This story takes place in its own continuity. Don't try and place it in any context because it has none. HOWEVER, things are alluded to that actually happened such as the trip Cosmic Boy and Night Girl took to Braal and his trip to the 20th Century during "LEGENDS". These references are done just for fun and to ground the story. This story was an attempt to provide some dimension to one of my favorite male Legion Lads.

It wouldn't be this way forever, he reminded himself, shoving the various datapads away in a flurry of disgust. As they scattered, he reached out with his magnetic abilities and caught them in mid-air. On a whim, he began to spin them around. As they formed a small tornado, he turned each on their side and then flat again. He stopped them all at the same time. One by one, he stacked them on his desk, one turned one way; one turned another until all twenty-two of them were neatly stacked on his desk.

~INCOMING MESSAGE~ chimed the computerized voice on his terminal.

"Put it through. Audio only," Cosmic Boy said, standing and using his power to release the magnetic closures along the front of his costume. He went into the next room and began to draw a bath. Ever since his visit to the 20th century, he’d grown increasingly accustomed to 'bathtubs' and 'showers' as opposed to the sonic-showers. He pulled the top of his bodysuit off of his shoulders and let it hang at the waist as he felt the temperature of the water.

"Son?" came the voice from the computer terminal in the next room. "Are you there? It’s me...your father?"

"Dad?" he said, going back. "Visual."

In a flash, he had returned to the console and was looking at the face of his father. In a sudden flood of emotion, Cosmic Boy faded and Rokk Krinn sat looking at the face of his father for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"What's wrong?" Rokk said, concern etched in his face.

"Nothing's wrong," Hu Krinn returned. "I wanted to tell you some news and I didn't want you to be angry. Have you spoken with your brother?"

"No," Rokk said, living up to the Earth equivalent to his name. Anytime his father asked if he’d spoken to Pol, there was anything but good news. He had to be strong in times like that for both of them.

"Rokk, I'm getting married," his father announced, beaming with pride.

In moments, Cosmic Boy was back. When he responded, it wasn't the son of a Braalian Industrialist that answered. It was the diplomatic voice that had guided the Legion of Super-Heroes on and off for the many years he'd been in the group. His voice was carefully measured and controlled.

"Congratulations, Father."

"That's all?" Hu asked, rather astounded.

"What else would you like me to say, sir?"

"Nothing, I suppose," Hu continued. "I'd like you and your brother to attend."

"Pol's at the Academy Training Station on Konal if you need to reach him," Cosmic Boy said, officially. Then, before he had a chance to think, he continued, "I'll not be there, I have very pressing Legion business."

"Son, you don't even know the date of the wedding," Hu said, rather dejected. "I understand if you don't want to attend, but the least you could have done was continued the facade all the way through."

The screen blinked off.

~TRANSMISSION TERMINATED AT THE SOURCE~

"Blast!" Cosmic boy said, pulling his costume back on and replacing the magnetic closures. "Good going, Rokk."

Leaving his quarters, he made his way through the colossal structure that was the Legion Headquarters to the front entrance. The smoked glass front belied nothing of the outside and as the doors slid silently open, he was marveled, as he always was, by the night sky that greeted him. Stepping out of the building fully, he extended his left arm outward and his right arm upward toward the sky. Sensing the magnetic currents generated by the Earth, he pulled his body upward and into that current.

In seconds, Cosmic Boy was soaring above the glittering city-scape known as Metropolis. Flying straight and true, he made his way to Weisinger Plaza. He was there in mere moments thanks to his powers. He landed softly in the courtyard and stood before the gleaming gold and scarlet building that stood more as a monument now than the headquarters for a super-hero group, its former occupation. As he walked toward it, he realized it was both and hoped secretly that it would always be just that.

~VOICE PRINT REQUIRED~

He looked at the small panel to the side of the door. In a solid voice, he spoke. "Cosmic Boy," he said, simply.

The door slid silently open and he entered. Soft lights greeted him and he made his way along two corridors to the main hall where one of the inhabitants of the building sat in silence, their back to the door and obviously intent on something other than his arrival. He continued into the darkened room. He couldn’t make out who it was.

"Is Lydda here?" he said quietly.

"No," was the response, harshness to the voice it belonged to?

"Do you know where she might be?"

"Of course I do," Stone Boy said standing and facing the Legionnaire. "I may not be you, but I'm a good leader. I know where my people are at all times."

"I didn't mean that," Cosmic Boy said, shaking his head slightly. "Would you mind telling me where I might find Night Girl?"

"Sorry," Stone Boy responded with more than a hint of false bravado. "That's classified."

"Class--?" Rokk began with shocked annoyance. "What is WITH you all?!"

"Doesn't feel real good to be left out of the loop, does it?" Stone Boy responded, standing perfectly still. "We're used to it here in the 'SUBSTITUTE' Legion."

"Is this going to be a problem EVERY time we're together?"

"I don't know. Is it?"

Cosmic Boy's eyes narrowed as he glared through the dark at the figure he spoke to. He felt anger rising in him that he couldn't give voice without it becoming more than he meant it to. He hadn't been angry with Stone Boy when he'd arrived, but every time they were together, it ended up that way and just once, he'd like for things to be different. It hadn't always been like this and it wasn't until after the incident with the Legion of Super- Villains on Orando that it had deteriorated.

Stone Boy and the other subs weren't even notified of a danger until after Karate Kid had been killed. It had been a judgement call on Dream Girl's part, as she was the one leading the Subs. She'd contacted Earth and talked to him and Night Girl but put the clampdown on Lydda. Maybe if he'd have been in charge it would have been different, but he wasn't. He was under orders of another Leader.

"Look, I can't help the way things are," he said, suppressing his anger.

"Yes, you can," Stone Boy interjected. "Or, at least, you could at one time."

"Please don't be cryptic. If you have something to say, say it."

"I put in a request to the U.P. to be officially our own entity and not one branch of the Legion. A branch constantly seen as inferior."

"No one sees you that way but yourselves," Cosmic Boy retorted angrily.

"Is that why we missed an invitation to the latest try-outs?"

There was an uneasy silence in the room for a long moment. Both men regarded the other and an unspoken hurt was communicated between them. Before the silence could drag on, the room was flooded with a brilliance that bathed both men and the newcomer that provided it. Cosmic Boy and Stone Boy turned almost as one to see the illuminated figure of Fire Lad enter.

