I won't bore you with too much chatting here's the disclaimer; I don't own Legion of Superheroes. SO THERE! But about the next chapter… Ahh, the next chapter. I'm sorry I haven't been updating. I'm really trying hard to get back into the swing of writing. Don't worry, I'll be faster!
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Explosion
Meanwhile, back at the tower, Lightning Lad was starting to go completely stir-crazy. "Can we leave yet?"
"Nope." Gantor said. He placed one of his large hands on Lightning Lad's shoulder and pushed him back down.
"Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl and that 'cartoon' girl left."
"Yoom." Speed said. "But, they left as ghosts and a piece of rubble. Can you do that? Or have any other way to get out without attracting the attention of those two?" She jerked her thumb at the door. Another loud crash was heard in the hall outside where Trish and Tor were still duking it out. The conversation stopped. A sudden burst of light and a loud scream erupted. Tor's face appeared in the door as a large dent. He had hit it so hard; you could see all the details of his face. From the surprised and slightly pained expression on his face, to the small lines that traced his forehead.
Gantor and Speed stared at the face portrait. From outside, Trish's laughter could be heard. There was a loud 'pop' as Tor pulled himself free of the dent. Speed walked up to it. "I'm saving this." She said. "This is too funny!"
The crashes and random Eastlandian speech faded slightly as Tor and Trish fought their way past the kitchen where Lightning Lad was losing it.
He sat down with a 'flump' and stared evilly at the door. Superman cautiously spoke, "It's okay. Don't go nuts on us." This statement was met with a glare. "Never mind then." Said Superman.
Joe, who had been lying on the vent quietly suddenly looked up. "Hey, they're done!" He barked in his gravelly voice.
The door was rudely shoved open and a rather beaten down Trish and Tor entered. Trish was sporting a great black eye and several bruises speckled her face. Her shirt was ripped and covered in dust. Tor looked even worse. His shoulder pads were disheveled, his shirt was almost turned to rags, and his left arm was hanging at a very awkward angle. He gripped this above the elbow with his right hand. Tor was sporting two black eyes and his face was turning purple from, the others thought, the face plant in the door.
They walked in unsteadily, giving each other warning looks. "You done?" Gantor asked.
"Yes." Trish said. "We're done."
Speed smiled. "Good! I was wondering how long it would take until you destroyed the entire tower."
Tor smiled. Then grimaced as the movement stretched the sore muscles too tight. "Ow."
Speed laughed. And soon the whole group had joined in, except Trish and Tor who were too worn out to smile. It wasn't a laugh of amusement, as you would think, but rather a release of anxiety.
--:'''.,.,.,.''':--
Alex and Brainy had been walking for a long time, each of them sharing stories about themselves. Alex telling Brainy about all the crazy things he and Trish had done and Brainy, in turn, telling Alex about his team. For Brainy this was something amazing. He never talked like this to anyone. Alex made him feel safe – and he felt that he could tell Alex anything. Brainy found himself speaking avidly about every single thing that bothered him – from his teammates ignorance about (to him at least) everything to the fact of being a descendant of the ones who had destroyed the planet Krypton and at the same time being friends with the last Kryptonian who didn't know about it.
Alex listened and did not interrupt. He didn't even try to give advice. Alex seemed to know that this Coluan just wanted to speak and be heard.
Brainy had just finished explaining, at Alex's request, where and what the Coluan race was doing when he spotted the tower coming up on the left. "There it is." He said. But as he said it he noticed the tower looked very strange.
Alex didn't notice Brainy's hesitation and walked up to the door, his ghostly feet off the ground about three centimeters. 'How do we open it?'
Brainiac 5 shrugged. "I was hoping you would know."
Alex looked at him strangely. 'And why would that be?'
He shrugged again. "I don't know." As he said this, he looked around and spotted a hole in the wall. "But that way looks as good as any."
The two quickly entered – being careful not to touch the slimy red ooze on the edges of the hole. The wind whistled around the cracked edges of the stone, making the building sound as if it were moaning in pain. 'Creepy.' Alex said.
