Chapter 21
"How exactly can she be in a – ahem – coma?" inquired Cosmic Boy, struggling to keep his voice calm as Kell-el and the others, with the exception of Superman, Brainy, and Lightning Lad, went to help the other injured Legionnaires and sort things out.
"Well, I'd have to examine her before I can say for sure", Brainy said. "But I can tell you, after that battle with Brainiac 1.0, her condition is likely to be extremely fragile."
Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, and Superman waited anxiously outside sick bay while Brainy completed his medical examination of Saturn Girl. At length, Cosmic Boy spoke.
"I thought this was only supposed to happen if she didn't beat Brainiac."
Lightning Lad raised his head from his hands and sighed heavily. "So did I, Cos."
Invisible Kid, passing by, overheard him.
"Are you talking about the prophecy?" he asked.
"Yeah", said Cosmic Boy. "I thought this was only supposed to happen to Saturn Girl if Brainiac won."
"Apparently not", said Dream Girl, as she came in too with a small bandage on her forehead.
"How are you doing?" asked Lightning Lad.
"I'm fine", said Dream Girl. "I got lucky. The robot that knocked me out didn't bother to do anymore damage. The more important issue is Saturn Girl."
"You mean the others are all right?" Cosmic Boy inquired.
"I just checked with Brainy, and he said that they should all be fine", Dream Girl affirmed. Some of them are pretty banged up, but they'll live. Saturn Girl, on the other hand…"
"Wait, hold it, what are you guys talking about?" interrupted Superman, who had been listening to the whole conversation in confusion. "What was only supposed to happen if Brainiac won? What prophecy are we referring to?"
The other four glanced at each other. Invisible Kid sighed. "I guess there's no point hiding it anymore", he said. "Phantom Girl and I came across an additional passage in the prophecies about Saturn Girl."
"And?" Superman prompted when he hesitated.
"And it said that Saturn Girl might not survive the battle."
"What!" exclaimed Superman, looking from Invisible Kid to the others. "And you're only telling us about this now?"
"Actually, we're only telling you about this now", corrected Dream Girl. "We already knew about it."
"Who else knows?" Superman asked suspiciously.
"Just us, Phantom Girl, Colossal Boy, and Kell-el", replied Cosmic Boy.
"Kell-el knows about this?" said Superman in disbelief.
"Well, he was in Legion HQ when we called", said Invisible Kid.
"Why keep it such a secret?" queried Superman.
"It was Saturn Girl's decision", Lightning Lad said. "She didn't want to distract anybody else with the knowledge. It would all have come out eventually, anyway."
"Ahem", said a voice. They all turned to see Brainy standing by the doorway.
"Did you hear all that?" asked Lightning Lad.
"Most of it." Brainy walked over to them. "I've finally completed evaluating Saturn Girl as well as the other Legionnaires. Most will recover within a week, though a few who had more serious injuries will take longer to recuperate. However, they will all heal perfectly."
"And Saturn Girl?" asked Cosmic Boy, standing up.
Brainy looked away and took a deep breath. "She has a lasered arm, a twisted ankle, two fractured ribs, some internal bleeding, a concussion, and to top it all off, her energy and vitals levels are extremely low and she's not breathing on her own. I had to hook her up to a ventilator. And Superman was right about the coma. There's hardly any brain activity – it's at levels that would be low even for someone with an ordinary mental capacity, and for a telepath…"
"It's even worse", Dream Girl supplied.
Cosmic Boy descended back on his chair while Lightning Lad asked hoarsely, "What are her chances?"
Brainy hesitated. "In a case such as this, when a prophecy is involved, I can't exactly say –"
"Medically, Brainy, medically!" cried Lightning Lad. "Forget the prophecy and tell me what her chances are medically."
Brainy looked down and said quietly, "Almost zero percent."
Over the days that followed, Lightning Lad was almost constantly in the room Brainy had partitioned off in the sick bay for Saturn Girl, and Cosmic Boy wasn't far behind. The other Legionnaires were also in and out of that partition, and Brainy, Dream Girl, and Shrinking Violet took it in turns to monitor Saturn Girl. The Fatal Five and Legion of Supervillains had been sent back to Takron Galtose, and there were no other problems. At least, none that required the Legion – the Subs, who had since returned to their Headquarters, all healthy and well (none had suffered lasting injuries), had volunteered to take care of anything they could that might come up. So far, they were doing a pretty good job.
Despite having no major problems to resolve, the entire Legion was tense and anxious. Two weeks since the battle with Brainiac 1.0, there was still no change in Saturn Girl's condition. Her body healed in due course, ridding itself of all injuries except the fractured ribs, but there was still no sign of any brain activity, and her vital levels showed no signs of rising. She was also still not breathing on her own.
"What exactly did the passage say?" inquired Timber Wolf one day – the rest of the Legion had since learned of the prophecy.
Phantom Girl, who was in Saturn Girl's partition with him, sighed and said, "You really want to know?" When he nodded, she recited, "'…but the task shall be accomplished at the risk of the death of the Protector, for the effort shall be great, and leave her empty and drained of energy. When this comes to pass, only the Fates of the Universe will decide whether the Protector shall live or die.'"
"The 'Fates of the Universe'?" repeated Timber Wolf.
"That's what it said." Phantom Girl shrugged. "Oh, Brin", she said suddenly, throwing herself into his arms. "What if she doesn't make it? What if we've won the greatest battle we've ever faced at the cost of Saturn Girl's life? What'll we do then, Brin?"
Timber Wolf, not a little stunned by the fact that Phantom Girl had suddenly pressed herself against him and was using his real name, didn't know what to say. He couldn't lie. He'd heard Brainy's report, and he had the same worries himself.
