Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business Alternate Preboot Legion Timeline: February 2984 to New Years Day 3000

YEAR ONE: 2984-2985 -

Issue #294, Pages 26 to 41:

Feb. 3 - The ravaged surface of the planet Daxam: Tasmia, Ayla, and the Izaya-Child find themselves cornered by Darkseid and the Orion-Servant.

But instead of erecting a darkness dome (as she does in canon continuity,) Tasmia defiantly dictates terms to Darkseid -- she will serve him, in return for the freedom of the Izaya-Child, the lives of her fellow Legionnaires, and the liberation of the Daxamites. Momentarily enraged by Tasmia’s chutzpah, Darkseid quickly reconsiders. This agitates the Orion-Servant, resulting in Darkseid vaporizing him with Omega-Beams (DARKSEID: “Thank the source I finally found an excuse to silence you.”) But Darkseid tells Tasmia she has not yet earned his faith in her, and she must prove herself.

Here, Ayla and the Izaya-Child see Tasmia’s hands behind her back, summoning the shadow-powers, and they assume she’s going to take Darkseid by surprise.

They are wrong.

Instead, Tasmia spoils the sneak-attack by the hyper-powered Supergirl & Superboy, blinding both of them and giving Darkseid a clear shot. They are badly hurt, but not dead.

In despair, the Izaya-Child ages within seconds from infancy to early middle age, and manifests his trademark cosmic lance, which he then points at Darkseid.

Tasmia silently prays to her Ancestors to forgive her what she is about to do.

Tasmia blinds Izaya, once again giving Darkseid the opening he needs. Izaya is pummeled into unconsciousness, but not killed.

At this moment, the rest of the Legionnaires try to get the jump on Darkseid and Tasmia by attacking en masse.

But while they do manage to retrieve Ayla, Supergirl, Superboy, and Izaya from the planet’s surface and take them to safety, the double-team of Darkseid and the turncoat Tasmia defeat the attacking Legionnaires (yet again with no casualties.)

Darkseid uses his godly powers to give Tasmia superhuman strength, Izaya’s transformed cosmic lance, and a suit of battle-armor (resembling that of the obscure Marvel anti-heroine Magdalene.)

Tasmia declares she is no longer Shadow Lass, and must now be addressed as Umbra.

Darkseid teleports himself and Umbra to Apokolips, forewarning the Legion (and their new ally Izaya) that the worst is yet to come.

NEXT: A Different Day After Doomsday

You have got my attention! I know Magdalene and I can totally see a levelled up Shady rocking that get-up with a power lance!

Interesting concept. Very tricky to execute - though I can imagine using Mon-El's then-injury (he was comatose and couldn't be healed, if I remember) to help motivate Tasmia to make a deal with Darkseid. Perhaps having Tasmia/Ayla somehow being shown images of the Daxamite rampage would help. I was thinking Darkseid could do that, but it doesn't quite gel: he's so powerful that he would just have tried to take Ayla/Tasmia by force or scare them into submission. Tasmia would have to offer Darkseid something compelling to make him consider that.

Once that's done though, the rest falls into place. Tasmia weakening Superboy and Supergirl, and later Izaya, makes narrative sense and proves her worth and strengthens her case. It's getting Darkseid to listen to her case in the first place which is trickiest, IMO.

Looking forward to see where you take this.

YEAR ONE (2984-2985) Continued:

Feb. 5 to Feb. 7 -

Issue #295: Ayla, understandably shellshocked by what she witnessed on Daxam, confides in Imra that she needs to take an extended recovery on Winath, adding she cannot promise she will return to the Legion.

Izaya heals quickly, but his one-on-one battle with Darkseid has now aged him into late middle age. He reveals to the Legion that he is using all his power to slow his rapid aging, but that he can only survive 3 more months at the most. Izaya vows to use what little time he has left to advise the Legion the best he can on how to defeat Darkseid.

