Hey my faithful followers! I'm so sorry I made you wait, but here it is!!! The finale of the Adventures of Firegirl!!!! WOOHOOO!!!
I'm so glad it's over!
I own Firegirl/Phoenix, Storm/Tesla, and Niana Dox. That's all. Nothing else. Oh yeah, I own the entire Young Legion...
But that's an upcoming story.
Read, Review, Enjoy!!

Chapter Seven: Finale

Part One: Another New Legionnaire

"Home?! Cos, you can't be serious!"

Lightning Lad pounded his fist on the table, his anger making the room crackle with electricity and several members' hair stand on end.

"Phoenix has proved to be a liability to the team." Their leader said harshly, his purple eyes looking everywhere but Phoenix's devastated face.

"She's just as much a member of this team as you, Cosmic Boy." Brainy said icily, his fists clenched in tight balls. "If you send her home, nothing will ever be the same."

Phoenix was sitting with her head in her hands, obviously trying not to freak out as she stared at the floor. Cosmic Boy sighed and steepled his hands, sighing tiredly.

"I'm not talking about expelling her from the team; I'm talking about a temporary suspension until the whole...incident blows over." Cosmic Boy looked exhausted--ever since the Darkfire incident, he had been dealing with all kinds of pressure from the UP about the security of his team as they brought up the Brainiac Incident as well. Even knowing all the stress he was under and that their leader was just trying to fix things, everyone was still unhappy.

"If you send her, I'll have to go too." Storm said, standing by her friend's side.

"You can't send Storm and Phoenix away!" Violet gasped, her eyes wide. More fighting ensued, shouts and accusations flying as the Legionnaires argued.

"If sending me away is what's best for the team, I'll go. As long as I have to, if you'll be able to trust me again." A voice said softly, and all other noise stopped as they looked at Phoenix in shock. She was looking up now, but her eyes stayed locked on the wall--somewhere, anywhere but the disbelieving faces.

"I've put you all in danger more times than any other member. And I've hurt every single one of you in my time as a Legionnaire. And the only thing I hate more than Imperiac 6 is seeing the ones I love hurt. Especially by my hand." She said, and Brainy reached out to her. But she pulled back and finally looked at them, pain in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you anymore." She turned and flew from the room, leaving the others in stunned silence.

The door to Phoenix's room opened, and she hurried to wipe away the tears that stained her face.

"Nix, what's wrong?" Cham asked, and she turned around with a fake smile on her face. "Are you going somewhere?" He had seen the half packed bags on her bed.

"I think it's time for me to go home, Cham." She said, and he jerked back like she had struck him.

"What?! But..." Phoenix held up her hand, still keeping the fake smile on her face.

"Not forever silly, but...I just don't know. Maybe give the legion some time to cool down after what happened, spend some time with my family again...I can't believe I'm saying this, but I almost miss my little brother." She laughed, and Cham sat down next to her.

"You're going to come back though, right?" He asked, and she elbowed him in the ribs.

"Of course I will! I think I'll finish High School first, though." She said with a laugh, but he heard the strain behind her forced smile and her shaky laugh.

"How long will that take?"

She shrugged, still packing. "Well...I'm a sophomore now, so four more years I think. One year of college would do me good."

Cham stared at her in shock. "Four whole years?!" He said when he found his voice.

Phoenix stopped packing and looked over at him, her smile wavering. "I'll come and visit sometimes, and you can come back too. I just..." She picked up her iPod and messed with it a little as the facade began to crumble.

"I just need some time to think."

Cham looked at her sadly before nodding. "I guess I understand."

She ran a hand through her wild curls, brushing her side bangs to the side where they belonged again. "Besides, it's not like I'm giving up on heroing. Storm and I were going to work on our powers back home for awhile, try and do some things in our time. The world never stops needing heroes, right?"

Cham looked at her, really looked at her. Phoenix was...different now. She still seemed to be the same old bubbly Brogyn, but now she had an air of maturity and experience around her, tinged with sadness and a little...something. Something that only showed when you looked into her eyes; a darkness, an understanding that had never been there before. Honestly, it was terrifying.

"Yeah. I guess the world always needs heroes." He smiled and Phoenix smiled back at him. Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Phoenix called. Storm walked in, dressed in civvies. "Hey Cham. Hey Nix." She was smiling, but they could both see the serious and somewhat sad look in her eyes.