"Is this a private rampage, or can anyone join?" he said, extinguishing his flame by closing his hand around it. "Computer, lights," he said jovially.

"Sorry if we woke you, Staq," Stone Boy said.

"Some of us have work to do this morning," Fire Lad said, coming into the room fully and swinging the chair that sat in front of the computer console around to accommodate his form. He sank into the chair and punched up a schematic.

"Work?" Cosmic Boy asked, puzzled.

"Yes," Stone Boy interjected. "A terra-forming mission to Arkon VI. We do other things besides sitting around here waiting for the almighty Legion of Super-Heroes to acknowledge our paltry existence."

"Ease up, SB," Fire Lad said, calling up an aerial view of a patch of civilization. "We agreed to do some work there after the recent meteor activity there."

Cosmic Boy stepped closer to the screen. He watched as Fire Lad scrolled through a series of photos. The first was of a pockmarked section of what once had obviously been farmland. The second was a series of pictures of shattered homes and a few people standing around in dejected groups.

"This was Arkon just after the shower," Fire Lad said.

As he stood close, Cosmic Boy felt the heat generated by Fire Lad. The odd thing was, the heat was increasing only when the young man spoke. However, it wasn't as intense as the first time Cosmic Boy had spoken with the Sub...three years ago? Had it really been that long ago?

"Then..." Fire Lad continued, hitting a button.

The screen filled with a video feed then. Night Girl flew in against a glittering starscape. She flew along the side of a cliffside, her hand outstretched and digging deeply into the rock. She curved outward like an elegant dark bird and flew directly at the rockface. As she impacted it with both fists outstretched, she shattered the hard surface. As Cosmic Boy looked closer, he noticed she wore small circuit patches on the backs of her hands. They were the ones Brainiac 5 had manufactured. They simulated his force-field belt only in a more localized manner. Lydda's hands were surrounded in that field. She was super-strong but not invulnerable. Small pieces of the rockface fell alongside larger chunks from the place of Night Girl's impact. It was the larger chunks that she collected one at a time after they'd fallen to the ground and dropped them into a grinder provided by the Arkonians.

"The grinders grind the larger rock fragments into a fine dust," Fire Lad explained, noticing Cosmic Boy's gaze leading there.

"I didn't know their technology was that advanced," Cosmic Boy commented, watching in amazement as the said dust was being distributed along various areas by the huge walker-like machines.

"It wasn't. Polar Boy and Color Kid helped them upgrade their own primitive equipment," Staq Mavelin said with a bit of pride.

"Helped?" Cosmic Boy asked, dangerously close to a reprimand of interference.

"We taught them some basic mechanic techniques. Nothing introduced that they didn't already have. We just taught them some ways to upgrade what they already had," Fire Lad said. “We used their own technology but just showed them a different way to use it. A better way to use it."

On the screen, Night Girl was filling various holes with ground up dirt by dumping the large vats of the stuff. As he watched, Cosmic Boy felt a surge of pride. Onscreen, Fire Lad breathed scorching flames on the filled areas.

"What are you doing?" Cosmic Boy asked, watching.

"Reforming the land," was the response. "I'm liquefying the rock like a volcano but this way, there is no dangerous lava flow that is random and uncontrolled."

An obvious time-lapse occurred in the film and while Stone Boy and Color Kid were helping some of the locals rebuild a structure of some sort in the background, in the foreground, Chlorophyll Kid flew above the same filled spot. He scattered the entire spot, which had been obviously tilled up, with a variety of seeds. In literally no time, the seeds sprouted to full grown and fully loaded plants of varying vegetation.

"The crops from those plants were harvested in the next week and their food stores increased by over 78%," Stone Boy said, quiet until now.

The viewscreen switched to the structure and its completion. As Stone Boy stepped from a ladder and pulled it from the wall, Color Kid gestured and the dull, flat surface of the dark cream-colored thing was transformed instantly to a deep burgundy much to the delight of the owner, who squealed with happiness.

"You see," Stone Boy said with pride. "We do just as much in our own way as the Legion but we don't get the same glory."

"It's not about glory," Cosmic Boy retorted, facing the Sub. "It never has been."

"We may not be Legion quality now, but those of us that want it will always try to be," Fire Lad said, switching off the monitor and facing his leader.

"It's about having a goal," he continued with deliberate resolve and purpose.

"Frag it is!"

"I didn't come here to fight about this," Cosmic Boy said, turning to leave.

"Night Girl and Color Kid are on their way to Arkon now," Fire Lad volunteered.

"Thank you," Cosmic Boy said over his shoulder, oblivious to the reprimand Stone Boy issued but sure there would have been one.

Outside the small structure, Cosmic Boy once again lifted himself into the night air and the comfort of the magnetic currents of Earth. As he flew randomly, he wondered to himself when he'd become so complacent. When the entire Legion had become so. Had he really undersold the Substitute Legion so easily? The answer, sadly, had been yes he had. They all had. The Subs were just as good at their job as the Legion was. They had all received training at both the Science Police and the Legion Academies. They'd all completed weapons training and combat training. Maybe they weren't Legion material but they were every bit as much heroes as those who served in the Legion. As he thought of his oversight on the part of the Subs and Stone Boy in particular, he also wondered about other areas of his life that he may have been lacking.

He thought back to Braal...his childhood.

His Magno-Ball try-outs had been one of the most difficult days of his life. He'd tried SO hard to be positive but the other people on the team were such better athletes. His was the strongest magnetic ability, sure, but he wasn't sure if his eye-hand-power coordination was what it should be, or if his body could accommodate the quick turns and leaps to catch the ball. Many other doubts filled his head that day as he took the court. He wanted to throw up, run, and laugh hysterically.

Looking into the crowd, Rokk caught sight of his little brother sitting on the sideline with a goofy grin and an idolizing glaze to his eyes. Great, Rokk thought. No pressure, there. Win and you're an idol, lose and you're a goof-ball to the kid brother! Scanning the crowd up a bit and to the left, Ewa Krinn smiled back at her oldest son. It was the comfort and support in that one gesture that propelled him on to compete rather than regurgitate his lunch on the spot.

She had seen him through the entire thing. Through the small wins and championships, she'd been there and when it came time for him to go to the finals, she'd spent the entire night before making his uniform. He'd worn it with pride the next day and won with flying colors. It was the same with the Olympics with one exception. To spite his new uniform and confident arcs into the air as his coach had taught him, he'd lost. A split second loss of control on the metallic ball cost him the championship and his family the half a million credit prize money.

