Oh yes, I did it. I kinda had to... my muse was going crazy.
Set after the second season.
I, like the writers of the Legion of Super Heroes animated show, am taking multiple liberties with characters, events, storylines and timelines. My only experience of the Legion comes with the show, so if any of you have comments about the incorrect portrayal of any characters or something like that... please correct me. Also, if you have any suggestions for this on-going story, let me know!
The Big Warning: Rated T so I can do whatever I want without having to lose readers. That will mostly likely involve death, moderate gore, moderate swearing, and -le gasp- romance (lots of boy/girl as well as minor slash, so consider yourself warned if you loathe either! XD).
I'll be giving more specific warnings at the start of each chapter. Example:
Warning: This chapter contains lurve and cuteness. Beware.
Also, I am a complete fan of PriestessOfNox's fics as well as those of several other LoSH writers on this site, so if you recognize things in my story that connect with theirs, don't be too surprised. I'm doing it on purpose!
Disclaimer: I don't own LoSH, Superman or anything to do with DC. Oddly enough, DC does.
Onwards!
Supervene: To come or occur as something extraneous, additional, or unexpected.
.: Part 1 - If Everyone Cared :.
From underneath the trees, we watch the sky
Confusing stars with satellites
I never dreamed that you'd be mine
But here we are, we're here tonight
-: If Everyone Cared, Nickelback
ONE
.: 15 February, 3063 :.
"Saturn Girl!"
The blonde looked up from the holopad on her lap in surprise. The early morning Legion HQ had been pretty quiet up until that point, so the shrillness of the shout that was still echoing through the hallways had made the young woman jump in her seat.
"Phantom Girl?"
She stood, setting the little holopad on her beside table, and walked over to the door as the sound of approaching footsteps became audible in the corridor.
"Saturn Girl, come quick! We need you!"
The black-and-white cloaked Legionnaire skidded into view a few seconds later; practically dancing to a stop in front of the other woman with wide-eyed panic written all over her face.
"She's missing – we can't find her anywhere!"
Comprehension dawned quickly and Saturn Girl found herself right behind Phantom Girl as the latter took off soaring once more down the hallways.
"Who knows?"
"Everyone! I have everybody who's conscious looking for her!"
"Does he know yet?"
"Nuh uh. Cham's trying to find him to keep him busy, but I don't know how long that'll work. We have to find her – now!"
Saturn Girl frowned in concern as they rounded a sharp corner. "I hope we're not too late."
She closed her eyes, probing the air inside the headquarters, sorting through all the consciousnesses and thoughts she could feel, pouring through them all and pushing them aside as she searched for the mind she needed most.
--
"Triplicate Girl?"
Lightning Lad's shout boomed through the hallways as he flew rapidly around another corner – only to bump straight into Bouncing Boy and be thrown a couple dozen feet back into a control panel. The panel began to beep irritably at him as it sparked and hissed.
"Sorry Lightning Lad!"
The other man flexed out of his inflated form and offered a hand to help up his startled and grounded teammate.
"What's the matter?" He pulled the floored Legionnaire to his feet and watched curiously as the redhead loosely rolled his shoulders and zapped the control panel in an attempt to stop its beeping. "What were you yelling about?"
"Uh," Lightning Lad frantically thought for a plausible excuse. "Cham… hid my tux?"
After a short silence, Bouncing Boy burst out laughing.
"Well you'd better get it back soon – you've only got two hours."
"Yeah, don't worry – I'll be ready!"
"Good." He was grinning widely. "See you later!"
"Sweet – and congratulations, again, Bouncing Boy."
Bouncing Boy gave him a slight salute, visibly reining in excitement as he re-inflated and bounced off down the hallway, leaving Lightning Lad to breathe out in relief and turn around more frenetically than before once he was sure the other man was gone.
"Triplicate Girl?!"
The silence to be found in space did not have to stop with the blackness. An encompassing quiet filled the prison planet of Takron-Galtos as night drew in upon them. New prisoners had become scarce; and the old ones were all out of reasons to shout and clamor and make nuisances of themselves, as perhaps they would have once reveled in doing.