"Well, Brainy has the Time Bubble Tech all set up for the right coordinates. We better go say...well...you know." Storm twisted a strand of hair around her finger, obviously trying hard not to cry. Cham stood up and hugged her.

"We'll see you soon, right?"

Storm chuckled. "Really soon, I promise." Phoenix hugged Cham too. "You have to come visit us so that we can show you all the awesome things about our time. Like Roller Coasters. Definitely Roller Coasters." Cham nodded as they all left the room and walked out to the main room, where several legion members were waiting both in person and over holoscreens. Phoenix quickly hugged everyone, listening to quick, whispered goodbyes and bits of advice.

"Don't let anyone bug you, Nix. If they do, tell them I'll come after them." Lightning Lad said, and she laughed at him as he put her in a headlock.

"I'll tell them about my scary Big Brother. You know, I expect you to have proposed to Saturn Girl by the time I get back." He blushed furiously, and ripples of laughter went around the room. When she came to Cosmic Boy, he held out his hand.

"I am sorry Phoenix. I--" He started to say something, but then Phoenix did something completely unexpected; she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, nearly knocking him off balance.

"It's ok, I understand. You need to do what's right for the team. Don't let what anyone says get to your head--you really are a great leader. Better than most of us could ever hope to be." She released him and smiled at his flustered expression.

"I've been getting a little homesick anyway."

They shook hands, and then she walked over to Brainy. The green skinned teen looked into her eyes, unfathomable sadness in his eyes.

"I'm going to miss you." He said softly, gently holding her hand and twisting the Legion ring dismally. Phoenix pushed a thin strand of hair behind his ear; it was getting long, like he wore it when he was a kid.

"I know. I will too. But don't worry; some things never change. It's enough...There's Us." She whispered, and kissed him quickly. "When I get back, you owe me a purp smoothie."

Brainy smiled. "Whatever you say Brogyn." Phoenix went to stand by Storm, who had finished saying goodbye to Element Lad--who had made the hug a little longer and a little closer than was normal--and they stood together. As the Time Bubble opened around them, people may or may not have seen the tears building up in the two travelers eyes.

Violet was watching the monitor out of the corner of her eye, staring at Phoenix's empty chair. 'She'll be back in a few years. Maybe even less!' She scolded herself for her selfishness. Of course she would want to live her normal life for a while before leaving it to join the Legion! It had already been a month ever since she had left, but things still didn't feel normal.

Suddenly the radar picked up…something, coming in way faster than it should have been, knocking Shrinking Violet out of her thoughts. She got a target lock on it and watched as a strange ship toppled in, a design she had only seen in some of Brainy's more restricted files.

It was a Coluan ship.

There was a pounding on Brainy's door, and he opened his eyes blearily.

"Brainy! Brainy get out here now!!" Someone was shouting, and he jumped up and ran to the door. Violet was standing there, looking decidedly freaked out. "Brainy, we just had a ship crash land a few miles outside town!" She said, and he froze at her expression.

"What kind of ship?"

She bit her lip at his skeptical expression. "I'm not really sure, but…" He already knew what she was going to say, guessing from her hesitation.

"It's Coluan, isn't it?" He asked, and she saw the fear creep into his eyes. He leaped out of bed, throwing the blankets across the floor.

"Oh no. Not now."

He rushed back into his room and grabbed his belt and his ring, not even bothering to change from his pajamas.

"Take me to it!" Vi nodded, and they flew away to the crash site.

The wreckage was burning; she had to get out. Weak hands grasped at the ground, trying to pull her to safety. She knew that although her metal body would protect her to a certain point, it wasn't fireproof armor. She was vulnerable and trapped at the moment, and it made her angry.

I have to get out. I have to find him…

Her vision blurred, and she collapsed with a gasp as a piece of the hull landed on her leg. Then a faint sound reached her ears, and she looked up. Two shadows were standing in front of the crash, one of them with their hands to their mouth looking shocked.

"It is Coluan."

She squinted at them; there was something familiar about one, but she couldn't place it… Then there were hands on her arms and someone was dragging her out, lifting her to safety, wincing back at the high temperature of her body as it burned their sensitive human skin. She coughed and looked up at her savior. She was a small human girl with black hair and pale skin, looking worried.

"Brainy, come here." She motioned for the other to come over, and suddenly there was a boy kneeling in front of her, checking for serious burns with a practiced hand. He looked human for the most part, but his skin was the same green as Coluans, and three circular white marks dotted his forehead. He looked into her eyes and suddenly jerked back as if she had shocked him.

