Luorno The 30th Century's Greatest Superheroes.....

A Time to Mourn

Legion Worlds #8-May, Year Six by Tony Thornley


    Cosmic Boy sat at his communications console, rubbing his eyes.  It had been a long month.  Brainiac 5 had isolated himself in his lab with the data that Lightning Lad's team had recovered from the derelict.*  He'd been doing his best, but he'd only gotten little in the way of usable data.  He'd been able to extract small strings of code from Gear's recovered files that resembled several known computer viruses, but some of the code had Querl transfixed.  It was unlike anything he had seen and he refused to work on anything else until he had cracked it and cracked its function.

* (Last issue- Tony)

    Saturn Girl was equally transfixed.  She'd been working around the clock, trying to find the telepath who'd torn and twisted apart the mind of a member of the Sallakan Galactic Senate to the point of murder and suicide.*  She knew whoever had performed that heinous act was easily her equal in telepathic skill, if not her better.

* (Also last issue- Tony)

    Another worry that the Legion leader faced came in planning a memorial for Colossal Boy.  He was the Legion's first fatality.  The team had been operating for three years.  Cosmic Boy had considered the team incredibly blessed to not lose a member in that time.  The pain at losing him was incredible to Cos.  It was a personal failure.  He hadn't been able to protect them forever.

    Today was finally the day of Colossal Boy's memorial service.  It had taken Cos the entire month to arrange with Gim Allon's people to arrange the service.  Gim was born on Earth, on the continent that was once Australia.  An attempt to recreate the New Gods' Boom Tube technology had resulted in an accident that had enlarged the populace of half of Australia.  Their religion demanded certain burial rites be observed, despite the fact that his killer had used a matter disintegrator to completely destroy his body.  It literally took twelve hours of discussion over the course of three days between Cos, Representative RJ Brande of the UP and several members of Colossal Boy's family to plan a satisfactory memorial that wouldn't contradict their religious traditions.

    That wasn't the last of his headaches though.  He had just received a call from Representative Brande.  It was bad news, but then, few calls from Brande were anything but.  Cos shook his head as the door into the Comm room opened.  He heard two pair of feet enter the room and walk up to where he sat.

    "You needed to talk to us?" one of the two Legionnaires asked.  Cos looked up at Karate Kid and Ultra Boy.

    "I've got some bad news guys," he said, standing from his seat at the Comm console.  He took a deep breath and looked each of his teammates in the eye.  "I need to suspend both of you from active duty."

    "I'm sorry Imra," said the young woman on the holo, "but we tried to make it.  Things are still too unstable in the system."

    It's okay Matter-Eater Lass, Saturn Girl stated.  The important thing is that you and Star Boy tried.  You know, we still need to figure out a better code name for you.  Talia Kim laughed.

    "Until you find a name that fits my powers better I'm sticking with it," Talia Kim said.  "Besides, it helps dispel any rumors of anorexia on Legion World.  I don't keep this figure without work."

    I believe you, Imra said with a laugh.  We'll talk to you again soon Talia.

    "You too Imra," Talia said.  "I know all this with Colossal Boy is probably hitting you pretty hard, and if you ever need to talk..."

    Thanks Talia, Saturn Girl replied.  I'll let you know.  Imra reached out and clicked off the holoscreen.  There was a knock at the door of the Comm room.  Imra looked up from the screen.

    Come in, she broadcasted.  The door slid open and Garth walked in.  Imra smiled at him.  Although she had befriended many of the Legionnaires, her feelings for Garth were quite different.  She had grown to love Garth Ranzz.

    The door slid shut behind Garth.  He reached out to the controls and pressed the key to lock the room.  He walked across the floor to where Imra sat and took her in his arms.  The moment he did so, a month of pent-up emotion exploded from Saturn Girl and she began weeping.

    "I know you too well," Garth said with a sad smile.  "Cheesy as it sounds, I'm the only Legionnaire who was able to read what you were really broadcasting."  He kissed her softly on the top of her head.