"Lots of things here are creepy." Brainy said. "I wonder what happened here…"
Alex looked around. The hall they were in looked like a small bomb had gone off. 'I'm guessing either a bomb of an Eastlandian feud.'
"Eastlandian feud?"
'Yeah, we Eastlandians can get pre-tty scary when we get mad.' Alex said. 'Which way?'
Brainy opened the top flap on his arm to reveal the computer pad beneath. Alex watching fascinated, hovering over Brainiac 5's head to get a better look. 'Whoa. That's cool.' He said. 'Not all the Coluan stuff is bad I guess.'
Brainy smiled. "Yeah, most but not all." He typed in a command and brought up a holographic screen with dots showing where his teammates were. "It looks like they're up about two floors. But, how do we get up there?"
'May I suggest the elevator?' Alex asked.
"Elevator?"
'That is what you call that thing right?' Alex pointed to the end of the hall where an elevator stood open.
Brainy shook his head in disbelief. "Wow. That's so… so…"
'Unexpected?'
"Yeah."
Alex smiled and walked over to the elevator. 'Which floor?'
--:'''.,.,.,.''':--
Gantor wiped a tear from his eye. Everyone had finally got over the laughing fit and relaxed a little. Trish was currently bandaging her leg where Tor had cut it with his scythe. Tor was attempting to polish his weapon with his right arm, and he wasn't having much success. The red blood that stained his scythe was just being spread around even more. This made the scythe look even more like the bloodthirsty, legendary weapon used by the Grim Reaper.
Trish tied the bandages Speed handed her tightly around her still bleeding leg. She gingerly stood up and hobbled to stand near Tor. "You have got to learn how to control your temper." She said.
Tor stopped polishing his scythe and stood up. His left arm hung down and shook limply, looking as though it was on backwards. "You weren't much better." He said.
Yoom quickly spoke, trying as hard as she could to prevent another fight, "Um… Tor! Let me look at your arm, I think it's broken."
Tor looked down at his limp arm as if he was seeing it for he first time. "Huh. So it is." His face screwed up in a bout of pain. "Trish."
"Yes Tor?" She said.
"I hate you." He growled.
Trish attempted a smile; it failed miserably, "Yeah, well I hate you too."
"I hate ya both!" Said a bright voice from the door.
The entire group turned as one to the door. "Brainy!" Lightning Lad and Superman cried together. Brainy was indeed standing in the doorway. And to his left…
"Alex?" Tor and Trish said together. Alex wiggled his fingers at them like a small child waving to his parents after a day of school.
Trish's eyes grew wide and Tor's mouth slowly opened. Then Trish's eyes rolled back into her head and she started to fall in a dead faint. "Whoa! I got ya!" Tor said. He extended his broken left arm and caught Trish. His face turned pure white. "Aggghrsslkhh!" He gave a strangled cry of pain before he too fell to the ground in a faint.
Alex stared at his two fallen friends. "Hmm. Am I that scary?" He asked as he put his arms up in a shrug.
Brainy laughed quietly to himself. The Legion and DAWIPA team looked at him. "What just happened?" Asked Gantor. "And why are Trish and Tor no longer among the conscious?"
"Alex." Brainy said simply. He turned to Superman, "What happened here? Why is this place so torn up?"
"Trish and Tor went a little crazy after the story." Superman said. "Where have you been?"
"Around." He answered. His maroon eyes followed, to everyone else at least, an invisible specter as whatever it was went over to Trish and Tor.
Before anyone could ask the android more, Phantom Girl, Saturn Girl, and Yoom came in. They looked terrible. The end of Phantom Girl's cape was stained with mud and Yoom had giant over exaggerated bags under her eyes. But their eyes grew in excitement, or maybe it was anger, at the sight of their lost quarry. "Brainy!" Phantom Girl and Saturn Girl ran over and promptly squished him in a hug. Yoom flew to Speed's shoulder.
