Disclaimers and notes: I do not own Power Rangers, especially Lost Galaxy, or anything affiliated with it. Disney, Hasbro, Toei, and I'm not sure who all else does. Also, all of the comic characters, especially Superman, belong to DC comics and Warner Brothers.
This also borrows somewhat from a fanfic called Supergirl: Lost Galaxy. Not sure who wrote that as all it says for author is "Inactive writer-not using FFN". I'd highly recommend it as well as their other stories.
There are also a few references throughout the story to many movies and TV shows. Their additions to the Disclaimers will be added to the end of the story because saying some of the references would be creating spoilers.
However, a few things here and there are my ideas, some from old fanfics (keep in mind I've been doing this since about 97-98) and a certain redhead from recent ones. The biggest is Leo being Kryptonian and what his Kryptonian name is.
I won't raise a fuss if anyone wants to borrow them but please ask first. I've recently noticed someone borrowed from one of my older stories without saying anything. I'm not pointing fingers or even naming names, just asking for recognition if you want to borrow things. As always, hope you enjoy reading this as I did writing it.
Power Rangers Galactic Justice
By Har-El
Chapter 1
The calm before the storm
Jor-El carefully placed one of his twin sons into a small receptacle. "Are you sure this will be safe, my love?" his wife, Lara, asked. His brother Zor-El's wife Allura was standing nearby with a small blond baby while his brother was near a console several feet away.
"As sure as I can be," Jor-El said, "Experiments into Phantom Zone transportation is still new ongoing but all of the experiments we've run with animals have mostly shown good results. We don't have much time, Lara. Krypton's not that long from imploding and this experiment might be the only way we can save our boys and Kara."
Lara nodded. She didn't like it but she knew Jor-El was right. Nothing they could send would get away from the void he was expecting Krypton to leave upon its destruction quickly enough.
Jor-El slid sideways and started typing into a console. "Recording," he called out, "My name is Jor-El, son of Seyg-El, and this is my first experiment into using the Phantom Zone to teleport a Kryptonian, in this case my son Trezo-El.
"Witnesses are my wife, Lara with my other son Kal-El and my brother and partner in this experiment, Zor-El, as well as his wife Allura with their daughter Kara," Jor-El continued, "We have run this experiment with many animal subjects, most of which were successful."
"We've gotten permission to use Kryptonians to test this but no volunteers, so I reluctantly have to use my son, Trezo," Jor-El further explained, "I'm confident that this experiment will be successful as well or I wouldn't be trying."
Jor-El placed Trezo into the receptacle, closed the lid, and locked it into place before turning again to the console. "Opening a portal into the Phantom Zone now," he said. A few seconds later, an oval shaped rip appeared and a beam of light issued from the console.
Through the portal, another appeared not too far away in both in the Phantom Zone and Jor-El's laboratory. "Portal tethers engaged," he called out, having to speak rather loudly over the cacophonous noises coming out of both portals.
"Sending the receptacle with Trezo through now," Jor-El announced and the small receptacle shot a tether beam onto the one going through the portals and the alien looking landscape between them and the small vessel began its journey.
When the receptacle was about halfway through the area between the portals, the readings on the console started going crazy and the first portal shut down. "What's going on?" Lara demanded.
"I don't understand it," Jor-El muttered, his fingers flying over the console. "This has never happened in our experiments. Zor-El, please tell me Trezo came through over there." He couldn't see around the second portal so he started rushing over.
Suddenly, the second portal closed and Jor-El was relieved when he saw Zor-El had the receptacle, but his eyes narrowed when he saw it looked to be scorched. "What in Rao's name is going on?" he asked as he and Lara rushed over. They opened the receptacle and their eyes widened.
PRGJ
Leo Corbett groaned as he woke up. He'd been having that dream a lot recently and no one could explain it, not even Kal. He slid his watch on before heading out of his room. "Hey, Mike, Amanda," he said as he slid into a seat at the kitchen table.
Born Trezo-El of Krypton, Leo had been sent with his twin brother Kal-El as well as their cousin Kara Zor-El to Earth, where they were quickly found by the Kents, Johnathan and Martha.
The Kents were simple farmers that had been unable to keep all 3 so they kept Kal, raising him as their son Clark, sent Kara to Martha's cousin Eliza Danvers, and Trezo to some friends of theirs in Angel Grove California, the Corbetts, though they kept in close contact so the 3 knew each other well.