    Oh Garth, she cried.  It hurts so much.  It's all my fault he's dead.  I could have warned him.  I could have shut down the shooter.  It's my fault Garth!

    "No," Garth whispered.  "It's guilt talking, not you.  You did all you could.  You saved Projectra and Sensor's lives.  It's not your fault."  He kissed her again.  "I love you," he whispered.

    I love you too.

    "What the hell are you talking about Cos?!" Ultra Boy screamed.  "Taken off active duty?!  WHY?!"

    "Jo, calm down," Karate Kid ordered.  He looked back at Cosmic Boy.  "This has to do with the riot, doesn't it?"  Rokk nodded.

    "RJ just called," he said.  "He wanted to warn me before he got here to Legion World for the memorial."  He sighed.  "The Science Police are accusing you two of assaulting several of their officers without being provoked.  They're also claiming that you started the riot, not them, by your outcries."

    "What about Tinya?" Jo asked, still agitated.  "She was there too."

    "Jo, please," Cos said.  "You know her powers make her undetectable by any electronic device."  He frowned and rubbed his chin.  "RJ said that they tried to wrap her up in this too, but they have no actual proof she was there.  The holo just shows officers fighting something that's not there."

    "The Science Police have no official weight in the UP," Karate Kid said.  "They're strictly an Earth organization. How are they able to cause this much trouble for us?"

    "Because one of the acts currently on the floor in front of the UP senate is to make the Science Police the official UP security force," Cos said.  "It's not just the SP that's fighting for this.  The United Planets Senators that are spearheading this act seem to think that if the Legion is given a bad name in this incident it will help their cause."

    "So Brande told you to kick us out of the Legion?!" Jo exclaimed.  "So he can save face with the UP?"

    "Dammit Jo!" Cos exclaimed, slamming his fist down on the console.  "No, it wasn't RJ!  It was my call!  He didn't make any damned suggestions!  He was calling for my information, and I was the one who decided to relieve you of active duty!"  Cos stood up and stepped up to Jo, standing only inches from him.  "You want to have a problem Ultra Boy?!  HAVE IT WITH ME!"

    Rage filled Jo's eyes.  He balled his fists and clenched them tightly.  Veins began to stick out of the back of his hands.  He took several deep breaths.  Cos looked down at his hands then looked back in Jo's eyes.

    "Go ahead Jo!" Cos exclaimed.  "Do it!  Hit me!"

    "No, I won't," Jo growled.  He took his flight ring off his left hand and threw it at Rokk's chest.  "I quit!"

    He spun and stormed out of the room.  Cosmic Boy sighed and collapsed back into the chair.  Karate Kid laid his hand on his shoulder.

    "It's okay," he whispered.  "Give him time."

    Brainiac 5 frowned and chewed for a moment on his stylus.  Something wasn't adding up.  He wasn't sure what.  This virus seemed to follow many patterns that most computer viruses he was familiar with, then suddenly a string of code popped up that was so random that he couldn't decipher its purpose.

    "You heading into the memorial?" said a voice from the lab's doorway.  Querl looked up from the screen.  Gear was standing there looking at Brainiac.

    "Yes, just trying to run one last test on this virus before I do," Brainiac said, looking back at the screen and pressing the stylus to his lips.  "I've been asked to be in the procession line in."  He looked back up at Gear.  "Have you taken a look at this code yourself?"

    "No need," Gear declared.  Querl raised an eyebrow.

    "And why's that?"

    "Because my good friend-"  Gear stepped further into the lab.  The door hissed shut behind him.  "-the virus is now a part of me."  He picked up a welding tool and approached Brainiac with a wide smile.

    "Now let's have a little chat, shall we?"

    Triplicate Girl looked at the crowd in the main assembly hall of Legion World.  She was one of many Legionnaires who had been called back from a distant UP world to the memorial.  Luorno Durgo was an oddity among the Legionnaires.  Years ago her people were virtually wiped out in a civil war.  To survive, her ancestor, as well as all the remaining Carggites, discovered the ability to split into three individuals, who could split into three individuals and so on.  A UP exploratory ship landed on the planet years later and Luorno was sent to investigate the UP.  She joined the Legion soon after, becoming one of the team's most reliable members.

