Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business 21st Century Legion - Original Draft Version

Just an idea to play around with:

Reinvent the Legion as a 21st century (Earth-based) super-hero team. How would it work stripped of its futuristic sci-fi setting? What would the new origins of the characters be? What would the series be like? Should it be part of the mainstream DCU, or an alternate reality?

[Note, remastered version here: http://www.legionworld.net/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=96344 ]

Interesting exercise, Eryk. I'll do the first part.

Let's start out with the Ranzz origin. Since it's unlikely for them to have landed on the planet Korbal, I postulate that twins Garth and Eileen Raines and their older brother Mark were vacationing on a boat when they came upon an island somewhere in the Carribbean. It was a secret outpost for a clandestine government and was populated by mechanical "lightning beasts" that protected its secret lair. Garth (or Eileen, take your pick) got the idea to use the beasts to recharge the boat's motor, but the move backfired and, well, you know the rest of the story.

Mark Raines, realizing the enormous power he now possessed, left their farm home near Winthrop, Kansas. Garth took a plane to the the city of Metropolis to search for him. And that's where he ran into ...

great start HWW !!!! but i'll let someone else continue .....

Matthew.

I'll take a stab at Saturn Girl.

Checkmate in conjunction with STAR Labs and Camus are trying to develope superpowered operatives. Young Irma Ardeen has tested high in telepathic tests. Through a series of trainings, meditations, and chemical therapy, She has become the premier telepath at Checkmate.

However, her power gives her access to the plans for various government leaders and how they would use her and any knowledge that she can gather for them. She is able to destroy all records of her time at Checkmate (etc.) and plants a subconscious command that they are to forget about her.

While flying to Metropolis, she encounters.....

Aboard the plane bound for Metropolis, Garth Raines encounters Rex Kline, a high school basketball champion from Braydon, MN, who was known back home as "Cosmic Boy" for his amazing feats on the court. What no one knows is that Rex and his younger brother, Paul, have amazing magnetic powers, due to their father's exposure to an experimental form an electromagentic radiation in the laboratory where he worked.

Rex's college scholarship was cancelled when Braydon was hit by an economic downturn. So, with the last of the money he's saved, Rex is flying to Metropolis to look for a job. On board, he and Garth spot two other passengers, a gorgeous blonde named Imra Ardeen and ...

Billionaire transportation mogul R.J. Brande, on his way home from a meeting with Bruce Wayne, with whom he discussed some revolutionary technology his company has developed based on a recovered boom tube.

But after thoroughly covering its tracks, Luthor Corp. has sent assassins to off R.J. and steal the technology for Lex Luthor.

While deplaning with her two new friends (and isn't that redhead a cutie?), Irma gets a mental image of what the assassins are about to do. She warns Garth and Rex, who use their powers to disable the crooks, who, of course, have no knowledge who their real employer is.

After heaping them with thanks, R.J. turns to his assistant and ward, Lorna Durgo (no Lorna Doone jokes, please) of Carthage, Mo., and says, "Get these kids names and numbers. I want to see them in my office first thing tomorrow morning. I see great things in their future."

Meanwhile, a young woman of the European aristocracy is chafing under her mother's strict control. As daughter to the U.N. Ambassador, Tamara Wazzo (I couldn't use "Tonya", could I?) enjoys New York but longs for adventure and romance. Although her family had long practiced a branch of witchcraft which permitted them to become phantoms, Tamara has only used this power in the secrecy of her home. She believes she could use her abilities to help people, if only she knew where to begin - and could get away from her mother.

*INTERLUDE*
I just wanted to say I'm loving this guys! Keep it coming!
*END INTERLUDE*

After working late into the evening, Lorna Durgo has finally identified and tracked down the three "kids' names and numbers" and has arranged a meeting with R.J. for them at 10:00 AM the following morning. In order to accomplish this, she has had to put off tons of work that keeps accumulating on her desk.

