Chapter Two: Wooded Eco
Trish had no difficulty making it back to the Legion's base. Her visit with Savage had been informative, but she wouldn't be making any snap judgments just yet. What he said about the "Yellow Torch" disappearing from history raised many questions and Trish forced them all to the back of her mind as she entered hero territory. She had bigger problems on her hands right now.
"Did they fill you in?" Trish asked when she sensed Superman's approach.
"Some of it," Superman replied as he walked alongside her. Trish assumed that a mission had come in. Otherwise there would be no reason to call them both back. The girl felt a pinch of envy as she watched the legendary man out of the corner of her mind. Trish wanted to have some "fun" too. She didn't like having too much free time. Free time led to other things.
"One thing's for sure," Superman said breaking the girl's train thought. "You sure can hit hard."
"I'm sorry, old man." Trish stressed the last two words. Although in their current forms there really wasn't that much of an age difference between them at least compared to their other "first meeting". The tartness in her choice of words was heartfelt. She held no affection of the man for steel. They were not friends in the past and she had no intention of becoming friends in this time period either. She tried to put some distance between them.
"Leave me alone." Trish growled. "It's one thing to be a legend in this time where most of the details have been lost or obscured," She warned him again, "But to actually meet someone from your future that's something else entirely."
"I'm sure it'll be fine." Superman said optimistically. He hadn't given up on the slim chance comrade just yet.
"I don't have the confidence not to slip up," Trish snapped. "So it's better for everyone if you stay the hell away from me."
"I'm going to need a better reason than that." Superman told her. Trish stopped walking and glared at her old enemy. She was surprised to see that even he had been so naïve once. Trish secretly wished that she could remember a time when she was like that, but she couldn't.
"Time can be rewritten." Trish said, but she couldn't say exactly who had taught her that. "It's not perfect, but trying to change the past is the same thing as running away from it."
"Why is that so important to you?" Superman asked. It was fair question, but he couldn't know what she was thinking. There's no way he could know about the dark days that occurred after the Justice League. In the 31st century the records of that period of time had been either lost or ill kept, but Savage had told her everything. Well, almost everything. Trish glanced outside a window at the new Earth and wished her era had been equally as bright. Then maybe she wouldn't have had to become a super villain. This Earth gave Trish a sense of catharsis making her believe that just maybe her past actions were not completely in vain. She thought that perhaps even in a small way she could help this world come into being by leaving the past as it was. However, there was also another reason why she had agreed to Braniac 5's suggestion of returning to Earth.
"The Ramiki taught me a little something about karma." Trish explained to Brainiac 5's beloved friend. "Can you imagine how Brainy feels having turned against his friends like that, Mr. Boy Scout?" This time Trish drawled out his more youthful nick-name. Superman frowned, but before he could reply Trish cut in with, "It's very small, but I think I can help. If the Legion can accept a person like me into the ranks I think it'll help restore Brainy's confidence."
Then like an injection of venom strait into the man's "invulnerable" chest the girl let a quiet phrase slip past her wicked lips, "So one day when you make the same mistake, you won't beat yourself up over it.."
"Y-you're lying!"
"Am I?" Trish asked sweetly. "Then how come your best friends carry kryptonite?"
-Back at base-
"We got a mission." Lightning Lad told their trial member when she entered the room. Trish glanced nervously around at the senior legionaries present and was feeling just a little bit like a sideshow freak in a circus. Brainiac 5 was right behind her and fired up his computer for the debriefing. He had finished working on Trish's temporary legionnaire's ring for the moment. He had found the puzzle of compensating for her energy field to be a delightful and challenging distraction. Although Braniac 5 had tried to hide it, he still was feeling awkward around his friends.
"Time to break in the rookie." Lightning Lad added with a drawl.
Trish flexed her powers just enough to bath the room in a bright light before the field calmed to barely a glimmer. Her lips tilted into a half smirk as she said, "And just who are you calling a 'rookie'?"
"I better come along in case Trish's ring needs adjustments." Brainiac 5 suggested although more than likely if he went along it would be just to play referee.
"Why bother?" Lighting Lad taunted. "It's only a loan."
"Oh, believe me." Trish baited. "I intend to pay you back…" She flexed her powers again in subtle pulses as she added, "In full."
"Both of you need to be put on a leash." Saturn Girl cut in. She deliberately put herself between the two feuding "children" so Brainiac 5 could continue with the mission's description.
"I want to see what she can do." Superman declared.
"No!" Everyone who knew of Trish's "timely" circumstances instantly vetoed the idea. Trish rolled her eyes.
"Lightning Lad and I will go as supervisors." Brainiac 5 suggested. "We'll be accompanied by Phantom Girl for her diplomacy skills and Timber Wolf for some extra muscle."