His father had pushed him to go to Earth after that.

"Now that this silly Magno-ball stuff is finished, you can concentrate on making something of yourself," Hu Krinn told his son. "Something we can be proud of."

There were almost eight and a half years difference between Rokk and Pol. Rokk had taken his responsibility to his family very seriously. He had been so concerned with fulfilling this responsibility that he'd overlooked the reasons for doing so. It wouldn't be long until the younger Krinn would be finding his own and then told to do the same thing unless there was something to be found that could provide an alternative.

R.J. Brande had been that alternative.

"Verdammit, boy!" R.J. Brande said, slapping Rokk Krinn on the back as the two of them stepped fully into a vast hangar deck. "I have more credits than half this solar system combined and if I want to fund this little venture, then I'll do so."

"But, Mister Brande," Rokk said, a little taken aback by the three starcruisers that sat like perched hawks in front of them. "Are you positive that we are the group you want?"

The question had been more for himself than the multi-billionaire. He was young, he knew and didn't know if he could compare to the legend of Superboy; a legend that had reached far into the Braalian population and beyond. Sure, Superboy was only a year older than he was now when the Kryptonian began his career but Rokk wasn't sure he'd be able to do the same even if he were almost a man by Braalian standards.

"The universe needs young people like you," Brande continued, walking into the bay fully and making an outwardly sweeping gesture. "Young people to guide, lead, and protect the Cosmos! YOU could be that Cosmic leader, boy!" The older man turned on Rokk.

"That's IT!" he shouted.

"What?" Rokk asked, stunned.

"Cosmic Boy!" he said with a smile that reached from ear to ear and beyond.

"Pardon?"

"Your super-hero name!" Brande said, turning back to the ships. "And that Garth...what a spark in his eye...what a lad! Spark Boy? No, too goofy. No one would take him seriously," R.J. Brande said, pacing with excitement. "Lightning Lord? Nah, too pretentious for a lad his age...Lightning Lad!" he shouted triumphantly. "And that young girl from Saturn..."

"Titan, sir," Rokk softly corrected.

"But Titan Girl doesn't have the same ring, my boy," Brande said, joining Rokk again, "as Saturn Girl."

"Sir, I--"

"That's enough talk," R.J. Brande said, jovially silencing the Braalian. "I've made up my mind and that's that. You, the Ranzz lad and the Ardeen lass will be my champions! My Legion of Super-Heroes!"

"Sir," Rokk said with a nervous smile. "Three people are hardly a Legion."

"That's why you'll search the galaxies to find others like you. Those with courage, bravery, and fantastic powers like you. And to help, I present you with these." Brande was looking over the ships like a father over his children. He smiled at the gleaming metallic hawks and ran a hand along the smooth hull. He admired the sleek beauty of each machine and appreciated the power each of them held.

"Those are Mark 394 StarClaws, sir!" Rokk said like a child with a new toy.

"Glad you know your hardware, my boy."

"Like the back of my hand, sir!"

"Then, that's a yes?" Brande said, smiling.

"Do you really think we're ready, sir?" Rokk said, still a bit unsure.

"If I didn't, I wouldn't have made the offer."

"Then, I accept."

Cosmic Boy smiled at the memory as he neared one of the taller skyscrapers. The Lane Building of Metropolis was just as large, elegant and proud as the 20th Century woman it was named after. Smooth concre-glass panels, concre-steel structure and a foundation as solid as she had been. Cosmic Boy remembered hearing about such people from his short trip to the 20th Century. He'd met Captain Marvel; a young man named Firestorm and battled the nightmare known as Brimstone.

Landing on the roof, he made his way to a side door and through it into his apartment. He locked the door and turned on the security system. He called for the lights and in Braalian fashion, four perfectly triangular lighting fixtures at three exactly triangular points in the room came alive with soft light. Two large, opposing plushes, a glass top table between them and a pile carpet from Lydda's homeworld of Kathoon were the only furnishings in the room. Soft heather gray and accented burgundy pillows gave the room a decidedly masculine feel without smothering a visitor.

Going into a side room, Rokk pulled off his boots and undid the fasteners on his costume. It came off easily and he tossed it to the bed. His bedroom was an eclectic celebration of royal blue and off-white. A carpet of those colors madly swirled together supported an oversized, frameless bed of Phoenix Down feathers. The freestanding furnishing was covered with a royal coverlet and crowned with an array of pillows in blue, gray and off-white. A writing desk of Naltorian wood and carved with intricate patterns of that design sat in a corner, as did the only other furnishing, a chair of the same design and craftsmanship.

Naked, Rokk Krinn lay down on the bed and was immediately immersed in its soft caress. It was warm and inviting and held him as tightly as anyone ever had. He stared at the starscape that was his ceiling and became lost in the holographic display. The scenes it could display were of the night skies of over a thousand worlds that would change slowly from one to the other. Now, it was that of Krypton.

As he lay there, he thought, oddly, of his father.

"I know it's rough, son, but do you really think this 'Legion' is a good idea?" Hu Krinn said when Rokk had come home from their first mission. "It's very unstable and it could be dangerous for you."

"Anything 'could' be dangerous," Rokk had argued. "And with Mr. Brande's money, I think it's very stable."

"Son, think of your mother." Hu said, obviously grasping at something that would jar his son into what he saw as sanity. "Seeing you on the holo-news last night fighting that Seven character almost was too much for her."

"Dad, what's this really about?"

"Son, I just don't want you doing this," Hu relented. "It's dangerous and I don't want to go to your funeral in the near future."

That had been the real reason that Hu Krinn hadn't wanted his eldest son to be a part of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Death terrified Rokk's father. He was overprotective of Rokk as a child and even moreso over Pol.

Getting up, Rokk made his way into yet another small room of his apartment. In this room's center was a block of gleaming metal. Going to the center, Rokk ran a hand along its surface. It was solid and very cold. It was a shiny metal much like silver but it was much denser and harder to manipulate with his magnetic abilities. It was native metal to Starhaven and had been a gift from Dawnstar. In his mind a picture took shape. In reality and with slow arcing gestures of his hands, the top part of the block became like stubborn liquid as his magnetic abilities pulled and reshaped the metal.