Brin, none the wiser to Ayla’s departure, watches the old Green Lantern Incident holo with Blok. Privately, Blok deduces that the renegade Lantern became Universo. Unlike in the canon continuity, Blok decides to get proactive.

Issues #296-297: Lydda senses Rokk is deeply troubled by Tasmia’s sacrifice-slash-betrayal, the Legion’s pyrrhic victory against Darkseid, and the incoming reports that the surviving Daxamites stranded on Apokolips turned against each other immediately upon regaining their free will while also losing their super-powers -- now there are hundreds of thousands of surviving Daxamites suddenly turned refugees across the galaxy, while an equal or greater amount of Daxamites have chosen to stay on Apokolips as Darkseid’s labor force.

It gets worse when Lar comes out of his coma to get all these bad news at once. He loses control and wrecks a considerable portion of Legion Headquarters, then flees to parts unknown.

And so, when Rokk learns about the fireballing incident that killed his mother and wounded his father and brother, he does go completely around the bend. Rokk kills the terrorists who perpetrated the crime, breaking the Legion code against killing.

NEXT: Lar labours to not lose his love (good luck with that, guy.)

Thank you, Raz. Greatly appreciated.

The Avengers issues drawn by Steve Epting are firm favorites of mine, and I love Magdalene and all the other characters co-created by Epting during that era.

Thank you, Ibby.

Once again, you've proven to have the natural instincts of a born editor.

One thing I will edit into the first post at some point (it was in my notebook, but it slipped my mind during the writing process) is that Darkseid is swayed partly because Tasmia is the direct descendant of Lydea Mallor, who, of course, provided the template for one of the Servants of Darkness. Which is an intentional hint that there was a more unpleasant side to the "noble" Lydea that has eluded the official chronicles of Talok...until now. I definitely plan to go places with that.

As for the Daxamite rampage, I do deal with it in my 2nd post, but I'll have to check issue 293 to see whether or not Tasmia and Ayla witnessed any of it (I still believe that GDS got really disjointed and confusing during its middle installments, probably because Levitz's plotting had suddenly gotten much looser.)

YEAR ONE (1984-1985) Continued

Feb. 8 through Apr. 6 -

Issue #298: After meandering through the galaxy for weeks, and repeatedly rebuffing the Legion’s efforts to come back to them (at the very least to take responsibility for the damage he caused the headquarters,) Lar Gand finally gets himself together enough to trespass onto Apokolips, which now looks basically the same as it did 1,000 years ago (“the more things change…”) After making short work of a para-demon swarm, Lar destroys the statue of Darkseid towering above New Armagetto. Darkseid himself comes down from his lofty tower to take up Lar’s challenge (and to inform the interloper that Tasmia is presently off-world.) Darkseid and Lar’s fight (intercut with Gim and Ord’s far more petty yet equally destructive fight over “Vi,”) ends with Darkseid gaining the upper hand long enough to open a boom tube and throw Lar into it, the destination unknown to all but Darkseid himself.

Meanwhile, Lydda and Rokk have been dealing with the bad publicity resulting from Rokk’s breaking the Legion Code, a public spectacle unseen before by any Legionnaire (even Thom after he broke the Code.) At their lowest point, Lydda assaults the paparazzi (albeit during the daytime, when her strength is at normal levels, but even so…)

Blok and Brin (the latter willing to do anything to get Ayla off his mind) have been searching for Universo’s current whereabouts, eventually confronting Mano on a scuzzy exoplanet near the U.P. borders. Mano puts up a good fight, but is taken down when he underestimates Blok’s resilience (although Mano’s blast does prematurely trigger a metamorphosis otherwise natural to Dryads.) Then, in exchange for a head start against the encroaching Science Police, Mano willingly informs Brin and Blok that the other surviving members of the Fatal Five railroaded him off the team and are planning a sneak attack on Weber’s World during Rokk’s upcoming trial. Blok, despite his criminal past, is unsettled by their compromise with Mano, but the more cynical Brin sees it as a necessary evil.

