shielding against the electro-magnetic spectrum but had no defense to Non's Negative energy form. As the intern reached a convergence of six of these power-supply lines it caused an explosion that rocked the base and effectively crippled the entire energy network that crisscrossed over the planetoid powering its weapons.

As Non dealt with these, Atomsmasher approached a large sensor array and stroked it almost gently with one of its whip-like tails. A trail of sparks followed the tail as the Wraithcat disrupted the electro-magnetic currents within the sensors - whomever had been watching them would now be blind. With its incredible senses Ergus was aware of another array hidden amongst the rocky surface so it flew across these nodes and continued to manipulate the ambient radiation around the planetoid to distort beyond any hope of usefulness any signal that the control deck had been receiving.

Starkling had assembled its disparate parts and crushed several Hyper K-cannons, leaving a debris cloud in its wake. The swarm of its parts flew towards the planetoids docking bay where it tore through the centre of the bay doors, buckling them out of shape and leaving them unusable. If there was anyone onboard that wished to flee or launch an attack from within, they would find themselves unable to leave. Inside the bay it encountered two people but within seconds it had knocked them senseless and reported to Dawnstar that its mission had been completed so it would enter the planetoid to help Mon El. She thanked the composite being and wished it luck.

Dawnstar flew under the planetoid, searching for any escape pods and vessels that tried to escape. Instead she ran into one of the inhabitants. Her senses alerted her just in time to avoid the burst of energy that flew at her. The winged tracked knew immediately what this meant; at least one of the inhabitants could transform into an energy form... The intern known as Strobe had been given similar abilities. Without a thought she few away from the planetoid, well aware that her immense speed was the only advantage she had and close to the small world she would be hampered.

She could sense the approaching energy being and with deft ease she twisted and turned back towards the small world she had just left. Dawnstar knew how to defeat this attacker, and the Legionnaire she had mentored would prove essential to this plan. As she expected, the energy being followed close behind her so the tracker from Starhaven made sure to follow a circuit with many sharp twists and turns to keep them from catching her as she approached Atomsmasher. The Wraithcat had sensed the flight that its former mentor was taking and sent a telepathic message to her that shared it was prepared.

As Dawnstar had hoped, the being blasting behind her had realised that they were unlikely to catch the winged tracker so, as they approached the planetoid, it switched targets to the nearest Legionnaire - Atomsmasher was floating several metres above a destroyed sensor array. Dawnstar twisted away from Atomsmasher and the energy being dived towards the Wraithcat. As it struck Ergus used its natural abilities to shred the radiation stream, tearing it apart into small streaks of light. There was a sudden explosive burst of energy and an unconscious naked man appeared; the attacker had not been able to hold his energy form cohesively after the Wraithcat had used its abilities on him.

Dawnstar whipped a set of incapacity cuffs onto the naked man's wrist and asked Henry for an urgent warp - the man would die in the vacuum of space if he was not immediately taken away from them. The honey and violet disc appeared close-by and Dawnstar unceremoniously kicked him through it.

Mon El - Senior Team member, Lar Gand of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability
Southern Lights of Starhaven - spaceflight, magic user

Science Police meta-squad seconded to Legion World Bases:
Power Lass - Science Police Officer Nel Duwi of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability
Captain Phantom - Senior Team liaison, Science Police Captain Gryal Vrizza of Bgztl Dimension, intangibility

intern:
Poltergeist -Jaun Vineo of Titan, alpha-level telekinesis
Impact - Dillon Blackstream of Myar, incredible strength, speed, durability, stamina, motion sense

Even before the whole team had crossed through Henry's warp Mon El had taken off one way while Power Lass sped away in the opposite direction. As they did, Gear's nannites struck in the engineering bay causing all lights to switch off and the planetoid's artificial gravity to stop working. The next few minutes would be confusing for everyone on board...

Mon El and Power Lass had sped off at hyper-velocity to the known locations of the largest groups within the sixty-one beings Starkling had sensed, each with a big pouch full of incapacity cuffs ready to use on them. Southern Lights took a step back from his colleagues and began his incantation. His mystical training allowed him to use a language that seems both too low and too complex to be made by the human mouth; with it he cast a spell of dreamless unconsciousness upon the entire planetoid. The spell itself was quite basic, it was keeping it in place over such a large area that was going to tax the young sorcerer. Impact was to remain close by and protect him as he kept his spell going. Her abilities include an ability to sense motion, with a range of only about ten metres but she was certain it would be enough... She desperately tried not to think about how frikkin' exciting and scary this mission was, though knew that when she got back to First Base, she couldn't wait to catch up with the other interns to share her experience. They had all gone through the Academy together and been placed in these positions with the team at the same time and so had developed a friendly rivalry whereby they would get together and talk after every mission to see whose had been on the most outrageous! Impact thought to herself that she was part of a team that was taking on a whole planetoid of meta-beings; it didn't get more outrageous than that, did it?

Captain Phantom took Poltergeist and they flew towards the command deck. Henry's warp had sent them to a point quite near to the centre of the planetoid and, from the information Gear's spying had given them, they knew the area that the nannites were unable to infiltrate was close by. They expected to have a fight on their hands though with the lights and gravity off and Southern Light's sleep spell in effect the two hoped that anyone inside would be disorientated enough that the Legion would have the advantage. Also, by the time they got there, ETA one minute, it was likely either Mon El or Power Lass would be back to help.

Several unconscious men and women were floating in the corridor ahead of them. The intern telekinetically strapped incapacity cuffs to their wrists as they passed; the spell wouldn't last indefinitely so better safe than sorry, he thought. Ahead of them, along the darkened corridor, they could see a large round door. There didn't appear to be any obvious way to open it but they both knew that wouldn't stop them.

Mon El - Senior Team member, Lar Gand of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability

Science Police meta-squad seconded to Legion World Bases:
Power Lass - Science Police Officer Nel Duwi of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability

Lar Gand operated at speeds far beyond the human norm, so even the few beings he encountered that weren't completely unconscious were not given the chance to put up much resistance.

With the lights going out, the artificial gravity being turned off and Southern Lights' sleep spell all happening at the same time, the Daxamite quickly scooped up two dozen of the inhabitants of the planetoid and flew them to the large docking bay where the team had pre-arranged to dump their incapacitated prisoners, ready for Henry warp them out. Starkling was swarming through the door as Mon El approached. The Daxamite said 'hi' as he passed. Unsurpingly, there were a couple of unconscious bodies floating ahead of them - the composite Legionnaire had obviously dealt with them when it entered the bay. After quickly snapping incapacity cuffs on these two, Mon El turned and sped back out to find more.

On one of the lower levels, he encountered a small group that were struggling to stay awake. He stopped and observed them for a couple of seconds before one of them noticed him. The room they were in was obviously a target practice gallery of some sort and Lar was wondering what exactly they had been practicing as the team had struck. From what he could see, the far wall had been heavily reinforced though was covered in multiple scorch marks. It was a good idea, he thought, a d wondered if Lu a d Rokk had something like this on Home Base for the students.

An electric bolt exploded against the ceiling, illuminating the room for a second as one of the peoplepresent saw the Legionnaire. The group all turned towards Mon El and attempted to blast him - they had clearly been down here practicing their energy casting gene-mods. None of them got close.

<You actually going to deal with them, or do you need a hand?> Power Lass sent as she flew into the room behind him, her humour was obvious.

<Oh, I don't know... Yeah, y'know what I think I'll manage, thanks though> Lar turned to the Daxamite Science Police Officer and gave a smile and a mock salute. She smiled, saluted back and left the gallery at hyper velocity to look for other stragglers on these lower regions of the planetoid.

"Gentlemen..." Mon El said, "You are the nearest thing I've had to a challenge all day so what say I give you a three second head start?" Even as he spoke one of their heads dropped and they started snoring. "Oh well, you can't say you weren't given enough chances..." And with that Mon El had cuffed them and bundled them in front of him as he flew out of the room.

The Daxamite Legionnaire gave a rare grin as he left the shooting gallery.

Mon El - Senior Team member, Lar Gand of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability
Babbage- I-45ENG/Nth Series, of the Robotica Confederated Worlds, strength and durability, internalised weapons, hyper awareness and analytical skills.

Support Staff on Legion World First Base:
Danielle Foccart - "Kid Computo", Technical support - technopathic communication and control over advanced technology


Mon El was feeling particularly happy with himself.

By his estimate they had caught all sixty one beings on the planetoid, had full control over the life support functions, Dawnstar reported her team had wiped out the weapon arrays that had bristled on the outer skin of this small world, and none of his team appeared to have been hurt, and all in a few minutes flat!

He knew that even two years ago this mission would not have gone as smoothly. Under Harmonia and tjen Tinya's leadership they had established a far tighter controlled group which utilized the experience of their most senior members, and this had translated into better run, safer, missions. Part of the process had been to allow the more junior team support and encouragement within a disciplined framework the team had developed through their shared life experiences; the mentor scheme had proven to be a success. The Legion had once been a club for super-kids that had been set up to stroke the ego of an unimaginably wealthy man. Now, with a lot more years' experience, a more open approach towards shared learning amongst the team and resources with other law enforcement agencies, and (it had to be admitted he included himself in this last part) a mellowing of some of the egos, the Legion had turned a corner and become something of a genuine force for good in the galaxy.

<Southern Lights, I believe that's everyone caught now so you can stop casting your spell. Good job there, by the way, it definitely helped> As he sent this Lar Gand hoped that they really had caught everyone. He knew though that there were enough Legionnaires on the base now that one or two stragglers would get caught quickly. After the mystic from Starhaven had confirmed that he was stopping the spell Mon El thanked him again and decided it was time to tighten their grip on this small world.

<Henry> Lar sent through the telepathic grid <Can you bring Danielle here. We would be grateful for her assistance>

A spinning violet and honey coloured warp appeared before the Daxamite. Babbage stepped through first, the Robotican nodded his head towards Mon El in acknowledgement, then Danielle Foccart stepped through. The young woman glanced around the dark corridor and wrapped her arms around her herself.

"They aren't happy we're here..." She said as she communed with the AI that ran this planetoid.

"You'll need to have a stern talk to them. thank you, Danielle." Mon El didn't expect a reply though he saw the edges of her lips curl up into a small smile.

"Are you okay staying here with Danielle?" He asked Babbage.

"This unit is present to ensure her protection while the planetoid is cleared." Babbage replied.

"That's great, I'll get Impact and Southern Lights to join you. I'm going to check to see if there're any stragglers and get Henry to warp them over to T-G for the Science Police to process. Take care and call if you need any help." And with that Mon El was gone in a blur of super speed.

Babbage sank part of its artificial consciousness into the ambient AI feed and was once again amazed at the deft skill Danielle exhibited. While the Robotican could easily slip past the security features, it could not manipulate the data streams in such a dramatic way like the young woman that was stood at its side. While part of its consciousness scanned the physical surrounds with radar to ensure they were not sneaked up upon, another was monitoring Danielle's progress as she scanned and remodelled the digital landscape that operated this planetoid. It helped, of course, that Gear's nannites were present, though Babbage had no doubts Danielle could just as easily taken control of the majority of the base's resident AI's without the nannites invasion.

<the Dominator's biological chloro-tech is awkward to navigate> Babbage sent, not expecting a reply.

<It is a trap. Our colleagues are away to make a mistake> Danielle did not sound particularly surprised. Babbage knew that by the time it replied she would have acted so it remained quiet and continued to watch her as she endeavoured to take control of the planetoids AI networks.

Whew! must be inconvenient having to be naked to use one's powers

nice to see Mon enjoying himself for a bit

I like Mon's happiness with the Legion's development too. and indeed, these missions are very professionally run!

a trap... dun dun dun!

Spy (also team counsellor) - Dr Noah Kabbo, heightened awareness and limited telepathy

Science Police meta-squad seconded to Legion World Bases:
Captain Phantom - Senior Team liaison, Science Police Captain Gryal Vrizza of Bgztl Dimension, intangibility
Power Lass - Science Police Officer Nel Duwi of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability

intern:
Poltergeist -Jaun Vineo of Titan, alpha-level telekinesis


<Let me> Captain Phantom sent as he phased through the door.

Seconds later it irised open and the Bgztlan Science Police Captain floated in the doorway, a wide grin on his face. Poltergeist gave a grateful smile and flew in. Both activated the searchlights on their belt buckles and looked around. The room was bigger than they expected and, as they had thought, there was clearly Dominion chloro-tech on display. What surprised them in amongst the half dozen other people, was the three unconscious Dominators that floated in the middle of the room.

Jaun used his telekinesis to snap incapacity cuffs on their arms.

<Y'know, I'd get so fat so-o-o quickly if I used my thoughts like you to move everything... maybe it's just as well you're the psychic one> Captain Phantom sent across the telepathic grid; the humour was unexpected. Poltergeist laughed to himself as he made his way around the room scanning every surface with his flight ring. For a couple of minutes they scanned the entire control deck, making sure that First Base had as much data as they could possibly send.

There was a burst of air as Power Lass sped into the control deck. She looked around and straightened herself up, her posture became far more relaxed as she saw that everything was under control.

<You guys good?> She asked.

