LSH: The Battle For The Universe
By Bruce Wayne
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I'm just borrowing then for a while. The characters are owned by DC Comics and I'm writing this just for the fun of it.
CHAPTER 2 - MOUNT EVEREST MYSTERY
Far across the world in the Himalayas, a gray-armored figure glinting in the sun was soaring through the blue sky, circling, darting, swooping among the tallest mountain peaks on Earth.
Down below, on the ground, Braniac 5 was communicating with Ferro Lad through a radio link that was built into Ferro's iron mask. "The treacherous downdrafts and updrafts here are the best test for the new lightweight material in your uniform, Ferro Lad."
Ferro Lad, with the help of his Legion flight ring, zoomed at 500 miles per hour toward a mountain cliff, then veered sharply upward to sail safely
over its jagged edge. He communicated back to Brainiac 5, "It's all working fine, Brainy."
To any watcher, it would have been an unbelievable sight -- a heavy metallic form gliding through the air with buoyant ease. The iron suit, at the moment, was gray in color. But when Ferro Lad turned his power off, the suit took on a different look. With a white mask that covered all his features except for two eye holes, the rest of his special suit was blue and white in color with the letters "Fe," the scientific symbol for iron, emblazoned on his chest. His gloves and boots were tinted crimson. In general appearance, he looked like a manlike robot out of the future.
Yet this was no mechanical being. Within the iron "uniform" -- unknown to most of the world and universe at large -- was Andrew Nolan of Earth. His power gave him not only the protection from physical harm and super strength, but also protected him from emotional harm, as well.
Nolan's story was one of the strangest in the Legion. Andrew's mother was a famous actress. She was vain enough that she expected that the children of herself and her handsome husband would be good- looking as well. This was very important to her. However, things didn't quite go as planned. She gave birth to twins, both of whom had facial features that were terribly deformed. Their father was killed in a spaceship crash.
The two children, who were raised in secrecy, were said to be nothing alike. Andrew was very outgoing and wished to experience every- thing that life could possibly offer. On the other hand, his brother Douglas was quiet and introverted. When the two boys discovered that they were mutants who had the power to turn into living iron, it was Andrew who went out and became Ferro Lad.
Supporting Ferro Lad on the ground was one of the best known Legionnaires, Brainiac 5. "Brainy," as most of his teammates called him, was really Querl Dox from the planet Colu. The best way to describe Brainiac 5's superior intellect is to say that on the accepted galactic intelligence scale, the average person on Earth has a sixth-level intellect. The average Coluan is a ten. Brainiac 5 is rated at twelve.
The blonde-haired, green-skinned Querl inherited his intellect from his well-known family blood line that dated back a thousand years to the 20th century. The use of the name "Brainiac" is actually an honored title on Colu in which significant intellectual accomplishment was rewarded. Querl became only the fifth person to earn the title, and he did so at the age of twelve.
Querl traveled to Earth to do research at the Time Institute, where he invented the Time Bubble, which became the primary mode of time travel in the 30th century. When he encountered the Legion, during a battle between them and the Darkstars -- he decided that the Legion was a suitable place for his talents. He applied and was accepted for Legion membership together with Supergirl.
Brainiac 5, who always wears a dark purple outfit, has invented and improved upon many devices. He invented a force-field belt, which he has used throughout his Legion career. He also later developed the Legion's flight rings -- which Ferro Lad was using right now.
What Brainiac 5 and Ferro Lad were testing out, at the moment, was a lighter-weight material for Ferro's uniform that Brainy had developed. But because of its lighter weight, Andrew would have to test the feel of it by flying in the toughest imaginable conditions. Thus, they came to the Himalayan Mountains that bordered what had once been India and Nepal.
"Mount Everest is the final test," Ferro Lad thought to himself. "Braving the blasts and roaring winds around its peak, piercing six miles high into the air, will prove whether I really have the all-weather flying ability I want with this lighter suit. So, here goes ..."
Ferro Lad flew upward as the majestic peak reared before him ... higher ... higher ... higher ... higher. A fierce canyon gale knocked him 500 feet sideways, but he recovered. A sudden downdraft like a smashing blow, made him gasp as he plummeted a thousand feet down toward the jagged ice blocks. But with a surge he flew back upward into the teeth of the howling downwind.
Next an updraft flung him like a cork, straight up for a mile, way beyond the tip of Everest. He fought his way down from the numbingly high heights, agilely aiming for the summit. When a vicious whirlwind of air mixed with snow spun him around in a relentless grip, Ferro Lad turned himself broadside and maneuvered into the quiet "eye," then safely sped out of one side of the whirlpool.