"And charm I hope," Timber Wolf added as he crossed his arms.
Trish swallowed uneasily and shuffled to hide behind Saturn Girl. Taking the cue Saturn Girl said, "No, I think I better go as well."
Brainiac 5 frowned. "It would be illogical to have so many senior members for such a small mission," He said. The others agreed, but they were all curious about the new girl. She was a most unusual novelty considering the current demographics of Earth.
Trish's presence also was a severe bending of traditional Legion standards. There was an unwritten rule about all members having powers. Powers from items didn't count and copy-cats weren't allowed. When she heard about the rule Trish was tempted to smash a few walls in protest. Even in the Justice League days the ones without "super powers" were the ones to be feared. In the "good ol' days" all one really needed was a mind and an opinion (and a basic understanding of ninjutsu).
"It'll be fine." Trish waved Brainiac 5 off. Her druthers were that he remained on base figuring out how to send her back home to her time. "I'll be on my best behavior," She promised with her fingers crossed behind her back.
"You better." Lightning Lad told her. Trish replied by sticking her tongue out at him in the traditional snotty manner.
Brainiac 5 sighed and said, "Fine." He punched in a few additional calculations before adding, "Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Timber Wolf, and Yellow Torch." He looked over at his young friend with a serious expression. "This is your chance, Trish. Show them what you can do."
Trish saluted and replied with, "21st century girl traveling to unknown lands and meeting alien life in all its forms? Dude, I was born for this trope."
"Very well." Brainiac 5 knew that was probably the most serious answer he would be getting out of her at the moment. "We'll begin with a debriefing." He pulled up the file and planet came in view on the projector. "This is Orando, a low tech planet similar to Earth's medieval era," Brainiac 5 explained. "I'm sure you'll find it cozy, Trish."
"Oh, gee thanks." Trish muttered.
"It's also a magic world so be careful." Phantom Girl chimed in from experience. "They like to have their own batch of special rules."
"For the last time," Brainiac 5 groaned. "It's not 'magic'. It's…" After the "It's" part all Trish could hear was gibberish even with the translator.
"All that tech mojo is as good as magic to me." Trish said with a yawn.
Once the team was planet side the first order of business was getting the local's side of the story. Lightning Lad would lead the mission (much to Trish's chagrin). Saturn Girl did her thing. She could tell from her mental sweep that the locals were worried. A member of the royal family, Pharoxx, had been kidnapped. Pharoxx served as Orando's ambassador and was a major player in government politics. Braniac 5 had been thorough in his debriefing, but he had been wrong about one thing. Trish definitely did not like her first impression of Orando. She had been expecting (or to be more accurate, "hoping") Orando to be something like a renaissance fair, but in reality the people dressed like they were posing to be the faces on a deck of cards and like everything else in the future it was strange and alien to the 21st century girl. Trish shoved her grievances aside to focus on the mission. All she had to do was help the legionnaires find Pharoxx and hope that fate would be kind enough to offer up a sacrificial punching bag. Lightning Lad was getting on her last nerves with the "rookie" comments.
"Pharoxx has been funding a lot of construction projects lately." The guard at the entrance told them. "With it comes the usual worker relations problems," He said as he listed a few. "Safety issues, people get laid off…"
"Worker's compensation issues…" Trish added while keeping track of the list using her fingers.
The guard looked at her puzzled. "Worker's compensation? What's that?"
"And nobody had a voodoo hex out for this guy?" she asked jokingly.
Trish's heroic comrades gave her a stern look.
"What?" Trish asked mimicking the guard's puzzled expression. "I'm descended from a bunch of superstitious bastards too."
Lightning Lad pulled her the side and in harsh whisper said, "We really need to work on your hero lingo."
"Fine, whatever." Trish released herself from her team leader's grip. "I didn't sign up to be a detective. Let me know when you need some extra 'extra muscle'." She shot a micro-glance at Timber Wolf over her shoulder before finding a nice shady spot to chill under. Trish was secretly fuming because back in her villain day she was the main muscle and more than a match for even the Justice League. Jealousy had nothing to do with logic, but as Brainiac 5 would tell her, getting along with others is just as important as ability. It seemed to Trish that this hero business was just full of unnecessary complications.
"Rookies." Lightning Lad grumbled.
"That's strange," Saturn Girl mused. "I thought King Voxx would be greeting us. This is where the distress message came from." There was just one thing inhibiting their investigation. The Legionnaires had been barred from the scene of the crime. They had been chatting with the guard for several minutes and he had been very forthcoming with their questions on the incident, but no matter what they said he would not admit them into the royal estate.
"King Voxx won't be seeing you because my father did not send the message," A haughty female voice declared from above. "I did."
