Disclaimer: DC Comics Inc. owns the characters and the 30th century this is based on. Okiko, Katrina, Val Jr. are created and owned by Karate Kid Jr. Indra and Crystal are created and owned by me. No profit making is intended or should be inferred. See endnotes for further obscure and non-continuity information.

  Chapter One: Premonitions

She had been running too long. Her breath exploded from aching lungs, almost doubling her body with each effort. Her eyes, widened and dried with fear, no longer saw the bright lights reflecting off of the gleaming spires. Instead, blotches of white and blood red dominated her vision. She could no longer see where she was going.

God, no, she begged, I didn't survive my years as a Titan runaway in the slums of Rimbor to die like this! She almost didn't hear her prayer over the wild pounding of her heart and the hum of the hunter's hovercycle.

Her shoe flew off into her instep. She fell face first onto the street. A tooth broke, adding blood to the bile and metallic taste of fear. She was going to die.

She could barely whimper as the cyclist dismounted and walked towards her in slow, measured steps. His knife hissed out of his sheath in anticipation. "An excellent hunt. You did not disappoint me, harlot." The hunter purred as he pulled her head up by her white hair.

"Pl-please, I'm not--"

"Don't lie. I see it in your walk--your eyes. You know your power and you lord it over those who want."

"All right, all right. I'm a prostitute. I'll give you anything you want. Just don't kill me."

"I already have what I want. Your fear... your power..." he explained in a guttural chant, tracing her features from eye to belly with his knife. "Your blood!" he shouted, slicing her abdomen just a little. Fear, in liquid form, rose from her stomach and spewed itself into his clothes. He gazed down at the stinking wet sickness oozing down his shirt and laughed softly. "No, little whore, that doesn't save you from me or a slow death," he murmured softly as he began carving her flesh.

"NO!" she cried out, protesting her death. It took the seer a moment to realize that it was not her body that was slashed open, spilling life and organs onto the floor; that the satin sheets tangled around her were soaked with sweat and not blood and excrement. A sob welled its way as she brushed a shaking hand through her platinum hair. The force of emotion folded her into a heap. This was one of the times where she needed Thom with her, to hold her and ease the shaking and the lingering fears... but Thom wasn't there. Nor would he be there again. "You bastard, how many times do I have to apologize?" she swore at a man parsecs away. Then she washed the tears from her face, ran a brush through her hair and slipped into a satin robe. The bright lights made her as white haired as the woman who would die in a matter of nights. Perhaps she would die tonight. There was nothing Nura Nal could do to save her. The crime would be committed. As the seer moved easily through the Earth-gravity halls, she began to distance herself from the dream and analyze it. The mental disciplines were not easy... the dream was too fresh; the woman too much like Nura herself. She was barely aware as she programmed the food synthesizer for some herb tea and snatched up the steaming cup. For a long time, she sipped at the tea and stared across the table she used to rest her elbows.

"Nura? What are you doing here with the lights off?" a familiar feminine voice asked as the lights flickered and brightened the room. In the doorway was a woman wearing a velour robe that was two sizes too big for her slender frame. Her ash blond hair was pulled back, revealing a high forehead, sensitive eyes and a mouth that seemed too thin to reveal any emotion.

"What are you doing here, Mrs. Ranzz? Aren't you a bit far away from your husband and children tonight?" Nura countered with a forced smile.

"Monitor shift in two hours. I didn't see any reason to wake Garth and the boys at three in the morning. I sensed your distress, Nura. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I don't know if I can answer that. There will be a murder-- a woman..." She shook her head. "I can't focus on it yet. Tell me, how did a mother of twins end up with oh-four-hundred monitor shift? Doesn't our fearless leader know that a mother of twins needs her rest?"

"It's because Projectra's a mother of twins that she knows this shift is good for me. I work now, when the boys are asleep, and I nap when they do. I've got more time for my family and can still do the mundane work we Legionnaires have. Do you need some help to analyze the premonition? I can help you concentrate if you wish, or mindlink with you and see if an objective observer can sense something the seer can't."

"Maybe you can, but I'm not ready to put myself through that hell again. The woman's going to die, no matter what I do."

"Is this selfishness or self-preservation, Dream Girl?" Imra Ranzz asked, suddenly the authoritarian. Before Nura could answer, Imra's face lost all expression. "There's someone screaming telepathically. I'm checking out the situation."

Suddenly, Dream Girl knew. "Imra, don't!" she shouted, knowing it was too late. Saturn Girl was mindlinked to the murder victim. The finely chiseled face paled and broke out in sweat. The telepath swayed.

Nura grasped Imra by the shoulders. "Imra can you hear me? Break the link!" No answer. "Come on, let's sit you down..." she said as a sick coldness crawled into the pit of her stomach.

"Idiot! Let me help! D-don't shut me out!" Saturn Girl croaked.

I could be saying that myself. Nura thought as she sat Imra in the chair. Concerned, she took the other woman's hand and brushed a sweat darkened strand of hair away from the too-pale face. "Imra! Come back!"

Imra screamed in shock and denial as she clutched her stomach. The other's death pain exploded in her mind.

Nura tapped her flight ring. The emergency signal immediately linked the intercom systems and computers to her location. "Medic alert! I need psishock treatment for a Titan! Now!"

"We're coming," Brainiac 5 answered coolly.

"Garth's coming too. He'll be here as soon as Indra gets to my nephews," Ayla Ranzz reported over the intercom.

Brainiac 5 arrived with Sun Boy. The latter began to calmly calibrate the psishield projector as the former, his green face taut, came over to the women. Imra stopped screaming as he approached, her eyes began to glaze.

"Imra!" Nura shouted, shaking her comrade.

"Sun Boy!" Brainiac demanded.

"Got it," Dirk replied, flipping a switch. As she convulsed out of her chair, Imra uttered a choked gasp.

"Damn! Who-- or what-- was she linked with?" Brainiac snarled as he began to examine her.

"A telepath who died horribly," Nura replied.

"Shit," Sun Boy muttered, suddenly unsure of Brainiac 5's ability to help their longtime friend. Two distinct figures, male and female, appeared. The female disappeared, but before he was fully defined, the man rushed to the small cluster of people.[2]

"Imra!" he shouted as he became solid. He pulled the catatonic woman from his friends' supporting arms and crushed her against his chest. His warmth and love touched her frozen soul. Softly, she began weeping. "I couldn't save her," she confessed.

"Ssh..." her husband whispered, brushing her tears away.

Brainiac 5 activated the medical scanner and watched the readings, then ran a second scan. "Your readings are stable, Imra, but I'd like to keep you in the medicbay for observation."

A gentle hand rested on Garth's shoulder. "Do you want to stay with her tonight? I could take care of the boys."

"That would be an error, Lightning Lass. You're the deputy leader of the Legion, and with Sensor Girl away, you are needed here. Let Indra take care of them tonight," Brainiac 5 suggested.

"Not a good idea," Dirk warned as he shook his head. "Indra's already acutely aware of the fact that she's at least five years younger than the next youngest. Having her babysit is just going to reinforce that."

"No, I'll be all right," Imra rasped. "I need to be with my family."

"Imra, be reasonable," Brainiac 5 began. "You've had a major shock to your nervous system. You could go into cardiac arrest or cerebral hemorrhage--"

"Come, Querl, if Imra feels a need to go home, let her. The healing power of love is especially powerful to a telepath," a fluted, womanly voice insisted. The group looked at the new arrival. Clothed in flowing white robes, the pale, pale woman floated into the room. The intelligence showing from her red eyes, and the glowing jewel embedded in her throat were the only signs of life she showed. Otherwise, one might think she was a ghost.

"'The power of 'love' won't be able to do a damn thing if she strokes, Witch," Brainiac 5 snapped.

"Her spirit has been harmed, not her body. It will recover. She will, but not without help, and your cold machines in your lonely laboratories will do nothing to heal her."

"At least those 'cold machines' can give us a reliable and accurate diagnosis of her condition, professor." The last word was said as a slur.

"Are you suggesting that Imra wouldn't know if something was wrong or Garth wouldn't be able to notice if he was in contact with her?"

Garth shot his sister a panicked look while Imra buried her head in his chest. Brainiac raised his voice even louder to object to the White Witch's illogic. Nura rolled her eyes and Dirk sighed. The pair was having one of those fights: The kind that had nothing to do with the issue that was supposed to be the subject of the argument. The battle was between a student of science and a practitioner of magic, neither one able to admit the validity of the other's ways. Ayla moved to stop the verbal violence, only to feel a pair of strong hands pull her back. "Fearless deputy, don't take risks with your life that way. Let's get out of here, before we go deaf." Dirk advised as Ayla's twin left with the two blondes.

Once the doors shut with the arguing pair safely in the room, Dirk looked straight into Imra's eyes. "What do you think, lady? Are you well enough to go home?"

"I need to, and I can be monitored constantly. Isn't that one of the reasons for the subdermal tracers, to monitor vital signs? If I show any dangerous readings, Indra can get me to Medicus One in a heartbeat, which is even faster than Mysa can irritate Querl these days."

Ayla sighed. "Get going, you two."

As Garth looked at his twin, his relief threatened to become tears. "Thanks, sis, I owe you. You too, Dirk."

"Just as long as you don't offer to cook us dinner," the two almost said in unison.

The former Lightning Lad stuck out his tongue before leaving.

Dirk chuckled easily, smiling in a way that disarmed and charmed everyone who saw it. "Ayla, Nura and I are going to have mad, passionate sex tonight. Care to make it a threesome?"

"With the rottenest spoiled children in the Legion? No, thanks; I have a feeling I'd do all the work. Besides, Violet is woman enough for me these days."

"Determined to break my heart again," Dirk whimpered in mock anguish. "Your loss."

"I don't think so," Ayla responded with a sassy wink and a swish of her rear end.

Nura looked into the newstar blue of Dirk's eyes before resting her hands on his muscular chest.

"You okay?" he asked, as he straightened her robe over her shoulders.

"As okay as I ever am after a powerful vision. You know, my sister's going to storm off without asking me whatever she wanted and he's going to put on a Mozart recording and start conducting it?"

"Isn't that the way of things? I sometimes wonder if Brainy isn't jealous of her university appointment."

"Speaking of university appointments, what are you doing up? Fifteen hundred nuclear scientists are going to be listening to your paper, Dr. Morgna, and you haven't slept a wink."

"I know they'll be there and it scares me silly. Brainy was checking through my figures for me tonight."

"Again? Dirk, they were fine when you submitted them for your doctoral project, they were fine when you defended them, they were fine when you wrote the paper and they were fine last night when we checked them."

"I know, but this is one crowd that isn't expecting Sun Boy or Dirk 'the dog' Morgna. I just can't get in front of that group and clown my way through the presentation. This is the speech that will prove I'm a serious scientist. I have to do this right."

Standing on her toes, Nura kissed her occasional sexmate on the nose. "Don't worry, you'll do just fine. Come to bed, Dirk, and just hold me tonight. There's a storm brewing, and I'm not ready to face it alone." Dirk hugged her and began leading her to his quarters. Nura didn't have the strength of her senses to tell Dirk that he knew the dead woman.

One storm had gone beyond brewing, and poured down white sheets of stinging rain onto the few souls who were outside on the streets of Little Japan in the earliest hours of the morning. This was the first time Val Armorr could remember the streets being so deserted. He ran to the protection of the entry foyer to his house, carrying the wet bundle of a little girl. He was joined by his sister and her lover, each holding a child.[1]

Val groaned at the prospect of having three sleepy children taking a hot bath at two a.m., but he'd be damned if he let his twins and niece just go to sleep after a run in the cold rain.

As he punched in the entry sequence, he shouted, "Why don't you three crash here tonight? It'd be a hell of a lot easier than getting home in this weather!"

"I think you're right," his sister, Okiko answered.

The door whooshed open and Val froze. Something smelled wrong. He set Katrina down. "Get somewhere safe," he told the others as he began to peer into the darkness that pervaded his home. The rain struck the pavement and the thunder roared outside, but inside the house all was quiet.

The former Karate Kid desperately wished his wife was with him. Her sensory powers would be useful in this situation, along with the queenly confidence that had replaced girlish uncertainties years ago. As he took the first soundless steps into his home, his little girl (as white haired as her mother) began screaming. The man began to wonder if it was his Karma to see his wife or children again. "Karma is Karma," he told himself and slipped inside. As he hid in the shadows, he scanned his surroundings, trying to determine what was wrong. Then he heard the wrongness. Water was dripping into the living room. He pulled a loaded crossbow off the wall and unlatched the safety before creeping into his own living room. Lightning flared, but did not find Armorr as he hid in the shadows. No other living being was in the room. Val saw something swinging in the shadows. Again the storm lit the room, reflecting off of the white hair of a woman hanging from a length of cord...

"Jeckie?" Val hissed in surprise and denial.

"I'm here, Val," his wife answered directly behind him.

Startled, he shouted, "Don't do that! Are you really here?"

"No, I'm still in Luna City," the disembodied voice replied before the illusion of Sensor Girl appeared. "Shall we see who this poor unfortunate is?" Magical light flooded the room and revealed the hanging woman. Val gagged and reswallowed his dinner when he saw her. She was hanging from a length of her own intestine while blood still dripped from the cavity where her digestive and reproductive organs used to be.

"Val!" Okiko called, "is it safe?"

"It's safe, Kiki, but stay back!"

"Kat's screaming like a banshee! She keeps crying for Crystal. I thought she could telepathically calm Kat, but--" then she saw the body. "Good God!"[3]

"You can throw up on the carpet if you like. We need to replace it anyway."

"You forget, I've had as much training as you, in my own way. So this is where Crystal is. Your daughter knows, doesn't she?"

"Yes," Projectra answered. "She is of the blood royale as much as I. I will summon some Legionnaires to examine this before we call the police."

"Jeckie, 'this' used to be my employee and my friend," Val objected. "Why display her like a side of beef? Just because she's cut up like one?"

With a slow, imperious swivel of her head, the exiled Queen of Orando silenced her husband. "Val, her soul screams for vengeance. Since her group is no more, the Legion must answer. To do that, we must know her killer."

"I can reactivate Alpha-Omega," Okiko reminded the Legionnaire.

"Your sell-swords will not be needed."

"Since I've been dismissed, Val, you will have to forgive me if I wait for the police outside," Okiko said icily before her perfectly controlled body turned and walked away from the image of the woman she wanted to cripple.

Equally braced with fury, the White Witch walked past the angry woman. Projectra took one look at her tight-lipped colleague and said, "You and Brainy have been at it again, haven't you?"

Mysa scowled and turned her attention to the corpse. "This was a ritual slaying," she observed.

"The man was right-handed and extremely strong; he cut to her spine in one stroke," Val added, determined to be useful.

"There's a piece of knife lodged in the bone. It's cursed steel. The bastard would have had her soul if something didn't interfere," Sensor Girl discovered.

"That interference was Imra. The death nearly cost her life and sanity. She'll be all right, though. I magicked a healing spell and Garth's with her."

"Damn. Why does that woman always rush in where her ancestors would deny her?" Projectra spat. "Mysa, can you perform a psychometry spell and find him?"

"Of course, we will know the killer's location before night's end." Within the hour, the spell was prepared and performed. An image formed of the heavyset killer and Projectra recognized him. He was a demonkiller even before demons were free again to wander the thirtieth century. This madman hunted with a knife that killed thirty people across the universe before three Legionnaires ended his career. "Tsuln of Thaun," she addressed his image, "your free days are numbered."[4]

Endnotes:
[1] Obviously, Val Armorr fared better in this universe than he did in the canon. With me liking him and Karate Kid Jr. proclaiming him as the fave, he couldn’t help it. He has a twin sister who was raised by the second Black Dragon, Okiko, and twins of his own--Val Jr. and Katrina. He’s alive, but not quite whole.

[2] The unnamed, indistinct female is Indra. She’s a teleporter, and you’ll meet her in later chapters.

[3] Crystal, the victim, is one of Dirk’s and Jo’s private reclamation projects. As a runaway on Rimbor, she had no legal standing for leaving the lawless world until the boys decided to rescue her via their political connections. Since then, she served as an agent for hire with Okiko and later became the Armorr twins' babysitter/bodyguard and teacher.

[4] Tsuln of Thaun is a superstitious assassin from a superstitious world. He appeared circa S/LSH #230 and was defeated by undercover Legionnaires, including Projectra.

  Chapter Two: Dealing with Forces Beyond One's Control

Somehow Metropolis survived the rain as it had for fourteen hundred years. The sun came out to dry the land and promised a beautiful day, despite the lingering humidity in the air. Inside the School of Nuclear Physics and Engineering at Metropolis University, humidity was not a factor as the teammates waited backstage in the auditorium for Dirk Morgna's presentation.

"Will you stop fidgeting?" Brainiac 5 asked, exasperated. "Your paper is fine, but if you keep this up, you'll choke on your speech."

"This is hardly your first public speech, Dirk," Nura added, "Calm down."

"It's my first speech as a Ph.D.! Sun Boy can get away with being a smartass; this is serious."

"Especially since you may be applying for a job here, if the Legion fails as an independent firm," a newcomer reminded him.

Dirk looked at his brother. "It won't fail, Todd," Dirk replied in a steady, low voice.[1]

"Of course it won't," Todd hastily amended, "but it wouldn't hurt to have the family business to fall back on. Brainiac 5, always a pleasure to see you again."

"Likewise, Mr. Morgna." Brainiac shook the proffered hand.

"I've never had the pleasure of actually meeting this lovely lady, although you've been Dirk's comrade and lover for some time."

"Actually, Todd, we're just good friends who end up in the same bed occasionally," Nura answered easily, smiling her own predatory smile. "You're a software engineer, like myself, aren't you?" she asked, clinging to his hand a little too long. Todd nodded, already stunned by her overt beauty. "Then why don't you escort a fellow 'warer to a seat?" As Todd began to obey, Nura called back, "Don't wait for me. I'm going to be lucky today. Dirk, you'll do fine."

"I was hoping to talk to you privately," Nura whispered to Todd conspiratorially. "And I want you to listen carefully. If you do more than think about heckling your brother during the speech, I will make you one of the most celebrated and envied men in the universe; one of the few to have Nura Nal actually chase them."

"Lady, please! I have a wife and two kids!"

"Think about that before you say anything out loud," Nura advised and settled into her chair.

Dirk was introduced as the following speaker. As he nervously began to read his introduction, four Legionnaires were on Taltos IV waiting for the planetary governor to see them. The secretary stared openly at the short, wide, strangely colored aliens. Ultra Boy and Invisible Kid stared in return. "Incredible," Ultra Boy whispered.

"Every time I see another lifeform, I am amazed at our Creator's powers," Jacques Foccart agreed, trying to adjust his body armor so it wouldn't chafe his neck.

"You know, Jacques, you wouldn't be so uncomfortable if you went back to your other uniform," a young woman in black tights and a cowl-necked midriff suggested as she sat by Ultra Boy and gave his hand a familiar squeeze.

"Perhaps, Phantom Girl, but I think my sisters would not be pleased if I got myself killed."

"He's got a point, Tinya," her lover agreed.

"Excuse me, Legionnaires, the governor will see you now," the secretary announced. The Legionnaires, led by Chameleon Boy, entered the office. The Durlan was in his traditional orange form, his antennae twitching and scanning every detail of his surroundings. He saw the governor not as a tall, olive colored biped with eyes that took up most of its skull and a single nostril between his eyes. Rather, Chameleon Boy read it as a series of signals that indicated texture and pigmentation. Even more surprising than the governor was the familiar human pattern with It.

"What are you doing here, Force?" Jo growled.[2]

"Why, the Taltoans asked me to help them. I have had experience in the kind of problem they're having."

"Gained from your sister, no doubt," Jo muttered before Tinya placed a cautioning hand on his shoulder.

"You mean that poor, deluded creature whose head you fill with your rot?"

"We didn't try to mindwipe her," Cham stated, getting drawn into the argument.

"I didn't try to 'mindwipe' her. I simply attempted to re-educate my sister in the proper roles of a woman, which do not include parading around the universe in a costume even a prostitute wouldn't wear, with similarily dressed tarts," Force informed them, nodding his head at Tinya. Jo began to advance angrily and Force warned, "Careful, street scum, I am your better."

"Gentlebeings, please," the Governor interrupted. "I neither understand nor care about your reproductive systems, or the mores regarding them. We have a problem which our kind friends on Teannon offered their great champion's assistance--" a glance of disgust passed between the lovers' eyes "--and now, the mighty Legion of Super-Heroes have become interested in the mad human slasher who has killed many of our valued breeders. We would be most grateful if you could manage to stop the murders."

"No profit here, Legionnaires. You might as well go home."

"Listen, krax-eater, we didn't ask for the United Planets to cut our funding--"

"Jo!" Tinya whispered.

"Please, M'seiu Nostrum, we are not here to fight you," Jacques interrupted, "we are interested in bringing this killer to justice."

"That's another thing: I know what circumstances brought you here. The ex-whore murdered in Metropolis was a friend of yours. What makes you think these crimes are related? They're millions of parsecs apart!"

"The White Witch traced him here," Chameleon Boy answered neutrally.

"Here? Your journey took over a night. How is he supposed to be here, especially since Taltos barely trades with Earth?"

"Tsuln believed in magic when no one else did. Why would it surprise you if he knew a teleportation spell? The White Witch said he was here, and I believe her."[3]

"Of course you would, Phantom Girl. You're a woman."

"Just one punch," Jo begged under his breath.

"Jo, this is the man who knocked Mon-El offworld. Let's keep the fighting to verbal if we have to fight at all," Tinya recommended.

"I would prefer Meta-Humans who do not fight on my world. Especially while a mad human slasher destroys many futures. If you cannot help, then please, do not hurt," the governor pleaded.

"Don't worry, we'll take it elsewhere," Jo promised.

"I don't fight with overgrown children," Force stated imperiously.

"Cool, you two!" Cham ordered. "Neither of you needs the reputation you're going to get if you keep this up."

As the two stepped back grudgingly, a scream ripped through the peace of the day. The men leapt through the open window while Phantom Girl slipped through the building's floors and walls. Without wind resistance or obstacles, she would catch the perpetrator before the others could get groundside, with the possible exception of Jo.

Ultra Boy saw his lover slipping through the healing rift in the crowd almost a full second he saw the slashed body on the ground. "Tinya! Don't follow him on your own!" he shouted and flew after her.

Chameleon Boy stifled his thought about the inability of sentients to listen as he moved people around the scene and set himself up as a blockade. His job was incredibly easy. On other worlds, people would be pushing and jumping, trying to get a glimpse of death. Here, people turned away from the grisly spectacle and averted their eyes. Even the paramedics turned away once they saw there was no hope. Force and Invisible Kid held the being's hand to comfort it while it was dying. That was all they could do.

By the time Jo caught up with Tinya, she had already captured Tsuln. "You're too late, Legionnaires. I have succeeded and she will reward her faithful lover! She will save me!" the murderer crowed.

"What are you babbling about?" Tinya asked irately.

"Forget it, honey," Ultra Boy advised. "Let's get this clown to detention."

An hour later, Tsuln was in jail and the Legionnaires finished their debriefing with Force and the Taltoan governor.

"I have one last question," Chameleon boy began. "Why did the people turn away from the dying breeder?"

"It is our belief that a dying being can project a soul through its eyes onto the eyes of another. I pray, that because you are aliens, this cannot happen to you."

"What utter nonsense!" Force objected. "I'm sorry that breeder died, but I'm not afraid of her passing."

"Of course," the governor said hastily. "Legionnaires, we are grateful and will return Tsuln when we are through with him."

"I think Earth would be happy to let you keep him, but you can arrange for extradition when the time comes. Thank you for your co-operation, Governor."

As the Legionnaires turned to leave, Force suggested, "Don't forget to be paid for servicing these people."

Jo almost turned around to hit him. "It's not worth an interplanetary incident," Cham told him.

"You're right, but it'd feel nice," Jo grumbled. Tinya looped her arm around his powerful bicep and gave him a glittering look. It was returned, along with a gentle caress from fingers that could shatter diamonds.

"No argument there," Jacques agreed. "Should I pilot the ship, Cham?"

"Yeah, I need to make the report and those two are going to be distracted for the trip home. Right, Tinya?"

"Whatever you say, Cham," she answered.

"See what I mean?"

"Oui." Jacques replied, trying to sound neutral. However, an uncomfortable feeling was crawling up his spine. He began to wonder about things he never let himself wonder about before, since they were frowned upon by his strict religious upbringing. Did Tinya like to take Jo's clothes off, or watch her powerful lover strip? Was there a way Jo liked to kiss or stroke her, or was there a special way she touched Jo? Did that milky-white skin have any birthmarks or scars that were more sensitive to a touch that could bruise steel? As he flew the craft, his thoughts floated to the small room in the back. Was there a way to find answers to his questions? He remembered hearing about some videos made by much younger and frankly curious Legionnaires. Did the videos still exist? How did one access them? The thoughts plagued him while he was awake. When he was asleep, they became dreams that stroked his body until he awoke with every nerve in his body screaming for a sexual release--something he had never experienced. He wanted to relieve the tension himself, but that was also frowned upon by his upbringing. He staggered into the small cleaning cubicle and hoped the cool chemicals would clean away sexual longing and phantom desires, even as they washed away tears of shame.

They would be home soon. Perhaps Crystal's funeral would drive these thoughts away.

Endnotes:
[1] Dirk’s brother was mentioned in the Amazing World of DC Comics #9, the Legion issue. This is the only reference to him that I could find. Karate Kid Jr. and I gave him a name and a history. Does that mean he’s really DC's character?

[2] Force, aka Marcus Nostrum of Teannon. Teannon is a world based on British Victorian mores, and therefore is incredibly sexist by 30th century standards. His sister shares his powers of creating a solid force shield out of their personal auras. She left Teannon and became the Legionnaire Shield. You’ll see more of her later.

[3] Tsuln of Thaun was introduced last chapter.

  Chapter Three: Nightmarish Duties

Jacques was staring nervously at the monitor screens. Like most Legionnaires, he found the duty boring, but he did not complain. Especially on days like this: He needed to think, not go to a funeral. He wasn't sure when he decided not to go; he barely knew Crystal, but his friends did; that should be reason enough to go. But still, when he thought about what she once did for a living...

"Hey-o, Jacques, you not going?" a young woman asked. Jacques looked up and saw his teammate, Indra, dressed in a white sari with gold trim. The dress gleamed in contrast to her brown skin that was lightened by the merest touch of tan. The outfit, surprisingly modest for the teenaged girl, made her very beautiful, but Jacques did not tell her so.[1]

"No, I did not know the woman very well. I think I would be out of place," he said as an answer to her question. "Did you know her well?"

Indra smiled and shook her head. Her black hair threatened to tumble out of her scarf. "I didn't know her at all. But she was something of a hero to me, and I feel I should salute her in some way...even if she doesn't know it." She glanced at the clock on the monitor wall. "Gods above, look at the time! I have to go! Do--do you want me to get you anything after the funeral?"

"No, thank you, Indra. I don't need anything."

"Are you sure? It'll be no trouble," she told him anxiously.

"I'm sure. Thank you," Jacques repeated, and glanced back up at the clock. The girl nodded good-bye and teleported to the temple where the funeral was being held.

If the funeral was hard on Crystal's friends and acquaintances, the aftermath was harder. Katrina Armorr cried and tried to hold her babysitter's soul to the mortal planes until her disguised mother whispered, "She will always watch over you, little princess."[2]

Jo and Tinya walked over to a somber Sun Boy. Jo was relieved to discover that Dirk and Tinya instinctively agreed to a truce during the mourning rituals. While Jo usually found the feuding between the pair amusing, he doubted he would now.

"How are you doing, Dirk?" Tinya asked softly.

"Fine," was the Terran's monotone answer.

"Rough way to die, even for a Rimbie," Jo commented.

"I didn't realize when we pulled those strings to get her away from Rimbor that this would happen," Dirk mused in the same, strained monotone.

"We gave her a chance and she used it, Dirk. A telepath on Rimbor just doesn't last long."

Ice clinked metallically as Dirk swirled his drink. "I wonder if she thought those extra years were worth it."

"She had friends who loved her. That counts for a lot," Tinya answered. "Stop being so morose."

Dirk smiled lamely. "Yes, ma'am."

"Hey, how did your paper do?" Jo asked.

"It was accepted. I bought myself a new sculpture to celebrate. I think I'll celebrate this by going to bed drunk."

"Oh, that's going to help," Tinya snapped.

A blond man came over to the trio. "Tinya, Mon and Shady are looking for you."

"Thanks, Jan," Tinya responded, leading Jo away.

Jan Arrah slumped into the chair beside his friend. "You're scaring the others, Dirk."

"Maybe we should convince Chuck to come back and be Chief of Morale again. I can't seem to get the bounce of it."

Jan shook his head. "Maybe we should find something for you to do, besides drown your brain cells."

Dirk tossed his drink down his throat and let the alcohol burn. It was one damn thing after another this past week, and there was no sign of it slowing to a normal pace. "I dunno, Jan. I think I just need a nap. I've had a long spaz of REMlessness. When's Shvaughn coming off of her six-week stakeout?"

"Tomorrow," Jan answered uncomfortably. "Are you going to be able to fly?"

"Yep. Don't even need to burn any booze out of my system. Just as long as we don't go too fast"

"Don't worry about that; I want to stay as intoxicated as I am, myself."

Eyes the blue of the newborn suns met eyes as blue as the ocean. "Trouble in paradise?"

"I don't know, Dirk," Jan answered simply.

Somewhat shakily, the friends flew home. As they carefully walked to their rooms, they passed the only other Legionnaire in the former Orandonese embassy.[3]

"Hey, Jacques, what'cha doing here?" Dirk asked as he nearly bumped into his fellow Terran.

"I volunteered for monitor duty. I've had enough death for two days," the African answered.

"Amen," Dirk muttered, as he spied the video tapes that Jacques had. "Better hope Jeckie doesn't catch you watching those while on duty."

"Don't worry, Dirk...I shall be discreet," he replied and watched Dirk and Jan walk by him. For a moment, Dirk thought he saw an appraising predatory expression in Jacques' eyes, one that mirrored his own when he was looking at an enticing woman. Jacques? Dirk shook his head. I must be more drunk than I thought. "Well, room sweet room...and you didn't need to carry me over the threshold."

"'Drag' would be more like it. I reached my threshold at the church. G'night, Dirk."

"Good dreams, Jan."

At the moment, Jan didn't care if he dreamed or not. The alcohol was making him sleepy and it took most of his discipline to undress before he climbed into bed. He was asleep instantly and unaware of the transition between resting and dreams.

He knew the setting well enough. He was born breathing this world's air and thrived in its radioactive heat for the first twelve years of his life. He also knew the shattered landscape and ruins...the last remnants of a civilization called Trom. The desolation did not scare him; he had seen this place too many times in reality and dreams for the destruction, decay and ghosts to dismay him. What did bother him was the sense of movement behind him. On a dead world, only the wind moved. The motion was too close to the ground to be wind. A pool of warm, pulpy wetness collected at his feet, vibrating the soft moans of a woman and girl-child. A man's hand gripped his ankle...he turned--

"--Nye!"

The door irised open. "Jan, what--?" Dirk began asking.

"Damn Roxxas, damn Smearean, damn Arcade! And damn me too, for surviving!"

Dirk slumped onto the bed and rubbed Jan's head. He sighed, mentally repeating the list. Roxxas destroyed Trom, Smearean destroyed the psychological defenses that allowed Jan to cope with what happened on Trom and Arcade built android models of his family as corpses. "That kind of night, huh? I should pack you up and ship you to Shvaughn."[4]

"Dirk, this is her first case as a P.I. I don't want to trouble her."

"Trouble her? Hell, if it's anything like the stakeouts we've gone on, she'd probably be glad to have the company."

"I don't want her to think I'm interfering."

"You're one of the silent partners of Jath Investigations. You paid to interfere."[5]

Before Jan could counter that remark, Colossal Boy's image brightened the room. "Jan, police monitor just picked up a call from Shvaughn. She's just located a body."

That was all the excuse Jan needed. He jumped out of bed and began pulling on his green and blue uniform.

"Wait for me!" Dirk shouted as he went to get dressed. Jan already had the location by the time Dirk joined him. Even if they hadn't been told, they could have found the crime scene. All six members of the Metropolis streets division were there with lights flashing as thousands of pieces of equipment hovered around an alley.

"Hi, guys," an officer greeted.

"Hi yourself, Smyt," Dirk returned.[6]

"Where's Shvaughn?" asked Jan.

"Where's the corpse?" asked Dirk.

"I'm here, Jan," a shaky voice answered the first question.

"Look around you, Morgna," the police officer answered. Dirk did. The entire alley was covered splattered with pulpy masses. In a garbage-strewn corner was a part of a head.

"Excuse me," Dirk said and flew away.

Smyt snorted. "Thought you Legionnaires had stronger stomachs."

"He had too much to drink tonight. This does seem to be the week for grisly murders, doesn't it?" Jan observed with the eye of someone who had been through this before. "What happened?"

"The kid exploded. But there's no heat or chemical traces. Doesn't look like a psychic attack, either...the scanners indicate the synapses are still intact."

"Weird. What about magic?" a returning Sun Boy offered.

"We don't have a magic cop yet. Do you think the White Witch can help us?"

"Who knows? It may not be magical either. Were you watching the kid, Shvaughn?" Jan asked softly.

"Yep. I was just waiting for him to come out of the alley...only he never did."

"Why were--"

"Jan, I'm going to be giving statements and doing filework for the rest of the night. If you want to find out about this, read the S.P. report or call me in a few days. Okay?"

"All right. Take care of yourself, Shvaughn. Come on, Dirk. We're holding up the work."

Since he was unwilling to argue with his friend in public, Dirk allowed himself to be led away. "You didn't tell her?"

"Didn't you see how upset she was? She didn't need another thing to worry about."

"Jan, you are one of the most considerate idiots I know! Be considerate of yourself once in a while! Oh, Hell--why am I lecturing? They're your nightmares!" Dirk shouted and twisted to fly in a different direction.

Jan shrugged. He knew Dirk's outburst was caused by stress and concern. He also knew his friend had a point: Jan was not going to have a good night. He spent the first hours watching a dull holovid before dropping into the sleep he needed, but dreaded.

Jacques sat in the darkness, shivering. The only light in the room came from the snow-filled screen of the viewer. He closed his eyes, trying to remember and savor the feelings the images engendered while feeling repulsed by his voyeurism and desire. How could a person feel two extremes at once? Yet Imra did when she surrendered to Garth--how young they were!--her voice choked when she asked timidly if she could psychically link them together. What were the tears in Lyle's eyes when Condo said softly, "But...I want you"? How different the scenes were compared to Dirk's-- where sex was a silly game, and at the same time useless attempt to try to get close to someone--and Thom and Nura's early explorations of each other...a stylized warfare...each trying to control their partner. All the tapes fascinated him and scared him. The very act of watching was wrong. He would not watch any more, he told himself, he would take a cold shower, he'd get something something heavy to eat. Instead, he put on his lightest cotton pants and robe, and stepped outside into the hall, painfully aware of his aroused condition. That was when he heard the cry. One of his comrades was in pain and he went to see what he could do...but why was he anticipating entering Jan's room so much?

Again Jan found himself among the ruins. This time he was being chased. He didn't dare look back. The ground was sloping and unsteady--too much debris made running without slipping impossible and he was truly afraid of being caught.

"Why do you deny us?" the things chasing him asked. "We're your family!"

He tripped. After an impossibly long fall, he landed, scraping his arms. "I have no family!" he shouted as he staggered up and began an off-balance run.

"We're dead; but that doesn't mean we never existed!"

The dream Jan began crying as the physical one tossed and twisted his covers into a net around him.

"You can't continue to hide from us," the ghost voices admonished.

"Oh, gods...isn't enough to admit you're dead?"

"No," a ghost voice whispered, its breath blowing a cold breeze on his neck. Jan turned to look--

--And screamed himself awake the second time that night.

A smooth, cool hand brushed the sweat from his face. "Ssh. It's all right, mon ami."

"Jacques?" the blond man asked, unsure of what was reality.

"Oui. You're safe, Jan. You're among the living," the African softly whispered as he put a reassuring hand on the Tromian's shoulder. Sacre Mere, what am I doing? he asked the Virgin.

"Really? Sometimes I hear that Jeckie's not the only one who speaks to the dead around here."

"Sometimes, perhaps, I speak to my namesake. But you should not wonder about such things now." Tentatively, his hand began to lightly slide down Jan's chest, allowing fingertips to stroke the softly defined symmetry of the musculature and feel the slowing of the frantic heartbeat under the pale skin. I should stop this. It is not right, not fair to--to... To what? The hand came to rest on Jan's naked groin.

The pleasure of the touch, the realness of it both assured and confused Jan. This was real, Jacques was real; the dreams were not.

"Di--did I wake you?" he asked, aware of the stirrings Jacques' touch engendered.

"Don't worry about it," Jacques replied as he gently caressed the prone man, wanting to kiss, to feel Jan's body as the fair man became totally focused on him, and only him.

Jan wanted the warmth and intoxication that Jacques was offering; the passion would make him forget about the dead beings reaching for him out of his subconscious. Long red hair, the color of dying oak leaves, flickered through his mind for a moment. Shvaughn wasn't there. But Jacques was. "You're sure about this?" Jan asked, praying Jacques wouldn't turn shy.

"Oui. I have been interested in you for a long time."

Dirk finally landed when he realized he didn't know where he wanted to go for the night. He didn't want to be alone--between Jan's nightmares, the funeral and the sight of the murder victim, he was going to have a bad night himself. Nura found a young physicist at the convention and was planning to have a weekend with him. His family's home was nowhere to go for peace and quiet either--not with a baby brother and a father recovering from a stroke. Besides that, his mother would insist on dredging up the old argument about his career choice...he'd never get the emotional support he needed from family.

He dropped down to an outdoor bar and ordered a tequilla sunrise. As the bar produced the request, a soft, bell-toned voice asked, "Would it be improper on this heathen world for a woman to buy a drink for a man with whom she wishes to speak?"

Dirk looked at the auburn-haired woman and her formfitting jumpsuit and blue matador jacket. "Vianna T'Orami," he greeted his occasional ally and enemy. "To what do I owe the honor?"[7]

"I sensed your distress," she replied, placing her thumb on the credit reader, "and thought you might like some sympathetic company."

"And how did you know that?" Dirk challenged, only half-playfully. "I'm not psychic and we're not that close."

Vianna grimaced in defeat. "You're right. I was looking for you; I need a favor. But I don't see why I can't be sympathetic when our problems are both about loved ones who won't see to their own needs."

Dirk's interest flared in his star-blue eyes. Vianna knew she had his attention and thanked God. "Please, Dirk, could we speak elsewhere? This is a delicate matter."

"Sure. How about my apartment?" he offered.

Vianna nodded. A talk and dalliance with this charming Terran would make him more receptive to her cousin's plight. She needed the Legion to sponsor her cousin's asylum before he was arrested for heresy.

As Vianna finished massaging the tensed shoulders of one Terran, another woke to the soft, even breathing of his companion. Jan normally slept on his side, but this time he was on his back. The soft light of two holographic moons highlighted his bare shoulders, chest and neck. Jacques placed a tentative hand on Jan's shoulder and traced with his finger the hardness of the collarbone to the softness of Jan's neck. It would be so easy, he realized, just to tighten his grip and squeeze...

Non! What am I thinking of? he asked himself and God before slipping on his clothes and running from the room invisibly. His flight took him to one of the rooms in the former embassy. Inside, he heard the voice of the youngest Legionnaire and his sister, Danielle Foccart.[8]

He slipped into her room and saw her shadow drying itself. She was singing a greeting to the sun in their tribal tongue. Ever since she saw her first sunrise, just five years ago, she woke up to greet it. Having her childhood destroyed by an infant psychosis made her sensitive to the wonders of the universe that God had wrought. Jacques watched her morning rituals as she picked through her curly hair and clipped it in place over her right ear. His eyes strayed to the breasts that had not yet started to develop and lower to the cleft that was only covered by soft down.

A shudder of revulsion shook him and one of the stuffed animals dropped to the floor. Danielle looked up and saw nothing in the mirror. She psychically linked her mind with the security system, which detected nothing through its infrared or electro-magnetic scanners. "Hello, Jacques, why are you here invisibly?" she asked in French while she pulled on her blue and white costume.

Jacques shimmered into visibility. "How did you know I was here, Dani? I thought my powers were proof against scanners."

"You still displace air, dear brother," she answered and commanded the lights to brighten. The power to communicate with any computer in the universe was the legacy of Brainiac 5's advanced circuitry implants that were used to cure her of her psychosis. Besides giving her the ability to move and sing, it gave her the power to cripple starships or governments. "What's wrong?"

"Danielle...I find myself...thinking evil thoughts--" He could not finish.

"Jacques, Francine always told me if you are that troubled by your thoughts and deeds, you should go to confession." Her brother looked at her doubtfully. "And you always told me to look to God when I'm troubled, and He will ease the pain."

"You're right. I will go to confession. But I think I should take a nap first...it's been an exhausting night."