YEAR ONE (1984-1985) Continued

Issue #299: Still among the border worlds, Blok and Brin rendezvous with reinforcements -- Kara, Brainy, Jo, Tinya -- but just as they are about to set course for Weber’s World, Jo spots none other than Tasmia, conferring with the long-missing telepathic/telekinetic criminal Mystelor (presumably recruiting her to Darkseid’s cause; it is also hinted that Mystelor killed her ex-teammate from the Taurus Gang, Quanto.) The Legionnaires are not all on the same page as to how to proceed, and the resulting kerfluffle leaves the heroes the worse for wear (even Tinya cannot seem to reach Tasmia’s better nature.)

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Izaya takes aside Thom, Nura, and Mysa, informing them that he has foreseen all three Legionnaires playing key roles in the forthcoming battle against Darkseid, even going so far as to claim that the heretofore clumsy and self-effacing Thom has a great destiny in wait for him, as the Legion’s Last Great Hope.

And on Apokolips, Darkseid receives Tasmia, Mystelor, and two potential new subjects for genetic experimentation, whom they have just captured: Dawn & Don Allen, the seemingly unpowered Tornado Twins.

NEXT: The future may or may not be forever...but we can always learn from the past.

I like a lot of ideas in these posts. Your teaser is especially interesting because I know the Flash family signals a lot of timey whimey stuff. Please keep up the good work.

Emily, I am doubly grateful to you, for the kind words and for pointing out the Flash Family's connection to time travel -- the latter actually helped me untangle an upcoming plot thread I'd been having some trouble with. Thank you, sweetie.

This sounds like the Riverdale version of the Legion!

This is one of those threads tuck away to respond to and then...

Good stuff Ann.

Firstly, with all about to be lost, you can see the heroism of Talok's champion in stepping forward to sacrifice herself to her foe to protect those in her care. It's a powerful moment. That decision made... well, you've already shown that nicely with her next steps.

You can't keep a good alternate universe, staff wielding character down I now see my Avengers rereads as preparation. You certainly plan ahead. And it's a visually impressive upgrade for Tasmia. In the GDS, the mockeries feared Tasmia's darkness. Since they would surely have known all about Darkseid's, I had wondered if there was something else behind it.

I like Darkseid's respect for Tasmia's ancestor influencing his decision here. There's that corruption factor he had in Legends, like a old god playing with his toys. I'm sure I read a story where Darkseid had omega beamed so many of his subordinates, he didn't really have anyone left with free will. Sure, he wants the Anti-life equation, but there's more going on within him than that.

I was wondering about the point when Darkseid made the deal. If I remember correctly, Darkseid gave it up when his exertions resulted in losing control of the Daxamites, and mainly because he realised that he wasn't just going to dominate the whole galaxy into submission. His dreams broken, he removed himself from the field. I wonder if he felt any of that lack of submission here, but Tasmia presents him with another parallel to explore. He might not have dominion, but there are things from the past to explore in her legacy and other goals, such as anti life to look for.

#295 - I was wondering if Kid Highfather was going to try to stay looking young to sneak his way into the legion. He's discovered and has to walk the avenue of shame! Good to see Blok not just sit on that information. You've opened up a really good plot mine there.

#296-297 - Yeah, Rokk going bad works fine at the end of that story. He really already did for me, with the new circumstances sealing the deal so good that you call that out.

#298 - Whew! Lar vs Darkseid! Has he been shunted back in time?! Forward in time?! Lucky he's still alive. Is Lydda's response picking up on her reaction in crowds we saw in the Baxter run? It seems like a natural reaction to a swarm of cameras and people. I like the Blok/ Brin compromises with Mano. Very nicely tying in the subplots.

#299 - Yikes! Flash legacy subverted well before the Dominators got their hands on them. Bye-bye Quanto and your vacuous sense of nobility. Shame it wasn't done "in panel" to show readers what Mystelor was capable of. It's personal preference or Crisis fatigue, but if I never read another thing where a Plot Power predicts the future for the rest of the cast …

A Tinya/ Tasmia confrontation would be heart wringing.