The single-cell detention area was only half-full, and all but one of its occupants were fast asleep.
Tharok stopped pacing his cell as suddenly the audio-receptor on the left side of his skull picked up a sound he had not heard in a very long time.
"Mano," he growled.
The man in the cell next to him slipped out of light sleep and joined his former teammate at the front of their cells, as close to the energized screens as they could get without touching them.
"Are your energy sensors picking up anything coming towards the planet?"
After a second's delay, the helmeted head shook.
"Curious." He turned away, concentrating on the keening sound. "I can hear a signal. It's incredibly strong; stronger than any I've ever heard before."
"Well?" a deep voice boomed. "Why are you telling us this?"
Tharok turned to glare at Persuader as the colossal man moved to frown at him across the aisle.
"Oh, no particular reason. For some reason I thought maybe you would be interested to know that the most powerful hacking signal I've ever detected, or even heard of, is currently making its way into the prison mainframe."
"Tharok!"
He winced as the reprimand seared through his currently hyper-sensitized audio-receptors.
"Do you mind?" he snarled, crabbily whipping his head around.
"Did you say that somebody is hacking into the mainframe?"
"Yes."
"Hmm," the woman uncrossed her legs and lifted herself from the bed.
Her green hair had grown long, far past her hips, but was tangled and matted. Her makeup had long-since been rubbed off of her lips and from her eyes, but the cruel glint of the viridian orbs had not diminished at all. She rested her weight on one leg, her hips falling to the side as she rested her hands lightly on top of them.
"Now this is quite interesting. Who is it?"
"Not a 'who'. There's no person in this universe that could generate a signal that powerful."
"Alright then. So it's a 'what'."
"So it would seem. But the signal is progressive, discerning, evolving. As though it's free-thinking."
The Emerald Empress sighed impatiently. "Will you just spit out whatever it is you're trying to say, Tharok?"
"I'm not trying to say anything!" The cyborg glared venomously at the Empress; finally fed up of her brattiness. "I'm just telling you what I know."
Mano glanced between the two before his brows came down beneath the radio-glass of his mask. "What's the next strongest?"
Tharok turned to him. "What are you talking about?"
"You said it was stronger than any signal you have ever heard before." He folded his arms. "What was the next strongest?"
Tharok turned to stare his leader in the eye as he spoke, a chillingly rueful grin spreading across the organic half of his face.
"Brainiac 5, frying the Legion two years ago."
A smile flickered at the corners of the Emerald Empress's mouth.
"Extremely interesting."
There was a strange clicking sound coming from an indeterminable source in the back corner of the room, accompanying the consistant clanking of gears. But the lab and its machinery had not run quite as smoothly as it used to in quite some time, and she was long-since accustomed to the odd noises, creeping forwards through the sounds as she swung her head from side to side.
"Triplicate Girl? Are you in here?"
Just then, almost inaudibly, there was a sniffling noise to her left. She span around; her purple-streaked hair flipping around her shoulders.
Found you!
She inched forwards and, with some difficulty, pushed aside two hulking pieces of the counter, before kneeling down on the floor and peering underneath.
Triplicate Girl sat in her pajamas there under the workbench, knees tucked into her chin with her head resting pitifully on top of them. Old tears had dried on her pale cheeks, but they were faint traces of what could not have been a long crying jag. She lifted purple eyes to the young woman interrupting her solitude.
"Vi?"
Shrinking Violet shrank down to just a couple of feet tall and quickly walked the few steps back to where her friend sat.
"Hey Triplicate Girl. Whatcha doing under here?"
She received no answer, so glanced over to where her friend's sock-less toes were wriggling nervously and slowly reddening in the unheated lab air.
"You know, if you've been sitting in here all alone all morning, it's really no wonder you've got cold feet."
Triplicate Girl glanced up from beneath her unbrushed fringe with an appreciative smile on her lips. Vi returned the gesture and put her hand on the other woman's shoulder.