The Corbett parents had been wonderful until Leo was 12, when they were tragically taken away from him and his older adopted brother, Mike, in a car accident.
It had been dark times for the brothers and wouldn't have been worse if not for each other and the Mike's girlfriend Amanda, as well as the Kents, Danvers, and 2 family friends, who helped whenever they could. Leo had long since come to love his brother and future sister-in-law more as like his parents.
It wasn't long after that the 3 Kryptonians started coming into their powers and the Kents and Danvers revealed their alien heritage, something even Mike had no clue about. Kal and Kara gained fantastic superpowers such as super-strength and moving at superhuman speeds that not even high-tech vehicles could match among others.
However, Leo only gained some of their powers. His senses were enhanced like theirs and he was as invulnerable as they were, but his super-strength was limited and he had to build up his speed to be as fast as his brother and cousin.
Leo also couldn't fly like they eventually were able to but could jump high if he built up enough speed or get other powers like freeze breath or heat vision. He couldn't help but be disappointed but learned to live with being so underpowered compared to them and didn't hold it against them.
The only explanation came from messages from their father Jor-El, who said that because of an early Phantom Zone incident gone wrong, which was what Leo guessed he'd been seeing in his recent dreams, his DNA was stunted and he wouldn't gain the full range of powers the other 2 would.
The 3 became superheroes, Kal and Kara calling themselves Superman and Supergirl respectively while Leo used his Kryptonian name for his secret identity. They used voice changers and later image inducers that an ally of theirs, Cyborg, came up with to keep people off their trails.
"Have you heard from Kal and Kara?" Leo asked. He'd told Mike and Amanda about his superhero antics after a villain had taken them hostage, though it'd been by sheer coincidence as they'd just happened across them.
"Not yet but he called and said they'd here by noon," Mike said, "You have everything packed? It's only 3 more days until we have to report to Terra Venture, you know."
Mike and Amanda had been offered to take part in a new Wayne Enterprises project. A huge space station was built and was going to be sent out to explore the known universe. An old friend was taking command and wanted the elder Corbett as his second.
Though he loved Kal and Kara, Leo was wanting to branch out on his own so had asked them to put his name in as their family member and he'd been approved. That was why his brother and cousin were coming today, to have one last adventure together.
"Most of it but there are a few little things that I'll need so they'll have to wait until last second," Leo reasoned.
"Long as you're all good to go by Monday," Amanda replied.
Leo nodded. He had just finished eating, when he heard an unmistakeable whooshing sound and he grinned. "They're here," he said, "I'll see you two later. Love you."
Leo gave Mike and Amanda a quick hug and the latter a kiss before heading to his room and up the fire escape. As he touched down on the roof, he activated his nanite armor that was created by his friend Victor Stone aka Cyborg.
While Leo invulnerable to just about everything, this was a lead-based alloy to keep him from getting hurt by most known types of Kryptonite. It could also render him invisible if he needed to be and his watch could hack into computers if need be. And those were just two of the things it could do.
Kal and Kara were grinning as Leo ran up to them and hugged them. "I'm going to miss this," he admitted.
"You could always not go," Kara pointed out.
"I can't explain it but… something's telling me to do this," Leo said, "There's no telling what kind of danger they could find out there and they might need a Kryptonian onboard, even if I'm nowhere near you guys' power level. Besides, it's not like I can't zip back home anytime I need to."
Cyborg had also taken up their fathers' research on traveling using the Phantom Zone and perfected them which was how Leo could get around while Kal and Kara were flying. He had perfected using it to move about effortlessly. He should be able to travel to and from Terra Venture fairly easily.
"Any idea on if someone else is going?" Leo asked, "I kind of like the idea of starting up a Justice League branch on Terra Venture if I have the opportunity rather than it mostly just be me. Has Bruce said anything about potential allies for me?"
"He hasn't told us of anyone going but you never know," Kal answered, "Just be careful as you never know who could end up on Terra Venture, good guy or bad guy." Leo nodded. "So, you ready?"
"Always," Leo said, "Where are we going, anyway?"
"We've gotten word of a riot at Blackgate," Kara said.
"Hope you got Bruce's permission to do this," Leo said. They all knew how territorial Batman was to even them and they were among his closest allies as they had all hit the superhero scene at about the same time.
"Don't worry, he's fine with it," Kal said, "Him and most of his team are out of Gotham trying to find Ra's, so we're about all he has to quell this."