"What's wrong?" The girl asked, touching his arm. He was staring at the Coluan in front of him, his mouth moving but no sound coming out. She laughed weakly, coughing again.

"Hello Querl." She wheezed, and then her head slumped forward and she blacked out.

Brainy felt his pulse begin to race; was this who he thought it was? Could it really be her? She was unconscious now, and he moved over to the young female Coulan. She had long blonde hair, and her armor was purple with black stripes down the legs and a jagged black slash down the front. She was covered in soot, and parts of her arms had begun to melt slightly in the intense heat, the Coluan version of a third degree burn.

He gently turned her over and lifted her into his arms, his mind racing; there were three white circles on her forehead.

"Brainy, how does she know your name?" Violet asked, watching as he stood up with the small Coluan girl in his arms. He sighed and flew into the air, motioning for her to follow.

"I know I've never told you much about my family. But I used to have one, long ago. My father died when I was young, and my mother…disappeared a few years later. But not before they had another child." He looked down at the girl in his arms and Violet gasped.

"She's your sister?!" She asked, and he nodded.

"Her name is Niana, and she should be almost twelve years old. I…I didn't think…" He gazed down at his little sister with an expression of almost awe.

"I heard they had imprisoned...And executed her."

Violet gasped again, and suddenly Niana coughed and opened her eyes. "We Doxes are not so easy to kill. Wouldn't you agree, Querl?" She asked weakly, and he sighed as they touched down in front of Legion Head Quarters. He set her down in front of him, and she only came up to his chest. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her up and down for a minute, eyes speaking of regrets and memories. Suddenly he fell to his knees and pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair. She stiffened at the very human gesture as he held her close.

"I'm so glad you're safe." He whispered, and she looked surprised and shocked at his reaction.

"You were…worried about me?" She seemed to find the idea strange.

"I've thought about you every day since I left. And when I heard you had been imprisoned… I thought for sure they had killed you." He said, and a tear dropped onto her shoulder from his face.

"I escaped." She said, but her voice shook slightly, as if she was dazed.

"You always were good at getting out of locked rooms." He said with a smile and hugged her again, making sure to avoid her burns. "Come with me, you need a good long session in the Healing Chamber."

Cham looked up as the doors to the Tower opened, and blinked as Brainy propelled a small Coluan girl in front of him.

"Uh, ahem…explanation?" But he was already gone down the hall, and Violet sat down next to him. "Why does Brainy look like he just won the Galactic Lottery?" Cham asked, and Violet smiled, looking dazed.

"That girl he's with? She's from Colu. And guess what else? She's his sister."

Cham made a small choking noise. "He has family? Why didn't he ever tell us?" Violet shrugged, and as more Legionnaires appeared they explained over and over who the small green girl was.

Brainy watched as Niana lay down on the table, her long hair creating a cushion for her head. The waves began to sweep across her, and Brainy turned away for a moment, catching his breath.

I can't believe this is really happening, he thought. Niana is alive. Alive and here in the Legion Tower. He stopped the chamber and watched as she came out, clenching and unclenching her hand.

"You designed it well, Querl." She said, and he smiled at her. She looked confused at his expression.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked, and he blinked out of his reverie. "I just can't believe you're really here. That you really are alive. I've spent so long thinking…" He trailed off and pulled her to him again, this time noticing as she stiffened.

"What are you doing?" She asked as he released her, looking thoroughly confused. "I've spent so much time living with humans… I guess I forgot that hugs are strange to Coluans. I was a little shocked at first too." He said apologetically, and she frowned. She suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled it closer, squinting at it with a furrowed brow. One eye popped out of the socket and became a magnifying glass, searching for an explanation.

"How is this possible?" She muttered, turning his soft human hand over. "This completely defies all logical explanation." He sighed and pulled his hand away, clenching it into a fist.

"We really aren't sure how it happened. But it was the best thing to ever happen to me." She looked skeptical, and he sighed. "I know it's difficult to understand, and I don't understand it fully myself. I'm simply presenting facts as I best see them." He sat down at a computer and started typing as Niana leaned back against the rest of the table.

"After I was...influenced by our ancestor, my original body was destroyed, and I was...human. I've gone over the tapes countless times, but I still can't determine what caused my transformation." Niana rolled her eyes as Querl looked back at her, both of them suddenly feeling a little awkward, neither sure what to say.

"Come on, you need rest." He said, propelling her out the door.

"Brainy, question...where is she going to sleep?" Cham asked as Brainy walked into the room, passing him in the same position he had been in minutes earlier.