Sighing at the long night that awaits her, she dials the phone to order Chinese food. As she places the order she gently strokes the latest addition to her "genie" lamp collection, which is displayed in the place of honor on her desk (reserved for her latest acquisition.)

As she waits for the restaurant employee to take her order, she sighs again and wistfully thinks "I wish I could split into three so I could keep up with all this work." There is a sudden, brilliant flash of light followed by billowing smoke, both of which combine to leave her momentarily blind.

As the smoke and her sight clears, she sees her reflection in the mirror across the room...but she's seeing triple! Or is she? Looking to her sides, she realizes that her wish has been granted by the magic "genie" lamp! There are now three of her!!!! She's triplets!

The 16-year old boy loved his part-time job at the costume rental shop. He had always enjoyed disguising himself as somebody else, imitating voices and mannerisms to perfection. Was it the role-playing or the subterfuge that was so appealing? His father, an undercover cop, thought the boy had a great talent for disguise and deception - and encouraged him, teaching him the tricks of the trade. Reed Daggly planned to follow in his father's footsteps someday, although, at this point in his life, he didn't know if he wanted to put in the years required to be assigned to undercover work.

It was a slow Saturday afternoon at the store, and Reed spent some time looking through a newspaper. His attention was captured by a story about three teens who had saved a rich businessman...

I was just thinking that certain Legionnaires' origins would not need to be changed at all or very much.

Colossal Boy - Just change the vacation to someplace other than Mars - Inhales fumes from strange Meteor
Ferro Lad - Mutant with disfigured face - post-boot origin puts him in the 21st century anyhow
Invisible Kid - invents invisiblity serum
Sun Boy - locked in experimental reactor by father's disgruntled employee
Karate Kid - trained by sensei
Bouncing Boy - ingested experiemnetal synthetic rubber formula.

Any others that wouldn't need to be changed?

Well, there's also that offshoot of the Ute tribe that lived downwind of the U.S. government's Nevada Atomic Test Site, and got more than a normal dose of radiation. Fortunately, though, rare chemicals in their water supply diverted the particles into having nearly entirely benign effects, and the last three generations seem to have been growing bigger and bigger wings on their backs.

Nobody could take photos of these people, though, as the radiation in the area both made visitors sick and screwed up the film in their cameras. Still, one particular family had also gained what a particularly desperate reporter for the Enquirer mis-described as "psychic powers ..."

Meanwhile, in Carlsbad, California, Jose Rimbaud has paddled his surfboard out to catch the waves. All his friends heeded the reports that advised against surfing in the high storm surf, but "Surfer Jo", as he was known in the community, couldn't resist the swells.

Now Jonah is a pretty strong swimmer, but this morning the waves are pretty strong even for him. He misjudges the wave and it throws him down, deep beneath the surface. For a moment he's too disoriented to know which way is up. He swallows some water and for the first time he starts to think that just maybe he might have made a mistake.

He desperately swims for the light but something seems to be sucking him down. It feels like he's in a whirlpool and darkness surrounds him. GULP.

He's washed up...somewhere...in a dank cave lit by phosphorescent fish. It stinks. It really, really stinks. He notices that the water is acidic and seems to be eating away his neoprene suit. He climbs up on a pile of flopping fish and tries to figure out just what has happened to him.

...to be continued.

Sally Digby is the shy but intelligent daughter of a faculty member at Ivy University. There she befriends Professor Ray Palmer, aka the Atom, and learns of his ability to shrink in size. Without Palmer's knowledge, she repeats the same process that gave him his powers. Fortunately, there are no side effects and she is able to shrink to sub-atomic size with no problems. It is also there that she meets a prodigy by the name of Lyle...

Quentin Docks was the fifth - and only successful - product of a designer baby program, code-named Brainiac, conducted by a black-ops division of Star Labs. The genetic manipulation raised the boy's intelligence far beyond that of any other human being, but he still lacked the social skills that developed throughout childhood. Both parents were totally absorbed in their work at Star Labs and regarded him more as a successful experiment than a child.