Leo had a feeling Kal wasn't telling the truth but nodded. "You two head that way and I'll slip through once Vic sends me the coordinates," he said. Kal and Kara both nodded before flying off. He typed something in a 3D virtual keyboard that came out of his watch. "Cyborg?"
"Just a second, Trezo," Cyborg said, typing away as always. Even though he swore no one would be able to tap into their communications line, they tended to keep it formal just in case. "Locking onto coordinates in Blackgate now. Good luck."
With that, a Phantom Zone portal appeared before Leo. It was only visible to him thanks to the nanites. He shot out a tether through the portal, knowing it would connect to somewhere in Blackgate PZ equivalent, and began running through. This part wasn't necessary as he'd be pulled through, but he always preferred moving under his own power.
It didn't take Leo long to get to and through the other portal. Turned out Cyborg had sent him to the main guard outpost. "Good to see you, Trezo," one of the guards said, "We appreciate you coming."
"Glad to be of help," Leo replied with a nod, "Have Superman and Supergirl gotten here yet?" They promised to wait if they got here first unless they had to act quickly.
"Not yet but I doubt they'll be too far behind," the guard answered. As if on cue, a whooshing sound heralded the appearance of Kal and Kara. The guard quickly brought them up to speed.
Leo scanned the monitors showing the locations of the rioting inmates so Cyborg could devise a strategy for them. Vic did so quickly and Kal and Kara headed out. He gave the guards a thumbs up before shifting through a portal to his right.
Leo popped out of the Phantom Zone and into a crazy melee. 'This is one of the little things I won't miss,' he thought as grabbed an inmate away from a guard nearby and sent them skidding across the room. "Are you alright?" he asked.
The guard was a tall, slim attractive redheaded woman about Leo's age who nodded. He shuddered to think what the inmate that had grabbed her had in mind for her. "Thank you, Trezo," she said, "I probably owe you my life.
"I'm a huge fan," Angie continued, "I've even got a tattoo of your shield I'd love to show you, say in my apartment after all of this is doneI'd show you here but that'd involve taking off a good portion of my clothes."
"No problem, ma'am, and I'm sure it'd be quite the sight to see," Leo replied with a grin and wink, curiously making the woman blush. Not the first time he'd gotten that reaction, but it always amused him when he got it. "Where are the other guards that came with you?"
"Towards the back left cells last I saw," the guard replied, pointing to a spot somewhere behind the stairs going up to the next level. "I got separated from them and I guess they didn't hear me over the noise."
"Get in that cell there, close the door as best as you can, hunker down, and I'll be back with them shortly," Leo said, pointing to a room nearby after using his X-ray vision to make sure it was empty.
Leo was half-tempted to use it on the guard, but he'd promised Kal and Kara he'd never do that. "Not that I don't think you can take care of yourself, but if it's half as crazy as it looks, I'd rather not take the chance of you getting separated from me," he said.
The guard nodded but before she did as Leo suggested, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "You're welcome to join me after," she whispered and winked before turning and heading into the cell.
Again, not the first time Leo gotten a reaction like that. Even inmates, both male and female, made him that offer sometimes, the weirdest probably being Joker, who'd alternate between cussing him out and hitting on him any time he helped Batman escort him to Arkham.
Turning back to the insanity, Leo began wading through it, dispatching inmates left and right as he made his way in the direction the first guard had pointed him towards and indeed there was a group of guards trying to hold of the inmates but were slowly being overwhelmed.
Leo was quick to take out most of the inmates attacking them and together, they were easily able to take care of the rest on this level of the cell block. "Thank you so much, Trezo," one of the guards said, "Have you seen Marshak? We lost track of her."
"I didn't catch her name, but I did help a tall, beautiful redhead, so would that be her?" Leo asked. The guard nodded. "Don't worry, I saved her and she's in a cell on the other end of the floor. As crazy as it was between her and there, I didn't want to risk her getting overwhelmed and grabbed again.
"I'm going to head upstairs," Leo continued, "It's bound to be crazy and more dangerous as it'll be more close quarters going up, so you can follow me, but I wouldn't think any less of you if you want to stay down here until I clear the next floor."
The head guard nodded. If it were anyone else, he'd think Trezo was disrespecting him, but he'd worked with the young hero and his brother and cousin a few times and knew he was being honest. "We're with you as soon as we retrieve Marshak and get these people back in their cells," he said.