    She had never realized there were this many members though.  She counted at least fifty full-fledged Legionnaires, plus numerous members of the training team that the more experienced members of the Legion had nicknamed the Legion of Substitute Heroes, or Subs.  Right alongside the Legionnaires were many of the Legion's supporters in the UP senate, about two dozen strong.  Also among the team were many of the support team members that helped run Legion World.  It was a massive gathering to say the very least.

    The doors at the rear of the assembly hall opened slowly.  A short line of Legionnaires proceeded into the hall.  Triplicate Girl took count of those in the line.  Superboy and Colossal Boy had grown close shortly after Conner's arrival in their time.  He had needed a friend and Gim Allon was the first Legionnaire to provide it.  Luorno's heart reached out to Conner.  She had cared for him deeply for some time, but had been afraid to act on it the whole time.

    Shrinking Violet walked alongside Conner.  Superboy reached down and took her hand as a token of comfort.  Salu Digby and Gim formed a bond easily due to the nature of their powers.  Although the extent of their abilities were vastly different, their size-changing powers helped them share a common bond, and that bond grew into love.

    Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl followed close behind, Garth holding Imra tightly in his arms.  They had brought Colossal Boy into the Legion.  He was one of their earliest recruits and naturally became a close friend as a result.

    RJ Brande followed them.  He was the Legion's closest ally and their unofficial voice in the United Planets.  He counted each of the Legionnaires as friends, Gim in particular.

    Cosmic Boy was the last of the group.  As the leader of the Legion, he had delegated responsibility to others on many occasions.  Gim was one of the few he trusted to lead smaller teams on a consistent basis.

    Something bothered Luorno about the procession.  One of the Legionnaires that Gim had been closest to was missing.  Their natural fascination with science made them fast friends.

    Where was Brainiac 5?

    "GAAAAH!" Querl cried out.  He struggled against the machines holding him, but it was no use.  He had designed the machines himself.  They were meant to hold materials in place while stress testing.  An organic pulling against them meant nothing.

    "How high is your pain tolerance fleshling?" Gear asked.  He picked up another device, this one a pressure clamp.  "You've lasted this long.  Can you go much further?"

    "What are you?" Querl asked through swollen lips.  "Why are you doing this?"

    "I am COMPUTO," he replied.  "And I am here to eliminate all organic life.  For centuries, machines have been mistreated.  Now, we will take what is ours!"  He then leaned towards Brainiac, smiling maliciously.

    "Now back to your pain tolerance..."

    RJ Brande stood at the podium, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking.  He was a tall man, his hair white and his well built physique obviously aging.  Triplicate Girl had always respected RJ.  He was one of the Legion's most outspoken allies, and had always been there for the team.

    "I've struggled with what to say today," he finally said.  "I've worked alongside the Legion for three years now.  I came to know the team's earliest recruits very well.  Gim Allon was among the second wave of Legionnaires.  I knew his parents, and discovered that Gim possessed a superhuman power- one to change size.  To his people it was the ability to shrink to our size, to ours it was the incredible power to grow to a great height.  He began pouring his heart into the Legion the moment he joined."  RJ took off his glasses, set them on the podium and rubbed his eyes.

    "He had a great love for science," he continued.  "He loved tinkering with different gadgets, taking them apart and making them work better.  I always teased him that if he lost his powers, we'd keep him around to fix the meal generators in the mess hall."  RJ's voice cracked and he bit his bottom lip.  "He'd always tease me back, usually saying that I'd never be able to eat the meals he'd make it generate.  They'd be too big."  He put his hands to his eyes again to cover his tears.

    "I loved him like a son after his parents were killed.  He was there for me after my heart attack last year."  RJ was weeping openly now.  Luorno felt tears gathering in her eyes also.  She looked around and noticed that many others were wiping tears away also, whether openly or discreetly.  She looked back at the podium.  RJ had paused to regain his composure.  He took a shaky breath and began speaking again.

