Chapter 16

Brainy leaned back against his chair and sighed. He was in the lab abroad the cruiser, where he had been working overtime for the past week, and it was taking its toll on his body. Now that he was human, he had limitations, and he was still getting used to them – especially the fact that he needed to eat and sleep to live. Right now, he was having problems with the sleeping part. Obviously he could not tax his body as much as he had when he had been fully robot. Closing his eyes as he rested for a while, he let his thoughts wander as he contemplated everything that had happened.

When he'd first turned human and left the Legion, he hadn't had the slightest clue how to take care of his new body. Through trial and error, and through memories of what the other Legionnaires did daily, he slowly learned how to keep himself healthy and well. Accustoming himself to his limits, however, was still something he was not yet used to.

He'd found himself a job in Australia – though he had decided not to remain in New Metropolis, he had not wanted to leave Earth, which had been his home since he'd defected from the Coluan hive mind. Manufacturing supercomputers was hardly a strain for his high intellect, so he quickly advanced his way to the invention department, where he came up with new ideas and technology. He'd also rented a modest apartment not far from the plant where he worked.

When the Legion had called and asked him to return, he had been hesitant, of course, but for more than what his friends thought. He knew they did not blame him for what had happened with Brainiac 1.0, but he did. He should have had better control, put up more resistance…He knew he should not dwell on the past, but he could not help himself. Maybe if he had fought harder, he could have averted the whole situation, and no one would have gotten hurt.

That was why he was reluctant to return to the Legion – he did not think he was worthy to be among them. But hearing their pleas, he had caved in – after all, the Legion was his true family, and really, what sense was there to continue separating himself from them?

Still, he blamed himself. He acted calm and serene on the outside for the benefit of his friends, but he was not so on the inside. He felt even more dejected after his amplifying device had led Dawnstar and the rest of the team to Brainiac 1.0's deserted construction hangar. Even though he knew he could not possibly have known that Brainiac would abandon the place as they broke in, he still berated himself for not anticipating it. Here was his chance, his glorious chance, to finally redeem himself, and then he had fallen short because he had not been able to prevent what had happened. He needed this to work; he needed to be able to make up for losing control – not to redeem himself in the eyes of his teammates, who had forgiven him quickly – but to prove himself, that he could draw confidence from the fact that he had contributed something that would help his friends and finally feel like he was worthy to be a Legionnaire.

He opened his eyes and swiveled his head around as he heard footsteps.

"Oh, sorry, Brainy, did I disturb you?" It was Shrinking Violet, looking as though she might bolt for the door any minute.

Brainy's face softened. "No, not at all. I was just thinking."

"About?" asked Violet as she tentatively came over to sit beside him.

"Um…nothing much." Brainy didn't feel like explaining. He'd already been through a conversation of why he shouldn't blame himself about twenty times since he'd left.

"Oh." Violet remained silent, trying to work up the courage to say what she'd wanted to say ever since the incident with Brainiac 1.0, not knowing how close to the mark she was about Brainy's thoughts.

"Brainy", she said presently. "Brainy…I – I just wanted you to know…I mean, I guess you're still – you know – blaming yourself over what happened…"

At this, Brainy stiffened. How could she possibly know what he had been thinking? Then common sense kicked in and he realized that most of the Legionnaires probably knew he had still not forgiven himself.

"…and I – well, I wanted to tell you…" Violet continued, "No one blames you, Brainy, no one. Maybe it's time you forgive yourself, too. I mean, you defeated Brainiac in the end, and that's what matters. And, I mean, maybe he came back, but that's not your fault. You delayed him, and because of that we had time to get better prepared, and now that he's back, we can beat him with your help. And I…I really hate seeing you so glum." Violet blushed scarlet.

Brainy stared at her for a moment. How did – oh, never mind. What did it matter how she knew he wasn't as peaceful as he pretended to be? The whole Legion probably knew.

"I guess I still have to practice hiding my feelings", he said ruefully.

"Uh, don't do that", objected Violet. "If you do, I won't know how you really are, and I won't know how to help you." She gasped as she realized what she'd said. "Um…" She began to shrink where she sat.

Brainy smiled. "Thank you, Violet."

"Um, no problem", squeaked Violet, who was now only about nine inches tall.

Phantom Girl sighed as she set the heavy, dusty volume down.

"Why such a big sigh?" asked a voice next to her. Phantom Girl yelped and leaped away as she looked for the voice and found no one.

"Sorry", said Invisible Kid sheepishly as he materialized. "I couldn't resist."

"Lyle!" exclaimed Phantom Girl. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Sor-ree", Invisible Kid said again. Turning serious, he asked, "Still nothing?"

Phantom Girl shook her head. "Nope. I seriously doubt we're going to find anything in anything that's not a prophecy."

"Then let's concentrate on those", suggested Invisible Kid.

"I'd like to, but I'm afraid of what we'll find", Phantom Girl confessed. "After last time…"

"Yeah", agreed Invisible Kid. He looked at the yellow scrolls which they had piled up in a heap on a nearby table and chose one at random. "Shall we get it over with?"

"Yeah, let's."

XS appeared on the screen, speaking in her usual rapid-fire way.

"…might be something over at Neptune; can't really tell because it's rather far from here, think you can check it out?" she asked.

"It might take a while, since we're near Venus, but we'll secure the area over here and investigate", promised Bouncing Boy.