Leo nodded and they headed back to the cell the woman was in. Marshak came out as they stepped up. Working together, they quickly cleared the cell block levels and put the inmates back in their cells, locking them in.
Marshak, Leo quickly found out her first name was Angie, stuck by him as they cleared out the cell block. "So, I hear you're going to be leaving us for Terra Venture," she said once it was done.
"Yeah, as much as I love Kal and Kara, I think it's time I really strike out on my own and Terra Venture sounds like the best way to do it," Leo replied, "I was just telling them earlier that the colony is bound to run into problems and I can help them."
"I know what you mean as same here," Angie agreed, "I just signed on for the police department on Terra Venture, so I'm sure we'll probably see a lot of each other." Leo had to admit that was a very promising idea. "I also got the feeling you used your X-ray vision to make sure that cell was clear. You didn't happen to use it on me, did you?"
"Oh no or at least I only did enough to check to see if you had any injuries," Leo said, "I'll admit I was tempted, but I promise I'd never do that."
"Ooh, being a gentleman must run in your family," Angie said, "I wouldn't have minded you know? I'd certainly love to have it so I can see what's going on under this suit of yours." She couldn't resist running her hands over the symbol on his chest.
Leo was glad the image inducer didn't register embarrassment as he was blushing furiously. "Look, ma'am…" he said.
"Please, call me Angie," Angie replied.
"I need to check in with Superman and Supergirl and probably head to another cell block, Angie," Leo said.
"I guess I'll see you around on Terra Venture then, handsome," Angie said and to Leo's surprise gave him a light peck on the lips and shook his hand, subtly giving him a scrap of paper with her number, before walking off to join her fellow guards in locking up the last of the rioters.
Leo was even more tempted to use his X-ray vision, but he shook off the thought as he turned away and activated his suit's communicator. "Cell block C clear on all floors," he called out, "Where do you need me next, Cyborg?" He got the coordinates and portal shifted away to the next spot.
PRGJ
It was almost well into the morning hours by the time the riots were fully quelled. Leo portal shifted back to the guard outpost he'd originally started at, where Kal, Kara, and most of the guards were waiting. The guards gave the 3 heroes a big round of applause.
Suddenly, something made the hairs on Leo's neck stand up. "Ah, damn it," he murmured. There were only a couple of reasons for that and only one made sense. He glared at Kal and Kara. "You didn't actually ask him, did you?" They tried to deny it, but he hooked his thumb over his left shoulder.
"No, they didn't," a gruff voice interjected before either could answer and Batman stepped out of the shadows where Leo was pointing. Even Kal didn't know how his brother was able to detect their fellow superhero when even his super senses, which were generally more refined than his brother's, couldn't.
"Cyborg got word of the riot and said he tried to get hold of you but couldn't," Kal said, "Trezo was wanting one last outing before he left on Terra Venture, so we thought we'd come help out."
"I'll overlook it this time given the circumstances," Batman said. To Leo's surprise, he heard Bruce's say "Good luck on Terra Venture, Leo" so low that only him, Kal, and Kara could hear him.
"I'll see you around, Batman," Leo replied, mouthing Thank you to him. Batman nodded and they shook hands. He was touched he would say that to him. He wasn't quite as close to him as Kal, but he did consider him a good friend. He even called him by his human name instead of Trezo, which was especially touching.
Leo turned to look at his brother and cousin as well as the guards. "I'm heading home," he said, "It's been fun." His kin nodded and the guards saluted him, which he returned out of respect before he portal shifted back to the rooftop in Angel Grove, putting on chameleon mode just in case.
Leo quietly crept down the fire escape into his room, disabling his suit and gear as he climbed through the window. 'Hope there's some dinner left," he thought as he opened his door and headed to the kitchen. Sure enough, they'd left him a plate of food on the stove.
Mike came out a few minutes later. "We were wondering if you were going to make it back tonight," he said half-jokingly.
"Yeah, sorry about getting back so late, but the 'little adventure' Kal and Kara wanted to take me out on turned out to be a riot in Blackgate and even between the 3 of us, it took forever," Leo said.
"You see any of Batman's bad guys like the Joker?" Mike asked.
"Nah, Joker would be in Arkham," Leo said, "And I didn't see any, but Kal did say he saw Penguin and Two-Face in one of the cell blocks he'd handled and I think Kara took out Bane." He finished eating and washed his plate. "I'm heading to bed. If I'm not up before she heads to work, thank Amanda for the food. It was delicious."