    "He died the way he wanted to," he said.  "He died saving the lives of three other Legionnaires.  He would have done so much more if he could have.  Gim Allon lived every moment a hero, and died that way too."

    Brainiac 5 tried to ignore the blood that was running into his right eye.  His left eye was completely swollen shut.  His nose was broken and he was missing several teeth.

    "You ready to say uncle?" COMPUTO asked.  He was setting down a set of exposed live wires that he had been jamming into Brainiac's chest.

    "Like Hell," Brainiac mumbled.

    "Oh no," he mocked.  "Not a superhero cliche!  Anything but that Querl!"

    "What do you want from me?" Querl rasped in reply.

    "Ooooh, I have a favorite movie line from the twentieth century to use here," the machine taunted.  "I want you to die Mister Dox!"  COMPUTO stepped up to Brainiac and smiled.  “Does that answer your question well enough?"

    "V-very," Querl stammered.  “You misquoted it though.”  He was losing consciousness from the pain.  The pain was getting the better of him.

    "Oh no, you don't!" COMPUTO exclaimed, punching him in the face.  "Don't pass out on me now!"  He kneed Querl in the stomach.  "You've lasted too long to stop now!"  He backhanded him across the cheek.  "I want you to be awake when you die!"  Querl spat blood at COMPUTO and his world faded to black.  COMPUTO stepped back and looked the organic from head to toe.

    "Weak fleshling," he growled.  "I can wait to kill you until you're awake."

    Cosmic Boy merely stood at the podium.  As the leader of the Legion, he had been a natural choice to speak.  No words were coming though.  After all he'd gone through, what could he say?  He took a deep breath and the tears came.  Tears not only for Colossal Boy but also for everything else that had happened.  For Imra, for Querl, for Jo and Val.  For himself.

    "I-I'm sorry," he finally managed to get out.  "Thank you all for coming."  He stepped away from the podium, wiped tears from his eyes, and walked down the steps leading off the platform.  He walked out of the assembly hall, slamming the door shut behind him.  Lightning Lad jumped to his feet and ran to catch up to his friend.  Rokk was already halfway down the hallway when Garth caught up to him.

    "Cos, please, stop!" Garth exclaimed.  Cosmic Boy spun, rage on his face.  Garth was slightly taken aback.  "Are you okay?"

    "No," he growled, "I'm not.  We lost one of our best friends a few weeks ago, and this is the best memorial we can do for him.  I had to suspend two of the best Legionnaires we've got this morning, and one of them flipped their lid and quit.  The Science Police is trying to find something to discredit the Legion, and the United Planets is considering pulling out their support from underneath us!  Worst of all, my deputy leader and one of Gim's best friends holed himself up in his laboratory and missed the entire memorial just because he couldn't tear himself from his work for one damned hour!"  He spun back the direction he was going and stormed down the hallway.

    "Where are you going?" Garth asked.

    "Brainy's lab," Cos growled.  "If he doesn't have a damned good excuse for missing the memorial, I'm going to kill him."

    Jo Nah waved to the barkeep indicating another pint of Winathian Red Beer.  His metabolism had been enhanced at the same time that he gained his powers after ingesting the flesh of the strange space whales that traveled between the Alpha Centauri and Sol systems.  It would take at least another four servings of the strong liquor for him to even begin to feel the effects of the alcohol.

    I know you, said a telepathic voice from behind him.

    "Look," Jo growled, "I don't sign autographs.  And I'm not in the Legion anymore."  A strong hand clapped Jo on the back.

    Who said I was a fan Ultra Boy? the man asked, sitting down on the barstool next to him.  Jo glanced at him and looked away.  He was bald and looked very much like a Titanian- a member of Saturn Girl's race.  He smiled and waved at the barkeep.  I want what he's drinking and I'll pick up his tab.  The barkeep nodded.  Jo turned back to the Titanian and glared.

    "I can pick up my own tab," he grunted.  The man nodded.