"For now...Phoenix's room." He said, and Cham spluttered.

"What?! Dude, you can't just--"

Violet shot him a look, cutting him off. "It's the closest room, and I think Phoenix would be fine if Brainy's sister stayed in there for a little while until we can get another room set up for her." Cham sighed, but didn't object.

Brogyn sighed as she leafed through her manga book. It was beyond late, but it was summer, so it didn't matter. She sat in her room, knowing that the rest of her family was asleep and she should go to bed soon; but she wasn't quite ready yet. The pyrokinetic was dressed in solid black, her hair pulled back into a ponytail for safety reasons. She had had a difficult time explaining why the edge of her hair was singed that one time...

Tap-tap. Brogyn looked up to see a familiar face in her window. At one time long ago, she might have thought it was...someone else, but she had gotten used to Lexa's quick taps as they did this every night. She quickly slid open her window and popped out the screen.

"Hey there Brogs. You ready to go?"

The other girl was also dressed in black, although she was wearing jeans as opposed to sweats. The girls had found out a couple weeks ago that whatever material sweats were made of apparently didn't like lightning that much...they had never seen so much static in their lives. Not to mention the incident with the silk scarf...Brogyn clambered out of her room, replacing the screen as she looked over at Lexa.

"Yeah, I'm good. Any ideas about where we should practice? We kind of left a big dead spot out by the school..." Lexa shrugged.

"The bluffs maybe?" Brogyn nodded as Lexa lifted them into the air. "Sounds good." The darker haired girl looked over at her friend as the wind carried them silently through the night.

"How have you been lately?" Brogyn gave a small shrug.

"I used to love summer--at least the no school part, not the heat--but now it feels like it's dragging on forever."

Lexa smiled. "Yeah, I know the feeling. But just think; I'll be a senior this year, and you'll be a junior! Only two more years to go." Brogyn looked over the vast expanse of the Suburbs outside of Mountain City, the lights twinkling like tiny stars.

"It's too long. I know I'm being silly, but..." The pyrokinetic sighed.

Lexa looked down at her sympathetically. "Well...as stupid as this will sound, life does go on." Brogyn stared at her friend in shock as she went on. "I don't want to sound callous, I miss the Legion too, but...we can't always dwell on the--Er, although I suppose in this case it would be the future--We need to try to move forward, keep going, see new things. Maybe try to see old friends again, or find a boy to go out with." Lexa gave a faint smile. "I know I sound like a snobby jerk, but...sometimes we just need to let go a little. The tighter you hold something, the more slips through your fingers."

Brogyn sniffed, several tears falling to the ground below as she sniffled. "Well...you're mostly right. About the not dwelling in the past part. But there is no way I'm going out with anyone while I've got you-know-who waiting for me." She said with a snarl, and Lexa shrugged.

"Suit yourself. I'm not saying you didn't have to, I was just throwing it out as a suggestion." Brogyn let herself smirk as they landed in the dark of the park.

"Oh really? And what about you? Thinking of cheating on Element Lad?"

"Brogyn?"

"Yes?"

"Can it before we get caught by Security again. Come on, let's try working on that one channeling idea you had yesterday." Brogyn allowed herself a grin of victory as she powered up.

Niana Dox felt consciousness return slowly. Inside of her visual receptors, a blinking light had turned on.

Reboot Complete. Powering all Primary Systems.

Her optical receptors suddenly turned on, along with audio, olfactory, and various other systems coming online. She carefully sat up, well aware of the system damage that had been caused by her rather...haphazard landing. Even her brother's healing chamber had not fully repaired her.

She looked around the room and found it in what seemed to be a suspended state of holographic simulation. The furnishings on the wall, the items on the shelves, the drawings tacked to the wall--all holograms, as if someone very much wanted to remember the way it used to be.

"I apologize for leaving this thing running again." The holograms suddenly disappeared, leaving only bare walls and an empty sadness. Brainy was standing in the doorway, smiling at his sister.

"Querl?" It was definitely her brother, but he was human--real flesh and blood human. It was still an odd sight to behold.

Niana blinked and then looked around. "I presume I am in the legion tower?" Brainy nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. "Niana...why are you here?" The younger girl looked around, apparently not registering or, more likely, just ignoring his question.

"So this is your little sister?" Both Doxes jumped and turned to see Cham and Saturn Girl standing there, looking at Niana with a little curiosity.