The next instant, something yanked him downward again, with staggering force. How many tricks did the mighty mountain have to try against this talented teenager?
"Wait, there's something different about this," he said to himself. "It's not a downdraft at all. It feels more like ... Magnetism?" The last questioning thought brought a gasp of startled surprise from his disfigured lips.
"Brainy, are you doing something to change the conditions of the test?" he radioed.
Brainiac 5 was a bit puzzled by the Nolan's question. "Ferro Lad, I'm not doing anything. What's happening?"
"Since when did Everest display magnetic force?" Ferro Lad asked.
"Magnetic force has never been reported by the various expeditions who reached the top and conducted scientific experiments there," Brainy answered.
Ferro Lad applied more power into his flying, but the powerful force kept pulling him downward.
"I can't break out of it," he told Brainiac 5 over their comm-link. Brainy could hear the panic creeping into Andrew's voice. Ferro radioed: "I'll smash into the peak at a thousand miles an hour!"
Ferro Lad didn't dare finish the thought of wonder if his nearly invulnerable body could withstand such a frightful impact. He had never tried to find out if he could take such an impact.
As his gray form hurtled downward, in the grip of an incredible magnetic force, he suddenly spied something at the tip of Mount Everest. There, in a flat stretch of bare wind-swept rock was something unbelievable.
"Brainy! I don't know if I'm having hallucinations from oxygen starvation," Ferro radioed. "But I see a gigantic machine! It must be a powerful electromagnet!"
"You shouldn't be suffering from oxygen starvation, Ferro Lad. You have a built in oxygen supply in your uniform ..." Brainiac droned on.
Ferro Lad wasn't really listening. More details could be seen as he spun lower and closer. Banks of horseshoe-shaped magnets ran side by side, on top of a framework support, below which lay a bulging sphere of riveted steel. obviously the power supply. A violet purling glow surrounded the sphere, the telltale sign of a nuclear dynamo. But it must be of enormous power to feed the electromagnets and create enough magnetism to bring Ferro Lad down from a mile high.
Back on the ground, Brainiac 5 used magnified viewfinders to locate Ferro Lad. He looked toward the peak of Everest and spotted a glint of metal reflected from the sun. He pressed a button on the viewfinder and activated a multiple-data gauge and his eyes grew wide.
"One billion gauss?" Even his thoughts babbled now. "Why, that's thousands of times stronger than any magnet ever produced in a research lab! That's enough magnetic pull to pull apart a skyscraper beam by beam. It could, if aimed at the moon, even begin to pull it steadily out of orbit."
Brainiac 5 knew he was not imagining wild things. He was a scientist. He knew exactly what this unprecedented magnetic force could do -- the unthinkable.
Now Brainiac 5's amazed thoughts turned to other burning questions. How had this supermagent come here? Who was behind it? What was its purpose?
All of those questions had gone through the mind of Ferro Lad as well as he fell like a stone, straight down toward that inescapable giant magnet. He noticed several meteorites whizzing past him, also attracted to the huge horeshow-shaped device. They were meteors that had been sailing past Earth and were simply yanked out their age-old space trajectory!
Ferro Lad saw that the arriving meteors did not harm the super- magnet. Ten feet above the device, they met an invisible cushion and bounced away harmlessly. What sort of superscientific force field was protecting this magnet?
Ferro Lad rolled up his eyes, breathing his last prayer as he plummeted down the final hundred feet at meteoric velocity.
***
Across the world at the Legion clubhouse, Invisible Kid glanced at the chronometer with a slight frown. "What's with Brainy and Ferro Lad?" he thought worriedly. "Why aren't they here yet?"
He then turned to look at the video camera, and spoke for the benefit of their vast unseen audience. "This is a special event in the Legion's annals. We decided to hold this Meet in honor of the founding members of our club. Unfortunately, they are engaged elsewhere in their own solo activities. But we still want to take the opportunity to honor them for their great service as Legionnaires."
Lyle Norg paused to stab his finger at a button on the podium's control board. the lights dimmed in the great hall. Then an automatic spot- light swung down to limelight a large lifesize statue standing in an arched niche in the wall.
Underneath one of the three figures depicted in engraved stone was the code-name -- COSMIC BOY.
