New Blood.
By Erik Howlett and Rider Paladin.
Disclaimer: The Legion of Superheroes belongs to DC Comics and DC Entertainment, whilst all OCs in this story are the property of myself and fellow author Rider Paladin. We do not claim any of the actual the members of the Legion or elements of the 31st Century as our own, and are only writing this story as a leisurely past time and because we are both humble fans of this genre simply telling a story. Some of the Legionnaires featured here are a mixture of their comic-book and animated incarnations, hence the different pairings, codenames, costume designs, and so on.
Yep, it's that time of year again, Livewire's worst nightmare in all of existence, the thing that haunts him in his deepest dreams: Legion Tryouts. However, this year, there may be more than a few applicants in the crowd with the potential to join the Legion, while others still have a long way to go before they can earn their flight-rings. This is the first time I've done a collaboration-fic before, so this is something new that I'm just itching to try out! Not only that, but my good friend and beta-reader, the talented Rider Paladin, has agreed to come along for the ride and input some of his own OCs to tryout alongside mine! How cool is that?! Do our guys have what it takes to join the Legion? Read on to find out. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.
Prologue...
Earth, Metropolis, 10:00 am.
"Have I ever told you guys how much I hate this?" asked Garth Ranzz of Winath in an annoyed tone, doing his best not to lose his mind as he felt a vein on his forehead start to rise in tandem with the steady descent of his patience as he and his teammates walked a side by side towards the front doors to the Legion Plaza. "Because if not, I'll say it again, "I reeeaally sprocking hate this!"
"Oh, lighten up, Livewire," growled Brin Londo through his fangs, trying his best not to clock the formerly named Lightning Lad as he walked hand-in-hand with his girlfriend, Tinya Wazzo of Bgztl, also known as Apparition, or Phantom Girl. If there was one thing Timberwolf hated to hear, it was this annual gripe-fest their leader liked to recite year after year around this time. "It's gotta happen, so why complain about it?"
"Yeah, Garth, you need to relax," reasoned Irma Ardeen of Titan, her arms wrapped around her fiancé's own prosthetic right-arm affectionately. Saturn Girl knew her future husband better than anyone (being a telepath didn't hurt either), so she knew just the right way to calm him down when he got like this. "It's only one day out of the year, so why let it get to you? Besides, not all of them are going to be total flops, there might be a potential Legionnaire in the crowd this year."
"Girlfriend's got a point there," agreed Tinya with a smile, her cape trailing behind her in time with her long, black hair. Unlike Garth, Apparition actually looked forward to this day. It was fun to see how many people were interested in their cause, not to mention all the diverse superpowers they brought to the audition table.
"Yes, given the number of application sheets we received from the United Planets' Offices, it's highly probable that there will be someone with the proper abilities and skills to make the cut," said Brainiac 5 of Colu logically, running the numbers and probabilities on a hand-held touch-screen as he spoke. As usual, Querl Dox was all intellect. It was only because of his brain-power and smarts that they managed to have at least some form of recognizable order to this otherwise chaotic event. "Also, based on the number of diverse sentients that will be represented here this year, it's possible we may see a lot of different changes to the roster in the Legion. Factor in all of the variables in species, gender, measurements, physiology, mass, and psychological profiles to the equation, and-"
"Brainy," interrupted a voice on the Coluan's shoulder, much to the relief of the other Legionnaire's present, thankful to be spared another lecture, "you were rambling again."
"Oops," exclaimed Brainiac 5 in embarrassment, his cheeks turning a darker shade of green upon realizing he'd let the scientist in him get the better of him. "Heh, sorry Vi."
"It's okay, Brainy, it's only natural." Salu Digby sat contently on her boyfriend's shoulder, enjoying the ride to the front steps of the plaza at the size of a small action figure, just for the sake of appearance. Like all Imskians, her ability to change her size to that of microscopic proportions really came in handy, and Shrinking Violet often found herself enjoying the chance to get a better view on things than anyone else. Maybe that was why she and the Brainiac made such a good pair.
"I guess you all have a point," sighed Livewire in mock defeat, a reluctant smile playing on his lips as they walked the last few steps towards the front doors, an edgy sensation building up inside him and causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end in anticipation for the carnage that came next.
A squeeze on his arm from Saturn Girl was all it took to shove those fears from his mind.
