Chapter 9

"Magenta, ochre, indigo, russet, maroon, forest green…" chanted Color Kid as he flicked his hand with each color, making the chair change hues from his seat on the couch.

Stone Boy, who was sitting on that self-same chair reading, looked up in exasperation. "Will you quite making the armchair change color already?" he cried. "I'm trying to read here!"

"I'm bored, Stone Boy", said Color Kid, shrugging. "This is the only entertainment I've got."

"Ever tried reading a book?" Stone Boy asked dryly.

"Nah. That's too boring. I need action."

"Well, go find action somewhere else, because I want to read. And stop changing the color!"

"Oh, all right", said Color Kid, dropping his hand and stopping the chair's color-change at a brilliant orange. "If you feel that strongly about it…"

"I do."

"I'll go find something else to do." He got up and walked to the door, but before he reached it, it swung open to reveal an overly excited Porcupine Pete.

"Guys!" he exclaimed. "Cosmic Boy's here!"

"What?" said Stone Boy, his book forgotten.

"Come on, let's go!" cried Pete, grabbing Color Kid and speeding through the hallway.

"Ouch!" said Color Kid. "Pete, quills!"

"Oh, sorry."

They reached the main room, which Cosmic Boy was already in, along with Chlorophyll Kid, Infectious Lass, Fire Lad, Night Girl, Polar Boy, Antenna Lad, and Double-Header (the last five of which joined the Subs after being rejected in their Legion audition somewhere between the Legion of Substitute Heroes' inception and the present).

"Oh, there you are", said Cosmic Boy as Pete, Color Kid, and Stone Boy entered. "Good. As I was just telling the others, we're facing a new threat in Brainiac 1.0, who has somehow resurrected himself as Brainiac 6 after being destroyed five months ago, and we need all the help we can get."

"Wait, you mean Brainiac 5's evil ancestor came back to life?" asked Chlorophyll Kid.

"Why does everyone call him that?" Cosmic Boy asked exasperatedly of no one in particular. "Yes, he came back to life – don't ask", he added hurriedly as he saw the questioning looks on the Subs' faces. "And he's an even bigger threat than before. We need to put him down for good, and to do that, we need as many people as possible."

"We won't let you down, sir", Pete said enthusiastically with a salute.

"Good to know", said Cosmic Boy, actually sounding sincere. "Report at Legion HQ tomorrow morning at nine. We've got plans to make, and it would help if everyone got acquainted with everyone else."

"We'll be there", Pete promised, before anyone else could say anything.

Superman, Dream Girl, and Colossal Boy appeared in a bright flash of light right in the middle of the main room of Legion HQ. At the time of their arrival, only Phantom Girl was in the room, in front of the Mission Monitor Board.

"Superman!" she exclaimed when she saw him. She nearly bowled him over with a bear hug. "It's good to see you again."

"Where's everybody else?" inquired Superman, looking around the otherwise empty room.

"Cosmic Boy went over to the Legion of Substitute Heroes' Headquarters, Chameleon Boy's gone back to Durla to inform R.J. Brande of the situation, and Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl are on scout duty", Phantom Girl replied.

"How is Saturn Girl?" Superman asked.

"Oh. I suppose Dream Girl told you?" Phantom Girl eyed the Naltorian.

"Yeah."

"Well, she's better than ever. Did Dream Girl also tell you she can now generate force fields?"

"No."

"Well, she can. And not just thought blasts, either. Real, strong force fields, which can defend and attack."

"You guys brought Kell-el in yet?" queried Colossal Boy.

"No, not yet", responded Phantom Girl. "But Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl should be back soon. Then we can go get him. Speaking of which", she added as the two entered.

"City's clear, as far as we can tell", said Lightning Lad. "Hiya, Supes."

Saturn Girl rolled her eyes at the nickname and smiled at Superman. "Welcome back. And before you ask, I'm fine."

"Excellent", said Phantom Girl. "Shall we go get Kell-el now?"

"Dream Girl and I'll stay here", volunteered Colossal Boy.

"I'll stay behind too", said Saturn Girl.

"If you say so." Phantom Girl turned to Dream Girl. "Can I have my time-bubble device back?"

Dream Girl handed it over.

"All right, time setting, 4008. Global coordinates…?" Phantom Girl looked inquiringly at Lightning Lad, who thought for a while before he hesitantly named the longitude and latitude.

"You are sure these are right, aren't you?" queried Phantom Girl as she punched in the coordinates.