All three legionaries (and "friend") looked up to see a young lady with snow white hair and a very royal attitude. In full grand splendor the excessive doors were opened to them and they had the esteemed pleasure of meeting Princess Projectra for the first time. The ordered them to follow her, discreetly, into the inner chambers of her castle home as she explained, "I had heard of the great exploits of the Legion."
"So that's why you called us in to help," Lightning Lad was pleased, but in an instant his pride was shot down.
"No, our guards are perfectly capable of carrying out their duties," The princess said. "I just thought this way would be more fun."
"I like her style," Trish said cheerfully. "I'm just not sure I like her"
Once the team had split up between the "extra muscle" and the "investigators", Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl had the pleasure of working with the princess while Timber Wolf had the honor of babysitting the rookie. After a few minutes of sneaking (which is very difficult when you're a living light bulb), Trish and Timber Wolf were able to locate Lord Pharoxx's chambers and the scene of the crime. The room had been cleaned up a little since his disappearance (destroying most of the evidence in the process), but the duo could still see the clear signs of a struggle between Pharoxx and who (or what) ever had snatched.
Trish didn't see anything out of the ordinary that the castle guards would have missed. Unlike them she didn't have any magic tricks to pull out of her hat. At first she tried to put herself in the mindset of the best detective she knew, but gave up shortly afterwards and decided to watch the "blood hound" do his work. She felt kind of bad that he was stuck with her rather than doing something useful. She tried to think of anything that might be useful, but the technology barrier of time and space kept getting in the way. By the end of her internal dialogue Trish was tired and depressed.
The emotion carried over until she saw a stringed instrument in the corner of the room. Snatching it up from its resting place Trish marched over to the balcony and began experimenting with the tuning. On the bright side, Pharoxx's bedroom had an excellent view of a vast green forest. Pretending to be one of those old time minstrels Trish plucked the strings. The breeze picked up giving her a wonderful feeling.
"Somehow I don't think that's helping." Timber Wolf said suddenly appearing behind her. Startled, Trish nearly jumped out of her skin and off the balcony.
"W-what?" She stuttered trying to regain her composure. "You need someone to fly? A heavy hitter? A negotiator?" She calmed down and played with the instrument again. "Seems to me you got all that."
"Then why are you here?"
"I get bored easily." Trish told him.
Finally Trish seemed to get the hang of it and began playing one of Tracy's favorites, Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór. Almost as if in response to the "magical" tune, the wind began picking up again. Trish played softly so that her mistakes wouldn't be heard. Tracy had told her the story of the piece. Two fairy hills, a big hill and a little hill, were at war. Upon request the song was written to be so beautiful that it could bring peace to the fairy folk. Trish didn't know if the song worked on the fairies, but it was beautiful enough for her and she taught it to herself hoping that one day the magic would work on the turmoil in her own heart.
A loud crack broke the girl's concentration and Timber Wolf started growing. Both their instincts were on high alert. They could see the forest moving in waves in a manner that was very untree-like. Trish stood up and instrument in her hands fell to the ground forgotten as she stared ahead.
"In my archaic opinion," She said as her body trembled slightly. As her fear increased so too did the power that surrounded her body. "If those are ordinary trees, then you may address me as 'Queen Elizabeth'."
Finally the wave reached the Castle and huge roots ripped through the earth. On a guided path directly to the room where both Trish and Timber Wolf were standing snakes of wood the size of man's torso zeroed in. Timber Wolf dodged, but Trish chose to take the hit head on. She clapped her hands together and pleaded with the artifact on her wrist.
"Like an ax," She half whispered half prayed.
The branches made a horrible noise that, if it had come from an animal, sounded a lot like a scream as the wood divided right down the middle. Only Brainac 5 had seen Trish in action before. The others were all in for a surprise because Trish was not only good in a crisis, she excelled. Unlike a green lantern (or any lantern for that matter because a lantern she was not) Trish's power didn't extend far from her body and she couldn't wield into creative shapes, but that wasn't her style. If one were to ask the legendary citizen warriors of ancient Greece what their most valuable weapon was, they probably would answer the aspis, their shield.
While Trish's defenses were superb, she was finding it very difficult to formulate a means of going on the actual offensive against a tree. They were definitely hitting the killer plant at its roots, but Trish still was under the impression that they might was well be trimming hedges. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Timber Wolf about to be crushed by the serpentine branches. His bites and scratches were only marking the "skin" of their assailant.
"Hang on, Wolfy." Trish grabbed Timber Wolf's hand and extended her barrier to include him. The plants shrieked in what sounded like anger as the girl broke through the tree line and flew up out of their range. A crack of lightning alerted Trish that help had arrived. Lightning Lad fired blast after blast with Saturn Girl assisting him with telekinesis. Trish was impressed with their level of coordination, but what really saved the day was when the castle guards appeared armed with lit torches under the command of their Princess.
