Located on the bustling west end of Metropolis, adjacent to the site of the old Legion HQ, was the Time Institute. The Institute was a very unassuming edifice, unremarkably clustered between several other buildings, most of which were used as museums or libraries. These days, most of the west end of Metropolis was visited by tourists and the like, as full time denizens lived on the north or east cusps. It was problematic for any sentient to live in the center of the city, due to heavy interstellar traffic to and from the Space Port. Not to mention fear of contamination from the many power plant facilities. And the west end held little appeal for Metropolis natives, most of whom would just as soon travel off-world before exploring the inner workings of their city. There was a small faction of folks from G'rmmr, a tropical outer-rim planet, most of whose inhabitants were highly intelligent insect-like sentients with long, metallic-green heads and thoraces, and iridescent, reddish-brown wing covers. These G'rmmrs almost all worked at the museums or libraries. One G'rmmr, Circadia Senius, was chief operator at the Time Institute. Senius was a very well known sentient not only in the small knit G'rmmr community, but galaxy wide. His theorems and advances in the study of time were widely heralded and had garnered him many fans, most of which were young, ambitious, budding scientists themselves. The prodigy Rond Vidar was Circadia Senius' most notable devotee, and on this shiny Thursday afternoon in the Earth-calendar year of 3005, it was with butterflies in his belly that Rond presented his case to Circadia Senius.
"It's at this point where the rift will begin, Dr. Senius!" exclaimed the boy excitedly as he pointed with a poker to a holographic image hovering above their heads. His voice broke off as if he were suffering from a sinus cold. He sniffled a bit and rubbed his nose generously with the hanky he'd been given by Mr. Brande. Senius, known for being unabashedly straightforward, was not pleased that Vidar had alarmed R.J. Brande and the Legion with his calculations before informing Senius or other members of the Time Council. But Senius held back from commenting on the situation because he knew that what Rond Vidar had discovered was, in fact, true, and could quite possibly spell the impending end of the time stream as they knew it to exist. And certainly it would only be a matter of time before the Institute would have to involve the Legion of Super-Heroes. And R.J. Brande.
"Stay calm, Vidar," clicked Senius. His voice was projected through a cybernetic apparatus linked to the being's vocal structure. This was necessary for any G'rmmr to communicate with other beings, as their native tongue was untranslatable. Even through the interpreter, there was an audible clicking sound that could be compared to the chirp of a cricket. Most humanoids and other Earth-dwelling sentients were used to the sound of a G'rmmr's translated voice, but Brody Bakster, one of the newest members of the Legion of Super-Heroes, made no effort to hide the fact that Senius, and his voice, creeped him out.
"Ugh, listening to that thing talk makes my skin crawl, "whispered Bakster, code-named Brawler, to Ming Sul, another new Legionnaire who stood to his left. Sul ignored his inappropriate mutterings. Both Chuck Taine and R.J. Brande gave disapproving glances to Brawler. Brande shook his head.
Circadia Senius continued speaking. "I am not offended by ignorance, Brande, no need to reprimand the human."
"I'm not human, insect, I'm about 5 marks better," stated Brawler. Ming Sul reacted this time, shooting her teammate an aggressive glare and stepping aside, closer to Chuck. Brawler chuckled smugly and continued, "Us Moxians are a far-better, more evolved class of sentients."
"Yes, and you've just proven all that class by opening your foul mouth," sarcastically retorted Sul, code-named Amp Girl. She stood small in stature, but it was evident she wasn't troubled by confrontation. Her short black hair was held back with a yellow barrette. She wore a red and yellow sleeveless uniform, the bottom of which was a skirt that sat just at the top of her thighs. Her boots, a crisp red vinyl, ended just below her knee and complimented her legs very nicely. Sul suddenly realized, as she was berating Brawler, his eyes were moving up and down her torso. She crossed her arms and said, "And if you don't remove your eyes from my chest, I'll rip them out of your head and hand them to you."