<All's well, thanks Nel. Did you and Lar clear up the rest of them?> Poltergeist asked.

<Lar was dealing with a small group on the lower levels when I last saw him, think he was enjoying himself so I left him to his fun>

<You left him?> Captain Phantom asked, incredulously.

<yeah, three or four semi-conscious low-level energy blasters firing in the darkness against a Daxamite Legionnaire... do you reckon he needed my help?> Her reply was edged with flippant cheek making Poltergeist laugh again.

<Okay... yeah, that's fair enough. What do you think the Dominators are doing here? Do you think they're working with Sa Lok or is he working for them?> The Bgztlar sent, smoothly changing the subject.

<They love their bio-tech and the human genome is pretty mutable so I suppose it makes sense. And didn't Lar catch one of them a week ago or so? It probably means this goes way beyond a thug on Rimbor wanting his own army of supers...> Poltergeist sent. He realised that he had been adding more to the conversation than usual and he hoped it wasn't obvious that it was his way to deflect his attention from the nervousness he felt about being on this enemy planetoid, in the dark. Thankfully the two Science Police officers agreed with his assessment and went about the business of scanning the controls so they could figure out how to use them.

"Umm... I think I know why this Dominator was here at least." Nel Duwi said, her voice startling her colleagues after they had been using the telepathic grid to communicate all mission. She pointed to the single female Dominator, floating above a ring of chloro-tech. On her for foreehead was a stylized mark that clearly represented a leaf.

"Going by that brand on her face I reckon she controlled the tech in this place. We need to interrogate her quickly, make sure there's no booby-traps."

"Yeah, if you like I'll call Dr Kabbo, he can help with that." As Poltergeist spoke Captain Phantom smiled at the young man, obviously impressed with his initiative.

"Okay guys, you deal with this, I'm going take out the trash." And with that Power Lass flew around the room collecting the unconscious bodies except for the one Dominator with the leaf shaped imprint on her forehead, and flew them out of the door. Poltergeist wished her luck then sent a message across the telepathic matrix asking if Noah Kabbo was free to help them with a prisoner. Seconds later a warp opened and Dr Noah Kabbo strolled through, a half-eaten apple in one hand.

"Hi, what can I help you with?" The counselor asked as he looked around the control deck. He took a bite from the apple as he turned to Captain Phantom and Poltergeist.

"We believe this being controls the chloro-tech. If so, it would definitely help having her on side. We need to know if she is loyal to Sa Lok's ethos... does that make sense?" Captain Phantom could see the team's counselor knit his brows as if unsure.

"Oh, perfectly. Yeah... her mind is ...strange, not the usual Dominator thought architecture." He took a nibble of his apple as he finished speaking and the room was quiet for several long seconds. "I'd say Dominators generally are nasty bits of work. Their minds are full of hunger and rather unpleasant control issues. They're bred to enforce the commands of the upper caste I believe. Anyway, she's quite passive... and with a... it's like telepathy but not what I'm used to."

"She communicates with chloro-tech, maybe?" As Poltergeist said this, he noticed a certain humorous look in the team counselor's eyes; Dr Kabbo knew how nervous and excited the intern felt. The intern smiled at him, took a deep breath and got back to scanning the room.

Dr Kabbo started to speak, a confident smile on his face, "I'll just call up a warp to the Titanian enclave on Naltor and she can be examined..."

<Stop!> The urgent telepathic warning was all the more surprising as it came from Danielle Foccart.

As Danielle sent the relevant information to the team's flight rings, they could see what a mistake it would have been to try to take the small Dominator away from here.

Danielle had discovered that there was a fail-safe hidden deep in the planetoids mainframe that would activate an explosive chemical reaction from a set of proteins injected into the Dominators spine if she were ever to have her control-root tampered with or was removed from this small world. The control-root was a particularly nasty piece of Dominion technology that wrapped itself around the brainstem and meant the recipient had no control over their actions. This was usually used to keep the most basic of the caste's docile, though in this case it meant that the unconscious girl would only follow orders from her Dominator handlers. As one of the few members of this rare subservient caste bred to have a telepathic-like control over the Dominions chloro-tech, she would be highly prized amongst her people. Her placement on the planetoid clearly pointed to a serious investment and involvement by the Dominion as this chloro-controlling caste needed to be grown within the environment that they would interact with; consequently, this unusual caste were reserved as staff and playthings for only the highest of the Dominion's ruling castes.

It also pointed to further evidence of the Dominion being actively involved in the rise in access to these street level gene-modification operations for some time.

Dr Kabbo called for a warp for Dr Shakespeare to join them instead. Whatever happened afterwards, they had responsibilities to the young Dominator before them, and liberating her from the bio-tech that made her a slave was first and foremost of these

While the clinical team helped release the young Dominator from her bio-explosives and control-root, the remainder of the team ensured the planetoid was cleared of inhabitants and helped the Science Police process them on Tarkon-Galtos. Between the five shops from Rimbor and the planetoid the team had caught fifty-two beings with existing warrants against them, a further one hundred and twenty that had never been on the police system including two professional athletes and their mistresses who had been having a 'spa retreat', twenty-two scientific staff, forty security personnel - most with dubious records, and from the planetoid in Rimbor's Oort cloud they added four Dominators.

Phantom Girl didn't hang around to wait for the final tally from the Science Police, instead she took the majority of the team and students back to First Base. She was eager to monitor Thunder's mission - At that very moment Cece was leading a team to take down the man they thought was behind the proliferation of street level gene-mod tech - the man who previously used United Planets' resources to support the Dark Circle dimensions Psyche when she tried to persecute the team.

Thunder was going after the former Under Secretary to the United Planets Security Council, Sa Lok of Rimbor.

Thunder was comfortable leading her team into what they knew would be incredibly dangerous territory.

She had split her team into two smaller teams - one would join her into the actual compound. They had a schematic from the data Chameleon Boy had previously acquired that had been confirmed by Gear's nannites sent through overnight, so the team knew there were two bunkers that potentially Sa Lok was likely to try to run to if their assault raised too much noise. Cece planned on taking them both out of commission with the first strike. The other part of the team were to capture as many of the security staff as possible that the team learned were being housed in neighbouring properties.

Cece has asked Henry if he could just warp them, buildings and all, straight to T-G but the holo-man had only raised his eyebrows and gave a slightly disdainful look as reply. She appreciated he was being stretched with all the warps he was creating for the other teams, so she thanked him anyway.

Captain Tuk Shir was to lockdown the westerly bunker. From the information they had, it would be the least likely to be used as a hold-out. It was only a single room several dozen metres across, used as storage for supplies and held a small armoury. They expected a few guards but not enough to give the powerful Daxamite too much trouble. Once it was dealt with, he would re-join the team in the main house.

Element Lad was to lead a small team to the second bunker where they expected much heavier resistance. There were about a dozen guards, all of whom were expected to have gene-mods. Jan had smiled when he had been told this, his mind quickly planning how to arrange the assault in their favour. Cece had no doubts that he would be able to deal with the situation.

Thunder would personally lead a team to capture Sa Lok. From the information they had, Cece was aware that the former Under Secretary usually woke at 0500 Standard Rimbor Time and had an hour's exercise regime before having breakfast on his South Terrace. As they were striking at 0345 SRT they hoped to catch him unawares. That was the plan... Cece had spent the night going through the list of known meta-security operating on the estate and three in particular stood out as dangerous - two had energy neutralising abilities while the third appeared to be able to mimic the physical abilities of those around him. She sent holos to the team of these three with a warning to strike fast and first if they were spotted. There were also several dozen energy casters and at least two dozen with enhanced strength and durability and ten with some form of alter-form ability.

Every member of the various teams carried at least a dozen incapacity cuffs, even Backlash had a pouch with them despite the tigerram not having the physical dexterity to actually use them. All Cece had to do was give the word and Gear's nannites would cripple the AI mainframe, ensure no alarms or security mechanisms would activate.

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


Tuk Shir flew through the warp at hyper speed.

His mission was to ensure the smaller bunker was cleared and the Sa Lok would be unable to retreat here when Thunder went after him.

There were no guards in sight and a quick scan revealed the armoury was bare.... As he scanned the surroundings with his x-ray vision, the Daxamite Science Police captain noticed that the security feeds were piped through a conduit that ran back to the mansion. It was an unexpected low-tech way to operate and it made the Daxamite feel alarmed.

<Cece, somethings wrong...> he quickly sent through the telepathic matrix, aware that the team leader needed to know.
............................

Thunder - Deputy Leader, Cecelia Becks of 21st Century Earth, immense strength, speed, indestructibility, space flight, wisdom

Intern:
Strobe - Denal Lort of Dryad - assume electro-magnetic energy form

Thunder and Strobe tore through the warp straight into Sa Lok's private quarters.

It was empty. It looked immaculately clean and tidy but there was no sign of life at all; no guards, no staff, and most frustratingly of all, no Sa Lok!

Strobe changed into an x-ray and sped through the enormous villa.

<It's empty Cece...>

<Everyone get back to your base right now! Denal, we're leaving now....>

The explosion that tore through the complex would have killed any normal person, including the vast majority of Legionnaires. Had she not given the other members the order to retreat then those on Thunder's strike force would have been through the warp.

As it was, Thunder was thrown half a klick into the air by the force of the blast and the enormous estate of Sa Lok was obliterated, turning into a debris strewn mess with a smoking crater at the centre.

Strobe was relatively unaffected and zoomed up to check on Thunder. She floated in mid-air, a finger in one ear as she tried to stop her ears from ringing.

<is everyone else back on their base?> She sent to the student, fully aware that he wouldn't know but it would distract him enough that he wouldn't fuss around her.

<Oh sacred stars, I didn't check> with that he zipped down into the debris field to make sure none of their teammates were trapped.

While he did that Thunder used her flight ring to contact First Base. After confirming that their teammates had made it safely back to the base Cece realised that they had not heard anything from Captain Heavyweight.

It appeared that their Daxamite colleague had vanished!
.......................

First Base

Anje Falkner ran towards Phantom Girl in the main control room on First Base.

"I can't feel him anymore Tinya. Something has happened to Tuk." She pointed to her head, "...he's gone, there's something wrong. You've got to search for him, he can't've died, you've got to get him back here ...bring him back to me!"

The Psychiatrist did not try to hide her emotions; her fear and concern were writ across her face for all to see in something close to hysteria.

Almost seven light years away, Sa Lok monitored the feed coming through from his estate on Rimbor.

With the Legionnaires acting exactly as the Seer had predicted, the former UP Security Council Under Secretary laughed to himself. He had left his estate 15 minutes before the attack, calmly walking through the skin-crawl inducing warps that his partner from the Dominion had one of its minions create.

The Seer had warned him days ago that his business assets were away to be raided and, overall, he was fine with that.

Sa Lok didn't care that the gene-mod shops on Rimbor were gone, they had served their purpose and he had made the Guilds and Gangs pay well for their use so he had actually made a profit from them even though they had only been open for a few months. He had always accepted they would be temporary. The scientific staff had provided him with all the data he needed and if it also meant that there would be a few more trouble makers with abilities to stir up some trouble for the Science Police and the Legion then that was an added bonus.

The loss of the planetoid stung a little but it was a just collateral damage that his organisation could easily absorb, it could be replaced quickly enough. The staff on there had been the lowest-rung rated so he wouldn't miss them at all. It might cost a Gold Million to replace and refurbish the base but he could easily afford that. The loss of the Dominion's assets onboard might cause a little trouble but it wasn't anything he was particularly worried about. A solution would be worked out with his business partners, he was certain.

The destruction of his personal estate on Rimbor was something he had mixed feelings about - initially Sa Lok had loved that place but over the years he had become increasingly uninterested in it as it limited him to that one world. Still, he didn't want anyone else to benefit from such a prime vantage point so having it be blown up seemed perfectly reasonable. It also helped cover for the one thing he was desperate to achieve before giving up his place on Rimbor to the Legion.

Between the 56 staff he had taken with him, all having received at least one mixed meta-gene treatment or had a pre-existing meta-skill, and the army the Dominion were building using the technology he had been trialling, Sa Lok didn't believe the Legion would be a threat for too much longer. Especially as the Legion had just given him the perfect specimen: having a Daxamite with resistance to heavy metals poisoning to complete his experiments on could very well tip the balance once and for all in their favour.

More great stuff, Harbi!

Poor Dominator slave... I wonder, possible future Academy student?

Oh no, Captain Heavyweight... I like him... poor him, poor Anje...

Good thing Thunder and her wisdom kicked in (and good thing Strobe was so fast...) saved most everyone.

I almost forgot about the Seer!

Ugh, so that was the plan... giving up cannon fodder, and taking the most powerful with him.. this is far from over...

Thunder led the team in the search for Captain Tuk Shir.

Both Dawnstar and M'Windaji scoured the blasted site on Rimbor desperate seeking a trail to follow. Cece made sure they were undisturbed while they searched.

Neither could find a trace of their missing colleague. The only positive note from the search was that their flight ring scanners confirmed there was no organic material located that belonged to him either, so at least they knew he hadn't been somehow destroyed in the blast.