Trish flew over to the team captain. "Lighting against wood," She said with false manners. "Very effective, m'lord."
"Your sarcasm has been noted." Lightning Lad replied evenly.
"You can put me down now." Timber Wolf commented in a bored tone thus reminding Trish that she had a passenger.
Trish gave an evil grin and was about to drop him when Saturn Girl broke in, "Don't even think about it." She warned. "You know what he meant."
"Fine." Trish audibly sighed in disappointment. When they reached the ground she sat down to ease her nerves and regain control of the artifact. Killer trees weren't on her top five list of fears. She could continue the mission without worry. Hoping to strike up polite detective's conversation she asked her teammates, "So, what have we learned so far?"
The Legionnaires exchanged glances.
"You don't think Pharoxx was kidnapped by a bunch of trees do you?" Lightning Lad asked with his own brand of disbelief.
"Says the guy who can shoot lightning and has a psychic girlfriend," Trish muttered. She wiggled her fingers at him and pointed out, "Magic world, remember?"
At the same time both Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl protested embarrassed, "I'm/She's not his/my girlfriend!"
"You enjoy doing that, don't you?" Timber Wolf noted dryly.
"Oh, yeah." Trish confirmed as she massaged her aching shoulder. "If only being obnoxious was considered a superpower."
At that moment the Orandian princess Projectra appeared demanding an explanation for the rampaging trees and wanted to know exactly what the legionnaire's planned to do about it. Several ideas were tossed around, but Trish didn't like a single one of them. She groaned. Didn't anybody study history that didn't involve red and blue tights?
"Let's see," Trish rested her chin on her palm. There was something in her tone that demanded attention. "We officially have crazy giant plants on a rampage." She grinned and added, "On my world, the first thing you do in that situation is look for a couple of overzealous environmentalists." The others put their conversation on pause a moment to consider what she had just said. To be fair, Trish's education in criminology wasn't exactly standard and there was something odd about the twinkle in the ex(hopefully)criminal's eye that made them all feel a bit uneasy.
"I guess it's a start." Saturn Girl said although chances were she had read Trish's afterthought about if they didn't like the idea then Trish would just look around on her own. Then she mentally mumbled something suggestive just strong enough for the telepath to hear about how they definitely didn't want to leave a known criminal (well possibly "ex" criminal) to her own devices on a planet whose reining government looked like they got their fashion tips off a deck of ye old playing cards.
Trish faked a look of innocence. "It was just a thought," She said as she fluttered her eyelashes pleasantly.
Lightning Lad sighed in defeat with a reluctant, "Fine." They didn't really have any "better" ideas at the moment.
"Cool!" Trish cheered and grabbed Saturn Girl's arm. "Dibs on the girl team."
"Anything?" Trish asked in a bored tone.
"No, everybody seems pretty happy with the city expansion plans." Saturn Girl shrugged.
"That in itself is just plain weird," Trish grumbled, but the facts couldn't be ignored. The traditional angle seemed like a dead end. If Trish ever got back to her own time she was going to have a serious talk with a man with a penchant for black. Although if she did return she would have to honor her promise of turning herself in perhaps she could con a few of her old "friends" into visiting her. Being tossed in the clank sounded boring. Speaking of boring, Trish wanted to scream in frustration. It was her first mission and it had only a total of two minutes of excitement. Detective material she was not.
"ARG!" Trish growled. "You'd think with a name like the 'Dark Enchanted Forest' somebody would be like- 'nooo the trees are cuuuuursed ooooo-!" She wiggled her arms making for a rather silly picture. Her companion was beginning to wonder about humans of the 21st century.
"Oh, but they are cursed." A soft voice commented casually. Both girls turned to see a very suspicious looking hooded figure hiding in the shadows.
Trish was elated, "Finally! I was worried I was the wrong genre savvy."
"What in the world are you talking about?" Saturn Girl was instantly on guard as she tried to sense what the figure was thinking. She could feel nothing, like the person was hollow or-
"Nothing, nothing," Trish replied in a very chipper manner. "I'm just confirming my belief in a higher power." She approached the suspicious figure without caution and asked very seriously, "So what's this about a curse?"
"Go to the heart of the forest and you'll see." The hooded person said before disappearing.
"Now that's what I'm talking about." Trish clapped her hands together in instant decision and flew up to get a better mark on their intended destination.
"Wait," Saturn Girl held up her hand to halt her impulsive teammate. "Doesn't this sound just a bit too easy?"
Trish crossed her arms in a pout. "You heard the shady guy in the hood," Trish said. "The direct route is always the shortest." After saying that, Trish tapped her index finger to her skull. She didn't like the way sound carried in this world and felt that some conversations should remain private.
'It's obviously a trap' Saturn Girl warned again.