"Just a sec," Mike said, "I need to run something by you real quick, which was why I waited up." He took something out of his pocket that turned out to be a ring box, which he opened to reveal a stunning ring.
"Aw, bro, you shouldn't have," Leo said, "I mean really, what will people think?"
Mike chuckled. "Very funny, smartass," he said, "I was thinking of asking her when we get to Terra Venture, like either as soon as we get off the shuttle or when we get to our new apartment there. What do you think?"
"I honestly think you should've done it years ago," Leo admitted.
"I know but the timing just never felt right," Mike replied, "With the 3 of us heading out on Terra Venture in a few days, I just couldn't think of a better time to ask her. That way, we can kind of start anew on Terra Venture, you know?"
Leo nodded. "In all seriousness, I'm glad you're doing it," he said, "By the way, one of the guards said she was going to Terra Venture too. You were on the selection committee. Do you remember an Angie Marshak?"
"Oh yeah, it's hard to miss someone like that," Mike said, "Ooh, don't tell me my little bro has a cruuuush." He laughed as Leo playfully glared at him. "I'd say go for it if that's what you're asking about here but be careful, for her sake if anything."
Leo nodded. He knew that when romances between superheroes and civilians went bad, they usually went very bad because it usually didn't take long for it to go public and they could find themselves in danger from villains or even just obsessed stalker fans.
"I know there's no way it could work in the end, especially if she was pushed to find my secret identity but man, would it be worth it for the time we were together," Leo admitted, "Anyway, see you in the morning." Mike nodded and they each headed for bed.
PRGJ
With everything going on during the preparation to board Terra Venture, Mike didn't have a chance to propose Amanda beforehand. On the day they were supposed to report in, Leo got a big surprise when Kal and Kara showed up in their civilian disguises.
"Not that I'm complaining, but what are you guys doing here?" Leo asked.
"You didn't really think we wouldn't come see you off, did you?" Kara asked.
"Mr. White wanted me to cover the launch and Kara begged Ms. Grant to let her accompany me after she found out," Kal or rather Clark added, "Don't worry, we did get his permission this time. I'm going to be interviewing a few key people, including Commander Stanton himself."
"Officially, I'm his photographer," Kara said, holding up camera hanging off her neck.
"I'm glad you two are here," Leo said. He packed the last of his stuff in a duffel bag and they gave him a lift in a car Clark had rented to act like they'd just flown in for the occasion. Mike and Amanda had already left to head up, so he just had to drop their keys off with the super.
Once they got to the space port, Clark and Kara had to part ways with Leo as Press was in a separate area than in his case +1. "Can I help you, sir?" the woman at the counter asked.
"My name's Leo Corbett," Leo said, handing her his passport. "My brother and his girlfriend have already headed up and I think he was supposed to clear it that so that I can also head up today instead of waiting on civilian boarding in a few days."
"Let me check for a moment," the woman said and began typing into a keyboard. It didn't take long before she looked back at Leo. "Ah yes, here you are. Sorry to make you wait." She stamped his passport.
"It's cool as honestly, I was thinking he might not have gotten permission and I had to wait the few days after all," Leo replied with a grin.
"Your shuttle should be ready for boarding shortly," the woman said, "Anything to check in?"
"Just my duffel as carryon as everything else was sent ahead," Leo said, patting said bag. She nodded and they ran it through scans and also ran a wand over his body. Thankfully his suit didn't register with normal technology like this, so he came up clean and he hefted his beg and headed for the nearby lounge.
Leo noticed Angie sitting not too far away and was tempted to go chat her up but decided against it, instead taking up a seat in the far corner so he could just play some Tears of the Kingdom on his Switch while waiting for the shuttle to board.
Leo noticed Angie looking at him curiously out of the corner of his eye. 'Probably trying to figure out if I might be Trezo,' he figured. The image inducer did nothing to mask one's height and build, so he didn't blame her for thinking it.
In the end, Leo found out he was right as Angie just shook her head after closely scrutinizing him. "Nah, can't be him," he heard her whisper, "He probably got permission to do that portal shifting thing to go straight to Terra Venture."
It wasn't long before they were herded into a shuttle. Leo grabbed the nearest seat and strapped in and was a little surprised when Angie sat next to him. "Hope you don't mind if I sit here too," she said, "I kind of prefer to have one of the seats next to the exit as often as I can. I'm Angie Marshak, by the way."