No doubt a vast cheer went up from billions of homes across the galaxy. But the Legionnaires sat silently honoring their first leader with an unvoiced accolade. Invisible Kid then spoke in official tribute:
"Cosmic Boy, the magno-ball champ who journeyed from the planet Braal to Earth to become the first leader of the Legion of Super- Heroes. His great magentic control powers and courage led the way for the Legion in the beginning when we needed him most. There were several times in the past that I can remember "Cos" battling villainous foes and he
used his magnetic powers to confound our enemies. We can all remember the numerous times he saved our lives or how ..."
"Or," muttered Sun Boy, fidgeting in his seat, "Cosmic Boy's pompous attitude and the Braalian lingo he used."
"A philologist," observed Shrinking Violet in defense of Cosmic Boy, from Colossal Boy's shoulder, "you are not, Sunny. Look it up on the computer dictionary ..."
"I know," growled Sun Boy. "Under Ph, not F. You mean "Cos" has word-skill, eh? That's funny -- under F, not Ph." Sun Boy silently threw up his hands in surrender.
Invisible Kid was saying, "In conclusion, we can all say well done Cosmic Boy! At present he has returned on a mission to his home planet of Braal."
Lyle pressed another button and the spotlight shifted to another figure on the statue titled LIGHTNING LAD, a teen in a caped uniform with depicted lightning bolts coming from his hands.
"Like his code-name," said Invisible Kid, "Lightning Lad is able to produce great bolts of lightning from his hands. From the planet Winath, Garth Ranzz, his sister Ayla -- who is the Legionnaire Light Lass -- and their older brother, crash landed their spaceship on the planetoid Korbal. In order to re-power the spaceship, they tried to attract Lightning Beasts toward it, but instead of recharging the ship, the beasts attacked and charged the three Ranzz siblings with their lightning. Fortunately, rather than getting killed, the three gained the power to discharge electricity."
Invisible Kid choked up a bit and said, "Garth's life has been one of bravery and misfortune. We even lost him at one time. After two years in the Legion, Garth died saving Saturn Girl and Earth from the Khundish fleets of Zaryan the Conqueror. When the Legion found a way to restore Garth's life at the expense of another, Saturn Girl resolved to be the one to die for him. But her life was saved by Proty, a pet of Chameleon Boy who led her away, disguised itself as her and died for Lightning Lad itself. Lightning Lad lost his arm in battle with a Dxaundii wingfish enlarged into
a "Super-Moby-Dick" of space. He managed to get his arm grown back with the assistance of Doctor Zan Orbal. Lightning Lad is one Legionnaire who can say that he has looked death in the face and won."
"Is Lyle for real?" snorted Sun Boy in a low tone. "You'd think Garth was ..."
"Shush!" spat out Shrinking Violet.
"Oh, come on now, Vi! You'd think ... Ulk!"
Sun Boy's whisper choked off for the simple reason that Colossal Boy's huge forefinger and thumb around his throat had given a tiny squeeze ... enough to make Dirk turn purple, unable to catch his breath, let alone talk for the next few moments.
Invisible Kid had the spotlight turn to the third figure on the statue. Another girl like Violet was portrayed, and the code-name under the figure read: SATURN GIRL.
"Imra Ardeen is Saturn Girl," explained Invisible Kid for the benefit of the galaxy-wide audience that was watching. "No Legionnaire has served with greater distinction than Saturn Girl who comes from Titan. Saturn Girl is able to read peoples' minds, either by consciously willing it or by mentally picking up their stray thoughts. With her telepathic power, she can also send messages into the minds of others. Imra can also use her powers to influence peoples' minds."
"So?" muttered Sun Boy. "I can give people hot foot's. Who pats me on the back? If you ask me ..."
"We aren't asking you a thing, Tell-it-all," came from Shrinking Violet icily. "Wait your turn, Dirk."
Sun Boy glared at Violet. Colossal Boy glared at Sun Boy. Sun Boy decided to glare elsewhere.
The overhead lights came on again and Invisible Kid snapped erect. "In conclusion, let us salute the founding members of the Legion of Super-Heroes for leadership, courage and deeds ... may they be remembered forever."
As they started to rise to their feet, a tiny voice buzzed in Gim Allon's ear. "Careful, High pockets ... the ceiling, you know."
Barely in time, Colossal Boy bent his neck and stood half bowed as they all saluted the statue of the three founding members of the Legion.
Invisible Kid turned and smiled into the video camera, relaxing. But inside he was wondering, "When is Brainiac 5 and Ferro Lad going to show up? What's keeping them? Did they run into something unusual?"