'Duh!' Trish replied over the telepathic link making Saturn Girl instantly regret prying. Even Trish's inner voice was obnoxious. 'What do you think I am? Twelve? Of course it's a trap.'
'Then what you're suggesting is that we walk right in knowing it's a trap?'
Trish paused. "…Isn't that what heroes do?" She was so sincere in her question that Saturn Girl almost laughed.
"No it's not." Saturn Girl sighed. Trish may have been an obnoxious criminal mastermind in training, but she was a surprisingly honest criminal mastermind in training. Perhaps the girl's time in the Legion would be enough to turn her around.
Trish scratched her head, "Look, we're just going to check it out." Once again she began illustrating her point with her hands. 'I'm not saying we go in gun blazing. We just take a peek and then call for backup.' As a final note she added with a shrug, "It's the first solid lead we've had all day."
"Okay, I'm suddenly having second thoughts about the creepy forest."
"Can't you turn that light down?" Saturn Girl hissed. "Everyone within a hundred meters could see us."
"I can't help it," Trish whined. "They didn't call me the 'Yellow Torch' for nothing. I can't turn it off."
Saturn Girl paused. There was something odd in what Trish had said and in the way she had said it. She wanted to probe the girl's mind, but oddly enough unless Trish gave the invitation herself then the reading was extremely difficult. Something was constantly clouding the girl's thoughts like a fog.
"What do you mean you 'can't turn it off'?" Saturn Girl asked very slowly and cautiously.
"Huh?" Trish looked puzzled. "I thought you knew. I guess I've severely overestimated telepaths." She looked down at the yellow light surrounding her. "Emotions converted into energy. I'm usually pretty cool about shit, but you better watch out when I'm freaked." Her hand shook. "But I can't control it. This barrier constantly surrounds me as proof that no matter what," The last bit was barely a whisper. "I'm always afraid."
"That's why Brainy…" Saturn Girl realized. To be in a constant state of fear would do terrible harm to the body. Trish's life span would be shortened. Through the haze of fear in the girl's mind Saturn Girl could pick out strands of thoughts. Little whispers that could be considered primal wishes such as the need to be wanted, to be part of a group, and to be accepted and not feared.
"Freak." Trish stuck out her tongue again. "You're over thinking it. I'm totally fine and-"
Something solid hit Trish from behind. Blades and blasters had no effect on her thanks to the barrier, but that didn't mean she was immune to blunt trauma. Her fifth greatest fear was getting an internal injury that couldn't be treated because her own defenses wouldn't let anyone or anything in. Trish instinctively countered with the artifact's power in a bright flash before the world went black.
"…Trish…..Trish!"
She could hear Saturn Girl calling her, but Trish really didn't want to wake up. She could already tell that her left arm had a bone fracture and it hurt, a lot. The back of her head was still throbbing too. Trish had a rough idea about what probably had attacked them and her hunch was confirmed when she slowly opened her eyes. It looked like a very sticky situation and the first thing Trish mumbled was, "Ewwww, tree sap."
"Trish!"
"I'm okay." Trish tested her bonds. Whatever the sap was made of, it held them fast. It looked like they had been captured and brought underground. The cavern was wall to wall roots and the only light source (much to Trish's embarrassment) was Trish herself. She looked at the new third member of their party. "Pharoxx I presume."
"Indeed," Pharoxx replied sharing Trish's less than impressed tone. "Well done on the rescue attempt, Legion."
"And he tells jokes." Trish wanted to applaud, but her hands were tied up at the moment. "No wonder this guy is so popular."
"It…says its name is 'Tamu'." Saturn Girl said as she tried to sense their captor. "It's been sleeping in the forest for a thousand years. Pharoxx's construction must have woke it up."
"Terribly inconvenient." Pharoxx agreed. "How was I supposed to know there was sentient life hibernating here?"
"It's not sentient by itself," Saturn Girl corrected. "It's more like when the branches combined they somehow form a single entity made up of many parts."
"Swell, just like the man o' war jellyfishes we have back home." Trish rambled on although she only pretending to be interested. "You page the team captain now."
"They're on their way," Saturn Girl confirmed as she tried to feel for the Tamu's consciousness again. "I'll try to reason with the Tamu."
As the room started to shake violently Trish said, "No offence, but I don't think we have that long." Some of the roots were acting a little more lively than the others and Trish had the strangest feeling that they were being aimed at her. "Uh oh."
As predicted, a single white root broke away from the wall and buried itself in Trish's chest. The girl's golden armor flashed in a brilliant light, but it wouldn't mean anything if she was crushed under the pressure between the root and the wall. Trish had a short flashback about grass growing between sidewalk cracks and sincerely hoped the same thing wouldn't occur between her ribs. Then the impossible happened. The root actually pierced the light barrier and the girl screamed.