"Chameleon Boy, Saturn Girl, meet Niana." Brainy said, and Cham stuck his hand out. "Hey, Niana. I'm sorry you're related to this guy." She looked skeptical as Brainy made a spluttering sound.

"Could it be, Chameleon Boy, that you are jealous?" Now it was Cham's turn to splutter, and Saturn Girl maneuvered around them as Cham jumped on the older boy's back, putting him in a headlock.

"Hello, Niana. My name is Saturn Girl." Niana shook her hand with a nod of acknowledgement as she watched the boys with a raised eyebrow and a look of slight disdain.

"May I ask what on Colu they are doing?"

Cham had succeeded in knocking Brainy over, and was sitting on his back trying to make him take back his jealous comment by yanking on his longish hair.

"Being boys." She said with a slight smile as Brainy gave in and ducked his head to avoid going bald at seventeen. Niana frowned, obviously still confused.

"Sorry, Kid, that's about all the explanation you're going to get around here." A voice said, and a boy with brown hair materialized beside Saturn Girl. Cham and Brainy both jumped in surprise, Brainy tripping and falling back on his rear as he was surprised in the process of getting off the floor.

"Hello, Lyle." Saturn Girl said as the boy hooted with laughter at Brainy and Cham's begrudged expressions.

"You two should be used to him by now." Saturn Girl pointed out, and Invisible Kid turned to her.

"You never freak out! It's no fun." She rolled her eyes at the Young Legionnaire.

"Most likely because I can hear your dirty little mind coming from all the way down the hall." He squawked in indignation as Cham snickered.

"I do not have a dirty mind!" The other two boys cleared their throats and looked away, and he chucked the pillow at them, sticking his tongue out in a childish manner before turning to Niana.

"What's with this? The new kid didn't even freak out! That's not normal; usually they jump at least three feet in the air!"

Niana looked at him with a mildly disgusted expression, and his smile faded slightly.

"My sensors detected your presence as soon as you entered the room, courtesy of a phase-through performed by another member, I assume."

His jaw dropped, and he turned to Brainy. "Please tell me she's not related to you. Please. We so do not need another Brainiac around here."

Both Doxes were nodding, and Invisible Kid sighed.

"I knew it." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Great. Another way-too-smart kid on the team."

Niana frowned. "I would have assumed that having people well versed in various fields of science would be of great use in the Legion." Everyone stared at her for a moment before Lyle blushed.

"It was supposed to be a joke." He muttered.

Niana blinked. "I have never heard humor such as that before. I shall remember it for future reference." Lyle stood next to Niana, looking at her in concern before turning to Brainy.

"Did COMPUTO brainwash your sister or something?" Brainy winced as Niana's head slowly turned to him, the expression 'if looks could kill' coming to everyone's minds.

"I can assure you Invisible Kid, my mind is completely my own." She turned to Brainy. "Why do you associate with this..." She gave Lyle another look. "Specimen of human annoyance?"

Lyle choked back a protest as everyone laughed--except for Brainy. He had a gut feeling she was being serious. The former Coluan forced a smile on his face and patted his sister's shoulder.

"Unfortunately, I have no choice. Believe it or not, Lyle is the legion specialist in bioelectronics and various mechanical fields." Niana's eyes had turned to her brother.

"Second only to you I assume?"

Brainy shrugged. "In some fields. I excel in some, he excels in others, and Shrinking Violet is also an excellent scientist on this team." Lyle grinned, leaning on the shorter, green boy's shoulder.

"Gee Brainy, I think that's the biggest compliment you've ever given me since I got here." Brainy shoved Lyle off as everyone else in the room laughed--everyone except Niana, who failed to see the humor again.

"I'll see you around, Doxes." Lyle said and disappeared, followed by Cham and Saturn Girl shortly after.

Niana sat down on the bed, looking at the bare walls. "Why was the hologram running earlier?"

Brainy looked startled, then blushed dark green in embarrassment. "It's Phoenix's room. I holo-programmed it to be the way it is when she is here because I miss her."

She was frowning at him, and he realized that he had a lot to teach her.

"Well, I once went to the twenty-first century..."

So now you have my new OC, Niana Dox. Stormgirl doesn't like her too much, but she's kind of a poopstick...Don't worry, she lightens up when she meets a certain Cybrog Superhero from the past...

Stay tuned for the Final Finale of the Adventures of Firegirl!!!

For those of you who are waiting until the end to review, DO IT NOW!!! Please.

~^~Phoenix~^~