"Come on – let's get you prettied up."
Moments after they had both crawled back out from beneath the workbench and were on their way to the door, its expansive control panel beeped green without warning, and the doors hissed opened to admit a figure clothed in baggy black pajamas – and traveling at top speed.
Triplicate Girl immediately split into two bodies and darted in opposite directions, and Vi shrank right down and lifted into the air so that the speedy new entry ended up missing both of them and skidded to a clumsy halt in the center of the lab. He glanced at the reunited Triplicate Girl and the resized Violet in sheepish surprise.
"Ah, you found her."
"You bet!" Vi grinned and crossed her arms. "Too slow, Lyle."
Lyle shrugged and tried fruitlessly to bat his hair out of his eyes. "You win some, you lose some." He narrowed his eyes at the woman in the orange and purple nightdress in some curiosity. "You do know you only have two hours, right?"
"Yes, Lyle, we know," Vi said; though beside her Triplicate Girl's rapidly paling face spoke otherwise. "Now go away and get dressed – have you even showered yet?"
"Nope. Last time I checked Lightning Lad and Star Boy were hogging the boys' bathrooms with a line of, like, ten guys grumbling outside." He was grinning widely and winked at her. "Whatcha gonna do?"
"Go wait your turn," Vi was practically pushing the young man out of the room. "Don't forget a towel this time."
"Hey," he called over his shoulder as his body faded completely from view. "Not like it really matters for me!"
Vi rolled her eyes but allowed her grin free rein across her face. It fell, however, when she turned back to a quaking Triplicate Girl.
The woman's pale lips shook as she spoke. "T-two hours?"
"Yup. Where's your dress?"
"…Room."
"Good. Come on then."
The shorter woman grabbed a shocked Triplicate Girl's wrist and began to practically drag her from the lab.
"Two hours?"
"Yes, Trip. Two hours. Probably less now."
Triplicate Girl came to such an abrupt halt that the backlash on her arm almost spilled Violet to the floor. Fearing another breakdown, the younger woman glanced up to her friend's face somewhat apprehensively.
But instead of tears, she saw the largest smile she had ever seen spreading across the woman's features. Her eyes were shining and her teeth showing white as her mouth stretched as wide as it could go.
"Vi! I'm getting married in two hours!"
"Not if you're not dressed you aren't! I think they must have laws against getting married in your nighty…"
However, the fictional incentive was not needed. Triplicate Girl was virtually skipping down the hallway at top speed, leaving Violet in her dust. Vi half-expected the woman to burst into song as she took off after her friend.
"Hey! Have you showered??"
--
Lightning Lad was pacing. He had been doing so for almost half an hour. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. Sometimes he would pause to look at the door, but then he went back to the pacing.
It was driving him crazy.
"Garth, is that completely necessary?"
The other man stilled and turned to look at him. His expression was mostly calm, with a hint of excited worry.
"Sorry. It's just… she's late."
He rolled his purple eyes and folded his arms. "Garth, it is a well-known fact that women are always a few minutes late for their weddings. But even so it never seems to occur to them to start getting ready earlier."
Lightning Lad stared at him. "And you've suddenly become the ultimate wisdom on… female practices?"
He didn't know how, but his redheaded friend had somehow managed to make that ostensibly innocuous sentence dirtily loaded with innuendo. He suppressed the flush he could feel spreading across his face.
"You're being more annoying than usual."
"Oh come on, Cos – you aren't excited?"
"Of course I'm excited."
"Well would it kill you to show it?"
He huffed. "Just because I'm not pacing a groove in the floor does not mean I'm not excited, Lightning Lad."
"Well yeah – but maybe that completely careless pose and annoyed expression do. You don't even care what a huge honor you've been given, you stuck-up, pig-headed–"
"Lightning Lad!"