Gahaji had noted that the Ruby of Life had been tingling suspiciously while the tracker had floated over one part of the still smouldering crater where Sa Lok's estate had been. Thunder had felt strangely uneasy around a certain part of the blast site too and M'Windaji confirmed that it was in this same area that the magical gemstone he carried had started feeling odd.

Dawnstar had taken to the upper atmosphere, joined there by Atomsmasher, to continue searching. Neither the tracker from Starhaven not the Wraithcat reported any success despite their considerable sensory abilities.

Shield, Titan, Dragonmage and Glorith joined M'Windaji and Thunder on Rimbor's surface, each hoping that their own area of skill and ability might have some luck in locating the Daxamite: sadly, none did.

Both Xao and Glorith reported sensing magics though neither could place exactly which spell it belonged to. It appeared they were dealing with something from outside of their experience. Neither seemed surprised by this, though both expressed their frustration.

At this point Thunder requested Southern Lights join them as well, as she was aware that the spirit-talker from Starhaven practiced an entirely different branch of the mystical arts from the two other magic-users in the Legion. Again, while it was confirmed that there were some elements of magic lingering on-site the winged mystic was unable to trace it or their missing Daxamite colleague.

After four solid hours Cece called the team together and suggested they return to their bases. She did not believe it was likely that any evidence or clue would appear now. The Science Police had a team going through the wreckage in minute detail so if anything were to be found they would let the Legion know.

Dr Anje Falkner was waiting in the First Base Monitor Board room for information on her husband, and was not surprised when the search team returned with no solid leads or news. The only glimmer of hope she was given was when Southern Lights assured her that he did not sense any trace of a recent death within the vicinity of the blast so the young mystic firmly believed the psychiatrists husband was still very much alive. He added that knowing the Science Police Captain, whomever or whatever that had removed him from Rimbor was in for a tough time. She smiled with unexpected warmth and thanked him for letting her know.

Her eyes were still full of tears as Kent Shakespeare returned with her to her office.

Two days later:


Gravity Kid - Science Police Officer Tel Vole of Earth, manipulation of personal or nearby gravity
Thirteen - Dann Hortra of Naltor, line of sight probability manipulation
Comet Queen - Grava of Extal colony, spaceflight, comet gas extrusion
Comet King - Drinchnar Lamment of Extal colony, spaceflight, comet gas extrusion


Tel Vole took a deep breath.

Standing in this corridor on First Base at this moment was one of the scariest things he had done since becoming a Legionnaire.

He wanted to do this, he really understood that he had to do it, but there was a part of his mind that screamed he should not be the one doing it... deep breath Tel, he thought to himself, just take a deep breath and let it out... whatever the outcome, it'll all be over soon...

"Yo, Gravy-bug...." Comet King called out, "You away tah 'pologise to Danny-boyo after yer rogue-planet bad manners th'other day?" Drinchnar smiled teasingly as he spoke. Comet King and Queen had turned the corner into this residential corridor just as Tel had approached Dann Hortra's apartment. It was clear from Tel's expression that he was not amused!

There was a long awkward silence as Gravity Kid glowered towards the former soldier. Grava elbowed Drinchnar in the ribs and meekly said sorry before dragging her now chuckling boyfriend away.

"Uhh, ok-aaay, ah'm off to spin the grava-licious one 'round..." and with that Comet King strolled down the corridor with an arm around Comet Queen's waist, leaving Gravity Kid alone.

Tel took another deep breath and pushed the door-comm before him. He could hear the buzz from inside the apartment and without realising it the gravity manipulator held his breath. After several long seconds he pushed it a second time. This time there was another noise that followed the buzz, a voice asking the door to open.

Tel Vole quickly wiped a hand across his scalp, and took a step over the threshold into his colleagues' apartment.

Dann Hortra was sat on a couch with his back to the door watching a holo-comedy that Tel recognised - The Three Stoogians - an ongoing series of short films that Jed particularly liked though Tel had never really felt the urge to watch before.

"Hey Dann..."

"Oh, hey Tel, how's things?" The Naltoran's attention was fully focussed on the antics appearing in the holo-pit, his acknowledgement had sounded automatic.

"Yeah, fine thanks. You? I wanted to come to ... ah, apologise to you. I was really rude the other day and you didn't deserve it. I really wanted to ... to make sure things were good between us going forward."

"Yeah?" Thirteen had still not turned to face Gravity Kid, and his tone of voice was still slightly disinterested. "Rumour has it that you're not one to apologise without being made to... izzat right?"

"Look, I don't want to fight you, I did ...genuinely want to say I'm sorry." Tel straightened his back and felt the blush rise on his cheeks.

Dann Hortra turned and gave Tel a wide grin, "I know bud, don't worry, just teasing you. Isn't it rubbish when someone's being cruel ...so let's not do that anymore." There was a silence between them for several long seconds before the Naltoran added, "Listen, if you're still Blight-suffering, I can help. The meditation techniques I know involve placing oneself firmly in the here-and-now and there're quite a few ways to practice this. Right now, though, I reckon you need to lighten up so c'mere and watch this, it's awesome." Thirteen patted the seat beside him on the couch and turned back to the holo.

Tel felt as if he was having an out of body experience as he walked round and sat next to the Naltoran. Thirteen was only wearing a pair of rather short shorts that left very little - or in this case, quite clearly anything but little! - to the imagination. Unselfconsciously, Dann put one of his muscular arms along the back of the couch behind Tel and started to howl with laughter at the slap-stick shenanigans happening in the holo before him. Tel took another deep breath and plastered a smile on his face; all of his senses suddenly going into overdrive at the situation as he felt the slight brush of muscular bicep on his shoulder and could smell the fresh soap that Dann used. As he was too scared to turn to face his colleague Tel focussed his attention very firmly on the holo-show before them.

Over the next fifty-five minutes the two men didn't talk much as they laughed and cheered at the fast-paced comedy show before them. By the end of it, Tel's face actively hurt from laughing so much; he couldn't ever remember having that sensation before and, he was glad to realise, it was actually pleasant.

Dann showed him to the door and said the next session would be at 0900 the next day before waving Tel down the corridor.

Tel thought to himself, Jed will never ever believe this just happened!

Chameleon Boy - Espionage Squad leader, Reep Daggle of Durla, shape changer


Chameleon Boy smiled.

The reports were back and complete, and it appeared that with only one slight potential problem, the planetoid that the Legion had taken from Sa Lok's organisation was official property of the team and could be converted into another Legion world base if they wanted.

And Chameleon Boy wanted!

The only potential problem was the Dominator with the leaf-crest on her forehead that they could not remove from the control deck without most likely killing her. Her entire biology was attuned to that place on a level that was way beyond the skills of Dr Shakespeare or a team from Medicus One to sever without very serious risk. They had established that this being, that they had taken to call Ivy as her Dominator designation was a series of numbers, was a little over eight months old and as she grew older the chloro-tech that she controlled would expand until it became the planetoid itself. It already entwined many of the major functions of the planetoid. Reep read this part of the report twice and it appeared that she would become something equivalent to how Gear had his nanites being part of the fabric of their other bases. Once released from the Dominion's control telepathic conversations and scans had shown her to be intelligent beyond her very young age, scared and definitely keen to support the Legion after expecting a lifetime of brutally enforced servitude. Whatever was going to happen upon the small planetoid, Ivy was most likely going to remain very much at the heart of it.

Chameleon Boy hoped to keep the planetoid off-grid with the most advanced stealth and evasion technology available fitted so it could become an almost super-numerary base, giving the team a stealthy route towards their greater goals of conflict resolution and disaster relief. and a base for espionage operations that wouldn't be at risk by other teammates inadvertently learning of their plans.

He had yet to address this idea with the senior team, but once the initial report on the planetoid's fittings and fixtures had come through Reep knew it could be of great benefit to the Legion.

The Durlan continued to read through the report before him...

Tectonik - Hardal of Granite Falls from Mondriak iv - geokinesis
Solar Gorilla - D'Nadka Endarooga of Dmansca - generate and project extreme heat and light
Dragon Lass - Mari Baertling of Rimbor - enhanced strength, durability, echolocation and flight
Strobe - Denal Lort of Dryad - assume electro-magnetic energy form
Tesseract - Sar Jerash Mor Toark of Mars, access to intra-dimensional space
Impact - Dillon Blackstream of Myar, incredible strength, speed, durability, stamina, motion sense
Orion - Science Police Cadet Tw'gg of H'lven, tracking skills and awareness of flaws or weaknesses
Poltergeist -Jaun Vineo of Titan, alpha-level telekinesis
Mosaic - Science Police Officer Rish'ha Nor of Lallor, tactile mimicry of material properties
Triple Nova - Elthur Mundo of Carggg, split into three separate bodies, each with either strength and durability, speed and reflexes, or laser vision
Mindbender - Marmud Illic of Titan, alpha-level telepath

Booster - Solstin Wang of Earth - medical support - awareness and manipulation of physical properties of those around him
Glory - Gloriana Crestellen of Grighshtall iv - medical support - read and manipulate L- and T-auras


The current intake of interns had been sat around a large table on a lower level on Home Base having a deserved break discussing their time with the team. It was Tectonok's birthday so quite a few of them had had a couple of drinks which added to the high spirits. As often happened when young people and alcohol mixed, the conversations were getting louder and rowdier.

The interns usually met in small informal groups to discuss the adventures they had been on and to share tit-bits of gossip gleaned while amongst the Legionnaires. Today all of them except Non, who rarely joined in with these informal meetings, were present. There was no structure or agenda when they met up; the group acting like any meeting of young peers, teammates and friends.

Dragon Lass and Glory had presented Tectonik with a cake, though after thanking them he said his people didn't metabolise sugary foods properly, so while it was a great idea it had sat on the table with its icing slowly melting after that waiting for a knife to cut it into slices.

Hadral of Granite Falls, the short geokinetic intern was telling his peers that he was fed up because the only mission he had gone on other than Hope Squad missions to support the Talokean refugees, had been on a dud-mission on a space ship where there was no soil or rocks or mud or lava or earth or sand or boulders for him to do anything with. Strobe and Poltergeist were laughing as he told his tale of woe, which made him laugh too despite his attempt to appear serious. The three students enjoyed teasing each other as they competed for a potential place on the main team.

Mindbender once again reminded the team that he had been on a mission where he had single-handedly...

"Bored everyone to tears with constant florggin' ego-massaging!" Mosaic said loudly, finishing off the telepath's sentence, much to the appreciation of Tectonik and Strobe who both doubled over with laughter.

"Hey, if you got it then flaunt it... and so, what you done recently to justify your place here?" Marmud sounded more serious than he had intended and the atmosphere in the room dropped for a second until Rish'ha blew a big raspberry in response and started to laugh. Marmud pulled a face, which the Lallorian mirrored back, both now laughing at the other.

Dragon Lass, standing on the other side of the table with the interns that hadn't been drinking, said she missed helping the refugees, which both Orion and Tesseract immediately agreed with. The three of them discussed the happiness and satisfaction they felt when they returned from those missions.

at the end of the table Booster was telling Solar Gorilla about the physiotherapy course he had almost completed while she tied to impress him with her story about being on a mission where the found a missing Bubble Arc... neither were really listening to the other, and they both knew it but didn't mind. These sorts of meetings were the only place where the interns really let their excitement show without feeling that they were making fools of themselves in front of the Legionnaires.

Triple Nova and Glory were sat in a corner, ignoring the rest of the group. They had been close while at the Academy, but since becoming interns their relationship had been put under some strain and they had seen very little of each other. As they both had the next 24 hours off the pair had decided to do something to mend the unexpected gulf that had grown between them. Gloriana sat on Elthur's lap and they spoke to each other in a soft and intimate manner, one reserved for young lovers with nothing to prove to the other except the depth of their feelings... they both knew without saying it that the next 24 hours were unlikely to involve too much interaction with anyone else.

No-one present had any idea that within two days eleven of the fourteen interns currently assigned to the Legion would be off the program.

Phantom Girl - Team Leader, Tinya Wazzo of Bgtzl Dimension, intangibility
Shadow Lass - Tasmia Mallor of Talok viii, summon and manipulate total darkness


Phantom Girl and Shadow Lass met at the gym.

It had been just over forty eight hours since Captain Tuk Shir had vanished and the team leader was beginning to realise that if she didn't hit something soon, she would most likely break down. When Tinya had called Tasmia to ask for a sparring partner, the Talokean had smiled broadly and quickly agreed. And half an hour later, here they were: First Base Second Gymnasium, recent upgraded with a holo-training package created by Gear.

The room was slightly smaller than a Moop-ball pitch with a high ceiling, Tinya had set up a minor privacy code for the next three hours that would stop students from accessing this area. Any Legionnaires that entered would be unlikely to interrupt her training and, according to the senior team rota, the next five hours were under Thunder's remit, and Tinya was quite sure Cece would not bother her for anything less than a planetary extinction level event.

Tasmia joined Tinya in the changing bay and as they stripped and put on their leotards for this session, they quickly discussed the evidence the team had found linking Sa Lok's organisation to the bounty that had been offered against them. Theena had quickly made sure all relevant news-feeds had that information and it was broadcast far and wide. Tinya and tasmia both doubted it would stop every psycho in the galaxy from gunning for them, but it would certainly help dissuade the lower-level thug that hoped to make a quick credit.