Endnotes:
[1] This is Indra, this Legion’s resident teleporter. Her name is Tzondra Sobhassavatta and she’s from Calcutta, India. She’s taken her code name from the Vedist god of creation, whom the Hindus considered a trickster character.

[2] Katrina Armorr is one of the twins of Val and Projectra Armorr. In this universe, Val survived the attack of the LSV on Orando. As Katrina is part of the Blood Royale, she possesses the powers of a medium and communicates with the dead.

[3] With the loss of their U.P. funding (as alluded to last chapter), the Legion has moved into the former Orandonese embassy that Projectra gave the Legion after Orando left this DC universe.

[4] Roxxas the Butcher of Trom was introduced in Adventure #307 and reappeared in S/LSH #211. Arcade is indeed Marvel’s Arcade and downloaded his personality into a literal Murderworld in this universe. Smearean is the sadistic slaveowner who drugged Jan in "Arenas".

[5] Shvaughn Erin quit the Science Police in protest over the Clone and Android Acts. She has teamed up with Lydda Jath to form Jath Investigations, in order to continue the work they both believe in.

[6] Smyt is one of twelve members of the Science Police and is a recurring character in the Levitz run.

[7] The Orami family is a clan of metahumans from the Consortium of Worlds--an alliance not unlike the United Planets, except that religious tolerance is not as big a question as it is in the UP. The family battled the Legion several times, but is now living in exile after challenging the theocracy. Vianna is a telepath, and you’ll meet some more of her family later.

[8] Years before the Bierbaums turned Danielle into Computo, KKJ and I postulated that the Computo cyberware in Danielle’s head not only cured her paralysis, but also gave her the power to mentally interface with computers. In this universe, her code name is Gremlin, and she works to disguise the extent of her abilities.

  Chapter Four: Poetry and Rage

Brainiac 5 studied the splatters, ranged from pink to brown, that decorated the alley. This was the fourth such alley that he visited at the request of the Science Police. Each one was smeared with the remains of one or two sentients. After studying the explosive patterns, he took energy and environmental readings, and samples. Hopefully there would be enough undamaged tissue for a genetic identification, so police could inform people that their loved ones were never coming home again.

Indra accompanied Brainiac 5 on the investigation and quietly watched as he arranged a data exchange with S.P. forensics. The moment he signaled his desire to leave, Brainiac found himself back in the biological/medical area of his lab. "Thank you," Brainiac 5 acknowledged once he recognized his surroundings. "You're free to leave if you have other concerns."[1]

"Nope. Jeckie said I was supposed to accompany and help you as you needed it. I'm also supposed to observe and learn what I can," she answered, boosting herself onto a nearby counter.

Querl Dox looked at her--a splash of color in an otherwise gray and silver lab. Against her dark brown skin was an asymmetrical leotard of violet. A batiked design, sprinkled with mirrors, decorated the right leg before her shorter berry thigh boot reached just above the knee. Brainiac was a fiend for order, but he found in the alternating lengths of hair, top, gloves and boots gave an appearance of balance he had not thought possible.

"I can handle this stage by myself if you wish to leave."

Indra stayed and stared at the floor.

"Considering all the times you complain about being in this lab, I would have thought you hated it."

"I hate being the center of your experiments, Brain. A girl gets bored lying around for hours, doing nothing."

"I'll try to amend that. Why would you want to stay with me when you don't have a need at the moment?"

Indra sighed and brushed her black hair away from her violet eyes. "Because you're the only Legionnaire, other than Danielle, who doesn't treat me like a kid. To you, I'm a guinea pig or a teammate, and that's a nice change from being told about responsibility, patience and proper behavior for a girl my age."[2]

"I wouldn't worry about the last item. Imra was giving that lecture when she was your age. Truthfully, Indra, I wouldn't mind a sounding board and company. What do you think about what we found in the alley?"

"Made me glad I skipped breakfast," Indra grimaced. Brainiac 5 nodded in tight-lipped agreement as he started running the forensic program. "What struck me was the splatters...it was like those people were balloons with paint in them, and somebody popped 'em with a needle."

"Do you mind!" Brainiac found himself shouting. "Those were people! Whether it was quick or not, they died horribly!"

Indra turned away from him, silent. But chastened? Querl had no real way to know. Since he wanted the results of the police forensics programs before starting any inquiries about the murders, he found the silence unbearable. It was one thing to be alone in a quiet lab, but when there was another person and no work, it seemed artificial and strained.

"Indra, may I ask you something?"

The girl shrugged. She was still stung by his yelling.

"Why did you join the Legion?"

"It was a good way to stay out of jail."

"No, that was why you went to the Legion Academy. You were arrested for using your powers illegally, but you did it for a good cause. Chuck and Luornu oversaw your training and probation. However, you were free to go after you finished your probation. Why did you join us?"

She did not look at him when she vocally activated the holographic wall that he would soon use to view the autopsy results. Instead she ordered it to show a view of Calcutta.

It was a magnificent city from the gleaming spires of the golden platforms. One could see the opulent ornaments of the eight-thousand year old civilization everywhere, from the clothes the people wore to the buildings and parks. If one looked over the edge of the platforms, one could see the temples that were built to ancient gods and prophets. "Have you ever been to Calcutta, Brainy?" the girl asked in a quiet voice.

"Of course. There was a symposium on the effects of mythology on interplanetary politics there, almost six years ago. I found it a very stimulating city."

She shook her head and violet eyes looked deep into iridescent green ones. "No, not the Calcutta of Desai or the Multiversity's school of philosophy. I mean the real Calcutta. The one that is thousands of years old, the one that is now the dirt that ex-presidents and professors try to wash off as soon as they're through looking at sacred ruins. Computer, show us Calcutta's ground level. I'm talking about the slums, Brainy. Where the hopelessly poor and the untouchables hide."

"There are no more 'Untouchables', the caste system has not existed for over a thousand years," he objected.

She barked a laugh "That's what they would have you innocent space travelers think. No, we exist, Brainy, and we scrabble for whatever living we can. All of us. Even the babies trying to crawl out of their mothers' wombs. I got to play midwife once," she admitted after a moment.

He waited, not knowing if she would continue, but hoping she would.

"I was just a little older than Dani is now. One of the girls in our gang started having her contractions early. There was blood--lots of it. And it was everywhere. I had to do something. I didn't know what."

"Why not simply take her to a hospital?"

"Why not simply tell the spos there were two fool girls who were ready for their 'games', and one was already dying with a future chit in her turned the wrong way? Why not see how the uppers handled the gutter scum? No, she was my friend. I wasn't going to give her to the same gang who bashed her the last time she was caught. We were afraid they beat her until something was wrong with her, inside. We knew then that we were right."[3]

"The science police were using unlawful force! Why didn't you report it?"

"Are those orgs on the side of your head ears?" she almost screamed. "I couldn't go to a spo and ask for directions to the Taj Mahal, let alone anything important! I was a street kid--a thief! And I'm the daughter of an unlicensed whore! Not just any whore, but one who commanded the lust of some of the most powerful prongers on earth until she screwed it away with my father! How was I supposed to make a citizens' complaint?" She was shaking, the rage and sorrow was still with her. Querl could understand that sort of feeling. Didn't he just stand by and allow his beloved Kara to die during her appointed hour with the same feelings of helplessness?

"There was blood everywhere. And I--I had to put my hands inher to try to pull the baby out. I cut open that sack it was in...even then I could see it was a funny color. And the cord from its belly button, it was wrapped around its neck and I couldn't get it to breathe and I couldn't stop her from bleeding all over and they both died! They both died in front of me. I didn't know how far I could teleport, I was scared I'd 'port into a wall! So I just held her hand and liedabout her beautiful baby and sang to her until I heard that funny rattle dead people do..." She wiped away tears and mascara. "You ask why I stay here? You want to know why I make smart ass statements about deaders and the people who are only able to help them then? Been there and done it, richer. Now's a chance to stop some of the shit I lived with, and I don't have to bathe in it anymore." She smiled a strained half-smile "Sides, it really is a good way to stay out of jail. 'Scuse me. Need to wash up a little before I put salt water on your equipment."

Querl stood where she last saw him and thought about what she said. Poetry and rage from a source he had never expected it. One that wanted to pretend that she was just another kid. Had he pushed her too hard also? There were many times that he found the other Legionnaires on guard when he was speaking to them. And then there was the White Witch.

Indra fidgeted and twisted her fingers through her hair as she waited for the water in the sink to fill. There was no reason to feel bad for looking stupid in front of Brainiac 5, she told herself, everyone else does some of the time.

"The forensics program is finished. If you still want to help with the investigation," Brainiac 5 offered.

No, I want to run to my room and hide underneath my teddy bears. But I'm no coward and I have to show you other Legionnaires that! she thought. "I'm in for the duration, Dox. I'll leave when my part's done."

"Very well," Brainiac admitted and lapsed into the comfort of data interpretation. "The cause of death was an unconventional energy source in each case. From the evidence, I'd say it was the same energy source for all the murders. The energy somehow filled the victims completely to make them explode, yet not cause cellular damage. The two known energy sources that fit this criteria are psionic and magic." He looked at Indra. "Frankly, I'd like to disprove the former before calling the 'expert' on the latter." He programmed a schematic of a woman's body. When Indra asked why, he explained, "Eight of the ten victims were female. They've all been identified. Now, the humanoid body is remarkably structured to stand most stresses. Even at its most vulnerable point, a planted charge would leave a considerable portion of the corpse intact. The most common of the psychic powers that would be considered in this scenario is telekinesis. However, a telekinetic attack which struck in such a fashion would have used such a phenomenal amount of power that every psychic on Earth would have sensed it. That leaves...hmmm..." His voice trailed off as he concentrated on the alleys they visited. Yes, there were clean areas in each alley, where some sort of obstruction must have been, several meters off the ground. "Indra, tell Shield to meet me here in an hour."[4]

"Sure," Indra responded and disappeared. She reappeared in the monitor room long enough to startle Cosmic Boy and find out Shield's location. Then she teleported to the gym in time to watch Lightning Lass toss Shield onto the floor.

"When are you going to stop worrying about your opponent and worry about you, Ciryn?" Ayla asked as she pinned her opponent.

"When my opponent is truly my foe!" Shield retorted.

Indra shook her head in disbelief. "Sometimes you can't tell the difference, Shield," she added.

"So you hit them first? It's a good way to make mistakes," Shield countered as Ayla helped her up.

"So does waiting too long to find out who you should be hitting," Indra added. "Anyway, the Brain wants to see you in the lab in a hour. It's about some murders we're investigating."

"The Alley Splatters? Oh bloody hell!" Ciryn glared as Indra giggled at the appropriateness of the remark. "As if I have any idea on what or why that slaughter would occur!"

"I'll come along, Ciryn," Ayla volunteered. "Jeckie's finished all of the paperwork for the next two months before she took the rest of the day off. I've got nothing to do 'til a situation appears. A psychotic murderer sounds like my best bet to do some deputy leading."

"I know she has rank on her own world, but why a woman would see fit to walk over another woman she appointed is beyond me!" Ciryn sighed as she shook her head slightly.

"Shield, please, don't start with that. All it causes is trouble in the group. We've got enough problems outside of our control." Ciryn pursed her lips as if she tasted something bitter, but nodded. The sweat soaked women headed for the showers. Indra vanished again, hoping to find out what Brainy had in mind. Forty-five minutes later, Ciryn and Ayla entered the multi-lab.

"You’re here," Brainiac greeted, not even looking at the women. "Shield, I'd like you to project your power into the aorta of each dummy and expand it, please."

Shield projected a thin beam of golden energy at the mannequins from one outstretched finger. The dummies expanded and exploded in the testing chamber. Indra looked at the familiar splatter pattern and shook her head.

Brainiac smiled grimly; he solved the mystery. "Communications link with S.P. headquarters: Chief Cusimano, please."

"So, you solved the murder without magical assistance," Mysa surmised as she entered the lab. "And how many hours did it take to do that?"

"Not so many as you suspect," Brainiac 5 answered with an edge to his voice.

Ayla groaned inwardly and Ciryn rolled her eyes. Indra wondered if now was a good time to leave and find a bomb shelter.

"Chief Cusimano here, Brainy," the voice carried as the holographic image formed. "What do you have for me?"

"You'll want to release a metahuman alert and A.P.B. For Marcus Nostrum of Teannon, a.k.a. Force. I have sufficient circumstantial evidence to ascertain that he is one of the two known beings who can kill in such a manner."

"NO!" Ciryn's objection was ripped from her soul. "He's chauvinistic, paranoid and obsessive, but he's no killer!"

"His condition has deteriorated since Universo captured him for a strike against Oa," Brainiac mentioned.

"But-but Jo and Tinya saw him just last week! They said he was insufferable, but--"

"Can you suggest anyone else," Brainiac inquired quietly.

"Ah, Brainiac 5, surely the tact of a Khundish battlelord would out measure yours," Mysa told him in a cool voice bathed with acid. "Have you no creativity or compassion? Don't you realize that you've just told this woman that her brother needs to be put away like a mad dog, on the strength of your guesswork?"

Ciryn was sitting on a lab stool. She felt each tear forming in her golden brown eyes as memories tumbled into her consciousness: Her big brother playing soccer with her and teaching her to ride a bike. The day they received their powers and their early cases on Teannon. Ayla guessed what she was thinking; she had her own psychotic brother to plague her thoughts, and gently placed her hands on Shield's shoulder pads. "The police won't have a chance to be gentle with him," the deputy leader told her friend. "Do you think you're up to leading a team to contact him?"

"Yes," Ciryn answered, blocking the tears. She would be damned if she cried in front of a man who thought her weak!

"Lightning Lass, I have to protest," Brainiac 5 announced.

"Brainy, her brother threw Mon-El off a planet when we first met! She may be the only one who can handle him!" Ayla retorted. Then, in a gentler tone, she asked Ciryn to name her team.

"Chrysalis, Tellus and Diamond," Ciryn answered after a moment. "Between the four of us, we should be able to hold him... if that's necessary."[8]

"Good. Let's call them," Ayla agreed and led Shield and the White Witch out of the lab.

"Ayla is being an idiot! Shield may have the power to stop her brother, but she refuses to fight him! It took Ayla years before she understood that brother or not, Lightning Lord is still a menace!" Querl shouted.

Indra shrugged, her taut, dark skin moved with and under the violet spandex. "The Witch was right about one thing, Brainy. Your approach was tacky. You could've at least told Ciryn before calling the spo."

"That 'spo' is Chief Cusimano to you."

"Hey, until they earn my respect, they're spos. And if they keep handling the Braalian situation the way they are, they won't earn it at all."

The "Braalian situation" was a bleak example of humanity's potential. The Office of Terran Reconstruction employed two and a half million of the magnetically powered Braalians as part of the efforts to rebuild Earth and Braal's damaged economy. However, behavior from some Terrans fell into age-old patterns. The shouts and protests of aliens taking Terran jobs quickly escalated into stonings and lynchings. The Science Police were quickly discovering that the Watchdog satellite system could not deter the violence between the races and ordered a curfew for cities with a heavy Braalian population.

Indra's experience on the streets taught her how ineffective a curfew was. That only kept law-abiding people in at night. People like Jacques Foccart, who felt comfortable with the constraints that laws and religion, would stay inside; no one else. It was partly this ability to conform, and with his caring and soft-spoken manners that Indra found so attractive, besides his deep brown eyes and wide chest. Unfortunately, he didn't acknowledge her existence except as a Legionnaire and occasional friend. How could he not know what she felt? To take her mind off of the quiet man, she focused on the one with her. "You know, Brain, you need to cool down a little," she told the Coluan, "and I have just the idea."

"Oh?" Brainiac asked, too irate to be suspicious.

"Yep. Swimming!" she shouted and grabbed him long enough to teleport them over the pool. Brainiac 5 had no time to activate his flight ring and fell into the water. He pulled off his shirt and threw it at her, hoping she wouldn't teleport away in time.

"And the others told me you had no sense of fun," the girl teased from the other side of the pool.

"Oh? And who said that?" Brainiac 5 demanded.

"Dirk..."

"That figures," Querl muttered.

"Drake, Chuck, Luornu, Ayla, Lar, Imra..." He realized she was going to name off every Legionnaire, past and present, that she knew.

"Wait a minute!" he objected. She fell into peals of laughter. "Well, can you at least get me a towel, little trickster?" he asked in her native language. She did bring him one from the locker room, which Brainy used to pull her into the water. The tension both of them felt was eased for a time, but the lab would still be a messy testimony by the time they returned to it.

Jacques absently stirred the soup in his bowl. What had gotten into him last night? Jan was a generous lover: Considerate of Jacques's every desire and his years as Tenzil Kem's lover taught him how to please a man. In fact, a man could not hope for a better lover, except for one thing: Jan was male.[5]

Jacques never thought of himself as homosexual. In fact, he never thought of himself as sexual at all, until lately.... He shuddered at last night's thought of the pleasure of feeling Jan's crushed windpipe between his hands or Danielle's soft, prepubescent body. The thoughts brought a warm, insistent hardness to his body. I'm not like this, he insisted to himself. However, if he wasn't, then why was he acting this way? He crossed himself, and threw the half-eaten soup in the recycler. He needed to confess and pay penance before more of his soul was eaten by guilt and desires. As he left the galley, he almost bumped literally into Jan.

"I was hoping to find you," the blond began. "I--is there something wrong?"

"Non." Jacques answered as he averted his eyes.

Jan suspected that was not true, but decided to respect Jacques's silence. "I wanted to thank you for last night. Before you came in, I was almost ready to call Dr. Running Mare myself."

Jacques smiled. Jan's distaste for hospitals and medical personnel was a standard joke in the Legion. Involuntarily, Jacques remembered Jan's touch against the small of his back and almost reached for the other man's hand. "I'm glad I could help. If you'll excuse me, I'm late for an appointment." the African said and brushed by the alien. As he rounded the corner, he saw Shvaughn, who returned his nod with a glare that would melt permafrost.

Stiffly, she walked into the galley. Jan's back was to her as he was making some tea. "Good afternoon, neeka. Would you like some breakfast?" he asked when he sensed the minute trace of precious metal he transmuted under her skin.

Permafrost crept into her voice. "No, thank you. I heard your conversation with Jacques. Why did you need 'help' last night?"

"I had some pretty intense nightmares...funny how unimportant they are in daylight."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You were busy with something upsetting last night, if I recall correctly, and you didn't need or want me hanging about."

"So you turned to Jacques? What did he do to comfort you? Read you a bedtime story?"

"He held me," Jan admitted simply.

"What else did he do?"

"You humans don't have a proper word for what we did."

"How about 'fucking', Jan?" She waited for him to deny what was true. "Damn you, Jan! You've lived amongst 'us humans' for half your life!" She shouted as she spun and fled the room.

Stunned and angry, Jan made no move to follow her. What was that all about? he wondered. He tried to figure out the nature of the argument and had gotten absolutely nowhere when Dirk walked into the kitchen. Even though his red-gold hair and classic uniform were immaculate, he looked tired.

"Spent all night with a telepath," the human offered as explanation as he dragged towards the coffee. "What's wrong?"

Jan shrugged as Dirk sat. "Shvaughn's very angry with me and I'm not sure what I did to deserve it."

"You're asking me for advice?" Dirk asked before pouring the dark, steaming liquid down his throat. "Maybe Imra or Gim would be better for advice on long term relationships. Or maybe Tinya. She'd love it."

"I don't need the entire Legion knowing my romantic problems."

"That rules out Tinya then. If you want to talk to me, don't worry--I'll be as quiet as the vacuum."

"Thanks." The blond drew in a deep breath and began. "Shvaughn overheard my thanking Jacques for the help he gave me last night...for the nightmares. She wanted to know why I didn't tell her."

Dirk hid his "I told you so" expression in his cup of coffee.

"She then insisted on knowing if Jacques and I 'fucked'."

The Terran perked up. "Did you?"

"Yes, but--"

Dirk started laughing hysterically. "You and Jacques? (HA HA HA) No wonder why you're in trouble! Tell me-- Did-- we-were you--Jacques’s first?" he managed to gasp between guffaws. "Oh, man, when you screw up, you do it big! I can't waa-aaii-iit to see your apology!"

"But what am I apologizing for?" Jan asked tersely, exasperated with his friend's behavior. Dirk found the question as funny as the situation and continued laughing as uncontrollably as before. "Never mind, I'll find out myself," the Tromian snapped and walked stiffly out of the kitchen.

Jacques stared at the altar. The marble crucifix depicted Christ in the agony of dying for all sapients' sins. The sculpture's body was taut, the face etched into a horrible rictus. "Le Bon Dieu, you died to save my immortal soul. Can you save me from the temptations of this mortal shell?" the Legionnaire prayed. As he did before, he glanced at the confessionals. He could not bring himself to Confess-- he could not guarantee that his desires would not override his reason again. He became increasingly uncomfortable in this place of worship, and could not understand his this feeling of alienation. Have I somehow sinned too much? he wondered.

Father Garcia-Chu watched the famous man for two hours before he knew he needed to approach Foccart. "You seemed troubled my friend," he began, feeling that Jacques would dislike the pretentiousness of a man only slightly older calling him "my son". "And even a blind man could see how the world weighs heavily upon you. Would you prefer to speak to someone before you Confess?"[6]

"Yes, Father, I..." He told the story of the past night and the strange feelings to accompanied the deeds. As the priest listened, his face set in a kindly and interested mask, his stomach slowly imploded into ice.

"Jacques, this isn't like you at all! What you say about this, almost makes you sound like another person altogether!"

Jacques's brown eyes opened wide in shock and realization. Then they narrowed. In a grim voice laced with malice, he said, "I'm glad you discovered that, 'Father'," before his open hand slammed into the priest's face. Invisible Kid picked up the priest and shouldered the limp body. There was much to be done before the man awoke.

"I have found him." Tellus announced to the pacing Shield. "Your powers have an effect on the psychic spectrum. Even so, it was not easy to find him on a world with two and a half billion humans."

Diamond sat perfectly still as Shield looked up from the floor. "Where?"

"Santiago de Chile."

"What a coincidence! Ciryn, we're expected there tonight!" Diamond exclaimed.

Ciryn continued to pace and wove her twitching hands together constantly. "It's no coincidence. Marcus may be mad, but you can't doubt his genius. He knows your brother is a gem dealer and he's aware of the gem expo in Santiago tonight. He also knows that Coal and I are lovers. He's waiting for me."[7]

"So, what's our game plan, coach?" an almost eight-foot long caterpillar asked as he unwrapped himself from a half-eaten leaf.

"Watching sports again, Chrysalis?" Tellus asked its friend.

"Yes, and more male Legionnaires watched this time than female!"

Diamond laughed. "You weren't watching daytime dramas this time!"

"Enough of this!" Shield snapped uncharacteristically. "We've got a lot of work to do to make sure Marcus can't harm any civilians!"

"Why not grab him now, while he's off-guard?"

"Too many variables. For instance, he's bound to be in a crowd. At the gem expo, there will be ways to contain people. Security's tight there anyway. The exposition center is at the edge of the city. With luck, we can keep material damage down too."

"We lose the advantage of surprise," Chrysalis argued.

"We've numbers and we can arrange surprises," Ciryn countered. "Tellus, you're the senior Legionnaire here. What do you think?"

"I think your brother's mental health has been destroyed since Universo took him for his war on Oa. I think the mind I touched was not sane and full of anger. He means to subjugate you to his will, although he thinks of it as proper Teannon ways. If killing you is the way to free you from the corruption of the U.P. and the Legion, so be it." Tellus's gills flitted excitedly. "My experiences as a Legionnaire cannot give you more wisdom."

Diamond tried to suppress a shudder. "My brother loves me and tried to protect me from my "wild ways", but he let me choose my life without giving me grief. When I think about your brother..."

"You just don't understand. Marcus earned my love and respect when we were younger. He taught me sports and math, and fought for my presence beside him when we began our crimefighting careers. He recognized my work, even if Teannon's officials and media did not." Shield's voice lost its strength as the memories gained theirs. Diamond went to hug her almost-sister as Ayla looked away from the monitor.

"It looks like Shield and I have some co-ordinating to do with the S.P.s. A shame we have no liaison," Projectra commented as her power created the faceless Sensor Girl mask. "Ayla, would you please continue monitoring the board?"

"Sure. I can double check the roster if you want."

"No need. I already did that. Call me if there's trouble."

"Yes, ma'am," Ayla grumped softly. Not for the first time, Lightning Lass wondered why she accepted the deputy leadership after Timber Wolf married his journalist and settled on Zoon. Jeckie didn't need a deputy; she needed a gopher and witness to leadership abilities. While she was thankful things were going smoothly, Ayla wanted a chance to prove that she was of more use than sitting at the monitor board and doing roll call.[9]

Endnotes:
[1] Indra has already been introduced. She is owned and copyrighted by Bonita del Rio

[2] Gremlin was introduced in the last chapter. Her super-hero identity is owned and copyrighted by Bonita del Rio, while Danielle Foccart and her life story are DC Comics, Inc.

[3] "Spo" is a derogatory term for Science Police Officers.

[4] Shield, aka Ciryn McCall, aka Isolde Nostrum, formerly of Teannon. Ciryn and her brother Marcus (aka Force), were given the abilities to project the Kirillian aura that surrounds all beings' bodies into a solid force. Her brother was stolen by Universo for his anti-Green Lantern army during the Universo Project storyline. Shield came to Earth and discovered she preferred Earth’s policy of legal equality to Teannon’s misogynistic laws. She applied to the Legion and changed her name in honor of her new freedom. Shield and Force are owned and copyrighted by Bonita del Rio

[5] Besides the obvious joke, there is a case for me to use Jan and Tenzil to have been adolescent lovers. Jan lived in the same apartment complex as Matter-Eater Lad in the early Adventure days. Given Tenzil’s rotten home life, which was discussed during the Action run of the Legion, it is very possible that he would go to his nearest friends' house when life got bad. If one assumes that teenagers are walking hormone-driven time-bombs and that the 30^th century has accepted the idea of multiple genders, then there is circumstantial evidence for this decision. Personally, I never liked Tenzil enough to really care about his life, personal or professional.

[6] Father Garcia-Chu is a character developed for this story.

[7] Diamond and Coal are lab-grown twins with the abilities to sense crystal matrices, turn into Diamond-hard silicoids and absorb and deflect energy. This pair of characters is copyrighted and owned by Karate Kid Jr. and used with permission.

[8] Chrysalis is a Wintersect (see "Mudwomb") who is a healer. He is owned by Bonita del Rio.

[9] I’d like to state for the record that Karate Kid Jr. and I came up with all this stuff long before the Reboot and all coincidences are just manifestations of the Collective Unconscious.

  Chapter Five: Mad Dogs and Crystal Men

The 104th Jewelry and Gem Exposition was running well. Tellus and Chrysalis were sitting with the Hykraius representatives. Tellus was enjoying the opportunity to converse with people from his own watery world, while Chrysalis listened intently to one of the dealers explain to a Titan woman that while a non-Hykraius telepath could not use a mind gem to record the full wealth of experiences and impressions a Hykraiusan could, they could record a sense of the individual or a feeling of that moment. The woman sighed, wishing there was a way to try the gem without imprinting it. The insectoid watched the woman in her moment of indecision and marvelled at the complexity of beings in the universe.

Diamond walked by and waved at Chrysalis, who bobbed his head in return. The lights prismed in her hair and glittered around her as she walked towards her brother, Coal, and Shield. He looked especially handsome in a charcoal grey suit and light blue ruffled shirt. His eyes and hair absorbed the color, adding a blue sheen to their opalescence. Ciryn's evening dress was like Diamond's in substance. It was a distorter-projected image.

"Maybe he won't come," Coal suggested, in hopes of lightning Ciryn's mood.

"Part of me hopes he won't, but I'm staking my reputation on it. I'm sorry, Coal. I never meant to bring my work with me today."

"Don't apologize. After all, this is my work."

Diamond smiled at her brother's attempt at humor. Ciryn looked even more apologetic. Inside the Legionnaire, a voice told her "good women never mention the day's problems to their men."

Shut up, she told the voice.

"Ciryn, Diamond, hey! I was hoping to see someone from up North!" a jovial and familiar voice called. Ciryn groaned. She would have been glad to see Brek Bannin if he didn't sound slightly drunk. She looked down at her colleague and the petite woman whose arm was wrapped around his. "Brek, Katie, it’s good to see you," she said, carefully putting on her social mask.

In another room, the band began playing. "Brek, let's dance," Katie begged.

"Honey, between the food and the champagne, I'd be a disaster out there. Maybe Coal will join you."

"I don't know how to dance," the gem dealer admitted.

"She'll teach you," Diamond said, giving her brother a playful shove. "Go on." Coal sighed and offered his arm to the woman.

"Now, Brek, what is it?" Diamond asked.

"You can sense whether a gem is good or not, right?" He waited until she nodded. "Could you help me pick out a diamond? I want a nice one, but not too expensive."

"Sure," Diamond answered, leading him to Coal's booth. "You didn't bring any Soberall with you, did you?"

"Of course. Why?"

Diamond told him. After they finished picking out a stone and the setting, they intercepted Katie and Coal. Brek looked as grim as the others felt as he told Katie. He called a cab and told her she was going back home. "As soon as I see her off, I'll be back," Brek promised. Katie remained silent as Brek guided her out of the building. "Now, you go home, Kate. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"What's going on, Brek?" She saw the look in his eyes. "Damn it! You're on vacation!"

"Katie, I'm a Legionnaire and there's trouble coming. I can't just go home and hold you."

She looked into his eyes again and saw the resolve. He saw the resignation and fear in hers. He kissed her lightly on the lips. "There's so much I need to tell you," he admitted, "but I'm going to have to wait."

"Promise me you'll be careful, Brek."

"I'm always careful," Brek joked weakly.

Katie began to say "I love you" but the words were knocked out of her as a beam of energy blasted her and Brek into a wall.

Tellus almost screamed Brek's scream. Chrysalis, Diamond and Shield began to push their way to the doors as the science police began to control the crowd with force fields.

A timeless second after the impact, Polar Boy looked up into the mad eyes of his attacker.

The towering man was dressed in soiled white and had a similar build and the same honey-gold hair as Shield. Although this was the first time he ever saw him, Polar boy knew this was Force. There was no sanity at all in Marcus Nostrum's eyes. Knowing reason was not the answer, Brek tried to lower the temperature fast enough to slow the man.

Marcus laughed at the attempt. It was a savage laugh--one that had no place in the genteel clubs of Earth or Teannon. His fingers began glowing and Brek knew he was going to die.

A long, black shape hurled against Brek as Marcus spasmed and fired wildly into the air.

"Damn you, worm, get out of my mind!" Force shouted at Chrysalis.

(It is not him, but I, in your mind!) Tellus told his target as the caterpillar carefully but quickly secured Brek in his multitude of arms so he could fly without further injuring his comrade.

The damage was bad. Three ribs were cracked and abraiding the lungs. A sliver of spine was pressed against nerves and marrow. This time, shock was a friend and protected Brek from the pain... and the truth about Kate. As gently as possible, Chrysalis set him down in a prone position, ripped away the shirt and used his powerful mandibles to bite into Brek's back. The spine was the most serious problem and had to be mended immediately. The insect's long tongue probed into the bite and pulled the sliver out. A tiny amount of healing secretion oozed into the cavity to begin insulating and healing the nerves. In a portion of his mind, Chrysalis allowed himself the luxury of wondering what he would say to Brek if the human woke up enough to ask about Katie. All the lines the doctors on the tri-v said about death sounded horribly trite. With a few of his eyes, he watched the battle.

Marcus spasmed still and fired wildly. Some bolts escaped harmlessly into the skies. Others shredded manicured shrubbery and trees, and still others shattered walls. One golden beam sliced towards Chrysalis and his patient. Instinctively, Chrysalis wrapped himself around the patient and released his jaws. He felt his hair and a chitinous section rip away from his body and felt the precious brownish fluids escape him.

Tellus was distracted by Chrysalis's thoughts of agony. Marcus regained his balance and again fired at the wounded males.

A glowing sphere formed around his target. "Marcus, stop!" Shield begged.

"You keep making the same mistake, Isolde. You don't guard the noncombatants, you stop the enemy!" Marcus shouting, blasting her out of the sky. She landed heavily in some nearby bushes. "You traitor/dyke/harlot, I shall enjoy crushing you to a pulp," he snarled, willing his energy to embrace and crush her.

"Get away from her!" Diamond shouted, hurling her crystalline-hardened body into Force and slugging him before he could recover. He blasted her. The visible energy refracted into harmless prismatic light, but the kinetic energy pushed her away. "Tellus!" Diamond shouted. The telepathic attack resumed.

Although too bruised and winded to crawl from the shrubs, Shield knew the others would need her help. By tilting her neck at a nearly impossible angle, she saw Marcus preparing to fire. She pointed a black-gloved hand towards him and bound his hands. Diamond took advantage of her enemy's paralysis and broke both jaw and consciousness with a roundhouse kick.

Tellus telekinetically lifted Shield out of the bushes while Diamond ran to Brek and Chrysalis. Brek was mercifully deeply unconscious while Chrysalis still treated him. The caterpillar's movements were slow and jerky. "How are you two?" Diamond asked as the sirens screamed Earth Emergency Services' arrival.

"I had to sever my spine above the injury. Brek will recover if the doctors can keep him alive. But I... I need help and no doctor can do that."

(Is there anything we can do?) Tellus's distress touched everyone who sensed his thoughts.

"I must attempt to obtain my adult form. I need to weave my own Chrysalis. But with my back... Tellus, will you help me?"

(Of course. What must I do?)

(Take me into the jungle.) Tellus lifted Chrysalis and the unusual pair slipped into the trees as Diamond and Shield allowed the paramedics to scan them for injuries. A commotion caught Diamond's attention before she heard her name. "It's okay, he's my brother," she told the S.P.s.

The pair restraining Coal gave her a dirty look and released him. He ran to the remaining Legionnaires, hugged Ciryn, noting the little scratches on her pale and drawn face. His penetrating gaze bore through the last of her resolve. Her lower lip, followed by her entire body, trembled as she began to cry. "I can't believe it," she sobbed as Coal held her. "My own brother just tried to kill me."

Coal wished he had some soothing words for his lover. He looked to Diamond, who shook her head and tried to see where in the forest Tellus had taken Chrysalis. No, Marcus's inhumanity would not have phased her. Her brother and she had seen far worse in the genetics lab in which they were raised.

Due to the pain in a throbbing jaw and a tautness in his body, Kevin Garcia-Chu woke and immediately wished he hadn't. He was naked, except where leather thongs bound him to a stone slab, possibly a tomb, surrounded by other slabs standing upright in a circle. Jacques Foccart was equally naked, but his outstretched arms were bound by nothing as he danced and sang incoherent syllables. In his left hand, he brandished a blade that gleamed dully in the moonlight.

Jacques is right-handed, the priest thought wildly. "What are you? What you doing to him?" he demanded.

The singing stopped. In a decidedly un-Jacques-like gesture, the Legionnaire's body turned and disdainfully glared at the priest. Then with a smile that was more a malicious show of white teeth, the thing in Jacques's body answered, "Making him suffer, as I hope to make all the Legion of Super-Heroes suffer for what they did to me and mine. As for what I am, I am called Succubus and Demon."

"Impossible!"

"Oh, really? If you could fly or were a pyrokinetic in ancient times, you'd be a demon too. I'm an energy being who likes the physical realm. Thanks to the Legion, I can't create my own body or take an experienced or willful being for my own. But dear, dear Jacques, like yourself..." The demon made Jacques smile as his fingers fondled the priest's testicles as the blade drew a thin red line on his body. "...is a virgin... or was."

"What do you want with me?" The priest squeaked as fear contracted his throat.

"Isn't that obvious, 'father?' You're my virgin sacrifice."

"But I'm male! It wouldn't do you any good--"

"That's all right. I'm female, although you can't tell from the looks of it. And blood never really opened all those dimensional gates. Nooo..." she whispered into his lips. "The ritual merely focuses psychic energy. Can you imagine how much power I can draw from this one event? While I'm concentrating on the ritual, you will be concentrating on your pain and death. Poor Jacques will be concentrating on the murder he's committing. So pray, my little virgin. Pray to your God." Succubus suggested, before slipping her tongue into his mouth for a "farewell" kiss.

Father, forgive me, Jacques prayed as the slaughter began.

Garcia-Chu, despite his desire to die bravely, began screaming as the crystal blade cut the tendons in his arms and legs. He did not stop screaming for another hour. By the second hour of his death, he was silent, but not unconscious. Succubus allowed him to die by the fourth hour, when the sun touched the altar.

"Come to me, my best and only love!" she cried. "Combined with the deaths wrought by Tsuln of Thaun, here is the power to break free of your prison! Come to me and we shall avenge ourselves on the universe and its champions!"

A blinding light and a roar of thunder heralded the opening between two dimensions. From out of nowhere that was somewhere, a proud but ragged woman, beautiful, but for the feeling of evil that surrounded her, fell to Earth.

Anxiously, Succubus helped the woman to her feet. "Nightmare, are you all right?"

"Not yet, but soon." Nightmare answered. She studied her lover's host. His broad shoulders and finely tuned torso enticed her, but not nearly as much as the soul that struggled against his imprisonment and the theft of his body. "Such a beautiful body, Succubus. Your wear it well. Does it work?"

"Of course. I tested it on the one you hate most," she answered, and used Jacques's muscular arms to support her lover. Nightmare wrapped her arms around the host's neck and licked the edge of his jaw before her purple tongue slid down his neck to his chest and teased a nipple into hardness. Succubus gasped at the pleasure the action caused, and she was not alone. However Jacques knew that the pleasure was wrong, it was not for him.

{She's not as attractive to you as that dangerously gorgeous stud we shared, is she?} Succubus taunted. {Despite all the damnation that old, old priest in Agni promised you, you found a manlike creature who could destroy all you knew with a thought more desirable than the woman he nearly destroyed.}

Jacques shrank from the truth as the women laughed at him. {What are you planning to do with me?} he asked with all the dignity he could muster.

{Why, use you of course. Use you to destroy everything you love and everything we hate. We'll use you for every need and when you're done, when your body and soul are shattered, we will find and use something else. Don't you think your charming little sister would enjoy the sensations we are giving you?}

The Legionnaire screamed as he found himself wrapping his arms around the other woman in a gentle, loving embrace and guided her to the altar still covered with the priest's remains. Succubus shoved the corpse to the ground. Jacques was still screaming. On the blood-stinking altar, they made love. The grunts and groans of the two lovers were accompanied by Jacques's screams for the entire time, and it added a delicious tang to their actions and ambitions.

  Chapter Six: Colorado Playtimes and Irish Dawns

The rainfall slowed to a heavy drizzle by the time dawn arrived. Gim Allon stepped inside Legion Headquarters and paused to rub his right thigh. Ever since Starfinger injured him, humidity troubled his leg [1].

"Feeling raw, Gim?" Jan asked as he approached.

"A little," Gim admitted ruefully. "Taken to walking the halls again?"

Jan nodded. "I can't sleep. I... made a mistake yesterday, but I don't know what it is, so I can't even begin to correct it."

The brown-haired Terran nodded sagely as he started walking towards the kitchen. "Were you looking for me?"

"Yes. I was hoping you could present the perspective of the human half of a human/nonhuman couple."

"Oh. Had a fight with Shvaughn?"

"If you can call it that. She yelled and I stood there confused."

"Okay," Gim responded, activating the food synthesizer's chicken soup program. "Brief me, but make it fast; I'm on the oh-eight-hundred monitor shift."

Very carefully, the Tromian repeated the story of his and Shvaughn's clashing schedules, nightmares, murders and paperwork. When he spoke of Jacques' late night rescue, Gim (much like Dirk had previously) broke down laughing.

"I don't believe this," Jan muttered as he angrily rose to his feet. "None of you had any problem when Tenzil and I were lovers!"

"Except for the obvious lines about his eating you!" Gim chortled before he reached across the table and pulled Jan back into his chair. "I'm sorry," he admitted. "It's not your behavior, it's Jacques's. When did he discover sex?" Jan rose again. "Whoa. Sit back down. Jacques is one of the most classically religious people I know. He believes in most of what the Catholic Church says. One of the things they stress is no sex before commitment." Gim felt a smirk come back to his face and wisely swallowed it. "But you asked me about Shvaughn. I know you two never formalized your commitment, but you have to admit that you two seem monogamous."

Jan nodded. "I haven't been with anyone else."

"We humans are very territorial in our affairs, Jan. When we feel like we have the right to claim something as ours and another person shows up, when tend to get angry. Especially if we feel that we have a severe disadvantage over our competitor."

"Gim, what are you talking about?"

"Shvaughn might just see Jacques as a competitor for your affections. She knows you like men sexually. Jacques is a really nice guy, and a Legionnaire, so she knows he can see you more easily."

"That's ridiculous!"

"Is it? You just told me Shvaughn and you haven't had much time for each other lately, and you haven't really talked for a while."

"I'm not sure I like the idea of being property."

"Oh, come on, Jan! You two have been exclusive for years! You're not going to end the relationship because of a redhead's temper and semantics!"

Jan had to think about that for a moment. "You're right, but what should I do?"