To be continued ...
By Bruce Wayne
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I'm just borrowing then for a while. The characters are owned by DC Comics and I'm writing this just for the fun of it.
CHAPTER 2 - MOUNT EVEREST MYSTERY
Far across the world in the Himalayas, a gray-armored figure glinting in the sun was soaring through the blue sky, circling, darting, swooping among the tallest mountain peaks on Earth.
Down below, on the ground, Braniac 5 was communicating with Ferro Lad through a radio link that was built into Ferro's iron mask. "The treacherous downdrafts and updrafts here are the best test for the new lightweight material in your uniform, Ferro Lad."
Ferro Lad, with the help of his Legion flight ring, zoomed at 500 miles per hour toward a mountain cliff, then veered sharply upward to sail safely
over its jagged edge. He communicated back to Brainiac 5, "It's all working fine, Brainy."
To any watcher, it would have been an unbelievable sight -- a heavy metallic form gliding through the air with buoyant ease. The iron suit, at the moment, was gray in color. But when Ferro Lad turned his power off, the suit took on a different look. With a white mask that covered all his features except for two eye holes, the rest of his special suit was blue and white in color with the letters "Fe," the scientific symbol for iron, emblazoned on his chest. His gloves and boots were tinted crimson. In general appearance, he looked like a manlike robot out of the future.
Yet this was no mechanical being. Within the iron "uniform" -- unknown to most of the world and universe at large -- was Andrew Nolan of Earth. His power gave him not only the protection from physical harm and super strength, but also protected him from emotional harm, as well.
Nolan's story was one of the strangest in the Legion. Andrew's mother was a famous actress. She was vain enough that she expected that the children of herself and her handsome husband would be good- looking as well. This was very important to her. However, things didn't quite go as planned. She gave birth to twins, both of whom had facial features that were terribly deformed. Their father was killed in a spaceship crash.
The two children, who were raised in secrecy, were said to be nothing alike. Andrew was very outgoing and wished to experience every- thing that life could possibly offer. On the other hand, his brother Douglas was quiet and introverted. When the two boys discovered that they were mutants who had the power to turn into living iron, it was Andrew who went out and became Ferro Lad.
Supporting Ferro Lad on the ground was one of the best known Legionnaires, Brainiac 5. "Brainy," as most of his teammates called him, was really Querl Dox from the planet Colu. The best way to describe Brainiac 5's superior intellect is to say that on the accepted galactic intelligence scale, the average person on Earth has a sixth-level intellect. The average Coluan is a ten. Brainiac 5 is rated at twelve.
The blonde-haired, green-skinned Querl inherited his intellect from his well-known family blood line that dated back a thousand years to the 20th century. The use of the name "Brainiac" is actually an honored title on Colu in which significant intellectual accomplishment was rewarded. Querl became only the fifth person to earn the title, and he did so at the age of twelve.
Querl traveled to Earth to do research at the Time Institute, where he invented the Time Bubble, which became the primary mode of time travel in the 30th century. When he encountered the Legion, during a battle between them and the Darkstars -- he decided that the Legion was a suitable place for his talents. He applied and was accepted for Legion membership together with Supergirl.
Brainiac 5, who always wears a dark purple outfit, has invented and improved upon many devices. He invented a force-field belt, which he has used throughout his Legion career. He also later developed the Legion's flight rings -- which Ferro Lad was using right now.
What Brainiac 5 and Ferro Lad were testing out, at the moment, was a lighter-weight material for Ferro's uniform that Brainy had developed. But because of its lighter weight, Andrew would have to test the feel of it by flying in the toughest imaginable conditions. Thus, they came to the Himalayan Mountains that bordered what had once been India and Nepal.
"Mount Everest is the final test," Ferro Lad thought to himself. "Braving the blasts and roaring winds around its peak, piercing six miles high into the air, will prove whether I really have the all-weather flying ability I want with this lighter suit. So, here goes ..."
Ferro Lad flew upward as the majestic peak reared before him ... higher ... higher ... higher ... higher. A fierce canyon gale knocked him 500 feet sideways, but he recovered. A sudden downdraft like a smashing blow, made him gasp as he plummeted a thousand feet down toward the jagged ice blocks. But with a surge he flew back upward into the teeth of the howling downwind.
Next an updraft flung him like a cork, straight up for a mile, way beyond the tip of Everest. He fought his way down from the numbingly high heights, agilely aiming for the summit. When a vicious whirlwind of air mixed with snow spun him around in a relentless grip, Ferro Lad turned himself broadside and maneuvered into the quiet "eye," then safely sped out of one side of the whirlpool.