Before the conversation got too bogged down on this Tinya asked Tasmia if the rumours that Lady Memory would be joining Home Base as a tutor were true. Tasmia shook her head, saying that she had only managed to arrange a training session for the psychic students, but anything more than that would be unlikely in the near future.

"Still," said Tinya to her friend, "how great is it that she decided to teach for us at all?"

"I know, right?" Tasmia replied with a wide grin. Phantom Girl realised that her friend was genuinely happy at this result and was herself amazed at the turn-around from hereditary blood-sworn enemy to colleague and peer at one of the galaxy's most unique training facilities. Phantom Girl felt immensely proud of her team in that second, proud right down to the marrow of her bones.

As no-one else was present they decided to monopolise on the space available so made their way to the centre of the gym floor and asked the resident AI to create a scenario for them where they would have to fight their way out.

"Calculating... * breep *" the AI replied. It took three seconds before the hard light holo kicked in and the two woman found themselves stood at the centre of an enraged mob with fighter jets bearing down upon them, strafe fire blasting from their undercarriage housed weapons. Tyroc had asked Gear to work on a way to incorporate holo techniques into the gyms in a bid to liven up the team's more physical training. Tinya reminded herself to thank them both for doing this as the results were simply stunning.

"* breep * mission to subdue malcontents now live." The gym's AI announced.

"Now this is therapy!" Tinya said with a laugh as she phased through several attacking members of the holo-crowd, punching at the faces of random members of the hard-light generated angry mob as she did.

She could hear Tasmia laugh from behind her as a ball of darkness expanded from the Talokean and hard-light bodies were punched out.

I really like how you allude to the different branches of magic, Harbi.

I love how Grava is the more embarrassed one compared to Drinchnar!

Quite clearly anything but little! I loved that line. Happy that Tel is getting to lighten up a bit too. Good that he kept himself under control despite all the teasing - the therapy is working I would say Dann's teasing was a way to accept Tel's apology too

Ivy is the Dominator! nice! Glad that she appreciates being free... bright new future for her. And a new base specifically for espionage, nice.

Nice realistic look at the interns, and this is so ominous... off the program because some join the main team... or...

Tinya/Tasmia friendship is still very alive!

More great stuff Harbi. More, more, more...

Thanks IB, always grateful for your reviews.

We'll be seeing some more magic soon... and the Legionnaires have not encountered anything like it before.

I think 13 was testing Tel's focus, as he said you need to be able to focus on the here and now that's right in front of you, not be distracted and I imagine Tel was very distracted, haha. I've a longer term plan for Tel that'll start in LW8.

Ivy will reappear very soon too as I've big plans for her. Poor girl

The mystery of the interns will be cleared up at the end of this arc. Some might progress onto the two Legion teams , but not them all.

Coming up soon, Tinya has a very bad start to the day that will lead to the return - kind of - of one of my favourite villains, Gahaji and Zoe make plans, and the return of a few former colleagues that will change the team forever!

Yeah, Dann knows what he's doing for sure Looking forward to seeing where you take Tel!

Oh, doesn't sound pleasant for Ivy lol!

yeah, I figured not all the interns will become Legionnaires... so curious to see who does what!

former colleagues! oh, I am so intrigued! cannot wait for the next bits!

Hi Harbi, have just caught up - lots of fun stuff in here!

- Black Street Boys!

- Starkling is such an awesome and unique creation...I loved the idea of it mimicking space debris, and the excellent visual of it slamming into the docking bay doors

- Having recently binged Doom Patrol, I also really liked the description of Non zipping about and blowing stuff up

- Mon-El was great in these instalments, I feel like his character really shone through his impromptu pep talk to Impact and him having a rare moment of just having fun with those goons who were no threat to him. I was initially surprised that he would see the formation of the Legion as RJ stroking his ego, but it does make sense that someone a thousand years old wouldn't have the naive reverence for Brande that a lot of the other Legionnaires do

- the image of Dawny booting a naked dude through a space warp made me chuckle, but I did quite like her teamwork with Atomsmasher there too

- I am glad Sa Lok escaped, it looks like the Legion are gonna find this guy much harder to deal with than they had assumed and I am looking forward to seeing this escalate!

- and my favourite part...Ivy! Making her a Dominator is a stroke of genius with all their plant tech, I am also really looking forward to seeing where you go with her!

(also, special mention to the bit with Babbage and Danielle....it's nice seeing him qualify the difference in their similar abilities!)

Gahaji and Zoe were lying on a daybed together in his apartment on First Base listening to soft Aarokian dance-jazz and enjoying their moment together.

They were both due for monitor duty in an hour so wanted to make the most of their free time until then. Zoe was lying on her back with her arms in the air, her hands making rhythmic movements in time with the beat.

"Stop laughing, this was all the rage just a couple of years ago!" She didn't sound too convinced herself but kept up the defensive front.

"Hand dancing? Really? Oh Zoe, honey, with a bod like yours you shouldn't limit yourself to that..."

"Wa... was that a compliment? A compliment for little me?" She sat up and turned to face the tracker who was curled on one side watching her. There was a teasing smile on her face as she looked down her nose at him.

"Yeah, deffo's Zoe. You know you're beautiful... Anyway, I've been thinking..."

"Wow, two miracles in one conversation." Zoe laighed.

"Oh, haha..." Even though Gahaji smiled it was obvious his mind was elsewhere, "We have seventy-two hours off rota after our monitor board duties and... well, do you fancy meeting my grandfather? I really want to visit him."

"Oh. My. Stars! Are we finally a proper couple that you want to introduce me to your family? Like, for real?" Her teasing mockery was not lost on him.

Gahaji laughed - genuinely, this time - and turned away from her and rolled onto the edge of the day bed, sitting up and placing his feet on the floor. He spoke over his shoulder.

"Zoe, if you want to come that'd be really appreciated. Meet Cassanda properly this time, and my grandfather is a character, you'll like him. And now that the bounty's been called off, we won't need to take a big team, we can just go chill out on their farm for a couple of days."

Bouncing across the daybed, Zoe wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and happily agreed.

It was not the way Tinya Wazzo would have chosen to start her day... or any day, in fact.

The team had been focusing on finding and rescuing Tuk Shir for the last two days without much luck. The night before, right after spending two glorious hours with Tasmia, Reep had come to her quarters asking to speak. The Durlan had an idea how they could use the captured planetoid from Rimbor that had led to the two old friends almost arguing, something that they had rarely done in all the years that they had worked together. He wanted to take charge of the small world to have it as a full-time base for espionage missions. Tinya disagreed, there were more important things they could be doing with the resources they had at hand right now. When the team went on their little 'quiet vacations', as Jo liked to call it when Tinya left on such low-key missions for the espionage squad, they used the members available and to take those teammates out of standard commission would be a mistake as often their skills became useful on the everyday missions they ran. Reep disagreed and the two of them had spoken for close to three hours before he left her quarters. Tinya had a headache by the time he had gone and so had quickly checked in with the monitor board to ensure there were no disasters enfolding before retiring for the night.

It was 0645 standard time when the holo of Science Police Chief G'Randarohll from Takron-Galtos appeared before Phantom Girl as she sat in her private quarters enjoying a light breakfast. With no preamble the gruff looking chief started his report:

"Miss Wazzo, at 0436 Sol standard this morning a convoy of Science Police crafts that were carrying prisoners to a Takron-Galtos psych re-evaluation Unit were attacked. The convoy had powerful defensive capabilities, up-to-date stealth technology and followed a randomly generated flight path. In theory there was very little chance of almost anyone knowing where they were, let along managing to overpower them."

He looked away for a second before continuing.

"None of the security systems recorded who or what attacked them and none of the twenty-three personnel aboard survived. Seven prisoners escaped and their whereabouts are currently unknown."

"We'll get onto it immediately Chief. We're... we're really sorry to hear of your losses, this is terrible news. Please extend our condolences to their families and reassure them that the Legion will help bring whoever did this in for you to ensure justice is served."

"Thank you, ma'am. I... We're very grateful. I've sent the co-ordinates and prisoner?s details to you." With that the Chief from the prison world cut the holo-transmission leaving behind a hard-light construct floating in the air with the data Tinya would need.

Phantom Girl knew there was a Science Police meta-team based on T-G that would be involved, several former academy students were part of that team so she hoped they could work together with the Legion and help catch whomever was responsible and the escaped villains before anyone else was killed.

As the list came through Tinya shook her head. She knew an urgent internal audit would need to be held to examine why these particular characters had been put in one transporter together and who had authorised it. The list did not make easy reading - Lightning Lord, Esper Lass, Titania, Silver Slasher, and some of the meta-villains the team had only recently sent to the prison facility: the mystical assassin known as the War Wolf, and the two Khund cyborgs that could turn invisible.

It was too much of a coincidence that these villains were all being moved together and had somehow been freed... Tinya considered the situation and realised that it looked to her as if someone was planning on rebuilding some version of the LSV. Tinya took a deep breath before contacting Thunder and Tyroc. Within fifteen minutes she had assembled a dozen Legionnaires and had warped a cruiser to the site of the attack. Dawnstar led the way with SPO Nel Duwi and Dkyun Mu, the Green Lantern close behind.

They had warped teams from both bases and the cruisers to the site of the attacked ship. Dawnstar and Nel Duwi had examined the surroundings with their hyper-senses before the Starhavenite exclaimed she had a trail and flew off due Galactic South.

The rest of the team were in a cruiser trailing them. The winged tracker was following the trail of the escaped meta-terrorists with her usual concentration. Tinya knew better than to ask Dawnstar how she was doing, despite the gnawing feeling in her gut that this mission was not going as well as it should....

<Officer Duwi and the Green Lantern could move a world by themselves if they wanted to, so don't worry Tinya. There are enough of us to deal with Mekt and his toxic friends> Element Lad sent through on a private bandwidth to the team leader on the other cruiser.

<That obvious I'm anxious, is it Jan?> The team leader replied.

<Not at all, but I would be if I were in your position> He gave Tinya a supportive smile.

Dawnstar interrupted with a message through the telepathic grid <The trail has gone cold... it is most frustrating!>

Surprisingly, Glorith added to the conversation. <I believe magicks were involved as the area rings out with forbidden energies... Thirl's Song of Warp... a necromantic spell>

<They were taken like Tuk Shir?> Tinya asked. She had a sudden chill race down her spine at the thought.

<No, no I recognise the magical signature this time and it is not pleasant news to share. This transportation spell was cast by the Shadowmancer. He used the fresh blood of a child murdered by his own hand to cast it.>

<Can you follow it Glorith? Can you take us to him...?>

There were a few seconds silence that followed though none of the team interrupted the mystic as she concentrated. The lines on the young sorceresses' face glowed ominously as she focussed eldritch energies onto the task.

<I am sorry. I will be able to sense it again if we come close though this way has been warded closed before me> Glorith bowed her head as she finished, ashamed that she could not do any more to help.

<don't worry, you've given us a good start here. We'll be on the lookout for Mekt and his bunch of crazies now. They won't stay free for long> Tinya sent across the telepathic matrix, careful to mask her doubts and worries from the team.

Little Loki - Magnus Laviksen of Nordhelm, illusion casting, strength
Thunderbolt - Ness Strakinos of Gardenhome, assume electrical energy form
Neutron Boy - Noor R'manali from the Hopper Colonies of the Alanorian Protoplanetary Accretion Disc, energy absorption and release, agility, hyper-acute senses


Magnus rather liked the name his fellow students had given him - Little Loki!

He knew better than most of the students or tutors here that Loki was far more than some fey godling that got his jollies by pulling pranks on the Aesir. Having been brought up on a world that revered the Viking way of life he knew that Loki was one of the most overlooked gods. For one thing, he was renowned amongst those that knew their history as often taking the time to work out solutions that the other gods, in their arrogance, had failed to find as they tried to bulldoze their way through any issue that arose.

Magnus Laviksen of Nordhelm had been a bit reserved when he had first attended the academy, he was after all brought up as a little more than a serf. Also, being shorter than most of the other humanoids on board the Home Base planetoid meant they tended to overlook him or treat him as if he were a child. He initially resented it, but had also quickly learned how to use this to his own advantage when needed. The solutions were there if he took the time to look for them... just like Loki.

It had taken a month but Magnus had come to realise that every student felt at least as overwhelmed as he had. Every world was different with their own customs and culture, and every student would have a unique perspective on what would be the societal-norm. Once he accepted this simple truth Magnus felt a lot more confident in his place here at the Home Base Academy.

His friend Shardwurd had encouraged him to go out more, meet more people and experience everything his new life situation had to offer. Magnus had tried and the young man from the high gravity Viking's world was finally beginning to show his true character in front of strangers as well as friends. If nothing else, he couldn't be accused of lacking in determination as he made a point of talking to at least one stranger a day.

But right at this moment, none of this mattered as he completed his daily training under simulated double standard-G's in a bid to maintain his muscle tone. One of the first holo's Night Girl had shown him when he arrived here was the effects of living in a lower gravity than where one had been brought up. Basically, he had to train hard or he would get really fat, really quick. As there were quite a few young ladies that had caught his eye he planned on keeping his rather impressive muscles for as long as he could.

