"STRIKE!"

The three robots flying towards him went off every which way as Bouncing Boy flipped onto his feet. "I think I might start using that as a catchphrase."

The two robots holding him turned to one another. Suddenly, a hand passed through each one's chest, taking them by surprise and short circuiting their main wires. Their arms dropped off Querl as Phantom Girl smiled.

"Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl," he sighed, "glad to see you're alright."

"Brainy," they spoke in unison as they pulled him into a group hug, "you're impossible!" They held him for a moment before releasing him.

"Three years you disappear," Phantom Girl jabbed a finger into his chest, "and that's all you can say?"

"…It really has been that long, hasn't it?"

"Brainy!"

He had no time to turn as Bouncing Boy squeezed him with a tight hug. "Do you know how worried we've all been?!"

"Bouncy...not a robot anymore…can't…breathe…"

He gasped for air as Bouncing Boy let him go. "Right, sorry. That'll take some getting used to."

"The greetings will have to wait," Querl gestured to the robots at their feet, "who's currently the leader?"

Phantom Girl raised her hand. "Present."

"I don't want to take away from your responsibilities, but if you'd be willing to listen to a bit of advice-"

She clobbered him with another hug, jumping up and down. "Thank you, thank you, thank you…hey, you're as tall as me now."

Saturn Girl pat her shoulder. "Focus, Phantom Girl. Brainy's right, we need to deal with C.O.M.P.U.T.O. Any ideas?"

"I believe C.O.M.P.U.T.O's data has been corrupted. Before I left the Legion I did a clean sweep of its files, but if even one shred of DNA was left over from Imperiex, it may have locked onto my signature when I used United Planet transportation and activated a virus."

"Why did you come back to New Metropolis, Brainy?"

"It's Querl, Bouncing Boy, and…"

He reached his hand into his cargo pocket, fingering the ring.

"…Phantom Girl, you should make your way to headquarters and do a recon of the building."

"Yeah, but-"

"Saturn Girl, try to connect to as many able-bodied legionnaires as possible and round them up before C.O.M.P.U.T.O does."

"Sure, but-"

"Bouncing Boy, get to the Legion hanger and shut down the cruiser before C.O.M.P.U.T.O can use it to reach outside Earth's perimeter."

"But Brainy-!"

Querl held his old flight ring out for Bouncing Boy to carry. "I came back to return this…for good." He backed away from the group as they turned to him, expressions baffled. "I won't be needing it."

"What are you saying, Brainy? You're back now, and you will always be part of the team! Take the ring. It's yours. You earned it."

"And I lost it when I let Brainiac take over and nearly destroy the galaxy." He shook his head and gave them a sad smile. "You see these white rectangles on my cheeks? They're emotion stabilizers, to keep me from essentially losing my mind. I'm in no condition to fight alongside the Legion."

"We need your help, Querl," Saturn Girl took a step forward, "we're down in numbers. Please, help us."

It was just then that he remembered something. "Phantom Girl, go into the ship and find my old silver luggage bags."

She did so and returned with them in hand. He rummaged through them and pulled out one of his few possessions – an old time remote.

"A piece of nostalgia, I suppose. Use this," he held it up for them to see, "find Superman and ask him to help you. I'm sorry, but," he gazed down at the remote, "there's nothing I can-"

Wham!

One of the robots by their feet sprung up, knocking the trio of legionnaires back as it flailed its arms. "Proceeding with transportation of Brainiac 5 to headquarters." It leaped over, grabbed Querl round his waist, and dove into the air with him over its shoulder.

"Brainy!"

He chucked the remote to them. "You know what you have to do!"

Saturn Girl jogged over and picked it up. Seeing how fast the robot was going she pressed the remote on. "We need you, Clark!"

Querl saw a flash of yellow as she vanished back in time. Caught over the robot's shoulder, he couldn't find anything to dismantle. "C.O.M.P.U.T.O, what are your plans once I arrive at the Legion tower?"

"Process of technological metamorphosis will take place aboard the ship once all legionnaires have been exterminated."

"What do you mean when you say technological metamorphosis?"

"A cure to your mortality."

"And if I refuse?"

No response.

He saw that they were reaching higher altitudes. If anything happened to the robot, he'd likely fall to his death. He had his shield, but he'd only known about it for a few months, and had no training for falling from such a height.

"I can handle this, Kal!"

"What?" From out of nowhere came an unfamiliar voice. He tried to spoke the source but could see nothing. "…Did they say Kal?"

Crash!

Something hard and fast tore through the robot, leaving nothing more than spare parts. Querl felt himself flip over in the air from the force of the hit and begin to fall.

"Alright, shield," he called out knowing no one would respond, another terrible habit he'd picked up, "any day now would be great!"

Of course nothing happened, and he found the ground coming up to him faster and faster. On the bright side, C.O.M.P.U.T.O wouldn't be able to put him through any "technological metamorphosis". On the down side…

He'd be dead.

"Whoops!"

Someone zipped underneath and caught him before he could touch the ground. He expected to find XS smiling at him, since she was the fastest legionnaire. "Thanks for the save-?!"

It wasn't XS. Instead he found himself in the arms of a pretty blonde girl with long bangs, bright blue eyes and a cheerful face. She wore a green tank and bleached shorts with runners. Twenty-first century runners.

"…You're flying."

She chuckled. "Good to know. Nice to meet you! Call me Kara - you know, your hero."

Okay, so I was really sad that Supergirl couldn't appear in the show. I read some of the old comics years ago where she had arrived in the future (thinking it was all a dream, mind you), and I loved her interactions. I'm really basing her appearance off what she looked like in "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse", but feel free to imagine her however you like. I'm just glad to be able to include her at long last!

Until the next chapter!