The next instant, something yanked him downward again, with staggering force. How many tricks did the mighty mountain have to try against this talented teenager?
"Wait, there's something different about this," he said to himself. "It's not a downdraft at all. It feels more like ... Magnetism?" The last questioning thought brought a gasp of startled surprise from his disfigured lips.
"Brainy, are you doing something to change the conditions of the test?" he radioed.
Brainiac 5 was a bit puzzled by the Nolan's question. "Ferro Lad, I'm not doing anything. What's happening?"
"Since when did Everest display magnetic force?" Ferro Lad asked.
"Magnetic force has never been reported by the various expeditions who reached the top and conducted scientific experiments there," Brainy answered.
Ferro Lad applied more power into his flying, but the powerful force kept pulling him downward.
"I can't break out of it," he told Brainiac 5 over their comm-link. Brainy could hear the panic creeping into Andrew's voice. Ferro radioed: "I'll smash into the peak at a thousand miles an hour!"
Ferro Lad didn't dare finish the thought of wonder if his nearly invulnerable body could withstand such a frightful impact. He had never tried to find out if he could take such an impact.
As his gray form hurtled downward, in the grip of an incredible magnetic force, he suddenly spied something at the tip of Mount Everest. There, in a flat stretch of bare wind-swept rock was something unbelievable.
"Brainy! I don't know if I'm having hallucinations from oxygen starvation," Ferro radioed. "But I see a gigantic machine! It must be a powerful electromagnet!"
"You shouldn't be suffering from oxygen starvation, Ferro Lad. You have a built in oxygen supply in your uniform ..." Brainiac droned on.
Ferro Lad wasn't really listening. More details could be seen as he spun lower and closer. Banks of horseshoe-shaped magnets ran side by side, on top of a framework support, below which lay a bulging sphere of riveted steel. obviously the power supply. A violet purling glow surrounded the sphere, the telltale sign of a nuclear dynamo. But it must be of enormous power to feed the electromagnets and create enough magnetism to bring Ferro Lad down from a mile high.
Back on the ground, Brainiac 5 used magnified viewfinders to locate Ferro Lad. He looked toward the peak of Everest and spotted a glint of metal reflected from the sun. He pressed a button on the viewfinder and activated a multiple-data gauge and his eyes grew wide.
"One billion gauss?" Even his thoughts babbled now. "Why, that's thousands of times stronger than any magnet ever produced in a research lab! That's enough magnetic pull to pull apart a skyscraper beam by beam. It could, if aimed at the moon, even begin to pull it steadily out of orbit."
Brainiac 5 knew he was not imagining wild things. He was a scientist. He knew exactly what this unprecedented magnetic force could do -- the unthinkable.
Now Brainiac 5's amazed thoughts turned to other burning questions. How had this supermagent come here? Who was behind it? What was its purpose?
All of those questions had gone through the mind of Ferro Lad as well as he fell like a stone, straight down toward that inescapable giant magnet. He noticed several meteorites whizzing past him, also attracted to the huge horeshow-shaped device. They were meteors that had been sailing past Earth and were simply yanked out their age-old space trajectory!
Ferro Lad saw that the arriving meteors did not harm the super- magnet. Ten feet above the device, they met an invisible cushion and bounced away harmlessly. What sort of superscientific force field was protecting this magnet?
Ferro Lad rolled up his eyes, breathing his last prayer as he plummeted down the final hundred feet at meteoric velocity.
***
Across the world at the Legion clubhouse, Invisible Kid glanced at the chronometer with a slight frown. "What's with Brainy and Ferro Lad?" he thought worriedly. "Why aren't they here yet?"
He then turned to look at the video camera, and spoke for the benefit of their vast unseen audience. "This is a special event in the Legion's annals. We decided to hold this Meet in honor of the founding members of our club. Unfortunately, they are engaged elsewhere in their own solo activities. But we still want to take the opportunity to honor them for their great service as Legionnaires."
Lyle Norg paused to stab his finger at a button on the podium's control board. the lights dimmed in the great hall. Then an automatic spot- light swung down to limelight a large lifesize statue standing in an arched niche in the wall.
Underneath one of the three figures depicted in engraved stone was the code-name -- COSMIC BOY.