One of those ladies was a relatively new student who called herself Thunderbolt and, like him, she seemed to spent a lot of time during the early mornings at the gym. Unfortunately for Magnus, she also spent a lot of that time with her classmates. Today he was glad to see she was with only one of them. The one that had joined her was tall, real skinny with a white banded prehensile tail. Magnus wasn't entirely sure what their relationship was but he really wanted to find out. Putting on a big smile the young illusion caster switched off the G-Sim weights before he sauntered across the gym towards his fellow students.

"Hey there, how are you today?" The stocky young man said loudly, waving a hand towards the two newer students as he got closer to them. Both waved back and smiled.

"Hi there," the pretty girl said with a brilliant smile.

"Hey, how are you?" Her tall classmate added.

"You use the G-Sim weights, don't you?" Thunderbolt asked.

"Ah, yeah, I'm from Nordhelm, so grew up in 1.85 G's... it's too light for me here. I don't want to get fat..." Magnus felt a little surprised at how much he had just opened up but continued to smile.

"Could you show Noor how to operate them?" She indicated her class mate and the weights before beaming Magnus a magnificent smile.

"I'm from a Hopper Colony..." Noor smiled, looking embarrassed, "anything above half a standard G for any length of time's tough on me so I need to build up muscle mass... Lydda suggested I try this." The tall thin young man said.

"It would be my pleasure." As Magnus said it Thunderbolt walked over to him and placed a hand lightly on his shoulder and thanked him. She stated they really did appreciate his assistance and also how she hoped he didn't get fat either as he had really good muscle definition... She casually slipped in that she had noticed them from the other side of the room.

At that point, Magnus knew it was going to be a good day.

Xanthu system:


Dream Girl understood that once her visitor had arrived, she would have only thirty-six hours left in this idyllic self-imposed exile in the Xanthu system before hers, Thom's and Mathilda's lives would change forever.

And as she had sent the invite herself a few hours earlier that day asking their visitor to join her, the platinum blond precognitive also knew the clock was ticking down.

For the last few days, she had been packing for the move. Thom, being Thom, wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea but that had never stopped him from joining her before and she knew damn well his pessimistic defences certainly wouldn't stop them now. They had work to do and according to the news feeds they had seen, the event that would ensure her visions would come to pass had happened five hours before. They were now on a countdown...

Nura had been having the same recurring dream for over a month now. Thom had complained bitterly for three solid days after she had first told him what had been foreseen. He had argued and presented her with a dozen different scenarios that could explain it away without their needing to leave their satellite home. She had initially been patient with him but on the third day of his sniping Nura snapped and told him in no uncertain terms that he should do what he was told. And after that Thom Kallor did exactly what he was told.

The screen before Nura pinged as it registered an approaching craft. Their visitor was about to arrive.

"I'll go let her in." Thom said from behind, their daughter was cradled in his strong arms with her head pressed into the nape of his neck, soundly asleep.

"Don't go, you'll wake Matty up darling, I'll do it. She's here because I invited her anyway."

Nura Nal made her way to their satellite home's small docking bay and waited for the shuttle to connect its airlock onto the satellite. It took a couple of minutes for the automated systems to complete their necessary functions ensuring the craft was secure and the atmosphere inside the docking strip was breathable before their guest strode confidently along the corridor.

"Professor Li, I'm so grateful you agreed to come. How was your journey? I hope you found us out here without too much bother." Nura felt unexpectedly nervous as she asked. Her dreams had made it clear that she needed her former teammates assistance going forward.

"Nura," the ancient elemental replied with a small smile, "...please call me Harmonia. The co-ordinates you kindly sent were perfect so it was no trouble finding your home. Though could I trouble you for a Green tea? Those Vikken shuttles have atrocious air conditioning systems, I find they dry my throat out something terrible."

Nura smiled. She knew that with Professor Harmonia Li on her side, they would be able to fulfil her prophecy - The two women would soon lead a Legion of their own and in doing so would save many, many lives and perhaps even reality itself...

Thanks for your kind reviews IB and Raz, they are appreciated!

I only have half an hour to myself today so I've posted this, though tomorrow and Thursday should give me more time so I can review Omni's, Raz's and GL's fics - I'm looking forward to them!

More, more, more soon as Zoe and Gahaji go on holiday but it goes wrong before they even leave the base... and then some interpersonal moments that I've been sitting on for a while and we'll learn why the Shadowmancer took those (non-unique) villains. Oh, and we'll get to Nura's plans, though not everyone will be happy with them.

Thanks again,

C

hahaha love the banter between Zoe and Gahaji. So cute!

2-3 hours debate between Tinya and Cham, wow! No wonder she's in such a bad mood. I myself agree with Tinya, many of the Espionage Squad members have abilities useful on other types of missions... Cham is one of the best examples of that

23 deaths! gosh... ooh former Academy students though,would be nice to check in on some of them. Interesting set of villains too... uh oh.... is someone forming an LSV, or a meta army? is Sa Lok also behind this? oh ok, Shadowmancer, hmm!

Jan's support for Tinya is touching. And he would know, nice reference to his being a former leader

Magnus re Loki, I like it. Fits in well with an illusion caster too, to be wily beyond just relying on illusions

nice point about moving from a high-g world to a low-g one... and nice acknowledgement that men can also be vain, heh. Noor's reaction also shows that. "I'm too skinny!"

Ooh Thunderbolt is also smooth...

hahaha I can just imagine Nura snapping at Thom, like "I'm the precog here, do as you're told!" Love that it came after 3 days of bitter complaining. I do get Thom's reluctance to leave their little home though
... but we all know Nura's visions always come true...

Harmonia!

And... to lead a Legion of their own!!?!?! Gasp!

colour me intrigued... and of course, cannot wait for more more more!

Can't wait to see what Mekt and the others are up to!

Poor Thom, he puts up with so much from Dreamy....I am intrigued about Nura and Harmonia leading their own Legion though!

This is so cool, Harbi. I'm in awe at how you can crank this out and have it be just a smooth read.

I really liked how Magnus' scene was written in such a way as to be in his head, but not a first person narrative. And having just finished New 52 Legion, I really enjoyed reading Nura and Thom with Harmonia.

Second Base

Lexikon - Princess Daheenisha of Tamaran iv, enhanced speed, strength, durability, flight, omni-linguist


The Tamaranean princess lay on her bed.

She had been in her quarters for over twenty-four hours, alone with her thoughts.

The Sphere had approached her several times but she had waved it away. She had no need of it right now and was not ready to speak to her family either... the golden skinned warrior needed time to think. It had been over a Tamaranean year since she had seen or spoken to her betrothed, Sky Lieutenant Annach'ha.

The agreement she had made with her aunts and the Queen meant she was overdue spending time with him.

The Tamaranean Legionnaire knew that it would not be accepted if she were to formally remind her family of their agreement and request their meeting. She knew her role was to serve. Her family owed so much to the crown that her duty was clear - her place was to do as requested and be grateful of the role. but still, the golden skinned warrior felt disappointed...

Being a member of the Legion had certainly distracted her; her teammates were an incredible mix of beings with a wide range of personalities that kept her fascinated. She had learned that the compassion the team were known for was certainly true, and she estimated that they were more deserving than even the most loyal media follower would give them credit for, for all their achievements and successes. They also squabbled as young children and siblings might, which she generally found amusing. It reminded her of her childhood with her sisters on the Okaaran plantations. That was before they had been given their life-duties, after that there was very little time for pettiness. The three Tamaranean princesses that had once played in the expansive gardens of their mother's estate were rarely together in one place again after that. Princess Daheenisha rarely thought of her sisters these days, though knew that they were out there in the wider universe doing as she was, their duty.

The Vegan Empire had only opened its borders within the last couple of years and trade between the United Planets and Khunds was tolerated though still not fully accepted. Her people had closed themselves off from the wider galaxy almost a millennia before with a ruthless strictness and overcoming the centuries of mind-set would take time. Her duty was to give the ruling houses information to affect the choices they made as the borders slowly came down, and Daheenisha hoped she had shown them that the United Planets may be worthy as trading partners in the years to come.

For as much as her duty and responsibilities took precedent, Sky Lieutenant Annach'ha still filled the princess's thoughts. He had been charged with process mapping their militaries response rates and capabilities, in case the opening of their borders did not go as peacefully as the Prime Psion had hoped.

They had last seen each other on a rain bleary sky-pad as his armoured cruiser completed its check-list before taking him away to visit the new military positions being set up within their home stars Oort cloud... And with this thought the Tamaranean princess decided that enough was enough, she could only mope for so long before she needed to break things. It was time to volunteer for whatever missions were away to take place. And she really hoped her physical prowess would be challenged as the adrenaline rush would help move her mind off how dreadfully lonely she felt right now.

Kinetix - Zoe Saugin of Aleph, telekinetic animation
M?Windaji - Gahaji of Kiringyaga, super tracker, carries the Ruby of Life allowing tactile transformative magic
Backlash - Mrruaw M?Nau of Simballi, enhanced strength, speed, senses, absorbs kinetic energy to boost own size and mass
Spoiler ii - Gord Eno of Naltor, precognition, specialising in short range visions for combat situation


Gahaji had moaned when Cece told them that they were only allowed 24 hours leave on Kiringyaga.

Tinya planned on holding a team meeting the next day and they all had to attend. At least Cece had the empathy to look sad as she broke the news over the holo. After they had broken the comm-call Zoe had smiled sweetly and told him to just shut up and make the most of it. They weren't going alone though, Thunder had also said they must take two of their colleagues, just in case... they had made sure the media broadcast that the bounty was called off but just in case anyone thought they would try to kill a Legionnaire they needed to be in a team of at least four.

Zoe immediately called up one of her friends - Mrruaw M?Nau. The tigerram had not initially been too keen but Zoe asked him along as she knew he was wary of Gahaji and hoped they could somehow make the peace between them. Gahaji, in a fit of petulance had asked who else they would take; he was already miffed that Backlash would be coming along on what he hoped would be a romantic break for him and Zoe. Zoe secretly hoped it would be Laurel or Jazmin but as she had already asked one friend, they decided to let someone else choose for them. They called up to the monitor board where Reep was on duty. He double-checked the roster and suggested Spoiler, the Naltoran former Pre-Commando. A quick call and he joined them minutes later in Henry's warp control room. Gord looked slightly baffled at his mission to join two colleagues he barely knew as they visited their relatives he definitely didn't know; on a world he had never heard of. Still, he thought, it would give him a chance to work on his inter-personal skills, learn something of the culture they were visiting, and perhaps if he was lucky, he would work on his tan... and as missions went it was pretty easy really!

Before they left Gahaji was careful to give the group a bit of insight into where they were going: Kiringyaga had some strict laws by UP standards and they had to remember they were guests, he didn't want any of them to accidentally offend his grandfather or...

"Your wife?" Backlash casually interjected. The broad feline face split into a wide grin.

Gahaji took a deep breath, thanked the tigerram for reminding him of his relationship to Cassanda, and continued. Women did not have the same rights as men, disrespectful language would always be severely disapproved of, they couldn't get too flashy with their technology... Backlash sat down, licked a paw before wiping behind his ears and purring loudly, clearly bored. Zoe tried not to giggle as Gord looked away, desperate to not make eye contact in case he started to laugh as well.

"Okay, just remember, we're going to relax and eat good food. We're not there to be Legionnaires... okay?" Gahaji sounded exasperated but gave a quick smile. "Henry, can we have a warp now please?"

The honey and violet warp spun in the air before them and the four Legionnaires stepped through.

Encyclopaedia Galactica - Kiringyaga was settled in 2613 by West Africans from Earth. This planetary population still use the settler's traditional language, in this case Swahili, as their first language over Interlac in most day-to-day conversations. The planetary government is called the Congregation of Fathers and they observe a strict rule that no women are allowed to attend their meetings. The society has strong patriarchal views, that include unmarried women not being allowed to own land, keep staff or be educated formally beyond a certain point. This has caused tensions between the United Planets and Kiringyaga as female ambassadors from the UP have been denied access to any governmental assistance. The Congregation of Fathers have also banned all technology that was not included in the bubble arc crafts that brought the first settlers to this distant world - "the Time of the Last Flight". This can leave unwary travellers caught short when their possessions are removed and destroyed before they can set foot on the world. Despite these seeming cultural limitations the world has solid trade arrangements with nearby worlds, a healthy population and an incredibly low crime rate. The Legionnaire known as M'Windaji ('Hunter' in his native Swahili) was born and raised here.


Cassanda and Ruhandi waited for them.

They looked blissfully happy to see Gahaji and warmly welcomed the team with him. Ruhandi walked with a stick, his frame still showed how broad he had once been, though the disease that had almost killed him previously - that his grandson had broken planetary laws to have healed - had obviously taken its toll. The old man walked slowly and carefully along the path towards the farmhouse. Gahaji automatically walked beside his grandfather, respectfully close in case the old man needed any assistance, but not actually holding him. Zoe walked on the other side of Ruhandi and chatted amiably with him, complimenting the old man on how beautiful his home and gardens were.

