A/N: Well, I know you have been waiting, so here's chapter three! It's taken me forever to decide where I was going with this section, but I've finally gotten it finished! It's not a very long chapter, but it leaves off where I wanted it to. And with that note, I'll let you get on with the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Legion, obviously. The only things I own are my characters!
Act 3: "Trouble comes down from the Sky"
"You know, this really is the life," Duo Damsel said, relaxing on one of the lawn chairs near the pool. Early that morning, the girls had gotten together and decided they should spend the morning together: hanging out, hitting the spas and 'comparing notes' about their searches the day before. The guys, upon hearing this plan, had quietly made excuses and ducked away, leaving the girls to their plans. Now, all five girls were relaxed on lounge chairs on one of the many beaches.
"You said it," Phantom Girl agreed. "Wouldn't it be nice to live like this all the time?"
"Wouldn't that be kind of boring after a while?" Duo Damsel asked, lifting up her sunglasses to glance at the dark-haired girl.
"Yeah, you're probably right, but it would be fun for a while."
Violet smiled. "Ok, so who thought the way the guys took off this morning was hilarious?" All five laughed, remembering how embarrassed they had been. Violet took a sip from the glass of fruit juice on the table beside her chair before continuing. "It's strange. These guys can fight off insane villains, dangerous criminals AND the Legion of Super-Villains, but mention a 'girls day out' and they run like mad!"
"It scares them," Saturn girl explained, but Time Lass interrupted her before she could go any further.
"Yeah, all that talking and thinking!" She giggled. "Have you noticed that guys barely talk when they're together? Or at least not deep converstations?" She turned her head towards Phantom Girl. "You know, I don't think Illya's going to forgive Timberwolf for yesterday. I guess he got a bit of a cold from that unexpected swim."
Phantom girl laughed out loud. "Well, it wasn't my idea for Timberwolf to shove that guy into Tundra Lad's chair! But you have to admit, it was a hilarious scene!" Time Lass did admit it was funny now, but when it had happened, she had been truely worried for her friend's safety.
"Well, Illya's been sneezing all day. I just hope this doesn't get in the way of our investigation," Time Lass replied.
"I just wish I'd been there to see it..." Violet said, lifting her glass to her lips. A devious smile crossed her face, and Time Lass put her hands on her hips, effectively creating a "I'm displeased" look and glared at the smaller girl. Vi laughed again, putting the glass down as her laugh turned into her characteristic snort. "So, anyone up for a swim?" she asked, standing up.
--L--
Lightning Lad pulled out his communicator and switched it on. "Open chanel 'D'," he said into the pen.
"Cosmic Boy here, and would you please stick to the proper ettiquite on that thing, Lightning Lad? Where on earth did you come up with that phrase?" Cosmic Boy's voice crackled over the communicator.
"Picked it up from some old spy film I saw a while ago and I just had to use it," Lightning Lad explained.
"Well, don't use it again," Cos replied. He paused before asking, "Is this about the mission or are you missuing your communicator?"
Lightning Lad sat down on a nearby rock. "It's about the mission, don't worry," he said. "We haven't been able to find anything yet. They're here, but we haven't seen them. It's a good thing this planet isn't any bigger or they'd be impossible to find."
Back on the ship Cosmic Boy rolled his eyes. "Well, find them! We need to know what's going on with these two. Somehow I'm positive that there's more to this than love."
Lightning Lad nodded and closed the connection. He had that same feeling, and it just wouldn't go away. Somehow, it seemed like this mission was going to end up being a dangerous one.
--L--
"You ought to do something about that cold," Time Lass said sternly as Illya sneezed yet again. He shook his head firmly.
"No. I'm already taking medicine for my headache, and I don't want to be so doped up that I can't think straight." Time Lass frowned.
"But you're going to be no use to us if you can't see straight because you're sneezing all the time!" She and Tundra Lad were out searching again, and his sneezes made her nervous. He was drawing far too much attention to themselves, when they couldn't afford to lose any anonymity that had. Tundra Lad clamped down on another sneeze, and glared at his partner before she could comment. However, as it worked out, Time Lass wasn't going to say anything at all. Instead, she pointed at a table at the far end of an outdoor dining area.
"I believe we've found them," she whispered.
--L--
Duo Damsel sighed as she pushed aside another branch. She and Bouncy were supposed to be scouting for any signs of Imperiex, but so far they had not encountered anything. It was frustrating, being so unable to complete a mission like this. And the waiting was killing her. "This is getting so boring," she grumbled.
"You could pretend you're on a secret jungle adventure..." Bouncy suggested.
"Bouncy, we are on a secret mission, and you knew that wasn't what I meant. I meant this waiting is boring. No matter what we do, we can't find any leads!" She leaned against the trunk of a tall tree. "Maybe we're wasting our time..." she murmured.