"Leo Corbett and if a beautiful woman like you wants to sit next to me, I'm not one to complain," Leo replied, "I think I saw you on the news the other day about a riot at Blackgate?" Angie nodded. "What was it like to meet Superman, Supergirl, and… shit, I can never remember the other guy's name. I'd imagine it was awesome."
"His name's Trezo and it was amazing," Angie supplied, "If you think they look awesome on tv or something, it's nothing compared to seeing them in action." Her cheeks took on a pink tinge as she added "Especially Trezo" just barely audibly. Leo tried not to smile.
Leo was really surprised when the hairs on his neck raised before he heard a very familiar voice. "Don't worry, Lucius," the voice said as someone started to come up the ramp, "You know how I like to check out projects like this myself. I'll be back sometime before they launch and we'll be in constant contact, so it's not like you'll really miss me."
"I suppose you're right, Mr. Wayne," Lucius Fox replied, "See you then."
Bruce Wayne finished the last step up into the passenger area of the shuttle. "How's everyone doing?" he asked. Everyone was starstruck except Leo, who couldn't help but roll his eyes at his longtime ally's antics, and Angie, who didn't look especially impressed either.
Bruce shook hands all around before taking a seat near the back, across from Leo and Angie. "You're Colonel Corbett's brother Leo, right?" he asked. The young Kryptonian nodded. "It's good to finally meet you. I've heard all about you from Mike."
"It's good to meet you too, Mr. Wayne," Leo said.
"Please, call me Bruce," Bruce insisted and Leo nodded, "Ms. Marshak, good to see you again."
"Bruce," Angie said briefly.
This piqued Leo's curiosity as he knew what Bruce tended to act like in his civilian disguise as Batman put it. He couldn't help but wonder if the two had a relationship in the past. But he shook his head. It wasn't any of his business either way.
Clark and Kara were the last to board. Leo guessed they were the only Press coming at the time. "Thank you for allowing us to come do some interviews, Mr. Wayne," Clark said as he sat next to Bruce and Kara took a seat next to Angie.
"You're quite welcome," Bruce replied, "The Daily Planet has always been one of my favorite media outlets." Clark nodded. The group chatted amiably during the shuttle's flight to Terra Venture.
By the time they got there and exited the shuttle, Leo had charmed his way into getting Angie's number and she even gave him a kiss on the cheek before she had to hurry off. Bruce also had to leave as he had a meeting with Commander Stanton shortly.
"You actually going to call her this time, bro?" Clark asked softly. They had a cover story of being cousins to keep too many people from getting suspicious. They still had to downplay it but as long as they kept it where only they could hear, it was good.
"Hey, it's been a few crazy days getting ready to come here," Leo reasoned, "Besides, you should talk. When are you ever going to ask out that lady you work with that you've been in love with forever? Lois Lane, right?" They all laughed.
"He's got you there, Clark," Kara pointed out.
Before Clark could retort to either, someone suddenly ran into the back of Leo and he heard a quiet "Oomph" and a thud from behind him. He turned to find a really pretty blonde woman wearing infantry gear sprawled out on the ground.
"I'm so sorry," the woman said hurriedly, "I wasn't paying attention." 'Geez, this guy is as solid as a rock,' she couldn't help but muse. She'd been going pretty much full speed when she ran into him and it didn't seem like he even budged. 'At least he's cute though.'
"Hey, it's no problem, ma'am," Leo said, giving the woman a grin and a wink as he offered her his hand. 'Good thing she didn't run into Kal or Kara or she'd be looking something like a bug on a windshield right now,' he couldn't help but muse. "Did you get hurt from the fall or anything?"
"I don't think so," the woman said as she took Leo's hand.
Leo helped her back to her feet. When his eyes met hers, he became transfixed. Not only was she really pretty, but something about her seemed very familiar though he couldn't place it. She seemed to be thinking the same thing as she was just staring at him.
"Kendrix, are you all… oh, hey, bro," Mike said, walking up. An Asian guy and a taller guy with short red hair were with him. "Kara, Clark," he added, nodding to his "cousins" in turn.
"Wait a minute…Kendrix?" Leo asked as it finally clicked where he knew the woman from, "As in Kendrix Morgan?" Kendrix nodded and was very surprised when he pulled her into a hug. "Oh my God, it's been so long, I didn't even recognize you." He saw Mike grinning at the two.