Quentin grew up on his own, with free reign to pursue whatever interested him within the confines of the premises, quickly surpassing the best scientists. The directors began to get nervous as the years passed and wondered if they could possibly control him as he reached his teen years. They began to look around for a way to unload the boy and wash their hands of whatever he might do in the future. Someone suggested the maverick R.J. Brande might be interested in hiring him....

Zoe Saunders and her mother Azura are investigating some ruins in Western Europe. Zoe decides to bring up a subject that has been on her mind for a while: her upcoming prom back home in America, which will take place in six days, just enough time for her to fly back home, pick out a dress and line up a date.

Unfortunately for her, Azura confesses that she has forgotten about the prom completely, and as things stand now they have no way of making it back in time.

Distraught, Zoe runs off into the ruins. She can't belive that her mother has ruined her life AGAIN! Bad enough that she doesn't get to hang out with her friends anymore, but she has to spend most of her time in creepy, smelly places like this one!

Angrily, she kicks at an old, crumbling wall. Suddenly, the wall crumbles to dust, revealing a glowing pool of energy...

The crew of the Japanese whaler was excited. This would be the biggest whale they had ever caught! They chased it for over a day before they finally harpooned the giant creature and brought it to the surface.

"That's no whale," cried the Captain. "That's GODZILLA!"

...to be continued...

Years ago, out in the windswept plains of New South Wales, Fred and Myra Kallor worked to put the final touches to their revolutionary gravito-scope, assembled near the massive Parkes Radio Telescope. Unbeknownst to them, a comet dragged to earth by the malfunctioning device was to have dire consequences not only for their project, but their infant son Tom...

Tatiana Mallor clutched the book tightly to her chest as she struggled across the rocky beach. She hadn't expected the wind to pick up, but that wasn't too uncommon along this part of the English coast.

Everyone had told her that her grandmother had drowned in the ocean, but she knew better. That was impossible. Her grandmother Lydia Mallor had secrets, and Tatiana knew where she kept them -- in the book she now held. Lydia had been taken by the shadows.

Tatiana finally reached the line of caves. Someone long before her grandmother had marked one with a small sunburst, though Lydia had kept the groove fresh in the constant barrage from the blasting sea. Tatiana counted eight to the right and went in, letting muscle memory take over in the darkness.

She had been in this cave countless times and knew every rock. She wasn't afraid of the darkness. It wouldn't hurt her, but still -- shadows could be unpredictable. The familiar "ta-lok" of dripping water comforted her as she reached the spot she was looking for.

She pulled a candle from her pocket and set it on the stone table. She lit it and opened the book. She didn't know every word, but she knew enough to find the spell of communion. Lydia had always taught her that her ancestors were very important and that she could come to them in dire need.

Need didn't get more dire than this. Her grandmother had disappeared, leaving things in disarray. Her grandmother's house was going to be sold, and though Tatiana's father and uncle couldn't care less (they wanted the money), Tatiana knew she couldn't let this place of power go to someone who didn't know what he was getting -- or worse, someone who did. But she was only 13 and didn't know what to do.

So she read the words of the communion spell and waited. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then she noticed the small circle of light around her getting smaller, though the flame hadn't dimmed. She smelled her grandmother's perfume and snuffed the candle.

A familiar touch wrapped around her, and Tatiana knew her grandmother was with her. She could also feel other pairs eyes watching her, and she thought she heard a sniff of incredulity.

"Oh, Tati," Lydia's voice whispered. "The shadows took me away too soon. If only my sons ..."

"Grandmum! I knew they were lying to me! I knew you'd be here! Father is going to sell your house so he can buy us some stupid fancy flat in London! What can I do?"

