Hollow Pursuits A Tale of the Legion of Super-Heroes by Christian

A cold, lingering mist clung to every morning and returned at night. The sun was still warm but stingy with it's warmth. Grass that had been in full bloom was withering. Trees bowed in defeat, flowers fled. Everthing on the once wonderful world was dying. Or dead...Projectra thought, surveying the land. The glass was thick but clear and every sighing wind seemed to sing through the trees outside. It was like the wind taunted the leaf-less branches where once they had played with one another.

"Gods..." Projectra sighed, turning away and pulling the heavy purple drapes behind her. The gold cords that held them were limp and offered no resistance as they were removed.

Projectra wore a long gown. It had a high collar, long flowing sleeves, a fitted bodice and a flowing skirt. It had no decoration save her seal at it's lapel. A singel crown with a thick band beneath it, both encircled by a ring of gold and ivy. This was embroidered into the thick velvet of the gown and the only source of color on the ebony garment. It was a mourning gown, one of twelve that she wore. One for every Day of Passing. She had twelve DAYS to mourn the passing of a man she'd spent years with...

She sat down and pulled a book into her arms. It had been Val's journal. It had the words of his heart and mind on every page. It had been kept in his private quarters and had been a secret even to her. It dated back to before he'd joined the Legion. It was from Earth's 17th Century...a gift of Val's great great grandfather and passed down until it reached him. The then-blank pages were filled in a child's scrawl with stories of pirates and plantations, the growing script of a teen with dreams of castles, dragons...and princesses, and finally the bold, sweeping penmanship of a man telling of villanous fathers, energy chains, mad relatives and...princesses.

She turned the pages and cried. Here were words he'd never spoken to her, nor would he ever, now. She read his words and a song formed in her head...one she'd only heard in dreams and captured phrases...

"I wish that I could bring you back to me, You're my missing melody... I wish my words could move your heart to see That you belong here next to me..." As she turned the pages, the words to the song repeated themselves. How he had been a completion to the things that had been missing in her life. He had brought her sunshine with his smile, warmth with his touch, and a feeling of something she would never be able to name with his prescence in her life. A passage caught her eye and she stopped.

Jeckie is so silly. She thinks that we'll be rejected today. She thinks that her powers aren't strong enough or that they'll think she's a snob. She probably is, deep down, but she hides it well. I don't feel like she does. I know what I can do. I could even beat Superboy in a fair fight! I know I could if I had the chance! Hart keeps quiet about our chances. I don't know what he thinks. He and I sparred earlier and I think he has what it takes. We'll see!

A small smile. She thought back to that day as the three of them stood before the membership board and the assembled Legion. She had butterflies the size of a small shuttle rattling her stomach but Val was as calm as a gentle breeze and Hart was a masked mystery. How young they all were, then. How full of spirit and determination. Now, here it was, years later and 2 of them were dead.

Projectra closed the book and put it beside her. She stood and went to a nearby chest where she knealt on the floor. Taking the key from under it, she placed the slender sliver of metal into it's place and opened it. She took out a bundle of clothes and closed it, replacing the key. Taking the pile, she went to the huge fireplace that dominated the small room. It's fire was low and only served to keep the chill at bay and light the room a bit.

Projectra lay the bundle down and knealt here. The first item was a satin bodysuit cut in the style of early 20th Century bathing suits. She held it up and remembered fondly the day she'd decided it would do to wear to the try-outs. When she had made the "cut", she decided to keep it. Now, was different and she threw it into the fire. The flames ate creedily at it, consuming it almost instantly. Long white gloves and white boots were also fed to the monster.

The next item on the fiery menu was the second costume she'd worn. It's red and gold were more brilliant as they burned....

She'd been wearing the cape from both costumes the day Hart and his horrible band of villians stormed the throne room and defeated both she and her husband before her subjects. Hart had torn it from her and thrown her into those metallic shakles...she remembered how Val's head bled...the same crimson as the short tunic she wore then. She'd been only vaguely aware of Ayla Ranzz in the adjoining cell due to the constant injections of Espermil. THEY were the true inhibitors of the machine, not the machine itself. That was how Val had been able to escape. He fought through the drugs and managed to escape.

Projectra stood and went to the small couch she'd been on before. She lit the candles of the circle on the table in front of her. She also ignited the incense and it's deep aroma filled her nostrils almost immediately. She held her hands out in front of her and began a chant that pre-dated most of the Council. A chant taught to her by her mother, who's mother taught her and so on.

The words began an event that could only be done once in a lifetime. She concentrated as the words left her mouth upon the form and figure of the person she was calling. A picture of infinite clarity formed in her mind and soon...the figure she envisioned was standing on the table surrounded by the glow of candles.

"Why have you brought me here?" The figure said, looking down at her.

"I want to know why you did this thing to me." Projectra said, standing and going around to the couch's back. "Why have you robbed me so completely after confessing your love for me as we were both children?"

Nemisis Kid stared at her, his eyes boring into her. His mouth moved but fell slack for a moment before finally finding a voice. "Because I loved you from the moment I saw you." He said. "Because of you, I went with you to the Legion Try-Outs. Because of you, I endured humiliation and rejection at their hands. Because of you, I endured it again when you married Val Armorr and publically rejected me. Because of you, I destroyed everything you had stolen from me...love, position, family. I destroyed them all...and now, you're left wth nothing....just like me....and you have only yourself to blame!"

As the question was answered, the intent of the spell had been fufilled and the figure faded. Fresh tears streaked her face. She sank to her knees and the sobs wracked her body. She cried uncontrollably and without resolve as she had done. Nemesis Kid's words echoed in her head as she felt her soul tear again.

When she was able to stand, she did so, slowly. She stood and braced herself on the back of the sofa, needing it's strength to stand. The spell was for unanswered questions and only allowed one from those who had departed. It compelled them to tell the truth, the arcane bindings that made it up made falsehoods impossible. What Hart had told her was, indeed the truth...he had loved her. Because of that love, she'd lost Val, the man she loved.

Spreading her fingers, she lifted her hand again. In front of her...the vision of Val Armorr appeared, wearing a soft blue tunic and black breeches and boots. His hair was blown by an unseen wind and she felt another tear flow. He smiled at her and she smiled back. As the illusion faded, she said, "Good night sweet Pince and love of my life."

She straightened, drew herself to her full height and turned to face the door of the chamber. The last day of the Twelve would be at an end in another hour. She would not enter the Chamber Royal looking as she did, now. She would not enter as a bereaved widow who had lost all to a madman, nor an executioner who'd taken that madman's life as was her right, nor even as a Legionnaire who had saved the universe with her comrades many times over. No, it was not Projectra, the Princess nor the Legionnaire but rather the woman she had become. The woman that would lead her people OUT of this dark time and into the bright daylight of the future.

As she strode toward the door, the final illusion was stripped away and Queen Projectra went to face to people...and her destiny!

The End