"Oh what a night!" She said dramatically. "Crazy teenagers, wild dogs, and wet icky moss, oh!" Yoom threw a hand over her eyes. A white handkerchief appeared in her other hand and fluttered as though in a high wind. "It was absolutely murderous." She finished in a British accent. Speed giggled. Yoom let her arm drop and looked over at the still forms of Trish and Tor. "What's with them?" She said, her voice, now back to normal. She turned around in midair and donned a Sherlock Holmes hat, cape and magnifying glass. "I deduce it as a sudden traumatic shock causing a slight failure in the frontal lobes of the brains. In other words, for you Watson types, they have fainted." She smiled broadly.
Joe looked at Yoom, "Are you tired?" Yoom nodded and floated over to lie down and snuggle in his fur. The Legion looked at Joe with confused expressions on their faces. "When she gets really tired she starts to act like the cartoon she originally was." He said.
Yoom nodded sleepily. "So-" she yawned, "what's with them?" She said, pointing at the still forms of Trish and Tor.
"That's what we're asking." Gantor said. His face swiveled to look at Brainy, who was still being crushed in a hug by the girls. "What happened?"
Brainy attempted to duck under and out of the girls strangling arms. "Get off! I'm fine." He untangled himself from the girls and brushed himself off. "What do you mean 'what happened'?"
Speed gave Brainy a look as though he was crazy. "Trish and Tor just keeled over. Honestly, I can see the similarity between you and their 'Alex' but come on!"
Brainy looked over to Alex, who was kneeling next to Trish. Alex looked at him and shrugged. 'I don't know what their problem is.' He said.
"Alex is right there." Brainy said. He pointed at Alex. Alex stood up and waved.
"There's no one there." Lightning Lad said.
Brainy looked again. True enough, Alex was gone. "Yeah, he's moved. He's on your right Joe."
Joe whirled around to face Alex. He was about a foot away from him by Brainy's measurements. "He's not here."
Alex sighed. 'I guess I need to show them.' He said to Brainy. He grabbed Joe's tail and pulled.
Joe screamed. He attempted to dislodge the ghost that still held on to his tail by kicking out at the air next to him. It was quite comical to watch. Brainy smirked. He could see Alex holding on to the tail and being dragged first to the right then to the left. The group watched as Joe started to run in circles with Yoom holding onto his mane dressed in a cowboy outfit. Brainy almost started to laugh at Alex who was being dragged by Joe in little circles.
The others, though laughing, were completely bewildered. "Brainy what is going on?" Lightning Lad asked.
Brainy looked at him. "I already told you. It's Alex. Trish and Tor must have seen him and the shock-"
"Alex?" Superman asked. "Isn't he supposed to be… you?" He finished quietly.
"Well, yes." Brainy said. "But… well, I'm not sure I know how to explain it."
Phantom Girl walked over to Trish and Tor. "Hello?" She waved her hand in front of Trish's face.
Trish's eyes fluttered. She moaned.
Tor lifted his hand that was not being smashed by Trish's body. "Yashe tryppened? (Yash-ee try-app-en-ded?)" He said. A mix of English and Eastlandian jumbling his words. He took a deep breath. "What happened?" He sat up. Phantom Girl lifted Trish so he could get his arm out. "Where's Alex?" He looked around the room, completely alert.
"Alex is here?" Phantom Girl asked. Tor nodded. She stood up and offered him a hand. He took it. "ALEX Alex. Not Brainy right?" Tor nodded.
Brainy looked to the still circling Joe, "Alex? Get off Joe."
Joe felt the grip on his tail disappear. He looked at the spot where Alex was standing. "Alright whoever you are, come out!"
Yoom popped up behind Joe's right ear. "Yeah! We know you're there you varmint! Come out with yer hands up!" She shouted in a western accent. She pointed two pistols at the spot where Alex was.
Brainy looked at Alex. "Why can't they see you?"
'How am I supposed to know?' Alex said.
This time the group heard him. "Who said that?" Asked Lightning Lad.
Brainy sighed. "For the last time its Alex."
'Hello!' Alex called.
