Chapter 10

"Wow", said Lightning Lad as he looked around. "This place looks a whole lot nicer than the last time I was here."

"This is the 41st century without Imperiex", Phantom Girl reminded him, stowing away the time-bubble device. "So, where do we find Kell-el?"

"Somebody looking for me?" a voice behind them said.

They spun around and saw Kell-el, with a half-amused, half-resigned expression on his face.

"Hi there, Kell-el", greeted Superman.

"Everything okay here?" Phantom Girl asked.

"Yeah, now that Imperiex is gone. But I'm assuming this isn't just a social visit?"

"Anything but", Lightning Lad agreed. "Do you remember Brainiac 1.0?"

"Brainiac 5's inner demon?"

"You could call him that. Anyway, he's not so much of an inner demon anymore. He's somehow brought himself back to life, and now he's a separate, very real person – and a big threat."

"Great", said Kell-el sarcastically. "It's never an easy one, is it?"

"Unfortunately, no", answered Superman.

"Okay", Kell-el sighed resignedly, "I suppose we'd better go."

"Ah-choo!" sneezed Wave after Infectious Lass' purple glop of viruses hit her, effectively incapacitating her. Near her, Tyr had been pinned down by Porcupine Pete's quills, but though that didn't hold him long, when he finally blasted the last of the spikes away, Stone Boy kicked him – hard (he now had the ability to move while in rock-state).

Esper was concentrating on defending herself from Double-Header's two-head attacks, but then a freezing blast of wind from Polar Boy took her off guard long enough for Double-Header to knock her out. Night Girl was totaling Ron-Karr in the darkness of an enormous clump of plants created by Chlorophyll Kid, and Fire Lad and Color Kid downed Hunter after Antenna Lad tuned in to a frequency where a particularly shrill, screechy song had temporarily deafened the LSV member.

"All right!" exclaimed Pete. "Great work, Subs. Now we can – huh?" For the LSV had suddenly disappeared. "Where'd they go?"

"That would be Brainiac 1.0", answered Cosmic Boy. "He'll have teleported them back to wherever he is. But good work." He sounded impressed. "Since you're here, you might as well come back to Legion HQ with us."

"Awesome!" said Double-Header's right head.

"Double awesome!" added the left head.

"Hey, where is everyone?" Phantom Girl looked all around the empty Legion HQ.

"They must be out on a distress call", Lightning Lad reasoned. "What do you say we go see if it's the LSV or the Fatal Five?"

"No need for that, Lightning Lad. We've taken care of it."

Wait a minute, thought Lightning Lad. That can't be…can it? "Pete?" he asked incredulously as the Subs, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy, Colossal Boy, and Dream Girl appeared in the doorway.

Porcupine Pete grinned from ear to ear. "Hear that, guys?" he asked delightedly, nudging Chlorophyll Kid with his elbow. "He remembers me!"

'Course I do, Lightning Lad thought. I got stabbed with one of your spikes! Out loud, he said, "Who was it? The LSV or the Fatal Five?"

"It was the Legion of Supervillains, if that's what you mean", replied Antenna Lad.

Lightning Lad looked surprised. "You took down the Legion of Supervillains? By yourself?"

"Well, there were five of them and ten of us, it wasn't that hard", Polar Boy shrugged.

"Whoa!" said Color Kid, who had only just noticed Superman and Kell-el. "I'd say I was seeing double, but you look too different. Still, how come there are two of you?"

"Kell-el was created from my DNA", Superman explained. "He's from the 41st century."

"Oh. So the rumors were true?" asked Chlorophyll Kid.

"Some of them."

"What are we going to do now?" Infectious Lass wanted to know. "Cosmic Boy said this wasn't all that's going on."

"No, it isn't", Saturn Girl told them. "It's much bigger, involving one of the most dangerous villains we've ever encountered. We're grouping everyone together tomorrow morning for a meeting to decide on a plan of action. For now, keep your eyes open, and watch each other's backs."

Saturn Girl stood on the roof of Legion HQ, looking down on the city of New Metropolis. The evening was cool, and a breeze blew gently as the sun set, but for Saturn Girl, there was no peace.

"I can sense you, you know", she said. She turned.

Lightning Lad grinned sheepishly. "I wondered if you would."