The top of the blocky form became intertwined arcs of an almost whimsical nature. As the intensity of force exerted increased, so did the size of the arcs. Smooth, needle-thin spirals encircled arcs while slightly wider arcs framed circular sections. The bulky, squarish, chunk of metal slowly became an elegant celebration of fluid, rounded lines that intersected one another and framed one another.

When he'd finished, Rokk Krinn looked at the piece he'd made and smiled. He'd taken up this type of sculpture a year and a half ago and was getting quite good. His heart shaped the metal mentally while his natural magnetic ability shaped it physically. It was therapeutic for him on many levels. He always sculpted this way, in the nude. It helped him feel his work. His magnetic abilities coursed through him freely and unencumbered by the cloth and metal of his uniform and added immensely to the experience.

As he stepped back from the magnificent sculpture, he said one word. The word that both named the piece and gave voice to what he'd created in memory.

"Mother."

"Don't be too hard on your father, Rokk," Ewa Krinn told her eldest son as he fumed and ranted. "He really does what's best for the two of you. He worries a lot about you."

"He said that it was you who worries."

"Any mother would," she said, smiling gently. "You're our first, Rokk. You represent all of our dreams and hopes, as well as our fears. Your father sees himself in you and doesn't want you to make the mistakes he made."

"But I won't, mother," Rokk protested, still pacing. "We're not the same person."

"Perspective is a wonderful curse, is it not?" she said, finishing the garnishes on the dish she worked on.

"I'm not sure I follow."

"The way we look at things can be good if we have the right distance to the subject to be objective but if we don't and we're too close, we lose sight of the thing we should see clearly," Ewa Krinn said, sagely.

"Perspective," Rokk said to himself as he thought of his mother. "Maybe that's the key."

Rokk went to sleep thinking of this. He dreamt of his mother, his father and his little brother. He dreamt of pleasant things, days on the beach, vacations on Centara where he first learned to play the Lira. He saw his brother perfecting his diving off the Cliffs Of Heaven on Gonal 4. He saw his mother smiling and his father returning that smile.

Later, he saw the fire.

Everywhere, he saw the devastating flames devouring the small house that Ewa and Hu Krinn occupied with his brother, Pol. He saw the gleeful faces of the three thugs that were responsible...he saw them melting. He saw their bodies twisting inside out. He saw his own powers twisting and churning their blood.

With a scream, Cosmic Boy sat bolt upright in the bed, covered with perspiration. A quick swipe at his forehead and Rokk was out of the bed, walking into the bathroom. In the reflective surface of the mirror, he saw the disheveled figure that looked back at him and wondered what had caused the dream after all this time. He had come to terms with his mother's death soon after. He'd gone from the spaceport to this very apartment to collect himself. Lydda called soon after...

"Rokk, you alright?" she said, coming in and taking the cloak she wore from her shoulders. "I was worried."

"Are you angry that I threw you through the wall?" he asked, noticing the small bump on her forehead.

"No," she said, taking him in her arms and holding him, as he held her.

They stayed with one another all night. She had been his strength through almost every ordeal but this one had been different. His mother had been his life in many ways and it was difficult to adjust. Lydda had helped. She had gone with him to the memorial service on Braal. She had been there when he had talked with his father and for many nights with Pol at the Burn Ward of Metropolis General.

"Rokk?" came a small but familiar voice that jarred the senior Legionnaire from his reverie.

"Pol?" was the response as the man recognized the form and voice of his brother.

The two Braalians embraced one another warmly for a long moment. As they parted, Rokk noticed that his younger brother was crying. Moving back to the bed, Rokk held his brother to him. He waited a long moment before asking the question that burned in him from the beginning.

"What's wrong?"

"Dad..." Pol responded, crying anew. "He's remarrying."

"Rokk," Ewa Krinn said to her oldest son. "Make sure Pol is dressed warmly.

"Sure thing, Padmon," the teenager said over his shoulder as he left the dwelling he and his brother called home.

Rokk and Pol made their way down a worn path to a small outcropping of land that overlooked a small lake and a dizzying view of a nearby valley. As they took their normal seat, Pol picked up a couple of rocks nearby and with his very limited magnetic control of the ore in their center made them twirl around one another. Rokk smiled in appreciation.

"C'mon, Rokk,” Pol said in a singsong plea. "Do it."

Rokk stretched a hand forward and two others joined them. The second rocks began to go in a perfect figure 8 around the ones Pol was spinning. It was a maneuver they had perfected with months and months of practice together. It was a small thing that brought them both a great deal of joy. The fact that they could work together and make things happens. What Rokk could have performed the maneuver by himself but he didn't dare tell Pol. It was enough that his younger brother was smiling.

As the two of them let the rocks settle back to the ground, the first fingers of light blue began to stretch across the violet of the sky, Pol leaned over and rested his head on his older brother's shoulder. The gray of the clouds took on a periwinkle tint as the first light of Braal's deep royal blue sun rose. Its dark light became brilliant blue as it folded back the night. As it became a full orb, the dark blue gave way to a pale green and finally a bright orange, burning into the sky and filling it with gold, scarlet and burgundy shards of light.

"You know we'll never forget days like this," Rokk told Pol in a whisper.

"I hope not," Pol whispered back.

"Pol, what is it?" Rokk asked, putting his hand on his brother's shoulder in a reassuring gesture. "It's more than Tradmin getting married again."

"Rokk, we have to go home," Pol said, gravely. "Tradmin is..."

Again, the tears came. The younger guy shook with a new kind of feeling as he fought to find the words. He looked from the face of his brother to the many other things in the room. He tried desperately to find things to comfort him. His face fell on family photographs and again, he was back in the face of his brother.

"He's dying, Rokk," he said. "He has maybe a year to live."

He heard his mother's voice in his head. He heard his father telling him of Braal's history and of the hard struggle for life there had been here. Rokk's great-great-great grandfather had been a settler of Braal. His great-great grandmother had been a colonizer of Braal's first moon colony. His great-grandfather had organized the first colony of Braal's second moon. His father had been a great political force for trade law reformation. He was, himself, a pioneer in that area. Rokk thought of his own pioneering ways in the Legion. Its principle first member, its first president...he had a lot to live up to.

"Rokk, why married couples?" Imra asked as she and Garth looked over his shoulder.

"If we get new members," Rokk said over his shoulder. "They're bound to become close to one another. That closeness may develop into something more."