Both men swiveled their heads towards the scolding newcomer. During his rant Lightning Lad had been steadily marching forwards, and was now leaning in to Cosmic Boy as they both glared, his currently ungloved finger pointed rudely at the center of the other's chest. When he saw Saturn Girl standing reprovingly in the doorway he had forgotten to watch, he straightened nervously and ruffled his formerly-accusing hand though his hair; neatly brushed but stubbornly springing free from the meager confines of the hair gel Phantom Girl had stolen from Bouncing Boy's room.
"Sorry Saturn…" But he cut himself off as he really noticed her.
Her hair had been swirled off of her face and pulled into a loose mass of curls on the back of her head. Two tendrils had been coaxed from the main bun and fell gently in bouncing curls on either side of her face. The pastel blue shoulder gloves she wore matched the fabric of the floor-length dress; made of genuine Negorian silk and shimmering in the light as it fell from white ties at the back of her neck. Lace was spun across her shoulders and collarbone, forming the top of the dress and dipping right down to her waist, where it ended in large swirls of white – floaty and delicate, like the foam crests of breaking waves.
Lightning Lad's brain appeared to have shut down, and it was Cosmic Boy who was the first to speak.
"Imra, you look beautiful."
She blushed lightly under the praise and smiled at him. "Thank you, Cosmic Boy. And you look very handsome as well. Both of you."
Her pink eyes roved over the matching black tuxedos of the two men, clasped firmly over crisp white shirts. Each had a silk handkerchief tucked into their breast pockets – Cosmic Boy sporting a purple kerchief while Lightning Lad's was deep navy.
She nodded appreciatively at them and smiled again. "You'll do."
Cosmic Boy cleared his throat and glanced somewhat nervously behind her. "You are aware that the ceremony was supposed to begin almost two minutes ago. Is she on her way?"
She nodded. "She's coming. I walked a little ahead to make sure everything was alright here."
Lightning Lad found his voice. "Well, everything's ready! Are the bridesmaids with her?"
"Yes, and the groomsmen are… actually," Her face fell slightly into alarm. "Shouldn't they be with you?"
Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad exchanged looks.
"Well, yes. But if I know them, they'll be stylishly right on time. I wouldn't worry too much about it."
"What a fantastic idea, Garth!" Cosmic Boy snapped. "If that boy arrives here so much as thirty seconds after the girls do, I will personally sentence him to laundry duty for the rest of the–"
"Whoa, CB1! Relax! Miss me that much?"
The three occupants of the hall turned somewhat sharply to the two new entrants. Chameleon Boy stood with his fists on his hips in the doorway, a cocky smile on his face.
"Didn't think we'd miss the fun, did you?"
Cosmic Boy was almost fuming, and Saturn Girl put a calming hand on his arm.
"Don't let him fool you," Timber Wolf loped gracefully past the younger man and came to a halt just before he reached the others. "He couldn't figure out how to do up his bowtie."
Cham hissed in exasperation. "You promised you wouldn't tell."
"I crossed my fingers."
"Ah, whatever, ya big hairball." The Durlan ambled forwards with that smile still on his face. "So – is everybody as excited as I am?"
Cosmic Boy gave Lightning Lad a dull, conspiratorial look.
"Ecstatic."
Saturn Girl rolled her eyes as Lightning Lad looked as though he was about to explode with laughter.
Cham waved a confused finger between the three of them before looking over at Timber Wolf. "We've missed something, haven't we?"
"So it would seem."
The wolfish Legionnaire suddenly jerked his head in the direction of the door, ears twitching gently.
"They're here."
It was a few moments later that the other four picked up on the sounds Timber Wolf had heard. There was a lot of girly laughter, the sound of heels clacking slowly but urgently across the hard floor, and swishing fabric accompanied by intermittent shushing noises.
The door beeped open to admit three figures. The first was Phantom Girl; dazzling in a dress identical to Saturn Girl's, and though her hair was similarly curled, it had been left to cascade down her back, free of the large white pins she wore with her uniform.