Backlash walked alongside Cassanda. The tigerram had met her before and allowed her to stroke between his ears. His tail pointed straight up, its tip vibrating with pleasure. Spoiler walked at the other side of the great horned cat. The Naltoran felt a bit out of his depth but thankfully found the older woman easy to chat with. The expansive gardens around the farmhouse were a mixture of areas full of fruit and vegetables, and delightful spots with arbours and seating areas amid a blaze of decorative flowering plants. Gord knew that there must be places like this on his homeworld but having been brought up in one of Naltor's infamous Block Estates he had rarely visited anywhere so open or expansive. He certainly had never smelled air so clean and fresh before. Without thinking, a grin spread across his face as he walked up the path.

On the expansive veranda stood Larissa and Josti, the farm's staff and also surrogate parents to Gahaji for much of his life. Both hugged the young tracker as he stepped up to join them. After quick introductions the Legionnaires were shown to their rooms, Cassanda insisted that while they were here Gahaji and Zoe slept in sperate rooms. Zoe giggled but didn't complain as she was led to a big room in the attic with a dormer window that overlooked the lake at the rear of the ranch. She stood looking out of the wide window for several minutes after Larissa had left, drinking in the gorgeous views. The horizon looked much further away than she expected and the vista was green, lush and alluring. While Gahaji had told her that he was lucky to have family here as it was one of the most fertile plateaus on this world, he had utterly failed to tell her just how gorgeous it was. After a childhood of being dragged around dusty old archaeology sites and university campuses, Zoe found the view to be quite stunning!

"Don't let the views fool you Zoe," Gahaji's deep voice from behind her, "This place is pretty but the politics can be harsh."

"Pretty is an understatement, this is the most beautiful thing I think I've ever seen..." Zoe continued to stare out of the window as she spoke.

"He's right of course. It's not the best of worlds, not if you've two x chromosomes." Cassanda stood in the doorway, a small smile on her face. "I wondered where the boy had sneaked off to, didn't have to guess too hard though... Zoe, can we talk please? Without you Gahaji... we'll be perfectly fine, don't worry, I'm not going to break out the baby-holos. Not yet anyway, I was thinking of saving them for after dinner." Her smile had grown and Gahaji smiled back as he bowed his head and quickly left the room.

"Our world is so, so beautiful when you look at it from a safe vantage point." The old woman spoke as she strode over to stand beside the red headed Legionnaire. "Don't get too close though... there's always a predator waiting to pounce, at least that's what the local proverb says. When my ancestors settled here, they terraformed two of the three largest continents to perfectly match the environments they had left behind and had taken a wide sample of the native flora and fauna to help populate this world..."

"It really is stunning Cassanda, I've never imagined as rich a vista like this exists in real life."

"Yes, but as Gahaji warned you, it looks pretty but there are dangers. You know that Gahaji married me so he could get permission to leave our world to join your Legion, and I'm so proud of him for succeeding. But there are those that are not, this is not a harmonious place; you need to understand that."

"Gahaji said that..." Zoe started to speak but Cassanda continued.

"Officially I am Gahaji's wife so if you two are seen to be anything other than work friends it will bring immense shame upon this house and affect his grandfather and their guild. Gahaji's honour would be seen to be tarnished and all our Hunters would face punitive damages. They are a small group like Gahaji and Ruhandi with the skill of tracking. The planetary laws say they must serve this world and the only way out of this is to show you are providing for your own family. Few Hunters are married young enough to have this route out. Gahaji was lucky."

"He always said I wouldn't understand what he had to go through to get to the Academy..."

"I dont believe for a second you wouldn't understand Zoe, you're clearly a smart lass. To be frank," Cassanda smiled, "...you really must be quite extraordinary if you can put up with him for any length of time..." Zoe gave a chuckle as Cassanda smiled. "There is a lightness about him that we've not seen before, and we reckon you're responsible. I'm so happy that he's found a strong woman that can show him how to open up his heart... but be aware, we are a stubborn people when it comes to what we see as right and wrong, and he has not had the easiest of life. Be kind as well as honest and I'm sure it will work out well for you... for both of you."

Before Zoe could answer a bell rang from downstairs; dinner was being served.

Unkown location:

Mekt Ranzz rubbed his eyes.

The being standing before him appeared as if they had been made entirely of the blind spots one got from looking at the sun. It was a very uncomfortable feeling watching something that did not have a set form as these painful blotches that seemed to compose its body shifted and morphed, and the Winathian was secretly pleased to notice that the other six villains taken from the T-G had been wiping their eyes as well or even actively looking away.

The assassin in the dark robe that had materialised and then multiplied inside the shuttle that had been carrying the villains, who went on to murder each of the guards and freed the inmates, stood at the strange being's side. Much like a well-trained dog, Mekt thought. At the other side was a Gil-Dishpan in a methane filled globe that had opened the warp here, and three others that Lightning Lord didn't recognise. The seven escaped villains were all playing it cool while they figured out what was going on. Slasher had muttered that if this was an SP trick, she would eviscerate those responsible, which brought a smile to the majority of the groups faces.

"Miasma, my trusted servant has brought you all here as I have a proposal for you." Its voice was deep and resonated around the ancient stone building they stood in. "Come work for me and I'll grant you your heart's desires."

<Mekt> Esper Lass sent <We can use this situation. Even if that weirdo doesn't do what he says...>

< Of course he won't. How many times have we heard this crock before?> Mekt replied without looking round towards her. He crossed his arms and tutted.

War Wolf had been turning pale as the being spoke.

"You're ... you're the Shadowmancer... I thought you were a legend." The mystic assassin said, obvious awe in his tone. His eyes were wide and it was clear that the usually unflappable mystic was scared.

"You are right, and if you accept my proposal, you and your colleagues will be part of my ...my Devil's Dozen. I will ensure you get everything in your hearts. All you need to do in is bring me enough unique beings of power to satisfy my hunger."

"My lord," War Wolf said as he took to his knees, "We will gladly serve you."

Hey folks, thanks for your very kind feedback, it is appreciated!

I just realised this weekend and next weekI'm totally booked out so it'll be a couple of weeks until I'll have time to post again so thought I'd drop these in to push things forward a bit, hope you enjoy!

Thanks again,

C

more awesome stuff C,

Lexikon and her family's attitude towards their royal position, as being one of service and sacrifice if need be. I like that. Poor lonely princess... nice glimpse into the world of Tamaran!

Having 4 always go together is wise, even if the bounty has been called off maybe not everyone knows...

Kiringyaga is so fascinating. Can see roots of... well... some modern day thinking there. Lovely convo between Zoe and Cassandra. It tugs at my heartstrings, echoes of the sacrifices people today also have to make for life: stay in a place with values against yours, or leave things behind to get off, like Gahaji did. and the arrangement: legally, Cassandra and Gahaji have to remain married, but everyone accept that Zoe has his heart.


Mekt seems to be the leader of this group, as Esper Lass only spoke to him. I like that Mekt is suspicious, and Esper Lass being canny... Slasher's violent streak too. you write them so well and so in line with their canon portrayals.

ooh, a new Devil's Dozen! so interested to see where this goes!

Hi Harbinger,

I've finally got a moment to catch up.

Things keep moving on. I'm glad Tinya didn't dwell to much. But not that she's going to get much of a moment to it seems.
Glad those warrants were fast tracked. I hope Tinya's right about this mission and that it will help bring the team back.

Makes sense that Dirk would still have a place to stay to get way from the Legion once and a while.
I'm glad he took a night off and didn't go out and party instantly as i could see that going pretty bad.
The whole scene at Drik's place was done really well. The bit where he set the couch on fire by accident was super funny.

You make a great point about the Legionnaires and how it is hard for them to find lives outside of the Legion and for some to really leave it behind. Even Brek who left came back because its hard to leave the life. Leave those you care about, the thrill of being a hero, the support system. So many aspects affect just who they are as people. Maybe that's something that has to be stressed at the academy from now on. life outside of the hero life sounds like a good course.

the exchange between Dirk and Thunder was really well done. They both presented each side and i agree with Thunder to a degree and that the team needs to meet to change things, because there are times the team comes across as ...well bullies. But i do fear without him there it will be hard, as it seems no one else has his view. But i still side with Dirk more than anything.
I know he's also pissed about that weak comment from Thunder and she should have thought a bit more about the wording because after everything he's been through he is definitely not weak. I hope they can work it out and salvage their friendship. But after the way he asked her to leave it might not be for a while...

Loved the missions to Rimbor to take down the labs. I loved that you had Henry warp the whole facilities, sublevels and all. I feel for the cadets who basically had nothing to do, Kid Quantum is such a power house.
the cleaver use of Gear's nannites to do the recon first was a good idea.
Tinya letting the team know there would still be things to hit was a funny moment.
It was cool seeing how easy the team took down the shops and really showed how affective the team can be. The missions with the team above ground taking out the opposition first was well done too.
Otaki was used really well and i liked that she didn't have to be in the thick of the crowd to be useful. the limitations with a lot of Psychics can make them hard to write.
these small teams worked well.
Nice acting chops on Solar Gorilla and using the confusion, fear, and anger of the crowd against the guards was a good idea.

XS and Cosmic Kid, quick and efficient. Loved it. This one would have been a great PR mission for the team. No one's hurt and the team looks great. But will say i'm slightly surprised when Science Poilice stand by and clap for them.
Damn Titan... real quick take down.
Nice use of Friction's powers and i like that Reep was willing to possibly take over her mentorship from Drik.

Really Jazmin? "character building"...that was kind of jerkish considering she was a cadet not that long ago and I'm sure she'd feel the same way they did.

I didn't realize Rimbor started off as a penal colony. But i guess it makes sense how their world became so corrupt.
I got a chuckle out of the gang name you chose. "the Black street Boys." haha. Sounds like a lame boy band.

A magic detector? Not something Dragonmage or Glorith offer considering how much concentration their powers take.
But i liked that she was able to handle herself without help even if it was too late to keep her from being noticed by the other guards. Her sounding insulted by Tyroc's worry was funny.

Tyroc and Glorith seem to have a bit of sniping going on. I wonder why that is. &#8203;
Triple Nova, good thinking firing on the ground when the blinding thing didn't work.
I'm with Tyroc this mission could have derailed everything had they gone first. but at least there were no casualties...
I have to say its interesting that this team didn't do much to protect those citizens. I know they're gang people and live on a corrupt world. But outside of Glorith's sigils the team didn't protect anyone. Tyroc's attack was pretty wide, did a lot of damage. The team has been working hard on their accountability and image, that it makes me wonder when they do things like this. I know there is going to be collateral damage. But at least this small team seems less concerned with that... &#8203;

Ort cloud mission:
Loved that Starkling is back in action. I know it had a really hard time after the Blight/Talok IV mission.
Atomsmasher confirming was well done.
I like when your team is able to compensate for each others weakness like with Mon-el and the lead stopping him.
I like that Southern Light's knows his limits about his powers/spells.
Green Lantern's attack sounded really cool and i liked how they took the debris from the wave of destruction it created to keep the bad guys from launching more attacks.
loved Non's attack taking out the bases energy.
Atomsmasher - stroked it gently both funny and action packed.
Go Dawnstar! i don't say that much. But she was really good here. Loved that she led it to Atomsmasher, who was ready for it!
Impact seems cool and i like that she and the other interns get together to chat.

I honestly love all the little groups you have going within the Legion. Your's is so large now that it makes sense to have all these little pockets. Because then when they get together with the other ones its always interesting to see their interactions.

Smart thinking Poltergeists.
I like seeing Mon-el joking in battle. he's often so serious or as you've had him in recent posts feeling like he was over this life, its nice to see him enjoying it again.
loved Mon-el's looking back on the team and its true your team has become super effective in a lot of ways. I like that he admits it was about egos including his own. That's hard for anyone to admit.

lol loved having Danielle show up. her smile after Mon-el's line was funny.
I love that even Babbage is in awe of Danielle and her skills.
Of course its a trap if the Dominators are involved.

Power Lass, Capt. Phantom, and Poltergeists banter was funny.
Good question, Sa Lok the master mind or the puppet...?
Dr. Kaboo is back! i hope this gives him the excitement he was looking for. Him strolling in with that apple.
The Dominator's chlor-tech is wow. They are super- evil to do that to their own people as a means of control. But a whole cast of chlor-tech sentients? that could mean even more planetoids for the legion to fight...
Damn! huge tally for captures. This is a big win for the team for sure.

Stopping just before Thunder's mission.

that's all the time i have for now. Can't wait to read more.

Otaki - Bina Nawoti of Earth, mindsense
Timber Wolf - Brin Londo of Zuun, enhanced strength, speed, agility, reflexes and senses
Shield - Laurel Kent of Earth, physical invulnerability, tactile psychometry

Power Lass - Science Police Officer Nel Duwi of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability



Otaki had a day off rota and had popped over to join in Thirteen's Naltoran meditation class on second Base. After it had finished, she had gone to the rec room for a hot cup of tea and a moment to herself as she always found these sessions to leave her feeling a little bit spaced out. The young psychic had only just sat down when SPO Nel Duwi had come in and politely asked if she could join her.

