Disclaimer: I do not own Legion of Super-Heroes, or Wish Liszt.

XS: Jenni Ognats. Granddaughter of Barry Allen, cousin of Impulse. Superspeed.

Rush: Mara Williams. A speedster created before Zero Hour, kind of a prototype for Jenni.

For some parts, Jenni will be talking in speed talk. Not sure if I got Jenni down right, but she wasn't primarily featured on the show, so...

This is that holiday thing I was thinking about. And yes, XS was in the Legion. And there will be different narrators from comics, and somewhere else, but the stories are about the cartoon Legion. It may be early, but I wanted to get this down before I forgot. Enjoy.

We enter into a room in Legion HQ. On the screen there is a picture of a roaring fire. In the corner there is a large Christmas tree.

"Hi. My name's Ebony Rosalynne Dent. I also go by the title X, or you can call me what every other crook I've taken down has called me. Bitch, whore, bastard, and a bunch of others I can't repeat, this being a holiday special and all. To be honest, I've only spent a few Christmas' that were enjoyable. My first Christmas with my mom and the couple I spent with Suzy. Between that... there wasn't that much to celebrate with Marcie. Anyway, I've been staying with the Legion ever since this whole thing with End of the World started, but this isn't about that."

"What you're reading is a collaboration of Christmas and holiday stories about my friends in the Legion. I'll only be narrating for a while, after that we have a whole cast to fill in, some I like, and some I don't like, and even some of my future friends from VSE. Some of those characters are from the old school stories. I happen to be a fan of the old school. Martian Manhunter, the Flash, Green Arrow when he had the whole Robin Hood thing going down in the 70s. I guess I'm just a sucker for men with that kind of facial hair."

"Now, I know it's early for a Christmas story, but most people like to do their preparations early as well. Take Jenni Ognats for instance. Or you'd probably know her as XS. Little bundle of energy that girl is, and cute, too. Guess she got it from her granddad. Ah Barry Allen, now there was a Flash. He knew how to slow down to enjoy life, when it lasted. And Jenni, she's about to learn a lesson in taking it slow, and how badly competitive shopping can turn out around the holidays. I already did my shopping. Got Garth a little Scooby plush toy and a Magnoball jersey."

Ebony got up and went over to put two ornaments on the tree. The first, an orchid that glowed with iridescent light, with two little lightning bolts floating around it. The second, was a symbol for the Flash.

"So, sit tight, 'cuz I'm Ebony Dent, and you're listening to..."

01. Wish Liszt

The Galactic Galleria Mall was busy this time of year. People were hurrying in and out of stores, shopping for their loved ones for the holidays. Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule, Bobonk, Smingtal, Florg, the list goes on. There were Santas collecting money for charity, Santas in displays, Santas taking gift requests. Children went up to Fruitcake Man and begged for gifts, adults prayed to the Florg that the harvest would be bountiful, and one girl was preoccupied with one thing.

"Okay. Let's see. That's Imra, Garth, Chuck, Brainy, Tenzil, Trip, Rokk, Tinya, Brin, Val, Jeckie... that just leaves Vi."

Jenni Ognats was blessed from birth with the power of super speed, just like her mother, Dawn Allen, her uncle, Don Allen, her cousin, Bart Allen, and her grandfather, Barry Allen. The Flash. Now, Jenni had decided to use her abilities for good, like her mom and the rest of her family, and joined the Legion of Super-Heroes as XS. She was wearing blue and white winter clothes, and a cap over her black-brown hair tied in a ponytail. She put the vid-list in her pocket and sped off to

"HiheretopickupSnowShredderIII:TheCoaling." She said to the clerk.

"What?" He barely understood it. Jenni laughed as she slowed down. "I said I'm here to pick up Snow Shredder III: The Coaling. That horror movie about the serial killer so obsessed with winter he goes on a bloody murder spree at Venice Beach with a frozen carrot and a piece of coal."

The man gave her a strange look.

"It's for a friend!" she said. It was true, but she had no idea Vi would be into that kind of movie. Chuck maybe, and Garth, and Tinya, but not Vi. Ah well, people can surprise you.

"Did you pre-order it?"

"Yes, under Ognats, Jenni. Try XS if it doesn't find a match."

"Uh-huh. Let's see..."

The man started typing into the mainframe. Jenni was impatiently tapping her nails on the counter.

"Comeoncomeonhurryup!"

"Keep your pants on, lady, Rome wasn't built in a day. Uh-oh."

She did not like the sound of that.

"What uh-oh?" Jenni asked.

"Sorry, we're sold out." he told her.

"But I pre-ordered a copy weeks ago!"

"We had a computer crash. All pre-orders got wiped out. We sent out messages to everyone who wasn't getting an order. Didn't you get one?"

"Uh..."

And Jenni remembers.

"Jenni! You got mail!" Imra cried out. She ran over and picked up the vids.

"Let's see. Junkjunkjunkbilljunkjunkooh a message from dad." She plopped down and read it before disposing of the others, not noticing one of them was from the store about her pre-order.

End flashback.

"No!" she told him.

"Sorry. Don't know what to tell you."

"This is an outrage! I should sue!" She banged her fist on the table, keeping up the other people in line.