As he spoke, Garth Ranzz let his gaze drift to that of Imra Ardeen, who smiled softly and put her hand delicately on his. They'd gone out twice in the last two weeks and had a marvelous time together. It was still something they kept under wraps but if one were observant, you could see the way they looked at one another.

"While that bond may be a great thing in everyday life, it can be used by a villain to compromise the other person," Cosmic Boy finished, typing in the clause on the keyboard.

"Having a constitution is a great idea," Lightning Lad said.

"The U.P. gave that to us as a stipulation for existing, Garth," Imra pointed out. "We didn't have a choice."

"Uh...yeah," he said, obviously embarrassed.

"If we are going to be a policing force for the universe, there has to be some way to police us," Cosmic Boy pointed out. "And having guidelines to do that will make their jobs a lot easier...and ours too."

"Hey, Rokk," Imra said, putting her hands on his shoulders and her face next to his ear. "Garth and I are going to the City Star, wanna come with us?"

"I can't," he responded, not taking his eyes from the screen as he typed. "I have to have this finished and in Mr. Brande's nightbox my in the morning."

"Anything we can do?" Garth asked, hoping for the negative answer that came.

"We'll see you in the morning," Imra said, taking Garth's hand and leading him to the door. "Don't be up too late."

As the door slid shut behind them, Rokk stopped typing. He turned to face the door and as he did, he let his mental guard down. Typing the words on the screen and thinking of his Legion duties had effectively masked his surface thoughts from Imra. He hadn't been stupid; he'd heard them behind him trying to be quiet as they slipped their hands into one another's.

Imra Ardeen was a fascinating girl, he thought. She was super-smart like his mother and already a budding chef. She cooked better than Garth, as they had found out after the disastrous Delieng egg fiasco at breakfast this morning. She was, on top of all of that, beautiful. What being in their right mind WOULDN'T fall for her...as he had done? He had been just as taken by her on the shuttle to Earth as Garth had been but he'd been MUCH less vocal about it. That was probably why she was dancing with Garth at the City Star rather than being with him cuddled up together watching holos.

Rokk smiled at the memory of himself and his forlorn feelings that day and many others until the crush he'd had on Imra finally developed wonderfully into a strong friendship. Still, it was hard to know that it was only because he hadn't pursued her more arduously than he had, or maybe that was what he told himself to make losing her easier.

He'd always been fiercely competitive. He remembered the first Magno-Ball game, the championship game, the Interplanetary Games, many others. He remembered a trip home with Lydda where he and Pol challenged her to a game and he was relentless. Passion, his mother had called it. It was, he supposed, the right name. He had a passion for all the things he did in his life. The Legion was no different.

"Rokk?"v "Pol, I just had to get some air," he told his brother as he acknowledged him. "The house was getting a bit stuffy."

"You don't like her either, huh?"

"It isn't that. I just..." Rokk started as his younger brother stood beside him.

The two looked at one another for a long while.

"No," Rokk relented finally, falling into a fit of laughter with his brother. "No, I don't."

"Dad wants us all to go to the city tonight for dinner," Pol said, turning his gaze outward to the morning sun. "He thinks that we're going to bond with this new woman and fall for her like he did, I'm sure."

"We have to give the illusion that we like her," Rokk said. "For his sake."

"Is your Princess the expert at illusion?" Pol retaliated distantly.

"Touché!" Rokk returned.

"What?" Pol asked, meeting his brother's gaze at the alien statement.

"Sorry. It's French. I picked it up from Mr. Brande."

"What's it like being in the Legion, Rokk?"

"You ask me this every time we're together, little brother," Rokk said, walking a bit away from his brother. "Don't you ever get tired of hearing about it?"

"No," Pol admitted. "Every time you come home, the story's different. It's always a different adventure, a different danger. Tell me about.... her."

"You really have it bad for her, don't you?" Rokk said, chiding his younger sibling.

"Yeah...who wouldn't?" Pol said almost in a state of euphoria at the thoughts in his head. "She's gorgeous!"

"Star Boy seems to think so," Rokk said with a chuckle. "I just approved their vacation and if memory serves he and Dream Girl are on Ventura."

The two boys sat together on a large outcropping of granite and conversed this way until well into the afternoon. They talked of boyhood trips with their parents and especially their mother. Comparisons were made between the new woman and their mother, as well as contrasts between the two.

"Is that why you won't talk to Dad?" Pol asked. "Because you think he may be trying to replace Mom?"

"No," Rokk answered truthfully. "I don't think that's it, at all. I don't think he would do that. Father really loves this woman, I'm sure. He deserves to be happy just as much as anyone and I'm sure this woman makes him happy."

"So why don't you talk to him?"

"I can't, Pol. I just can't face him. I've saved the universe a thousand times over..." Rokk said, his voice drifting. "I've seen the Legion through some of the most destructive times of the century but my father is the only man who intimidates me more than anyone..."

"He loves us, Rokk."

"That's not the point, Pol," Cosmic Boy said standing and pacing slightly. "I wouldn't know what to say. If the two of us are ever in a room together, the silence is deafening."

"You may not get the chance again," Pol said, pulling his jacket around him and turning to face the house. "He'll be back in about an hour."

Lifting himself into the air, Rokk turned once to the north, once to the west, to the south, to the east like a weathervane looking for a place to point. He faced the largest city in the vicinity of his family home and headed in its direction. He would lose himself in its size and its many crowds for an hour. As he neared it, he thought of the first time he'd visited a city this large off-planet.

It had been Venice, Italy on Earth. R.J. Brande had taken an extra day from his schedule of business to show the first four members of the Legion the sites that Venice had to offer them. Rokk, Garth, Imra and Luornu Durgo were wined, dined, and entertained by the finest of the city. Food, music, and theatre from the outer ring colonies of the planet Boran. The city had been a dot on a map until then. It had been a place they'd flown over on patrol in a Legion shuttle but never somewhere they'd actually set down in. The city came alive for them all that night...especially Garth and Imra.

"They're in love," Luornu told him as the two disappeared in a gondola down one of the watery streets. "Isn't it obvious?"

"To everyone but them," Rokk returned, watching them go with a smile.

"You kind of like her too, don't you?" Luornu asked, as the two of them headed into the hotel. "That's pretty obvious to anyone who's looking."

