A/N: The two reviewers on the last chapter are two who have been reading my stories for years. Thanks to TheVioletRose and leathman - and to CharmedSerenity for subscribing. How are you, Charmed?

Oh, yeah - and I don't own Legion of Superheroes.

Chapter II: Tourney Games

28 October 2998

"Ta-da!" Lyle vanished before Imra's eyes, allowing her to see the kitchen counter he'd been leaning against.

"That's remarkable, Lyle," said Imra, sounding genuinely impressed. "I'm having trouble finding you even with my telepathy."

"Seriously?" Lyle became visible again, appearing several feet to the right of where he'd been standing. "You mean I'm not just invisible, I'm undetectable too? That is interesting…I wonder what else the serum hides me from?"

"Does anything you come in contact with turn invisible too?" asked Imra.

"Hmm?" Lyle realized she was wondering why his clothes had disappeared along with his body. "Oh, I treated my clothes with the serum as well. Wouldn't have been a very impressive demonstration if you could still see my coat and pants."

"Is it permanent?"

Lyle shrugged. "I don't know. It might be – I've only taken the one dose, and it's lasted more than 24 hours already."

"Lyle, are you using yourself as a test subject again?" Imra's tone was faintly disapproving.

"No," Lyle responded unconvincingly.

"Do you have any idea what the side effects of this serum are?"

"So far, none," Lyle said cheerfully.

"So you willfully injected yourself with an experimental serum with no idea of the possible side effects or how long the effects last?"

"Imra, relax," said Lyle. "I only injected myself with it after I calculated the risks. I'm not totally reckless, you know."

Imra ignored him in favor of filling her glass with water from the tap.

"Are you going to the Botanic Gardens?" Lyle inquired.

"For what?"

"The Magnetic Knights are playing a public Magnoball game. Imra!" Lyle sounded shocked that she had forgotten.

"I don't follow Magnoball," she reminded him.

"But I do, and as the close friend of a true fan, you have to come with me."

Imra raised her eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because I need you to drive me there."

Imra rolled her eyes. "There's such a thing as public transport."

"Do you know how many minors follow Magnoball? The transports will all be packed! Imra, come on!" Lyle exclaimed. "The Knights just won the Braalian Magnoball Cup! They're galactic sports stars! How often are you gonna get to see champions play Magnoball live on Earth? Plus," he added slyly, "their captain's really good-looking."

"What difference does that make?"

Nevertheless, Imra did end up acquiescing to Lyle's request (demand, more like) that she chauffer him to the Botanic Gardens.

From the moment he entered the place, Rokk was fascinated by the Botanic Gardens. Braal was a planet without much plant diversity, and the variety of flowers in the front lawn alone was more than Rokk had ever seen before. If he had the time, he would've taken a leisurely stroll around the grounds to take in the sights. As it was, their manager, Collazo, was hurrying them along to the pro tem Magnoball field that the logistics department had set up, consisting of a temporary sheet of rubber pavement laid over a large swath of grass and marked with laser-etched lines imitating the boundaries of a real Magnoball pitch. Rokk was not entirely surprised to see that there was already a substantial crowd waiting even though it was only 0915.

Beside him, Herdoni asked, "You ready to play some ball?"

"I'm always ready," Rokk returned.

Their entourage made its way towards the pitch, accompanied by shouts and cheers from the audience. For their part, the Knights played the crowd expertly by waving and smiling – they were used to this sort of attention by now, even Rokk, the youngest. After playing professional Magnoball for three years, he knew the value of good PR.

Rokk felt a slight jolt to his shoulder, like static shock, and he looked around in confusion, wondering what could possibly be in close enough vicinity to transmit electricity. There was nothing around except people and plants – but a ginger-haired youth who was scowling at his fingers caught his notice. Dressed in a simple green vest over a black shirt and faded brown pants, he didn't look like a New Metropolis citizen, though when he lifted his head and met Rokk's eyes he grinned with as much excitement as any fan. Rokk smiled back and went to stand on the line running through the exact center of the pitch.