Looking forward to more Ann!

Thoth, I thank you for your thoughtful, insightful, and appreciative feedback on the first few installments of this timeline. I've finally completed my synopsis of this timeline's version of LSH 300, and I'm looking forward to finding out what you think:

300: While Thom Kallor and Izaya are off on a swampy little planetoid doing the Luke-and-Yoda Thing, Lar Gand urns up, amnesiac, on *Talok VIII* of all places, 'ported there by Darkseid's Omega Boom Tube (Ol' Red Eyes certainly has a dry sense of irony), but before the planet's hastily appointed new champion, Tasmia's cousin Grev Mallor (honorably discharged from the Legion Academy for the occasion) can reach Lar, he has already been taken in by the Mountain People and seduced by Lady Memory!

Meanwhile, on Weber's World, as the trial of Rokk Krinn is about to get under way, the remaining Legionnaires have acted on Mano's scuttlebutt about his ex-teammates in the Fatal Five (Sarya, Validus (controlled by Sarya now thanks to the Emerald Eye), and Persuader) planning to launch a sneak attack on WW during the trial. But, just as they did during the Earthwar incident, the Legion butts heads with WW's sinisterly intimidating Chief of Security, Ontiir the "lis-s-s-s-sping" reptiloid.

Worst of all, Rokk and Lydda's public spectacle has done such damage to the Legion's reputation, that many UP politicians are seriously considering disbanding the team altogether, feeling that the Legion has become more trouble than it's worth.

Once the trial finally begins, we get numerous flashbacks to both the good and bad deeds of the Legion over the years (each flashback drawn in the style of that era's respective go-to artist), and of Rokk in particular (though one team member who could provide some particularly damning testimony, Ayla Ranzz, has not been subpoenaed, due to her convalescence on Winath from the trauma of witnessing some of the worst moments of the Great Darkness incident, including Tasmia Mallor's seeming betrayal of the Legion to Darkseid.)

But what turns the jury in the Legion's favor more than anything else is their expert teamwork at battling Sarya, Persuader, and Validus. Thanks to the Legion, there are no casualties on Weber's World, and no serious damage to the planet's surface. And while Rokk does end up being dishonorably discharged from the team he co-founded, the team itself gets a second chance from the UP representatives. The only moment of tension during the trial's wrap-up is when Ontiir insists on confiscating the Emerald Eye, an argument Ontiir wins, to the chagrin of certain distrustful Legionnaires.

EPILOGUE 1: No longer able to keep himself alive, Izaya transfers his life essence, with all its attendant (if much-diminished) powers to Thom, then quickly passes away, leaving Thom to return to Earth alone and unsure whether Izaya managed to complete the intended training.

EPILOGUE 2: Once the Legion has departed from Webers World, Ontiir privately confers with Ambassador Relnic in the matter of the Emerald Eye. Only this isn't the real Relnic any more than Mordru was during the Earthwar incident -- "Relnic" is really UNIVERSO! (Has Ontiir been fooled, too, or are they in cahoots? Stay tuned.)

Thanks for being receptive, Fanfie. I'm in fact more concerned about Tasmia's motivation than Darkseid's. Tasmia is a hero through and through IMO, and having her decide to join Darkseid would have to be very convincing. The scene in the canon GDS where she defied him (despite him and his Servant advancing on her) was very powerful and in-character. More so than Darkseid deigning to accept Tasmia's help.

So perhaps, in addition to Mon's injury, you could use the Lydea-Mallor-as-template-for-Servant thing as a second motivator for Tasmia.

And for the Daxamite rampage, I'm certain Tasmia was aware of it. The Legionnaires called in the Subs/reserves etc. before Tasmia and Ayla went on their mission to find Child-Izaya. Darkseid could have shown her images of it easily, and this could be Tasmia's third motivator for making a deal. The three combined (Mon near death, Lydea Mallor, and rampaging Daxamites) would provide very compelling reasons for Tasmia to make a deal with Darkseid. As icing on the cake, Ayla could be a fourth - either Darkseid or his Servant blasted her before Tasmia hid herself and the Izaya-baby.