"Wait. Wait. Wait." Saturn Girl lifted her hands and held them up in a stop motion. "Isn't Alex dead?"
'Am I?' asked Alex.
Saturn Girl suddenly pointed in horror at the spot where Alex stood. "Oh my God there he is! Just like in the memory!"
Lightning Lad's and Superman's mouths dropped open is shock. Joe turned tail and ran to the other side of the room. He hid behind Gantor's leg. Gantor gasped and sat down on the counter. Tor looked straight at Alex. He opened his mouth to speak but only got as far as "O, Yamista…" before he closed his eyes and fell back on top of Trish with a 'thump'.
'Wow. What a reaction… Do I have something in my teeth?' Alex looked around at the stunned Legion and DAWIPA. 'Maybe I should introduce myself to you… Hmmm… what would be a good word to describe me?' No one moved. Alex looked at Brainy who shrugged. 'Are they always like…' he gestured to the open mouths and bugging eyes, 'this?'
Brainy shook his head. "No. Come on guys. What are you so scared of?"
Superman shook the steely hand of shock from his body. "Brainy, what is the heck is going on?"
"How should I know? I'm the one who just found out the ground shattering secret about my life." Brainy said, anger creeping subtly into his voice.
'Yep. "Ground Shattering" That's what I am!' Alex smiled. No one joined in. 'Oh come on! I'm not that scary!' Alex pondered this for a moment, 'Am I?'
Alex walked, or more accurately floated (his feet were not even touching the ground) over to where Trish and Tor were laying. 'Come on buddy. Get off my sister.' He lifted Tor's limp form off of Trish and gently set Tor next to her. Alex kneeled down beside Trish's head. He lifted her head and placed it on his thighs. Alex smiled. He felt his eyes grow misty and laughed quietly. 'Thought I'd never see you again, Trish. You should've looked harder.' His voice hardened slightly. Brainy noticed- but he wasn't sure how. According to his scanners Alex's voice hadn't changed in the slightest.
Superman looked at Phantom Girl. Phantom Girl looked at Lightning Lad. Lightning Lad looked at Saturn Girl. Saturn Girl looked at Brainy. Brainy raised his eyebrows at them. "What?"
They all looked away except Saturn Girl. "Um… Brainy… What exactly happened?" He opened his mouth again to tell her again that he didn't know but she cut him off- "I mean, what happened after the memory? Are you okay?"
Brainy closed his open mouth. He didn't have an answer for this. Was he okay? He had completely forgotten, for a second at least, to think about his own feelings. He looked at his teammates. They were all looking at him waiting for a response. Brainy couldn't think what he felt. It was almost as if his mind was preventing from dealing with the information. He shrugged.
Saturn Girl looked at him strangely. Lightning Lad just blinked at him. "A shrug? That's all we get?" He mimicked Brainy's shrug, screwing his face up into an over exaggerated dumb smile. "Come on! We're dying here!"
Trish moaned. Alex spoke to the group without looking away from her. 'Why did they feud?'
"Tor was… angry that Trish never told him that the Coluans saw her on the ship." Speed said, looking at the ground.
Alex nodded. He pushed a stray hair away from Trish's face. Unconsciously trying to rub off a smudge on her cheek. Gently his hand wiped away a drip of blood now coming from a large scratch on her forehead. 'Always looking out for me… even now.' He looked at the others in the room. 'It wasn't Trish they saw.' He said. 'It was me.'
No one moved at this statement. No one could quite grasp what Alex had said.
"What?" Asked Gantor.
'Trish and I were the last ones on the ship- but I tripped and the Coluans saw me.' Alex looked down to his sister. 'Isn't that right Trish?'
Everyone focused their eyes on Trish. She was stiff as a board but her eyes were now open. The white pupils were almost three times larger than normal. The eyes were as big a dinner plates, staring at Alex. "No." she said. She pushed herself out of her little brother's arms and started to back away. "No." She said again, more forcefully. She backed away, eyes glued onto the form of Alex. "No." This was more panicked as Trish's movements became stiffer.