Turning to face his fellow Legionnaires that had gathered with him to help supervise the event, he saw not just heroes the galaxy could look up to. He saw friends and family that had stuck by him no matter what had come their way, be it supervillains, terrorists, invading armies, marriage, or even loss. They had stuck together since the beginning, since he, Irma, and Rokk saved President R.J. Brande as Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, and Cosmic Boy. Behind him now, ready to face this day along with him, his wife, Violet, Brainy, Brin, and Tinya, were some of the best friends he could ever hope to have. Tasmia Mallor of Talok VIII (Umbra), Luornu Durgo of Cargg (Triad), Val Armorr of Earth (Karate Kid), Projectra of Orando (Princess Projectra), and Reep Daggle of Durla (Chameleon). All of them were astounding superheroes, representing the best of their planets. Today, they would represent their worlds as their heroes to a new generation of hopeful Legionnaires.
'That is, if we all don't lose our sprocking minds first,' Garth thought as he turned back to face the doors, swallowing his pride and putting on his best game-face as he took a deep breath to mentally prepare himself for what lay ahead. "Alright, gang," he proclaimed firmly, his gaze set and determined, "let's do this."
In one swift motion, each Legionnaire present leapt into the air and literally flew out the doors, their standard-issue Flight Rings nullifying the gravity around them in seconds as they burst into the outside world. Calling what they saw a madhouse would have been the understatement of the century, as it was far more chaotic than that. Gathered on the front steps of the Legion Plaza was a crowd of people and sentients that numbered in the thousands, practically a sea of colors, fur, costumes, and faces as they anxiously waited for what would come next. Among the crowd were some familiar faces, like those of the Legion of Substitute Heroes, who had turned out to try and become members as they did every year, while offering a temporary alternative to the Legion for those hopefuls who still needed to learn better control over their abilities. Immediately upon seeing the Legionnaire's flying towards them though the doors, everyone present let loose a mighty cheer that grew into a massive roar of sound, faces lighting up as they saw their heroes, nay, their idols, in action.
For the sake of their fans, some of the gathered Legionnaires put on a brief display of power upon landing near the podium where a pair of reporters were giving color-commentary on the event, striking a battle-pose in a moment of true showmanship rarely shown by the heroes. Livewire summoned a crackling aura of electricity around his hands; Saturn Girl allowed a halo of psychic energy to visibly appear and encompass her head as her eyes glowed a haunting pink; Timberwolf landed on all fours and threw back his head to let loose a mighty howl, baring his fangs savagely; Brainiac 5 summoned his personal force-field and then dispelled it in a sudden burst of energy; Violet grew to her full height and leapt off his shoulder; Triad split into her three duplicates, her 'neutral' form (white) leaping up on the shoulders of her 'passive' (orange) and 'aggressive' (purple) forms to make a human-pyramid; Projecta created an impressive illusion of a brilliant fireworks display that flashed vibrantly in the skies overhead; Karate Kid quickly and fluidly showed off some of his martial arts forms with incredible prowess; Umbra called up a small amount of Darkforce, molding it into a miniature Chinese dragon; and Chameleon shifted seamlessly between a series of different alien-creatures before returning to his original form.
"And here they are folks," announced the lovely Trudy Trusoe from The Earth Spins news-show, who had been chosen to act as speaker for this year's Legion Tryouts Day, "Live and in the flesh, your very own Legion of Super-Heroes! The word has gone out, and from all over the galaxy, you have answered their call! Representing hundreds of different races from across the U.P., you've all gathered here with one goal in mind: to become the next proud member of the Legion! So, without further adieu, I declare the qualification trials for this year's annual Legion Tryouts to be… open!" Needless to say, this brought about another resounding, thunderous cheer from the crowd, each one of them eager to start the tryouts.
'And so, the nightmare begins anew,' thought Livewire in exasperation. Somehow, he knew deep down in the pit of his stomach that after this was all over, he was going to need a vacation.
A long vacation, indeed.
Author's Note: And there you have it folks, the Legion Tryouts are underway! Is there a Legionnaire in the crowd this year? Is there more than just one? Do any of these young hopefuls have what it takes to make the cut? Will Livewire come out of this ordeal with his sanity intact, or will he end up in New Arkham (if such an institution even exists in this time-period)? With the tryouts beginning in just a moment, all of these questions and more will be answered soon, so stay tuned for more insanity and mind-blowing displays of supe-rheroics, courtesy of Rider Paladin and myself. This Erik Howlett reporting to you live from the Legion Plaza in beautiful New Metropolis for The Earth Spins, so stay tuned as Rider and I go inside the auditions to bring it all to you as it happens. We'll be back with more in just a moment, True Believers!