On the other side (Darkseid's motivation), he is a villain who appreciates the power of demoralization. He could realize how powerful it would be for the Legion to see one of their own betray them to join him. Bonus points that Tasmia is the partner/lover of one of the Legion's most powerful, Mon-El. He would also appreciate being able to corrupt Lydea Mallor's descendant. And the whole darkness thing, with Tasmia wielding a darkfield, is icing on the cake.

These are great suggestions for motivators, Ibby, especially Ayla being wounded by one of the villains. Since I currently have Ayla secluded on Winath as she deals with PTSD, her injury could be yet another factor.

And we are definitely on the same page RE: Darkseid's motivations.

Cool! Great minds think alike and all that

301: (1st Story, 17 pages)

Grev Mallor and a squad of Talokian soldiers have a violent clash with a band of mountain people led by Lady Memory herself, who uses her memory-stimulation powers to torture Grev until he calls for a retreat.

At Montauk point, Lu & Chuck welcome Imra & Garth, who have arrived to try and help Rokk's younger brother Pol, a Legion Academy student, deal with the emotional repercussions of Rokk's recent, and very public, discharge from the Legion.

Lady Memory continues her seduction of Lar Gand, and we see that she can not only stimulate memories, but also, in Lar's case, suppress them.

During an Academy training exercise gone horribly wrong, Pol and Grava nearly come to blows when she taunts him about his brother, Lu uses her two bodies to break it up, and then Drake gruffly tells Pol to suck it up and get on with his own life, which only causes Pol to throw another tantrum and lock himself in his room (Drake: "He's a chip off the ol' Rokk, all right! Sheesh!")

(2nd Story, 8 pages)

Apokolips: Soon after Darkseid senses that the dying Izaya managed to pass along some of his powers to Thom Kallor, he orders his new Chief Scientist, a Daxamite named Torm Inder, to expedite the process of re-awakening the latent speed powers within the former Tornado Twins (who have both been converted to Darkseid's ways thanks to Mystelor's telepathy), using an elaborate machine known as the Stimultron. But due to lax safety measures, the Stimultron overheats, causing Don Allen to self-combust and Dawn Allen to become comatose. Darkseid turns over a mortified Torm Inder to Apokolips's new Chief Disciplinarian -- Silver Slasher!

302: (1st Story, 17 pages) No sooner does Thom land on Earth than he and Nura get into an argument. He wants them both to take an indefinite leave from the Legion so that he can come to a better understanding of his new powers. She insists that she is going to see her term as team leader to the very end -- no matter what.

At the Academy campus in Montauk, Imra has convinced Pol to let her into his room. Soon, she has gently helped him start working through his emotional pain (without any telepathic intervention.) She has begun to embrace her motherly side, and is now looking forward to the birth of her twins more than ever.

Garth, meanwhile, has rendezvoused with a Legion team headed to Talok VIII. They are led by Dirk, and they also include Jan, Blok, Jacques, and Mysa. Their mission: To help Grev rescue Lar Gand from the mountain people.

At Legion HQ, a team conference starts out tense and spirals into bedlam, ending with both Nura and Thom quitting the Legion effective immediately. (Nura to Jo: "You want to be leader that bad? Well, now you are! I hope you're happy!")

The Talok mission is nearly a disaster, until a combination of Mysa's magic and Jan's alchemy turns the tide in the Legion's favor. Lady Memory calls for a cease fire, and claims to be open to negotiate on the matter of Lar.

(2nd Story, 8 pages) Apokolips: Tasmia tests her recently enhanced strength against another newcomer to Darkseid's army: Titania. Their sparring match ends in a draw, but Titania privately schemes to usurp Tasmia's rank as Darkseid's First Lieutenant.