Behind her, Shrinking Violet wore the same matching blue dress and gloves, her hair, like Saturn Girl's, curled and pulled back in a loose bun. However, her black tresses were decidedly thicker and heavier than the blonde's, and little pieces of the hairstyle were busily working their way out of confinement and springing to lie against her face and down her back. She had a bright smile on her lips, and her arm was linked firmly through that of Triplicate Girl on her right.
The bride herself wore a dress almost all white – similar in format to the bridesmaids', with pale orange and pastel purple lace trailing across her shoulders and down her torso to her waist. But her dress was made with far more fabric than theirs, and a heavy silk train fell several feet behind her as she walked.
A thin silver band was laid across the top of her head, simple and bare save for three gems inlaid in it: a tiny amethyst – only a few micrometers across – and a golden sapphire of the same size framing a slightly larger white diamond. The three stones were in the center of her forehead; sparkling beautifully in the light of the hall. Hooked onto the headband, just above her ears, purple and orange lace matching that across the bodice of her dress draped down over her three-toned hair, which was twisted into a bun at the nape of her neck. The veil trailed all the way down her back, and stopped with a few inches of it gracing the train of her dress, while the sides of it were pinned loosely with matching mother-of-pearl buttons to the white fabric on the tops of her wrists.
And the young woman looked all the more stunning for the beautiful smile on her lips, the brilliant shine in her eyes, and the elated glow of her entire aura.
The jaws of all the men in the room fell down in varying degrees. Timber Wolf recovered first and walked forwards; forgetting in that moment how stupid he felt in his tux, and how desperately he wanted to sink his claws into the ridiculous orange handkerchief in his pocket and tear it into unrecognizable scraps of thread. He took Triplicate Girl's hands in his as Vi let her arm fall, and he briefly kissed her right cheek, careful not to hurt her with his protruding canines.
"You look amazing."
"Thank you, Timber Wolf," she replied shyly, allowing him to pull her into a hug, and burying trembling gloved hands into his thick black hair. She pulled back with a smile and was immediately assaulted by Chameleon Boy in a far less gentle embrace as he pushed Timber Wolf aside.
Phantom Girl grabbed Timber Wolf as he stumbled and slapped his upper arm lightly.
"Where's my kiss?" she demanded.
He rolled his eyes at her, but was inordinately glad for Cham's distracting exclamation in that moment, somewhat muffled by the white hair he had buried his face into.
"Trip, you look so incredible – every guy in there is going to be so unbelievably jealous!"
She smiled at his somewhat roundabout compliment and patted his back affectionately. When he pulled away, the sight of the enormous smile on his face as he beamed up at her was enough to stop her shaking for the first time since Vi had found her in the lab two hours previously.
"Are you ready?"
She turned to Cosmic Boy, who stood rigid with his hands clasped behind his back, and nodded. Breaking away from Cham's arms, she walked over to where Saturn Girl was still smiling beatifically at her, and to where Lightning Lad had a happy but decidedly devilish grin on his face. He extended his arm to her and she took it without hesitation, ignoring Cosmic Boy behind her commanding the others to get in formation and ranting about their lateness.
Lightning Lad leaned down to speak in her ear. "Are you ready for this?"
"You bet," she murmured back, with a smile on her lips and a giddy laugh threatening to spill out of her chest.
But for one moment the smile faltered, and the excitement in her stomach turned sour. She turned a pleading gaze to the brilliant blue eyes of the man holding her arm; her voice nothing more than a whisper.
"Garth, did… did he…"
Her stomach clenched further when, after a moment's sad delay, he shook his head. Her hand came up to trace the line of the band across her forehead – so beautiful, and so perfect; and so heartbreaking. She let her hand drop.
"I'm ready."
He grinned. "Good."
As Timber Wolf reached forwards to discreetly tap the door three times, she felt Lightning Lad's left arm tense beneath her grip. From inside the great hall, the sounds of an ancient Cargggite wedding march filled the air. She could hear the melody of the violins, lirits, cellos, jaramins and flutes, all flooding together into a tune that brought the jitters flitting straight back into her chest. Her heart pounded and she felt the need to swallow every few seconds. Feeling sweat gathering beneath her gloves, she breathed in deeply.