"I think you know."

"I think I need to talk to her soon." Jan sighed and rubbed his face. "But I'm going to rest first. Hopefully, she'll be calmer in a few more hours."

Gim shook his head. "Good luck, Jan," he told his teammate. The Tromian waved back and left Gim to finish his soup in private. After he finished, he threw the bowl and spoon into the recycler and told the computer to shut off the lights. Forty minutes later, the lights brightened and the synthesizer began processing two cups of hot chocolate. Within minutes, two eleven-year-olds ran into the kitchen.

"This is gonna be great!" Daiono Krinn shouted, boosting herself onto the counter [2].

"Not if you wake anyone up," Danielle warned. She was wearing a loose pair of pants and a top which read, "I'm a celebrity".

Daiono smiled at her friend as she tied her almost-black, straight hair into a ponytail. "Do you think they'll tell my stepfather?" she asked snidely.

"Not if we stay quiet. You have to remember, if we get too loud I get chewed out by every Legionnaire, not just Cosmic Boy."

Daiono snickered. "He'd blame it on me anyway. As a stepfather, Rokk Krinn can be a real pain."

"He let you stay with me last night and we're going to Grand Canyon Amusements by ourselves," Danielle pointed out as a mild defense of her comrade. "Besides, can't you hear Jacques if he saw my shirt?"

Daiono laughed. "All right. All adults and their rules can be pains. It's just Rokk's mine. I wish he'd understand we're not poor and on Braal," she complained and reached for her sunglasses. Danielle picked up her visor and lowered it over her eyes.

"Y'know, I haven't seen Jacques around," Daiono noticed.

"Non. He called and said he had some unexpected business," Danielle answered. "He said it was nothing to worry about."

"Then don't worry! C'mon, or we'll miss the tram to Colorado!" Daiono urged as she pulled Danielle's arm. Danielle laughed and interfaced with the Legion computers long enough to sign out.

"Merde! We are late! Hold on tight and I'll fly us to the tram station!" The girls arrived at the station in time for the last call for the tram. Daiono wondered breathlessly if, after a flight over Metropolis, the park would have anything thrilling to offer. However, once they reached the multi-tiered theme park suspended above the Grand Canyon, she still found plenty of rides on which to scream. After hours of watching, eating and riding anything they wanted, they finally found themselves in the long line in the "warp drive's" building.

"Have you ever wondered why we are willing to stand in line thirty minutes for a ride that only lasts three?" Danielle asked philosophically.

"So you can hype yourself up on how great the ride is," a man in the next row volunteered.

Daiono smiled and hugged her godfather. "Uncle Dirk!"

Dirk distangled himself from the hug. "Hi, Dai... Dani. I'd like you to meet my friend, Vianna T'Orami. Vi, this is Daiono Krinn, my goddaughter, and my teammate, Danielle Foccart."

"For as long as we choose to, Daiono," Vianna answered the girl's unspoken question. "And yes, I am a telepath."

"So keep it clean, Dai," Dirk jokingly advised. "Come on over, girls. It'll cut some time out of your wait."

"They eject line jumpers," Danielle warned.

"Only if they see us, Gremlin," Dirk advised as he helped Daiono over the railing. Danielle blanked the moniter for a second and followed her friend. As the line wound its way around the building at a hypnotic pace, the four fell into the mind-numbing pattern and explained their various plans for the rest of the day.

Something big fell onto the roof.

"What was that?" Dirk demanded, instantly becoming the Legionnaire.

"Almost everyone's panicking outside," Vianna reported.

"Sacre Mere! The rides are coming to life!" Danielle shouted over the confusion.

The thing crashed into the building again. The lights blinked out.

"Danielle, contact the Legion and Earth Emergency Services. If you can, pop the emergency exits. Vianna, if you can, tell everyone to stay calm and walk to the exit bays." Dirk ordered.

"I'm not a broadcasting 'path!" Vianna protested.

"Oh, Hell!" He brightened as the things crashed into the building again. "Dani, tie into the emergency generators and public address system. You tell everyone to stay calm and head toward the exits."

"If I can. Much of the system is damaged... I am having a hard time with the exits themselves. But E.E.S. and the Legion are on their way."

"Good." Dirk rose into the air and increased his brightness until it was blinding. "STAY CALM, FOLKS! I'll have you out of the building in a few minutes, but I need you to STAY CALM! When you leave the building, do so in an orderly manner. WALK-- DO NOT RUN! I'll leave first and stop the thing that keeps hitting us! WAIT until I give the all clear!"

The light, coupled with someone taking authority, calmed the people somewhat.

(Dirk, Danielle's found everything. She's ready to pop the doors!) Vianna reported telepathically.

(Do it, Dani!) Dirk replied. As the doors opened, Dirk flew through them and saw the thing that was attacking the ride. It was a roller coaster track, its cars long since discarded. Were there people on it when this happened? I swear this is too weird to believe! The roller coaster reared and came smashing towards him. He released a waved of heat. With the briefest of flames, the track disappeared before Dirk reabsorbed his heat. (All clear, Dani!) he relayed through Vianna.

"Please... leave the building... in a calm and orderly manner..." The mellow intercom voices that usually warned people to keep their hands inside the ride's vehicles advised. All over the park, the intercom voices began a litany of calm exit instructions.

As he surveyed the park, Dirk saw other rides rebel against their moorings and a half-dozen laws of physics. They all seemed to head for the panicked crowds who were trying to escape. Dirk hated this decision: Who to let die? He darted to the closest disaster-- a multi-legged ride called the octosaur was using one of its arms to smash to ground beside it. He focussed his power into a corona around him as he built up the energy inside him to vaporize the ride, as he had the other. Then he saw that the Octosaur still had people on it-- and God help them!-- They were still alive!

The distraction was nearly fatal. A car grazed him and knocked him out of the sky. Instinct triggered the flight ring to slow the fall. He lay on ground, trying to draw a breath, as the ride seemed to consider what to do next.

"I can't see Uncle Dirk!" Daiono shouted to Vianna and Danielle from a rest room wall.

Vianna reached up and pulled her down. "Will you be careful!" she hissed.

"You both... should leave..." Danielle suggested with what little concentration she could sacrifice from the damaged park computers.

"Leave you and Uncle Dirk here? No Way!"

"I...was... a special assignment officer. I might be useful. But this is no time to prove you have your father's courage, Daiono."

"Which one?" Daiono asked acidly.

Danielle almost answered "both" before Vianna shouted "He's down!" She leaped over the wall. "Stay here!" She psychically linked her mind with the stunned Legionnaire's and saw the ride waver as it "decided" what to do. Several people on the ride twisted their heads to try to see what was happening. A tsunami of pain knocked Dirk's elbows out from under him as he tried to rise.

The ride apparently made up its mind and lifted one of its arms to smash the annoyance.

NO! Vianna realized, I'm too late!

In mid-strike, the Octosaur stopped. A violet blur slowed enough for the red and blue of his uniform to become distinct as he pulled the survivors off the ride. E.E.S. ambulances received the injured and dead from Mon-El. One ambulance was threatened by a loose flying saucer until the toy's molecular bindings were broken and reshaped into inert gas. Over the edge of the floating island, a golden glow could be seen as Shield helped evacuate the tourists.

Vianna got to Dirk as Mon-El yelled to Cosmic Boy, "Okay! They're clear!" Rokk Krinn concentrated the magnetic field he was producing and crushed the unruly magnetic monster. He and Mon-El landed beside Dirk.

"You okay?" Mon asked, beginning a medical examination with his X-ray vision.

"Yah," Dirk coughed.

"Where's Daiono?" Rokk demanded.

"She was with Danielle when I left them..." Vianna lost her voice as she saw Rokk's expression.

"You left them?" he demanded incredulously.

"Sun Boy was in immediate danger," she growled in reply.

"Truce," Mon-El interrupted in a tone which commanded instant obedience. "T'Orami's a professional, Rokk, even if you don't like her. Jan can't handle the park on his own; go help him. I'll get the girls. Ms. T'Orami, please get Dirk to an ambulance." Then Mon-El looked at Sun Boy. "Don't even think of objecting." Dirk shrugged in surrender as his colleagues left. As the Braalian started dismantling an android dinosaur, Mon-El scanned the area with his X-ray vision. Vianna called Danielle and Daiono to tell them the Legionnaire was looking for them.

Daiono walked over to Danielle, who was still interfacing with the public address system in order to calm the people. "Dani," Daiono called, shaking her. "Mon-El's coming to get us. We should meet him outside."

Danielle nodded as she staggered to her feet and motioned the other refugees from the warp ride to follow. "Let's go."

Cautiously, as she thought her stepfather would, Daiono peeked through the door and saw nothing encouraging nor malevolent outside. She reported this to Gremlin, who whispered, "Let's go."

Reluctantly, the intercom crackled to life without Danielle's prodding. "Grand Canyon Amusement Park is solar powered. Solar power heats the water that continuously runs through a large pipe system that filters impurities and adds to the cleanliness of the park..." it droned pleasantly.

"Would you believe it?" Danielle almost cried in exasperation. "Now the damn machine kicks in!"

"Wrong message, though," Daiono added ruefully. They heard the hissing then, sounding like a huge snake threatening to strike. Mon-El heard it too. He filled his lungs with air to yell a super-loud warning as the steam pipes erupted. There was no way to outrace the steam and rescue all the people. All he could do is grab as many people as he could and pray. Pray the people wouldn't be fatally burned. Pray he wouldn't injure anyone in the rescue. Pray the girls were in his arms, or at least all right.

The girls weren't in his arms. To his relief, he saw Danielle tumble away from the steam cloud via her flight ring. She was soaked and dazed as he hovered near her. "I was pushed by something..." she muttered.

"Gremlin, I need you to trigger the emergency shutoff. Can you do it?"

"Yes," she answered as the steam lessened into a wisp. Danielle looked down and shrieked.

"Oh dear Gods," Mon-El whispered as he saw the scorched and boiled bodies. Some of them reached for the airborne figures with gestures of helplessness.

"Oh dear God, what do we do," the youngest Legionnaire asked, nearly crying.

"Update E.E.S. and get to work," was the oldest Legionnaire's reply.

Three hours later, Rokk Krinn arrived at Sanangelopolis Medical. His muscles felt like molten lava and he doubted his splitting headache would allow him to levitate a paper clip, let alone bend one. He had to be calm, though. His stepdaughter was here, and by now, so was his wife. As he passed the chapel, he saw a familiar child enter it. Danielle had gotten some salve for her burns and cleaned herself, but she still wore the pink outfit for her day at the park.

Hesitantly, Rokk pushed open the door. "Dani?"

"Yes, Cosmic Boy?"

"How are you doing?"

"I am fine, but they won't let me wait with the others. They say I am too young."

"Who says that?" Rokk asked, concerned.

"The hospital staff."

"Let me go talk to them."

Danielle morosely shook her head. "Sun Boy has already tried. They will not listen."

"Is Dirk still here?"

"Oui. He is waiting with your wife."

Which was where Rokk needed to be. Danielle knew that and said, "Go on up, sir. I am fine here."

"You're sure?" Rokk asked, unwilling to leave Daiono's best friend alone under these circumstances.

"Of course," Danielle answered with a little, brave smile. "I'm never alone in a church!"

"Dani, have you used the computers to check on Dai's condition?"

"Yes, but I don't know all the words it used," she answered, but failed to admit that she tapped into a lexicon program.

Rokk nodded and forced himself not to run to the emergency waiting room. He often wondered what made Dirk befriend a disinherited, unlicensed prostitute and her infant child, but he was glad the Terran did, or he would have never met the quiet woman who added order, serenity, and chaos--in the form of children--to his life. Rokk loved her for it and a trillion things more.

As he entered, Dirk looked up and released Kim's hand. She slowly rose and walked to her husband; her dark eyes were filled with unshed tears. Her nose wrinkled slightly with the Japanese disdain for uncleanliness as he crushed her to his chest. "Any word?" he asked.

Kim stayed close to Rokk while Dirk met his level gaze. "She was near the steam pipe when it blew. Some minor burns, but the blast blew her backward and she cracked her head. The damage had been repaired...it's now a question of if she wakes up."

"Oh, God..."

"Any news on the others," Dirk asked anxiously.

"We're all right. Everyone who got tired was sent home. How about you?"

Dirk smiled, but it only proved how tired and sore he was. "Nothing's wrong that a hot soak wouldn't cure... just a bruise the size of my back."

Rokk winced. "Ouch. Why don't you go home? Kim and I will call when we know something."

"Okay, Rokk. Kim, I'm--"

"Hush," Kim ordered softly. "You left her where she was safe and went to save lives. You don't need to apologize."

"Should I call and tell Garth anything?" he asked.

"Just thank him for taking little Hu and tell him we'll call soon."[3]

"No prob," Dirk answered and leaned down to kiss the petite woman on the cheek before he left.

Half a world away, Jan Arrah drew in a deep breath and pressed the doorbell on the Belfast townhouse. A mechanical voice announced him, and Shvaughn Erin walked out of her parents' home. She said nothing as she walked past him.

When he was sure she was not watching, he rubbed his face with his hands. He did not forsake a warm bed for a cold Irish dawn just to be ignored. Obviously, he would have to be the one to start the conversation. "Shvaughn, I'm sorry about what happened with Jacques. I just needed somebody badly."

"Why didn't you call me?" she asked coldly. "You know my call sequence."

"You were busy," Jan bluntly retorted. "You've been busy since you and Lydda opened your private investigation agency."

"Oh, no, you are not putting this one on me! You know you should call when you need me!"

"You told me to go away!"

"You didn't tell me why you were there!"

"It didn't seem important to you at the time!"

"Not important?" Shvaughn shrieked. "It wasn't important enough for you to mention it!"

"You were busy and upset!"

"How should I know when you need my attention? You never tell me when something's bothering you!"

"You're never there to talk to! And when you are, you're worried about that damn job!"

"So you throw yourself on Jacques?"

"I didn't throw--"

"Great! You talk to Dirk and Imra, and do heaven knows what with Jacques, but you won't talk to me! And I'm supposed to be your damn lover!" Tears were streaming down Shvaughn's face as she choked on her own sobs. Watching her cry unnerved Jan. He reached for her, but she brushed away from him and went back into the house.

Jan was too drained to care. He crossed an ocean, only to have a door slammed in his face. He turned his back to the offending door and strode away. "If this is how she wants it..." he vowed as he willed his flight ring to carry him away from his lover's home.

Rokk and Kim waited until they were told they could not see their daughter that night. Kim immediately went to bed after taking a tranquilizer. After kissing her good-night, Rokk called Garth, who assured him that Hu was fine and the three boys weren't disrupting Imra's rest. He also recommended similar treatment for his friend, before promising to do whatever he could for Rokk. Rokk thanked his friend and thanked God for such a friend. He made a small pot of green tea and slumped into his favorite chair to watch the thunderstorm that was brewing. Later he was awakened by a rapping on his bay window. The familiar face of his stepdaughter's best friend peered through the wet panes of glass.

"Dani, what are you doing here at this hour?" he asked as he opened the door.

"I could not sleep," she admitted softly, "and Jacques isn't around."

"You're soaked to the bone. Go get dried off. You can wear something of Dai's."

"Thank you, sir," Danielle answered and went into Daiono's room. She returned shortly, wearing one of her friend's bodysuits. "I feel horrible about Daiono," Danielle confessed as Rokk handed her a cup of tea. "I was right beside her... and we heard this hiss... I think she pushed me out of danger, and that made her fall..." Salty tears fell into her cup.

"Stop right there, Gremlin. If Dai pushed you out of the steam, she did it because she wanted you safe. You can only love her and be proud of her for that. I know I am," Rokk explained. He felt the tears he held back in front of his wife well past his lashes.

"But I'm the Legionnaire! I'm the one who--"

"You're the one who saved over 60,000 people. Being a Legionnaire doesn't always mean you can protect the ones you love, Danielle. Somewhere along the line, we were told super-heroes could do anything and we started to believe it. But it's just not true."

"I know in my head, Cosmic--" she paused and giggled, a little self-consciously.

"What's so funny?" Rokk asked.

Again, Danielle looked into the bloodshot eyes of a comrade who was nearly three times her age. "Excuse me, but sometimes it's difficult to know what to call you. You are my teammate, but you are also my best friend's stepfather, and should be addressed with respect. I'm not sure what to call you. 'Cosmic Boy' seems so silly when you're old enough to be my father."

Rokk's chuckle was also self-conscious. "'Cos' is fine, Dani. Or you can call me Rokk. I've even been known to answer to 'hey you' on occasion."

The Legionnaires laughed together at the lame joke, until Danielle said, "I lit a dozen candles for her in the chapel. Do you think God heard and saw my prayers?"

Impulsively, Rokk hugged her. "I hope He did, and I hope He added mine to them."

"Do you think it might help to pray some more?"

"Prayers can only help. That's something else you learn in this business."

Endnotes:
[1] Gim’s leg was injured by Starfinger in Baxter LSH Annual #4.

[2] Daiono Krinn, and her mother Kim are copyright Karate Kid Jr. She’s Cosmic Boy’s stepdaughter. One free guess as to whose genetic child she is ;-)

[3] Hu Krinn is Rokk’s and Kim’s toddler-aged son.

nbsp;nbsp;Chapter Seven: Meetings, Mores and Other Morasses

Projectra sat in the main meeting hall, alone. Although her eyes were on the notes for the upcoming meeting, her heart and mind were in Little Japan. Her children needed her now. The nightmares that haunted Katrina since she saw her sitter's shade were now affecting Little Val, who screamed that a monster was coming to take his mother. Even as she allowed the child to cling to her and whispered reassurances to him, she did not forget the Orakil blood in her boychild was tainted. Occasionally, Little Val saw realms even the dead did not travel.

What am I doing here? she asked herself again. I should be with my children, instead of waiting for a meeting that won't start for another thirty minutes! Even as she berated herself, she knew the answer. One of the first lessons of ruling she learned from her father was that absolute authority demanded the illusion of absolute control. One of the best ways to do that was to get to the chamber before everyone else and compose yourself. What Voxx did not teach his daughter was how to balance royal and parental duties. Even as Legion Leader, she had trouble with that. Training for a queen was nothing like training for a mother.

Lightning Lass walked into the room and saw Jeckie's face. "Uh-oh. What is it this time?"

"Worry about my children, Ayla. They're both having nightmares now."

Ayla clucked in sympathy. "Seems to be a bad week for our friends and relatives. Crystal, Kate, Daiono, Ciryn's brother... come to think of it, we're not doing that well ourselves. Imra, Brek and Chrysalis are down." She shrugged and smiled. "I'm just thankful that Garth and the boys are fine, and Mekt's still in jail."

"My people have a saying: ''Ware of the misfortune you invoke; you may invoke 'pon yourself.'"

"Sounds a bit like: 'Be careful what you ask for-- you might get it.'"

Projectra laughed. "Exactly, but I always liked the way the common people said it: 'Take care how you spit at the Spirit King-- He spits back.'" As Ayla laughed, Jeckie asked, "What are you doing here so early?"

"Has Jacques reported in yet?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"I can't believe it! Jacques is always at the meetings, even when they're voluntary."

"Jacques is an adult... but maybe it is time to check on him." Projectra conceded as the first of the compulsively early Legionnaires arrived. The following twenty minutes were filled with small talk as old friends who saw each other two hours-- or two weeks-- ago greeted each other and traded bad jokes and news. Gim had apparently intercepted Dirk and got him to the meeting early.

"I've been meaning to ask-- how's your dad?" Gim told his colleague.

"He's... doing all right. The physical therapist said he's really frustrated with the limited control he has since the stroke, but there's no reason why cybernetic implants shouldn't work," Dirk reported flatly.

"That's good to hear. How's he doing emotionally?"

"Well, you know it's rough going, but with the help of his wife and the sexy little p.t., he'll be hobbling and humping around in no time. Jacques isn't here yet," he observed to change the subject.

Gim decided to allow the change, otherwise he'd have to hear Dirk's espoused philosophy on parents, women and fidelity. "That's not like him. Rokk's not here either. Do you think he'll be here?"

"Kim thinks the sun rises and sets with her children, and Rokk has the same impression of Kim," Dirk said as the group settled down, including the late arrivals. Ten minutes after the announced meeting time, Projectra asked the session's secretary, Ultra Boy, to read the minutes. As Jo began to read, the door opened, and Saturn Girl came in, clearly embarrassed at being late.

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" Indra shouted. Several others took up the call. There were some more mature remarks as well: "What are you doing here?" and "You haven't been cleared for duty."

"It's just a meeting!" Imra protested.

"That's the point!" her sister-in-law agreed, pointing towards the door. "Go home and relax." Imra started to protest again. "Don't make us order you, Imra," Ayla warned, clearly enjoying the chance to have authority over the formidable woman. Imra shrugged and left. The cat calls turned to cheers.

Although secretly amused at how the team could become a group of children in a matter of seconds, Projectra coolly said, "If you're quite through, fellow Legionnaires...?" The group quieted down and finished discussing the minutes. After the group accepted them, Projectra asked for reports on the injured Legionnaires.

"Well, Imra's going stir crazy," Colossal Boy reported in a deadpan tone.

The group started laughing until Tellus stood. (I have a report on Chrysalis.) The others sobered.

"What are those white spots on your back?" Ayla asked in disgust.

"It's not like fish ick, is it?" Ultra Boy inquired. "I had a tank of rock fish that it killed."

Tellus laughed shyly and used his tail to scratch his back. (No, it is not this 'ick' disease. It's a visible manifestation of hormonal changes.)

"Like acne?" Phantom Girl asked.

(Not quite, this is more pleasant, as I understand. I'm becoming an adult and will need to enter into my first reproduction cache soon.)

There was some astonished and embarrassed laughter. Instantly, Tellus sensed the varied forms of curiosity from his humanoid friends. There was one bright beacon of curiosity that was so intense it almost drowned out the others. The Hykraisan sighed, blowing bubbles in his liquid atmosphere. As much as he rejoiced for Wildfire's return to humanity, he wished his teacher was there to ward off the everpresent curiosity of Brainiac Five. Tellus concentrated on his report and mentally spoke. (There is much mental activity in his cocoon. I believe he is fighting to survive.)

"But is he winning?" Jo asked.

(That remains to be seen, I think,) The alien Legionnaire answered as he sagged into his chair.

Brainiac Five cleared his throat, but did not bother to stand. "Brek is recovering from a very successful surgery. With a few months of physical therapy, he'll be fine. He... doesn't know about Kate."

"Maybe a few old friends being there when he wakes will help a little," Nura volunteered. "Which will be shortly after this meeting."

"An excellent idea, Dream Girl." Projectra responded.

Nura flashed her "I don't need approval from you" smile at the Legion leader as Shield rose to report on her brother.

"Marcus is contained in St. Croix. They don't have a working psych profile yet. They can't figure out why he's this way."

"Grife, Ciryn! The man tried to kill you! He was almost the first to kill two Legionnaires in battle! How can you still worry about him like that?"

Phantom Girl slapped him on the arm, while Ayla asked, "Are you an only child, Jo?"

"Yes."

"Then you wouldn't understand."

Projectra rapped the gavel. "Enough of that. Gremlin, any word on Daiono Krinn, or where Jacques might be?"

"Daiono is still comatose. Mrs. Krinn has been given chemical sedation."

Dirk winced at the news about his friend and goddaughter. "I wonder how Cos is taking this," he muttered as Jan rubbed his neck in sympathy. Danielle took a deep breath and continued.

"As for Jacques... Masticomp cannot find either his flight ring signal, or the sub-dermal tracer's signals."

"It seems that Jacques is not simply AWOL. Danielle, tap into the S.P.'s and Finance nets and initiate a search program for your brother. We still need you to help investigate the amusement park, but I see no reason for you not to be able to run the routine while you're doing other things," Projectra suggested. "Element Lad, you will accompany us. Tellus, begin a psychic search for Jacques. Does anyone have anything to add that might be of interest, that we've not covered in the meeting?" She raised the gavel.

"Not so fast, Jeckie," Tinya interrupted. The group quieted down and let the senior member present speak. "As everyone knows, it's almost election time."

"I know," the leader replied, "and I thank my ancestors for each day it grows nearer."

"I'd like to nominate a candidate," Tinya continued. "Ultra Boy."

"I'll second the nomination," Shadow Lass added, following her friend's lead.

Mon-El laughed a deep, rich chuckle. "My friend, I think my wife and your lover have set you up. Do you want the job?"

Jo though for a moment. "Yeah, I think I do."

"Then we have a nominee for the upcoming election," Mon-El confirmed. "Any one else interested?" No one moved.

"Well, we still have time," Jeckie said. "If anyone can think of anything that will help our investigations, please let me know.

Or me, Ayla added silently.

"Meeting dismissed." The Legionnaires began filing out. A few clumped together in small groups for small talk. Jan remained in his seat and stared at his note board.

"Jan," Dirk prodded.

"I don't see where it's relevant!" the Tromian protested.

Gim walked up and hitched his hip on the table. "A dramatic change in behavior followed by a disappearance is not insignificant. You know that, too, when you're not being stubborn."

"I'm not being stubborn!" Jan snapped.

"Yes you are," Dirk countered.

"Can you blame me? Everyone that knows acts like I've grown antennae!"

"Jan, this isn't a question of discretion or good taste anymore. I suspect that both Dirk and I owe you a sizable apology. I'm a hetero--"

"Are you?" Dirk asked innocently.

"--and even I have to admit that Jacques is a good looking man. It's just surprising to think of Jacques as sexually active... or you with anyone other than Shvaughn."

Projectra walked up to the trio. "Is there any reason why you two are keeping a third of my mission team here?"

"Tell her, Jan," Dirk prompted.

Anger darkened Jan's liquid blue eyes as he drew in a deep breath and explained his encounter with Jacques. Projectra felt her face tighten in distaste and regretted not wearing her mask. This was no time to show emotion. "Are these nightmares continuing?" she asked, praying Jan was not as observant as he usually was.

"Yes, but not as badly. Sometimes... I dream it's Earth and not Trom that's destroyed."

"Have you seen Dr. Running Mare about this?" Jan squirmed under her gaze. "If they continue, I expect you to seek professional help. Are you well enough to function for this investigation?"

"Yea."

"Then we should go," she urged. Jan voiced a half-hearted goodbye to the two Terrans and followed the woman.

"Jeckie, may I ask you something?" Jan challenged as he shortened his stride to match hers.

"Yes, Jan?" she asked after a moment.

"What was that look about?"

Projectra bit her lip. "On Orando, sex with a partner of the same gender was supposedly used for magic... all of it supposedly dark. If one was discovered in such a tryst, he was castrated or the entrance to her organ was sealed. If the... person was an Orakil, they were prosecuted for practicing dark sorcery as well. I saw such a trial once..." the ex-queen shuddered. "While I lived on Earth, I discovered that people of the same sex can come together for just pleasure. It was one of the things I was going to do as queen-- educate the people about what I learned on sexual taboos. My intent was to stop the mutilations, and begin understanding-- but it was not to be. I wonder if I was a poorer queen for trying to reveal all I learned."

Jan touched her on the shoulder. "Perhaps a poorer queen," he told her gently, "but a better person."

She wrapped her arm around his and led him to the meeting site. "Even so, I find myself tripping over the ways I was taught. You were right to question me, and please forgive the base reaction."

"If it matters enough for you to apologize, highness, of course I forgive. It's just that I find myself tripping over the ways I was taught, and Dirk's and Gim's reactions have set me on edge."

Jeckie's grip tightened on his arm. "Dani's already here. Let's not speak of this in front of her."

Jan quickly agreed.

After she was ejected from the meeting, Imra found herself unwilling to return to the pampering her sons and husband insisted on giving her and little Hu Krinn. She had promised the toddler an explanation of what was going on with his family, but wanted his parents' input on how much information she should give. So she willed her flight ring to propel her to the hospital where Daiono was. If nothing else, this should be a good test of my psi-screens, she thought as she landed. The receptionist gave her an intensive care unit pass while trying not to stare at the celebrity. Imra appreciated the courtesy and would have spoken to the boy longer, if she hadn't felt a desire to get to Rokk as quickly as possible.

The private room was dark, the only illumination was the lights from the various monitors. The hiss of oxygen was the only sound until Imra came into the room. Rokk, with a Braalian's wariness of magnetically ruining a medical machine, sat away from his step-daughter's bed. He stirred only to take his friend's hand after he felt the firm assurance from the grip on his shoulder.

"I thought Kim would be here as well."

"She's sleeping off a sedative."

"You're tired too, Rokk. You can't rest here."

"I promised Kim I'd stay with Daiono."

"Kim didn't mean to the exclusion of your health." Rokk still was reluctant to leave for a time. Imra thought about snapping at him, but changed her mind. "If I can allow you to communicate with Daiono's sub-conscious, will you tell her what you need to, then go rest?"

Rokk considered the offer. "Yes, for a little while."

Imra offered him her hand as she took Daiono's in her other. Rokk almost staggered as the numbness of Daiono's coma flooded his mind. Easy, Rokk, Imra warned.

He found his equilibrium and thought, Daiono, I know I'm a pain in the ass sometimes, but I really do care. Kim and I love you and we need you to live. At least, don't go until we come back. Please?

Did he really feel the warm, tired assent of Daiono's soul, or did he just imagine it? Despite the part of him that wanted confirmation, he couldn't stay mindlinked at the risk of Imra's health. "Okay," he said, his voice rough. "Let's go." As they left the room, the daylight nearly blinded him. "I hadn't realized it was so late. Do you need breakfast?"

"Garth's been cooking for me," Imra answered.

With a wan smile, Rokk answered, "That's what I thought. Do you need breakfast?"

Imra laughed. "You know Garth's a perfectly good cook."

"Only if you ask for hot dogs, and even then I wouldn't trust him."

"Where are you staying?"

"My father's working on a project out here. Kim and I are at his apartment at the Golden Gate district. Come on." While they flew to the apartment's neighborhood, Imra asked Rokk what she should tell his son. Neither one was prepared for what they saw upon landing.

The outer walls of the building were covered with spraypaint. In big letters and symbols, it made very clear what the writers thought about Braalians stealing Earthers' jobs.

"Kim slept through this," Imra reported. "Your father's not here."

"He goes to work early. He must've just missed this."

"I wish we did. We're the only ones awake around here."

With his powers, Rokk opened the door, muttering, "And these are the scum my brother sacrificed himself for." He rummaged around for cleaning fluid and rags.

"Pol sacrificed himself for everything, Rokk. The bad was saved as well as the good. He did what he had to. Do you want some help?"

"No. You're looking pretty worn. Let me call a cab for you."

Imra shook her head. "I'll get home faster by flying." She gave her longtime friend a kiss on the cheek. "Take care."

Nura Nal started from the trance she had slipped into and stared at the clock besides Brek. It was not the one from her vision. The one in her vision was important-- critically important. She laughed to herself and smoothed back the platinum waves of hair that had strayed.

The other woman looked at her in worry. "I don't like hearing a Naltorian laugh like that," she said.

Nura looked at the plump woman who insisted on wearing her native Starhaven clothes and binding her salted hair into a single braid. "Why, Dr. Running Mare, can't I just be thinking about how wonderful tonight will be with a handsome stranger?"

The psychiatrist snorted. "You're almost as bad as your regular lover."

"Dirk isn't 'my regular lover'. He's just a friend I hop in bed with--"

"When you don't feel like finding a lay. I've heard that from him, too."

Brek moaned softly. Both the doctor and the Legionnaire checked the monitor. Teresa Running Mare went to get the other doctors as Nura clasped her friend's hand. "Brek, come on, sleepy, wake up."

Polar Boy forced his eyes to open and focus. "Nura, what hospital...?"

"Metro. Makes it easier to visit you that way." Nura answered.

"Did Force... Kate?"

Nura cursed both Cassandra and Apollo as he remembered. "I'm sorry, Brek. I really liked her."

Tears spilled from his eyes and slipped down her face to darken his pillow. Nura could only hold his hand. To tell him his lover died quickly seemed pointless and hurtful. Dr. Running Mare walked in, followed by the medical doctors.

"Brek, I had a premonition while you were napping. I need to leave and prepare for the event. If I'm right about what it meant, I could save a few lives."

Brek nodded. "Go."

Imra was greeted by the absence of something familiar to her house: Sound. There were no children running around the house, screaming at each other. The only noises were the hum of Garth's salt water aquarium and her husband humming tunelessly as he read. "Hi, hon," he greeted. "How long did you stay at the meeting?"

"About five minutes. Do not say 'I told you so'!"

"I'd never do that, even if I warned you, like I did," Garth protested.

"Where are the boys?"

"Oh, I tied them up and stuck them in a closet."

Even without her powers, Imra knew that truth. "You got all three down for a nap at the same time? Amazing!"

"What can I say?" Garth bowed in false modesty. He was pleased with the accomplishment as well. "Hey, need anything to eat?"

"No, thank you. I just want a nutri-shake and a nap," she admitted. Imra paused to caress his chest as she walked over to the food synthesizer. Garth walked over to the aquarium and watched the little animals play and swim as they pleased. Their antics fascinated and relaxed him.

Imra's fascination with fish went only as far as to whether they were broiled or fried, but she was proud of Garth's work with the aquarium and enjoyed his pride as well. She was musing on this when she felt a malevolent psychic vibration strum the house. It was not directed towards her. Telepathically, she checked the children. They were safe. That meant the most dangerous being in the house was under attack.

Garth's face was white, twisted with the strain of resisting the psychic commands. The lightning building up in his convulsing hands highlighted the harshness in his features. With his right hand he lifted the lid to the fishtank...

"NO!" Imra screamed. She couldn't get near him. She forced her thoughts into the one who could. (Mon-El!) she psiscreamed.

Almost instantly, hands that could shatter diamonds grabbed Garth and pulled him away from the tank. Lightning flashed through the room. Imra was knocked down and shielded by her sister-in-law. Fire alarms and sprinklers activated because of the burnt air, and woke the sleeping boys.

The lightning died down as Mon-El gently applied enough pressure to render Garth unconscious. Ayla pushed herself off Imra and asked if she were all right. Imra sat on the floor, trying not to shake. "The boys..." she managed to stutter before she closed her eyes in an attempt to keep control.

"Mon, get Garth to the medilab. Imra and I will be there once we collect the boys." Mon nodded. As he turned, Ayla added, "Please take care of him."

"There's something familiar about this," Imra whispered as she rose and brushed off the non-existent dirt on her pants. "But... but I can't place it..."

"Mommy," Imra's twins screamed in unison. Both their mother and their aunt ran upstairs to comfort them and pack the necessary items for a stay at Legion Headquarters.

Projectra looked at the clock halfway across the park and shook her head in disgust. She was ready for a break and they had discovered nothing! No chemical traces, no aberrations in the computer programs or records... nothing. Maybe she should have Brainiac 5 come investigate personally instead of using scanner relays. Maybe she should have the White Witch cancel her classes and use some psychometry spells.

She was second-guessing herself too much; a sure sign of leadership burnout. Her term as leader couldn't end too soon for her. She wanted two weeks just to be with Val and her children... maybe a chance to visit with the non-Legion friends she'd been ignoring because of all the work she had as leader....

"Pardon moi, madame", Jacques asked as he tapped her shoulder.

"Jacques! What are you doing here?" Projectra exclaimed. "Are you all right? What happened?"

"Oh, I ran into a small problem," Succubus forced her host to answer, "but you're going to make it better," "Jacques" sneered as he grabbed the Orakil. Projectra never even had a chance to scream before Succubus trapped her and began to use her powers to affect everyone's sense of balance on the floating island.

Element Lad shook his head to try to clear the dizziness that was making him queasy. He activated his telepathic plug. (Dani, we may be under attack. I want you to hide.)

(You mean, you wish me to become invisible,) Danielle asked with a lame, mental laugh.

Jan smiled at her courage. (If you wish.)

For Gremlin to become invisible, she had to order all machinery at Legion Headquarters and her vicinity to disregard her existence. Any non-cybernetic organism could see her, if they were looking straight at her. Jan hoped that if something went wrong, she would be hidden well enough to escape danger and get help, if necessary.

The dizziness and nausea were getting worse as he got closer to where he sensed Projectra's flight ring. "Jeckie?" he called when he saw her. She didn't answer. Hesitantly, he touched her back and reality exploded.

Jan smelled the words he heard through a distorted amplifier. He tasted the perfume coming from the elaborate gardens and heard the light that accompanied the smoothness of the floor that blinded him. Even his sense of atomic compositions were affected. He tried to shut out the misdirected human senses, but the pain and confusion were too much. Mercifully, he passed out, as did most of the Western hemisphere.

Fifteen minutes later, Nura climbed out of the sensory deprivation tank she spent the previous half-hour in. In the medi-lab, she saw proof that her premonition was correct: Garth was strapped to a diagnostic bed. On the floor beside the bed were Brainiac 5 and Mon-El, unconscious. She knew what she had to do next, despite the desire to hide and be safe. She controlled her feelings and went to the main hall to wait at the edge of the fountain that decorated the room. Almost to the second she had foreseen, Jacques pulled a freight platform to the entrance. The platform was filled with bodies unceremoniously dumped on top of each other. Tellus's life-support system hummed softly, assuring Nura the bodies were still alive.

"Really, Jacques, if you take them away, the rest of us can't share them!" Nura admonished in her seductive voice.

Jacques disappeared. Nura shifted into her favorite combat stance before she was clipped in the knees and fell backwards. An invisible hand grabbed her hair, snapped her head up and smashed it down on the green marble floor. She locked her nails into his wrist and was rewarded with a shout that told her approximately where his head was. She thrust the heel of her palm towards where his jaw could be, but an unseen arm fended off the blow and struck her in the sternum. As she whooped for air, she lashed out randomly in hope that her powers would guide her. She hit Jacques's collarbone and he lost his balance, giving her time to get loose.

She stood and staggered two steps before he tripped her and her head hit the base of the fountain.

"You stupid, fucking bitch! Take me on in a fight, will you?" Jacques snarled as he returned to visibility. Again he grabbed her hair and hammerlocked her arm behind her back. Nura grunted as he used his two grips to pull her half-upright and force her head into the water.

She kicked and struggled, but had no leverage. Her last thought was about the reflection of the clock she saw in the fountain. She was right.

  Chapter Eight: Body Count

An automated taxi pulled up to Legion Headquarters, and Mysa Nal, the White Witch, stepped out. Although her protection spells kept her from feeling the brunt of the magical sensory attack, she still did not trust herself with a flight ring, walking or a teleportation spell. It was fortunate that she was teaching her beginning magic class as the wards that were designed to protect the students were shattered. She was able to activate her protection spell in time to save herself from even more disorientation. When she recovered, she knew immediately where she was needed. She charged through the front door of the edifice in uncharacteristic haste. Right outside the door was Sun Boy in some of his finer civilian clothes. Obviously he was leaving for a date when the attack occurred.

"Sun Boy," Mysa prodded as she began a minor healing spell.

Dirk moaned as he came awake. "What was that all about?"

"I don't know. It was magical in nature. However, I'm afraid of the things that may have happened while we were under its effects."

"Yeah, you're right, jeez. I wonder what that felt like to telepaths and other hyper-sensitive creatures," he muttered, holding his head in the hopes in it wouldn't fall off his shoulders.

"I understand you're a bit of a sensitive yourself."

"No, I just have a knack of finding women who are receptive to my charms. C'mon, let's go and see if the others need help," Dirk said to prod himself off the ground.

They walked into the main hall. "Nura!" The Witch screamed.

Dirk went to the intercom and hit the medical alert. "Got a Naltorian down, possibly drowned," he said tersely and then ran over to the fountain and dragged the Witch's sister out. "Nura!" he shouted. "Can you hear me? C'mon girl, open your eyes!"

Nura did not respond. Dirk was checking for breathing, or a pulse when Mysa finished her spell and whispered, "Cassandra and Apollo, no, she's dead."

"No way!" Dirk objected and began artificial resuscitation.

Mon-El heard the medical alert and pulled himself together. "Brainy, we've got a problem!"

Brainiac 5 stirred. "I heard," he gasped.

"You get over there when you pull yourself together."

"Right."

Mon-El was there within a heartbeat and used his vision powers to check the still form as Dirk worked at reviving her. "Dirk, there's no oxygen going to her brain."

"Not now, Mon, can't you see I'm a little bit busy?"

Mon-El reached out and grasped Dirk's shoulder. "Dirk, there's no way you're reviving her."

"There's going to be no way of reviving her if you don't let go of me! Are you planning to help or not?"

"Sun Boy! My sister is dead! There is no life! I have tried all the spells I know," Mysa cried.

"No! She's not dead!" Dirk shouted. Mysa grasped his other shoulder and helped Mon-El gently pull him away as Brainiac 5 arrived.

"We're too late, Brain," Mon-El admitted as his voice began to shake a little.

Brainiac 5 merely pulled out a pocket diagnostic scan and played it over the body.

"Did you not hear us? She is dead, Querl Dox!" Mysa insisted. "There is no need to continue your scan."

"I don't think so." Brainiac 5 countered.

"You would desecrate my sister's body with your curiosity?"