303:

(1st Story, 17 Pages) On Talok VIII, Grev and the Legionnaires seemingly reach an agreement with Lady Memory and the mountain people -- she will turn over Lar Gand to them, in exchange for a notarized document ratifying a peace treaty between the two warring factions on Talok.

An asteroid belt near Xanthu: While Thom hones his new demi-god powers on the surface of one of the asteroids, Nura pilots a smaller ship through the planet's stratosphere, scanning the unusual radiation belts surrounding Xanthu for later analysis.

At the Academy on Montauk Point, Imra departs back to Metropolis while Grava & Pol apologize to each other with one of Luornu's bodies as a witness. Her other body is alongside Chuck, as they both observe a highly impressive power demonstration from Laurel Kent and Jed Rikane, placing the two students at the top of the list of those most likely to graduate to the Legion itself; Wildfire concurs with Lu & Chuck's evaluation before he, too, departs for Metropolis.

Back on Talok, the exchange appears successful, but as Grev and Lady Memory watch the Legion cruiser blast off into the sky with Lar Gand on board, he is shocked when she tears up the document in his face, laughing wickedly! At that same moment, aboard the Legion cruiser, a post-hypnotic command implanted by Lady Memory causes Lar to go hysterical, attack the Legionnaires, and eventually tear the entire cruiser to pieces, before flying back down to the surface of Talok, leaving the Legionnaires for dead.

(2nd Story, 8 Pages) Apokoliips: Spider-Girl arrives planet-side to be greeted by Titania, Silver Slasher, and Mystelor. Meanwhile, Umbra (Tasmia) is putting two raw recruits -- Flare and Caress -- through their paces. And a heavily bandaged Chief Scientist Torm Inder manages to restore Dawn Allen to consciousness, prompting Darkseid to declare that Dawn shall henceforth be known as Zoom, the mightiest of all the New Furies.

304: (25 pages) Just before the Legionnaires above Talok would have died from explosive decompression, Mysa managed to cast a suspended animation spell around herself and her teammates. Now Mysa is the only one who is semi-conscious, and she has a vague sense of them having been somehow transported from deep space to a strange dimension where everything is green -- including the amorphous, seemingly hostile life forms.

Legion HQ: A cruiser takes off in search of the abruptly vanished Talok squad, with Tinya and Luornu on board, Dawny leading the course, and Kara staying a close distance behind the ship, should her powers be needed. On the surface, Brin is surprisingly sympathetic to Jo's lamenting that he has committed his first blunder as team leader, by impulsively drafting Brin as his deputy, much to the chagrin of Tinya, who claimed her seniority made her better qualified.

On the asteroid near Xanthu, where Thom & Nura have set up camp, she awakens to a half-formed vision of the New Furies on the rampage at a location which was not made clear. Noticing that Thom is not by her side, she cautiously wanders outside their tent, to find her partner battling a squad of Khunds. Just as she finishes processing this, Nura herself is attacked by even more Khunds; she knows from the start she is outclassed, but she still goes down fighting. Thom, too, falls to the relentless barbarism of the Khunds, due as much to their brutality as to his lack of mastery over his new powers. The two Legionnaires are brought, as per orders back to Khundia, alive.

The Green Dimension: Mysa is able to make peace with the green blobs by showing them that the Legionnaires mean them no harm; the rest of the team is healed back into consciousness, and they follow the blobs, who have promised to help them understand exactly where they are.

The Legion Academy: Lu & Chuck welcome a new student, Ganglios of the aquatic world Hykraius. He bonds quickly with Lamprey, which doesn't surprise anyone, but which does annoy Lamprey's friend Nightwind. At the same time, Grava & Pol are both surprised that they are starting to feel attracted to each other.

Legion HQ: With team morale near the bottom of the barrel, who should show up, unannounced, uninvited, and having somehow gotten past security, but *Ontiir?* Without thinking first, the Legionnaires reflexively attack Ontiir, who does not fight back except to say, "Sssstop, you idiotsssss! I'm on *your* ssssside!"

