Brainy had greeted over a dozen families before finally finding Dream Girl at the entrance. "Talk about being a hypocrite," he flew in front of her, "all that about staying to be with the others, and you decide to run off."

She crossed her arms and averted her gaze. "Don't get me wrong, Brainy. I'm glad Ayla is back with her family, but how can I face them after I lied all those years ago?"

"That's just it," he smiled, "that was years ago. You tried to ease their pain."

"I only made things worse. Lightning Lad held it over my head for so long…and now I can't help but hold it over my own head."

"Have you tried, I don't know, talking to them? If they were patient enough to raise Lightning Lad and Mekt, then surely they'll be forgiving enough to know how you really feel."

She smirked. "Since when did you become so good with giving pep talks?"

"Are you saying I wasn't good as a robot?"

She giggled. "Alright, I'll hold off on the patrol…but that means that you need to stay, too."

"Why do you need to make things so hard?"

"Such a strong young man," Mrs. Kent nodded at Kel-el, who stood with Superman and Supergirl, "now it seems I have three heroes to look after."

"…Uh…"

She laughed. "Don't worry, I'm only joking. I am glad to meet you, though, Kel-el. I'm sure Jonathan would have been proud to see you all together like this."

"Aw, ma," Supergirl hugged her as XS ran up with her father, "you're being too sweet!"

"Don't tell me you're not enjoying this," Superman nudged Kel-el, "getting all this attention?"

Kel-el didn't reply. He was too busy trying to keep from walking away from the older woman who was commenting on how dark his attire was.

"Cool," Ayla put her hands against the window as she and Pol watched the boy flying outside, "is he a legionnaire?"

"I don't think so," Pol answered as the guy outside stuck his tongue out at them, "seems too immature."

The guy shrugged and flew right through the glass. "I can hear you guys, you know. Magic and all that."

"Who are you?"

Zyx took a bow in the air. "I'm Zyx, a powerful wizard from the planet Zerox. I've come to see if I can join the Legion."

"Sorry," Pol crossed his arms, "but auditions are over. My brother told me that there are enough applicants accepted already. Now if you don't mind," he pointed back to the window, "you're trespassing on personal property." When Ayla gave him a look he gestured to Zyx. "He's from Zerox!"

"So? I think magic is neat," she spun around on her heel, "you can do anything with it!"

"Including," Zyx winked, "turning average people into superheroes."

That god their attention. Pol and Ayla leaned in as Zyx made sure they weren't being watched. "To tell you the truth, I came here on a secret mission."

"You did?"

"I need the Legion's help in retrieving an ancient artifact filed with great magical power – the helmet of Nabu the Wise!"

They gasped.

"…Wait," Ayla tilted her head, "who?"

"The helmet" a voice said from the hall, "which Doctor Fate used in the twenty-first century."

"Oh," the three of them turned to find Brainiac 5 coming up the hall with Timber Wolf, "legionnaires…hi."

"Alright, Zyx," Timber Wolf looked him over, "what is it this time?"

"I promise I'm not here to cause trouble," he pleaded his case, "but someone has stolen the helmet and brought it here to Earth."

"Hello?" Ayla sighed. "I'm still lost as to what we're talking about."

"I'll explain later," Brainy promised, "Zyx, tell us what you know."

Timber Wolf smiled. "Looks like we're going on patrol after all."

"You have got to be kidding me."

Brainy and Timber Wolf stood beside Dream Girl and the Kryptonians as families wandered. "Zyx doesn't have anything to gain by lying about this," Brainy explained, "and if it's true, then we need to hurry."

"The Helmet of Fate," Supergirl thought back, "Doctor Fate has that, right?"

"It was an ancient Egyptian artifact found in the Valley of Ur by a Sven Nelson, who died to poisonous gas. His son Kent Nelson took up the helmet and Nabu's spirit taught him magic to fight against the chaos of the world."

"How'd it get to Earth?" Kel-el didn't like how things were adding up. "How does a planet full of magic manage to lose such an important artifact?"

"Zyx said it was the Scavengers," Timber Wolf added, "so they must have some form of magic collected from the black market by a rogue wizard, using it to draw the helmet to them."

"And just where is Zyx?"

"Busy."

"Not fair," Zyx, Pol and Ayla sat in the main console room with Lightning Lad's family, "I came to get help, not sit around being babysat!"

"Please, Garth," Ayla looked to him and Cosmic Boy, "we want to help Zyx."

"Sorry, Ayla, but it's too dangerous," he rubbed her hair, "but in a few more years you can come on a mission with me."

Pol looked to Cosmic Boy but his brother simply shook his head. "…Fine."

"No," Zyx whispered to them with a sly gleam in his eyes, "not fine. Not yet."

"Looks like someone needs to go on patrol," Timber Wolf looked at Dream Girl, smiling, "so…?"

"Agreed," Phantom Girl and her mother came up, "Timber Wolf, take Brainiac 5 and Dream Girl and find the Scavengers before they can sell – or worse, use – the Helmet of Fate."

"You'll need help locating them in a city this big," Kel-el gratefully volunteered, "I'll go with you."

"Gee," Supergirl said as Mrs. Kent chuckled, "how kind of you, Kel."

The legionnaires flew out, leaving the others to stay behind. "Oh," Mrs. Kent sighed, "I hope I didn't make your friend uncomfortable."

Superman smiled. "Sometimes, ma, I think it's good for him to come out of his shell. Someone has to work on those cracks."

Kel is part of the family whether he wants to be or not. And now that Zyx is here I can get this magic show on the road, because no one believes that Zyx will just sit around while there's fighting to be done. As for Dream Girl, I felt sorry for her in "In Your Dreams" with how she was treated, and I hope to give her more screen time despite her lack of physical superpowers.

Until the next chapter!