After Collazo had a made a short speech thanking the citizens of New Metropolis for turning up, the team selection got underway. The regular number of players on a Magnoball team was eight, so the Magnetic Knights' sixteen-man squad was just nice for an internal game. A member of the tech team projected a large holoscreen in the middle of the pitch and activated the selection software. After a few seconds, two faces appeared on opposite sides of the screen, prompting instant cheers and applause from the crowd.

Collazo announced, "The team captains are Rokk Krinn and Hercule Herdoni!"

Herdoni caught Rokk's eye as they moved to stand on opposite sides of the field. "I told you," he said with a grin.

By the time Lyle and Imra arrived at the Botanic Gardens, the Magnetic Knights' squad had been split evenly into two teams, and Collazo was informing the audience, "The two teams will now have ten minutes to discuss their strategy before the game. We will begin at 1000 sharp." The two Knight sides retreated to opposite ends of the field for their pre-game huddle.

"Damn, we missed the team selection!" Lyle groaned.

"The team sheets are up there." Imra gestured at the holoscreen still shimmering over the pitch, which displayed the lists of names on both teams in clearly visible Interlac. Lyle quickly scanned through the names.

"Ooh, that's interesting – Krinn and Herdoni are on opposite teams," he said gleefully. "They usually link up really well in games – it'll be cool to see how they play against each other."

"Is that the captain?" Imra asked, pointing to one dark-haired young man who was making authoritative gestures within his group huddle.

"Yep, that's Rokk Krinn," confirmed Lyle. "Hot, isn't he?"

"He's too old for you, Lyle."

"He's seventeen."

"Really?" Imra looked at Rokk more carefully. "He looks older."

"He's very mature. You should see his interviews." Lyle grinned.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but it's unlikely you'll have a chance with him," said Imra. "Besides, didn't you say there was a boy who lives next to your house you think you might like?"

"Yeah, Condo's pretty cool." Lyle shrugged. "We'll see where it goes. Hey, I'm gonna get closer." He disappeared so fast Imra suspected he was using his newfound invisibility powers.

Imra turned back to Rokk, who was now giving specific instructions to each member of his team. She had to admit, he was very handsome.

At 1000 hours exactly, the two Knight sides took their positions on the field. From their formation, Garth saw that both teams were playing with sentries, and he was slightly disappointed – he'd been hoping to see a repeat of the no-sentry formation that had allowed the Knights to crush their opposition in the Magnoball Cup final with an incredibly fast-paced attacking blitz. Still, he reasoned, it ought to be a good game.

The umpire blew his whistle, and the match began.

The aim of Magnoball was simple: each team had to try to send the ball through the high vertical hoops at either end of the pitch. There were four hoops in two colors and two sizes – the large black hoop (called Axis Black) and the small blue hoop (Pole Blue) were at one end of the field, and the large blue hoop (Axis Blue) and small black hoop (Pole Black) were at the other end. The small hoops were barely an inch larger in diameter than the magnoball, and so maneuvering the ball through them required much greater skill. Getting the ball through Axis Black was worth 1 point; getting it through Axis Blue was worth 2 points; Pole Black was worth 3 points and Pole Blue was worth 4 points. At the end of 75 minutes, the team with the most points won the game.

The execution of Magnoball, on the other hand, was much more complex. The ball was made of a special type of metal that was only semi-magnetic, so the players could only magnetically control it accurately over short distances; the traditional skills of aiming and throwing the ball still applied to long passes (though of course it helped to give it a magnetic boost to aid its trajectory). Players could pass the ball to their teammates, snatch it from an opponent's hands, intercept it in midair, or even reverse its trajectory entirely. They could only handle the ball magnetically, and were not allowed to physically touch it; however, physical tackles on players were allowed. The ball was not supposed to cross the outer boundary of the pitch at any time; the team that caused it to do so automatically granted the other team a penalty. Teams could choose which penalty they wanted to take: either a shot at Axis Blue from a long distance, or a shot at Pole Black from a short distance.