"Hush, child. Everything will be fine. Do you think I'd leave this place totally without defense? I knew your father and uncle wanted no part of their destiny, but you, Tatiana, you and your cousin Gregory may be the greatest of us all."

Again, the snort.

"Greg? But he's only 10!"

"I know dear. Now listen closely. I have much to tell you, but this spell won't last forever."

Three years later, Tatiana lived in Lydia's large, rambling house with her parents, aunt, uncle and cousin Greg. Tatiana had returned from the cave with a will, leaving the property to her and Greg with no option for sale. One look in Tatiana's darkened eyes told her father and uncle this was not to be contested. They knew where she'd been, and as much as they had never wanted to believe it, they knew the family's ancient power had been passed along.

Reluctantly, they moved their families into separate wings. Provisions had been made so that her father and uncle could continue their business, while Tatiana and Greg learned their grandmother's secrets in a dark cave.

(Edited to fix duplicate name -- sorry, FC, I didn't look back on the first page)

The rescue ships searched the waters for days looking for survivors of the ill-fated whaler. So far they had only found three. One was near death, the other refused to say anything about what had happened, while the third was obviously driven mad by the experience. All he would do is scream "GODZILLA" and hide beneath the covers.

They were just about to call off the search when one of the helicopters spotted a bizarre sight: a teenaged boy clinging to his surfboard in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

In the aftermath of its battle with the whaling ship, the radioactive sea creature had disgorged young Jose Rimbaud, but the experience had forever altered the California surfer. As the Navy doctors who examined him were about to learn, Surfer Jo was now the Boy with Ultra Powers!

The girl in white was determined to make her plan work. The wind was fierce this December evening in New York City. She looked up, to the top of the grey building in front of her, took a big breath, and went in. "Yes? May I help you?". The security guard was a big man. He was flanked by 4 others. "I would like to see Mr. Brande, please". "I'm very sorry, but Mr. Brande doesn't see anybody without an appointment." This was as she thought, R.J. Brande had a reputation for generosity that attracted many people in need to his offices. Tamara looked at the guard, smiled, and said: "I see. Where can I make an appointment, please?". She knew exactly the answer to that question, the large queue to her left was obvious enough. And she had been here before, visiting with her mother, Countess Winona Wazzo, second in line to the Austrian throne and ambassador of her country at the U.N. That had most certainly NOT been a nice visit. R.J. Brande had seen right through the usual insincere unctuousness of the Austrian heir, and had politely but firmly refused to take part in Winona's political schemes to return Austria to a monarchical system. "The Austro-Hungarian Empire must rise again!". Yada, yada, Tamara had heard this line from her mother throughout her life. She had never been interested in this, Austria was doing quite well as a republic, but her mother's obsessions did cause some problems. For example, R.J. Brande had sworn never to see Countess Winona again. And he would certainly not be inclined to see her daughter, either.

Tamara looked at the guard, smiled politely, and with a gentle bow of her head, turned towards the long queue. When she reached a corner, she turned towards the wall... and disappeared. She knew exactly where R.J. Brande's office was, but it still took her a while to get through the myriad of offices unseen. Fourty-five minutes later, she had made it. Nobody had seen her (she was quite proud to have had the patience to wait until people got out of her way) and she was standing inside R.J. Brande's door. She looked inside, through the darkness. In addition to R. J. Brande, there were six people in the room, two boys and four girls. Three of the girls, triplets, obviously, were sitting on a sofa, holding hands. The fourth girl, a stunning blonde, had her hands at her temples, and was watching the triplets intensely. The men were looking from behind. And suddenly, the triplets... merged into one person! The blonde woman lowered her arms, smiling, but then frowned and looked straight towards the dark office door. "There is someone else here!", she said, and two seconds later, Tamara was surrounded. "The Austrian princess!" R.J. Brande was not pleased. "Hi. I'm Tamara, but you can call me Tina".