Bouncy walked over next to her and leaned on the tree as well. "Do you really believe that?" he asked. Duo Damsel thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. Bouncy smiled. "Didn't think so. You know, a lot of times, it may seem like we're not getting anywhere, when actually..."
"We are," Duo Damsel finished. Bouncy blinked.
"You saw that movie too?" he asked. Duo Damsel swatted at him half-heartedly.
"You know I saw that movie; you made the whole Legion watch it with you!" Bouncy laughed.
"Well, maybe we shouldn't give up hope just yet. Let's keep looking, ok?" Duo Damsel smiled and hugged him before continuing on their search.
--L--
Time Lass and Tundra Lad crouched behind the low wall around where Imperiex and the Emerald Empress were seated. It was the perfect vantage point, and they wouldn't give themselves away from where they were at like they could at a booth. However, the biggest problem was that the two were talking in low voices, making it hard for the pair to listen in on the conversation.
Illya leaned in closer, as the two lowered their voices. Abruptly, he felt a horrible tickle deep inside his nose. Oh no, if there's a God in Heaven, NO! he thought, wrinkling his nose. Time Lass noticed his distress and shook her head in a silent plea, and the blonde teen wrapped his hands around the lower part of his face, trying to hold it in, but despite his efforts, he couldn't completely muffle the sound.
Empress smiled slightly. "Don't look now, dearest, but I believe we have the Legion on our tails," she whispered furtively. Imperiex started to rise, but the green-haired woman placed her hand on his. "No, I'll handle this." She snapped the fingers of her left hand, and a small army of brainwashed waiters and maids began to converge on the two trapped teens.
They saw the danger coming almost instantly, and stood up, moving back-to-back. "Well, I guess the charade is over," Illya whispered. Time Lass nodded.
"I think we're in trouble."
" . . . Just when you think all the world's pink, it hits you right smack in the eye," her partner returned, his voice low.
"We're about to get caught, and you decide to quote ancient popular songs?" Philipette snapped, not intentionally trying to be mean, but the stess was too much.
"It just slipped out," Illya admitted. Philipette rolled her eyes. So much for her stoic, tough partner.
"Isn't this sweet? The two lovebirds are willing to die for each other," the poisonous voice of Emerald Empress came to them as she walked over, the Eye of Ekron floating above her.
"That is what LOVE does, or were you only worried about the physical?" Philipette spat. Her words obviously struck a nerve, as the Empress's face twisted in hate, and she took a few steps forwards and back-handed the young Time Lady across the face.
"They bore me already," the Empress said. She snapped her fingers and the brainwashed men and women began moving again.
"Well, if they want to fight . . ." Illya began, ripping off his wig and mustache. Disguarding the items, he aimed a high kick to the head at the nearest cronie, effectively dropping him in his tracks. Time Lass sprung into action as well, tessering behind the group to mount a suprise attack. She aimed several kicks with the heels of her boots at the legs of the foes in front of her, causing them to hop and trip. Half the group turned to chase after her, leaving the rest to face Illya's deadly fists. A few brainwashed waiters grabbed the young Russian, who in turn stomped on their feet and elbowed them in the stomach. The waiters staggered away, then rose to come after him again.
"They just don't stay down, do they?" Time Lass asked, racing from the group of maids she had knocked down only a moment ago.
The air around Illya began turning very cold, and Time Lass could have sworn that she saw his hair and clothing move in a non-existant wind. Had he been wearing his parka, she knew that by now, his hood would be up, obscuring his face. He held his hands out in front of him, a steady wave of cold wind blowing up a small snowstorm from his hands. Ice began forming around the bodies of the brainwashed waiters in front of him, and they slowed and finally stopped, covered in a layer of ice.
"My appologies," he said, off-handedly, though Time Lass could tell he was rather proud of himself. Otherwise, he would have definitely noticed the maid coming after him with a metal serving tray from one of the tables.
"ILLUSHA!" She screamed, about to tesser when her concentration was broken by two of the brainwashed maids grabbing her arms and a third hitting her on the top of her head. Illya turned, but only in time for the tray to hit his forehead instead of the back of his skull. With a loud groan, he collapsed to the ground in a semi-fetal position. Philipette shrieked again, but was cut short by a blow to the base of her neck. As her world grew dark she heard the Empress speaking.
" . . . No, don't kill them. Not yet. I don't want bodies letting anyone know what happened. Put them someplace where they won't be found . . . " The voice faded away as the young Time Lady lost conciousness.
-----------
A/N: Well, that ends Act 3. If you're wondering, the title quote and the song quote are from the song "Trouble" written by David McCallum and sung by him and Nancy Sinatra in an episode of The Man from UNCLE. I just felt that it fit the chapter.... ^_^ And the movie that Bouncy refrences is "Labyrinth" starring David Bowie and Jennifer Conolly.