Apokolips: Umbra struggles to appear stoic as she watches a monitor showing her beloved home planet, Talok VIII, descend into chaos, with her one-time lover, Lar Gand, in thrall to Lady Memory and brutalizing Grev and the rest of the Talokian establishment. Darkseid takes note of this, and silently decrees that Talok shall be the New Furies' *second* target, the first being no less than *Khundia.*

I'd be interested in seeing Jo's reasoning for drafting Brin of all people as deputy. Brin is hardly the leader type (though I do think he might be underestimated).

Glad to see you're giving a bit more focus on poor forgotten Lamprey and Nightwind at the Academy. That era of the Legion ditched them and Crystal Kid in favor of the other students.

Ibby,

RE: Jo's choice of Brin as deputy, part of it is, as you noted, that Brin can be (and sometimes has been, in canon stories) underestimated. I see Brin as a skilled tactician and a hardened pragmatist, a valuable contrast with Jo's impulsive tendencies (here I have to admit I'm still trying to get a handle on Preboot Jo, as my loathing for the way that TMK turned him into a Gary Stu is well documented. Overall, I tend to see most iterations of Jo as, "Yes, he really *is* as stupid as he looks, but please judge him with mercy." Or something to that effect.)

RE: Lamprey & Nightwind, you're very welcome, my friend. I've have always intuited great potential in both of them, and having Tayla and Tellus as instant friends is, to me, a no-brainer!

Thanks for the feedback. Please keep it coming.

305:

(37 pages)

Khundia.

Above ground, the Negaton Bomb is being zealously guarded as preparations are being finalized to place their prisoner, Thom Kallor, *inside the bomb,* where his new cosmic powers will make the bomb even deadlier. They will then launch it directly at Earth.

Below ground, as Thom and Nura struggle to free themselves from their chains, one Colonel Kruhgg, the highest-ranking woman in the Khunds' planetary armed forces (any similarities to the Postboot character *are intentional*) gloats that the inevitable success of her plan will get her promoted to General.

Above ground, not one, not two, but three Boom Tubes open just outside the perimeter of the base where the bomb is being guarded. They each discharge two or three of the New Furies of Apokolips -- Caress, Flare, Spider-Girl, Mystelor, Silver Slasher, Titania, and their field commander, Umbra (Zoom is being kept in reserve, unless and until she is needed.)

Below ground, Kruhgg and Nura have gotten into an argument about whether or not women whom men consider attractive have easier lives, but they are interrupted by a highest-priority alert from above that even the empire's finest warriors are falling before the attack of the Furies.

Kruhgg rushes out of the dungeon, as Thom renews his efforts to break free, now compounded. Nura bluntly points out that the chains are obviously made of some kind of matter that turns Thom's powers against him, and that they should best wait and see what will happen once the battle above is over.

Within a short while, the Khunds have retreated for cover as they prepare to break out the heavy artillery against the Furies. Umbra commands Titania and Silver Slasher to breach the base, locate Thom & Nura, and extract them from the planet.

Soon, just as Titania and Silver Slasher are freeing the prisoners, the Khunds fire their most lethal cannons at the Furies. Umbra calls for a strategic regrouping. Mystelor manages to take the Khunds by surprise when she turns one of their projectiles against them, but this proves only a temporary respite for the Furies. Umbra seizes the opportunity to activate another Boom Tube, which will bring Zoom into the fray.

When Thom and Nura defy their rescuers by declaring that accompanying them to Apokolips would be a fate worse than anything the Khunds could do to them, Slasher threatens to disembowel Nura. For her part, Nura tries to call Slasher's bluff, but Thom announces their surrender. Nura is not pleased, but feels she now has no choice.

Zoom proves the be the decisive factor in the Furies winning the battle. Once the Khunds have surrendered, Umbra commands Zoom to use her super-speed vibration powers to set off the Negaton Bomb!

The Furies and their captives escape via the Boom Tubes just before the bomb explodes, devastating a considerable portion of Khundia's surface. Among the survivors is Kruhgg, who vows revenge in the form of a full-scale war against Apokolips!