"It was a 41st century New Metropolis as far as I could tell, all right?" said Lightning Lad. "We'll just hope for the best."

"Okay. You coming, Superman?"

"Sure."

Phantom Girl pressed the button and she, Superman, and Lightning Lad vanished.

Suddenly, the alarm sounded.

"Let me guess", said Saturn Girl wearily. "The Fatal Five and the Legion of Supervillains?"

"Close", replied Colossal Boy. "It's the LSV, minus the Fatal Five. They're downtown at the Superman museum."

"Why do these guys always pick the most inopportune moment to strike?" groaned Dream Girl.

"You can blame Brainiac 1.0 for that", said Saturn Girl, already moving. "Contact Cosmic Boy, tell him we've got a situation downtown." She paused. "On second thought, tell him to bring in the Subs. Let's see how they do. They should know who they're up against, anyway."

"That might be a good idea", agreed Dream Girl. "We can hold up the LSV for a while."

"You go on ahead", said Colossal Boy. "I'll call CB One and catch up to you in a few minutes."

Saturn Girl nodded. "All right, let's go."

Cosmic Boy was just getting ready to leave the Subs' Headquarters when he got Colossal Boy's call.

"The LSV are what?" he demanded.

"They're wrecking the Superman museum", Colossal Boy's holographic image replied. "Saturn Girl and Dream Girl have gone to head them off. Saturn Girl said to bring in the Subs."

"Did she? All right, we'll be there as soon as possible." Cosmic Boy ended the call and looked around at the expectant faces of the Substitute Heroes.

"All right, here's the thing", said Cosmic Boy. "We've got a situation downtown. The Legion of Supervillains is wrecking the Superman museum and causing all sorts of havoc. We're a bit shorthanded, so you're up."

"All right!" exclaimed Porcupine Pete, punching his fist in the air.

"Keep in mind", Cosmic Boy interjected quickly, "The LSV are dangerous. They're not a minor issue like Starfinger – they're a major problem. So you're going to need your wits about you, and don't get overconfident."

"We hear you", said Pete, already heading for the hangar where their one and only cruiser was parked. "Let's go, Subs!"

Esper scanned the sky for any signs of the Legion – specifically one Legionnaire in particular.

"Forget it, Esper", said Tyr as he shot a blast in the road, making a rocky pothole. "The boss doesn't want you to do anything you're not supposed to on this trip. Besides, he said we'd get our revenge soon enough – and that includes yours."

"Which I could be planning instead of carrying out these stupid diversions", Esper retorted. "But I won't do anything rash – this time."

"Legionnaires, ten o' clock!" Hunter warned. His teammates looked up to see Saturn Girl and Dream Girl speeding toward them.

"Why, there's only two of them", Wave said incredulously. "They are getting confident to the point of being arrogant, aren't they?"

"More likely they're shorthanded", said Esper. "Much as I hate to admit it, Saturn Girl isn't a fool."

"Well, this oughta be fun", said Tyr, grinning wickedly.

Before they could mobilize completely, however, the Legion of Supervillains found themselves enveloped in a translucent force field.

"Curse Saturn Girl!" Esper cried, scrabbling at the field.

"Never mind", said Tyr, aiming at it with the weapon that was his right arm. "I bet she can't hold it up if we shoot it. Hunter!"

Hunter began slashing at the field as Tyr started shooting, but after a few seconds, it vanished.

"There, what did I tell – hey, where'd they go?" Tyr looked up.

"Right here, ugly", Dream Girl announced as she kneed his head from behind. Moving faster than the rest of the LSV could react, she then tripped Esper and slammed into Ron-Karr as Saturn Girl joined her and kicked Hunter. A few seconds later, Colossal Boy came onto the scene, punching Wave out of the way.

"Hey!" exclaimed Ron-Karr as he turned his hand into a giant pincer and pinched at Dream Girl.

"Ouch!" she cried. She slapped the pincer away.

Meanwhile, as Saturn Girl fought with Hunter, Esper got to her feet and prepared to mind-blast the Legionnaire. But then a large, sharp, quill drove into her back.

"OW!" she yelled. She plucked the quill out and looked around for her assailant. Then she spotted Cosmic Boy and the ten Substitute Heroes. Saturn Girl and Dream Girl retreated, as did Colossal Boy and Cosmic Boy.

The Legion of Supervillains was now facing the Legion of Substitute Heroes for the first time.

A/N: I'm in a real hurry, so I have to go. Thanks to all who reviewed!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything - well, except the story plot.