Tor started to stir. He blearily blinked his eyes and sat up. His head turned to see Trish still backing away. "Trish?" She looked at him and shuddered. Tor crawled over to her and held her tightly. "What? What is it Trish? What's wrong?" He whispered gently into her ear. She didn't answer and pointed, her arm visibly shaking, at Alex. Tor turned to Alex. His eyes narrowed.
Alex stood up as though he had been shouted at. 'He-hey Tor.' He sounded a lot less confident than when he had first entered.
"You shouldn't be here." Trish and Tor said together. Tor's voice low and serious, Trish's high and panicked.
'But-'
"No!" Trish buried her head in Tor's shoulder; much like a small child during a scary movie.
The rest of the people in the room could only stare at the strange family reunion. Superman, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, and Phantom Girl longed to ask Brainy what had happened to him, how Alex had appeared. Saturn Girl almost ached to try to comfort the small android; who was standing completely absorbed with the scene before him. Thanks to her physic abilities she could tell that Brainy was seriously shaken by the night's events. But for some reason, Brainy wasn't thinking about what he had learned. Something was wrong but she couldn't understand why.
Alex stood there dumbfounded. His mouth was open. Alex stared at Tor and Trish with eyes that almost burned with questions and hurt. Tor continued to glare at him, eyes burning into the specter of his friend a long time gone. Abruptly he turned his piercing gaze onto Brainy. "Take him back." He said. "His time is gone. It's over."
Alex opened his eyes wider in shock. Tor glared at him. Alex closed his eyes and nodded, eyes on the ground. 'I just, wanted to be real again…' He whispered, so quietly it was as though it was just a thought. Alex started to float backwards. Brainy looked down at the ground, his face wearing an expression identical to Alex. Phantom Girl watched in terror as the ghostly form of Alex floated backwards as though in a current to Brainy- who was now standing like Alex.
Brainy and Alex collided. There was a dull flash of blue light as Alex was absorbed into Brainy's form. Brainy's head shot up and looked at Tor. " ' I just wanted to be real.' " He said in a voice that had the faint ring of Alex's voice in it. Brainiac 5 shuddered and closed his eyes. He took a step back before shaking his head and straightened up. As his eyes opened he found everyone staring at him. "What?"
"Where did Alex go?" Asked Lightning Lad, a little frightened. This did not go unnoticed by Brainy.
"Why? Are you scared?" He asked sarcastically. "Is the scary ghost gonna get you?"
Lightning Lad backed up slightly at the sting in Brainy's voice, a sting that had never been there before. "Hey- no need to attack me dude."
"Who's attacking you?" Brainy asked, a little too loudly.
"Hey- calm down." Superman said.
Brainy turned to him, a fire burning behind his metal eyes that rivaled Superman's own laser-shooting retinas. "I am calm!" He said.
Trish looked up in terror at Brainy. "Alex! Stop it! Let go of him! You have to let go!"
Brainy looked over at Trish. "But-"
"ALEX!" Trish screamed, tears flowing down her face once more, "Please just stop!"
Brainy shuddered. He looked up at Trish. His eyes were no longer filled with anger- instead there was terror in them.
Saturn Girl and Phantom Girl stepped back from just catching a side view of Brainy's eyes. Saturn Girl for sensing Brainy's terror with her psychic abilities and Phantom Girl because she could sense Alex with her own ghosting abilities.
Then Brainy spoke- in that voice that was half his and half Alex, "What's happening to me?" He raised his hand up and stared at it as though he had never seen it before. "What's happening to me?" He repeated again. He looked up and this time scanned the room- "Help me." He whispered. Then after giving Superman, Saturn Girl, and Phantom Girl the piercing look of terror that was in his eyes he ran out of the room once again and back into the night.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
I am sooooooo sorry for how long this took. I have had a horrible summer of writer's block. I'm trying desperately to get back into these stories. And I'm sorry. Thank you for staying with this story- I'll try to be better. Please don't give up on me- I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!