"Yeah, I suppose," Rokk said. "That's why it's called a crush...the infatuation with another person is so strong it crushes you."

"Do you ever let up?" the brunette called Triplicate Girl asked, pushing him playfully.

"What?"

"You're so serious...so analytical," she returned. "Prude."

"I am NOT a prude," he said, feigning indignance.

"RIGHT!" she said, taking a handful of flower petals from a nearby flower vendor and showering the Legion Leader with their tender pastels.

"I'll get you for that!" Cosmic Boy said, taking to the air and giving chase to the Legionnaire, already ahead of him.

"Doubtfully!" she said, splitting into two as Cosmic Boy neared her.

One of her bodies swooped around and tagged Rokk on the heel, laughing hysterically. The one in the lead saw the look on his face and also started to laugh. In her hysteria, Cosmic Boy caught her around the waist and spun her. They both erupted into laughter as she split again. The second body flew in behind the Braalian and caught him around the neck in a warm hug. The third body joined them and kissed his cheek. The original body of Triplicate Girl turned in Cosmic Boy's arms and also kissed him.

"Alright, you win," he said, releasing her. "I am a prude."

"Yeah, but you're cute," Triplicate Girl said in unison.

"What are you doing here?" Rokk asked the dark-tressed woman in the corner of the smoky restaurant. "This isn't usually your kind of place."

"I could say the same of you," she said, standing with a smile.

The two embraced warmly like the old friends they were before seating themselves again. The woman motioned for a server and a tall man appeared in minutes. He was balancing a metal tray full of glass and porcelain with a perfectly circular magnetic field. He smiled warmly and as the two were giving their orders, he smiled a bit wider and repeated it back to them before going into the kitchen.

"So, Deanna," Rokk began. "What brings you to Braal?"

"A diplomatic conference. My mother couldn't make it and I agreed to come in her place. The Enterprise is being refitted and it could take over a year so rather than spend that time in a classroom, I thought this would be perfect. What about you?"

"I came to visit my father."

The woman looked at his face with dark eyes. She looked past him with an empathic gaze. In moments, the two sights coalesced into a single sight. She reached gently across the table and took his hand. She looked into his face and spoke with a voice he'd not heard in some time.

"It's your father, isn't it?" she said gently.

"Yes," he said, letting her fingers close around his. "He's dying, Deanna."

"Have you spoken with him?" she asked, feeling the wave of guilt sweep over him like a shroud. She didn't answer for him. Part of being a psychologist was knowing when to talk and when to listen. This was definitely the time for the latter.

"No. I have been meaning to, but it hasn't felt right," he admitted.

He told her about everything. He told her about his father's illness and of his brother's insistence on coming home and finally of his avoidance of the entire situation with his father. He spoke, she listened. They both felt the words as he spoke them, with her having only slightly the advance knowledge. When he finished, she finally spoke.

"You realize, of course, that avoiding this won't make it easier."

"Careful, counselor, your degree is showing," he smiled.

Their food was brought and placed before them along with sparkling water and a dark burgundy wine and a chilled dish of creamy substance swirled elegantly into a curl and ringed with fluffy white stuff resembling a cloud. A bright ruby-red cherry sat atop the entire thing and the delicate dish was sprinkled with dark sweet chocolate.

"Chocolate pudding?" Rokk asked with a smile. "That's a departure."

"It's chocolate," she said, a slightly admonishing tone to her voice. "Maybe it's not a hot fudge sundae, but it's chocolate. Think of it as expanding my horizons."

Rokk regarded her with a knowing smile and began to eat. He ate small bites of his food and washed them down occasionally with the sparkling water. He didn't really pick at his food but there was a definite pace to his eating and it wasn't the same as Deanna remembered. She knew that the situation with his father weighed more heavily upon him than he chose to say. They had been friends for quite a while and she knew the relationship was less than perfect.

"What do I say to him, Deanna?" he finally said, swallowing the last bite of his entrée. "I can't talk to him like I do a terrorist even though I feel like that, sometimes."

"I can't give you a fool-proof script, Rokk," she said, folding her hands in front of her delicately as she rested her gaze on him. "There isn't such a thing. Talk from your heart. That usually works well."

She smiled widely and waited for her advice to sink in before pushing her plate away and bringing the chocolate delicacy in front of her. She scooped up a delicious bite of the chilled stuff and brought it slowly to her mouth. She closed her eyes and savored the first bite as if it were her first.

"Watching you eat chocolate is a seriously sensuous experience," Rokk said with a slight smile as he reclined casually in his seat.

"Chocolate," she said, seriously, "is a VERY sensuous experience."

"Is it warm in here, or just me?" he retorted, fanning himself.

They both smiled at his silliness. He had succeeded in lightening the mood if only for himself. Humor helped but it didn't make the future any better to think of. The thought of his father and he together in the same room discussing matters of the heart was not something he wanted to do. In fact, if Darkseid had been the other option, he'd have departed for Apokolips immediately.

"Your father is not an unreasonable man, you know," Deanna said, after another bit of chocolate. "He is, after all, a negotiator with the United Planets. He knows how to talk to people even if those people happen to be his children. Perhaps you should approach in it that way if it will help. You're a skilled diplomat. You have a gift for words and phrases. Temper them with feeling and say what you feel."

"It's really that easy?" Rokk questioned.

"I never said it would be easy," she returned.

"I need to be going," Rokk said, resolutely. "Thank you very much for dinner and everything, Deanna. It was wonderful to see you again."

The two hugged one another and Cosmic Boy made his way to the door of the establishment. He paid for the meal and tipped overgenerously. He made his way into the street and began to walk in the direction of his home. He could fly, he knew. On the magnetic currents of the planet, he'd get there in no time. With his flight ring, it could take a bit longer. Combined, he'd be there in a proverbial flash. So why walk? He was in no hurry for confrontation.

Suddenly, a blaring alarm rang through the crowded streets. People scattered like scared rabbits and Cosmic Boy turned around twice to locate the source of the alarm. To the north of his position, he saw a large cruiser coming to land over the bank of the city. Dark amber light flashed and he recognized the transport signature of the craft. Bank robbery was such a mundane crime, but a crime nonetheless.

Activating his flight ring and pulling himself into the air with his powers, he had risen above the crowd and was headed to the bank in mere seconds.

"Stand to the side!" he called as he prepared to land at the bank's front. "Please, I'm a Legionnaire. I'm here to help."

