LSH: The Battle For The Universe

By Bruce Wayne

FORWARD

Since the dawn of time, man has ever striven for the impossible -- sought the unreachable -- pursued the unattainable. Spearheading the endless struggle for survival, the ceaseless quest for glory, have been the heroes among us.

Each age has its crusaders ... its Batman and Robin ... its Sandman -- heroes all, and more than heroes -- super-heroes all! But none like the super-hero club or team from the 30th century -- The Legion of Super- Heroes.

Who among us can can choose just one, and only one, member to be our favorite? Who can say where comic legend ends and history begins? Who can deny that the myth of the greatest super-hero team ever often outlives the moment?

The following chapters of my story take place in and around what some call the original Legion's timeline of the year 2966. Shortly after Karate Kid, Princess Projectra and Ferro Lad joined the club. These are the original Legionnaires that I grew up with. If you're looking for clones, a dark and dreary universe, and exploding moons, you've probably come to the wrong place.

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I'm just borrowing then for a while. The characters are owned by DC Comics and I'm writing this just for the fun of it.



CHAPTER 1 - THE LEGIONNAIRES MEET

A mechanical voice droned throughout the Legion of Super-Heroes clubhouse complex, "Legionnaires assemble!"

On their view screens in many, many solar systems across the Galaxy, billions of viewers saw that the leader of this famed group of costumed teenagers was dressed in a form-fitting outfit that was mostly brown and tan in color. Around his midriff was a green belt. A thin green swath of cloth went vertically from his belt up to almost mid-chest, where it ended in a green octagon-shaped design. The material around his neck was mostly tan with a wide collar. To complete the uniform was a tan sweat-band around the forehead of the brown-haired teen.

Very few of the people watching on their view-screens probably knew or remembered -- though it wasn't really a secret -- that Invisible Kid's real name was Lyle Norg. Lyle was one of the many Legionnaires who was born on Earth.

As his code-named implied, Lyle could turn invisible. Having earned a degree in biochemistry from Metropolis University at the age of 12, Lyle could easily be called a "boy genius."

His pet project early on was to develop a serum that would make a person invisible. After a few years, he succeeded and managed to perfect his formula, which would enable a person's sweat glands to produce, in mass quantities and on command, a chemical that warps light around a person, rendering him invisible to the naked eye. Lyle, for obvious reasons, tailored the formula to his own physiology.

Second to make an entrance, in answer to the call, was Sun Boy. His costume of Yellow boots, red leglets, and red tunic with a yellow sun emblazoned on it was bright compared to Invisible Kid. "Bright" was the operative word for Dirk Morgna's powers. Sun Boy, who also hailed from Earth, can radiate bright light and can project great heat.

Tall and lithe, with red hair and muscles already rippling like steel

springs, Dirk wore an impish grin on his face as he waved and spoke in a low bantering tone that the video audience could not hear: "Hi, Invisible Kid! How many girls do you think are watching?"

"Never mind that now, Sunny," retorted Invisible Kid evenly without losing the smile on his face.

"Geeeeesse!" Sun Boy sat down, thinking over what quips he could next devise to use on his leader, who was thought to be the second smartest member of the super-hero club.

The video camera caught two more costumed figures as they entered the Legion's Council Room on the main floor of the clubhouse. The Legionnaires known as Colossal Boy and Shrinking Violet were in real life, Gim Allon and Salu Digby.

Colossal Boy's form fitting garment of bright green and yellow was adorned with yellow-and-black striped chevrons on his shoulders. His green tunic had a open yellow-colored collar. He also wore yellow leglets with red boots, gloves and a black belt.

Shrinking Violet, as her name implied, was a girl. No one said the Legion had ever been an all-male organization. Salu, who was more often just called "Vi," was extremely attractive in her pea-green dress costume. She wore high, green boots. Her green dress had a white collar and she wore a white choker to complete the ensemble. The uniform only emphasized the lissome strength of the 17-year-old brunette without detracting from her femininity. Sparkling brown eyes, a pert nose and a saucy curve of the lips

hinted at the warmth of her personality.

Oddly, neither Colossal Boy -- who was 5 feet 10 -- nor Shrinking Violet looked "heroic" at first glace. They simply looked like two ordinary teens dressed up in colorful costumes who had wandered in by mistake. What would they be doing with the famed fighting team known as the Legion of Super-Heroes, who had special abilities?

The answer to this paradox came when Invisible Kid greeted them and added, "Please assume your Legionnaire forms before we officially open this meeting."

"Okay, Lyle," nodded Gim Allon, stiffening with a concentrated look on his face, as if willing himself to do something. Suddenly and startingly, before billions of eyes across the galaxy, he began to grow. Taller and taller he shot up, his shoulders broadening in proportion and his body expanding in unison. His uniform of specially elastic materials stretched along with him. Eight feet ... ten ... twelve feet he towered and still kept growing until ...

Bonk!

"Ow! My head!" He joked. "Can't they make ceilings high enough for a fifteen foot guy?"

Out over space, there was a ripple of laughter. But it died swiftly as people stared in awe at the video image of a brown-haired fifteen-foot giant, and it was plain to see why he was a Legionnaire. Massive muscles over his mighty form spoke of the enormous power he now possessed like an oversized Samson and Hercules rolled into one.

And now his voice had gone down several tones to a deep rumble as he boomed: "Colossal Boy, present!"

Meanwhile, Shrinking Violet was also changing size, the girl from the planet Imsk, was going the opposite way. She began shrinking steadily, becoming smaller and smaller, to the size of a dog ... a cat ... a mouse ... and still tinier. Finally -- as the audience across the galaxy could anticipate from her name -- she was only the size of an insect and the video camera had to zoom in just to see her.

It was not black magic. It was the biological "magic" of all the people on the planet where Violet came from. Everyone on Imsk was capable of shrinking to microscopic size.

Violet's forte lay not in deeds of strength, but in feats of tiny cleverness that often turned the tables against their powerful adversaries when all seemed lost. Most Legionnaires were awed by Violet for her performance of miniature miracles when sorely needed, particularly to evade dangerous traps.

Attaining her final insect-sized tininess, she flew gracefully through the air with the assistance of her Legion flight ring to land on Colossal Boy's shoulder, sitting there pertly.

"Mind if I park here, High Pockets?" she piped in a thin buzzing voice.

"No charge for parking," rumbled Colossal Boy with a straight face. "Anyway, not for a cute girl like you."

It didn't take any great detective ability to see that the glance between the two pairs of eyes, gigantic and miniscule, was the look of two people infatuated with one another.

As their elected leader, Invisible Kid spoke in a authoritative tone, "Legionnaires, we are assembled not for an emergency, but to ..."

"Hey, wait," interrupted Sun Boy irreverently, glancing around. "A couple of members are missing, Invisible Kid -- where's old Rust Bucket? Pardon me ... Ferro Lad? And Brainy?"

"Hold on, Dirk," said Invisible Kid dryly to Sun Boy. "I was coming to that. As many of you know, some members who were supposed to be here are not, as of yet -- Ferro Lad and Brainiac 5 were invited to participate in this program but they haven't arrived yet."

Invisible Kid held up an omnicom. The reason is stated here in a message from Brainiac 5: TESTING NEW MATERIAL IN FERRO LAD'S UNIFORM. WILL BE DELAYED ATTENDING THE LEGION'S MEMORIAL MEET."

Glancing at the video camera, Lyle added, "But since we can't hold up the entire galaxy that is watching, we'll start the proceedings anyway. Braniac 5 and Ferro Lad should show up at any moment.

To be continued ...