Giving him a small smile, Saturn Girl shifted her gaze back to the city.

"You okay?" Lightning Lad asked in concern, walking over to stand next to her.

"Yes…maybe…I don't know", Saturn Girl admitted. "It's this whole Brainiac 1.0 situation. It gives me the creeps. I have a feeling this is much, much more than it seems. And I also get the vague impression that somehow, this is all connected to me."

"You?" Lightning Lad was surprised and a little apprehensive, for he too had a sense of foreboding that was linked to Saturn Girl. "Why would it be connected to you?"

"I don't know", sighed Saturn Girl. "I really don't. But even Dream Girl admitted she's been having a sort of premonition about me – no dreams, but a strong, intuitive feeling. And I can't shake the sensation that I'm somehow more deeply involved in all of this than anyone else."

"That doesn't make much sense", Lightning Lad remarked.

"I know it doesn't. And I have no idea why I feel this way. But I can't explain it any better."

She fell silent as the sky began to darken, and Lightning Lad remained quiet as well, but at length he said, "Saturn Girl, even if you are connected to everything that's happening somehow, you know you can count on me." Oh, wonderful! You couldn't come up with anything better?

However, Saturn Girl didn't think he needed to. "Thank you, Garth", she said sincerely. She looked back out at the almost dark sky, her hand brushing lightly against Lightning Lad's as she did so, and for a moment, they looked into each other's eyes, each feeling the rush of new emotions that were suddenly springing from hidden corners of their hearts.

The next morning, at 8:55, the Subs showed up at Legion HQ for the meeting.

"You're early", Cosmic Boy remarked as he let them in.

"It's an important meeting", said Pete solemnly.

"Isn't everyone supposed to be here?" asked Fire Lad, looking around the room, where Lightning Lad, Phantom Girl, Dream Girl, Colossal Boy, Chameleon Boy (who had returned from Durla), Superman, and Kell-el were already seated.

"The others will be present on digital screens", Cosmic Boy explained. "It would be rather impractical for all the Legionnaires to abandon their posts and flock to Earth."

"Oh. Right."

Color Kid was looking around the place with an air of interest. "This place looks a bit different. Did you guys do some renovating?"

"Had to", replied Chameleon Boy. "The place was totally thrashed by Imperiex."

"And you got it up and working again in five months?" Antenna Lad asked in awe.

Cham shrugged. "We had help. And it was less than five months."

"Cool!"

"Uh, where's Saturn Girl?" asked Polar Boy, looking around.

"She's outside, waiting for Brainiac 5", answered Phantom Girl.

Just then a digital screen opened up, bearing the image of Shrinking Violet. "Hi guys!" she said cheerily. "Brainy here yet?"

"Soon", Colossal Boy responded, stifling a small chuckle.

"Oh." Violet looked slightly disappointed. Within the next few minutes digital images of several other Legionnaires appeared – Bouncing Boy, Triplicate Girl, Star Boy, Dawnstar, Tyroc, XS, Ultra Boy, Nemesis Kid, and Chemical King*. These were joined by images of Timber Wolf, Sun Boy, Karate Kid, Wildfire, Element Lad, Blok, Invisible Kid, and Matter-Eater Lad. It was now 9:04, but there was still no sign of Brainiac 5.

They waited a few more minutes, but then Cosmic Boy grew impatient. "All right, Brainy probably got held up or something, but we can't wait forever, so –"

He's here. The thought echoed clearly in everyone's heads as Saturn Girl's telepathic message reached them. The ones physically present in the room relayed the message verbally to those on digital screens, since Saturn Girl's telepathy did not reach them.

Brainiac 5 had returned.

A/N: Ah, yes, reunion at last! And romance too, of course. By the way, I've listed all the Legionnaires who appeared on the show in some form, either as cameos or if they were mentioned at all (with the exception of Ayla Ranzz, a.k.a Light Lass - hello, she's like eight! I can't satisfactorily explain that). I had to check Wikipedia. Thanks to The Violet Rose for reviewing. She's my most faithful reviewer so far - every single chapter! Follow her example (hint hint).

Disclaimer: Now really, why would I post this up on FanFiction if I could make it into a movie or a Season 3 or something?