Some parted and some just looked skyward gawking at him. He came to land inches from the door. He caught the mechanical click and the whine of energy gun seconds before the front of the bank exploded outward, showering the crowd with glass and metallic debris. Reacting with honed reflexes, he deflected the majority of the metallic junk back and away from him and the immediate pedestrians. He glanced quickly over his shoulder and saw many of the others had been able to do the same but there was a couple who wasn't so lucky.

"Does anyone need medical attention?" he shouted.

"I'll handle it, Cosmic Boy!" someone shouted from the crowd.

He scanned the crowd and found the beautiful face of a dark-haired woman. She was Asian and flawlessly beautiful. Her hair was bound tightly to her skull but inordinately brought an additional beauty to her. She wore the same blue uniform that Deanna normally wore and he smiled.

"You're a doctor?" he asked.

"A nurse, but I can handle it!" she returned.

"Thank you," he said, turning back to the destroyed bank front. With his powers, he shoved the hanging girders and support structure to the side and erected a slight shielding of magnetic energy around him.

"GET BACK LEGIONNAIRE!" came a harsh canine voice from the inside.

"I don't think so!" Cosmic Boy said, taking to the air and directing an electro-magnetic pulse in the direction of the being holding the rather nasty-looking rifle.

As he maneuvered into a strategic position in mid-air, Rokk was stunned to see the dog-like humanoid flip a switch on the rifle and FIRE! Sizzling energy shot past him, burning the very air and slicing effortlessly through the ceiling just above him. He also felt the left side of his face warm uncomfortably. He looked at the gaping hole in the roof and back to the humanoid thing who stood gloating.

"Thanks for the juice, Legion jerk!" the thing said.

"No," he whispered, comprehension seeping into his head. The dog-like race was the Wolfen. Their faces were angularly wolf-ish with thick black and gray fur streaked individually. They wore sooty latex suits with patches of technological armoring and all three of them carried the pulse rifles. The Magpie had stolen the plans for them when he'd broken into Legion Headquarters the last time. The first time, Dream Girl and Star Boy had stopped him. The second time, he'd bypassed every security system they had and made off with the pulse-rifle and other minor designs from Brainiac 5's laboratory. They were POWERED by electro-magnetic energy and unlike most mechanical things they actually recharged when hit with an EM pulse.

"Not another move, Comic Boy!" the first literally barked.

"Or the bitch gets ripped!" the second said, pulling a hostage into clear view. He had massive claws aimed at the woman's eyes and an equally massive paw clamped over the majority of her face. A flip of his hand and she'd loose both eyes instantly.

Cosmic Boy came to solid ground as he assessed the situation. His stomach sank as he realized who the first and additional hostage was as both were brought out to kneel on the floor.

"Recognize our insurance?" the first humanoid Wolfen asked, smugly, shouldering the rifle. "We thought you might."

"Bastards," Rokk said tightly under his breath.

"Son, don't let them get away with this," Hu Krinn said to his son.

"QUIET, cur!" the lead Wolfen said, slamming the butt of his rifle into the small of Hu's back. "We'll muzzle you if we have to!"

At this, Cosmic Boy's magnetic powers flared and the floor was ripped up. Hu and his fiancée were encased in spherical structures and rolled to the side like shiny Christmas ornaments. Likewise, the spheres were cleaved in half by the crimson beam of a pulse rifle. Both inhabitants were exposed and equally shocked. Hu Krinn used his own limited magnetic abilities to repair the damage, knowing his son had encased them to protect them. He first fused the two spheres together and sealed the rupture.

Cosmic Boy lifted the melded spheres and sent them toward the door behind him. He turned back to scan the bank. Several other potential hostages cowered under tables and on their stomachs on the floor. He had to diffuse this situation and quickly or more innocents would suffer. He couldn't just save his father and leave the others.

Reaching out with magnetic might, he tore several steel cables from the nearby wall and instantly coiled them around the nearest Wolfen. Startled, the canine humanoid's grip on his gun was loosened and the rifle clattered to the ground. In rapid succession, he brought the rifle to him, and magnetically dismantled it into its thousand component parts. Releasing it, the parts scattered haphazardly as he began to walk toward the remaining two Wolfen.

"No one..." he said, dangerous fury evident in his eyes. "But NO ONE threatens my family!"

The Wolfen was gripped by every ounce of metal he wore. Every bit of metallic fiber in his uniform constricted at once and he found it suddenly difficult to breathe. His wrists were clamped tightly by the metallic bands he wore and he lost his hold on his rifle. His hands were brutally brought together and the metal liquefied at first before reforming into cuffs that held his wrists together. Not bothering with pleasantries of any kind, Cosmic Boy gripped the rifle in a magnetic grip and shattered it from the inside outward in a contained blaze of ice-blue energy.

Cosmic Boy stood in the bank's center and all around him, currents of energy crackled and blazed, theatrically. He took in the energy and redirected it through the fabric in his costume. It jumped and danced all along his body. His hair lifted slightly from his scalp and he found the last Wolfen creature standing slack-jawed and awestruck at him, the pulse rifle hanging limply in his grasp.

"I'm arresting you, now," Cosmic Boy said, lowering his voice. "Objections?"

"Uh..." the Wolfen said, stupidly. "... no."

"Son..." Hu Krinn said, looking at Rokk as they stood outside their home later. "I wanted to thank you for saving us earlier."

"What was I going to do, let them take you?" Cosmic Boy said, staring blankly across the horizon.

"You could have, you know."

"Right."

"It's the choice you make every day, son," Hu said, stifling a cough. "The choice to help the weak."

"You're anything but weak, Tradmin," Cosmic Boy retorted, oblivious to the cough. "You've never been weak."

"That's what you think."

"When were you weak?" Rokk said, turning to face his father.

"The day I held you in my arms for the first time," Hu said, smiling. "Here I was, a big industrialist with clout and power and you, this little wrinkled thing. You were the powerful one, even then. You closed your little hand around my finger and your grip was like steel. Even with all the magnetic power in the world, I couldn't break your grip and I knew it'd be like that all your life."

"Your mother went to sleep soon after you were born. She was so tired," Hu continued, not moving. "I held you all night that night. I didn't want to let you go even for the nurse. I fell in love with you, that day. Totally. Utterly." Here, he paused. "I still love you son. I always have."