Brawler smiled and yelped, "Ha!" R.J. Brande decided that, although he was glad to see these feisty young folks weren't displaying trepidation over the mission at hand, it was time to rein in the bickering.
"Enough, you two," said Brande firmly, "and Brawler, I think we can try to curb our enthusiastic xenophobia, can we not?" Brawler grunted. Chuck smiled approvingly at Amp Girl.
"Okay, group, if we're to hit this problem head-on, we need to do some traveling," said Chuck. He, too, had a nervous stomach, but he refused to show any sign of fear to those in his charge. Most especially Brawler. He looked at the folks gathered before him and reevaluated his earlier team assessment. Were these seven the right ones to send on a mission this urgent? He knew he didn't have any time to retract his decision, so he conceded to stand behind it and take command.
The seven Legionnaires before him were as follows: resident wise guy Brawler, whose super-human strength was topped of by the ability to mind-mesh with machinery; Amp Girl could triplicate her own natural strength, speed and agility, but could also amplify the super-powers of those around her; Deen Toro, code-named Retro, was able to rewind time in small increments, and although the power was mostly untapped, it could certainly come in handy on a mission where time travel was largely a factor; Nois Nemid was a slender girl with an ashy-gray skin tone and long, curly pink hair which she wore in pig-tails. Her code-name was Orbit and her special ability was to expel energy rings which acted as containment fields, able to hold anyone or anything she willed them to; Delya Castill, code-named Mentalla, hailed from Saturn's primary satellite, Titan, and although she shared the extraordinary telepathic prowess of her people, she also maintained limited mind-control, enabling her to commandeer an opponent's motor functions; Rondo Kane, teen heartthrob and intergalactic Holo-reel star with the recent ability to telemetrically manipulate crystal, called himself Quartz; and Tenzil Kem, the willowy, comedic reserve Legionnaire whose newly active full time status demanded he take on a code-name, so he chose Injestor which gave homage to his not-so-humble sense of humor and hinted at his natural Bismollian ability to eat and ingest anything, from meat and veggies to metal, wood or stone.
Chuck began, "We can't afford for this mission become a logistical nightmare, so each of you is being equipped with a universal translator, your standard-issue Flight Ring, a time beacon locator, and the appropriate amount of twenty-first century currency. When you arrive, I cannot urge you enough to do as little to interfere with current events as possible, and to keep your eyes on the targets. The locaters and currency should be enough to help you each find your targets with as little effort and incident as possible." Chuck approached Tenzil and rested a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You're my point man on this one, Tenz. These guys answer to you, got it?" His emphasis was meant mainly for Brawler.
"I got point, Chuckles," replied Tenzil. He chomped on a Bismollian candy bar, wrapper and all. Brawler growled inaudibly as Tenzil Kem shot him an authoritative look.
Rond Vidar sniffled and walked the perimeter of the gathered group. He whirred, "The Time Cube isn't used to having so many people jaunt at one time, but we've been working diligently to assure there will be a zero error margin."
"By 'error margin', what do you mean, exactly," inquired Orbit vehemently. There was a small group grumbling.
Circadia Senius stepped forward, his six tarsi each moving in perfect sync with one another as he gesticulated to move in front of the zealous Rond Vidar. "The time jaunt is assured without error, Legionnaires. You will arrive at your destination unscathed and be able to complete your mission as planned, " clicked Senius assuredly, "Though for some of you, it wouldn't be a great loss to the universe to have your molecules scrambled and dissipated."
The assemblage made a collective chuckle, and Retro pushed Brawler's upper arm and said, "He means you, B-man."
"Thanks, Metro, I kinda got that," said Brawler gruffly.
The seven Legionnaires were each instructed to do a last once-over to the contents of their utility belts for the main issued supplies, and soon the seven were escorted by Senius to the Time Cube. Quartz put his hand on the inner edge of the Cube. Orbit followed suit. The others stood firmly, with Injestor at the forefront. He planted his feet firmly, put his hands to his hips in a mimic of the archetypal heroic pose, and quipped, "2005, here comes trouble."