"I thought the Legion was going to quiet down after Brainiac disappeared, Cham."

"We were…until we remembered that auditions were today."

Supergirl, Chameleon Boy and Shadow Lass walked through the crowded halls of the Legion tower, passing by dozens of potential legionnaires showing off their powers to one another. They ducked under a beam of fire before coming upon Star Boy. "How are things here, Star Boy?"

"Chaotic," he sighed, "but we're handling it. I'm off for patrol with Sun Boy. Can you guys take care of any wanderers on the upper floors?"

"Easy enough," Shadow Lass twirled her finger where a tiny dark cloud appeared, "but Brainiac 5's already up there. Why not have him deal with it?"

"He's, uh…busy…"

"I'm so glad you made it into the Legion, Zoe!" Shrinking Violet and her orange-haired friend in all bright green flew through the quieter hallway. "I knew you'd gain full control of your powers someday."

"Thanks, Vi," she winked, "but remember, from now on you have to call me by my hero name – Kinetix, telekinetic extraordinaire!"

They came upon a set of doors. "Say, how about I introduce you to one of our recent comebacks?"

"Great," Kinetix replied as they flew into the dark room, "it'll be fun meeting new friends-?"

The duo stopped to find Brainiac 5 in the room by a table covered in circuit boards. He had fallen asleep and was resting his head on the surface, breathing lightly. The girls placed fingers over their mouths and tiptoed back out. As the door closed they shared a giggle, Violet snorting. "I've never seen him nap before!"

"Let the poor guy sleep. Nothing big has happened in-"

She couldn't finish her sentence before long blue hair wrapped around her and Violet's mouths, silencing them and lifting them off the ground. They turned to find Wave standing next to them, who placed a finger over her own mouth.

They were caught, and no one could hear them scream.

SUBSTITUTE LEADER

"Nice work, Wave," Tyr walked out from behind her, white Mohawk slightly shortened, "I'm gonna say we get a nice price for these two – on the black market."

Shrinking Violet shrunk out of sight as Kinetix manipulated Wave's hair with her mind, wrapping it around her and shoving her back into Tyr. Hunter came around from the other end of the hall and shot her down with an electric net. Shrinking Violet grew back to original size and kicked him down, only to be knocked out by Esper's mind wave.

"Excellent," Tyr stood back up, sneering, "with all those wannabe heroes wandering around below, sneaking into this place has been almost too easy."

Esper stepped into Brainy's room to find him sleeping. "Well look who's returned. What do you make of this, Tyr?"

"Forget him, Esper," Tyr peeked inside, "he's nothing to us without all his technology. Besides, no one's buying Coluans."

"They're too unpredictable, too connected," Hunter explained as they tied Violet and Kinetix up, "after what happened all those years ago."

"Don't remind me," Esper's mind flashed back to her memories of Takron-Galtos being digitized before her eyes, followed by her body, "I still have nightmares about it. Should I put him into a permanent slumber?"

"He's not worth the trouble in his state. We've got bigger fish to catch."

"Honestly," Shadow Lass begrudgingly shook one of the applicant's hands, "not a single one of these people will be good enough for the Legion. We're wasting our time."

"Don't be so harsh, Shadow Lass," Chameleon Boy wagged his finger, "remember how many times it took you to join?"

"It only took four, Cham, so zip it."

"I think they all have potential," Supergirl remarked as they watched a girl juggle balls of water, "given the right guidance."

Shadow Lass gave a tiny groan. "Of course you'd think everyone had a chance."

"Okay, enough," Supergirl flew in front of her, stopping them in the middle of the hall, "I've been here for less than a week and all you've done is belittle me. What have I done to earn such a dislike from you? We're supposed to be teammates."

"It doesn't mean we have to be friends. Every time one of you heroes of the past show up, it makes getting into the Legion that much harder when they're playing favourites."

"The Legion doesn't play favourites."

"Really? Brainiac 5's been gone for three years, but the minute he shows up we throw a party. For the guy that nearly destroyed the galaxy!"

"He also saved it."

"Doesn't erase the pain we all went through."

"Come on, guys," Cham split them apart, "can we do this some other time? You know, when we don't have an audience?"

Applicants were watching from around them. Supergirl gave them a smile. "Just some friendly Legion banter." They slowly turned away as Shadow Lass flew off from them down the hall. "…"

"Giver her time, Supergirl," Cham assured her, "she'll come round. Tasmia has always been a bit…stubborn."

"But she's right," she turned to him, "maybe I am being too optimistic. I just…I know what it's like taking time to get used to one's powers."

"Which makes you a great role model. Look at them," Cham gestured to the applicants watching with awe, "they look up to you. You're a legend here."

Supergirl faced them as one young man stepped up with a pad. "Uh, Supergirl? I-I was wondering if I could g-get your autograph?"

"Oh…really?" She quickly signed it and gave him a grin as he fluttered off. "Never been asked for an autograph before…I need to start doing more here, Cham. I need to prove that I can live up to the name of Supergirl."

"Prove to who? Everyone knows how strong you are."

She sighed. "I need to prove to myself that I'm ready. As confident as I act, it's weird being Superman's cousin. I've only been on Earth for a year, but it feels like it's going to take a decade. Now that I'm in the future…things get more complicated. Maybe slowing down isn't the best decision. As long as I'm moving, I'm focused on something other than this legacy."

Cham went to say something, but nothing came to mind. Just then, then lights went out throughout the hall, dropping darkness over them.

Ta-da, a second episode! I had so much fun writing the first two that I had to keep going, especially now that I know that there are people actually still reading these kind of stories. I wanted to have fun with the auditions, too, and you all know what that means: new powers, new twists, and best of all - new legionnaires to introduce!

Until the next chapter!