"No, I would determine what has happened with my curiosity." He continued to study the reading for a minutes and then looked up into the shocked faces. "Dirk's right. She's not dead. Nura somehow put herself into a suspended animation coma. Pretty clever, really. It means she knew what was going to happen, somewhat. However, we better revive her, and the others. I think I should handle this case. Do you three think you can help the others?"

"Yes, of course."

"You're sure she's not dead?" Mysa asked.

"Yes. Perfect suspension. She could lie on this floor for a thousand years and nothing would change."

"I—I owe you an apology. I did not think that your science would be able to tell what my magic could not."

"We both have a lot to learn about each other's fields. However, you do owe me an apology. I'll accept the one you've given me." Brainiac 5 took Dream Girl to the medical wing while the others began to seek out and revive their colleagues.

"Brainy?" Garth asked, dazed, as the Coluan entered the medical area with the inert Legionnaire in his arms. "What the hell happened?"

"Just a moment, Garth," Brainiac 5 requested as he placed Nura's body on the diagnostic bed, then programmed the bed. "What do you think happened?"

"I don't know... I felt... I don't remember what happened, but I was unconscious and I felt this something...." He shrugged half-apologetically. "I'm probably making a wonderful case for me to end up at St. Croix."

"How do you feel physically?"

"Like I just charged up the mother of all storms."

"That may be accurate. What did you feel back at your house?"

"I felt this rage... but it wasn't mine."

"Imra called when you were under a psychic attack. Sounds a bit different from the textbook psychic attacks. However, if there was only one kind of Titan, then we wouldn't have a telepathic Legionnaire."

The door irised open and Ayla rushed in. "Garth, are you all right?"

"I'm okay. The boys? Imra?"

"The boys are setting up battle lines with my stuffed animals, and Imra's bound to be around here somewhere," Ayla answered a touch too quickly. "So can you be released now?"

"I think so," Brainiac replied. "It's a question of whether the attacker is going to attack again, moreso than any post-hypnotic suggestions."

"Oh, good."

The communicator beeped. "Ayla, this is Shield. I'm in communications. I've got Kim Krinn on the line and she's frantic about finding Rokk on the floor."

"I'm out of here," Garth announced and took off.

"Good. Garth, why don't you check on Rokk and make sure he's okay?" Ayla muttered after the fact. She saw Brainiac 5's smile. "At least everybody waited for you to give orders!"

"Yes. But they never waited for me to finish them."

"That's because you insisted on telling us what to do down to the nanosecond."

Garth reached Sananeglopolis in minutes. Worry for his best friend spurred him on his way. He tried not to think about what happened to his wife. As he entered the residence, he saw Rokk on the floor, being held by Kim. "What happened?" he asked.

"I was hoping to ask you," she gasped excitedly, her Japanese accent was more pronounced through the stress. "I felt something when I was napping and I woke up and I found Rokk on the floor."

"That seems to be the pattern," Garth admitted. "Kim, something's going on all over the continent... could be the hemisphere or the whole damn planet."

"I hope not," Rokk muttered.

Garth looked down, "How are you feeling?"

"Awful."

"You look worse."

"Thanks. I really needed to hear you say that."

"Sorry. Truth," Garth replied as he helped Rokk stand.

"That big, huh?"

"Yeah."

Rokk looked at his wife and then at the floor, indecisive. "I've got-- Give me two minutes. I'll be in uniform and ready to go."

"Great. I need to pick up mine on the way back."

"No!" Kim insisted. "You are not going! We have a daughter in the medicenter and then this thing and it hurt you!"

"It doesn't seem to have really hurt anyone, Kim. Disorientated us, yes, but not hurt," Garth explained.

"I can't believe you're encouraging him in this! You're the one who understands. You stay with family!"

Garth sighed. He did step into this one, didn't he? "Yes, but there comes a time when the family is just too small of a unit. Kim, this may have affected the planet, and there may be something going on. If nothing's going on, Rokk will probably be back here by evening, and I'll be sitting with the boys again. If it is going on, then there may just be a need for Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy."

"'Lightning Lad? Cosmic Boy? You're both in your thirties! And you both have children!" she snapped as Rokk came down the stairs.

"Honey, Hu is safe at Legion Headquarters--"

"Oh, Gods!" Kim rolled her eyes.

"And I'm sure Daiono will be safe with you."

"Of course she's safe; she's in a coma!"

Garth winced in sympathy with Rokk.

"I know she's in a coma, honey, and I know I wasn't there in time to stop her injury. But I've got a responsibility to the galaxy as a Legionnaire. I want you to understand that. I'm not leaving for some boyhood adventure. I'm leaving so that no other families will get hurt like we did."

The fight in Kim left almost as quickly as it flared, and she hugged him. "You know, I think you honestly believe that. Take care of yourself. And take care of this addle-witted farm boy for me, will you?"

Garth smiled, pleased to be back in Kim's good graces.

"We better get going," Rokk prodded, not wanting to ruin the moment, but know if he stayed much longer, his own resolve might falter.

"So let's do this," Garth agreed. Rokk saw the grim look on Garth's face as they left for Metropolis. Garth had a reason to be worried. Like most of his family, his twin sister was a horrible liar and he was desperately frightened that something had happened to Imra.

Imra felt tired and drugged, like she was trying to float, but that her body was tied down with dead weights. Maybe it was a dead weight. Her ears were still ringing and her brain and sinuses still throbbing from the sensory attack. She knew she had to wake up sometime, but there were thoughts--impressions-- that confused her and made her want to pull away, back into the darkness. There was an instinctive knowledge that she was breathing some fluorocarbon liquid. When she concentrated in just the right way, she could sense how the molecules meshed together and created the seething liquid environment. She could see how it changed when she exhaled. "See" wasn't exactly the right word. The understanding went beyond eyes, to an instinctive level that Imra never knew existed. In fact, for her, it didn't exist.

Beyond the fluorocarbons was a wall of energy, pulsing in its own strange patterns. She could understand its composition, but the sense to understand was not hers! She couldn't do that! That was one of Element Lad's powers. Still, using this ability she saw four other carbon-hydrogen-oxygen forms floating in the small tank with her. One's chemistry was as different as its appearance. It had the same basic composition, yet it had trace elements of other things as well as a tail and a massive back. The thing touched her mind.

(No! Get away)was an instinctive response and she tried to pull away from it. Other minds, their screams, echoed with it, echoed her own fear.

(Saturn Girl, I would like to, but cannot,) was Tellus' low, trembling thought.

Imra forced herself to calmness and touched the minds, identifying those who were with her. Indra, Projectra, Jan and Ganglios. The minds were so closely linked together, that they saw through each others' eyes and knew through each other's senses and thought each other's thoughts. (Oh my God, we're in a gestalt,) Imra realized.

(A what?) Indra wondered for a second before the Titanese's information was hers. Essentially the five Legionnaires were psychically one. If the individuals wanted a gestalt, then there was no more gratifying experience. In fact, there were legal restrictions on them on Titan, for too many people would have joined them and the entire civilization could have died in bliss. Many who joined lost the sense of self that provided the sense of survival. Among people who weren't volunteers in a gestalt, it was hell. Imra knew, that despite that fact they were the most trusted of comrades, they would not survive this state either.

She began to attempt to create the necessary psychic barriers between the individual souls, and that's when they became aware of the sixth mind in the gestalt-- the controlling mind.

(Hello, Legionnaires,) Nightmare purred with a smile that reminded most of them of a shark. (I'm so glad that you're conscious now. I was beginning to think I might have to awaken you. Of course, I would have guaranteed that would be an unpleasant experience.)

(Nightmare, what are you up to this time?) Indra challenged.

(Oh, I'm up to keeping promises, little girl. You see, I promised Element Lad that one day I would destroy this world and that he would help me. Now I mean to keep that promise. I plan to kill this planet very slowly.)

Jan's face betrayed no expression, but the others could feel his fear that she could full well keep this promise this time. If she could somehow figure out a way to combine their powers as she had combined their thoughts...

(Oh yes, I have. I will give you a very, very powerful demonstration of that soon. But I thought you'd like to know how you got here.)

A flicker of curiosity went through the gestalt. (I'd like to introduce my partner. Jacques? Why don't you come here?)

Jacques Foccart stepped out of the shadows wearing the skimpiest of loin clothes and gold bangle on his wrists and ankles. Nightmare smiled grimly at the shock that went through the other minds in the gestalt.

(Yes, my new partner and your old one. Jacques Foccart.)

(It's a lie!) Indra cried.

(Non, ma chere, no lie. I've decided that I like the side of the demons better.) Jacques told her while embracing Nightmare. (I'm afraid that I was unable to find my sister so you could add her to your stew, lover.)

In the old tongue, Projectra said, (Foul demon, thou knowst thou lies. If I were in control of myself, I would banish thee.)

(Ah, but Jeckie, dear, you're not in control and you can't banish me.)

{Succubus, you bitch!) Jan shouted, realizing the knowledge Projectra contributed. (Get out of him!)

(No, I don't think so. Besides, just think of the fun you would have missed if I hadn't been with him that night.) Jan paled. Oh, yes, my dear Tromian, you were a consenting accessory to rape. And I'm going to enjoy watching you squirm under that overgrown conscience of yours. Almost as much as I'm going to enjoy watching Cosmic Boy's step-daughter die in front of him. And watching Nightmare destroy your second world.)

The rest of the Legion, including the worried husbands, Lightning Lad and Karate Kid, assembled in the Great Hall. Members were still nursing bruises and headaches they had received when they fell during the sensory attack. Dream Girl was still in the medical wing, resting. Ayla looked at the number of faces asking her--her for guidance. But she didn't know what do to. She wished desperately that Jeckie was here, or Jan; both were more much more accustomed to the yoke of leadership than she.

Damn you, Jeckie, she thought. You never really gave me a chance to lead and then you dump me with this. Instantly she regretted the thought. It wasn't any more Jeckie's fault for getting kidnapped than it was Ayla's own for not insisting that she lead more missions. How does one insist anything to a queen anyway? She made a mental note to ask Val that question later. Perhaps at the party they'd have after they succeeded in finding their friends.

"Well we know who's missing now, we know who's injured. I guess we should count ourselves lucky that there's no more injured. Anybody have observations? Suggestions?"

Brainiac 5 was silent for a moment before saying, "I would have said that the individuals taken have extra-sensory abilities, but Indra throws the equation off. Her powers are physical, and she needs to be in physical contact with the items she teleports. So that doesn't make sense."

"So maybe it's not powers. Maybe it's something else... like some knowledge they all possess?" Chameleon Boy suggested.

"Common knowledge among those five? Now that might be interesting."

"If it's not psychic abilities, how about pure mind power, like when Universo grabbed Imra?" Garth wondered.

"In that case, it's almost an insult that I wasn't kidnapped," Brainiac observed with a slight sense of humor.

A few of the others grimaced, or chuckled politely.

"Maybe we should consider something less reasonable. What about motive?" Dirk pondered. "Maybe like--"

The klaxons blared and went into alpha priority alert. All the Legionnaires froze, and the hookup with the science police satellites showed something they hoped they would never see. A hurricane on Earth. Digitized graphics showed them the course the hurricane was taking. Already it was approaching the Pan-American bridges. Various members swore to or at their deities in that moment.

Earth Emergency Services had already been called and two members of the science police were already at the scene.

"It looks like our discussion can wait. Let's get out there and save some lives," Ayla snapped, thankful for a clear-cut decision.

Since Earth Emergency Services were already overburdened by the accidents caused by the sensory attack, the Legion was the first organization to arrive en masse. Underwater tidal fluxes were threatening to capsize the bridge as they pulled and tugged at the magnetic struts. The decorative suspension cables flailed wildly in the wind.

"Where the hell's this storm coming from?" Brainiac 5 shouted. "There's no way the weather patterns could be causing this! Weather Watch saw nothing leading up to a hurricane! They don't just appear!"

"Maybe it was magically created," Diamond communicated through her telepathic plug as she flew down and tried to catch a car that was blown off a bridge. With Cosmic Boy's help, she succeeded.

"I hope we don't lose the bridge," Cosmic Boy told her. "For the longest time, it was as close as I ever got to the Brooklyn or Golden Gate Bridges."

Sun Boy warned Shadow Lass to protect herself with her powers as he brightened the sky. The others needed to be able see clearly. However, he was able to send a single, eloquent thought to his history-loving friend: "Huh?"

"I thought you were the art lover, Sun Boy," Cosmic Boy replied.

"Hey, until a building has a bas-relief on it, it's just a building. And this isn't even a building!"

"Jettison the small talk, guys. We need these channels open for important communication!" Ayla's strident thought broke through.

Danielle began to coordinate with E.E.S. computers, trying to find the safest paths for them via their own machinery and the most stable places for temporary rescue structures.

The White Witch was setting up some protective wards for the newly arrived hospital structures, so they would not be overly affected by the storm. Ayla flew by her. "Mysa, was this storm caused by magic?"

"Not overtly, I don't have time to create the proper spells to check for magic."

Phantom Girl and Shadow Lass were working as a team. Shadow Lass could spot cars with trapped people in the second and third levels of the bridge, while Phantom Girl could get to them. Sun Boy continued to glow fiercely and whenever he saw debris that looked like it could fall on either the airborne or Atlantean E.E.S, he destroyed it with his heat.

"Hello, Dirk," a new person broadcast through his telepathic plug. He looked down and saw a familiar red head.

"Vianna, you crazy woman! You'll get hurt out here!"

"I'm trained in emergency work. So is the rest of my family. You need us, Dirk."

"You're not a broadcasting 'path. How do you think--"

"I can scan for victims and tell the dolphins and Atlanteans where they are." She sensed Dirk's curiosity about the non-humans. The dolphins decided to help the Atlantean branches of the E.E.S. After all they are the kindred under the waters... or as much kindred as humans can be. "I see a falling diver!" Vianna interrupted, "I'll be back in a minute!" Vianna pulled the diver up to an area where Shield secured some other divers injured by the storm.

"Nicely done. I don't suppose you have any idea what's causing this?"

"You wish! Nowhere in the Holy Books has there been such an occurrence. You Terrans have no idea about what's happening to your own world?"

"None at all."

"I wish I knew what was going on. For some reason all these cursed sharks are around! All these things do is rend and eat. They swim a bit. They are no good to anybody."

"Can't you telepaths keep them away?"

"We were, but now they are showing resistance to us. This is very annoying."

"I agree. Lord knows, they're probably already in a frenzy and if any blood drops in there--"

"--which it has--"

"Oh, shit," Dirk breathed, "Hey, Mon, we've got a report of shark problems over here!"

"I see them. The Atlanteans have set up some electro-nets to keep them out."

"What are you doing besides imitating a light bulb?" Vianna challenged.

"I'm keeping an eye on things. Someone has to. Since I am imitating a light bulb, let me point out that there's some people who could use help about five klicks due south of your position."

Vianna immediately climbed over to the helpless people trapped in their own car. Even the Atlanteans and dolphins who were raised on the roughest of seas were having trouble.

Dirk didn't see any of the Amazon Nation's emergency vehicles, but then it was still possible they were tied up overseas. Suddenly through his link with Vianna, he felt this overwhelming fear. It rose from his stomach and into his throat, making him lose his balance in the wind tossed air. Fear that made him want to run, dried his mouth, widened his eyes and sent his heartbeat racing. He realized it wasn't his fear he felt-- it was Vianna's. But it was real.

"Dirk, are you all right?" Tinya asked.

Dirk bit the inside of his lip until he could taste the blood. He wasn't going to show this to anyone, especially not her.

"Vianna! What's going on with the Atlantean and dolphin crews?" However, all the dolphins and any Atlanteans psychically linked to the dolphins had fled, and Vianna's brother was carrying her to one of the temporary shelters.

"Damn! We've got problems, folks!" Sun Boy announced.

Ayla winced at the information. "Yeah, but they'll be safer in the deep and farther away from the storm."

"Just means we'll have to do this on our own," Mon-El acknowledged as he dived into the water and fended off a few sharks that had slipped past the nets. The nets failed suddenly. That, and a shout from Cosmic Boy was all the warning Shield had before she needed to start keeping the sharks away from the people who were trapped in the water. Most of them, if not all, were dead from the shock of hitting the water, but if there were any alive, Shield was going to give them a fighting chance.

Colossal Boy grew to his full height, hoping it was tall enough to do some good. He grabbed onto a pylon to anchor himself and tried to hold onto suspension cables that had whipped out of their mooring and were lashing at vehicles and people. One came too close to the emergency hospitals, but Shield saw it and momentarily diverted her attention to the airborne menace.

Diamond was busy trying to tie down another whipping cable. Suddenly she saw a tourist van being menaced by another free cable. If she let go of this one, there would be trouble, but the other one was almost seemingly ready for the kill.

Almost as in answer to her prayer, he twin brother, Coal appeared. He took on a similar crystalline shape and anchored the cable that threatened the van. "I know we were never raised to believe in a Divine Being, Coal but I thank Her for your appearance!"

"You sure it's not a he?" Coal jested lightly while tying the cable down as best he could.

Gim let go of the pylon with one hand while he desperately reached for the loose cables. Suddenly, one of the ones he was holding snapped loose and lashed him in the face and chest. His psychic cry of pain resonated through all of the Legionnaires as he was thrown back and dropped into the water, leaving only a slight trail of red.

"Oh, my God," Dirk cursed and brightened to near nova. "I can't see him!"

Shadow Lass shouted, "Turn down the damn light! I can! Shield, concentrate on a telepathic link with me. Gim's--"

Shield dove into the water and found Gim. He must have been barely conscious, for he was still at full size. The sharks were attacking him. With her kirillan aura she lashed out of the nearest sharks. "Get away from him!" she thought and tried to push them away. But the sharks were in a blood frenzy. There's was so much blood, so much meat to tear up and feast on. Shield felt the gorge rising from her stomach and wished she wasn't wearing a transsuit so she could allow herself to throw up. She swallowed it back and swam towards Gim. Then she projected her field as thinly as she could, hoping that the sudden bump against the sharks would get them to go away. Some of the sharks did leave. Others, she had to add to the thickening mixture of blood. Once she got Gim above the water, she could destroy the heads that were still clenched to his body.

Other sharks came before she could get Gim to the surface and tore off huge chunks of Legionnaire to feast on elsewhere. Frantically, Ciryn wondered if the bites would maintain their proportion to Gim's size as he shrunk. It seemed like they were as he began to get smaller. Finally she pulled him free of the water and flew towards the hospital. "Brainy!" she shouted.

Brainiac 5 did not look up as he was repairing a protean's neural net. As he finished, he looked over to his assisting surgeon. "No need to seal it up." Then he look at the Protean. "You'll be fine, as long as you do not stress your epidermis for the next week. The Protean engulfed the Coluan's hand for a moment, and then left. Querl allowed himself a second of weariness. How many hours had they been working? He lost track of time the moment he saw his first trauma case.

He turned to see what alarmed Shield. "Oh, no," he moaned to himself as he saw his friend. "Let's get him prepped! I need a lot of hemodrom andreninal here!" Immediately, the triage team began prep Gim as Brainiac looked at the diagnostic scan and at the blood coming from his friend's body. "I'm going to need grafting materials. You," he barked at one nurse, "seal off the cuts. We'll work on anti-biotics later."

Gim inhaled sharply for a moment, causing more blood to gush out of the gash the cable ripped into him. "Brainy..."

"Don't talk right now, Gim. I need anesthesia here!"

"Brainy," Gim began again, weakly, grabbing onto his friend's arm and leaving bloody fingerprints on an already stained surgical tunic "Am I going to die?"

Some doctors would have told Gim he was going to be fine. Others would have told him the extent of the injuries and caused the man to lose hope. Brainiac 5 gambled on the long years of friendship and trust between himself and his patient. "Not if I can help it. But I am going to have to put you under. Some of those injuries are very close to tender places."

"Oh, please," Gim responded dryly. "My wife will be devastated if I can't have children."

Brainy forced a chuckle at the poor joke. "Maybe you can ask Reep to be a surrogate parent," he quipped as the electronic device began to prod Gim's brain to produce sleep and pain-killing hormones. "Get me an intradimensional and a laser scalpel now! Now!" Brainiac snapped as the assisting surgeon looked at him blankly. "Gim, I promise you you will be all right," the Coluan swore under his breath.

He picked up the laser scalpel and looked at the injury. If he cauterized immediately, what would be the results? The fact that he was thinking about it this long was a sign a sign of fatigue. After Gim I'll rest, he promised himself. At the thought of cutting open his friend he found his hand shaking even more. The surgeon cleared his throat to try to say something, but Brainiac 5 gave him a look that silenced any protest.

An authoritative voice cut between the two men, "Brainy, give me the scalpel."

Brainiac looked at the person who dared suggest he was too tired to do this operation, a woman who barely reached his shoulder. "You're too tired to do any good here," she stated plainly. "Give me the scalpel. I'll do it."

The Legionnaire inclined his head slightly, to look at her. At his side was the president of Earth, Ananda Timmain. "Brainy, this is a question of your pride over Gim's life. I know you'll make the right decision. But you have to make it now." She held out her hand.

Brainy paused for a moment and Ananda could see the last vestiges of his pride breaking away. He gave up the scalpel and ran out. "I need forceps and a clamp here. Move it man!"

The physician knew of Timmain as a politician and an engineer and was confused. However, if Brainiac 5 was willing to give her a scalpel....

"Do it!" shouted Mon-El who saw the scene. "Shield, there's more of the suspension area breaking."

"Right. Sorry. I needed to catch my breath for a moment." She nodded at Mon-El who smiled in agreement. Even Ultra Boy was starting to tire, even though he was using mostly invulnerability to work on this mission.

Brainy stopped long enough to hurl the bloody tunic into the disintegrater and then ran into the area where Chameleon Boy and the White Witch were helping the people with minor injuries. "Brainy!" Cham shouted. The White Witch saw him run through the shelter's doors and into the storm.

"I'll get him," she told Reep as she petted a girl's teddy bear and placed it back into its owner's hands.

Before she stepped outside, she activated her protective spells and went to Brainiac 5's side. Brainy was holding onto the railing with both hands as the wind and rain whipped at his clothes and threatened to tear him away from the bridge.

"Brainiac, this is not a safe place right now."

"He's my friend and I'm failing him."

"Would you not be failing him if you persisted, yet were too tired to perform the surgery correctly?"

"Andrew, Lyle, Condo, Lorenna, Kara, Kal, Pol, Blok... I've been directly responsible for Luornu's death, twice. I don't want Gim added to that list."

"Nor do I."

"There's no reason why Ananda shouldn't be able to save him. It's the fatigue talking."

"It's cold out here. Why don't we go in?"

"Damnit! I should be doing something!!"

"You did something when you took enough responsibility to surrender the responsibility. You know Timmain is a perfectly decent healer. Let her work her craft."

Brainiac 5 harrumped at a thought. "You know, Kara would tell me the same thing you're telling me. Of course, she insisted on using twentieth century slang. We could have used her help here. Mon's good, but he's only one man."

"So are you. And unlike Mon-El, you feel this weather. Come, Brainy, let your friends remind you that you've done all you can." He froze for a moment as she tugged at his arm and then followed her in. She found some spare mylar blankets and wrapped him in them. She left for a moment and reappeared with a cup of tea.

"What is this?"

"Non-caffeinated tea. I think it's blended on Manna-V. I added a little bit of cinnamon in there to make it taste better. Also, there's a slight spell to enhance your rest as you nap."

"I would've put a mild tranquilizer in this myself."

"The same basic idea. After all, magic and science are simply definitions of how we perceive. We believe in the same things, Brainy; we just can't agree on how they work."

"You're right. Perhaps we should work at learning each other's skills more."

"Perhaps," Mysa agreed. "But right now is not the time to talk about it. You rest."

Brainiac's head began sagging towards the cushioned wall and Mysa slid him back a bit and put a pillow behind his head. The little girl with the teddy bear came out too. Amazed that a legend as great as this needed comforting and sleep, she placed the bear into the Legionnaire's limp hands and toddled back to her family.

Shield helped steady the bridge for a moment and felt a mind-numbing, bone-weariness overcome her. For a moment the wind threatened to knock her into the bridge she had just stabilized, but she held herself straight and enhanced her own shield.

"Ciryn!" Coal shouted to his lover. "Are you all right?"

"I'm tired, Coal, but I'll be okay. All I have to do is get good and bitchy and I'll be fine."

Coal laughed at her remark. Oh she had her bad moments, but she was always contrite and apologetic right afterward. "Only if we get to kiss and make up after your bad mood."

"That sounds like fun." She sighed and gasped in another breath. She deactivated her transsuit. The rain seemed to clear her head, although the wind kept battering it unmercifully.

"Shit! The cable's slipping!" Coal alerted the others frantically. All of a sudden the cable whipped out of his hands and took his head off.

Ciryn screamed and flew towards his body. Blood was spurting everywhere as crystal changed to flesh. The body twitched as it staggered around, trying to maintain its balance. It finally fell. Ciryn looked for his head and realized it must have fallen into the ocean. She screamed and tried to dive and get it.

"No, Ciryn," Jo shouted, wrapping his powerful arms around her. "It won't do any good!"

"But his head's down there," she screamed.

"Ciryn, it won't do any good," Jo repeated. Finally the words began to sink in and Ciryn sagged into his grip and started to sob.

Tinya and Tasmia came to take Ciryn from Jo, who gathered himself to take the body of yet another fallen comrade to the temporary buildings. "Somebody better tell Diamond," he mentioned briefly.

The women nodded to him slightly, but their concentration was on Ciryn. They both knew how she felt, since they had both lost their men. No matter how briefly, there had been a time when both women were widows.

For a moment, Diamond was nonplused as Cosmic Boy magnetically seized the cables she was working on, until Ayla came up to her. The deputy leader's face was etched in a sadness that she remembered all too well. "Diamond," Ayla searched for the right words. "There's been an accident. Your brother..."

"What about Coal?"

Ayla couldn't speak.

"Take me to him," Diamond insisted.

"I'm not sure that's good idea," Ayla admitted.

"Do it," Diamond insisted.

Ayla lead Diamond to the morgue and the headless body. Diamond studied it and then exhaled a sigh of relief. "This isn't Coal."

"What?" Jo asked, stunned by the idea.

"I can identify crystalline matrices. The matrix is right, but no energy has ever gone through it. It's... I don't know how to explain it... It lacks my brother's energy signature."

"It's never had a soul," Tasmia suggested.

"Yes, that's as good a way to explain it as any. This isn't Coal. It has never been animated." Diamond knelt before Ciryn and took her hands. "My brother's alive," she told the weeping woman.

Elsewhere far away from the storm, the woman known as Nightmare watched Diamond comfort Ciryn and laughed. "Isn't that touching?" she asked Coal, who didn't understand where he was or why he was paralyzed.

(I don't get it,) Indra thought to herself, and to the others at the same time. (She had to teleport him through my powers, but I need to be in physical contact before I can do that.)

Element Lad was seized with a wild hope. She could control five... but six? (Let's see if I've got this straight, Nightmare,} he addressed their captor. {I think I know how you do these tricks. You've linked my sense of composition, Tellus's telekinesis, and then you used Indra's teleportation through that focus. Tellus's xeno-telepathy was combined with Imra's broadcast range. And you knew just what to do because we've all been watching this through Jeckie's powers.)

Nightmare cackled. "You're absolutely right, and had I gotten my hands on that little computer witch, I would've had control of half the computers in the solar system. But she disappeared. Do you have any idea where she is?" She challenged the Tromian. Jan didn't answer. "I know it was your idea that she hid herself. Maybe I can use you to find her."

"She's at Legion Headquarters. All you have to do is grab her," Succubus said.

"No, a snatch like that might bear too much of my signature. But this.. imagine how your friends would react if the hurricane traveled inland! Or better yet, if I created a vacuum in Earth's atmosphere! All I'd have to do is teleport a few thousand cubic tons of air..."

Jan winced at the thought. He was already developing a transmuter's headache. Indra also became sicker at the idea. (I can't...no...) she pleaded.

(Listen to me, Nightmare,) Projectra began quietly. (Indra will pass out if you continue to use her powers, and there's no guarantee how long Jan can continue your little games. If you expect to destroy the world, I suspect it would be a good idea to keep your power sources alive long enough to reach your goal.)

"You're right. Element Lad, I can control six as well as five. It was a good try, though. Don't do it again!" she snapped suddenly. "As for you, my pretty little Coal, I think I'd like to see you in your crystalline form."

Without doing it himself, Coal suddenly found himself in crystal form and that his clothes had vanished into thin air. Or more accurately, they had become thin air.

"Very pretty," she murmured, "This is very pretty. Don't you think this is very pretty, Jacques?" she called

Succubus laughed. "Very hard anyway."

"I know. Isn't it wonderful how the light glistens off his muscles? Yes!" She snapped her fingers. Suddenly there was a gold harness around Coal's shoulders and neck, complete with a loop over his head. Then Coal began to shrink until he was an inch high statue of himself. Nightmare created a thin braided chain of gold, and took her new prize and slipped the chain around her neck. "Yes, very pretty," she purred.

  Chapter Nine: Things Fall Apart

What started as a localized incident became, as Brainiac 5 feared, a planetary disaster. Nightmare laughed as she saw through Projectra's powers how the hundred million tons or so of displaced water disrupted the hydrosphere of the entire planet. Wild temperature shifts and torrential rains destroyed thousands of acres of carefully irrigated Sahara farmland. The resort community of Bangladesh evacuated as historians and storytellers whispered of floods that happened a thousand years before. The Hong Kong spaceport was forced to close for the first time as a tsunami threatened to topple the floating ports and the spacecraft on them. As people listened to the disasters, they wondered if Earth was in its death throes and what the president and the heroes were going to do about the situation.

The president was in conference with the cabinet and three Legionnaires: Brainiac 5, the White Witch, and Lightning Lass; the latter desperately wished yet again that Projectra was here instead of herself. Perhaps somewhere in the learning of queen craft, Projectra learned to survive long, meaningless meetings. I should be out there, Ayla thought, co-ordinating the Legion's rescue efforts!

"We should be doing something!" a secretary was shouting at the president, mirroring Ayla's thoughts. "Reinstate weather control! Stop these storms!"

The president looked at him with annoyance and utter disdain on her face. "There's a reason, Mr. Secretary, that we do not have weather control any more."

"Because you ordered it!"

"Yes, I ordered it. Gentlebeings, despite the fact that you still are not used to the idea of dealing with a universe that is both magical and scientific, we must. In Magical universes, that which is the rain, wind and even the sun, are sentient--or answer to a sentient that controls their natures. When you speak of weather control, you speak of binding very powerful beings to doing your will. If they exist, we cannot approach them this way. If we bind them, they will tear the bindings apart and then they will seek vengeance. We have to find another way. Mysa of Xerox, have you and the other sorcerers devised a way to communicate with these beings?"

"In truth, Lady President, we have yet to determine which beings to communicate with. Do we speak to the Greek pantheon or the Roman? Or perhaps the Zulus' gods or gods whose names have not been uttered for generations? Would we do better to address the Hawaiian gods or the Norse? Are they individual beings, such as the history reports of the twentieth century show, or they aspects of one greater being?"

"I see your point. Can you not devise any spells to figure that out?"

"In truth lady, no."

Ananda Timmain sat back and her eyes lost focus for a moment. Throughout her time as the Chief Reconstruction Engineer of the planet and as President of Earth, she had struggled to keep her metahumanity from the public eye. "I think we would do well do address the Elementals. Land, Air, Water, Fire. These beings were created by the Mother Spirit of Earth: Call her Maru or Gaia, whatever, to serve to her needs. Those who were created as gods were also born of the Mother. In their trafficking with humans, they became humanlike. The gods create humans and then we humans return the gesture. These beings were not created in any image except their elemental essence. I think these are the beings we need to speak with. I do not know their current aspects; I do not know if they've been fully reborn. But you have a direction to explore now. Find it, Mysa Nal, or tell me to order the planetary evacuation. This planet can't take these stresses much longer."

"Of course. I'll get to work with the other sorcerers right away... if I may be excused?"

"Please, by all means, leave!" Ananda said wearily, realizing she hadn't slept for days. She looked at the equally tired Legionnaires and then the secretaries, who were doing a great deal to keep themselves safe. "Gentlebeings, if you don't mind, I am very tired and I think the purpose for meeting has been resolved for a time."

"Madame President, I must protest! We have figures to go over!"

"We have a planet that's suffering! We have people scared and suffering! If you politicians have any influence at all, I suggest you get on the Tri-V and tell the people to stay calm, that panic will only hurt them!" Ananda shouted, close to tears. Then, she took a deep breath and steadied herself. "Forgive me. I am tired and need at least a nap. Ayla, Brainiac 5, I think you two also need one," she mentioned to the Legionnaires as the rest of the room was leaving.

"We do, but there's too much work to be done. The planet... and our missing comrades..."

"I'm worried about that as well. Indra was a student of mine. However, how are you going to find anything if you're too weary to think?"

"I guess you're right," Brainiac 5 shrugged and walked towards the door.

"I have tried contacting Indra," Ananda reported quietly, "but something is blocking my spell."

"Dream Girl and the Witch said as much. Nor have they been able to trace Imra through her link with Garth and her children."

"I was afraid of that. Somebody very powerful may have a hold on them."

"I'm afraid of that too," Brainiac 5 admitted softly and began walking out of the room. He was about to shut the door when a clerk burst in.

"Madame President! There's some trouble on the Pan-American Bridge. E.E.S has stopped working!"

"What's the cause of this trouble?" Ananda asked.

"It seems to be... racial... ma'am."

"Dammit!" the president swore as she lost her composure completely. "Every time I think humanity has matured beyond such petty hatreds, it proves me wrong! Lightning Lass, could Cosmic Boy meet me there in five minutes?"

"Andy, I have to recommend against that!" Ayla protested.

"Recommendation noted and rejected. I need Cosmic Boy there NOW."

"Perhaps the president would not mind if the acting leader of the Legion escorted her?" Ayla challenged, blocking the door.

With that, Ananda smiled. "Of course not, Ayla. I'm sorry, I've gotten to used to handling things on my own."

"There's a rash of that at our place, too," Ayla admitted wryly. "Let's go."

As Brainiac 5 piloted the president's shuttle, Ayla contacted Rokk. The Braalian was groggy sounding when he answered, but he woke up immediately once he heard the report. "I've had a taste of anti-Braalian behavior myself--I didn't like it. I'll meet you there." Rokk tugged on his uniform as he asked the computer to dial his step-daughter's hospital room, but then canceled the call. He didn't want to alarm his wife by telling her he was throwing himself into a potential race riot.

What greeted Cosmic Boy when he got to the Pan-American Bridge was a sight out of history. Two groups of humans with different ethnic backgrounds threatened each other and prepared to start a war because of their differences.

Rokk heard the shuttle and looked up to see his best friend's sister hovering beside it. "Ayla, how about getting their attention for me?" he asked.

"Sure thing, Rokk," she answered and threw a powerful bolt of lightning into the sky.

As the two groups looked up, Cosmic Boy flew between them and landed. "What's going on?" he asked, carefully keeping his voice neutral, fighting the anger and disgust he felt for watching two groups of adults growling and snapping at each other like packs of dogs.

"The Braalies say they won't work," a Terran answered.

"Why should we work for Earther scum who destroy our property and harass our kids?"

"'Cause it's your job! The kind my cousin usta have before your kind came!"

"Yeah, something you Braalies should be grateful to have, if you weren't so damn lazy!"

"Yeah, a whole planet of skimmers!"

The Terran mouths caused Braalian fists to clench. Rokk's heart skipped a beat.

(Anytime you want help, Cos,) a familiar telepathic voice assured him.

(Thanks, Ayla. I could use another dramatic diversion now.)

(My specialty,) Ayla answered and lifted her hands to the sky. Lightning flared from her slender fingers and burned the atmosphere.

The mob looked up and saw the first Legionnaire, who was standing on the presidential shuttle. "Now that we have your attention," Rokk Krinn began, facing the Braalians, "I can understand how you feel..."

"Can you? You've done more good for them than us!" a Braalian shot back.

Rokk looked at the Terrans. "And what do you think? Am I Braalian or Terran?" The Earthlings fidgeted quietly.

"I'm a Legionnaire, with a great deal of empathy for both sides," Rokk answered his own question. "Yes, I grew up on Braal; and yes, I spent years on Earth. Recently, someone graffittied my Dad's house, and he's lived on Earth as long as I have."

He glanced back at the natives. "These people have known the anxiety of an unstable and depressed economy all of their lives, and the fear of having what they think of as 'their' jobs taken from them. But you aren't ready to hear about that yet.

"I also know about the attacks on Braalian neighborhoods and the Braalian counter-attacks on mostly Terran areas. I know the science police can't do everything that they're supposed to in this situation. To those of you who have been hurt, it seems like they're doing nothing. But we have a very different problem here.

"People are trapped and dying on this bridge and we've got to help them!"

"Why should we help a bunch of Terries?" a Braalian demanded.

"For every Terrie that throws a rock or paints some slur, there's a few hundred thousand who are innocent. Also where are the major Braalian communities in this hemisphere? Rio de Janeiro? Miami? Atlanport? The bridge is the easiest route to most of the cities on the east coast. You'd be helping your own, and proving that Braalians are honorable and can uphold their oaths, even when there's a lot of reason not to! I swear to you, once this emergency is over, I'll use my influence to get the SPs and the Legion to make the attack a high priority. We'll get the terrorists and we'll put them away. No more innocents will be harmed on either side!"

The Braalians began separating and returning to their tasks.

"So are you going to prove you deserve those jobs? Or are you going to let a bunch of distant cousins show you that Earth can only create cynical and jaded people with none of the drive or discipline that got our ancestors to the stars?" Rokk challenged. "Or are Lightning Lass and I going to have to blast you with the president's blessing? I can guarantee with three Legionnaires and the president's testimony, all of you will see work at a penal colony far away from your home."

The Terrans picked up their equipment, and grumbling, returned to their work. Cosmic Boy joined Lightning Lass and Brainiac 5.

"Bravo!" The president applauded. "I am impressed Mr. Krinn. With almost no briefing or bargaining chips, you diffused a potential riot. Truly impressive," she repeated, and she studied him openly.

Rokk tried to shrug off the penetrating gaze. What is she thinking? he wondered.

Gim Allon watched the news and forced himself not to scratch his chest. The new flesh was itching as it healed. He had been lying still for the three days after his surgery and watching the news. Finally when he saw the story on the Pan-American Bridge, he could no longer sit still. He turned off the tri-v and very gingerly reached for his uniform.

"What do you think you're doing?" his wife, Yera, challenged.

"I'm going out there and helping those people."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am!"

"Gim, you can barely stand. If Brainiac 5, or any surgeon saw you doing that, I'm sure that they'd tie you down like the crazed animal you are!"

"I am not crazy!"

Yera's inhumanly large, inhumanly green eyes filled with tears. "Yes, you are, Gim. Don't you know that getting up like this could--reopen everything?" she asked in a choked voice.

Gim slowed down for a moment. He didn't feel very good and Yera had reason to be frightened for him. "I feel so--stupid--and useless--being in bed when people need my help!"

"They need a hero who's healthy, Gim. Let Mon-El or Ultra Boy or somebody else do it... not you. Not yet," she pleaded.

Gim staggered back to his bed and realized he had used up all his strength. "Hon, can you help me up?" he asked.

"Of course," she answered, using her Durlan shapeshifting power to lift him with as little stress as possible to his human body. Gim looked at her face. There was no trace of the tears. "I thought you were upset."

"I am upset," Yera snapped, "but what's the good of being as actress if you can't fool your husband every so often?" she whispered her confession as she brushed her hand over Gim's flushed cheeks.

"Aww, how sweet," Nightmare murmured as she watched through Projectra's powers.

"I wonder how one fucks with someone who is so fluid and imaginative as that one," Succubus mused. "Can you imagine having a body like that caressing you?" she whispered stroking Nightmare's back with Invisible Kid's muscular brown fingers.

"Maybe you should take a Durlan as your next host... after you've burned that one out."

"I still see wonderful possibilities for Jacques Foccart as my mount."

"Don't you mean my mount?" Nightmare jested. "Let me tell you, sweet Succubus, that your mount is a mighty steed and I enjoy watching him rear up at the sight of me."

"That, dear Nightmare, is me."

Nightmare turned to the gestalt and looked at her five captive Legionnaires. "So, Element Lad, am I not keeping my promise wonderfully well? Earth is dying because of us. You will see your second homeworld as totally destroyed as your first, but this one will take much, much longer."

Jan shuddered. (You poor excuse for a petty demon,} Projectra cursed. {You can't even manage to use your own powers anymore and have to rely on batteries.)

(Jacques,) Imra began her telepathic probe. (I know you're in there. You've got to try to fight Succubus. I know from experience it's hard, but you've got to!)

"Fight me?" Succubus repeated in astonishment. "He adores me! I've showed him things about himself that he could only dream of." She advanced to the energy field, placed her hand against Element Lad's chest and slowly stroked down. "That night, in your arms, Jacques learned what he truly was and who he truly wanted. It's a shame that the Catholic Church can't make up its mind about homosexuality. I hear on Shadow Lass's world, they still castrate men who prefer men." She ceased her mocking tone and leaned close to Jan, kneading the finely tuned hips and buttocks beneath the skintight tights. "Oh, but for such a fine light body such as yours, to be able to look into eyes the color of oceans and feel the warmth of your muscular hardness against his... it was so worth it, even to him."