They chatted about recent missions though Otaki could sense the discomfort her colleague from the Science Police felt. Bina knew that Nel Duwi had a crush on her and while she was very flattered and definitely interested, she was also quite literally scared of getting crushed... the Daxamite was a powerful figure! And yet Bina didn't feel intimidated by SPO Duwi, instead the young psychic felt entirely comfortable in her company. Officer Duwi was someone Bina's grandmother would have called a 'kind soul', and Bina knew how truly rare people with that much compassion and generosity were, especially in the business they were in where it was all too easy to get jaded and cynical. Bina was aware that her own worries needed shoved aside; Nel Duwi was simply too good a catch to let slip without seeing where it went... surely the risk would be worth the effort?

The two young women had been chatting for twenty minutes and the conversation was beginning to stall before Bina said what was on her mind.

"I heard Shakes is having a Classic 2D movie night tonight, fancy joining me? I think it starts at 2000... so, if you'd like to join me, I'd love some company."

"Uh, yeah... yes, definitely! Thanks that would be great." Bina could sense the relief emanating from the Daxamite. SPO Nel Duwi had obviously been worrying about how to ask her for a date and Bina had done it instead. Nel gave a nervous grin and asked if they had announced which film they would be showing. Before Bina could answer Timber Wolf and Shield walked over and pulled up seats at their table.

"Hey girls, mind if we join? It's really quiet in here, isn't it?" Brin said.

"Hey Nel, what happened with that T-G transport earlier? Is it true that seven of those psychos escaped?" Laurel asked.

"I reckon is it's the LSV reforming." Brin said in a low voice, obviously not relishing the idea of a co-ordinated group of villains squaring for a fight.

"Ummm, yeah, so, I gotta go, sorry, I've... ah, got a report to finish writing up. See you later, eh?." Nel stood up and gave a small smile to Bina, the Daxamite's eyes imploring the Legionnaire to forgive her for leaving like this.

Bina could sense that Nel was not a fan of Brin or Laurel's - the psychic guessed that their rather lax approach to rules and protocols went against the Daxamite strict professionalism that she believed in. For a split-second Otaki wanted to take her hand and reassure her that Brin and Laurel were as big-hearted as she was but instead, she gave a wide grin and said they'd catch up with each other that evening. As SPO Duwi left the rec room Laurel looked across to her psychic friend and mimed putting a gun to her head before whispering "Sorry, so sorry Bina, we interrupted you, didn't we? Go after her girl, go on!"

Otaki smiled, "It's okay Laurel, I think we were reaching the edges of her comfort zone anyway... she's a Daxamite and you know what they're like, and anyway, this way she'll be extra nice when we meet up tonight." Bina smiled coyly and flicked her hair flirtatiously. Laurel let out a loud barking laugh before asking her friend what she would be wearing for the date.

"I'll never understand women." Brin muttered to himself as he looked away from the two young women as they chuckled and planned the evening together.

Kinetix - Zoe Saugin of Aleph, telekinetic animation
M'Windaji - Gahaji of Kiringyaga, super tracker, carries the Ruby of Life allowing tactile transformative magic
Backlash - Mrruaw M'Nau of Simballi, enhanced strength, speed, senses, absorbs kinetic energy to boost own size and mass
Spoiler ii - Gord Eno of Naltor, precognition, specialising in short range visions for combat situation


Kiringyaga


The meal was laid out on the table by the time Zoe and Cassanda made it to the dining area.

Gord had helped lay the table as Larissa and Josti had brought out the salad and platters of freshly cooked vegetables and what appeared to be a huge roasted bird. Backlash had lain by the open veranda doors sniffing the late afternoon air, his tail twitching from time to time as an interesting scent would catch his attention. There was a chaise-lounge at the end of the table set for him so, while the great feline didn't use a knife or fork, at least he could join his colleagues at the table to eat. Mrruaw stood up and thanked Josti but declined, stating he wished to run across the grounds and perhaps catch himself a meal. It had been too long since he had enjoyed fresh unprocessed meat...

"Ugh, gross..." Zoe said, with a disgusted expression. Gahaji and Gord both laughed at her reaction.

"Have fun," Cassanda said, "Though please don't take anything with a tag in its ear, they domesticated ...and ours. And be careful not to go beyond the fences at the far end by the lake, that's common land down there so anyone might be there and there could be hunters about... you would be seen as a great prize with your magnificent horns." Backlash gave a rumbling thank you and turned and strode out into the park-like estate that surrounded the farmstead.

After he left Cassanda spoke to Zoe about the rhythms of nature and how predators and prey were all part of the great cycle. Zoe became quite uncomfortable and changed the subject to the colourful decorations that adorned the dining area back wall. Ruhandi explained how each of the dozens of bright discs that were hung in a symmetrical fashion represented a successful hunt. Gahaji was clearly finding this subject awkward so interrupted to raise a toast to Josti and Larissa for the tremendous meal. It was an obvious attempt to steer the conversation away from the more visceral nature of Kiringyaga's culture. Gord remained quiet and watched the scene before him - in his own family's home this would have gotten loud and personal by now, but here, despite the uncomfortableness that both Zoe and Gahaji had clearly felt during dinner they all remained perfectly amiable with each other.

"Gord, are you okay? You're very quiet there..." Cassanda said across the table to the Naltoran.

"Just enjoying the meal. The sauce on these vegetables is ...bliss!" He smacked his lips and smiled. Josti and Larissa looked shocked, their happy expression falling suddenly from their faces.

"Umm, that..." Gahaji mimicked Gord smacking his lips, "it's seen as really rude Gord. I know you meant well but it means something very different here..."

"Oh Cassandra!" Spoiler said, "I'm so sorry, really... I didn't know. On Naltor it means, um, like, that means 'very tasty'..." He blushed furiously.

Cassanda laughed, breaking the tension. "You're alright there, we guessed... though you best know that here on KJiringyaga it means to kiss another person's behind." The rest of the table began to laugh, apart from Zoe who looked confused. Gord shrugged with a grin on his face before laughing along with them.

It was three hours later, after the food had been finished and a large cafetiere filled with freshly roasted and ground locally grown coffee beans was brought to the table that Gord asked where Backlash could be...

The table fell silent for a few seconds.

"Your friend is not on the estate... " Ruhandi said, the old man's tracking skills obviously were still strong.

"He's moving away from us." Gahaji jumped up from the table, Zoe and Gord followed as the tracker led the way out of the dining area onto the veranda overlooking the estate.

"We'll be back soon grandfather," Gahaji said, bowing his head to the old man before taking flight.

"ZOE!" Cassanda shouted as Kinetix took to the air. As M'Windaji and Spoiler took off she remained hovering waiting for the older woman.

"You cannot get separated from the men... a woman by herself will attract trouble." Cassanda said with some concern. Zoe kept eye contact for an awkward two seconds before replying.

"I'm a Legionnaire. Trouble is what I do." Zoe said bluntly before flying after her colleagues as fast as her flight ring could take her.

Duplicate Girl - Senior Team member, Luornu Durgo of Carggg, creation of multiple identical duplicates of herself
Dragonwing - Marya Pai of Earth, breathes dragon fire and acid
Monica Sade of Rimbor - strength, reflexes, line of sight teleportation
Lexikon - Princess Daheenisha of Tamaran iv, enhanced speed, strength, durability, flight, omni-linguist
Retro - Deen Toro of Ventura, limited reversal of personal timeline
Southern Lights of Starhaven - spaceflight, magic user

Intern:
Tectonik - Hardal of Granite Falls from Mondriak iv - geokinesis

Encyclopedia Galactica, Fringe Worlds edition - Sind-Ar-Shur was discovered in 2813 in the small system of Sindrux Minor and an automated terraforming unit was set up there fifty years later. Colonists finally arrived in 2942 and have reported a thriving agricultural ecosystem on the main continent's central plateau that measures roughly 33,000 klicks square. This is where the main settlement of Shikan is based. The population is reported to be still well under half a million though visas are being granted for those with a desire to relocate from the faster paced worlds of the United Planets out to the Fringe Worlds. Agri-engineers, medical staff and those with serious construction experience are likely to have their applications fast-tracked.


The alert had been broadcast through a Fringe World news channel - a serious disturbance was being reported on the small settlement on Sind-Ar-Shur and there were reports of an explosion and blasters being used. According to the news reports half a dozen beings had caused chaos in the centre of Shikan, the main township, and blown up a municipal building that acted as court house and centre for local government.

Luornu called for a team to join her and, within three minutes, they were flying through a warp into the twilit sky at the edge of the township of Shikan.

The town had obviously been created by cannibalising one of the terraforming stations that had converted the planets previous atmosphere and pumped oxygen for the humans who came to colonise. All the buildings appeared to be composed of metallic shells with mis-matched materials making their roofs. There were acres of crop fields all around that led to the horizon of the plain at one side and the edges of high cliffs half a kilck away in the opposite direction. The settling sun was in the process of turning these cliffs a soft pink with its fading light. In amongst this natural beauty though was a pillar of greasy looking smoke burning a sickening column of filth into the still air above from the centre of the township. They could see a small crowd and could hear shout and screams.

Luornu sent, <Lexikon and Southern Lights, you're the quickest, get down there and make sure everyone's safe. We can deal with the fire once we get the people clear. The rest of you keep your eyes open in case they miss anything>

The winged mystic and the golden princess sped ahead of their teammates and reached the crowd within seconds. They could see the large number of colonists rallying behind quickly erected barriers as several beings fired upon them from the steps of the burning building.

<They're mine> Lexikon sent before diving like a missile towards the group of armed warriors that appeared to be behind this chaos. Southern Lights had no doubt that the Tamaranean would take care of them, or at least distract them sufficiently until their teammates arrived, which would allow him time to check on the colonists.

Princess Daheenisha blew the first of the gunmen off their feet with a single punch and swooping around towards the second. They had barely registered that their colleague had been attacked before she pounced. The second gunman was bigger than the first and appeared to be of a reptilian species with a thick tail, and despite the powerful punch the Legionnaire landed on their chest they remained upright after staggering from the blow. Lexikon rained three punches in quick succession on their helmeted head that sent them crashing to the floor. While she had fought with this gunman the other four had turned towards her, weapons raised. The Tamaranean smiled viciously towards them, clearly enjoying the challenge.

Southern Lights flew down to the crowd, picking out a particular group that appeared to be huddled around several injured people. One of them pointed a handgun at him, while others crouched over their injured townsfolk to physically protect them from the strange blue-skinned winged man.

"We're from the Legion, we're here to help. Let me assist you." He said loudly, using a minor enchantment so that all that heard his voice would believe it... He didn't have time to argue, there were several seriously wounded people that would need his immediate assistance. The crowd moved aside to give Southern Lights room to land and he quickly assessed the wounded; there were four, all with serious blaster fire marks, there were another three that were already dead. He said a quick prayer for their spirits journey as he examined them. He could hear the distinctive 'pop' of Sade's teleportation followed quickly by a crash and the sound of Dragonwing's flames - his colleagues had arrived to assist Lexikon.

The young mystic from Starhaven murmured a spell that would tap into this world's bio-sphere, transferring a miniscule amount of life energy into the wounded. He would not be able to hold the spell for too long or it might affect the colonist's ability to ever leave this world but for the short term it was the quickest way he could think to keep them from bleeding out.

<Southern Lights, is everyone okay there?> Luornu's telepathic voice asked.

<No, I've stabilised a few with a spell that'll hold until they get proper treatment but several more are dead> he replied, finding it hard to keep his sadness from showing.

<We'll avenge them> and with that the link was broken.

While Sothern Lights tended to the injured in the crowd, Lexikon had dodged blaster fire from the five remaining gunmen.

As the gunmen focussed on catching the flying Legionnaire, Monica Sade had teleported behind them. The one nearest to her was easily over two metres tall and broad shouldered. She smiled as she jumped up to punch the back of his head, sending him spinning to the ground. Before he had landed, she had teleported to the next and similarly punched him on the head before 'pop' and she was back at the first, slapping an incapacity cuff on his arm. The second had not been as stunned as the Legionnaire thought and as Sade bent over to cuff the first gunman the second pointed his blaster at her back. As he started to aim his weapon, he was aware that there was someone at his side. He didn't have time to react as Dragonwing's flaming breath blasted him off his feet and down the broad stone steps.

Retro showed just what an accomplished hand-to-hand combatant he was as he easily dodged blaster fire by judicious use of his time-reversing abilities, and landed a high kick on his opponent's chin knocking them over onto the hard steps before jumping down to slap incapacity cuffs on their arm. Once he had done this Deen quickly scanned the crowd to make sure no-one had been struck by a stray shot; thankfully, none had.

Lexikon wrestled with a four-armed being that had electricity generating knuckledusters on two of their hands. The Legionnaire had taken one punch to the face and quickly returned a serious blow to her opponent.

"You are strong woman, but we own this world's stock, not you." It hissed as it wiped a hand across it's bloody face. Lexikon flew back into the air, several metres out of reach of the electric knuckledusters.

"You own shit!" Marya said as she released blast of dragon fire from behind the four-armed being. As they fell forward Lexikon swooped in and delivered a booming blow to their chin that sent them flying into the air before landing with a crash! Dragonwing casually sauntered to them and slapped a set of cuffs on their arm.