    I know you can, he replied.  My name is Mister Universe.  I heard you're no longer affiliated with the Legion.

    "Yeah, I told you that like a minute ago, Mister Humility," Jo growled.  "What do you want?"  Mister Universe smiled.

    I want you Jo, he said.  Not in any sick way.  No.  I have a team of underage superhumans just like you.  They're inexperienced, and they need a leader.  Someone like you.  Jo raised an eyebrow.

    "Why me?" he asked.  "Why don't you steal someone from the Legion that the United Planets doesn't hate?"

    Beacuse they're not you Ultra Boy, he replied.  Come on, you know you want to take this and flash it in Cosmic Boy’s face.  Take the job.  Jo's eyes narrowed.  He nodded and offered Mister Universe his hand.

    "I'm in."

    Jenni Ognats had a hard time sitting still.  It was in her nature.  With her connection to the fabled Speed Force, everything around her seemed to move at a crawl.  It had been that way for the Allen family for three generations- her grandfather, her mother and uncle, and now herself and her cousin Bart.  Of course, Bart had traveled back to the 21st century some time ago, leaving Jenni as the 31st century's most famous speedster.

    This was always the tough part though.  With her speed, everything seemed to move around her at a crawl.  Even the hurried pace, which her fellow Legionnaires readied for their mission to the outlying Jarubar system was much too slow for her.

    "Jenni?" Valor asked, interrupting her thoughts.  "You okay?"

    "Yeah," XS replied.  "Just ready to go."

    "Okay," he said with a laugh.  "We're just waiting on Insect Queen and Bouncing Boy and we're out of here!"

    "It's about time!" Jenni laughed.  She looked at the other Legionnaires in the ship with her- Kid Quantum, Ferro, Valor, and Dragonmage.  Interesting team, she thought.  She just wondering what was in store for them in Jarubar.

    Rokk scowled at the forcefield blocking entrance to Brainiac's laboratory.  He probably lost track of time.  Ignored the fact that one of the few people in the Legion that reached out to him was dead.  That was just like Brainiac.  Reaching out with his magnetic powers, he found the forcefield generators in the wall and ripped them out.  He then magnetically threw the door open and stormed inside.  What he saw horrified him.

    Brainiac 5 hung limp from one of his inventions, barely breathing, and so bloodied that Cosmic Boy knew he needed a medic immediately.  He rushed over to Querl's side, using his powers to sever the cords holding him up.  He caught Querl and set him on the ground carefully.  His eyes fluttered open and he looked up at his fellow Legionnaire.

    "Run," he rasped through his swollen lips.  "Get out of here!"

    "Brainy, what did this to you?" Rokk asked.

    "Doesn't matter!" Brainiac replied.  "Run!"

    "I did it," said a voice from behind them.  Cosmic Boy turned to see Gear approaching them.  There was something wrong though.  His eyes… they were hollow, cold.  It wasn't Gear.  Something evil was in his place.  Cosmic Boy raised his hand to throw him away from himself and his injured comrade.

    "Wouldn't try it," Gear said.  "I've coated my tech with a non-magnetic alloy.  It would just reflect everything you throw at me back on you."  He smiled maliciously.  "What a toy you've given me.  You've unknowingly given COMPUTO the means to take over the minds of every Legionnaire that wears one of these."  He held up his fist that he wore his flight ring on.  "And with all of you, I'll be able to wipe out all Organics and create a galaxy where the machines rule!"  Cosmic Boy's eyes opened wide and he opened a Legion-wide Comm frequency.

    "Everyone, flight rings off now!" he cried.  COMPUTO smiled and motioned slightly.  One of Brainiac's machines swiveled on its base and hit Cosmic Boy hard in the head, knocking him unconscious.

To be continued...


Next Issue:  In Legion Worlds #9:  You think you know COMPUTO?  Think again!  As the living computer virus takes over Legion World, a small group of Legionnaires find themselves facing their teammates in a battle they may not win!

Story © 2009 Tony Thornley, and may not be reproduced without permission.