"Okay, good, 'cause we're still in the Andromeda system", said XS. "There hardly seems to be anything here, though, looks like all the fun is over at the Milky Way."

Bouncing Boy grinned. "Ah, well, you can't always get lucky", he joked.

"Someday, I will, and then I'll enjoy bragging about it to your face", XS returned. "Okay, I have to go now, it's my turn for scout patrol. XS out."

"Neptune?" inquired Triplicate Girl when the screen had blanked. "He moved all the way from the asteroid belt to Neptune?"

"That's what she said", shrugged Bouncing Boy. "Unfortunately, this means he had this planned all along. No one moves halfway across the system without a very good reason."

"Maybe he just wanted to get away."

"If that's true, he'll have vacated the spot by the time we reach there in favor of a more secure area. Unless I'm right and he's planned this from the beginning and he's got a base there." Bouncing Boy sighed.

"Relax, Bouncy, we'll get him eventually", said Triplicate Girl encouragingly. "A big green robot guy like him is bound to attract notice sometime. And even if he doesn't, you and I both know the Fatal Five and the LSV aren't immune to making mistakes."

"Matter-Eater Lad, would you stop eating all the food?" inquired an irate Timber Wolf.

"I'm hungry", replied Matter-Eater Lad simply.

"You're always hungry."

"Well, I'm hungrier than usual."

"You just ate an entire pie!"

"So what? When I'm nervous, I eat."

"Does that mean you're nervous right now?" asked Timber Wolf shrewdly.

"Duh."

"About what?"

"The whole Brainiac business."

"Is there anything you can chew on that you can't swallow so you can keep your teeth busy while we conserve the food?"

"Um…" Matter-Eater Lad thought for a while. "No, not really."

Timber Wolf sighed in exasperation.

"Relax, Timber Wolf", said Matter-Eater Lad, popping a cherry in his mouth. "I'm almost done. Besides, we can stop by the Mars rest stop to refill the larder."

Timber Wolf threw his hands up in surrender. "Fine. I give up. But you're paying."

"Of course."

"So, how're things in the 41st century now, Kell?" asked Lightning Lad as he, Kell-el, Night Girl, and Antenna Lad flew over eastern New Metropolis on one of their nighttime scouting expeditions.

"A whole lot better than I've ever known it to be", Kell-el replied.

"So, no bad guys?"

"None." Kell-el scanned the ground with his X-ray vision. "And none here either", he added. "I don't know why we keep doing this."

"It's our job", responded Lightning Lad. They came to the heart of town, where Night Girl and Antenna Lad separated from Lightning Lad and Kell-el to scout the western side of the city.

Once they were out of earshot, Kell-el wasted no time. "All right, Lightning Lad, why are you not telling anyone else about Saturn Girl?"

"They…don't need to know", replied Lightning Lad, hoping Kell-el would drop the subject. He didn't like thinking about it.

No such luck. Kell-el was nothing if not determined, and he was definitely not subtle.

"Why not?" he pressed. "Don't they have a right to know?"

"Look, everybody's focusing on finding Brainiac right now", said Lightning Lad heatedly. "They don't need the added distraction. And besides, Saturn Girl doesn't want to tell them, and since the secret's about her, I think she's got a right to keep it quiet, don't you?"

Kell-el kept silent and observed Lightning Lad.

"You love her, don't you?" he stated bluntly.

"I – what?" sputtered Lightning Lad, coming to a full stop.

"You love her", Kell-el repeated. "Don't try to deny it."

"Love…is a strong word", stammered Lightning Lad, trying to regain his composure.

"Obviously. But you clearly have feelings for her", Kell-el continued relentlessly.

"What are you – of course I have feelings for her!" exclaimed Lightning Lad. "She's one of my oldest friends."

"Lightning Lad, honestly, sometimes you can be extremely dimwitted", said Kell-el. "Does nothing penetrate that thick skull of yours?"

This coming from Kell-el?

"Look who's talking", said Lightning Lad. "You were so focused on going after Imperiex you didn't listen to the rest of us about going to Takron Galtose on the rescue mission."

"I was different then", defended Kell-el. "Besides, I came back, didn't I?"

"I – forget I said anything", grumbled Lightning Lad, as he resumed flying.

"So, does she know?" Kell-el asked as he flew beside the Winathian.

"Good grief, Kell, don't you know when to stop talking?" Lightning Lad asked irritably.

"De-ni-al", said Kell-el in a sing-song voice. He grinned. He was really enjoying tormenting Lightning Lad.

"I don't think so", Lightning Lad admitted finally. "I've always been rather careful about that."

"So you admit it?"

Lightning Lad glared at him. "Fine, okay, I confess, whatever! Yes, I do love her, and yes, I'm extremely worried about everything that's happening or that's going to happen to her. When did you become the love expert?"

"I knew it", Kell-el said smugly, ignoring Lightning Lad's question. He said nothing more for a while, then:

"Question is, does she return the feeling?"

"Kell!"

"Master, we are ready to continue working on the project", Tharok said respectfully.

"Excellent", said Brainiac. His lip curled in a cold smile. "Tell everyone to begin carrying out the orders I gave." He looked out at the distant blue planet of Neptune. "Two months hence, the Legion will be no more."

A/N: Yikes! I'm laughing my head off just reading this. So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. We're now entering the home strait. With six more chapters to go, things are going to get spiced up starting next chapter. Thanks to Lillywhitecherub and The Violet Rose for reviewing.

Disclaimer: Puh-lease.