A sickening realization that some of Succubus' words were true stabbed Indra's heart and nausea twisted her stomach as it twisted the other four's. (You and Jacques? Jacques is gay?)

"If he were free to follow his own orientation, little girl, yes." Succubus smiled and turned away from the man to look at the teenager. "Since he follows mine," she taunted as she thrust her hands into the field again and pulled Indra closer. She pulled the strapless side of Indra's body suit down and caressed the small, brown breast. "I can make him want you, or I could have you both taken," she promised as she teased the bare nipple with Jacques' tongue before sucking on it for a moment. When she looked into Indra's violet eyes, she saw no fear or passion, just anger and contempt.

(I'm not going to let you do this to my comrade, Succubitch. I won't play your game.)

The demon snarled and smacked the naked breast as hard as she could. "You'll suffer for that, you little fool. I swear, if you weren't needed now, I'd--"

(You'd what?) Jan challenged, hoping to draw attention away from Indra. (She's already proven she's immune to you.)

(Yes, thanks to her mother, the whore.) Indra tried to smother the sting of the remark. (I can rape and rend your body, but I cannot harm your spirit. It is such a shame... but you,) she turned and glowered at the Tromian. (You have no such safeguards. Not like that.)

"Hold, sister. You'll not get any satisfaction from the Tromian that way. We should think of something else..."

The Legionnaires exchanged worried glances. What would they be forced to do to their friends this time?

"I was wondering..." Nightmare paused again to stare at Element Lad a little longer. "Jan ArRAH... Dagan RA..." she chanted, placing a strange emphasis on the last syllables. "Could it be that the lone survivor of the greatest pirate attack in the thirtieth century is the descendent of the greatest pirate of the twentieth? If so, isn't that ironic?"

Succubus laughed at the notion. "Somehow, it makes sense!" she agreed.

(It doesn't matter one way or the other,) Element Lad replied. (On my world, an individual's sins dies with the individual.)

"Then your world must be the most pristine and sinless of planets, since the one last sinner does not live there, does he?" Nightmare mocked. "You are mistaken, Jan Arrah. The sins of one can be visited on another. You know, one problem of having your family taken from you is that you become dependent on aliens..."

Imra tried to use her powers to distort or destroy Nightmare's thought and found her telepathy totally blocked and useless. "No, no, telepath," Nightmare admonished with a burst of soul-blinding pain. "Now, who would be a good example...? Sun Boy? No; right in front of all the other Legionnaires? Nonononono. That might give them a clue as to who's doing this. Oh, I know!

The little SPO... wha'shername? The one I gave to the vampires until you Legionnaires found a way to undo that."

(Nye,) Jan prayed, (not Shvaughn.)

"And why not? You can do nothing to prevent us. In fact, it will be you who kills her. What would you give us to stop us from doing what we so desire?"

Helpless panic sent Jan's thoughts skittering into the far corners of his mind. He remembered a perfect moment on an isolated beach, just the two of them. Shvaughn was wearing only a blue bikini and a flower in her hair. They were sharing a moonlight walk and a fruit drink that was exquisite. He also remembered the bitterness of their last argument, one that had lasted weeks. He did not know if they could stay together any longer, but he knew that he loved her, and had to do what little he could to keep her alive. (I'll do what you want, Succubus. I'll... sleep with you.)

"Oh you would? And tell me, wouldn't you offer that if I threatened a baby-child, or even an old man? Perhaps even Roxxas himself?" Jan was stunned into silence. "Of course you would. You're offering me nothing that you wouldn't offer if I had any hostage. Nightmare, let's kill her anyway."

(NO!) The unspoken protest roared in the five linked minds as Jan felt his powers surged to find the only human with two grams of Vuurium just under her skin. His thoughts locked onto her and he remembered the perfect beach one more time. Oh, Shvaughn, forgive me. I never meant to be anybody's death... especially yours.

Shvaughn walked out into the Irish dawn, and wrapped her wool sweater tightly about her. She looked beyond the craggy hills her parents called home and wondered just what was going on at Legion Headquarters. The few times she had gotten through, the Legionnaires were evasive about Jan's whereabouts. Is he on a mission he shouldn't be on? she wondered. And even if I do catch up with him, is he going to tell me the truth? It was cold outside, bitterly cold. She began to beat her arms around her to try to add more warmth. Her fingertips were going numb. It's too soon for that; I've only been out here five minutes. Then she saw the glistening of her veins as they became gold. She stared in horror; not quite realizing what was happening until her skin took on the same hue and stiffness. She clicked her thumb and forefinger together and heard the sound of metal on metal. "NO!" she screamed silently. She only knew one man who could do this, but he wouldn't kill her, no matter how angry he was. This isn't happening, she thought in shock. Suddenly, she saw Shield slowing down just enough to pick her up and carry her to a secret Legion base. "Mysa, if you've got any ward spells, use them now!" Shield shouted.

Nightmare howled as the psychic link between the target and weapon was destroyed.

(They stopped you, Nightmare!) Element Lad crowed. (And they'll stop you again!)

The woman snarled and gestured at the man in the tank.

(Fight it, Jan,) Saturn Girl and Tellus begged in unison, but Jan was lost to the liquid reality of the tank, and soon they would be as well.

He was home again, on a Trom that was still, quiet and impossibly cold for a radioactive world. He felt the blood warmth of a pulpy liquid puddle against his feet. Voices in the non-existent wind whispered his name as dry, hot ashes brushed against his cheeks. Jan shut his eyes even tighter. He refused to look at the Nightmare-induced dreamscape that he had been seeing in his sleep for weeks.

"It's sealed, I don't think anything else can get to her," Mysa explained.

Shield sighed and set Shvaughn down. "Are you all right?" the tall blonde asked Shvaughn.

"My hands--!" Shvaughn began.

Dream Girl came up to her and checked. "Just the fingertips. Thank the Seers, we were in time! I didn't have much time between the premonition and the event... I'm sorry, I wish I'd caught it earlier."

"No problem. I guess any rescue is better than none..." Shvaughn's voice sounded shaky, even to her.

Brainiac 5 lifted an eyelid and checked her eyes with a small flashlight. "You're in shock. I'd like you to lie down and let me do a medical scan."

"Sure, no problem..." Shvaughn agreed. Her emotions were almost as numb as her fingertips. "I can't believe Jan would do this to anyone..."

"It may not be Jan. We're not sure who or what we're dealing with. Now relax, the diagnostic scan will take a few minutes." Brainiac 5 ran the diagnostic program, studied its results and ran it again.

"Am I okay?" Shvaughn asked as he ran it a third time.

"Yes, with the exception of your fingertips, I'm fairly sure you are." He looked at her a moment and looked back at the screen. "Shvaughn, would you object to a full gynecological scan?"

"What?"

"I'm getting some very odd readings from your reproductive organs. If these readings are correct, you may not be exactly human anymore."

  Chapter Ten: Strike and Counterstrike Mon-El watched the monitor with Diamond as the others slept. They discussed the recent events, trying to find a villain or at least some common denominators. Like the events themselves, most of the theories were too incredible to believe.

The alpha-priority alert wasn't. Something happened to the San Andreas fault to make it unstable so quickly that geological control couldn't predict the earthquake, let alone diffuse it.

"Shield and Sun Boy are my best partners for the first team; I'll let you know if we need a second," Mon-El decided.

Despite the exhaustion from the rescue efforts and worry over their friends, Sun Boy and Shield were awake and in uniform within seconds. Mon-El carried them to the area, telling them that the situation would speak for itself.

"Not given to exaggeration, are you?" Shield asked as she twisted out of her comrade's arms and began to use her powers to divert the lava flow. Sun Boy joined her and began drawing the heat away from the molten rock. Mon-El used his cape to gather the debris that spewed into the sky, as he used his microscopic vision to study the particles. "Transsuits, you two! There's poison gas coming from this opening!" he warned before he carried his makeshift bag out of the atmosphere. The debris had a higher radioactive count than it should have. Halfway between the Earth and Moon, he deposited the cooled and compressed rock and looked down at the planet. Vacuum stole his sound of horror. The entire western coast of the Americas was breaking up. The Legion was needed to do the impossible again.

As he dived down, he used his telescopic and x-ray vision to find the locations the others could be most useful while he continued to clean up the atmosphere. He relayed the information to Sun Boy and Shield as soon as he was within range of telepathic plugs.

Dirk squelched a nightmarish fantasy of being drowned in molten rock and followed Ciryn into the crevasse Mon-El had indicated. Already she was using her powers to punch some passages away from the troubled areas for the lava to drain onto the ocean floor. Their hastily made plan was crude--Ciryn would push as much of the falling land up as she could while Dirk cooled the lava in order to make a temporary plug.

Ciryn didn't think about what she was attempting. If she did, she would realize the magnitude of the plan and balk. She filled the crevasses with her field and guided the lava's flow into the holes. Meanwhile, Dirk absorbed the heat from layer after layer of the liquid rock. Near the original stress point, he saw a discoloration in the rock. He made a note to ask Mon-El about that, if they lived through their success.

Finally, he absorbed all the energy he could. Dirk propelled himself spaceward to release the excess heat. On both Earth and Moon, they saw the flare he created. He let gravity take him home as far as it could before changing his trajectory and heading out to California.

To his joy, the coast was still above the ocean. When he found Mon and Ciryn, the oldest Legionnaire was telling the rookie to put her head between her knees to avoid fainting.

"You did it!" Mon-El told him proudly.

"Amen," Dirk responded as he sagged besides Ciryn. "Held up the entire coast herself, didn't she?" he asked Mon when it became obvious Ciryn was in no state to talk.

"For a few seconds, anyway," Mon agreed.

"And Universo grabbed her brother?" Dirk shook his head in disbelief. Then he became serious again. "You know that's only a temporary solution. Soon the pressure will build and... boom!"[1]

"Yes, but we've given geological control a chance to fix it," Mon's answer was followed by silence. Dirk looked at Ciryn and their handiwork, then rubbed his face and ran his fingers through his hair. He wore the expression of a man who needed an answer, but did not relish having it.

"There was a discoloration of the rock at the epicenter."

"Yes." Mon waited for the question.

"Did you analyze it?"

"Uranium 237 with some lithium traces."

"Atomic bombs aren't naturally occurring, Mon."

The Daxamite shook his head. "No."

"So how those elements get there?"

"I think we share the same theory, Sun Boy. We need to call an emergency meeting when we get home."

The group assembled in the main meeting hall. This time, there was very little conversation before business. Brainiac 5 examined Shield briefly and escorted her to her bed. Dirk, still stunned with the prospect of what they had done, related the story of how Shield held the area together by herself. If these were normal times, he would have added a lengthy account of his own "dangerous and heroic" work, however even his gregarious nature was muted. Six Legionnaires were missing, two were hospitalized and another's family was horribly injured. Everyone else was exhausted from rescue work. The impermanent nature of the earthquake solution and nature's anger over being used lowered morale at the meeting even more. To make matters worse, the White Witch was not at the meeting when it began.

"Dream Girl, where's your sister? Is she all right?"

"I haven't foreseen any problems for her," Nura replied in a shaky voice. "Of course that may not mean much."

A ball of light came floating into the meeting room. It stopped and coalesced into the White Witch. "What an exhilarating way to travel," she sighed. "The only danger is that it might make one forget to turn back into mortal form. I bring good news to those who need it. The air and water elementals have agreed to help us and correct the imbalance between what is and what should be. It will take them some time, though. They are also very displeased. They don't like mortal beings to tamper with them. They have charged us with finding the answers. I didn't tell them we had charged ourselves with the same mission. It seemed... impolitic."

"Glad to hear diplomacy still has its place," Ayla quipped as Mysa took her spot besides her sister. "Though right now, I'd settle for finding our missing members. Any word, Danielle?"

"Non," the youngest Legionnaire replied. "There has been nothing about them on the public or police bands. I can find no trace of their flight rings or sub-dermal tracers either."

"The sub-dermal tracers and the flight ring signals are working. The only problems are the six Legionnaires in question," Brainiac 5 reported. "Also, someone who knew what they were doing sabotaged our systems. There's no monitor record of the time we were unconscious. We have no clues as to who literally walked in and kidnapped Tellus, Saturn Girl and Indra. Or who drowned you in the fountain for that matter, Nura. Are you sure you can't remember?"

"No, I wish I could. I almost remember foreseeing something important, and then.... I'm sorry, everybody," Nura said sadly and laughed a little to herself. "I'm usually apologizing for not knowing beforehand. This is new."

"Combination of traumatic amnesia and the suspended animated chemicals you were using. Frankly, I'd be surprised if you remembered much of that time period at all."

"It still doesn't help things, does it, Brainy?"

Danielle made a slight choking noise in the back of her throat.

"What is it?" Ayla asked.

"They have found Father Garcia-Chu... they have found his body! And he is the one that Jacques was going to for counseling. They found him at Stonehenge. His body mutilated." Danielle could no longer speak. Instead, she crossed herself and began praying for the man who was both friend and confessor.

"Another ritual murder," Mysa noted.

"I thought we caught the lunatic doing those," Ayla responded.

Dirk's eyes lost focus for a moment. Following the hunch, he called up the autopsy report on his own screen and found himself having to fight the urge to cross himself and join Danielle in prayer. He'd freely admit to being a failed Catholic, but he promised himself he wouldn't fail at staying a failure. To do anything else smacked to him of hypocrisy. As sick as the massacre was, even sicker was the idea that someone had actually used the corpse as a lovemaking bed. Unfortunately, since the semen was now dead, it would take too long for a DNA scan to identify the owner. But he was still struck by it. "Stonehenge... ritual murder/sacrifice, sex..." he chanted. "Mysa, can you use sex to gain magical powers somehow?"

"But of course. Is not sex used to create life? Powerful magic there. Of course it can be twisted."

"Yes, I guess it can. Rape and stuff, right?" Mysa nodded. "Can sacrifices be used to open doors to other realities?" Dirk asked, half to himself, half to Mysa.

"Yes."

"And so can sex, right?"

"Sex is creation and control... or destruction and control, if you use the rape aspect."

"Oh."

"Dirk, what are you thinking?"

"If you look at it that way, it all does tie in together," he mumbled.

"Earth to Sun Boy, Earth to Sun Boy, are you in there, Dirk? Or did you finally melt your brains?" Phantom Girl asked.

"Yeah, just hold on a sec," he asked before he became lost in thought again. "Yeah, if you tie it all that way it does make sense. We start off with a chain of ritual murders in which all of the victims are essentially female. The Taltosan breeders and one prostitute. Excuse me, one former prostitute, although that distinction was lost on Tsuln. The man doing these killing is a self-styled demon killer. So when Phanny caught him, ranting and raving about a woman, we ignore him. But suppose Tsuln of Thaun's ritual murders did open up a gateway and released an other-dimensional creature who was basically a woman. In turn, she needs another gateway opened to free another dimensional creature. Since she has to do this herself, she decides on a virgin sacrifice. Wouldn't that have more power? Then wouldn't capturing and slaughtering man who was a priest since he hit puberty be a worthwhile course? Especially if the other couldn't free herself at all?"[2]

"Dirk, you don't think Succubus and Nightmare--"

"Yes, I do, Garth, old buddy. Think about it. Before Imra was possessed by Succubus the last time she popped out of whatever hell she calls home, Imra's sexual behavior was erratic, right? And afterwards, she tried to sacrifice one of the twins so she could open up a dimensional door for Nightmare. Cos was the one who ruined her plans that time, so she wouldn't be happy with him. Lo and behold, Daiono is comatose right now. Yeah, a concussion alone could do that, but why not help it along with a psychic push? She's got reason to hate you, Cos, and you know it. Think about this, folks. Nightmare swore to Element Lad that she'd destroy Earth, and she's used the earthquake routine before. But during this earthquake, as Mon reported, we found traces of Uranium 237 and lithium. The basics of a nuclear weapon. Very crude, but very effective on a fault line. The only person who could have gotten those chemicals there in that concentration and that way would be Element Lad. Also think about Shvaughn's gold fingers. Then look at the other missing members: Saturn Girl and Sensor Girl are the two people who can see right through Nightmare. They can obstruct her the most and be the least affected by her. Tellus has never been directly involved with the battles we've had with that bitch, but he's a good telepath. Also, when we were working on the Pan-American Bridge, a telepathic wave of panic hit the dolphins and affected The Atlanteans, in that order. Tellus is better with non-human creatures than he is with humans. And Indra? Indra was the one who imprisoned Nightmare in the dimension that Succubus has tried so hard and so long to breech. It all makes sense."

"Not quite. What about Jacques?" Mon-El challenged.

"Good question. I don't know exactly why Jacques, but I feel he's involved. I have some information I don't feel I can discuss openly. "

"Dirk we're dealing with a very dangerous set of women if you are right. We need that information. So talk," Lightning Lass demanded.

"Ayla, I'll take the reprimand, the inquiry, the fine and the suspension. What I have is information that involves the private matters of two people, neither of whom can speak here at the moment. Frankly, it's their business and not yours. But even without the information I'm not giving you, can't you see the pattern?"

Jo and Tinya exchanged worried glances. Chameleon Boy bit his lip. "What if the Taltosans were right and that a soul could travel from a person's dying eyes into another, healthier body? It would explain Force going crazier than he already was-- "

"--And also makes Jacques Succubus' mount," Mysa finished.[3]

"Anything else you like to tie in there, Dirk?" Lightning Lass, hoping he didn't.

"No. I still don't feel at liberty to give out this information, although Cham and Mysa added to it. Part of it, anyway."

"Dirk," Chameleon Boy began, "there's one more thing to consider. If she had Jeckie and is tapping into Jeckie like you think she's tapping into Jan, then they're probably watching this very meeting right now."

Dirk's head fell into his hands. "Ohhh, and I just told them we knew! Me and my big mouth!"

"Perceptive, isn't he?" Nightmare grimaced.

"Yes, very. What should we do about it?" Succubus asked in response.

"I don't know. Since he suspects that we know that he knows, maybe we should do nothing and let the wait torment him."

"Maybe. But that's too passive. Maybe we should do something and then not follow up for some time with another attack. Wouldn't that waiting drive them more mad?"

"Yes, I think would. What a marvelous idea. But what should we do?" The Legionnaires collected shuddered and tried to close their thoughts.

"Let us give him a few hours to stew. After all, he just negated our earthquake and he needs some rest. Very little rest," Succubus suggested as she ran Jacques' hands over Nightmare's body and began to nibble at her lover’s neck.

"Oh, shit. I should've thought of that," Ayla sighed. "Witch, Brainy, you've got to find some way to make sure they can't spy on us. Until then, I think it'd be real stupid to arrange any battle plans. Dirk, be careful. They know Jan loves you, even if they haven't overheard our meeting."

"Thanks, Ayla. Since I can't do anything until they make a move, I'm not going to worry about it. In fact, I think I'll take a shower and a nap, after I warn my family. Playing in molten lava is not my idea of fun."

"I think you've earned that much, at least. Have a good rest, Dirk," Ayla congratulated.

Dirk smiled wolfishly. "Want to join me, leader lady?"

Ayla shook her head in mock disbelief. "I still think I'd end up doing all the work."

"You may be right this time. 'Bye."

After a useless argument with his mother, Dirk showered and fell into his bed, trying to will himself to get the sleep he so needed. However, the threat of those women and what they could do with Projectra's omniscience scared him. A vague fear, an impression of being turned to stone plagued him and finally forced him awake.

He thought about counting sheep, then he thought about counting the women he had known, but he realized he'd lose track somewhere in the middle of that litany. Finally he decided to get dressed and wait for Nightmare's next move instead of waiting for the next nightmare. As he dressed, he considered where to wait and came up with a pleasing answer. He pulled out a box of chocolates he'd been saving and asked the computer for Dream Girl's location. The computer obediently told him she was in the monitor room.

Nura foresaw this and smiled to herself. He'd be here soon. She wondered at how relaxed and cozy they were as friends. It was a relationship with none of the artificial demands of the types of relationships she and Dirk were experts.

"Hi, beautiful," he greeted, handing her the chocolates.

"Oooo, thank you!" she purred. "Couldn't sleep, huh?"

"Yeah, I almost called my family to see if they were all right. I changed my mind when I saw what time it was."

"I don't understand why they aren't here, where it's safer," Nura admonished.

"If you can talk sense into my mother, you do it. She said she wasn't moving my father and the baby into a fortress because something might happen. Have you see anything about that?"

Already fair skin paled slightly. "I--" she stopped, confused. How does one explain the inexplicable? Especially to one who couldn't understand in the first place?

"Nura, what is it?" Dirk asked, taking her hands into his own.

"Ever since the Magic Wars, my dreams have been... different. I see the future, but then they are unclear visions superimposed over each other that are subtly different. Alternative futures, maybe. But I'm only supposed to see the true future! Also--I'm not sure--but I think I foresaw my own death and prevented it! Both things should be impossible! My powers are changing... my perceptions are...." her words trailed off into silence. She laughed nervously. "No, I haven't seen anything about your family. I can't even vouch for what I have seen." With an expression of self-pitying fear, she looked into the newstar blue of his eyes. "I feel unreliable," she confessed. "Like I lost contact with reality."

A soft, confident chuckle escaped Dirk. "Knowing you, you've thought this all through, haven't you? And you've also figured out how to use this to your advantage. You're one of the smartest people I know."

Nura smiled a little. "And here I thought you loved me for my body."

"Hey, I have been in lust with your body ever since I first saw it. Then you impressed me with your intelligence almost from the same point. And I've always admired your confidence and your style. It's only recently I discovered what a great person you are to hang around with."

Nura suddenly hugged Dirk so tightly that he was sure she was going to crush his windpipe. "Thank you, Dirk, I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me. I do feel much better now, although I'm still a little bit scared."

"Hey, the unknown's always a little scary. That's what makes it so exciting," Dirk replied, placing his hand on her inner thigh. "I think you have to work on handling the stresses that come with the unknown a little more than most of us. You're always trying to figure out what to tell us, what your dreams didn't tell you, how we will react. You always have to deal with the unknown with your powers, and I'd say you've done a better than average job handling it."

With a skill of the accomplished gameplayer, Dirk had headed off what could have been an awkward and intimate moment that Nura was afraid might happen. Appreciating this talent of his, and the relief it brought, she laughed. "Better than average? Dirk there's nothing merely 'better than average' about me!"

There was a muffled crash from one of the monitored rooms that drew Dirk and Nura's attention back to the screen. "Oh, look, Dirk, our local geniuses are trying to explain something to each other again." Nura and Dirk watched the obviously angry gestures of Brainiac 5 and the White Witch. "They're the two smartest people I know, and they can't even find a common language to speak."

"Then maybe you should go down there and translate for them, Nura," a newly-arrived Ayla suggested as she watched the monitor over the blonde's shoulder.

Nura laughed nervously for a second, and then told Dirk, "If I don't come out of this alive, I want you to go to Shanghalla every day and place a fire red rose on my grave."

"I think you'll have to settle for some bright red necro-crystals," Dirk told her.

"And they said that our honeymoon would never end," Nura remarked in mock anguish before she left.

Ayla turned her attention to the man in the room. "What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep. I was busy thinking about all the beautiful women I've worked with and the ones I've liked the most."

Oh, gawd, Ayla thought to herself, He's on a roll.

"I had the biggest crush on you when we were kids," Dirk confessed playfully.

"I remember those days," Ayla replied, a little wistfully, as she fell into the pattern. "Those were the days you'd do almost anything for me."

"Yes."

"We had a lot of fun together during those days, didn't we? Would you do something for me? In the spirit of those times?"

"Almost anything," Dirk answered gallantly.

"Would you finish up Nura's monitor duty shift? It's only three hours!" With that, she maneuvered him into the chair.

For a moment, Dirk thought desperately to come up with a comeback, but he drew a total blank. Then an alarm from a usually silent part of the monitor board flashed.

"Oh, God," Dirk shouted. "That's my family!" He threw himself out of the chair and through the door before Ayla could say anything. She sat down in the warm chair and signaled Mon-El. If this was Nightmare's attack, even a Legionnaire as powerful as Sun Boy was going to need help.

Dirk landed in the front yard of his parents' house, which was engulfed in flames. Dirk's two Samoyeds, Lady and Tundra, ran up to him, barking furiously. But of the three humans who lived in the house there was no sign. He was about to charge in when Mon-El landed in front of him. "What's your plan?" he asked.

"To go in there and get them out!" Dirk answered and rushed by him.

Mon began to follow until the heat of the flames forced him back. "Dirk, the fire's magic!" he called. However Dirk was already through the doorway. Mon-El's first impulse was to follow, but he realized that giving Dirk another body to rescue would not be a good idea. Instead, he began to use his vision powers to survey the area.

Dirk ran into the house, fully expecting his transsuit to activate once its sensors determined there was not enough oxygen. The suit did not activate. He dropped to the floor. There was still good air there. "Mom! Dad!" he called, straining to hear anything above the crackle of the flames.

Beside the stairway, he heard a choked cough. "We're here," his mother called.

"Stay calm! I'm coming!" Dirk answered while he crawled towards them. He got to the edge of the stairway. His mother had tried to help his father down the stairs before they tripped and fell. Dirk's father could not walk by himself. "Mom, can you walk?" Dirk demanded.

The woman coughed and nodded.

"Okay, grab a deep breath and crawl, as fast as you can, to the door. I'll carry Dad."

"But--"

"Do it!" Dirk snapped over his mother's objections. He watched her crawl away as he hoisted his father over his shoulders. Sorry about the rough treatment, Dad, he thought as he watched his mother's progress. But I've got to get you out of here as soon as possible.

When he got to the door, Mon-El was waiting for him. "Where's Mom?" he yelled.

"In the front yard. Give me your father! Your brother's still in his crib."

"I'm going to get him, but my damn transsuit isn't working."

Before Mon-El could say that a transsuit malfunction was almost impossible, Dirk was already back in the house. He remembered the days he was learning how to use his powers in the same house. He was amazed that a fire could ever claim this place. He ran upstairs to the baby's bedroom. "Sean-Michael, if you can hear me, I'm coming, little man! Just don't give up now!" There was a short, strangled infant's cry that Dirk heard above the flames. And in the back of his head, the feeling that something was wrong began to nag him for the second time in as many days.

His chest ached, and warned him not to squander the precious air he inhaled outside, he looked into the face of his infant brother, and whispered, "It's okay, baby. Things are gonna be all right now."

He was so intent on his brother's condition that he didn't notice the rising rocking chair until it nearly crashed down on his head. Instinct warned him and he moved just enough to avoid a broken neck. Still, he went down hard and struck his head on the cradle. He forced his eyes to stay open and stared past the double vision and the smoke to see what was happening.

Sean-Michael looked like he was being picked up, but nothing was lifting him. "No," he groaned, pleading, "Jacques, don't let them take him." He saw his brother vanish.

Mon-El saw Sun Boy go down, but knew that whatever was taking the baby was magically protected. He contacted Legion Headquarters. "I need either the White Witch or Diamond now. Situation's critical; Sun Boy is down."

You got it, Mon," Ayla replied, "Diamond's on her way. Where should she land?"

"In the baby's bedroom. Second floor third window, port side."

As Diamond arrived, the flames played off her crystalline form in an eerie rainbow dance. She ignored the heat and punched a hole through the plasteel walls. Mon-El heard the micropulse of the alarm summon the science police. "Mrs. Morgna, did you contact Legion Headquarters manually?"

"Yes, I did. I don't know why that damn fire alarm didn't go off."

Within seconds, Diamond appeared, carrying Dirk out of the house. "Oh, thank God," Mrs. Morgna breathed. "Where's Sean-Michael?" she demanded when Diamond landed.

"The cradle was empty, so was the rest of the room," Diamond answered.

"They took him," Dirk coughed. "Mon. I was right. The alarm, my transsuit--"

"Stop talking and just breathe, will you, Morgna?"

"No, I'll be okay once I convince myself that wasn't smoke in there."

"Baby, you're concussed and you're babbling," his mother told him. "Be quiet. Be quiet, the ambulance will get here soon."

"Mrs. Morgna, he's concussed, but he's not babbling. Earlier today, he made a deduction that probably angered a small group. He was afraid the family would be targeted. Apparently, he was right," Diamond defended quietly.

"He tried to warn me about this. Oh, Dirk, I am so sorry!"

"Not--your fault, Mom," Dirk wheezed. He coughed a bit more. "My fault."

"Son," Derek Morgna stuttered in protest.

"It is my fault. I should have thought things through before saying anything. But I swear to you, Mom, Dad, I'll get Sean-Michael back."

"What he means, Mrs. Morgna, that the Legion will get Sean-Michael back. But I think he's right one thing: I think we'll discover once the fire dies down, there will be no damage. The fire's an illusion. Real enough to scare all of us. And the smoke, while it did choke you, wasn't really there at all. But we'll take you back to Legion Headquarters, you rest up. We'll make arrangements for the rest of your family, and I'll take care of Dirk personally. You have my word." Mon-El promised.

(Oh Orakils and ancestors, no!) Projectra groaned. They had used her to harm an innocent family. However, this time the Legionnaires had an advantage, albeit a small one. Nightmare was distracted and Succubus was not around.

(We've got a chance,) Imra thought to herself, and hid the thought in the deepest corner of her mind she could. (Jeckie, give her everything she wants right now. Jan, Tellus, Indra, concentrate with me. Concentrate on Indra getting back to Legion Headquarters. Once she's there, she can warn the others. We've got to do it now!)

(I am ready, teacher,) Tellus informed her.

(I, too, neelan,) Jan agreed.

Imra smiled. Ever since the day he first came to Earth, she and Jan shared a bound of affection that earned her the title of neelan. She kept the thought, and used it to assure the others. (Indra?)

(Ready whenever you are,) the young teleporter acknowledged.

(Then let's do it now.) The four concentrated on the sights/smells/sounds of the place and the people who made the place so special. Indra concentrated on her red, gold and orange room with an Indian tapestry and a large collection of teddy bears. Finally Indra felt the barriers that kept her from teleporting ebb and finally snap. The mind closed the mental circuit and the liquid that was atmosphere and prison rushed in to fill where she once was.

She reappeared in her room, staring at the very same teddy bears she was thinking about. "I did it! I'm home!" She gasped in wonder and in the need for the liquid she had been breathing. For eternal minutes, she laid on the floor, coughing up liquid and forcing her body to breathe thin air. As soon as she could stand, she threw herself through the door before it completely opened. "Ayla, Dirk! Tasmia! I'm back! I know where the others are! I left a teleport trail!" she shouted, running down the halls to the monitor room.

"Back? Whatever are you talking about, you silly girl?" Ayla asked.

Indra stopped short. Lightning Lass never spoke to her that way. "I--I was with Jeckie, Element Lad, Tellus and Saturn Girl! Nightmare kidnapped us! She put us in this tank of some sort of liquid--"

Sensor Girl walked into the room. "Indra, what are you talking about? We haven't been kidnapped. We're right here."

Indra nearly leaped of her skin when she whirled around to see the exiled queen. "No! This isn't right!"

"Tzondra, you've been on a lot of tough missions lately," Sensor Girl, sympathized, putting a familiar arm around her shoulder. "Maybe you should go and rest, or perhaps talk to Brainiac 5 about this? I can assure you, we haven't been kidnapped."

Indra tried very hard not to flinch at the words, or even wonder about Projectra being so naturally demonstrative that she would put her arm around the shoulder of a troubled comrade. She sucked in a deep breath of air. That was when the humidity hit her. It was far too humid for Legion Headquarters, which was always kept at a humanoid median of heat and humidity.

"This is impossible! You don't understand!" Indra protested and listened to the echoes that should not have been there. "Jacques was possessed by Succubus and he kidnapped us under her influence!"

"Nonsense, child, nobody could make me kidnap anybody," Jacques replied as he walked into the monitor room.

"No, this isn't right, this isn't right at all! I wasn't hallucinating! It was all real! As real--"

"As we are now?" Sensor Girl asked, in a condescending tone which she never used with Indra.

That was her clue. Before she could act on the thought, Jacques grabbed her arms. Reflex took over and she smashed her heel onto his toes and slammed her head back to crack his nose. "Ah, you bitch!" Succubus/Jacques shouted as she struggled free. She kicked his legs out from under him and headed away from the others. He grabbed her ankle. She landed heavily on the floor. Before she could get up, he was upon her and punched her in the kidney. "You stinking bitch!" he repeated and began kicking her. Reality flickered back into the cave that Nightmare and Succubus were using for a hideout. Finally, one of the kicks was hard enough to force the Legionnaire onto her back. "You throw yourself at this man, in the skimpiest of bikinis; you change your hair color for him. And when I offer him to you, you deny me! Deny me, will you?" Succubus sneered and stomped on Indra's belly with all of Jacques' might.

Indra flinched into a fetal position, her arms guarding her midsection. You're not Jacques, Indra thought, wishing she could talk. You're a rapist, a sadist and a torturer, and Jacques could never be any of those things, even if he couldn't be what I was hoping for. He's my friend and he'll always be my friend. And you are my enemy. I certainly hope I live long enough to see the others get you.

"Succubus, that is enough," Nightmare insisted. "The fight's out of her. I don't think she'll be causing us much trouble again."

"If you let me do what I wish, sister, she won't cause us trouble ever again!"

"No, we still need her. Besides, her being hurt might keep the others in line."

"No," Indra begged as the others felt four times the apprehension they should have. "Don't--"

"Enough, child," Nightmare commended and began dragging her back to the tank. With a lazy shrug, she tossed the young Terran back into her prison. The others tried to stifle their own reactions to the sympathetic pain and the nausea it was causing. Deep regret of her failure lingered with her physical pain. (Sorry, I'm so sorry,) She repeated over and over.

(It was a good try, Indra,) the others assured.

(And we saw something we haven't seen before. Just for a moment, Nightmare lost enough control of the situation when you escaped the tank. It's a piece of information we can use,) Jan added, painfully aware that Nightmare heard his remark. (Her control of the situation is breaking down. We'll get our chance to escape, soon.)

Nightmare laughed at his assertion. But somehow the mockery sounded hollow to the Legionnaires' ears.

Endnotes:
[1] Force was one of the heroes Universo seized during the Universo Project in Baxter Legion 1 #32-35.

[2] Yes, I know the Catholic Church hasn’t followed this practice for centuries. However, there’s nothing to say that it wouldn’t go back to it in an age of accurate personality tests and telepaths.

[3] "Mount" is derived from Vodun. When the spirit gods possess a human, then the human is the "horse" for the gods.

  Chapter Eleven: Family Obligations The White Witch studied the spell she created. She admitted it looked good on parchment, but she could see easily and quickly that the synergy of linking four minds could become greater than the whole. At her bidding, the selected four met before midnight. "We are well-matched," Mysa intoned. "Evenly divided are the male and female aspects. Even also is the number of those whose powers are based in science, and those in magic. Our knowledge is also divided in such ways. One can see the future while another has seen much of the past. There is balance."

Mon-El shifted uncomfortably while Brainiac 5 and Dream Girl waited as the White Witch drew in a deep breath. "In theory, we have the knowledge to know everything in the universe. However, have we the wisdom to know what we need, and to decipher it? This spell will not help us with those questions. What it will do is give us a chance to use each other's knowledge and powers to enhance our own views of the universe and perhaps see an answer to our problem. Meanwhile, I've created wards that will keep our activities from being interfered with, and also keep our most sacred souls to ourselves. Now relax, I've begun the spell."

Mysa murmured words that no Legionnaire had ever heard. Dream Girl closed her eyes and started the meditations taught to her by her people, while Mon-El tried not to fidget, or think about his memories of the past, or his weaknesses to magic. He watched Brainiac 5 as the scientist watched the White Witch with a burning curiosity in his eyes.

At first the four were aware of nothing different, except for a curious energy in the back of their heads, an awareness that their perceptions were changing. Brainiac 5 found it invigorating to sense the information the others had and to sort it through his own mind before comparing it to his own perception. So intent was he on his own concentration he did not hear when Dream Girl's breathing changed from slow, even deepness to jagged rasps. Mon-El noticed and started reaching towards her before she spasmed and cried out. The Daxamite tried to make the Naltorian comfortable while Brainiac ran to get the diagnostiscan.

"Nura, sister, can you hear me?" the White Witch pleaded anxiously, squeezing Dream Girl's hand. "The spell's not supposed to do this! Nura!"

Dream Girl lay in Mon-El's arms, not seeing her surroundings but staring at something that was not there. "To destroy the demon, and capture her lover too," Nura began in a hoarse voice, "To foil the Nightmare, Succubus and their most demonic ways--"

"Nightmare?" Mon-El hissed, "Oh, gods! Dirk was right!"

"Who else would it be? With the choice of kidnap victims and the modus operandi. Projectra, Tellus and Saturn Girl are the only ones who can quite literally see through Nightmare," Brainiac 5 added, "and she swore to Element Lad a long time ago and she would destroy this planet. It would be that much more satisfying for her to use him as part of the device she'd use to enact her vengeance."

"Blind the Orakil's sight
Blind her with a child
Be it painful to her
It shall guard her from hell.
Her servants, through her error
And their ancestors' ways,
Will guide us to her lair
She will know a two front war
And those who grant her powers
Shall assist her no more.
The final step you must take
Which will destroy the quakes
Strip her of her power
Strike her in her tower
Firstly the demon bind
This shall be paid in kind."

Nura's words trailed off as the others considered: Hell was a Terran concept, one Nura was only familiar with as a profanity. Mysa looked at her sister's blank blue eyes which still stared at nothing. "Nura?"

Nura blinked and whispered some names of people, both living and dead, asking them incomprehensible questions before going totally limp.

"It's okay, she's unconscious, but she should slip into sleep soon," Brainiac 5 reported. "But that's it. This woman is going on medical leave, now."

"I'm so sorry, Nura," Mysa whispered, dabbing at tears that somehow slipped past her lashes.

"Well, part of that seems pretty clear. Somehow, we've got to blind Sensor Girl," Mon-El said.

"Yes, but the way it was suggested... necromancy. I don't dabble in the magic of the dead. No sane witch does."

"Mysa, it can't be that inherently evil. Jeckie's been a spiritual medium all of her life," Mon-El protested. "I think I'll take Nura to her room. You two know where to find me if you need me."

The door slid shut and Mysa turned to her occasional opponent. "Brainiac, I cannot help the insanity some people call religion. None of us can. But I would be crazed and damned to start following that path. I will not touch it. There must be another way to hamper Projectra's abilities without calling upon her ancestors. We probably misinterpreted the prophecy."

"We probably haven't."

"I cannot do it."

"If you don't do it, then you're going to be an accessory to whatever is happening to Jeckie and the others."

"I cannot," Mysa repeated.

"But I can," a little girl's voice came from the doorway. "I have spoken to my grandfather, and to his grandfather and to all the grandfathers before them. I can summon my ancestors and the they will help me help my mommy," Katrina Armorr informed the Legionnaires with all the royal bearing her five-year-old body could muster.

"Kat, where are you?" Karate Kid's irritated voice could be heard down the hall.

"In here, Daddy," she answered obediently.

"What are you doing in there? Are you interrupting anybody's--" And then he saw just who was in the room. "I'm sorry. I'll get her out of here immediately."

"No, the spell is finished. Val, your child suggests that she has already become a spiritual medium."

"What?"

"It's true, father, I speak with Grandfather a great deal. Don't I, Little Val?"

Val Armorr, Jr. checked the range of his father's backhand before saying "Uh-huh."

"I'm needed, Daddy. I can contact Grandfather, and grandfather could help us do the spell that would stop Mommy from seeing for the witch woman." Her gray eyes glanced up at Mysa. "No offense, ma'am."

"No offense taken."

"And then, I could help find her, too."

"Katrina, it's dangerous. You don't have the knowledge to protect yourself that your mother does," her father protested.

Mysa bit her lip. If she did nothing and this child tried what she was planning, then she would be responsible for any harm done. If she encouraged it, though...

"Val, I can spell the wards that should protect Katrina. But I cannot stress how dangerous this is!"

"Oh, I know how dangerous this is."

"Father, I am both Orakil and a Samurai. I must do this, to protect my liege, even if she's my mommy."

Val kneeled down on one knee. "You're right, daughter, you must. Orakils and Ancestors protect you," he whispered, then hugged her. "Now what do you need to get ready?"

"Poppy," Katrina screeched to her dead grandfather, "I get to help! I get to help the Legion!"

Val sighed, and wondered if this was a mistake. The youthful enthusiasm gave way to the beginnings of Katrina's queencraft as she quietly explained what she would need.

Once the wards were set, the blinding of the Orakil was ridiculously easy. Katrina Armorr asked her ancestors to deny her mother her powers until there was a chance to save her.

Projectra, floating within a mass of confused and convoluted nightmares, was conscious of the blood between hers--no! Indra's legs--and the pain gnawing inside her gut. She thought back to the day she first felt this. It was late at night, and her blood stained the white linen of her bedclothes. She ran down to the informal throne room shouting, "Mommy! Mommy! I'm bleeding to death!"