"Trish!"
"Impossible…" Trish gasped. Was that the power of magic? Was the Tamu's hatred so great that it overpowered Trish's fear? Off in the distance she could hear a voice saying something strange. Trish wondered if it was the Tamu. No, the Tamu was a tree. There was no reason for it to use the language of pests. They were pests, horrible tiny creatures who's only instinct was to destroy, but was that the Tamu's impression or Trish's? She didn't belong there. There was no reason for her to die on a strange planet far from her home.
Despite her pain, Trish wanted to laugh. She had always thought of trees as benevolent things. She was actually rather fond of the oak kind herself. Beautiful trees whose only concern was to look to the light and grow. No matter what creature carved out the tree's heart for its own gain or what ax rested against the trunk with the promise of death, the answer was always the same; Look to the light and grow. Just as Trish was certain she had reached her limit the distance voice reached hear ears again. She recognized it, not the voice, but the pattern. To Trish the voice sounded like an old disk recording that was scratched and keep skipping in one place.
The message played over and over stuck on that one point, "Humans know your place…" Trish's senses perked up and determination once again stirred within her. "Earth must be protected…Humans know your place…Earth must be protected—"
Trish's chest was still throbbing as she came to. She tried her best to not to look down at the branch growing out of her shirt and managed to croak, "ugh… S-saturn Girl, translate for me…"
"Trish!"
"Just…do it…"
"Trac- er," Trish's mind was still jumbled, but this was something that absolutely had to be said. "The original Yellow Torch taught me that the power comes second. Please… Tamu"
"Don't," Saturn Girl warned. She wanted Trish to conserve her strength. "They can sense when you're lying."
"Who's lying?" Trish shouted and immediately began coughing. The Tamu had cracked a few of her ribs. There's nothing like the "ye old fashion" interrogation techniques, Trish thought and instantly retracted the "punching bag" request she had made earlier. Even for stray thoughts, karma was a bitch.
"She taught me by example." The current Yellow Torch admitted quietly. "I've been haunted by those images ever since I got this… thing stuck on my arm, but you know something?" She spoke to all, "If Tracy had really wanted to she could have wiped the floor with those guys, but she didn't."
This time Trish spoke directly to the Tamu. Trish had no right to, but she believed. She believed that something that could sleep for a thousand years wouldn't harm anything without reason. She remembered Earth, her earth, and the creatures there. She wasn't sure how many had lived through the centuries to the time they currently existed in, but there was one thing she remembered clearly. The largest of creatures was usually the most harmless and gentlest. It was humans that Trish had always feared and what they could do. The earthling sincerely hoped that her primitive feelings that had crossed time and space would reach the alien-
No, that wasn't it, the girl corrected herself. Trish hoped that shewho was the alien and trespasser in the eyes of the Tamu could reach the great tree in a way that Trish had never dared to hope for herself. Trish sincerely hoped that she understood the Tamu as only a lonely soul with eyes, a mind, and an opinion all her own could.
"…Sure," Trish said. "The bipeds think you're just weeds and, you're right, we're no better than insects to you-" She closed her eyes and prayed. "But I believe that you are wiser than that. Please, show them in a way that only you can."
Once this was spoken the walls began to shake again.
"That's wonderful!" Pharoxx shouted. "Now you've really made it mad."
"No." Trish sighed. "It's over."
The three captives could feel themselves moving upwards and once they reached the surface the Tamu's roots released them. Trish fell to the ground coughing and Saturn Girl instantly came to her aid. Above them was the canopy of a wide tree, bigger than anything Trish had ever seen. Well almost. Trish was pretty sure she had seen an old CGI movie about a magic tree somewhere. It was a shame the animator's imaginations had fell somewhat short.
"Beautiful," Trish said in wonderment. Saturn Girl hadn't forgotten that they were all still covered in gooey disgusting sap and for the moment decided to keep her opinions to herself. Trish's ears perked up as they heard the battle cry of the rest of the team.
Not surprisingly the first thing Lightning Lad shouted was the name of his teammate. Trish could see him preparing for an attack on the Tamu tree and instantly moved (much to her regret later) to block the lightning strike. She winced as once again her body reminded her that she had just taken a most brutal beating. Trish knew she would be put on the bench, so to speak, after this mission so she could properly heal, but for the moment she had considered the injuries worth it. After all, something she had always wanted to say that most definitely belonged in a cheesy hero b-flick was:
"Please don't hurt it anymore!" Trish shouted as loud as she could with two or three cracked ribs and a fractured arm.
The line sounded a lot better in her head, but the desired effect had been reached. Lightning Lad stopped in his tracks stunned as Trish took a couple of gasps before returning to her "normal" frank attitude towards the team leader.
"We got it, pal" Trish told him. "Get Pharoxx."