The village of Trom was abuzz with talk of strangers being spotted nearby. Young Jan Arrah was excited. He hoped that he would get a glimpse of the strangers. He had dreamed of exploring the world outside the village, to see the cities from which the village ancestors came from. Occassionally certain villagers were selected to go into the outside world. Jan's father had done so.

According to the stories, centuries ago a group of alchemists in Munich had discovered the secret of changing one metal into another. It was a great discovery. But there were those who wanted the secret for their own personal gain. There had been fights and death in the struggle over the secret. Finally his ancestors had prevailed. They knew the secret was too dangerous for the outside world, so they took their families to this remote area and founded the village of Trom. Hidden from the world, the villagers kept guard of their secret power.

Jan spent the afternoon scouring the countryside, looking for the strangers with no luck. Tired and hungry he returned to the village. What he discovered there shocked him. All the houses were now just charred and smoking ruins. The villagers' bodies, his friends, laid everywhere. Running to his own home, Jan found his father and mother on the floor. Dropping to his knees, he cradled her in him arms, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"cough, cough" She was still alive, but just bearly. "Mother what happened? What should I do?" "Jan? Is that you? It..it was the strangers. They came looking for our secret. But we did not tell them. cough, cough, choke. Jan? You are safe? You must hide. You must get away from here." His mother clutching at him, her fear and desperation evident in her voice. "Run, my son. Save yourself!" With that she collapsed, breathing her last.

Jan looked for any other survivors, but they were all dead. Jan knew he could not stay here, but where could he go? Then he remembered all the stories his father had told him of his time in the outside world. There was one man whom his father had repeatly said was the best of all the outsiders - RJ Brande. Jan would find this RJ Brande and seek his help.

It was finally happening! The Legion was forming! Nura sat up from her futon, beaming towards her sister Maizah. But of course she knew already, Irma had probably broadcasted her news to all of her 'telepathic' friends simultaneously. Nura stood up, and walked towards a window covered in intricate wooden patterns. She peeked outside, towards the other soaring skyscrapers in the blazing sun. That it had come to this, having to flee from one's own father! It would be nice, though, to finally see that place she had always dreamed about, America!

But first things first, they had to get out of here. And that was not going to be easy. Maizah ("the discerning one", how appropriate!) was already packing, putting a few prescious books she had taken from her father's library into a camel-leather bag. Nura did not have much to put into her bag, but this did not concern her. They were finally leaving! The Legion would be a success, she had foreseen it. She put her burka on and opened the door, Maizah two steps behind her, also covered from head to toe. As the two sisters started walking down the hall, Maizah waved her hands, and all sounds from their walking were muzzled. Maizah had been preparing for this moment for a long time, waiting for their father to leave the house. She was not going to let themselves be caught. The two sisters reached the stone steps, and walked down the fourteen stories of the earthen skyscraper. The heat of the sun welcomed them as they arrived at the bottom. The streets of Shibam were almost completely empty, at this, the hottest hour of the afternoon, but a few people, mostly men, were conversing in the shade. Reaching the market was no problem, but to get to the bus station, and then beyond...!

As the two sisters were trying to board the bus to Aden, a large, surly looking man with a big moustache and a uniform stopped them. "Who are you, and where are you going?", he asked. "I am Nura bint-Mordru bin-Ahmad Al-Nayal, and I am leaving for America!". At the same time, Maizah waved her hands again. The man stopped frowning, put on a beatific smile, and went to his office, ready to follow Maizah's "suggestions". He came back ten minutes later, having written fake permission papers from the two women's non-existing husbands. "Your papers are in order, you can leave the country now". The sisters looked at each other, pleased with their success. They boarded the bus, the first step out of Yemen in their long trip to America. "It will be so nice to finally meet Irma, Jacquie, and the dark English lady!"

Oops! I gave Apparition a "nickname", Tina, trying to fix this. Oh, well.

Jeepers! You guys are awesome!

I'm starting to think I'd like to see this as an Elseworlds...