Her mother and her Aunt Imra looked at her bemusedly. No, it didn't happen that way. "So my little girl has become a woman!" her mother crowed and began teaching her the telepathic skills necessary to keep her hormones and pain in check, and cackled all the while thinking about how much money the little chit would get the first time she laid with a man.

That still wasn't right. "Where did that come from?" Imra wondered dully.

{Sorry, that was from me,} Indra thought in a coherent moment.

Imra groaned. Her resistance, which had been aided by Tellus in order to keep the gestalt from forming perfectly, was wearing down.

{We're not losing, Imra. Rest for a moment, give yourself time,} Jan thought. He refused to let Nightmare have her way. In a nuclear explosion, Projectra's father King Voxv appeared, wearing a Tromian robe. "My child, I do what I must do for the sake of your family and this globe. I bear you no ill will in your material realm and I ask your forgiveness. But I do what I must. Do you understand?"

Jeckie thought wildly, "Yes! Yes, I understand, blessed father, please! Don't let me be the instrument of any more harm."

Voxv faded as did his daughter's memory of what he looked like. Nightmare screeched in sudden loss of the acuity of Sensor Girl's senses. "How did you do that?" she snarled at the captured Legionnaires, especially Projectra. "And what reason would I have for not killing you?"

"Because you'd lose one of your hostages. Face it, Nightmare, you're losing everything now and you're going to lose it faster and faster. The Legionnaires know where we are now, and they're going to attack."

"And do you think they could match us, Element Lad?"

"You're fueled by hate; they're fueled by the need to save this planet and their friends. I think they'll win."

"You're so sure that virtue can overcome all," Nightmare snorted. "Be careful, Element Lad. I don't need you sane in order to use your powers, or use you a hostage. I can throw you back to that dismal place that you've visited so many times before... if I thought there was a need."

Jan paled for a moment, and gave up the attack.

{Don't worry, Jan,} Imra admonished as she felt the waves of shame from him. {It's okay to back down a little in this case. And it's perfectly all right to be afraid of her.}

Jan tried to nod, and show Imra his gratitude, but instead let his fatigue touch the woman who was almost a sister to him. She smiled wearily and went back to trying to figure out just how to keep them protected until there was a rescue.

As Katrina announced her success, Lightning Lass knew it was time to move quickly.

"Jo, get a general summons out for everyone who's still standing to meet us in two hours. Tell Year that if her husband gets up, she's got permission to brain him." Ayla listened to Mon-El's and Brainiac 5's dispassionate report as objectively as she could. In back of her head, she heard her own words, spoken years ago after Darksied's attack: "There's something about this team that hurts... kills..." "So Nura will be all right?"

"She should be, if she rests. The Witch is staying with her right now."

"Good." Ayla nodded absently. "Your recommendations?"

"It's kind of hard to tell from what Nura said, but I suspect we're going to need the entire team... and anyone else who can help," Mon-El suggested.

"The entire team on what's practically a suicide mission? No, but most of the team's a good idea. I'll have to see who we can leave in reserve."

The two men glanced at each other. An unspoken question passed between them. Querl considered not saying it, but finally said, "Ayla, I think there's something I need to confirm, and I'd like you to be with me when I do this, to add an air of officially when I do this."

"Do what?"

"Come with me," Brainiac 5 insisted and led her to Tellus's room. "Now, let's see if he changed the override code from the last time I cracked it."

"Brainy!"

"Nope," Brainiac stood back, satisfied as the door irised open. "After you, lady leader."

"Brainy, this is a violation of privacy!"

"Jeckie taught me a lesson about that. I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't important." They walked to the environment tank that was in the center of the chamber. On the bottom of the coral shelves, in fact almost everywhere, there were small circular objects laying close to each other. They had a slight gelatinous texture from the looks of them, painted with a delicate opalescence. The only thing that marred them was the dark spots within. Ayla stared, not comprehending for a moment, as Brainiac 5 studied them. "Just as I suspected," he murmured.

"There are thousands of those things! Brainy, are those...eggs... in there?"

"Yes. From the looks of them, they've been fertilized."

"Then Tellus is a daddy?"

"If you include the fact that none of the rumor mill suggested that there was another Hykairusan here, I'd say Tellus is also a mommy as well as a daddy."

"Genetically both parents?" Ayla asked with a slight distaste.

Mon-El shook his head. "Every time I think the universe has shown me everything, it surprises me with something else."

Ayla snapped out of her surprise. "Definitely another reason to get them back. The meeting is in another hour and fifty minutes. I need to go find some people."

"Good luck in reaching them," Mon-El offered.

The first person Ayla went looking for was her own twin. She found Garth in the quarters he and Imra always kept, making a call to United Spacelines. He finished his arrangements and Ayla rapped at the door. "Come on in, Sis."

She stalled when she saw he was wearing his old blue-and-white uniform. "I don't think--"

"I'm going," he interrupted.

"Garth, be reasonable. You've got two children who need you, especially since their mother isn't here! Who's going to raise them if we're not around?"

"That's why they're going to Titan-- to be with their grandparents."

"Let me go to the spaceport with you, Garth."

He knew she wanted to convince him to go with his boys instead of the Legion, but he agreed to her company. There were a couple of unspoken promises between the Legion twins: One was never to argue in front of the children; the other was never to fight before a mission.

The shuttle trip to the spaceport was very quiet. "I'm surprised your uncle Rokk didn't come with us."

"He said good-bye before," Garth informed her. "He wanted to spend a little time with his own family before this mission. Besides that, Daiono just got moved to Metro."

"Oh. What's the kid's condition?"

"Not any better, not any worse. Sometimes that's a good thing. I wish it was now."

"Oh, boys, remember to tell your Aunt Imra 'hi' for me."

"Yes, ma'am," the boys answered in unison.

"Tell her she and I have to chase boys when I next get to Titan."

Grayim nodded distantly, but didn't respond. Dustyn continued to stare out the window.

Once at the Spaceport, Garth checked the boys through and walked them to the gate. Dutifully, Grayim and Dustyn hugged their father and their aunt and then finally, Grayim said, "Daddy? Why is it whenever you and Mommy are in trouble, we get shipped off to Titan?"

Garth thought about it, and then looked to his sister for advice. However she was studying the floor. "Boys, before you were born, your mother and I made a promise that, no matter what we'd help each other. Now your mother's in a little trouble right now, and I've got to go and help her."

"Isn't that the Legion's job, Daddy?"

Oh, God! Garth prayed, what do I tell them? That we're fighting the women that haunted and then possessed their mother? And now they're destroying the Earth? I can't tell them I'd rather die than live without her! What do I say, Lord?

"Hey, guys, even the Legion needs help, remember?" Ayla said, coming to her brother's rescue. "Your daddy's one of the best. So we're getting him to help out right now. When we're done, I'm sure that he and your mother will come pick you up and all of you can have a vacation with your grandparents Ardeen! Won't that be fun--watching your mommy get spoiled by her mommy?"

The boys perked up a little, collected another round of hugs and dutifully went with the steward.

"Thanks for the rescue."

"It wasn't much of one."

"I think it's easier for them to pretend, but I also think they know that it's a possibility that not all of us are coming back from this mission."

"Well, if I have anything to say about it, you and Imra are."

Garth hugged her. "Thanks anyway, Sis."

"Anytime."

"Hey, I haven't eaten all day. Care to join me for some breakfast?"

"I need to go see Brek... and Rokk, if I can find him there."

"Okay, good luck."

"Thanks. Hope I won't need it."

"You might," Garth warned as he headed back towards the shuttle.

As Ayla entered Brek's room, she saw that Garth's warning was accurate. Rokk was edgy, tense. Shadows of tension and sleeplessness darkened his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Rokk, I don't see anything. However what's the old saying? 'No news is good news'?" Nura told him.

"I wish I could accept that," he answered quietly. It was also easy to see that Brek was also extraordinarily depressed. Of course, sustaining the injuries he did, and learning about the death of the woman he intended to marry was enough to bring even the staunchest optimist down. Ayla studied her three friends. Yes they were capable, and they were brave even in the worst of circumstances. But would they be able to do what she might need them to do?

Nura smiled brightly. "I thought it would be easier if you gave the pitch all at once."

"May I assume then that you know what I'm going to say to you, and that you've already come up with your answer?"

"Of course."

"Well, why don't you go ahead, save me my breath and give me your answer before I ask the question?"

Nura flinched for a moment, looked away and then looked back up. "My answer is yes: I'll do it." Then she turned to the man lying in the bed. "Brek, has anybody told you about this mission?"

"Not much. That told me enough."

"I want to send the majority of Legionnaires on this mission. What we're up against is harmful and dangerous enough where we will need all the help we can get. I'm not sure how many Legionnaires are coming back. If enough of us don't come back, I want you to help the others reform the Legion."

Brek looked towards Nura, who smiled and winked at him.

"I've been told that Succubus manipulated Force into killing Katie. Is that true?"

"We believe it is, yes."

"Then do me a favor, Ayla, and make them pay for it."

"I'll do my best."

"Who are 'the others' supposed to be, Ayla? Myself, Nura, and anyone else?"

"Yes. Rokk."

"Forget it. I'm going on this mission," Cosmic Boy objected.

"Rokk, could I talk to you outside for a moment please?"

"There's nothing to talk about. I'm going."

Ayla squelched the desire to grab him by the ear and pull him outside. "Come with me," she used a tone that brooked no disobedience. Rokk followed, but the moment the that Brek's door was closed, he repeated, "There's nothing to talk about. I'm going."

"Rokk, you can't. I need somebody here who's got enough leadership and diplomatic abilities to revitalize the Legion if I lose the rest of the team."

"Are you that sure the Legion's needed? I mean, what good have we really done?"

"Rokk, that's your guilt about Daiono and your grief for Pol talking, not you. Take a good hard look at the past sixteen years and you tell me what good we've done. And then, tell me what your part in it was. Brek's got charisma, and enthusiasm. Nura's got the financial connections. And you have the authority and the experience to make it all gel together. The Legion needs you here, as much as Kim does."

"I'm not sure about that, Ayla. And I still want the bitch!"

"You're too close to the situation. A member of your family has been injured because of her and you want to kill. I know one of your best friends is one of her primary hostages, but what would Imra want you to do in this situation?"

"You try that bit about family and Imra to Dirk... or Garth."

"Garth's only going in long enough to get Imra out. As for Dirk, Daiono's his godchild, not his stepchild. I know Kim likes him, but she doesn't love and need him, like she does you. And you've got a son, Rokk, a son that's already manifested his magnetic powers. How is she going to raise him alone?"

The conflict played across Rokk's face for a moment, twisting his usually chiseled features. Yes, he knew damn well what Imra would tell him and yes, he knew that Kim needed him. Deep down inside, he knew Daiono's injuries weren't his fault, and what Ayla said about the Legion made a lot of sense. "I still want to hit something," he muttered.

"You know, when you've got that kind of look on your face, my maternal instinct kicks in? I just want to hug you and make it all go away for you."

Rokk smiled and laughed a little. "I could definitely use a hug right now. You know, the best thing you and the others could do for me?"

"Yes?"

"Is come back alive. With Imra, Jeckie and Jan, as well as the other two, all right?"

"Can't promise anything except giving it our best."

"Yeah, well, usually that's enough."

"Hey, you go see to Daiono. I'm sure that Nura's entertaining Brek. I'll talk to you later at the meeting, right?"

"I'll be there."

"I'm on this mission," Val insisted. "Jeckie's not only my wife, and the mother of my children, she is my liege lord. I've sworn to her my soul and my life, twice. I'm a Samurai, and my queen needs me."

Ayla turned her back to hide her grimace of aggravation. "Val, be reasonable, you're a--"

"Cripple?" Val finished. "I realize I have a cybernetic hip. but I'm still the best marital artist, barring none, that the universe produced. Besides, Lightning Lass, how am I to face my kids, knowing I failed to protect their mother? I would rather be dead than live with that shame."

The odd emphasis he placed on the words "dead" and "shame" caused Ayla to hesitate. "Val, you're not talking about seppuku, are you?"

"Perhaps I am," he answered inscrutably.

"Oh, come on! Even Japan isn't so hidebound by tradition!"

"But Orando is."

"And if I say no, you'll--"

"Go on without you."

"Now that sounds more like you. Well, I've lost three out of four of these discussions. Garth's insisting on going, too."

"I wish you luck, most honored leader," Val offered with a sarcastic bow, "with your discussion to Sun Boy."

Ayla presented Val with a particularly rude gesture before leaving. As the door slid shut, she heard Val's laughter. While walking towards Dirk's room, she saw a man wearing an exo-skeleton shamble towards her. As she gazed at the sharpness of his eyes and the quirky twist of his mouth, she realized this had to be Dr. Derek Morgna. Ayla openly stared. The last time she had seen the man was at the last Parents' Day she attended over a decade ago. She knew Derek had had a stroke recently, but the idea didn't mean much to her, until now, when she saw him bundled up in his silvery unfinished cocoon. she fixed a smile on her face and said warmly, "Dr. Morgna, hello. How's your family? Is everything all right in your guest quarters?"

"I nee-want to see-- my s-boy," Dr. Morgna insisted.

Ayla considered the request. Dirk should have been completely recovered from his concussion. "He may still resting, Dr. Morgna," she suggested, taking him by the arm and guiding him back to the guest room. "It's very possible that the lack of sleep has caught up with him, he's been so busy lately, with the tidal wave, and the California quakes...."

"Before that, help this far segment?"

Ayla was confused for a moment. Was it only Derek's speech that was garbled or was it his memories? And which son was he asking for? The Legionnaire or the infant that has been stolen in retaliation of their successes? and did Derek even know the difference?

"I have... have got to..." Derek grimaced at the way the words fell out of his mouth, and tried again. "I need... to talk to... S-Dirk Patrick."

Ayla smiled to herself. She knew how hard Dirk worked to try to get that middle name out of the public consciousness. "I'm sure he'll see you soon." After seeing Derek safely to his wife, Ayla pushed her long legged stride to the fastest it could go and headed straight for Sun Boy's quarters.

The door opened to her chimes. "Ayla, darlin', if I knew it was you, I would have chilled the champagne," Dirk greeted with a plastered on, wan smile.

Ayla shook her head. "You poor boy, you're still not feeling very well, are you?"

"Oh, God, is it that clear?" Dirk moaned and sagged onto his bed.

"Only to anybody who's known you for half your life."

"Hey, that's the majority of the people here, isn't it?"

"We've gotten some information on how to stop Nightmare and Succubus. And the blinding spell is in place. We'll have the planning session in a little bit. I wouldn't mind having you and your insights there. Unless you'd rather spend time with your family."

"No, I have some ideas I'd like some feedback on. I also want to hit that bitch. I want to make her regret everything she's done to Jan and Sean-Michael."

"I'm not sure--"

"Ayla, I'm fine, physically. And I need to go. Sean-Michael got grabbed because of me, and it's my duty to get him back."

"Family obligations, hm? That I can understand. It's the same reason I tried to talk Garth out of going on this mission."

"I could've told you he was going."

"You know, you really don't need to go to this meeting. Why don't you go see your family instead? Your father was asking about you."

"Uhh, thanks for the offer, but the others might accuse you of favoritism if I don't show. They might even start whispering."

"The last time your family saw you, you were lying on the ground with a concussion in front of a burning house. They're worried about you, and I think it would do you a world of good if they could see you're all right."

"Ayla, that's not the way it works in my family. They'll be fine."

"Dirk! I know you're a little touchy when it comes to your father--"

"My father, hell! My father is as docile as a lamb now and just about as threatening! It's not my father that I'm worried about."

"Then what is your trouble?"

"God damn it, Ayla! Just because your parents were so bloody perfect doesn't mean everybody else's is! It doesn't work that way in my family!"

"If your father is not the problem, then what is?" Ayla asked calmly.

"My father learned to keep his remarks about what I do for a living quiet. My mother has yet to learn that lesson. Damn her! Doesn't she realize that the only reason she's back with the family is because I'm a Legionnaire?" Dirk jumped off his bed during the anxiety and then settled back into it. "Sorry, Ayla, I don't mean to take this out on you. I just can't see my family now. If I see them now, she'll just give me one of those reproving looks and remind me that it's because of me that Sean-Michael's gone. I don't think I can face that."

"I can understand a little, Dirk. After all, I have a family member who periodically tries to kidnap me and kill me," Ayla began as she sat beside him and put her arm around his shoulder. "But remember that they really do love you, even if you can't agree with the ways they show it."

"You really are an optimist."

"Just somebody nearby who's gone through something like what you're going through now. I'll expect you at the meeting then... on time?"

"I'll be there early if you want me to."

"Dirk, I don't think anybody could take it if you did!"

Dirk broke into a strained laughter and Ayla smiled back at him with an equal stress. Yet somehow, it was helping.

Ayla paused for a moment before she left. "Do you think your friend, Vianna T'Orami and her brother would be willing to help us out? Something Dream Girl said indicated we might need a telepath."

"You think Imra and Tellus might not be in any condition to fight? I think we can get the Oramis. However, I'm pretty sure they'll want a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

Dirk drew in a deep breath. "Their younger cousin is being charged with heresy. And on their homeworld it's a capital offense. If we can somehow arrange with U.P. Immigration..."

"I see your point. The Communion would be only too happy to get rid of such an undesirable."

"That's the idea. Call them. I think this is one president who realizes that she owes us a few favors."

"Probably she'd do it just to spite the Communion."

"That too. I'll see you at the meeting. Be on time."

"You told me that already."

"Well, you know how it is with you Earth boys. One can never tell if you're thinking with the head that actually has the brain in it."

Dirk's laughter was sincere this time. One thing he loved about Ayla was her willingness to trade off bawdy remarks. "I'll be there."

"Damn shame. I thought this would be the time you offered to let me see your sculpture."

"Ayla! I'm truly offended!" Dirk laughed.

"Nice to know something to offends you. Be serious when you get there."

"Oh, I'm always serious," he deadpanned.

Shortly before the meeting, Chameleon Boy brought the Oramis into the main hall. "Hello, Lightning Lass," Areed N'Ormai greeted with a bow that signalled the respect of an equal. "I understand you're chasing Satan."

"Not quite, but close enough," Danielle interrupted. "As I understand it, "m'seiu, Satan uses willing helpers. This devil has taken my brother and my friends unwillingly for her purposes."

N'Ormai touched his left collarbone with his right hand, "Forgive me, Miss Foccart. I meant no insult. I too am a believer."

Brainiac 5 walked up to the warrior family. "Excuse me, I was hoping you'd describe the parameters of your powers, so that I may be able to integrate it into a feasible battle plan."

"Of course," Areed said. "However, I do not want my wife to go into battle."

The tall gray-furred alien glared at the man who proclaimed her as his mate. "Areed, my powers will be useful here."

"Yes, but your people made it very clear that we need to return your young, and that is your first mission. However, it does not mean you can't help get us to the battle zone."

"Of course," she replied, her hackles still bristling.

"We should arrange that. I'm expecting a fair number of wounded. We'll have some sort of safety enclosure," Brainiac 5 admitted.

Ayla bit her lip, and let Brainy have the time with the Oramis that he needed. When he finally went back to his chair, she signalled the Oramis to find places for themselves in the empty seats.

"Vianna, hey!" Dirk greeted. "Come sit over here." He rushed her to the seat beside him.

Nura watched the redheads with an open smile of curiosity. "So this is Vianna," she purred (or growled-- Dirk wasn't sure which.) "She's awfully cute."

Dirk wanted to dive under the table.

"Do Naltorians ever look at anything other than bodies?" Vianna demanded.

"Oh, but I like looking at bodies. It's one of the best things to look at," Nura answered while shifting her own body slowly so that the lights would play off her silver costume. "Isn't that right, Dirk?"

He wondered if it would be a good idea to use his powers to burn a passage to the center of the Earth. "Oh, don't worry, dear boy, I'm only teasing."

"I think I'm about to be in the middle of an argument between a precog and a mind-reader. I think I'll--"

"--Please sit down, this meeting is now coming to order," Ayla announced. She nodded towards Mysa, who began the debriefing.

"The information spell was successful. We've discovered our enemies and possible ways to defeat them. We're dealing with Nightmare and Succubus."

A collective groan issued from the members who did not know. Rokk Krinn's grave gray eyes narrowed. "I thought I accidentally killed that demon," he said without one trace of regret in his voice. "She damn near made me kill Imra."

"While in a trance, my sister gave us some clues about what to do about them." As Mysa pressed the play pad on the holographic projector, the precognitive watched it as if she never played a part in the scene before her.

"I hate it when I play an oracle," she whispered to Dirk. "Never understand what the hell I'm saying, and it's usually wretched poetry!"

Dirk smothered a guffaw.

"Needless to say, group, we've got our work cut out this meeting. We need to figure out what we can do to stop them. Fortunately we do have some clues."

"Some clue," Nura muttered.

"Shh... she'll hear you," Dirk warned.

"If this... Succubus is truly a demon," Areed began, "then it is impossible to kill her. However my sister and I have had experience in exorcising such creatures. But I must confirm with you, that you will do what you can to save my cousin's life."

"Of course, I told you we would when I called you. We still have very good connections in very high places."

Brainiac 5 cleared his throat. "It's probable that the members we're trying to rescue will not be able to assist us. And in any case, we must get Sean-Michael Morgna out of the way. Since my powers are limited in battle, I'd like to establish a medi- station. By using my force-field generator and, possibly augmenting it with some of the White Witch's spells, I can protect and aid the injured members."

"Sounds reasonable. I assumed you two were working on that already," Ayla agreed. "However, wouldn't Chrysalis be useful here?"

"He would be, but he's still in his cocoon. I suppose we could leave a message for him in case he awakens."

"Yeah, we can tape it on his cocoon," Phantom Girl suggested.

"Or we could knock on the cocoon to find out if he's in there, and wants to come out and play," Dirk added.

There was a tension behind their humor.

"There's a lot of biological energy going on in that cocoon," Mon-El stated. "I think that's a good sign. "Chrysalis is still alive and he's still fighting."

"I still think we're being we're being too nice to the guy that did that to him," Karate Kid muttered.

Shield overheard the remark about her brother and flinched. If one of Phantom Girl's powers had been super-vision, her glare would have lanced through Val. Beside her, Jo put a sympathetic hand on Shield's shoulder, who nodded her thanks. Ayla decided to talk to Val about not keeping up with what the recent missions had been about, or joining one since he was disabled.

Areed stood again. "If Succubus and Nightmare have imprisoned your comrades in some sort of energy field, I will be able to neutralize it."

"Good. Between you and umm... Shield and myself, we might be able to disrupt any sort of energy carriage," Ayla decided. "However, Shield, your first priority is to grab that baby and get him out."

"But what about Imra?" Garth protested.

"Imra would agree, and Jeckie would as well. Shield, grab the baby and get him to Brainy and whoever else is working on medical. Then do us a favor and come back."

"If that's how you want me to do it, Lightning Lass, I will. However, I think you're taking a big chance on leaving four children motherless!"

"No, I'm not. Garth, Val, you're here because of your wives. You get them out, and to medical and you stay put in medical!"

"No way! We're not going to do it!"

"Speak for yourself, Val. My wife is a telepath and so are my sons. She's going to need me with her."

"If what Lightning Lass has said is true," Vianna addressed the Legion, "a telepath needs sympathetic link to help her through the loss of a gestalt. But I think it would be very wise if Saturn Girl's powers were temporarily neutralized. From what I hear, she is a most powerful telepath, and the stress of whatever Nightmare has been doing to her, coupled with the pain from injured colleagues could be disastrous. She may not be able to control whom she links with, and if that person dies," Vianna sucked in a deep breath, "it could cause the woman to go insane, or have a cerebral hemorrhage. I do not think you'd like to risk that."

Garth paled a little and shook his head.

"Excellent idea, Vianna. We'll consider it," Ayla responded, glancing worriedly at her brother.

"I'm not going to be able to stay in the medical bubble or whatever," Val protested.

"Why not, Val?"

"I've got an idea on how to contain Nightmare, since we can't rely on Indra being recovered enough just to pop back into whatever dimension that she stuck her in the first place."

"Val, what could you do to contain Nightmare?"

"There's an ancient mystical weapon, a katana," Val began, "called Gokuri-Hito, The Soul Jailer. The warrior who now owns it owes me a few favors. I think she'll lend it to me."

"I hope so," Dirk agreed. "I'd hate to think of you without that woman's favors!"

Nura snickered, and Val shook his head in disbelief. "I would think that would be one woman even you would think twice about bedding, Dirk. I certainly wouldn't want her as a mistress."

"I thought if you tried anything like having a mistress, Jeckie would cut off your--" Tinya cattily observed.

"Phantom Girl, in Japan it is expected that a man would take a mistress. On Orando, the Court of Love is still practiced. However. I'm not on Orando, nor am I in Japan. That and I have a nearly omniscient wife. I would question my own safety-- not to mention my sanity-- if I took a mistress now."

"Cut the chatter, group. Time's running short," Ayla admonished, wondering why she ever accepted a baby-sitting job like this one. "Now, the last thing I need to do is keep someone on monitor duty."

"I'll do it," Rokk volunteered.

"Are you sure that's wise, Lightning Lass?" Chameleon Boy asked. "After all, some of us are not in a league that could fight Nightmare effectively. After, what could Danielle do with her comp-- energy disruption powers?"

"You don't need to cover up Gremlin's computer interface powers," Vianna told the Legion. "I watched her in action at the amusement park."

"Oh, no, I'm not sitting this one out, Chameleon Boy," Gremlin protested. "And what about you, for instance? What good would you powers be?"

"For one, Danielle may be able to help Jacques in ways the rest of us can't. For another, her powers could help protect us in ways we can't conceive right now, and we may need her to coordinate with EES again. As for Chameleon Boy's powers, Danielle, and his experience using them--Nightmare's powers are based on perception and so are his. He might be able to outsmart her and give us time to contain her." Ayla glanced incredulously at Val as he finished his explanation.

"I'll vouch for Gokuri-Hito's powers," the White Witch volunteered. "It gives me the creeps whenever I'm near it."

"I don't see where it takes a lot of skill to kill with a sword," Phantom Girl interjected. "With my powers, it might be a heck of a lot easier for me to get to Nightmare."

"If I don't succeed, you'll have a chance at it, won't you, Tinya?" Val responded.

"I could order you not to go," Ayla challenged.

"I'm a private citizen."

"I could have you arrested."

"But you won't."

Ayla sucked in a breath. "No. With the U.P.'s and the Legion's relationship in such flux, I don't dare do anything that could cause a scandal. I'll just let Jeckie whale the tar out of you when she gets back."

"Ooo, sounds kinky!" Val answered, getting a laugh from several of the men. Tinya stepped on Jo's foot, hard.

"Gentlebeings, if you please," Ayla waved her gavel towards the Oramis. "We have guests. Brainy, we have the missing members' sub-dermal tracers back online, don't we?"

"Yes, we've located them in Carlsberg Caverns. Apparently Nightmare thought we wouldn't figure out a way around Sensor Girl's powers."

"So her ego got in her way again. Good for us. Jo, rest up. We're going to need you and Ms. T'Orami to do a recon when we get there. We'll fine tune our plans once Areed's wife teleports us there."

"Meaning we've planned this for nothing and we'll just improvise like usual?" Shadow Lass translated.

"You've got it, Shady. Anybody have any questions?"

"How's Gim?" Reep asked.

Brainy sighed and looked away from his comrades. "The skin grafts aren't taking. I'm not sure we'll be able to create some grafting tissue that would adapt to the stresses of his powers."

The group was sober then. "Brainy, how quickly can you and Mysa get the medical tent ready?"

"Give me an hour."

"I should have seen my contact by then," Val added.

"Good. I'll see you all in sixty minutes."

The Legionnaires left quickly, with only a murmur of conversation. Ayla looked at the Oramis. "We can offer your family guest quarters if you want."

Areed accepted. "I have to confess, though, I never expected to see so many Legionnaires be so flippant just before battle."

"Sometimes, it's the only way to keep from screaming," Ayla replied. Just then, she was paged for a personal message.

"Meet me," was all it said.

Endnote:
The newly-introduced children of Val and Projectra are created by Karate Kid Jr, and used with permission.

  Chapter Twelve: The Not-So-Calm...

There was a bench in Metro Park near a small pond that always seemed to be abandoned when a Legionnaire wanted solitude. Sometimes, the grass around it seemed unkempt compared to the perfect five centimeter cut of the rest of the park. It was a perfect place for a clandestine meeting. However Ayla only thought about the three ducks in the pond who were swimming contentedly in the pond and quacking among themselves. She knew to steal what peace and quiet she could.

A gloved hand touched her shoulder, followed by a soft voice. "You should learn to keep your guard up."

"Funny, that's what I keep telling Shield," she responded as the other woman sat down beside her. Although the other woman was almost twenty centimeters shorter than Lightning Lass, she carried a presence within her, like a shell that was waiting to explode. Ayla looked into Salu Digby's compressed face and saw the worry within her friend's violet eyes.

The former Shrinking Violet smoothed the slacks and short cape of her uniform. Despite the feminine scoop of the collar, Ayla hated the Intelligence/Counter-intelligence Corps uniform Salu now wore.

"You're leading a high-risk mission soon," Salu told her.

"How did you know?"

"Nura and Dirk haven't hit the social scene yet this week. Mysa is spending more time at Legion Headquarters than at the University and the Legion children haven't been to their various day cares. Don't be so surprised. Part of the reason I'm assigned to this sector is because I know the Legion."

Ayla nodded. Part of the problem between the Legion and the ICC was the fact that the espionage branch of the U.P. military recruited Violet. As a result, many of the others became guarded and even hostile when the Imskian's name was mentioned.

"So what's going on?"

"Legion business, Vi."

"Not when the planet's shaking apart."

"Element Lad, Tellus, Saturn Girl, Sensor Girl and Indra have been captured by enemy or enemies unknown and are probably being used as power sources for an engine of destruction."

"The public relations line, deputy leader?"

Ayla shrugged. "Sorry."

The dark haired woman pulled Ayla into an embrace, and the redhead gratefully relaxed into it and wrapped her long legs and arms around the petite woman. "You're in big trouble, aren't you? Let me send for Dev-Em. He may be an ass, but he can help."

Ayla silenced the offer with a deep kiss. "It's not your job, Violet. It's ours. Besides, Dev would be useless on this mission. Keep him nearby, in case we blow it."

"There's got to be something I can do! Damn it, it's not fair to have this kind of organization at my fingertips and not be able to help!"

"Silly girl. You're helping by showing you care," the Legionnaire admonished as she stroked the short black curls and eased her fingers down Salu's neck. The spy moved to kiss her lover, only to be brought short by the clink of metal on metal. "Ayla, your flight ring is caught on my ident-badge."

"Isn't that the way it always is?"

Shvaughn Erin was restless, angry. She was prowling around Legion Headquarters, looking for something--anything to do. The Legionnaires were doing a very effective job of keeping her ignorant about what was going on. As a former Science Police liaison to the group, she hated it. Almost as much as she hated the fact that Jan was missing, or the fact that Brainiac 5 hadn't deigned to tell her the results of the full medical scan he ran on her. On top of that, the entire Legion was preparing for a mission. They were quiet and edgy. The members who used this time to psych themselves for a mission were doing so moreso than she had ever seen since the Great Darkness. They were becoming hunters. But she couldn't let Brainiac 5 go, not yet. The plan, whatever is was, was dangerous, and they were leaving soon. Shvaughn turned on her heel, clenched her jaw and then walked back to the medical lab.

When she entered the medical lab, Brainy was packing a very extensive medical kit and speaking to an older woman who was about fifteen kilos overweight for her body structure. Her hair was streaked with gray and crisp smile lines grazed her face. It seemed like he was bringing everything that might be remotely helpful to any species the Legionnaires belonged. She walked closer, and saw that his force field belt was fitted with a holster and a gun. She stiffened in surprise. Brainiac 5 almost never used a gun. "What's going on, Brainy?"

"Shvaughn," he acknowledged. "I was hoping to speak with you before I had to leave. I think you know Dr. Running Mare."

"Yes, you're the psychiatrist Jan never goes to, right?"

"You're right. Pleased to meet you, Ms. Erin." She struck Shvaughn more like a maternal aunt than a psychiatrist.

"Well, I don't think I could get Jan to your office any more than he does. He really just doesn't like psychiatrists."

"I can understand that, Shvaughn. Right now, I'm a little more worried about you," Dr. Running Mare answered, her words and intonations carrying the formal lilt Dawnstar had when she spoke Interlac.

"Why me? I mean, I'm not a Legionnaire."

"No, but just judging from some of the rumors I've heard, and your remarks, you and Jan have not had the easiest time lately. After all, you just quit your S.P. job over a protest on the handling of the Clones and Androids Act. I know while you were following your conscience, it still must have hurt. You've also witnessed a horrible murder and sustained an injury which looks suspiciously like an act of the man who says he loves you."

Shvaughn tried to cover her gold fingers in her sleeve. "Jan wouldn't have done this!" Shvaughn snapped back.

"I think you'd better listen to what Brainy has to tell you, and then consider your options carefully. If you need to talk to me, I'll be busy doing a lot of paperwork this week at my office. As for you, young man, good luck."

"Thank you, I hope we won't need it. Although with this kind of mission, prayer never seemed to hurt." He waited until the Starhavenite left. "Shvaughn, I want you to sit down. I've some startling news for you."

"What could be more startling than introducing me to the Legion's psychiatrist that way?"

"The reason why I chose to introduce you to Dr. Running Mare so abruptly," Brainy replied without looking up from the medical kit, "is that we have a viable hypothesis towards Element Lad's abduction."

"Well?" she prompted.

"We have enough circumstantial evidence to believe that Nightmare captured him and the others and is using their powers to affect the eco-system."

"You can't let her do that! You mean, she can really do that?"

"We have no intention of letting her succeed. Anyway, one of the things that you have to consider now is that he is going to be psychologically and physically hurt, if we're successful in retrieving him. He's going to be difficult to live with and probably will lash out at anybody who tries to help him. The question is are you ready and willing to support him through this?"

"You make it sound like she's...raped him or something."

"I think that it is a good analogy."

"Oh, God. Yes, we're having a bad time. Yes, what happened to my hands scares the hell out of me. But damnit, Brainy, I can't just up and leave him, because he's acting like a shit!"

"All right. Let me give you some data you may wish to consider in your decision. The anomalies I noted lead me to a phenomena that I'm not sure I could have believed if I hadn't seen the evidence. I'm not sure if the drug is somehow working with your body chemistry in a totally unique way, or if could be manufactured to have similar results with other women. Or this could be a case of metagene activity, although you've never shown any signs of a metagene before."

"Brainy, what are you talking about?"

"It's simply fantastic to consider what drug or set of human abilities... I'm sorry. I would like to study you a bit more during a less stressful period."

"Brainy, you're going to be studying the floor if you don't tell me what you're talking about!"

"My apologies. You're speaking to a scientist, not a medical technician. If I were the latter, all I'd be interested in would be the results, not the cause. Since I'm a scientist, the cause is as interesting as the event."

"Brainy, I may not have been trained by Karate Kid, but I still know enough judo to put you on the floor!"

"Yes, I'm getting to it. You're familiar with the radiation treatments you were using so that you and Element Lad could copulate regularly without causing you severe radiation sickness?"

"Yes, I'm familiar with it," Shvaughn replied curtly.

"You've metabolized the drug successfully. So successfully, in fact, that you are now radioactive. In fact, I'm fairly sure you'd be able to carry a Tromian child."

"I... what?"

"Ah, I thought I said that clearly."

"You did. Now I'm sorry--the shock. I wasn't pregnant, was I?"

"No, and I could suggest that with the erratic schedule you and Element Lad have had, that you've not had a chance to become pregnant."

"Oh, yeah. I could have Jan's baby," she told herself, then she shook herself out of the trance. "Thanks, Brainy. I'm not sure what's going to happen between Jan and me, but I'm not going to leave Jan until I know he'll be all right. And this... is something to definitely think about."

Brainiac didn't acknowledge her leaving.

The presidential palace could have easily been called a citadel. Filled with the most current and sophisticated defensive capabilities, it was a challenge for any but the most dedicated thieves and assassins. Val Armorr loved challenge and decided to take this one up in his own style. Val hid himself in a group of tourists exploring the palace. Using a specialized distorter to hide himself from the sensors, he waited until the president fell for the temptation of a beautiful day opened her office window. The business day was over. The president, as he knew she would, neglected to shut the window. Silently, he stole into her office and then walked over to Ananda's private rooms. She was asleep on a sofa with a text reader in her lap, obediently waiting for her to reactivate it. This was going to be too easy, he thought. Just as he leaned over her, he discovered her fingernails caressing his throat.

"Good evening, Val," she greeted, fully awake. "Are you trying to see which one of us has the better muscle control?"

"Umm, something like that," he admitted.

"Well, what can I do for you?" she asked. "Waiting to see if I'll play Clouseau to your Kato?"

"Well, actually I'm hoping to walk away with something a little more valuable than a Henry Mancini tune."

"You know, you're a rotten friend. You never bring the wife and kids to visit," she complained.

"You're too busy!"

"Excuses, excuses."

"How do you know this isn't a social visit?" "Can I get you anything? Tea? Sake? Sushi?" She stared at him until he relented.

"No. This isn't a social visit. I was wondering if you could do me a real big favor, though."

"Where are your kids?"

"My sister's agreed to sit them for a bit, while I go on the Legion mission." Ananda raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "Anyway this favor I wanted to ask you. It's, ah, big... very big."

"What's the favor, Val?"

"I want to borrow Gokuri-Hito."

"You want to borrow the Soul Jailer? Val, are you crazy?"

"No. I've been accused of that in my day, but I honestly consider myself sane."

"Whatever do you want a katana that's cursed with that kind of power for?"

"Ananda, we figured out that Nightmare's causing this. Somehow she's gotten a hold of Jeckie, and in this case, the most important person to mention is Element Lad. She's using them to tear apart the planet! I need the Soul Jailer so that we have some way to imprison her."

"Val, I'm not sure Nightmare can be killed. The Soul Jailer may do nothing, except annoy her."

"Well, maybe Mysa can spice it up a bit."

"Right. And when did Mysa start exploring necromancy?" Ananda sighed. "Come with me. And she began to walk towards her weapons room. Inside a cabinet was a very elegant katana, its handle was exquisitely etched ivory. "It is sixteen centuries old. It was created by the master sword maker, Muramasa, who was also a master necromancer. He imbued this sword with the power to hold any spirit it captured. The sword also grants its master the power to solidify and control any soul that its master deems important enough to summon to our mundane world."

"I know this," Val interrupted.

"Quiet! Until the late 1980s, it passed through the hands of various private collectors until Tatsu Yamashiro gained its possession after it had slain her husband. She took the sword and became the costumed hero known as Katana. And in the early 21st century, she fell in love with a Russian-born adventurer, before discovering she had inoperable cancer. She asked her lover to be her second for when she committed seppukku. He finished the ritual by chopping off her head. She became the dominant soul in the sword. There have only been two owners of the sword since then. The adventurer and myself. Since we are not samurai, Tatsu herself serves as the soul of the blade and she controls its powers unless I summon them, which I will not. It is this blade, Val, I used to kill Projectra's grandmother. In her dying breath, Hagga cursed all of us for eternity. That curse has yet to be enacted. Are you sure take that sort of chance?"

"Damnit, we can't think of any other way to secure Nightmare."

Ananda extended the Gokuri-Hito to Val, but did not release it. Instead, she asked in archaic Japanese: "Tatsu, will you accept this young fool as your wielder for a time?"

Val felt the shimmering vibration caress him. Then Ananda released the blade. "Very well. May you both be victorious. And may you, Tatsu, bathe well in the blood of your enemies."

Val felt humbled. This was not a side of Ananda he had seen often. "Thank you, Ananda. I promise, I'll take good care of this sword."

"It will probably be the other way around."

"I'll let you know how things turn out."

A smile snaked over her lips for a moment. "That would be most considerate, Karate Kid. You may leave if you wish."

Val bowed, as a Samurai leaving a liege lord. As he turned, she said, "Val, I want you to remember that my relationship to Indra is much like your sensei's to you. I am expecting to raise no more children in this millennia. Rescue her if you can."

"We'll do everything in our power, Ananda."

Her smile was sad, but sincere. "I know you will."

  Chapter Thirteen: Battle

In Nightmare's lair, the five Legionnaires trapped in the tank floated in a liquid heavier than water, a liquid that was slowly becoming golden, due to the infusion of Indra's blood.

(I miss the Mother Ocean,) Tellus thought bluntly.

(I miss the air,) Jan replied.

Tellus' answer was an image of crawling out of the pool and the vast heaviness one felt from the air after having to stop and flop around until telekinesis was almost a necessity instead of a power. The others found it humorous, as Tellus hoped.

(How are you doing, Jeckie?) the others asked.

(I am... blind. I had forgotten what it was like before I received my ancestors' gift. It's first time I can ever remember being glad that my powers are neutralized.) The others were encouraged by her response, for they all knew if not through their own private experiences, but through the gestalt they shared, the fact that she felt like the universe had been ripped away only to have a dull and blurred shadow of it graced her senses.