As Lightning Lad quickly obeyed it was Timber Wolf who helped Trish stay on her feet.
"I guess this makes us even," Trish sighed in gratitude for the extra support. She was suddenly very tired.
"Flight ring," Timber Wolf reminded as he held up his own.
"Sure," Trish replied in a flirty manner. "If you're into that kind of thing."
"This is serious Brainy." Lightning Lad said to the Legion's on-call "smart guy" using his ring. "The Orandians are not willing to negotiate on this." He tapped his fingers in irritation as he explained, "It's either we go to war with a whole planet or cut down one lousy tree and you know where my vote is going on this."
Trish rolled her eyes. The guy could certainly hold a grudge where his "girlfriend" was concerned. Brainiac 5, however, was seriously taking the situation under careful consideration.
"Still," Brainiac 5 replied cautiously. "The tree is millions of years old and Saturn Girl confirms that it is sentient." He shook his head unsure on how to approach the issue from a fair angle. "We can't rush into this. In its mind the Orandians made the first move by destroying all of its seed pods."
Lightning Lad groaned, "He just had to mention that bit."
"With a thousand year hibernation," Trish grinned smugly since she had been the one to realize it when the others hadn't. "It had to be part of a gestation cycle."
"If the Orandians continue with the construction plans," Saturn Girl added, "Then it's almost like genocide."
"Or natural selection." Lightning Lad grumbled. "What kind of plant only grows once every thousand years?" Saturn Girl glared at him.
"It's quite a conundrum." Braniac 5 agreed. "Trish, you better come back. Orando doesn't have the right equipment for your medical treatment."
Trish glanced down at the first aid job Timber Wolf and Saturn Girl had done. As long as she didn't move around too much her wounds wouldn't get worse, but she was still in a lot of pain and it showed on her unusually pale face. What also showed on her face was the fact that her pride would absolutely not let her back out of the mission now.
"If you were a super villain you'd already know the answer to that so-called conundrum." Trish declared. "All life, great or small, human or insect, is worth pretty much the same." Her sudden harsh tone caught everyone by surprise including herself. She wasn't a present person when she was in pain, she knew that, but what Trish wanted most in the world was to be accepted by somebody. So far that list persons was made up of a former robot and a tree. Trish snapped, "Instead of worrying about others, just worry about yourself. So, what do you heroeswant to do?"
"I don't know." Brainiac 5 said in a level tone. "The logical choice would be-"
Trish interrupted the "logical" option with another old time suggestion, "Why don't we first see if we can't work something out for everybody?"
"Like what?" Lightning Lad asked as he crossed his arms. A glaring contest ensued between the two of them.
"I don't know yet." Trish admitted after a moment. "Times like this usually call for day trip to a stuffy library full of dust bunnies." Trish racked her brain for every scrap of useful "truth" she could find. "There has to be something in Orando lore about the Tamu."
"We don't have time for that!"
"Make time." Trish snapped back fighting tears. "Find a nutty professor, historian, anyone!" The final blow was when she added, "Or quit now and take the easy way out." That last bit visibly struck a nerve with the legionaries.
"It's worth a try." Saturn Girl agreed. However, she gave Trish a very stern look. "But we do this then you are going back to the ship to rest no questions asked and no protests."
Trish felt a wave of relief and flew up a ways, "The law of bureaucratic-thermanamics says that Pharoxx can't do anything until a pencil pusher seals the deal." She said before adding a "probably" under her breath. "Lightning Lad, if you can persuade the king to wait Saturn Girl and Timber Wolf can find the expert we need. Oh! And the princess could help."
"Fine, fine," Lightning Lad said giving into to Trish's pace. "But you are going back to the ship now, rookie."
Trish grinned, "You can't call me that forever. Good luck!" And seemingly Trish obeyed, but she already had another plan in mind and a dangerous one. Luckily the pain was interfering with her train of thought so her stray thoughts hadn't been picked up by Saturn Girl. Trish knew that trick wouldn't last long so she was going to milk the opportunity for everything it was worth. "Time tap into my inner monkey and try to persuade a tree not to kill innocent people." She glanced behind her to where the Legionaries had gone. "Do you really think the Tamu will just stay quiet about all this?"
As much as Trish loved to discredit her temporary teammates, they were the Legion of Superheroes after all. With the help of the princess they were able to get the information they needed. Enough data existed to prove that the Tamu was an important element to Orando's entire ecosystem and it also indirectly affected the planet's inhabitant's natural magical abilities.
"This new evidence does require that we reexamine the matter carefully." Admitted the king once he had received the report.
"I'm glad you think so, father." Princess Projectra said with a very royal smile. "I'm sure cousin Pharoxx won't mind changing his plans just a little bit."