In addition to these basic rules, there were a number of different formations Magnoball teams could play. The typical configuration was that of a pilot (who was the main person in charge of maneuvering the ball through the hoops and thus usually the most skilled member on the team) and two vanguards (the supporting attackers who aided the pilot); two controls who patrolled the sides of the pitch and ensured their team did not send the ball out; two disruptors, who were responsible for thwarting attacks and stealing the ball from the opposition; and a sentry, who stood on a marked spot on the midline and whose sole objective was to break up opposition play from the middle – or, in the case of penalties, try to defend the hoops. The sentry's position in the center of the pitch was vital for interrupting attacks, as there was a conductor beneath the pitch that increased that player's magnetic advantage, and any opposition player had to get within their enhanced magnetic range to advance the ball – but the sentry was not permitted to move from his post for the entirety of the game. Playing without a sentry allowed an extra body to move about the pitch, but it was risky because the team would lose protection in the midfield (no one except sentries could stand on the conductor) and have no one to defend against penalties.

The Knights' game was fast and furious, with both sides fairly equally matched thanks to the selection software. Rokk's team had the clear advantage in attack, since he was one of the best pilots in the sport thanks to his extraordinary magnetic control; but Herdoni's sentry, Jaxok Kreel, was the Knights' first-choice sentry and obviously superior to the second-choice sentry who was his opposite. Commentary on the game was provided by renowned reporter Loretta Lane, who was famous as a direct descendant of Superman and Lois Lane.

"Dargg has the ball, passes it to Herdoni, Herdoni skips past the sentry – no, wait, Brekka's managed to dispossess him – oh, he's miscontrolled, it's going out! – but kept in by Frol, who wastes no time getting it down the pitch to Cryz – Cryz passes to Magz, who gives it to – whoa! Nice feint, he just stopped it short in midair – back to Cryz – tosses it to Krinn – Krinn scores through Pole Black! 3 points to Captain Krinn's team!"

A resounding cheer went up from the watching spectators as Rokk expertly squeezed the magnoball through the small black hoop from close range. He jogged back to a more central position, high-fiving his two vanguards, Cryz and Magz, before returning the ball to Herdoni's sentry as was the rule (the opposite team's sentry was given possession after someone scored). At the umpire's whistle, Kreel quickly made a long pass that sent the ball almost completely to the left end of the field, where it was collected by Herdoni. Before Rokk's disruptors could react, Herdoni had given it to his pilot and his pilot had forced it through Pole Blue.

"That was unbelievable!" Loretta Lane exclaimed as the crowd roared with approval, Garth among the supporters of Herdoni's team. "An instant reaction from Herdoni's team – they now lead 4 points to 3!"

By this time a quarter of an hour had passed. The Magnoball was retrieved and given back to Rokk's sentry, Brekka. The umpire blew his whistle, and play started again.

As the game progressed, Imra found, much to her surprise, that she was actually enjoying it. She began to understand why Lyle was such an avid fan of Magnoball – it was a thrilling and electrifying display of magnetic superiority by the Braalians. Some Magnoball teams preferred to inject more composure into their game by playing with more controls and disruptors, which made for rather tedious viewing when attacks were continuously interrupted; the way the Magnetic Knights played, however, was breathtaking, with their focus consistently on attack, with the result that plenty of points were scored after fluid link-up plays on both sides. Imra tended to track Captain Krinn's movements; his magnetic control was superb and his range was longer than the other players', and every so often he would shout instructions or encouragement to his teammates. Imra admired his athleticism and intelligence in the game – and, of course, his good looks.

There were 32 minutes left on the clock, with Rokk's team leading 12 points to 10, when Imra felt something brush her mind. With her exceptional telepathic abilities, she identified what it was in an instant. Alarmed, she forced her way through Rokk's mind with a simple but powerful mental command.

~Duck.~

A/A (Author's announcements):

1. I suppose I could say that I own Magnoball in all but name - I created the rules and the sport terms myself.

2. Aside from Rokk, two of the named members of the Magnetic Knights squad are actual DC Comics characters. Can you guess which two?

3. Lyle keeping his homosexuality is my concession to the realistic sense of the story - in the 30th century such a thing would be perfectly normal.