Indra tried to hold her pain back from the others, but her martial arts training never trained her to expect pain like this. Every uncontrolled movement felt like it was ripping the inner walls of her organs; in fact it probably was. (Don't make me laugh,) she told the others, letting them know that she knew that game had changed.

Imra might have admonished the child for calling the danger a game, but her bravado added to the group's courage. The Titanese woman's concern touched the teenager. (I'm okay, really. Besides, just think of what the bitches are going to say when the cavalry comes.)

"Will you stop your prattle?" Nightmare roared, shaking the cavern with her voice. Even her demon lover seemed worried. She had stopped carrying Jacques Forcart's body with a conqueror's swagger. It seemed smaller than even Jacques did when he was feeling particularly humbled.

{Why?} Element Lad challenged. (Are you afraid that we're right? That we're somehow planning an escape without you knowing it? Or have you just figured out that you've lost your control on the situation, Nightmare? And that all you've succeeded in doing is bringing the whole planet crashing down around your ears, as well as everybody else's.)

"If it does, I'll bring this cavern crashing down around yours!"

Alien sounds, that no humanoid could possibly make, were coming from her mouth. Even through the rosy gold liquid, the Legionnaires thought they saw her shape shifting ever so slightly, like a candle that had laid in the sun. Maybe she was losing more control than they thought.

"You've damned your friend Morgna. When I see him, I'll kill him ever so slowly and I'll find some way to make it hurt so badly that no human will have ever known what pain was, before him." Then she caught the shared thought from Projectra and Imra. "Yes," she hissed with satisfaction, the infant. And she turned to the small bassinet, that Succubus, in a moment of--what? Some strange maternal instinct, or perhaps Jacques' influence?--asked that Nightmare create for the child.

Nightmare picked up the baby, heedless of how his neck could snap. "Yes, infant. Do you have that lovely metagene that your brother does? If I aged you and caused you to fight your brother... or if I just triggered the gene, and watched you combust and destroy all the things close to you, would that be fitting? What if I waited until these fools' wishes were granted and their rescuers came? And just when they entered, I ate you? I could cause you pain, delicious pain."

Imra groaned. Infant pain: the pain of a baby too young to understand just why it hurt. Imra remembered the long nights she spent awake, holding her second son, trying to shoo away the vague nightmares he had of being the monster called Validus, and slowly teaching and reconfirming his human identity, until she could change his name and to reflect his acceptance. All the while, she was trying to ease her own fears of Darkseid's curse. Maybe saving Dustyn wasn't enough, she thought dully. Maybe Darkseid's curse goes on. Out of all of them, Jacques was the most innocent. Even Mysa had an otherworldly knowledge about her. Maybe it's reaching out now and hurting Dirk's brother, and the Morgnas' last chance to become a real family. Maybe...

(No, Imra, single handedly, you yourself defeated that curse,) Jan assured her, with a gentle yet utter conviction of her strength. She responded to his psychic surge with a wave of relief and love. Yet it was still tinged with worry. She knew that for her sake and Dirk's there was damn little Jan would not do, and that included gambling away his soul to a devil.

Nightmare certainly qualified.

Jan started laughing. (You pathetic creature. Reduced to threatening babies? You really have lost most of your powers, haven't you? All the ways you affected us has been psychic influence. The others know it's you and they've figured out ways to neutralize us--and you. They're coming. It's going to be a show we'll enjoy.)

"What if I tore your eyes out, Arrah, and fed them to you? Would you be able to see it then?"

(Oh, yes. Imra's eyes would show me, along with Jeckie's, Indra's and Tellus'. And you don't dare hurt me. The only way we're good for you now is as hostages.)

(I still have control over the gestalt, Element Lad.)

(I think you're losing that control. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to talk back to you, otherwise Saturn Girl wouldn't be able to strengthen our resolve. We're regaining our individuality. That means you're going to have to face us, as well as our teammates. You're on your own, except for that pathetic little demoness you're in love with.)

"She is not pathetic!"

(Oh? Then is Jacques the best she could do? Why not possess Mon-El? Or at the very least, Ultra Boy?)

"Because they're not worth it when it comes to magic."

(How about the White Witch? Not clever enough to handle her? Well, you screwed up with that choice. because she's one of the better Legionnaires to do something about you. And after what you've done to the planet, you deserve it! They're going to make sure you're in prison for good, this time.)

"You wish!"

(No, I know. You're losing, Nightmare, and you're just too scared to admit it. That's why you've stopped your games with us and started using pathetic threats. Menacing a baby, who can't do anything for you or against you. You don't have the powers to affect him, do you?)

"I've got enough power to affect you!"

(And you really believe that.)

"I'm going to make you regret every word you ever said to me."

{I regret them already. I've had more inspiring conversations with parakeets!}

Nightmare made a fist and Jan instantly felt his body drop into a state of fatigue. He knew full well what was coming next, but he was ready for it. When he became aware of his surroundings, he was brushed by the warm, radioactive, ash wind that filled the valley where the people once lived. He was back on Trom. He heard someone whisper his name behind him. He did not want to look back. He felt warm liquid slosh at his feet and knew that it was blood. He was being caressed by family members that were crushed under fallen buildings. He knew if he looked, he would see his sister's face in the wind.

"Jan," a curiously Interlacian accent whispered to him. And then he felt the cold touch of gold fingertips. Shvaughn was there as a moving statue. Did Nightmare really do it? Did she somehow manage to kill Shvaughn after all, by using him as a weapon?

He wanted to scream; he wanted to cry. Instead, he began running again as he had every time he was in this dream.

(I can't hold the psychic shield much longer, Saturn Girl,) Tellus warned.

(I know. Keep the others sane for a little while longer. All I need is one good shot.) Imra focused her concentration on Jan and blanked out the rest of the universe. (Jan, listen to me, I know the dream hurts; that's what it's supposed to do. I know that surviving hurts; but it's what you're supposed to do. Listen to me, Jan. Don't run. Don't run from the dream, Jan. You can't escape that way.)

(Imra, it still hurts after all these years!) He gasped as he hid behind the shattered ruins of the church.

(I know, Jan. But remember, your family loved you very much, and you're loved here. You can't deny the love of your family. You can't deny the fact they died, Jan... you can't deny how they died. Don't deny them— don't run!)

(What about Shvaughn?)

(Nightmare's been known to lie when it suits her. We'll find out about Shvaughn later.)

Even in his enforced sleep, Jan nodded grimly. The grimness resolved as he thought about his parents. Instead of anger towards them for abandoning him, and anger for himself since he was alive when he shouldn't be, Jan began to remember his family as they once were. The picnics, the hours of homework and practice, and Isset's patient teaching of an awkward pre-adolescent in the arts of war that she had learned off-world. These were what he concentrated on for the first time in years.

Tears spilled from Imra's eyes into the mixture they were floating in. She sent back a wave of love and assurance that she hoped would enhance the feelings.

Jan did not run again. Instead, he called out to his parents, his sister, her child, and his brother. They advanced slowly. Some dragging themselves, some crawling or staggering. "I'm not running anymore."

One by one, what was left of his family came up and embraced him. Jan tried to hide his revulsion when the soft pulp of body washed against him and accidentally jabbed him with a bit of bone. He didn't quite stop the shudder when his brother hugged him and then lost the jaw that was hanging by a thread of putrid flesh. "I've missed you all," the living Tromian told them quietly.

"No, you can't do that!" Nightmare snarled, entering the dream and ripping the psychic rapport the telepath shared with the transmuter to shreds. "You are not going to win that one, too!"

Just then the lights dimmed and went totally out. The cavern rumbled and pieces of it began to fall. Mon-El tore through the walls of the cave and flew towards Nightmare as fast as he dared. He wanted to take her out before she knew what had happened.

With Vianna T'Orami's psychic assistance, Shield located the tank and unleashed a blast of kirillian energy towards it, hoping to sheer off the top or burst it. The bubble burst and the captive Legionnaires were flushed outside. Shield then flew towards the bassinet, and scooped it up. The Oramis found Succubus and her host and ran towards them as Val and Garth grabbed their wives and headed for the outside, where Brainy's medical base was ready. Shield set down the bassinet as gently and hurriedly as she could and headed back into the fray when the men entered the tent.

"Put Imra over there," Brainiac said, pointing to a carpeted area. "It's the null-psi area. You may want to stay with her."

"Sure thing. I'm not letting her go."

Val put Jeckie down in the same area. "You okay?"

"I think I will be," she answered, dazed.

"Good. than I've got work to do."

"Val, no!" Jeckie cried out as he left the tent. She started to follow him until Garth grabbed one of her arms.

"You don't understand! He'll get himself killed in there!" Jeckie sat down besides Garth, hard, and suddenly grabbed his shirt. "Oh, ghosts of my ancestors, why, why does he insist on playing the hero?"

Garth looked at his wife, frantically. "It's okay, Garth. Jeckie needs you too," she whispered.

"This is how I lost him before. I don't know if I can go through that again."

Garth stroked her hair, careful not to get his fingers caught in the plastered white curls, and mumbled meaningless reassurances. He was worried too. He glanced at his barely-conscious wife and wondered what was going on in the cave.

"Nice opening gambit, Shady," Dirk complimented. "But now you better stay away from me. Things are going to get nasty."

Tasmia commanded her shadows to embrace her in a protective envelope. "Do it, Dirk."

"Mon," Dirk shouted. "Give me a clear shot!"

Mon-El found himself obeying Dirk as Nightmare lashed out with the tail she created and slammed him through another wall of the cavern. Dirk snarled and sent a blue-white shaft of solar power towards his brother's kidnapper. Nightmare threw up a shield just in time.

In another area of the cave, a war was waged in the name of Jacques' body and soul. Vianna telepathically shielded Jacques and separated him from the demon, while her brother waited for the moment that Succubus left Jacques' body so that he could destroy the demon once and for all. Outnumbered three to one, Succubus fled, and Areed struck.

Nightmare screamed and triggered Areed's powers. He exploded with force enough to throw Jacques and Vianna backwards.

Ayla saw what was going on. "Cham, get them out of here!" she ordered.

Reep Daggle assumed the shape of a hummingbird and darted out and around the waves of energy that were crashing into Nightmare and rebounding throughout the cave. He landed beside Vianna and Jacques and touched the woman. Her brother's death throes ripped through her mind into his. Mercifully, Reep collapsed while Jacques looked on in horror. Jacques wanted to crawl to his knees and thank God for his liberation and pray for the brave souls that sacrificed themselves for him. Instead he collapsed onto all fours and surveyed the situation. The redheaded woman he did not know had death-white skin. Her eyes were glassy and her lips the same color as the rest of her face. She was twitching, tears streamed from her eyes, uncontrolled.

Near the remains of the tank, Element Lad was awake and gasping, trying to readjust to breathing air after breathing liquid. He rolled onto his stomach and began very slowly to crawl to Tellus, who also had a horrible white pall to his complexion. His mouth and gills were working, but could not draw life from the too-thin gasses that made up the air of Earth.

Against the wall where the tank's eruption swept her, Indra lay on her side as a tight ball of pain and watched the war. She saw Ayla watching the battle, trying to figure out the best way to coordinate it with a minimum of bloodshed. She knew that Ayla had every right to be worried.

So did Jacques. He knew how sane Nightmare was and what Succubus's disappearance had done to that fragile hold. He scanned the perimeter of the cave for a moment longer, picked the most direct route he could find to Lightning Lass, and lived up to his battle name as he disappeared.

"Ayla," an oddly mechanical telepathic voice called. "My brother disappeared."

"Oh, no. Gremlin, can you trace him through the security systems?"

"I believe so. However I've gained control of the cave's environmental program. Since this is a tourist site, they've included every convenience. I don't know if you've seen it, Lightning Lass, but Tellus is in trouble."

"You see to your brother, I'll see about getting everybody else out of here."

Danielle severed the telepathic connection and began working with the security programs. "Shield," she called, when she saw the black and gold of one of the most powerful Legionnaires. Shield saw Tellus and Jan, each gasping for a decent breath, and angled towards them. Reep simply seemed to be unconscious, but his proximity to the still-convulsing telepath led her to believe there was a chance of telepathic shock. Indra was closest and also shocky. She lanced towards her, hoping to grab the teenager.

"No, no, my tall pretty," Nightmare countered. A stalactite grew fingers to grab the Teannon Legionnaire and threw her against the floor.

Damn it! Ayla screamed to herself, when is that woman going to learn to put up her guard? There must be somebody that can do a simple rescue! But who could possibly get over there and get someone without Nightmare taking them out as well?

Jan finished his slow crawl to Tellus and grasped the amphibian's three fingered hand. "Don't panic, Ganglios, I'm here," he assured his suffocating friend. "I'm going to need your help. I know how to create your atmosphere, but you're going to have to hold it until I can create some sort of container."

(I will try, Jan, but it will be hard.)

(That's all I ask. If you try, you succeed. That's all there is to it.)

(I will need to dampen this link. I...hurt.)

Jan felt the pain of suffocation: The rasping lungs trying to drag in oxygen from an atmosphere that was too thin, the frantic need to inhale deeper and deeper while the mind was screaming to stop as the brain and lungs felt like they’d implode. "Do what you have to. I'll start the transformation now."

Indra knew something was going on with Element Lad and Tellus. She had been linked with them too long not to know something was happening. She remembered what should have been very rare, very private moments between the two, moments where Tellus had reached out and spoken of his own loneliness to ease Jan's, and when Jan played his vaslet to ease Tellus's sadness. She swayed groggily, even though she was sitting. This is ridiculous. I've got to get out of here, she thought. Come on, Indra, stand up. If you can stand up, you can 'port. That's all you need, two little 'ports. One to Jan and Ganglios, and one to get us out of here. All you have to do is stand, come on, baby. Don't you ever let the ghosts of your parents see you fall down on the job. She groaned. Outside of the tank, the pain in her gut hurt more than she suspected. The blood discoloring her tights was not part of her monthly cycle. Come on, stand up, she chanted. She pulled herself into a standing position by grabbing the wall.

Dirk paused for a moment and changed tactics. Instead of trying to burn the bitch, he burned the ground beneath her and throw her off-balance, and that would give Mon-El and Jo a chance to get back in there.

Phantom Girl chose that moment to emerge from the ground and force her arms into the backs of Nightmare's knees. Nightmare buckled, then grabbed Tinya's immaterial face and began to rip it off the offending Legionnaire. For a panicked moment Phantom Girl felt trapped. If she stayed this way, she'd die, but if she materialized while half in the ground...

A feeble arc of kirillian energy lashed against Nightmare's elbow and she let go of the woman. "Mon, now let's hit her with all the heat we've got!" Dirk yelled, flaring back to his most intense heat.

Nightmare tugged at the chain around her neck and held the human shaped pendant as protection against the energies. They divided, and weakened. Reflected red energy flashed back at its creator and towards the helpless pair near the remains of the tank.

"NO!" screamed Dirk as the heat crackled and crisped the air around Jan and Ganglios. The energies also flashed back at him and grazed Mon-El and Shadow Lass. Tasmia was unconscious as she fell towards the ground. Mon-El was not much better. Dirk turned to reach them and was suddenly pummeled by stalactites that had lost their anchors. The ground opened up beneath them. Nightmare planned to bury them alive.

Indra sucked in a breath of surprise as the ground rocked beneath her. When she exhaled, she was in the crevasse, grabbing onto Dirk's collar and snagging Shadow Lass' cape. She couldn't reach Mon-El. The walls around them rumbled and Indra's adrenaline soared with the fear of being buried alive. She teleported back up to the cave's ceiling. Dirk regained his senses. "Good going, Indra. Now get out of here! Mon, stand by!" he shouted, hoping the Daxamite could hear him. He poured as much yellow solar energy as he could into the crevasse. For a few moments nothing happened. Then Mon burst out of the ground, clearly furious. He grabbed semi-molten boulders and hurled them at Nightmare. "I should kill you for what you did to her!" Mon snarled.

"And what could you do to hurt me any more than those damned interlopers?"

Ultra Boy and Shield, seeing an opening, joined in. Dirk redoubled his effort, but he knew he was getting tired. He couldn't hold up a barrage like this much longer. Again, Nightmare held something in her hand that reflected the energy.

"How is she doing that?" Ayla snapped to herself, hoping something could give her an answer.

"Nightmare and Succubus captured Coal during the night of the hurricane," Jacques answered. "She wears Coal around her neck. She must be using him to protect her."

"Oh, my God, so all the others are doing are making a diversion for her."

"Yes."

"Actually, diversion in the right direction isn't a bad idea," Karate Kid commented as he approached.

Both Ayla and Jacques jumped. "If you can continue to distract her attention away from her left shoulder blade, I should be able to slip in and use this sword."

"Is that not murder, if that sword works?" Jacques asked.

"So what? I'm not a Legionnaire any more. And I think we can make this a clear call for self-defense. You all right?"

"These past few weeks have not been easy for me."

"All right, get yourself to the medic tent Brainy set up." Ayla advised, "What about you, Val? I'm all for you getting rid of Nightmare at this point, one way or the other. But you can't go anywhere near where Jo and the others are blasting away."

"I have a transsuit."

"That won't work against Nightmare's magic," the Witch interrupted. "I have a protection spell for you, but Val, if she focuses on you, there's no guarantee that any spell or transsuit will work for you."

"I know. Okay, Ayla, tell everybody what I'm up to, and ask them to give me thirty seconds to get where I need to be. After that, have everybody stop so I can get close enough to see if half of the legends about this blade are true."

"Okay, Val," she agreed. "But you don't have to be so damn happy about this. Mysa, do you think you've got any way to protect him, besides that spell?"

"I can try just blocking out some raw energy, but I'm afraid that part of Nightmare's powers are to manipulate magical energies as well. I may be aiding the enemy by doing that."

"Be ready in case she figures out he's there."

"I'll be ready."

Every Legionnaire with energy throwing abilities suddenly channeled their strengths towards Nightmare. Phantom Girl decided that Element Lad and Tellus were too injured to move hastily, and went to aid Chameleon Boy. Diamond refracted the energies back at Nightmare wondering if these power levels could harm her and her brother. She had only known physical pain once; her brother insisted on never giving into the heroic inclination.

Nightmare found it hard to even mock them. They continued the attack until Val's order went through their telepathic plugs. Although he called himself Karate Kid and preferred hand-to-hand, Val Armorr understood weapons. He was as skilled a swordsman as anyone born in the thirtieth century, and Gokuri-Hito was a fine as katana as ever created. It should have cut through the petite woman in one slash. Instead, it embedded in her sternum. Blood gushed out of her as she turned and looked at Val.

"You're an idiot, Armorr, you always were," she told him as she pulled the blade through her body when it should have chopped off her fingers. "Now, after I heal myself, I will use your energies and watch you waste away and die."

Val was seized by a wild arc of energy. It seemed like she was keeping her word. The Legionnaires watched as Nightmare's body literally pulled itself back together.

"Mysa!" Ayla called.

The White Witch tried a wild spell, one that was not crafted. The others watched. Was the Witch giving them the opening they needed to save Val's life? Unnoticed in a corner. Vianna T'Orami stirred. She mumbled gibberish until finally Mon-El heard the soft words: "You killed my brother." She chanted this again and again, verbally and psychically until it reached a crescendo. All the agony and hate of her brother's death throes were sent back to the one who killed him.

Nightmare screamed in fear and terror. Ayla saw the group's chance! "Mysa, the spell now! Everybody blast her!"

For a moment there was a hesitation: What about Val? Ayla closed her eyes and prayed she was right. "Mysa's protecting him, do it!"

The Legion didn't hesitate any longer. The energies were blinding and for a moment the blinding radiance which dazzled even Mon-El and Sun Boy filled the cavern. Vianna's and Nightmare's psychic screams stopped. The silence left the Legionnaires mentally deafened and dazed.

As the white began to clear from the Legionnaires' eyes, Diamond was first to recover. Where Nightmare was, she saw the Soul-Keeper dully gleaming and--"Coal!" she shouted.

Her brother looked up at her, naked and dazed, with traces of gold running down his neck and shoulders. Shield gave a yelp of joy and began to head towards them.

"No, Ciryn, don't. I'm still too hot." Diamond ignored the warning and heat to hug her brother. "We were worried about you when you disappeared."

"I was worried about me, too! And you like being a super-hero?"

"Spoken like a true warrior," she chided to hide her relief.

"Hey, where's Val?" Dirk asked as his eyes cleared. "Do you think Mysa's spell didn't work?"

"Oh, I hope it did," Mysa answered.

Brainiac 5 came in and anxiously scanned the cave. "Has anyone seen Indra? She 'ported back here a couple of moments ago."

"Brainy, most of us can't see anything," Tinya snapped.

"I have," Karate Kid answered from a corner of the cave. He was standing unperturbed, holding an Indra who flopped limply against him. "I think I owe this brave young woman my life."

"Oh, great. So the younger idiot saves the older one," Brainiac 5 observed.

"Why, Brainy, I didn't know you cared," Val replied.

"Shield, You’re okay? Good. I need you over here as soon as you can to transport Indra and maybe some others to the medicenter."

"I can see again," Dirk reported. "I'll check on Vianna. She looks pretty rough."

"Dirk, there's nothing to check on over there," Brainy answered in a strange monotone.

"What do you mean? She looks horrible! I think she was psilinked when... her brother died. Are you telling me she's dead, too?" Dirk asked in a similar monotone.

"I'm sorry, Dirk."

"Hey, no problem. They knew the risks, right? And they helped us put two crazed bitches down, so it must've been worth it."

"They did know the risks, and it was worth it. But that doesn't make the loss that much easier," Brainiac 5 amended. "Come on, help me with Element Lad and Tellus." Dirk hesitated. "Morgna, I need your help. Come on!"

"How-how's Sean-Michael?"

"He's fine. Garth's with him."

"Well, if I were a baby I'd like Garth. Hell, I like Garth and I'm not even a baby," he babbled as he walked into the small crowd surrounding Jan and Ganglios.

"Everybody step back. Give them some air," Ayla ordered.

"Air? For a methane breather?" Jo asked incredulously.

"Working space, then." The group cleared away and the Coluan got his first look at the pair before he smothered a rare curse. Jan was fortunate in the fact that he was captured in his uniform. Although the transsuit was disabled, polymicronic fibers had protected all but his head, and he managed to turn his eyes away in time. But still, much of the blond hair was singed and the parts that burned showed blackened patches of skin underneath.

Tellus was not so fortunate. There was no protective gear. Large patches of his skin were blistered and blackened. Other areas were brown and looked like they would crumble with a gentle touch. The formerly yellow patches were mottled and gray. Tellus was gasping still, and even the inside of his mouth was gray. Jan still held onto its hand and was desperately trying to recreate a breathable atmosphere for his friend. However Jan's own breathing was ragged and wheezy, his unburnt skin starting to pucker with red hives. An allergic reaction. Brainiac 5 thought about the blood on Indra's leotard and the idea that they were together in the tank. Was it possible that Jan ingested some human blood? In which case there was an extreme histamine-analog reaction. Jan needed to go into a healing trance that he had been fighting in order to help Tellus.

Brainy grabbed Jan's hand and felt the steel in the Tromian's grip. "Come on, Jan, it's time to let someone else do this. We need to check you over too." He tugged on Element Lad's grip. Obviously, Jan was not going to let go.

"I'll do the honors," Val volunteered. Brainy conceded, knowing that Val could break the grip with a minimum of risk to both of the injured. With a slight grip and pressure, Val got Jan to let go. Two of Tellus's fingers broke off with a hallow crack.

Ayla gasped and tried to fight her tears. Dirk staggered a few steps away from the others and vomited. Brainiac 5 took note of that event as well. Then he focused his entire attention on Tellus and the amphibian's failing life signs. In a cave there was nothing he could do. Nor would there be anything he could do in a medicenter. He heard Mysa whisper, "I don't think I can heal him. I'm too tired."

"Can you at least try?" Querl demanded.

"I already have."

Querl assessed every bit of information he had researched about Hykraisan physiognomy and could not determine any way to save his comrade. Was there any information he didn't know? Did he miss any new studies between the time travel experiments with Indra, the development of the sub-dermal tracers, or the modifications on the flight rings and transsuits?

"Perhaps I can help," a twittering, almost mechanical voice suggested.

Brainiac 5 glanced up and saw an insect with the green body of a praying mantis, folded dragonfly's wings, a curled butterfly's tongue and multifaceted eyes of various iridescent shades, ranging from purple to copper, looking down at him. "Chrysalis?" he asked in amazement.

"Yes, this is my adult form. Isn't it...most graceful?"

"I'll have to see about that. We've got seven known injured. Tellus is the worst."

"I shall aid Tellus, after I have aided Jan."

"Chrys, Tellus is critical--"

"And Jan not critical yet, but could be suddenly, if not told to sleep. He fights healing trance this way." He grasped Jan by the shoulders and vibrated slightly, sending the Tromian into the trance where his powers could save him. After Chrysalis was satisfied with Jan's condition, he turned towards his friend who would not be able to see him. One eye was melted shut, the other eye popped in that moment. The most senior Legionnaire there, Phantom Girl, started sobbing. Her lover, with tears streaming down his face, comforted her. Chrysalis had trouble deciding just where to connect to Tellus's spine. Much of it was damaged. Finally, he slipped his tongue into the base of Tellus' neck and began synthesizing painkillers.

(Pain,) Tellus admitted.

(I know, friend. I'll do what I can to ease the pain.)

(Chrysalis? You live?)

(Yes. And you do not.)

(I know,) Tellus admitted mournfully. (I wonder if I will miss life. I will not miss pain. Pain.)

A pause. (Would you have me free you from your pain?)

(Would the others not consider that murder?)

(I do not think the others would know it happened, except for Brainiac 5.)

(Free me.)

(May you swim in peaceful waters.)

(May your life bud with joy.)

Then Chrysalis ordered Tellus' brain to cease. Some shuddering sucking gasps later, the body followed. (Rest easy, dear friend.)

"Shield, get Indra to the hospital. Chrys, if you're up to it, make sure Chameleon Boy is okay."

"Of course Brainiac. I shall... do better this time."

Brainiac moved closer to the insect. Did he ask you to do that?"

"Yes."

"Then you did what you were supposed to," he whispered.

"Okay folks, it's over, let's get home and cleaned up," Ayla announced raggedly. Tears were streaming down her face, but she was determined to see the group home. There they could sort out their feelings, and nurse their bruises, and say good-bye to Tellus in whatever private way the needed to. The others began filtering out. Since Shield already left, Jo and Tinya took Diamond and Coal back home. Mon-El made it perfectly clear that he was staying with the medical pod, as did the White Witch. Val finally went back to the medical pod himself, wondering if his wife would make certain he needed it. Soon it was only Dirk and the medical team that was with Ayla in the quiet cavern. She walked over to him, and kneeled beside him. "Dirk, are you all right?"

"Yeah, fine!" he snapped. "My baby brother was kidnapped, the two people I recruited into this mess are dead, I just nearly killed three of my colleagues, including my best friend, killed a fourth, and to top it all off, I spilled my guts like a rookie. I'm just great, Ayla."

She hugged him fiercely and gave him the permission he needed to cry. "Damn it," she whispered as she held him, "we're not supposed to win this way."

  Chapter Fourteen: Grand Rounds

The week after the attack on Nightmare was a week of rest and healing; even the planet itself needed healing. Any Legionnaires who were able continued to help Earth Emergency Services, but even those with immeasurable limits became drained quickly. One night, shortly after Shadow Lass was released from the medic-center, Mon-El entered their quarters, nearly sobbing with exhaustion. Several times, Coal and Diamond found themselves taking Shield back to Legion headquarters after she collapsed at a job site. The news media was characteristically frustrated with the Legion's uncharacteristic silence about what happened. Lightning Lass knew the last thing she should do is advertise the group's weakness.

Of the Legionnaires, only Brainiac 5 seemed not to need rest. Using the combination of mega-stimulants and high-sugar products that acted upon him in much the same way as the high-caffeine laced mega-stims acted upon the human Legionnaires, he seemed tireless, continuing day in and day out to do his duties. Privately, he wondered if he was encouraging another nervous breakdown.

The Legionnaires were almost recovered. Only Polar Boy, Colossal Boy, Element Lad and Indra were suffering lingering physical effects from their injuries. Psychologically was another matter. Querl Dox knew that Dr. Running Mare's retainer would more than pay for herself this year, with Dream Girl's changing powers, Brek's helplessness to save his fiancee, and the aftereffects of being in an involuntary gestalt for so long affecting the others. He wondered if he shouldn't include Sun Boy on the list of those needing to see the psychiatrist, especially since Dirk refused to return Sean-Michael Morgna to his family, and pleaded with Brainy to do that particular task. Dirk needed to talk to somebody about what fears drove him away from his family, but Brainiac 5 doubted if he, an orphan for almost all of his life, would be a good candidate. He wrestled with the dilemma in the back of his mind. There were still people who needed his help as a physician.

Polar Boy, Colossal Boy and Daiono Krinn were still at the Metro medical center, while Indra and Element Lad were recovering in their quarters. Due to his proximity to her rooms, he decided to visit Indra first.

At the sound of the chime, Indra told the door to open and Brainiac 5 entered the darkened room. He immediately observed everything. Much to his chagrin, he saw the girl sitting cross-legged on the floor, pulling various items out of boxes. There was a collection of iridescent and silky materials laying on the floor, a sitar and a pair of finger cymbals rested on the silks. A musky incense filled the air, given off by the candles that lit the room. At the side of the boxes was a small collection of make-up, which Indra never wore, and in her hands was an anklet made of tiny, silver bells.

"What are you doing?" he asked irritably.

"Just sorting through my mother's stuff," she answered quietly, almost too quietly to hear. "She died in Calcutta, during Nightmare's last attack, and I hadn't gotten around to sorting it yet. I thought since I didn't have much else to do, I'd..."

"Tzondra, I don't want you sitting up like this," he told her as he reached for her to pull her back on her bed.

She didn't resist. "I don't know why I just don't throw it all away. It's just junk."

Her tone was subdued, depressed. Brainiac 5 couldn't remember a time when Indra was depressed. Of course after the surgery and the captivity, depression was natural, but her quiet misery was unsettling.

Maybe we should raise the age limit. It's difficult to watch children who have been injured in battle. However we were Indra's age and younger when we started, and most of us survived. Suddenly, his eyes adjusted to the point where he could make out a subtle detail. "When did you dye your hair back to purple?"

"Nura helped me," Indra replied bleakly. "I didn't have much reason to keep it black, and I always liked the purple."

Then, her motivation for the changes dawned on him. There was an added emotional component to her mental state. "Indra, just because you were unsuccessful with Jacques does not mean that you'll be unattractive to another. You should not give up hope for such a relationship."

"Why should I even try? What good does this love stuff do anyway? My mother was right; it's a fools' trap."

"I think you should consider the circumstances in which she said that."

"I did. I also considered what those two psychotics did to Jacques and the planet in the name of love! And then there's Jeckie and Val... did you know she prefers him crippled? That way he can't be the warrior he's born to be and get himself killed! Love doesn't create anything that's truly good. People would be better off without it."

"What about Garth and Imra?"

"You don't want to know. You're just asking rhetorically."

"I created the time bubble so that I could be near Supergirl."

"You created it because you were lonely and saw what you thought was a kindred spirit. And tell me that you didn't consider destroying the universe in order to save her from the Crisis thing I read about. Love just makes a person more selfish."

"But I didn't do it. My agape and fraterlis were stronger than my eros. However, even though I knew she would die, I wouldn't ever trade my time with Kara. She was very special to me and our time together is worth every bit of pain that knowing she couldn't ever be mine caused."

"Did it? Then why did we go back to Chicago in the late twentieth century. Surely it wasn't for you to get laid one more time."

He jaw clinched. Why did she have to be so perceptive? "I needed to say good-bye to her," he answered simply, "and tell her how much she meant to me."

"Not to talk her into coming back with us?"

"I asked. But I was certain she'd refuse." He considered his next words carefully. "You acted in love when you saved Val. Not erotic love, but love for a friend. What you do as a Legionnaire, risking your life in ways even we can't always imagine, isn't that love as well?"

"Yeah. A love of staying out of jail. I had a choice of prison or the Legion Academy. The Academy was a lot more fun."

"We talked about this before. Your sentence is over and you’re still here. You're in too much pain and too cynical to think about this clearly. I'll have Dr. Running Mare look in on you in the morning. However, I hope you'll see the actions beings do in the name of love--and yourself--a little more clearly. Now go to sleep. Do you need any help in that regard?"

"No. I don't need to be drugged any more than I have been lately."

Both her good night and his were strangely muted.

The door chime rang, drawing Rokk Krinn out of a nightmare filled with all the arguments he had with Daiono. He tugged on his robe and answered the call. Outside was a young man holding a message. "It's for you, sir. It's from the president of Earth," the man explained and went on.

Even with the nightmare still fresh in his mind, he had to smile. Of course the president would make sure to deliver a message to him with a bit of archaic class. The note was a pleasantly worded order for him to come to dinner that night, and to bring his wife. Rokk wondered what it was all about, and realized that the president would explain what she wanted at her own pace.

He pulled himself together for another trip to the hospital to see his comatose stepdaughter. Sometimes he brought a text reader with him and the new teen magazine cartridges. He didn't know which ones she usually read, but he felt she had to be interested in some of the gossip in them. Other times, he simply talked to her about their relationship, about being a Legionnaire in a universe that was getting worse and worse... fears his psychiatrist never heard, nor did his friends.

He moved slowly, quietly, up to the ICU ward. As he walked past a waiting room, he got a glimpse of a splash of copper colored hair. "Garth, what are you doing here?" he asked, afraid of the answer he was going to get.

"Waiting," his best friend answered, barely looking up from the text reader.

"She's not--"

"Oh yes she is."

"Oh, hell," Rokk moaned. "Anybody else with them?"

"Chrysalis."

"Oh, no. Is she serious? She's just barely out of the hospital herself."

Garth shrugged. "Yep. And I'm gonna make sure she's back in bed after this."

"You're nuts, letting your wife do this."

"You think I have anything to say about what she does? One of us is sadly deluded," Garth replied with just a tinge of annoyance to his normally good-natured personality. "If you want to talk her out of it, go ahead."

"I'm going to do that," Rokk responded. He was surprised at how angry he was at Garth for letting Imra risk sanity and soul like this. He stormed into his stepdaughter's room and saw Imra telepathically conversing with Chrysalis, who'd already slipped his tongue into Daiono's esophagus.

"What do you think you're about to do?" he challenged his teammates.

Imra Ardeen Ranzz looked up and replied softly, "I'm going to try to bring her out of her coma. I thought that would make you happy."

"Imra, do you realize what you've just gone through? Do you realize that the others haven't recovered yet? What are you trying to do? Put yourself back in the hospital?"

"At least we're in the right place if anything happens."

"I can't let you do this."

"Rokk, I'm not sure if you can stop me. And I'd really prefer not to fight with you. What energy I've got, I'm going to need to rouse Daiono. There's nothing physically wrong with her, as far as Chrysalis can tell. It's all been healed. It's just simply a matter of waking her up."

"Imra, you're too weak to try this. It's stupidity in your condition."

"Rokk." She touched his hand. "I have to do this. For the past few weeks, everything I am has been used for everything I've fought against all of my life. I was used to destroy things... I was used to kill. Now, I've got control of myself back and I need to do something positive and good. I need to make up for what happened. Your daughter's life might no be much in terms of galactic importance, but it's a start and she matters to us. Can you understand?"

"I think I can, but I'm not sure this is a good idea at all. Garth's in the waiting room and he's not happy with you doing this now."

"I know. Now go sit down. I'm going to need some quiet to do this."

She sat down on the side of the bed and touched the unconscious girl's forehead. "Daiono," she whispered, to indicate that she started. Daiono, come back. For Imra, time did not seem to pass while she was in telepathic contact. She could sense Chrysalis forcing the body to greater and greater energy levels, filling it full of carbohydrates and sugars. The child shyly considered answering her friend's call.

Outside of the telepathic contact, time slowed to near infinity. Rokk sat in the room, praying for his stepdaughter's recovery and that his friend would be all right. Finally, Garth came into the room to join Rokk in the vigil. "It's taking too damn long," Rokk swore under his breath.

"Sssh. It's taking all the time it needs," Garth assured him and pointed to the monitors. "Dai's vital signs are getting better."

Suddenly Imra's head snapped back. She nearly fell to the floor before Garth caught her. "Imra?"

Imra moaned slightly, and smiled at her husband. Chrysalis removed his tongue and stepped away from the bed. The figure in the bed stirred. "Daddy?" Daiono whispered. "Daddy, I'm thirsty."

Rokk barely stifled a sob. "I'll get you some water, baby." He looked down at his friends. "Are you going to be all right, Imra?"

She nodded. "After a few hours rest and another breakfast, I'll be fine," she whispered back.

"You know, Brainy probably should check her out," Rokk suggested.

"I thought so, but Chrys is here. Chrys, come on, you can check Imra back at our apartment."

"I can do it here."

"Chrys, come on," Garth hinted again.

"But... this is most interesting. I would like to see the reactions of a step-parent and a stepchild."

"Yeah, but not right now. You can watch them at other times."

"But..."

"Now, Chrysalis," Garth insisted. "Let's give them some privacy."

Rokk was grateful, although he wasn't quite sure what he'd do with the solitude. He helped Daiono drink some water. "How are you feeling, princess?" he asked her, and waited until she formed an answer.

Shvaughn Erin forced herself to enter the dormitory hall where Jan's room was. She had yet to see him since he'd been kidnapped and her Nightmare-orchestrated transformation. She pulled on her glove a little tighter, as if it would disguise her gold fingers from the transmuter who changed them. She saw Dirk stagger out of Jan's quarters, looking very much like a man who would love to have yet another drink.

"You okay?" she asked, realizing that question was probably the stupidest thing she had asked him in a long while.

"Yeah," Sun Boy answered. It was a standard Legion answer, and it usually meant "I'm doing poorly". "He's been asking for you."

"I thought he might be. Our last conversation didn't go very well."

"I heard a bit about that."

"Oh. You and how many others?" Shvaughn asked coolly.

"Me, and Gim. I think that was about it." He tried a lopsided smile that was actually more of a grimace. "For once, I think we actually clipped the rumor vine."

"Is--how is he?"

"He's a little out of it. A lot out of it, actually. Still looks a little singed."

"Oh," Shvaughn replied and realized part of what may be bothering Dirk. She tried to find something comforting to say, but couldn't. She was rescued by the woman whose dazzling silver hair was matched by the high-cut leotard she wore.

"There you are." Nura wrapped herself around Dirk's arm. "Shvaughn, thanks for minding him. Hadn't you better check on your own man now?"

"I--guess I should..."

"Oh, don't worry. Dirk is in the best of hands," Nura chided with a smile and a saucy wink as she ushered Dirk into his quarters.

Again, Shvaughn had to wonder exactly what Dirk and Nura's relationship was. Did they even know? And then she wondered what her own relationship with Jan was. "I might as well find out," she told herself and marched into Element Lad's room.

After looking into his desolate blue eyes, Nura asked, "What is it?" Dirk refused to speak. "Maybe you and I should have some brandy," she murmured, reaching for the flask.

"No! No, Nura, it's a bad idea. I don't think we should have any brandy. In fact, I think you should leave."

"Why?" she challenged.

Dirk fell silent again. Nura allowed the silence to lengthen.

Jan was quietly watching the Tri-v when Shvaughn entered and sat at the corner of his bed. "No, lay down beside me," he insisted.

It was simple enough request, she decided. It was when her hand touched his chest that he sensed her injury. "Your beautiful hands," he whispered and laced his fingers with hers. She began to feel a tingle in her fingers.

"Jan, do you really think this is a good idea," she asked as she pulled away from him.

"I couldn't rest knowing you were hurt, and it was in my power to fix it," he breathed, and fervently prayed it was in his power to fix. Much to his relief, he was successful in transforming gold to flesh. Her flesh.

Jan was pale from the strain; his face was covered with sweat. "Are you okay? Maybe I should get Brainy."

"No. I'm okay. Just... a little more work than I expected." he smiled weakly.

"I still think I should get Brainy."

"No. Please, stay with me."

Shvaughn sighed and surrendered her common sense to her desires.

"Vaughnie, I wanted to apologize. I was being a total bastard when it came to your private investigation job. I should've realized how much stress you were under to make that thing work."

"No, dear, I've been ignoring you. And really, being too stubborn to admit a little extra perspective would've been nice. It just that sometimes it gets really frustrating when you shut me out. You don't tell me things. I guess I was trying to give it back to you. It was pretty childish on my part. But you know, just saying we're sorry isn't going to fix things between us. We've done a lot to each other lately."

"I know. Shvaughn, you're the only person that I've felt this way about. I know we may grow apart, but I don't want that time to be now. Please, stay with me a bit longer."

She thought about the detective agency. She considered all the good times they had and all the bad times, and the secret that she could carry his child. She snuggled against him and decided that should remain a secret a while longer. "I don't want us to say good-bye either, Jan. We should try fix this. It was good before. It can be good again. All we have to do is--"

The door slid open. "What do you think you're doing?" Brainiac 5 demanded. "Do you realize you're impeding his epsilon trance?"

