This story has a dual authorship. Laura (from distasis dot com) has contributed significantly to the dialog. We don't own any of these characters.

"Hey! Easy there, Cham!"

Chameleon Boy had been running and tripped over his own feet. As he picked himself up, he noticed a gold statue. The name under it was Ferro Lad. Chameleon Boy looked at it a moment longer then caught up with his teammates.

"Heh. Sorry. I'm so excited! My first mission!" Suddenly the excitement drained from his face. "Umm. What if I mess things up? I'll be suspended for sure!" He started fidgeting.

His father, R.J. Brande and President of Earth, walked up beside him.

"It's just a diplomatic mission, Reep, and I'll be doing most of the talking. Not only should these talks strengthen our ties with Orando, but the Legion's presence as a security measure will win you some points with the press. By damn, you kids deserve it!"

"Thank you, Mr. President." Phantom Girl was pleased. The Legion really needed some good publicity for a change. No matter how many times they saved the earth or even the galaxy, they were somehow blamed for any damages. "Still, don't you think we should have more security?"

"Nonsense! The four of you are quite enough."

She was still uneasy, but she knew it was pointless to argue with President Brande. She turned to Chameleon Boy.

"You'll do fine, Cham," Phantom Girl reassured him. "Right, Brainy?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes. Fine."

Brainiac 5, who had been walking along side Phantom Girl, was studying a data plate.

Chameloen Boy couldn't help but be curious at the Coluan. He peeked over Brainy's shoulder.

"Sooo, what are you doing?"

"I'm studying the schematics for my upgrade."

Chameleon Boy examined the plate further. It had complex calculations that were scrolling at a phenomenal rate. He was dizzy just trying to keep up. He noticed that there was a stationary holographic picture in the lower right hand corner. The picture looked just like Brainy except that the figure was taller and had shorter hair. The appendages were also more streamlined.

"You're going to look like that?"

"Eventually."

"Oh."

Chameleon Boy could tell that the conversation was closed. He mused that his robotic companion either responded with terse answers or with a long-winded exposition. He turned his attention to Timber Wolf.

"So, Timber Wolf, are you excited about this mission?"

"No. I hate politics."

"Then why are you coming?"

"I hate monitor duty even more."

Timber Wolf's voice had an air of agitation in it. Chameleon Boy realized that it was another closed conversation. He felt disappointed that he couldn't get Timber Wolf or Brainiac 5 to open up. Then again, Saturn Girl had warned him. Phantom Girl noticed his mood.

"I got an idea! Hey, Cham, wanna practice flying a Legion spacecraft?"

"Sure!" He perked up.

"Timber Wolf and Brainy can go with the President on the Legion cruiser. Cham and I will follow in the mini cruiser."

Chameleon Boy was thrilled. Timber Wolf was less so. He didn't really want to go with Brainy and listen to Brande rehearse his speech. He watched as Brainiac 5 and President Brande boarded the Legion cruiser. Then, he turned to Phantom Girl.

"I'd…rather go with you two." The last 3 words came out quickly.

Phantom Girl lowered her voice to a whisper. "Fine, but keep your sarcastic remarks to yourself. I'm trying to cheer Cham up."

Before the hatch of the Legion cruiser closed, President Brande turned around and waved enthusiastically. His human form was a stout white-haired man in his mid-fifties, but he was always had such bountiful youthful energy that put many of the teenaged Legionnaires to shame. He no longer had his shape shifting abilities. That never dampened his spirits. His charisma could even inspire Brainiac 5 as much as that was possible! He was one of the galaxy's richest men. Yet, he spent most of his fortune on his philanthropic causes one of which was financing the Legion of Superheroes. Chameleon Boy wondered if that had influenced the Legion's decision to let him join. He put the thought out of his head as the cruiser left the atmosphere and disappeared in a speck of white light. As the trio approached the mini cruiser, Chameleon Boy inspected the spacecraft. There was room enough for four Legionnaires.

"Kinda small, isn't it? Huh. Guess that's why it's called a mini cruiser. Are you sure we can catch them in this?"

Phantom Girl patted the wing and announced proudly, "This baby was built for speed and maneuverability. We can do a couple of training exercises and still beat the cruiser to Orando!"