Pharoxx looked disheartened. "I won't lie," He said. "It's a major setback to the plans, but I'll start a committee to-"
Pharoxx's heart felt speech was cut off by a large explosion off in the distance. A terrible sound that could only have been one thing, the death of the Tamu, could be heard. Everyone rushed to the window to see. The forest was in flames. The firestorm was spreading and all eyes could tell that it was not by any means a natural technology.
"Those fires are unnatural." Someone shouted. It was only natural that they all would be alarmed. The disaster was not only contained to the forest, the whole city was now in danger.
"It must be foreign technology!"
Pharoxx shouted and pointed, "It's the Legion! They tricked us!"
"Seize them!" The king ordered on cue.
The legionnaires were instantly surrounded by royal soldiers.
"Hey, it wasn't us!" Lightning Lad protested.
Timing her entrance just right Trish punched a hole in the wall using her good arm. She wasn't "afraid" exactly, but she was royally pissed. Trish threw down a sniveling local whom Pharoxx instantly recognized, but he quickly schooled his expression. Behind her the forest fire was providing Trish with a very monumental backdrop. "Rookie" indeed was the gist of her expression, but she soon turned her attention to the man she admired, Pharoxx.
"I'm a woman of the arts, Pharoxx." Trish said casually as she stepped over the sniveling little lackey she had caught. "I can appreciate a good double cross."
Next to the sniveling man she threw down part of the bombs that had been used on the Tamu. They were well known to the legion as the modern equivalent to the ye old fashion wrecking ball. Pharoxx hadn't changed his plans at all. In fact he had moved them up.
"Your associate told me everything." Trish said calmly. "Burn down the forest and make it look like the outsiders did it all the while you make all the profitable deals you want for your little arms race." Her tone changed to admiration. She was honestly impressed by this man who had taken them for a ride. "You are a born politician." She complemented. By this time Trish had put herself between her "friends" and the royal guards.
"Don't worry," Trish purred. "I was very thorough with my investigation. The rest of the real evidence is in safe hands." Trish was clearly just enjoying her gloat moment. Outside the castle shouts could be heard. The whole city knew it was Pharoxx who had put them all in danger. The Tamu would be forgotten, that was something Trish couldn't prevent, but with this it would hopefully take Pharoxx years to restore his reputation. Soon all the good people in the room will know about his crimes too.
"No…" Pharoxx backed away stunned. He had been beaten by a child? "That's impossible."
"Listen up, Pharoxx." Lightning Lad pointed at him with the full force of his own anger. "We won't do anything today, but we will have our eyes on you. The Legion will be watching."
"Well said chief." Trish said quietly.
-Back on the ship—
"Damn!" Lightning Lad slammed his fists against the controls. "A failed mission."
Now that they had done all they could on Orando all that was left was to return to base. Trish was more than happy too. She ached all over.
"You think?" Trish asked as she examined her finger nails. "We were sent to rescue the ambassador, nothing else."
"I don't feel good about just leaving things as they are." Saturn Girl confessed. "It feels like genocide."
"Oh, I wouldn't say so." Trish held up a fist sized object that looked very much like a seed. The others stared at her stunned.
"Is that-?" Saturn Girl started to say.
"No freaking way." Lighning Lad couldn't help, but crack a smile.
"She is good." Timber Wolf nodded with a hint of admiration.
"I don't think my pals the Ramiki would mind a few new neighbors," Trish tossed up the seed and caught it like a ball playfully. "But what do you say we find another really good planet where this little guy can grow and grow undisturbed for a looong time?"
"How did you convince the Tamu to give you her last seed?" Saturn Girl asked.
"It's a lot easier than you might think." Trish replied. "I saw it on a TV show once."
Everyone laughed.
"I was being totally serious." Trish muttered as she handed the seed over to Timber Wolf for safe keeping.
She leaned back in her chair and drifted off to sleep. It would probably be a few months before Brainiac 5 trusted her on another mission. She hoped by then he would have found a way to send her home because in her own opinion she had really botched this one getting banged up like she did. Sure, she had been useful enough on this trip, but what about the next one? Would her outdated knowledge help them in the future? The question of her even beinghero material kept haunting the back of Trish's mind and was slashing holes in her confidence.
As she slept Trish dreamed of the broken message she had heard while in the clutches of the Tamu. It had given her enough of a boost so that she wouldn't die, but the contents haunted her.
Humans know your place… Earth must be protected… Humans know your place…
As she dreamed the message became clearer. Pieces were still missing, but Trish was almost positive that it was this message from the artifact that had convinced the Tamu to let her live:
"I am the shield of Aegis. By the order of the Soul Spectrum Earth must be protected. Humans know your place."
The last part of the message was broken and scrambled with only the last two words clear enough to be understood.
In her sleep Trish muttered, "…fear itself."