"I'm--what?" "Brainy--" They both protested at the same time.

"No! Shvaughn, out!" the scientist insisted, as he pulled her onto her feet.

"He told me he was better!"

Jan started to rise from his bed in protest. "You get back down in that bed. If you don't, I'm going to tie you there, personally! How dare you endanger yourself this way!"

Shvaughn heard enough. "That's it. I've heard enough, Brainy. I'm going," she said and left. Damn it, even when they were apologizing, he was hiding things from her. It was definitely going to be a very long, hard job to fix the relationship. But she owed it to any future children that she could have with that man to try. If there was no other reason, there was the fact that he was the last of a people who died for no other reason than someone else's greed. Besides, they were in love... even if she couldn't stand him at the moment.

Nura poured herself a glass of brandy, sat down on the satin chair, leaned back, and waited. The door chimed and Nura answered it silently, bringing the two dogs and waving away Dirk's sister-in-law. Lady and Tundra walked in with their beautifully white Samoyed coats gleaming. They were very happy to see Dirk and barked their greetings.

"No! Nura, are you crazy? What are they doing here?" Dirk shouted.

"Well," she started as she scratched Lady's head. "I figured in this case, two white-haired bitches were better than one when it came to cheering you up. And Tundra, just like any other man, is here for the ride."

"You can't leave them here--there's a reason why I didn’t bring them here! They're not here! It's not safe!"

Nura stood up to Dirk, and stood as close as she could to him, without touching him. "Why...isn't... it... safe?" she breathed.

"Didn't you see what happened to Jan, Shady and Tellus?"

"I saw what Nightmare's manipulation of your fire did to them. But you're not the only one she used that way."

"No, Damnit, Nura, don't you understand what happened? I lost control of my powers!" The jerky enunciation of his words scared her. She wondered just where Dirk's breaking point was; it seemed awfully close.

"How does that make you feel, Dirk?"

"How do you think it makes me feel? It scares me shitless! I can radiate the heat and light of a star going nova! One misstep--one minute that I think something wrong, I do something wrong, I could destroy everything around me!"

The dogs whined nervously in response to their master's anguish. Tundra tried to act silly in the hope of distracting Dirk, and jar him out of the mood. It didn't work.

"Don't try to use my own tricks on me, dog," he warned.

"Why does it scare you so much? You've lived with that truth all of your life."

"I never burned anybody I loved before, either! I never killed a Legionnaire, or nearly caused the deaths of three others before!"

"Dirk, that wasn't you--that was Nightmare!"

"Using my power! I play that scene in my head over and over again. I know it was someone else using my powers! But what if someday--someday--it just gets away from me... a day where I can't control my powers, where I can't get my brain to work right, a stroke or something--and I begin burning everything in sight? I spent three months in a radiation-proof room trying to learn what I needed to do to try to control myself. And I look at what goes on, and I realize that someday, I may not be able to! What's going to happen that day? Are they going to be able to neutralize me, or are they going to have to put me down like a diseased dog? In the name of God, Nura, I don't want to live like that!

"Don't want to live like what?" Nura inquired, her voice barely audible.

"Don't... want ... "

"Don't want to be like your father?"

"God, no! I don't want to be like my father! Half-alive in a exo-skeleton! Unable to just reach into a crib and pick up his own baby son? Having to rely on people to help get up the goddamn stairs? No, I don't want to be like that!"

"Is that why you avoid him? To try to ignore that reality?"

"Ah, hell! If I needed to talk to Dr. Running Mare, I would have gone in to see her!"

"You're deflecting the conversation, and no, you wouldn't have. You distrust the psychiatric profession almost as much as Jan does! Dirk, listen to me--"

He tried to flinch away from her. "No!"

"Listen to me," she insisted. "I've grown up with you. I've seen you through all of these years. And even when Universo was controlling your mind, even when you had that nervous breakdown, you never, ever lost control of your powers."

"Oh, great example. I nearly kill a half-dozen of my friends and ten thousand people because I'm too stupid--"

"You're are not stupid! You are never stupid! You were power-mad, paranoid, megalomaniacal, but never stupid. I'm the one who can see the future. If you were going to lost control of your powers anytime soon, would I be here right now? Would I have really endangered these sweet little puppies by bringing them here? No," she said, pushing him back down on the bed. "I wouldn't be here. I trust you, Dirk. You've been my comrade since we were teenagers. And you've been such a good friend to me lately. How could I help but trust you?"

Dirk looked at her, trying to understand his own mood shift. "Nura, I--"

"Ssh. You need to rest. Won't you do me a favor? A couple of them, anyway. First off, I want you to go and take a hot soak. As hot as you need it, until the water cools down. And then, I want you to come out here, and drink a glass of brandy with me, and lay down on that bed."

"That's quite an offer, coming from you."

"No, what you're going to get is a massage. I need you, we all need you, to get some sleep. We have a lot of people who can't fight right now, and it'd be a damn shame to have one of the best of us out of it just because he's tormenting himself. What I'm going to do is make sure you're so relaxed that you'll do nothing but sleep the rest of the night."

"I was hoping for a different offer."

"Oh, I know you were! Now get in there!"

She heard the water beginning to fill the sunken tub and sighed. The dogs looked up at her and she petted them, and wondered what sort of treats he'd have in his rooms for them.

"Nura," he called, peeking his head out of the doorway.

"Yes?"

"Thank you. I owe you."

"Consider it even. Now get in there!"

"Care to join me?"

"No, somehow I suspect that the water that would be comfortable to me would be too tepid to do you much good."

"Damn. Missed again," Dirk playfully pouted. His voice was still a little shaky, but she could tell that maybe, just maybe, he'd be back to his old self soon. And if he wasn't, she'd pack him up herself and ship him to Dr, Running Mare's office.

There were a lot of demons haunting him. A nervous breakdown that occurred over half a lifetime ago, the problems with his dying father and the rest of his family, and the last mission. She wanted very badly to will herself to see his future so she could tell him he'd be all right. That way, she could avoid dealing with the uncomfortable feelings she felt when she was around him.

Gim Allon was also uncomfortable. He had been in the hospital for a long time with his wife and his mother fussing over him, and his father trying very hard not to look worried. What made everything worse was the expression on Brainiac 5's face when he was talking to Dr. Gym'll. He hated the fact that the pair were discussing him like he wasn't even there and all he could make out was the occasional muttering of his name. Finally, Dr. Gym'll stalked off. Brainy turned towards his comrade, looking very troubled.

"That good," Gim surmised.

"If 'good' is the word you want to use. Gim, the emergency surgery team used standard dermatissue to reconstruct your injured organs, especially your skin. Your system's not rejecting it, however, the synthetic tissues aren't becoming irradiated. In short, they don't have your body's natural elasticity."

"So? What about using some cloned tissue, or some grafts from other parts of my body?"

"Um, to answer the latter first: The damage you suffered was pretty extensive. You don't have that much tissue to graft. The other problem is that meta-gene cloning is still almost impossible, not to mention illegal."

"Are you telling me I won't be able to use my powers ever again?"

"I'm telling you it's a possibility. I certainly don't want you using your powers any time in the near future. Of course there's a strong probability that your skin will become irradiated and you will regain the full use of your abilities again. I can't tell at this time."

"Great. So Colossal Boy isn't so colossal anymore. What am I supposed to do?"

"I've been considering that problem myself. I've come up with some ideas, and I've discussed them with those involved, but we may have to wait for their answers."

"How long?"

"Oh, about five seconds." Science Police Chief GiGi Cusimano came sauntering in, giving her old flunkie a friendly kiss. "One of these alternatives that Brainy's talking about, is a chance for you to become Legion Liaison officer, at least until you get better. So how about it, big boy? Want a job?"

"What?"

"Oh, come on. Gim! You know S.P. tactics better than any Legionnaire, you've studied them! And you certainly know about working with the clowns in the costumes. You're a natural for it. We need someone to resurrect the position and get things going. And I certainly don't want to pay Shvaughn a contractor's fee."

"Why not just reinstate her?"

"She doesn't want to be reinstated. Something about living up her principles."

"Oh, yeah, I'd like to talk to you about the Clone and Android Acts myself."

"I'm not the one who came up with them. Gim, you'd be a natural. All you'd have to do is show up in a uniform every once in a while. We could use you, Allon," she cajoled, tapping him on the shoulder and giving him a wink.

"In that case, do you mind if I ask you a few questions about the proposed position?"

"Ask away."

"Do you need to talk to me any further, Gim?" Brainiac 5 asked. "I just realized how long I've been awake."

"You mean, there was something you didn't know?" Gim asked with wide-eyed innocence. "Frankly, I'd love it if you'd take time off and take care of yourself."

"In that case, I'm leaving. Good-bye, Admiral, Professor, Chief, and Year." As Brainiac 5 was walking down the hall, he heard Gim snap, "Damnit, GiGi, I don't think you realize what losing my powers is going to mean to me!"

"I don't, but can offer you a chance to be useful to both organizations," he heard GiGi's fading voice. "Besides, it might really be temporary."

Brainiac 5 lost the conversation entirely. As the dawn began to peek through the windows, he could suddenly feel how much his body wanted to be in bed, and he headed back to Legion Headquarters. It was time, he reasoned, to practice what he preached.

  Chapter Fifteen: Sad Tidings

Eleven minutes later, Projectra of Orando heard the clutter and crash of dishes on the kitchen table, and young voices arguing about which Tri-v shows to watch. She groaned and wondered if she should mention anything to the kids themselves.

"They'll settle down," Val assured her. "I'm going to do some tai chi. Do you want to join me?"

"I think I'll just watch," she answered quietly and curled around the spot he left warm. Val shrugged and went out to the balcony to do his morning meditation. Jeckie watched, her eyes lingered over the fine, muscular body that held her and comforted her the past few days. She remembered the first time on Orando that her handmaiden came into her room and found Val doing tai chi in the nude. That took some explaining, she chuckled to herself. She stretched and groaned. How many days did she lay in bed anyway? She pulled herself out of the bed and climbed into the shower. As the water invigorated her, she remembered Tellus, who would never feel warm water again. She sighed. Out of all the duties of a Legion Leader, this was the one she never wanted to have. Telling a Legionnaire's family that their child and/or sibling was dead. Jo thankfully spared her by telling Rokk about Pol's death at the hands of the Arch-Mage, and then she realized she had done something no other Legion Leader had done: She lost two members to the grim specter of death--three if you counted Quislet. But Quislet's death was questionable. He returned to Te'All to be judged. If he did die, it was not in the line of duty. And then she realized something else: The majority of Legionnaires who joined the group both time she did, were dead, crippled or gone. The shower opened and her husband stepped into the warm stream. "Bad thoughts?" he asked as he reached for the soapy lotion.

"Yes."

"Don't be sad, Jeckie," he whispered, nuzzling the back of her neck. "Their battles were great. They will be rewarded in the hereafter." He reached for her in a familiar, tender way.

"I'm sorry, Val. I can't make love when I'm feeling... lost like this. Please forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive," he answered simply, and hugged her.

After they finished their shower and got dressed, Val went to see to the children while Projectra walked down the corridors of Legion Headquarters in silent thought. She had chosen not to wear Sensor Girl's garb. After all, when one was speaking to members of a telepathic race, hiding one's identity was short of ridiculous. She wore a simple a white dress and wrapped a violet velvet and ermine cloak around her shoulders. She strode into the communications room, and saw Ayla there, coordinating schedules with Tinya.

"Phantom Girl, if you would please," Projectra began. "We need to speak to the High Council of Hykraius."

Phantom Girl nodded and punched in the proper codes. Projectra, her face bare, her white hair flowing over her shoulders and her right hand clutching her ermine robe, stood in front of the hologram board. To her right, Ayla stood, fully armored and waited for the sad tidings to begin. The screen resolved into the image of a Hykraiusan.

"Greetings, young ones. I understand that the seas of your fate have been turbulent of late. I hope the seas above you and the land below you are calm and do not shake."

"Thank you, Speaker," Projectra answered. "I am Sensor Girl of the Legion of Super-Heroes and I bring you the saddest tidings. By my ancestors, Tellus, your kinsman, is dead. I wish to know what you would have us do with his body."

"Has Ganglios' remains been tainted with any chemicals?" The Speaker asked, curiously clinical.

"No, it--it was fire that claimed him. We placed the body in status."

"Then it is not edible. What of the gem implanted in its head?"

"It was unharmed," Jeckie answered, glancing at Ayla. She noticed the redhead desperately trying not to vomit. Given the last few remarks, she wasn't feeling that well herself.

"Then please, bring it to us. We wish to hear Ganglios' last thoughts and feelings. There's much that must be settled so Ganglios can rest. Have those who can come to our oceans comfortably return the body and do honor to your comrade in our way. And, honored bipeds, please, feel free to do what death rituals you wish to its body. Honor Ganglios that way as well."

"As you wish. We will make arrangements immediately." As the transmission ended, Projectra sank into a nearby chair, utterly exhausted and stared at her friends. "You know, Ayla, my term as leader was technically over three weeks ago. I was wondering: Would you consider running for leader if I nominated you?"

"What?"

"You done a very good job these past few weeks. You took care of the administration work, and you've kept the Legion together when there was cause for it to collapse. I think you'd make an excellent leader now, and I'd like to have permission to nominate you."

"I--I suppose." Ayla stammered.

"Excellent." Projectra tapped in a call sequence. As it was answered, she asked, "Shield, do you think you can gather Mon-El, the White Witch, and Diamond to form an honor guard to return Tellus to the oceans of his birth? I feel that those who can survive Hykraius and would best benefit from the experience."

"Of course." Shield answered and disconnected.

Hykraius was an undersea world of organic shapes. The people saw no need for buildings and therefore did not build them. It was only when unbreathers came that massive steel platforms anchored to the ocean beds were built to keep the fragile lifeforms from being crushed by the ocean pressures. It was this world that Diamond, Shield, Mon-El and the White Witch were sent to deliver the jewel that was once embedded in Tellus' head. It was this world that excited Mon-El, as excited as a child, opened up and explored its secrets for himself. Diamond, equally curious, was a little more reserved in her joy than the man she accompanied, and asked questions when he did not and shared her observations with her cohort until they were called by the Council to hear Tellus' last will and testament.

"How are you two enjoying your explorations?" Mysa inquired as the pair entered the U.P. platform.

"Oh, I'm enjoying it," Diamond replied, "but I don't think I'm enjoying it as much as Mon-El is, though."

Mon-El grabbed Diamond's shoulder. "Wait a minute, ladies. There's something I want to ask about over in that alcove. I'll catch up to you in the council chambers."

As he dashed off, Diamond remarked, "I've never seen Mon-El so animated, so interested in things around him. It's something new."

"He's an explorer. He's getting a chance to do what he loves best. Why shouldn't that bring him joy?"

"But if he loves this so much, why does he stay a Legionnaire?"

"Tasmia," Shield answered.

"Duty. A love for what he's been exploring," Mysa countered.

Mon-El joined his teammates. The four were directed to a circle of Elders, who had placed Tellus' headstone on a softly glowing coral dais. They listened to the Elders' intonations with difficulty, even through their telepathic plugs. As the service was completed, Mon-El looked at the others in astonishment? "Did they say what I think they said?"

Shield nodded. "I think we better call home. The others are not going to believe this last request."

"A general meeting might be best," Diamond suggested.

As soon as the Legionnaires were electronically gathered, Shield began her report. "Tellus stipulated in his will that his trophies and mementos should go to the Legion Museum. The majority of his—her eggs should go to his—her people, as well as such items that they can use. However, Tellus has also requested that we leave two eggs on Earth. If they are born, the Legion should raise them. One would be a unique individual, Hykraiusan, but Terran born. The other, at the proper age, should be the recipient of Tellus' mind jewel, and therefore become Tellus itself."

"While Tellus' decision is no doubt unusual, we should consider it," Projectra advised. "On my world, and many others as well, a noble soul's last wishes are sacrosanct. And I truly believe Tellus would not have asked us to raise two children, if he did not feel it was a good idea, and that we were capable of it. I open the floor to debate."

"It's a stupid idea," Dirk began. "We already have enough trouble trying to keep safe the infants who are related to us now! Why bring two more into this mess?"

"We didn't ask Tellus to conceive these children, Dirk! They're already here!" Phantom Girl objected.

"And they should be on Hykraius! They're methane breathers, for God's sake! How are we supposed to raise them?"

"A confirmed bachelor worried about raising babies? This is a new one!" Tinya jibed.

Projectra leveled a cold gaze at the Bgztlr. "This is no time to bring in our personal feelings towards each other," she admonished, "except in consideration of how we would do as a group of parents."

"Hey, take it easy on Phants," Dirk shrugged. "She's right--I am a confirmed bachelor. But I am worried... I'm watching my parents, and one of them's a recent stroke victim, trying to take care of a baby. They can barely do it. My mother's had to quit her job to take care of my father and my baby brother both! Also, no matter how good we are, no matter what kind of hot dog heroes we are, we can't always guarantee their safety! My little brother was kidnapped! They'd be in danger."

"As for your concerns on how we could raise these children, Sun Boy, we have all the equipment we need set up in Tellus' quarters. With a couple of minor adjustments, and we'd have a fully operational incubator. Only a few modifications to Tellus's transsuits and breathers would make them viable portable environment for any children spawned," Brainiac 5 advised. "As it is, it would be quite an interesting experience in intra-species dynamic."

"An experience? Is that all it's going to be for you?" Polar Boy shouted into his pick-up. "Damnit, Brainy! You're talking about two lives who would depend on us, who would trust us to keep them safe!"

"How are we going to give them the nurturing that babies need?" Ayla inquired.

"They're going to be telepathic," her sister-in-law began. "And if they're telepathic we can communicate with them. Everyone here is experienced with telepathic plugs."

"But Imra, what about touch? What are we supposed to do when they get upset tummies? Take them out of the tank and burp them?"

Several of the Legionnaires chuckled at the idea of trying to burp a tadpole with Tellus' yellow and violet markings and wearing a pink bonnet.

"So we touch. Why not? It's easy enough to do. We carry them, we tell them that we love them... we do all the things we do with babies."

"That's easier said than done in this case, Saturn Girl," Ultra Boy explained.

"Yes, it will take a bit of adjustment, and it will take a lot of coming in at strange hours to play with them, and all of us would have to do the million and one strange things that parents do. What's the problem? A friend has asked us to take care of two children here!"

"Two children who will need an entirely different environment! What if they come out like tadpoles? How are we supposed to put them on the floor and let them play?" Danielle asked.

"We play with them in the tank."

"EEEueeww! Swimming in methane! Auggh!" Nura groaned. "I'm sorry, I agree with Sun Boy. It's taking an awful lot of responsibility to take care of these two foster children."

"Nal, I'm a parent myself. I've got a step-daughter who's--God help me--a teenager, and a toddler son. I worry about them. I see the problems my wife is having raising a Braalian child. Tellus has asked us to raise two children in a totally disparate environment. Tellus was a telepath/telekinetic. I've seen times where Imra's boys were so hysterical, Imra knew it from three worlds away! This is ridiculous! We don't dare do this! We're putting their lives in danger, especially if you consider how fragile their environment is. We can't do this; Dirk's right. It borders on stupidity," Rokk advised. "Also I have some severe reservations about the personality transplant the Elders suggested. If we do the transplant, aren't we killing the hatchling's soul so that the parent can live? What gives Tellus the right to sacrifice one of his children that way?"

"Survival," Brainiac 5 answered.

"If you consider the number of eggs she laid," Dream Girl added, "I think losing one child to your own survival wouldn't be considered that much of a loss for a Hykraiusan parent."

"That's cold," Gim added. "That sounds worse than the ancient Chinese who would leave baby girls on mountain tops to die of exposure."

"Oh, you're kidding," Tinya commented.

"My mom's a professor of political history. She told me this."

"So there are many cultures that do not consider the sanctity of a newborn life," Projectra interceded. "We must consider this as well. If we agree to this fostering, then we agree to the implanting of Tellus in the child as well."

"We can do it, can't we, Rokk? All of us are capable of giving that kind of love," Imra pleaded.

"There's another thing to consider," Element Lad interjected. "Would we be doing these children a kindness? This is so far away from their native culture. When I became a Legionnaire, I was in culture shock. But I was 12 years old and I was a air-breather. If nothing else, I knew how to move on a planet with such a thin atmosphere. And I have to agree with Rokk's ethical objections. It sounds as though we'd be raising one child so we could sacrifice it later.

"Jan's got a point," Chameleon Boy admitted. "But I want you to consider this: Are these children being used to establish a bridge between two different cultures as a symbol?"

"If it is, it seems to be better than the way your people have always handled contact," Tinya countered.

"I left my homeworld for a reason. These kids aren't even being given a choice. How are they going to be able to adapt if they ever do go back home? I think it's a bad idea. I think these children should learn about their culture from their culture, and then be given the choice if they want to leave their culture. Instead they're being the Legion's view on all the cultures without actually experiencing those cultures. They will have no cultural basis; they will have no cultural identity! At least Jan and had that!"

"Sounds interesting that you'd be arguing that cultural identity would be so important," Mon-El offered. "Since, as you pointed out, you left."

"Yes, but I know why I left. I was given an opportunity. Personally, I wish Year Allon was at this meeting. I'd like her perspective as a Durlan who wasn't raised with her species' native culture. She was born and raised in the U.P., right, Gim?"

"Yes, she was. Frankly, she says she didn't miss not being raised as a Durlan at all. She's perfectly well-adjusted person, with the exception that she gets upset when her career is balked by the fact that she doesn't need a make-up artist. However, I don't see any harm in raising people in a multi-cultural environment. It was the way I was raised when my dad didn't have a set posting."

Doesn't the military make up a culture of its own?" Dream Girl wondered.

"Sshh," Dirk warned. "It's a stupid idea. We're talking about risking these children's lives by our own ignorance! We're talking about risking them because we're a danger zone. We're talking about risking them because somebody thought it might be a good idea if we were turned into involuntary parents!"

"It wouldn't be involuntary! That's why we're talking now," Imra reminded him. "Besides, the transplanted memories may not eliminate the child's memories, it may simply give the hatchling to the way Tellus thought and felt. Besides, how do we know that our Tellus wasn't such a recipient itself? She was very knowledgeable and wise when it came to her own people."

"One other thing: Do we have the right to judge Hykraiusan religion by our own standards?" Mon-El asked.

"If we're raising the kids, you better believe it!" Garth replied.

"It was Tellus' last wish. Are we to do honor to our comrade, or are we to throw his desires out? That is the question here," Shadow Lass emphasized.

"The question is whether or not we can raise these children. The answer is that logically, we can. Everyone here may have a xenophobic moment or two, since we're mostly warm-blooded humanoids. But I can't see any harm in attempting this."

"Except for the fact that we're risking two children's lives and well-being," Dirk reiterated.

"Not to mention their souls. And ours," Jan snapped. Then he buried his head in his hands as a fatigued-triggered pain stabbed through his nervous system.

"I would love the children," Chrysalis said. "I was born in an egg crčche. It was nice to have hive-parents. I think it would be good for these children, as well."

"Chrys, it's not that easy. You're talking about a bunch of humans raising non-human children."

"I could help with that. I am not as fluent with aliens as Tellus was, but I am proof that such beings can live amongst humans comfortably."

"Are you comfortable?" Element Lad asked. "A lot of times, I was never given a choice. It's risking two innocent children. It's a bad idea."

"Wouldn't it be a bad idea not to honor Tellus's last wishes?" Shadow Lass countered. "There is wisdom in the deeds' requests. When one is thinking about leaving something behind, they try to leave something they honor to the ones they trust. Tellus trusts us with those children. Tellus has made a wish; and as those who live beyond him, we should honor it."

"I agree," Mysa simply stated.

"All right, are there any others who wish to debate further?" Nobody answered. "This will be a silent ballot and those who disagree will honor the majority, yes? According to the constitution, this is a simple majority vote. We will not speak of this again, except to make arrangements for the decision."

The votes were taken, and the outcome was thirteen Legionnaires in favor of Tellus' wishes, nine against.

"You're all a bunch of idiots!" Brek shouted. "Those children's deaths will be on our hands if anything happens!"

"Nothing may happen," Diamond objected lightly.

"You wouldn't understand. You've never loved and you can't be hurt," Brek retorted.

To fill the awkward silence, Ayla wondered in an amused tone, "Does that mean we should throw ourselves a baby shower?"

"I don't think so," Dirk replied, "but I guess that means we should throw Tellus a wake."

"No, no, darling. You're the only one who's going to get a wake," Nura assured him.

"Oh boy, I hope it's a good, old-fashioned Irish wake. I mean, I want the booze to be pouring."

"Dirk, shut up! Or you might be getting that wake earlier than you think," Phantom Girl hissed. "Have you no respect for the dead, even if it might be you?"

"I respect people when they're dead as much as I respected them when alive. And Tellus? I respected him a lot. But I don't see why we shouldn't celebrate their lives while we mourn their passing."

Ultra Boy turned towards his lover. "Sorry, hon. I agree with Dirk." For a moment, it looked like she was the one gifted with flash vision. "Well, I do. It's life affirming during a time of misery."

"We'll leave tomorrow at dawn for Shanghalla, Legionnaires. Will that give you enough time to prepare the body, Brainiac?"

"I wanted to do an autopsy!"

"There's no need for an autopsy. We know how Tellus died," Sensor Girl countered, ignoring Dirk's wince. "I'm afraid your scientific curiosity will have to wait for another corpse."

"That's unfair. How much do we know about the Hykraiusans? An autopsy would fill in some much needed knowledge and potentially save a great many lives."

"I would feel better about that statement, Brainy, if you hadn't asked if it will be all right for you to do an autopsy on me," Jan stated. "I hardly see where your dissecting me will enable you to rescue others of my kind. No, this is for your scientific curiosity only."

"Oh, come on, Jan. That's unfair! Even if his motivation isn't pure, that info could save someone!" Dirk responded.

"There's still a question of the sanctity of the dead."

"The dead are dead, Jan! They don't care!"

"Enough!" Projectra overruled, her voice filling the hall and the Legionnaires' ears supernaturally. "This will not happen, Brainiac. I will not allow a hero to be placed on Shanghalla in pieces when there's no cause."

Brainiac glared at the woman and said nothing. If her decision cost lives, let that fact haunt her as her beliefs would demand.

"Excuse me, Projectra?" Jacques interrupted in a voice almost too quiet for the group to hear.

"Yes, Jacques?"

"I do not think I will go to this funeral, either. I wish to resign. I can't sleep, I can't look in a mirror without remembering.... I have made arrangements with Dr. Running Mare to be placed in St. Croix Psycho-medical institute."

"Resign? St. Croix?" Danielle shrieked. "No! They'll tell me I'm too damn young to visit you! I wont be able to see you until you get out!"

"Danielle, I'll try to arrange for your visits. As it is, I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to see me."

"St. Croix is for crazy people and you are not crazy!" the eleven year old shouted.

"It's a place for people who have been emotionally hurt, Dani, and I am that."

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the funeral?"

"I am sure."

"Very well, Jacques. Your resignation is denied, but I am putting you on medical leave until you're of a mind to truly determine your future. Danielle, we'll work on this end to make sure you can visit him as well. If there are any other items for the whole group to know? No? Then this meeting is dismissed. We'll meet at the ships ten minutes before dawn."

As the group disbursed, Jan struggled to rush to Jacques before the African slipped away. "I think we need to talk," the blond told him.

"I don't agree," Jacques replied. Jan saw the dull hurt in the younger man's eyes.

"You don't want to talk, but you need to. Come with me to the Green Room." The Tromian's voice carried a soft inflection of authority that Jacques found impossible to ignore. As they passed the door to Jan quarters, Jan staggered. Jacques blanched as he realized where they were. However, to call for help... did he dare reveal even more cowardice? Jacques sighed and supported Jan as they made their way to the bed. After making sure Jan was comfortable, Jacques went to Jan's food bar and poured wine into a glass from a crystal decanter.

"Thank you, Jacques," Jan sighed. How could sitting at a meeting be so exhausting, he wondered. If Brainy found out, would he be allowed to go to the funeral? Or would he wake up in bright daylight and discover that the others left hours ago?

"It was the least I could do," Jacques replied, averting his eyes.

"Odd way of saying that."

"What?"

"Why was it 'the least you could do?"

"Because--because--"

"Because you're somewhat responsible for my condition? I thought the reverse to be true."

"Vrai?" Jacques asked, too startled to keep the silence he promised himself.

"Think about it: Nightmare haunts me, calling up memories I'd rather forget. Then Succubus starts her slow possession of your body, and I'm too dazed to realize that something was wrong. With all the compassion you've shown your friends over the years, Jacques, you never offered that level of physical comfort. I should have asked before I accepted. Instead, I cost you what should have been a wonderful experience. Instead, you were forced into my bed against your will and you lost a battle for your free will because of me. I'm an accessory to your rape."

"Non, you were not. It wasn't your fault. I should have resisted, but--"

"But you didn't know what was going on any more than I did. However, we both have to live with what happened. I'm a survivor, Jacques, and I had four other Legionnaires to back me. You were alone with Succubus and Nightmare and their sadistic jokes."

"They killed my priest. and I was the weapon they used. I couldn't stop myself... or them... I could only watch... and do what they wanted me to..." He began sobbing. Softly at first and then getting louder and louder as the dams around his pent-up anger and grief broke down. Jan took Jacques in his arms and patted and rocked his friend, as Jacques had done--when--two weeks ago? Lords and Mists, it feels like it's been several lifetimes. Suddenly, Jan felt ten times older than he was. After a time, Jacques calmed down enough for Jan to get up and get a washcloth and a glass of water for him. The Terran took the cloth gratefully and rubbed his face.

"I was afraid you wouldn't let me hold you," Jan admitted while Jacques cautiously sipped at the water. "I'm glad you did. No, don't try to talk yet. Jacques, for the longest time, I wouldn't let anyone near me, emotionally or physically. After I lost everything, I didn't want to be so emotionally vulnerable that anybody leaving me would hurt that badly again. I tried to believe that I didn't need someone to touch me. I hung around with the people I knew I couldn't have partially because of that. I let some Legionnaires become my brothers and sisters, never my soul mates. Then Shvaughn came and pried me out of my shell. I was scared to death, but she made me overcome that. Now I realize how wrong I was to keep everybody so far away. I hope you won't turn away from that somebody when you find him; I hope that you don't have to pay for my blunder."

Jacques gulped. "'Him'? Why do you say--?"

"Because I was there. Succubus may call herself a demon, but she can't create passion out of inert feelings. Love is too precious to throw away, Jacques. Don't give those two psychotics that victory. I hope that your time away from us will give you insight to who you are and the peace of mind to accept yourself. Don't let the good you've done get sucked away by the evil you think you've done."

"I almost killed you that night," Jacques bitterly croaked.

"That was nine-tenths Succubus and one-tenth you fighting her. And your goodness won over both your fear and her desires. Let it win one more time before you take your leave. Come with us and say good-bye to Tellus properly. I think I know you well enough where you won't forgive yourself if you don't. Put an end to all of this."

"I can't. I helped kill him."

"Dirk helped kill him, and I couldn't save him. Should we all three condemn ourselves because Tellus died? What would Tellus say to that?"

"That we were gyrating our flippers for nothing," Jacques answered and both he and Jan burst out laughing.

"You and Dirk did not wish him harm, nor was it your negligence that killed him. I did everything I could to save him, but that was not enough. We have to live with that, not get consumed by it. Jacques, it's not your fault you survived. Please believe that?"

"Do you?"

Jan smiled, but he felt suddenly sad and small and weak. "I need to rest now. We both need our strength for tomorrow, so you get some rest too." The blond looked pale enough to worry his comrade, so Jacques left. After the door shut, he realized he let Element Lad get away without answering the last question.

Millions of light years away, several standard hours later, ex-Legionnaire Brin Londo paced irritably. His wife, the news editor for Zoon Tri-V, had told him that there was a news ban from the Legion and she wanted to know what was going on. Brin Londo resisted her request to find out. He knew the group never did that without good reason. He was not going to use his connections as the former Timber Wolf to give her an exclusive.

"I'm not interested in an exclusive. I just want to know everything's all right."

"Of course it's not all right! Otherwise there wouldn't be a news ban."

"They are your friends," she prodded.

"Yes, I admit, I'm worried too! Do you promise that this will be off the record?"

Marella Tao sighed and shook her straight red hair. "I promise."

"I'll make the call." An hour later she found him outside their tree house, staring at the jungle he vowed to protect.

"Brin, what is it?"

"Marella, I have to go back. They need me."

Marella hugged him. "I'll help you pack. Where will you meet them?"

"Shanghalla. After the funeral, I'll be updated to active status."

"I knew when I married you that I'd occasionally be a Legion widow. Do me a favor though, Brin; make sure that it's not permanent."

"Promise," he whispered as he picked her up to carry her to their bedroom.

The ship took off shortly after dawn, as Projectra desired. Somehow it seemed appropriate to start a funeral march at the beginning of a new day. The others were quiet for a while, as if the entire team needed a morning stimulant. Then the team began to relax. Casual glances were followed by jokes and word play and after a while everybody began to rejoice in the idea of being together, even if it wasn't the ruckus wake Dirk requested for his own funeral. Shield received a note before they left earthside, and she sat reading the heard copy over and over again. Diamond and her brother, Coal, were sitting beside her, trying to read the note. Finally, Gim looked over and said, "Hey, Ciryn, what's so important about that letter?"

"It's a letter of award," she answered. "I'm having a little troubling believing it."

"Oh? What's the award?" Jo asked, also getting curious.

"It must be a mistake--a typo or something."

"Ciryn, don't play modest. What's the award?"

"'You have been chosen to accept the Valor Star Award for your actions..."

"'That helped save the earth?'" Dirk finished with a wide smile. "All right!"

"But, Dirk, you and Mon-El were there...."

"I was helping a bit; so was Mon. But you were the one holding up the damn continent. You deserve it, Ciryn, enjoy it! Is there a dinner ceremony with that?"

"Yes..."

"Great. Then take a couple of us and go! It'll be a lot more fun then the stuff you did to get the award."

"I don't think it'd be right..."

"Ciryn, trust me," Mon-El interrupted. "It's all right. If they remember us for the Valor Star, they're going to remember us when they start getting some funding together. If we're lucky, it'll signal the end of the Legion's financial troubles for the past year."

"You think so?"

"It's the way politicians usually work. If you look good, they like to keep you around, in the hopes that you can somehow make them look good," Dirk added.

"Maybe you shouldn't be so cynical about politicians," Rokk shifted uncomfortably as he waited for some attention. As usual, he immediately got it. "If I can get anyone else to listen to me that quickly, we might have something here. I've been asked by the president of earth to serve as a Terran-Braalian liaison, and possibly help to put an end to the troubles that have been plaguing the relations between my two homeworlds. I'm going to take her up on it."

"Oh, no, Rokk, you're not reigning, too!"

"No, not resigning. I'd like to have the same sort of arrangements the Witch has, Sensor Girl. If I can, I'd like to have a detached duty, so I can help whenever possible."

"If you can keep Earth and Braal relations from getting any worse, you'll be helping a lot. I'll make the necessary arrangements, or possibly, the new Legion Leader will. My friends, I would like this to be my very last duty as Legion Leader before I swear in my successor. My term has been overlong. And frankly, I'd like to sleep in late, if my children let me, and see my husband on a regular basis and help him raise our children."

"You don't quite get a regular basis for anything, especially husband and children, Jeckie, but I certainly do understand you," Imra admitted. "Being the mother of twins."

"Yes," Jeckie almost chuckled. "Being the mother of twins."

"Would you like to hold the election now, or would you like to hold it after the funeral?"

"After the funeral would be more appropriate. Besides, we're nearly there."

The funeral was simple. There was a general service, commending Tellus as a Legionnaire of Valor and wishing him a peaceful afterlife. And then every Legionnaire took a moment to speak about their favorite memories of their departed friend. There is no atmosphere on Shanghalla, so Element Lad waited until they boarded the cruiser again to play a song in a minor key about how Tellus was a friend to him and his regrets about his failure to save him. And then he shifted the beat subtly, and played about the responsibilities they would share of being parents to their dead friends' children. "I can't explain what Tellus shared with us in the gestalt. But it does feel like I've lost a part of myself," Jan admitted quietly as the song ended.

By that time, another ship had arrived on Shanghalla and it was time for others to say good-bye.

Brek said his good-byes quietly, briefly. He told the others that he would make his decision about staying a Legionnaire as he recovered. It was obvious that Kate's death still troubled him.

"That's my ship too," Nura announced.

"Yeah, I know," Dirk replied.

"You'll think about what we were discussing?"

"Yeah, I'll go see my family. I promise."

"Good for you."

"Nura, about Brek--do you think he'll come back?"

Nura's eyes lost focus for a moment as she tried to focus on the future. "Yes, he'll be back... if only to get his things."

"I'm going to miss you," Dirk admitted.

"Oh, I know you will. But just think, with all those girls planetside, I don't think you'll miss me too much."

"No, really, I will."

"I'll miss you too. You've been good to cuddle lately."

"Thanks." Dirk made a face. "Will you do me a favor while you travel?"

"Oh. Anything."

"Will you say 'hi' for me when you see Thom on Xanthu?"

"What?" Nura choked. "How did you know?"

"I know you. I know that you love him and I know that you want to try to patch things up. I wish you luck."

"Thank you, Dirk," she said and kissed him. Deeply.

Chrysalis watched them curiously. "Does this mean you're going to fornicate now? May I be allowed to watch?"

Dirk broke down laughing. "No, Chrysalis, no to both questions!"

"We're not going to fornicate. We're just saying good-bye. Although, I admit, fornication does sound like fun," she added wistfully.

"But you've got a ship to catch. D'you need me to do anything while you're back at school?"

"You greet the mad dog for me."

"Nura, there are just some people I won't kiss. Brin's one of them."

"Then you'll just have to say hi."

Nura climbed aboard the ship and Dirk watched as it levitated and readied itself to leave.

A strong hand clamped itself on his shoulder. "You don't have to say 'hi' to me. I saw her and she waved."

"Jesus, Brin! Don't scare me like that!"

"I can't help it if you're so jumpy."

"I guess not. It's good to see you again. I bet Val's going to love it. Are you going to wear that throw rug again?"

"Are you kidding? The only thing that throw rug did was get me thrown on the floor. Sheesh. What a stupid idea for a costume for an acrobat."

"I don't know. Some of those costumes were pretty cool. Ayla's still wearing hers."

"Yeah. Let's not talk about Ayla, let's not talk about costumes. Okay?" After a awkward silence, Brin added "It'll be good to see Val again."

"I guess it would. He's aboard ship. Let's go."

After Brin was greeted by friends, Projectra quietly called for a vote. "Is there anyone else besides Ayla and Jo who would like to be nominated? All right, let's vote then. I have an envelop from Nura, and I'll open it after everybody else has voted."

"You haven't looked at it, have you, Jeckie?" her husband asked.

"No. I like the future to come at its own pace sometimes."

Ayla and Jo each explained why they felt that they should get the hot seat. After a half hour of questions and small talk, the Legionnaire finally voted in favor of Lightning Lass continuing as the Legion leader.

"Oh boy, Jo. I'm going to need every bit of experience you've got," Ayla acknowledged.

"Leader Lady, that's what I'm here for," he answered. "We're going to make a great team."

Projectra swore in Lightning Lass, who in turn swore Ultra Boy in as her deputy.

"Let's go home," was Ayla's first order.

"It's been an interesting 15 months," Val observed.

"I'll agree," Projectra whispered.

"So tell me, your highness, any regrets?"

Jeckie leaned back against Val's chest and closed her eyes. So much had happened during the past months. The Magic Wars. Then the Legion lost its funding, and its headquarters. Magnetic Kid, then Blok and now Tellus were all dead. The desperate fight to keep some funding and the Legion alive, and the endless arguments as to how the Legion should restructure. She thought about her children, almost growing up without their mother. She thought about the wounded Legionnaires and the friends who had been killed because of Nightmare and Succubus.

"Regrets?" she repeated, "Yes, I do. But I held the Legion together this past year, Val, and it survived. Despite everything, I am proud of what I did. But it's time for me to step aside. The Legion is still strong because of me. It's also lost a lot, because I am not perfect."

"That's a shame," Val teased quietly.

"There are times, I feel I failed as a leader, and nearly failed the Legion. It's time to let it grow without my guiding hand, without my strengths and weaknesses. It will be interesting, I think, to watch it, as we will be watching some of Tellus's eggs. I'm waiting to see what the future will bring."

Val shrugged and shifted into a more comfortable position. He kissed the curly white hair and whispered. "So are we all. Wasn't it you that said 'As long as the Legion of Super-Heroes stands, all else can surely be made right.'?"

She looked at the Legionnaires. They were no longer her charges, just her dearest friends. Even with the new scars forming, there was indeed a resonance of hope. She would have felt it even if she wasn't Sensor Girl. The group was weakened, but it would come back, greater than ever. Everyone in the ship knew that, and probably Nura did as well. The Legion would thrive.

If you're curious to know what happened some years down the road, go here.