Chapter 10 – Legion

Garth took a breath and prepared to open his eyes. It was the one thing he continually did when travelling through time. The flash of light that proceeded the energy burst had always caused him to squeeze his eyes shut just before the temporal displacement took place. Rokk, had assured him on more than one occasion that his fear of being blinded was completely unfounded.

Garth had always assured Rokk it was because he enjoyed having his auditory senses stimulated before seeing his surroundings, but both men knew Garth was terrified he'd disappear like Garth's brother. Garth was tired of living in fear.

The sounds of a city sleeping whirled around him. He blinked twice. New Metropolis. He was home. The cleaner air, more rich in oxygen was the first indicator. But the large L on the front of the building he was standing in front of was the second indicator.

The building security sensors scanned his presence and identified him and let him in. The lobby area of the building was abandoned at this late of an hour. He stepped to the elevator and walked into the open doors.

"Living quarters," he said.

The doors shut and the elevator car climbed the eight stories in nanoseconds and he stepped out of the open doors.

Secretly he had to admit, he'd been disappointed there was no welcome home banners or any of his friends in the Legion there to greet him. He had mysteriously disappeared from battle, transported thru time, without a time ring. Surely they would have at least been worried about him a little bit. He wasn't going to announce his return, they could see him in the morning when they awoke.

He was absently thinking to himself as he walked into his room and the door shut behind him. He took off his jacket, hung it in the closet, then stared at the t-shirt Kal had given him. Superman's uniform before he becomes Superman. He smiled to himself when he thought about what he wanted to do with it. He took the CD Lois Lane had made for him and stared at it, thinking over the memories of her. Kal was indeed a lucky man. He'd open up soon enough. It didn't hurt that they were both crazy about each other.
His own life seemed much more complicated. The person he wanted to be with was not exactly the easiest to talk to. And did she even want to really talk to him. He was lost in his own thoughts as his door opened.

"Imra?" He asked as she stared at him in disbelief.

She walked towards him and put her hand to his cheek and closed her eyes. Garth felt the gentle intrusion of her psychic powers as she filtered thru his thoughts for a moment.

"It's really you?" She asked in disbelief. "What happened?"

"I'm not really sure. Just that I ended up in 2010." He said.

"I put a protective field around you, I saw what you were planning to do from your thoughts." Imra took her hand from his face and took a breath. "Tharok and Mano seemed to hit the field at the same time. There was a blast of energy and you were gone."

Garth blinked twice. Imra bit her lower lip.

She released her lip and continued, "There was no time to think about that in the middle of the fight though. The Fatal Five kept pushing us back."

"You won though?" Garth asked.

Imra nodded. "Ultra Boy managed to attack the Emerald Empress and wounded her. She teleported the rest of the group away though, so we're bound to see them again in the future."

"Great, Ultra Boy, with his Ultra vision and ultra strength and ultra coolness," Garth said rolling his eyes. Garth had to admit he loved how Lois Lane used her eyes to accentuate her sarcasm.

Imra studied Garth's face.

"Whoever sent you thru time knew what they were doing," she said with concern. "I managed to pick up their name, but we could not locate them."

"Who sent me to the past?" Garth asked.

"His name was the Time Trapper." Imra swallowed. "He was full of anger and hatred. He wanted to trap you in the past because of something that happens between you two in the future."

"Well, I guess that's something to look forward to then," Garth said and turned his back to Imra.

I was so worried. I thought you had died for me. I thought he had killed you.

Garth spun back around hearing Imra's thoughts in his head.

"You thought I was dead?" Garth asked.

Imra nodded. "I feared the worst. Brainy had to scan the energy signatures twelve billion times before he was able to filter out the Time Trapper. He was operating on a different frequency plane and we couldn't see him or sense him."

"I'm sure we'll run into him again soon," Garth said and looked down.

Imra lifted his face back up to stare into his eyes again.

"You met Lois Lane and Kal?" She asked curiously. "What were they like together?"

"It was," Garth thought about it all for a moment. "It was truly educational. She was lovely, they had only just recently started dating. Kal hasn't revealed who he is yet and he's still in the shadows as The Blur. But it was all there. Both of them willing to die for one another, their connection so intense."

He took a step closer to Imra and she sucked in a breath.

"It really put things in perspective for me," Garth said as he stood face to face with Imra. "I don't know what's going on between us, but when I was back in the past, getting back to you seemed to be my greatest thought."

Imra stood still and swallowed staring at Garth. She waited nervously.

"I don't want life to pass us by anymore," Garth said as he pulled Imra close, almost surprised at the way she yielded to his arms. "I want you," Garth whispered as he leaned in and wrapped his lips around hers and kissed her softly. Imra's lips opened against his and the two explored each other's mouths for the first time.

After what seemed an eternity their mouths separated, Imra's eyes, which had been shut, fluttered open and she looked up into Garth's face smiling.

"What was that?" She asked in a breathy whisper.

Garth smiled. "Something that was long overdue, and inspired by a Christmas miracle," Garth said as he thought of his two friends helping give him the strength and courage to move forward to this moment. "Yes, it's scary. It's terrifying. We might not get it absolutely right. But I'm here with you and I want to be with you. And I don't want to waste anymore time regretting not saying something."

Imra beamed a radiant smile at him. "Garth Ranzz," she began smiling at him. "It certainly took you long enough."

The two kissed again exploring each other. When they broke away, Imra looked at him and smiled and laughed.

"What is it?" Garth asked smiling.

"She was right," Imra said with a wicked grin. "You do have a terrible poker face."

[A/N Thanks for reading. Only one chapter left. Yep, only one more. Hope you enjoyed the glimpse of the future, and please review if you can.]