"Well it's your own damn fault for not reading the message!" the clerk yelled at her.

"How do you know I got the message?"

The clerk blanked. Jenni was waiting for a reply.

"Uh, uh... CLOSING TIME!"

And like that the store closed down and everyone got kicked out.

"MY LEG!"

Jenni turned around and started yelling at the clerk still inside the store.

"Jerk! SprockingsquajwadIoughtta-"

A woman and her son passed by, listening to Jenni rant to herself out of anger in superspeed. Both were dressed in winter clothing. The mom had bags and the kid had a little toy spaceship and a runny nose.

"You see that? That honey is a crazy person."

"They always look different on the box."

Jenni stopped cursing to herself and started to calm down.

"No problem. I'll just go to another store."

And with that she was off again, but as she sped away in her superspeed trail, another blur passed her by.

"HEY!"

Jenni picked up the pace and ran after the other blur, until both stopped in front of the only cope of Snow Shredder III left in the Galleria's other vid store. And Jenni did not like who it was.

"Mara Williams."

"Jenni Ognats. We meet again."

Mara Williams had superspeed just like Jenni. She was experimented on by the Dominators, like so many other people during Imperiex's war on the universe. Mara had short blonde hair, and was dressed in red winter clothing. The two glared at one another. Why? Mara's superspeed came from Allen DNA they grafted into hers. And she was mad at them.

"I'm here to pick up Snow Shredder III." Mara said.

"So am I." Jenni replied. "But there's only one copy left."

"Guess you're going to another store." Mara smirked.

"Not-HEY!"

The two turned and saw the vid was gone.

"I'd like this young woman."

The two turned towards the counter. There was a little old lady, probably eighty, and she was buying the last copy of Snow Shredder.

"Of course, m'am." The clerk complied as she rang up the vid as Christmas music played throughout the store.

"I hear the special effects are wonderful in this film. They way that man's head just slides off the broom in slow motion."

The two paled, having just heard that come out of an old lady. The clerk didn't say anything but kept the same plastic smile on.

"Of course."

"That's just-" Jenni started.

"Creepy." Mara finished. They watched the little old lady by the last copy, and as she left, did she give them the finger? Jenni did a doubletake before she shifted her view to Mara.

"Well, I better be going." Jenni started to make her way out before she disappeared in a blitz.

"Oh noyoudon't!IfoneofusisgettingthelastcopyofSnowShredderisme!" Mara yelled and followed after her.

"Inyourdreams!" Jenni cried.

"SnowShredderIII?"

"No."

"SnowShredderIII?"

"Fresh out."

"SnowShredder-"

"Not till next month."

"Snow-"

"This is a butcher shop!"

And so they ran on over the globe, trading insults as it no longer became a thing of gift giving, but of pride.

"Idon'tcarehowlongittakes,victorywillbemineOgnats!"

"NowitisthewinterofyourdiscomfortWilliams!"

"Eatmy-"

"Eatmydust!Ha!Isaiditfirst!" Jenni yelled back.

They ran circles around one another, going to almost every store they could find on the planet. Malls, bookstores, specialty stores, gift shops, convenience stores, even bootleg shops. They didn't stop. They just went faster and faster and faster until-

"DOYOUHAVESNOWSHREDDERIII?!"

"What?" The clerk asked.

"Doyou, I mean," Jenni slowed down, "do you have Snow Shredder III?"

"What?" the store clerk blanked.

"What she means is, do you have Snow Shredder III for me?" Mara pushed Jenni aside. "No I don't!" Jenni yelled.

"Ladies, cool it! What are you talking about? Snow Shredder III?" The store clerk almost had to separate the two. "Yeah." Jenni told him. They still received a puzzled look from him.

"That movie doesn't come out for another five months. It just came out in theatres."

"But that's-" Mara starts until the clerk interrupted her again. "We don't sell bootleg. And why are you two dressed so warm? It's 85 degrees out!"

"85 DEGREES?!" They both yell.

"Well, it is the beginning of June? What do you expect?" the store clerk says, and goes back to putting away the vids. Mara and Jenni look completely horrified, and before head out of the store.

"Oh..." Jenni begins.

"Sprock." Mara finishes.

The mall is sunny and brightly lit. People walking around in summer wear, eating ice cream and drinking cool drinks.

"We ran so fast we went back in time." Mara says.

"Wonderful, we pulled a Superman." Jenni groans. "Rokk's gonna kill me." A mother and a child eating an ice cream cone stop to look at the two in front of the store.

"That honey, is what crazy people look like."

"They look different on the box."

The two slouch in defeat.

"Now what?" Mara asks Jenni as they start to remove their heavy coats.

"Wanna see Snow Shredder III?" Jenni asks. "Why not?"

...

"So, did you enjoy that? I know I did. And here's hoping you have nothing but warm thoughts during the cold winter days. And here's to taking it slow and enjoying the time you have. Love my gift Garth. Just what I wanted."

Ebony moves aside to show that Garth got her a Magnoball jersey too, a matching one to the one she got him, and a copy of Black Orchid, by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dave McKean. There's a card that says 'From One Friend to Another In Memory Of A Friend Long Gone.'

"Happy Holidays."

Next Track:

02. Yes Violet, There Is A Santa Claus