One of the gunmen was left, a short muscular man in a green robe with two enormous blasters. It wasn't enough to protect him though as a swarm of Duplicate Girls descended upon him and threw him around like a toy before knocking him unconscious. Multiple Lu's checked each of the unconscious gunmen to ensure they'd been cuffed as the rest of the team walked down the steps towards the now cheering crowd.

While the Legionnaires were taking care of the gunmen, the intern Tectonik had been using his abilities behind the burning building - out of sight of the fight - to smother the flames with sand he created by breaking down the hard natural rock that the township was built upon. He wasn't very pleased with this role though admitted to himself that of all the team present his powers were best suited to fire extinguishing. Hardal knew his fellow interns would tease him about it when the mission report was filed.

It took forty minutes before the wounded were settled into the colony's limited medical facilities and the crowd dispersed. One of Lu's selves and Retro sat with the town council in backroom of a local trader's shop. The rest of the team were outside helping fix damaged properties and calm the colonists.

"They've come here for the last four seasons, taking three quarters of all our produce. They leave us with just enough to feed our own people then take off in their gunship. They say they are protecting us but the only trouble we get is from them. This time several households refused them and so they blew up our Townhouse and shot some of those that had said no to them..." The middle-aged woman with short hair and a prominent nose who ran the council said. Her voice did not shake though it was obvious she had been frightened as she spoke quickly and didn't breathe for the whole time.

"Protection rackets are as old as civilisation. Idiots with weapons think it's okay to take advantage of other folk that don't have any." Retro said calmly. He knew he was stating the obvious but hoped by saying it that it might help her accept what her colony had gone through.

"I doubt they'll be back as word will reach the rest of them that the Legion were here, and if they are stupid enough to try it, you'll have a surprise for them." Luornu reached into a pouch on her belt and brought out a small disc with the team's insignia on it. "Just keep this somewhere close at hand so if you get any trouble press it. We can warp here in a minute. Next time we'll bring some trackers and take the fight to their base." The Cargggite Legionnaire saw the council woman's eyes widen as she took the small disc.

"Thank you... this means the world to us, we're farmers not fighters. We only had a few handguns to fight them off but... thank you, thank you so much."

"Oh, Lexi said she saw their gunship up on the cliffs, so, do you want it? We'll check it out and it could be your world's first armed response unit?" Retro smiled as he asked.

<We can have Gear get his nannites in it, that'll help, won't it?> Lu smiled as Deen sent this suggestion through the telepathic matrix.

<Good idea, they'll fix it up and keep an eye on the colonists. And it'll give the townsfolk something to fight back with if those thugs try it again, that should help rebuild their confidence as they get over this>

The Legionnaires remained for a little over three more hours. Element Lad and Dr Shakespeare led a group of interns and students through a warp to help out and by the time they all left the medical surgery was fully stocked and, other than a bare foundation where the council building had once stood, there was no sign of the destruction the racketeers had inflicted on this colony on the edges of space. No-one mentioned that there were several new graves needing to be dug.

The team were never to find out, but in the decade that followed many children on Sind-Ar-Shur were given the name 'Legionnaire' or 'Hero', and all were taught from a very early age how to defend themselves and their properties.

The mob running the protection racket never returned.

Hi Omni, thanks for your kind words, am glad you're still enjoying these stories. I really enjoy your reviews.

Next up, Gahaji tracks Backlash and has to face something he really doesn't want to, Zoe gets to cut loose, and we'll have a side trip[ to Lallor. After that we'll see some advancement for a few of the interns, Dreamy, et al, return and the the team will never be the same again, and then a cliffhanger that'll bring us to the end of LW7 and set up the big bads for LW8.

More, more, more soon

C

hi Harbi, more awesome stuff!

(also quoting my earlier points, in case you missed them :-) such a big fan of your work, and I want you to know that!)



Otaki and Nel, how cute! I think they would make a lovely couple... and good points highlighting the practical pains a Daxamite would face dating someone without their powers! What I liked most though, was that Bina took the risk because of Nel's kindness and compassion too many people focus on the outside first... also super funny about Nel not liking the less strict ones like Brin and Laurel. Otaki is really insightful, and I think it's more than just her mind-sense. You've taken a bit, minor character from canon and really fleshed her out, well done. also cool that Laurel was perceptive enough to figure things out. I am a bit interested in what Daxamites are like, though indeed I could see Mon-El acting in some ways like Nel did! and poor Brin, out of his depth, he's really a loner and I guess a lot of this went over his head eh?

Backlash as a hunter. I wonder how happy he must be to be back in his element so to speak; and also good point that locals might not realize he is sentient!

Love the lens on the cutlural differences here. makes sense Zoe would not be used to things like hunting... also a funny situation re cultural differences. Poor Gord, but that's a situation so many of us have been in!

Yup, figures also that Zoe would NOT let something like cultural norms re females stop her! I really love how you write her.

Southern Lights is very practical - can I also have that believability spell? And love seeing Lexikon enjoying the battle. You also write Retro and his time-rewinding better than I ever could...! Every line Dragonwing utters is gold as well

What a lovely done-in-one on Sind-Ar-Shur, really heartwarming how the Legion not only stopped violence that day, but also ensured the future of this little colony! Well done, well done, and also good job having so much happen in such a relatively short post - such a gift you have!

Harbi, I'm really enjoying how you flesh out these cultures and make them pop.

Your Zoe is great - NO ONE PUTS ZOE IN THE CORNER!

And I'm looking forward to see the new Devil's Dozen! THere will be twelve right? (I joke when I say that as I recently re-read the original Evillo story and laughed that he had like five guys on his team or something like that...)

Hi Harbinger,

here's my second half of my review and it looks like I've got even more to read!
a two pronged assault makes sense.

Henry is really sassy with certain members. I like it but it makes me wonder why. like why not just tell Thunder no? lol

Its nice to see Element Lad back in action too. i know he's been back for a bit. But when he revels in the missions its super nice to see he can still be the hero we know and love.
I feel this way honestly about any of the old crew as i realize Mon-el has a similar reaction that i really liked.

hmmm a low tech bunker...I'm with Cap. Heavyweight. This seems to good to be true.
Thunder and Strobe were super lucky. Although, i find it odd that Gear's nannites nor Thunder for that matter thought to check for any kind of defense like a bomb. Like fail safes, because even if they caught Sa lok he would still want to destroy evidence which might be there on the compound or even use it as a means to escape.

Cap. Heavyweight vanished???
I loved this bit with his wife, Anje Falkner and that she can't sense him any more. Very Jean Grey. lol.
I'm guessing since they've married/ bonded she's never felt this disconnect before.

I liked this line because its not often we get a sense of what its like to teleport. Each variation of it must feel different. maybe something to explore.

Ahh i had forgotten Sa Lok had a seer with him now.
Damn he's cold. lowest rung? not a big deal? that loss sounds huge. So this has been the plan for a while. was this just the next phase of Psyche's plan to help combat the legion if her initial plans didn't work out?
Please tell me someone thought to freeze all of his assets so he can't build a new planetoid.
Heavy metals...could part of what their using to manipulate the meta-gene is Nth metal? which if i understand my current DCU, Nth metal is present in all those who have a Meta-gene as that designation is short hand for Metal-gene?? Could they have found a supply of it? or could a bigger bad be on the horizon???

So magic can block both Dawnstar and M'Windaji's abilities??
I love that you have all these members whose gifts could possibly help. But still somehow don't.
It's easy to forget how young Dragonmage and Glorith are because of how powerful they can be.
How many branches of magic are there? My curiosity is very peeked with that.
Southern Lights is such a sweet heart.

Ahhhh the Comets. its like watch a sitcom with these two. The one no one understands and the one who has no filter. lol.
Tel and Thirteen's moment was well done. I'm glad Tel is learning to not only laugh but laugh at himself. Seeing Tel literally learn the differences between interactions is both funny and cringe at the same time.

Hahaha another Legion planetoid? Harbi idk how many more you've got coming but this might end up being a bigger problem than a boon for the team.
Not surprised that Cham would want one for the espionage squad.
Ivy is her name? nice. I like it. cool take on the baby super hero motif. But i hope this doesn't mean that as the plane and the chlor-tech grows that she...well dies. It be interesting to have a Dominator as a member of their ranks. I know some of the team would take issue. But if the Khunds can be turned into potential allies anything is possible.

Dragon Lass and Glory, super sweet idea. But always remember do research to make sure!
this is a really fun group of interns and its clear they are becoming friends more so than just teammates.

This line kind of made me sad. I hate that they have to hide this kind of excitement about their work. I get it though. many of the Legionnaires wouldn't be to thrilled with seeing it. Sometimes i wish there was like a swap that could happen and the older team members could know what it was like to be young again and have that excitement while letting the new guys take over and see just what their getting into without it being a major problem (i.e some bad guy up to shenanigan's.)

Man you are really putting Tinya through the wringer emotionally as team leader. But i lobed seeing her and Tasmia spar and highlighting their friendship.
Thank heaves for Theena. otherwise that bounty could cause some serious trouble.
good point about Lady Memory and who knows she could be willing to teach more after she gets a taste for it. look at Chameleon Girl.


Hahah loved this line.

Gahaji and Zoe are cute and i'm glad they've kind of sorted out their issues.
Hand dancing? all the rage. haha. i can see her doing it but i can't not laugh at it. makes me think of like a 60's go-go dancer whose to cool to actually dance.
ooo meeting the family is big!!!

I'm kind of with Tinya on this one. As much as a new planetoid for espionage only, would be nice, it takes away from the rest of the team. although, i'm surpirsed we just don't have a team that is 100% stealth at this point. so stealth that half the team thinks their an ubran legend. kind of like in the Threeboot with atom girl. lol ;P
"quiet vacations." ah Jo. he is missed.

This small but effective list of villains is not going to make things easier on anyone. But if it wasn't Cap. Heavyweight who freed them then who...?

Did Jan read it from her expression or did Tinya let some of her anxious thoughts slip on to the communal telepathic-grid?

wow Shadowmancer is back? I'm sure Sister Eclipse will have something to say about this...

The return of Magnus and you've named him little Loki. haha love it. i love when you dive into a worlds mythology. That's right Magnus the legion isn't just about punching and zapping things.
its very easy to get wrapped up in ones own mind and not see that others share the same and/or similar issues/burdens.
Makes total sense that different team members from various world would have different requirements when working out when it comes to gravity.
love the idea that he has to go out an meet new people/at least one stranger everyday. Something so many of us in the real world should probably do to keep ourselves open to the possibilities that may bring. But its so much easier to write that than to live it. (speaking from personal experience there as a homebody lol)


i couldn't help but chuckle a bit at this line and section.

Hold up! Dreamer had a vision about saving lots of people and didn't go to the Legion? Please share the vision she had cause now i gotta know what she saw if she's calling in Harmonia.
of course Thom argued. I don't know if he just hasn't gotten it by now or he's an optimist, heck maybe even a masochists, but when Dreamer has a vision you follow!
I hope they can save their home.

it has been a while since we've heard form Lexicon. I'm glad she's still around. She'd engaged? did not see that coming.
awww hearing how lonley she is really made me sad. but come to think of it i don't recall her socializing much with the other Legionnaires...
I'm glad she is learning from the team thought even if its not on a personal level to help her star system.
its kind of sad that her leaders think like that about the U.P. but makes sense. better to be prepared than unprepared.

I'd hate it too if my weekend got cancelled.
Good on Thunder to make sure they are all safe. Teams of four works well.
Backlash is very protective. He clearly has issues with Gahaji. But at least he's open about it. i just hope it doesn't cause issues on mission.
Spoiler II is along for the ride? I like how you had it in story as to why the random person selected was there. I know sometimes when i try to change it up and have differert characters interact it doesn't always make sense. so this was nice to read. Plus, and i'm sure it was Zoe's idea that was really nice of her.
I wonder why Gahaji didn't suggest one of his friends. or does he not really have any of his own within the team?
why do i have the feeling that them not listening to Gahaji about his culture is going to bring up problems?
Man, the more we hear about his world the more i'm not impressed. No new tech? women taking the backseat in everything? sorry a world not for me.
Although its nice that Gahaji doesn't hold the same attitudes towards women. i could see that causing many issues with many of his female teammates.
loved Spoiler and Zoe's reaction to Gahaji's home world. I understand how he feels in a sense, after living in a city for the last decade i find myself looking for wide open places that are easy to walk and explore.
Cassandra's blessing/warning was well done. Damn poor Gahaji, that's tough spot to be in.


Loved this exchange because its so true. how many times have they heard that. even from themselves to other villains.
A Devil's Dozen huh? making deals with devils never ends well for anyone.

Bina and Nel's moment was super cute before Brin and Shield came over and loved that Brin ended up being the uncomfortable one.
I guess i can see Nel's POV on both Timber Wold and Shield.

learning that smacking of the lips means to kiss someone's behind was priceless. lol
Damn it Backlash...i hope its just a mistake and not him being captured. Zoe...i don't know if that was the right response. but love the gumption!

i loved the mission to Sind-Ar-Shur! very simple and one and done. But what i loved was what came out of it. how the culture changed, and how the team made sure they were set up with what they needed. so few times do we get to see that in these stories. But it was also cool that it wasn't a specific team members the culture attached to but the idea of hero/legionnaire as a whole.

Can't wait for more!!!