It felt wonderful.
As they could hear the trilling of a triharp beginning to play, the double doors hissed open to admit the first pair: Timber Wolf and Phantom Girl. As soon as they were a few feet down the aisle, Cham and Vi began their trek, her hand clenching excitedly at the fabric on his forearm and both of them grinning openly. Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl started last; Saturn Girl's grip on his sleeve a little tighter than really necessary.
With a little tug on her arm, Triplicate Girl realized that the music had softened and morphed into the classic Earth wedding march. She recognized the tune and it brought a smile effortlessly to her face. She moved forwards with Lightning Lad as though it was what she had been born to do.
When she entered the hall, the floodlights began to move subtly with her. The main event hall of their headquarters had been done up in bright blue, purple and white, as Phantom Girl had insisted; the entirety of the vast space glowing and gleaming. Towering floral displays lined the walls, white ribbons hanging from the ceiling and across the whitewashed pews. To her left sat the miniature orchestra, still playing, and all wearing grins of deep concentration.
She looked around and saw the faces of the entire Legion smiling at her from their rows of pews – almost all of the people she had ever cared about in her whole time here all in the same place, and all here to watch her take the biggest step in her life since swearing into the Legion eight years ago.
Pride washed through her, and love, and excitement.
When they were almost at the end of the aisle, she tore her eyes from the faces of her friends up to the front, where her three bridesmaids and her fiancé's three groomsmen stood lined up on opposite sides of the platform, spilling down the stairs and smiling so brightly at her it made her chest ache.
And there in the middle, standing in front of the man in black robes with an oversized red book clutched to his chest, was Bouncing Boy – looking the happiest she had ever seen him and so handsome in his black suit.
She subconsciously quickened her pace; only noticing her change in speed when Lightning Lad stumbled slightly and chuckled beside her. But she didn't care. She moved swiftly across the last few sequors and stood on the bottom step, staring into Bouncy's eyes as he beamed into hers.
Eventually forcing herself to break eye contact, she looked up at Lightning Lad. The smile on his face caused a swell of emotion in her stomach and, to her surprise, she felt herself fighting back tears.
He lifted his hands, and she irrationally missed the contact of his arm on hers. But then his hands were on her shoulders, and he leaned in to press a heartfelt kiss to her cheek. She relaxed into the contact, heaving a sigh and knowing that if she kept smiling like this, her face would by numb by the end of the day.
He pulled away and gently chucked her chin with his fingers. His lips moved as though he wanted to say something, but no words came out, and instead he reached down and squeezed her hand. She returned the gesture, and then he was gone: moving to take his place beside Timber Wolf to her right as she turned to face the front.
Bouncing Boy was holding his hand out to her, and she took it without hesitation, allowing him to pull her softly up the final few steps to stand opposite him, looking levelly into his eyes.
"Dearly beloved," the priest began – words she knew so well. Words she had heard echoing in her head, in her dreams.
Her smile was now so wide she could no longer feel it.
Then, suddenly, motion caught her eye at the back of the hall. She tried not to turn her head, but could just make out the form of Colossal Boy in his Legion uniform slipping down the far side of the room to the front.
Panic flared in her chest. Colossal Boy was supposed to be watching the monitors. Just in case.
Just in case, Cos had said.
No, no, NO! Her mind screamed. His being here could only mean one thing.
Colossal Boy reached the front and leaned in to whisper to Lightning Lad, whose face immediately contorted into so many different expressions and emotions she could not put a name to a single one.
But none of them boded well.
Her mind was still screaming in denial as she realized that the priest had stopped reciting and that the whole room had fallen into dismayed silence. After a moment, Cosmic Boy was the one that broke it.
"What's wrong?"
Lightning Lad's voice was low and begrudging, and each word seared through her head, paining her with the unfairness, with anger, with frustration – and with resignation.
"There's been a breakout at Takron-Galtos."