"I love you too," Cosmic Boy said, honestly. "But, I don't know how to talk to you, anymore. Ever since Padmin died..."

"A part of me died that day, son and I've never recovered. A part of my soul was taken away from me the day that trash firebombed our home. A loss like that hollows a man out, you know. I hope that you never have to go through that."

"Don't you understand?" Rokk shouted. "I DID go through that! You weren't the only one that lost her! Pol did! I did! We ALL lost her and we all have that hollow spot! Even after all this time, you're as selfish as you were then!"

"...Selfish?" Hu said, his voice barely registering. "You want to talk about selfish?" he asked, finding a voice in his anger. "What about your selfishness? We came home to bury her and you went off to Galtron 7 with the Legion!"

"I had to go!" Cosmic Boy said, understandably defensive. "I was Legion Leader! The team was sorely undermanned! Six Legionnaires were missing and two were presumed dead! Seven of us were in critical condition and--!"

"What about the Substitutes? The Academy?" Hu shouted. "That's what they're there for! Not so you can take all the weight on your own shoulders! Just because you're good at saving the universe doesn't mean you have to do it single-handedly EVERY flamin' time, son!"

Cosmic Boy was silent. His gaze dropped from his father's and found a nearby rock. His hands sweated profusely inside his gloves and his uniform became an uncomfortable weight on him. His mouth filled with cotton and his eyes teared heavily like a dam close to breaking.

"I couldn't do it, Dad," he said, crumpling to the ground. "I couldn't say good-by to her."

"I know, son," Hu Krinn said, kneeling in front of his son and pulling the larger frame into his comforting embrace. "You never have."

"And now, you...you're..." Rokk said, trying to find the words.

"Dying."

"I don't want to lose you too!" Rokk said, holding his father tightly. "Not when I found you again!"

"Rokk..." Hu said, bringing his son away from him by the shoulders. "You never lost me. I've always been here. I always will be here. That's the wonderful thing about the people you love. Whether living or dead, as long as you remember them in your heart, they'll always be with you. Nothing can take that away from you."

"Yes, I am dying," Hu continued, walking a bit ahead of his son. "I've been all around the universes to find a cure and there is nothing that any known science can do for me. I have been undergoing Naltorian radiation treatment that has slowed the disease by over 52%. I am moving to Naltor to make the treatment more effective."

"Dream Girl may be able to do something," Cosmic Boy suggested.

"Pol's already asked her," Hu responded quickly. "You know him. Any excuse to talk to her, you know," he said with a smile. "She's agreed to look me over after I arrive. I an optimistic, but I am realistic, also."

"She's very skilled, dad," Cosmic Boy said, reassuringly. "Don't lose hope."

"I haven't son," Hu turned, facing him. "You know it isn't the dying that we need to focus on, here."

"It's the living," came a musical voice behind them.

Rokk and Hu turned in unison to see a beautiful woman coming from the doorway of the house. She wore a long blue gown that accented her blue skin and raven hair. She wore effulgent bangles on one arm and no other jewelry. She had a round face and kind blue eyes. She smiled as she neared the men, her gown flowing behind her. As she cleared the walkway, Pol appeared in the door and followed her.

"We're soon to be married," Hu said as he took the woman in his arms. "Alestra and I. I would really like you and your brother to be a part of that.

"So, you decided to bring us here and guilt us into it?" Rokk asked, suspicion creeping into his voice as the woman neared them.

"Actually, it was Alestra's idea to bring you here before the ceremony," Hu disclosed. "She's anxious to have your approval."

After a long time, Rokk looked to his father and the woman who stood unmoving at his side the way his mother had done. He studied them and that look between the two of them. He saw the tenderness in their touch. He looked to his younger brother and with a knowing nod, he knew he was grossly outnumbered in his decision to be stubborn. He let a smile creep onto his face and he shrugged defeatedly.

"I always HAVE liked weddings!" he said, Deanna's voice in his head.

"I never said it would be easy," she'd said.

"Thank you, Rokk," Alestra said, stepping forward to take him into her arms.

"Take care of my father, Alestra," he said, returning the embrace.

"I love you, Tradmin," Rokk said, embracing his father.

"I love you, Eraan," Hu whispered.

"LET'S EAT!" Pol shouted, heading back into the house.

"Leave it to Pol to know what's important," Hu Krinn said as he turned to go back inside after his younger son and future bride.

As he began to go inside, a small chime rang from Rokk's finger. He held up his hand and looked at the slight glow from his flight ring. He looked from it to his father, who regarded him with an unreadable look. He turned the "L" on the ring's center and the chime ceased in mid-ring.

"Cosmic Boy, here," he said, formally.

"Cos, this is Ultra Boy," came the Rimborian's voice as a 3X5 holo of him appeared in mid-air above the ring. "We have a situation here in Metropolis."

"Jo, I'm on Braal," he said, not seeing the reason Ultra Boy used in contacting him half the galaxy away.

"I know, but..." Ultra Boy said, hesitantly. "You're the closest and we need some direction with this. Star Boy is your deputy leader and he's 'not available'."

"Contact Stone Boy," Cosmic Boy said, decisively. "He, Fire Lad and Polar Boy are on planet and should be at your disposal."

"The Subs?" Ultra Boy said with shock. "You can't be serious!"

"I am deadly serious. It's time we started utilizing ALL the resources at our disposal, not just the ones that make us look good."

"But Cos, they're inexperienced...green!" Ultra Boy argued.

"They're never going to get experience if we always shunt them to the side," Cosmic Boy said, ceasing the argument. "I assume this isn't something world shattering?"

"No."

"Then, I'm ordering you to call in the Subs," Cosmic Boy said, ironicly. "Consider yourself their personal trainer in this matter and because you ARE a full-fledged Legionnaire, I expect top of the line training technique on your behalf and a detailed account of that training in your mission report when I return. Understood?"

"Yeah..." Ultra Boy said, defeat in his voice.

"What?" Cosmic Boy snapped.

"Yes, sir!" Ultra Boy corrected himself. "Your dictatorship-sir!" he added jokingly.

"I thought you'd see it my way when properly motivated!" Rokk said with a smile. "Cosmic Boy out." He dropped his hand and looked to his father.

"What if it's important?" Hu asked.

"I'm sure it is," Cosmic Boy said, putting an arm around his father's shoulder and leading him toward the house. "But a good leader knows when to delegate responsibility and most importantly, to prioritize."