No doubt a vast cheer went up from billions of homes across the galaxy. But the Legionnaires sat silently honoring their first leader with an unvoiced accolade. Invisible Kid then spoke in official tribute:
"Cosmic Boy, the magno-ball champ who journeyed from the planet Braal to Earth to become the first leader of the Legion of Super- Heroes. His great magentic control powers and courage led the way for the Legion in the beginning when we needed him most. There were several times in the past that I can remember "Cos" battling villainous foes and he
used his magnetic powers to confound our enemies. We can all remember the numerous times he saved our lives or how ..."
"Or," muttered Sun Boy, fidgeting in his seat, "Cosmic Boy's pompous attitude and the Braalian lingo he used."
"A philologist," observed Shrinking Violet in defense of Cosmic Boy, from Colossal Boy's shoulder, "you are not, Sunny. Look it up on the computer dictionary ..."
"I know," growled Sun Boy. "Under Ph, not F. You mean "Cos" has word-skill, eh? That's funny -- under F, not Ph." Sun Boy silently threw up his hands in surrender.
Invisible Kid was saying, "In conclusion, we can all say well done Cosmic Boy! At present he has returned on a mission to his home planet of Braal."
Lyle pressed another button and the spotlight shifted to another figure on the statue titled LIGHTNING LAD, a teen in a caped uniform with depicted lightning bolts coming from his hands.
"Like his code-name," said Invisible Kid, "Lightning Lad is able to produce great bolts of lightning from his hands. From the planet Winath, Garth Ranzz, his sister Ayla -- who is the Legionnaire Light Lass -- and their older brother, crash landed their spaceship on the planetoid Korbal. In order to re-power the spaceship, they tried to attract Lightning Beasts toward it, but instead of recharging the ship, the beasts attacked and charged the three Ranzz siblings with their lightning. Fortunately, rather than getting killed, the three gained the power to discharge electricity."
Invisible Kid choked up a bit and said, "Garth's life has been one of bravery and misfortune. We even lost him at one time. After two years in the Legion, Garth died saving Saturn Girl and Earth from the Khundish fleets of Zaryan the Conqueror. When the Legion found a way to restore Garth's life at the expense of another, Saturn Girl resolved to be the one to die for him. But her life was saved by Proty, a pet of Chameleon Boy who led her away, disguised itself as her and died for Lightning Lad itself. Lightning Lad lost his arm in battle with a Dxaundii wingfish enlarged into
a "Super-Moby-Dick" of space. He managed to get his arm grown back with the assistance of Doctor Zan Orbal. Lightning Lad is one Legionnaire who can say that he has looked death in the face and won."
"Is Lyle for real?" snorted Sun Boy in a low tone. "You'd think Garth was ..."
"Shush!" spat out Shrinking Violet.
"Oh, come on now, Vi! You'd think ... Ulk!"
Sun Boy's whisper choked off for the simple reason that Colossal Boy's huge forefinger and thumb around his throat had given a tiny squeeze ... enough to make Dirk turn purple, unable to catch his breath, let alone talk for the next few moments.
Invisible Kid had the spotlight turn to the third figure on the statue. Another girl like Violet was portrayed, and the code-name under the figure read: SATURN GIRL.
"Imra Ardeen is Saturn Girl," explained Invisible Kid for the benefit of the galaxy-wide audience that was watching. "No Legionnaire has served with greater distinction than Saturn Girl who comes from Titan. Saturn Girl is able to read peoples' minds, either by consciously willing it or by mentally picking up their stray thoughts. With her telepathic power, she can also send messages into the minds of others. Imra can also use her powers to influence peoples' minds."
"So?" muttered Sun Boy. "I can give people hot foot's. Who pats me on the back? If you ask me ..."
"We aren't asking you a thing, Tell-it-all," came from Shrinking Violet icily. "Wait your turn, Dirk."
Sun Boy glared at Violet. Colossal Boy glared at Sun Boy. Sun Boy decided to glare elsewhere.
The overhead lights came on again and Invisible Kid snapped erect. "In conclusion, let us salute the founding members of the Legion of Super-Heroes for leadership, courage and deeds ... may they be remembered forever."
As they started to rise to their feet, a tiny voice buzzed in Gim Allon's ear. "Careful, High pockets ... the ceiling, you know."
Barely in time, Colossal Boy bent his neck and stood half bowed as they all saluted the statue of the three founding members of the Legion.
Invisible Kid turned and smiled into the video camera, relaxing. But inside he was wondering, "When is Brainiac 5 and Ferro Lad going to show up? What's keeping them? Did they run into something unusual?"
To be continued ...