Apparently Phantom Girl picked up on it, because she sniffed and drew back. Timber Wolf was surprised to see actual tears in her eyes.
"Oh, just forget it", she said. "You probably feel the same way I do, so you wouldn't have any idea how to answer a question I can't. I'm sorry." She looked away.
Timber Wolf tentatively touched her hand. "Don't be. We all need answers to those questions." He paused, wondering what else he could say. "If it's any consolation, Saturn Girl would be glad she managed to keep the universe safe."
Phantom Girl sniffed again and glanced at Saturn Girl's pale, still form. "Yeah."
Other Legionnaires were similarly affected. Not a day went by without the thought of losing Saturn Girl crossing their minds at least once, and it became increasingly obvious as time passed. Everyone was edgy and worried, and a few of the more emotional ones (like Triplicate Girl) would sometimes go to their room to shed a few tears. Lightning Lad was discreetly one of their number, and only Kell-el – who, along with Superman, had refused point-blank to return to their own time until Saturn Girl woke up (or, though no one mentioned it often, died) – knew about it, having stumbled into Lightning Lad's room one day to find him tearing up. Knowing how he felt about Saturn Girl, however, Kell-el said nothing about it and had instead offered a few awkward words of comfort.
Since the entire Legion could not remain in Legion HQ indefinitely, and they couldn't rely on the Subs forever, Cosmic Boy had put all recovered Legionnaires back on active duty in their respective cruisers. He himself vacated the place, saying the suspense was too much for him and he needed something to do. He did, however, leave explicit instructions to inform him the moment anything happened, with severe retribution for any who didn't comply. Also, the few Legionnaires who were still recovering had either returned to their homes or were staying in Legion HQ. Now, only Lightning Lad, Dream Girl, Brainy, Shrinking Violet, Timber Wolf, Kell-el, Phantom Girl, and Chameleon Boy remained in Legion HQ with Saturn Girl.
Another week passed, leaving the Legionnaires more worried than before. With every day that passed, it became less likely that Saturn Girl would ever wake up. Brainy had now reduced her chances to 0.07%. He had been unwilling to shift from his original assessment of 3.9%, but he had been forced to acknowledge reality. As time went by, he, the intelligent, logical being, skeptical of anything not explainable by science, found himself hoping desperately that the "Fates" mentioned in the prophecy would allow Saturn Girl to live.
It was only when he was examining Saturn Girl several days later, approximately one month after the battle with Brainiac 1.0, that Brainy first saw a change. Disbelievingly, he stared at the monitor that recorded Saturn Girl's vitals. He double- and triple-checked the levels, and the result was the same. He looked down at Saturn Girl, slipped his hand into hers, and asked softly, "Can you hear me?" He had done this several times before, but he had never gotten a reaction – until today.
Saturn Girl's fingers contracted so slightly he couldn't see it, but his hand, with the improved tactile response that came with being human, felt it. Brainy felt like doing something he never thought he would even think of doing – he felt like whooping for joy and doing a little jig. Instead he bent down and whispered, "I'll be right back", and dashed out of the sick bay to the main room, where most of the Legionnaires in Headquarters were.
"What are you so worked up about?" asked Timber Wolf, instantly alert as Brainy came rushing in.
"It's Saturn Girl, isn't it?" Dream Girl perceived, sitting up straight. "What happened?"
Panting and gasping a little, Brainy announced joyously, "Her brain activity levels…they've increased – dramatically."
He paused while waiting for his teammates to react.
"What?" exclaimed Chameleon Boy incredulously, jumping to his feet. "That's great!"
"Does this mean she'll make a full recovery?" asked Phantom Girl.
"Almost certainly", replied Brainy. "I can tell you one thing, though – I'm not worried about her brain activity anymore. She's officially out of the coma – it's just the normal healing trance now."
"Whoop!" cried Cham, then he covered his mouth with his hands. "Heh – oops. Guess I got carried away."
"Where's Lightning Lad?" asked Brainy. The Winathian was the only Legionnaire not in the room.
"He's in his room", Shrinking Violet replied. "Shall I tell him?"
"Yes", Brainy agreed. "We'll let Cosmic Boy and the others know."
Violet nodded and made her way to Lightning Lad's room. She knocked on the door and waited.
After a few seconds, Lightning Lad opened the door. "Violet? What's the matter?"
"Oh, nothing", said Shrinking Violet casually. "I mean, unless you count the fact that Saturn Girl's now out of her coma…"
"What?" Lightning Lad exclaimed. "Are you serious?"
Violet grinned. "Yep. Brainy just told us and – hey!" she exclaimed as Lightning Lad zipped past her. "Wait for me!"
"I told you to call me at once – at once!" Cosmic Boy was saying on the screen in the main room. "And instead you call me last? What happened? What's going on?"
"Sorry, we were saving the worst for last", said Chameleon Boy.
Cosmic Boy froze. "The worst? What do you mean?" he asked apprehensively.
Kell-el elbowed Chameleon Boy, evicting a startled exclamation. "What Cham means to say", he said, frowning at the Durlan, "is that we were saving you for last, because Saturn Girl's out of her coma."
"Really?" inquired Cosmic Boy, not believing it completely at first, while exclamations of surprise and delight from the other Legionnaires with him echoed from behind and beside him.
"Really", Dream Girl affirmed with a smile.
"Really", echoed Lightning Lad as he came in, beaming, followed by Shrinking Violet.
A/N: Ah, yes, happiness at last. But as you can guess, the story's not over yet. How could I end it here? No, there's one more chapter to go, and then will it be ended. But for now...Thanks to The Violet Rose, Mirror's Mirage, Devilbunny, TheEclipse, and DangerZone for reviewing!
Disclaimer: Oh, please, I'd love to, I'd really, really love to, but sadly, I really, really don't.