"Works for me!" Chameleon Boy jumped into the pilot's chair. Timber Wolf offered the free front seat to Phantom Girl.

"Thanks, but I'll sit in the back."

Timber Wolf just snorted. "Hmph. Suit yourself."

The three teammates sat down and strapped themselves in.

"Takeoff sequence initiated. Destination, Orando." Chameleon Boy punched in the coordinates.

The ship cleared the Earth's atmosphere.

"Here we go! Initiate warp sequence!"

The ship lurched violently in reverse sending Timber Wolf's head crashing into the control board.

"Sorry! I had it in the wrong gear." Chameleon Boy reset the controls.

Timber Wolf growled as he rubbed his head. As he slowly pushed himself back up, Phantom Girl reached out and rubbed his shoulder.

"Now you know why I wanted to sit in the back. Okay, Cham, let's practice some evasive maneuvers. See that asteroid field?"

Timber Wolf slammed his fist into the console. "NO! I'm not letting this rookie fly us into an asteroid field!"

"Calm down. The asteroids are few and far apart. It's plenty of room for him."

15 minutes later…

"Damage assessment!"

Timber Wolf was calm and spoke in a smug I-told-you-so voice. "Which would you like first, the bad news or the worse news?"

Phantom Girl put her head in her hands. "Just tell me we can still fly."

"There's structural damage. Lots of it. We can catch up to the cruiser, but we need to dock and have it piggy back us to Orando and back."

Chameleon Boy spoke up. "Why don't we just go back to Earth and get another ship?"

Timber Wolf glared at him. It made Cham sink further into his seat.

Phantom Girl shoved her fingers into her hair. "Let's just catch up with the cruiser. Track it, Cham."

Chameleon Boy took the controls. "Um. Am I doing this right? 'Cause, I'm not picking up anything."

"That's weird. Expand the scanning range," said Phantom Girl.

"Right." Chameleon Boy slapped his forehead. Why didn't he think of that? "Scanning."

In a few seconds, Chameleon Boy found the cruiser's signal.

"Something's wrong, Phantom Girl. Not only is the cruiser almost a light-year off course, it's not moving."

Phantom Girl phased through her restraints and looked over Cham's shoulder. The stationary signal confirmed Chameleon Boy's statement.

"They might be in trouble." Phantom Girl reached through the pilot's seat and pulled Cham back through it. "Sorry, Cham," she said as she took over the controls.

Chameleon Boy understood. All he wanted to know was if his father was okay. He was about to ask why Phantom Girl or Timber Wolf didn't try to send a distress signal. He decided not to say anything because he didn't want Timber Wolf to snap at him.

"Maximum velocity! I just hope this ship can hold together. Hold on to something, guys!"

In about an hour, they had intercepted the cruiser. As they approached the cruiser, their ship shook violently and shut down.

"Ugh. We made it, but our engines are shot. We still have enough power to dock," said Timber Wolf.

Phantom Girl tried to communicate with the cruiser.

"Legion Cruiser, do you copy? What is your status?" There was no answer. "Legion Cruiser, I repeat. What is your status?" Still no answer.

"It's just dead in space. No propulsion system. No communication system. The life support systems are functioning though. I'm going to check it out. Timber Wolf, initiate a docking sequence."

"W-What about me?"

"Watch Timber Wolf and learn."

She phased though the ship and entered the cruiser.

"Brainy? Mr. President, Sir?"

It was dark and quiet. She remained in phantom mode as she made her way to the cockpit. She felt the small spacecraft land on top of the cruiser.

"All right, Timber Wolf, divert all power to the cruiser."

The surge of power caused the lights to flicker. There was a hum as she heard the generators kick in. The lights stayed on.

Phantom Girl looked around the cockpit then froze. She gasped and covered her mouth in horror. There was President Brande lying facedown on the floor.

A/N:

I'm mixing and matching R.J. Brande's character from two Legion comicbook eras. In one version, he's Chameleon Boy's father who is also a shape shifter. However, Brande is stuck in his human form. I'm mostly going with that version. In another version, he's still a multi-billionaire, but he's not related to Cham. In the later part of that series, Brande is elected as the President of Earth.

I didn't make up the planet Orando. It really is a planet in the Legion mythos. I'm also going with the comic book version that portrays Orandians as giant snakes with their sentient raccoon servants (I kid you not!).