Kendrix had lived next door to them for years and her and Leo had been inseparable, even dating for a while, until her Mom had gotten a job offer in Metropolis almost 2 years after his and Mike's parents had died.
Kendrix was so surprised by this stranger hugging her that it took a second for Mike's words to sink in for her. "Leo?" she asked and couldn't help but laugh. She couldn't believe that her scrawny but cute childhood friend from so many years ago was this big, handsome young man before her.
Leo finally pulled away after a minute after giving Kendrix a kiss on the cheek and she once again lost herself in his gaze. How could she have not recognized those expressive eyes of his? She'd never met anyone with quite the same hue.
Leo was the same for a moment before he turned after Kara cleared her throat behind him. "Um, I don't know if you remember mine and Mike's cousins, Clark Kent and Kara Danvers," he said.
"Of course," Kendrix said, smiling at Clark and Kara. "It's good to see you 2 again. I've read some of your most recent articles, Clark. They were really well done."
"Thank you," Clark said, "The Daily Planet sent me to do a piece on some key crew members and especially the launch. Kara's here representing CatCo as part of a joint venture with them helping me out with photography. It's good to see you again, Kendrix." Kendrix nodded.
"I hate to break this up, but we need to get to training drills," Mike said.
Leo found himself lucky enough to have received the cell numbers of 2 very pretty ladies in the space of not even 10 minutes before Kendrix, Mike, and Kai and Johnny as he found out to be the name of the guys with them had to leave after his brother told him where their apartment was and gave him his key fob to hold onto until they could get one made for him.
"Ooh, a new crush and an old one back-to-back," Kara teased.
Leo blushed as he glared at his cousin. "Oh, ha ha, very funny," he said, "I should probably head to the apartment and check in with Amanda if she's there. See you two later."
They nodded and Leo headed out to get a ride downtown. He could've just had Cyborg look up the coordinates of the apartment and portal shifted there but he wanted to do it the long way and take in the sights of his new home.
PRGJ
Leo looked around as he entered their new apartment. It was a little bigger than the one they had in Angel Grove. Mike and Amanda had told him they made sure his room would have access to a fire escape like with their old one, which was fantastic.
"Amanda?" Leo called out then shrugged when he didn't get an answer. 'Must be getting the restaurant she's going to have here ready for the Grand Opening on launch day, so I've probably got the place to myself until Mike gets back,' he thought.
Amanda owned a few restaurants in Angel Grove and had gotten permission to open one in the mall here on Terra Venture. She liked to give them unique names based on the area or situation. In this case, it was going to be called the Comet Café.
Leo checked the 3 rooms and quickly found his. It was basically the same as his old one albeit a little bigger. His bed and desk were the only things out. He figured he'd unpack later as he dropped his duffel bag on the bed before heading out the fire escape and up to the roof.
The apartment building has a fantastic view of Terra Venture City. Leo's breath was taken away by the beautiful cityscape before activating his suit in chameleon mode. "Cyborg, you there?" he asked.
"I'm reading you, Trezo," Vic answered, "What can I do for you?"
"In case I don't get another chance to talk to you before Terra Venture launches, thanks for helping me all these years," Leo said. Him and Vic had gotten pretty close, especially during their time as Teen Titans. He still had a tight bond with the whole team, even having an on/off romance with Cassie aka Wonder Girl.
"It's been my pleasure, Trezo," Cyborg replied, "You ready?"
They were going to use nanites put a little shed like building on the corner of Leo's roof as a temporary headquarters. It would not only be in chameleon mode but when he wasn't inside, it'd be phased out of reality. They'd never really had to do this on Earth as he could access to JL HQ and Kal's Fortress of Solitude anytime that he needed either.
"Whenever you are," Leo said.
With seconds, nanites poured out of Leo's suit and swarmed over one corner of the roof. Within about an hour, a small building was standing in front of him though only he could see it. He stepped inside to find it deceptively large inside. Vic had gotten the idea off an old BBC show they both loved.
"Looks amazing, Cyborg," Leo said as he stepped back out. It phased out as he stepped away. He could recall it at any time and a key wasn't necessary as he was the only one who could access it at least.
"Synching up the systems with Terra Venture's emergency bands now," Cyborg said.
All of a sudden, Leo's ears were flooded with voices and other noises. It almost overwhelmed him for a moment until he focused his mind and was able to filter things out… and just in time, as he received a report of a car speeding recklessly around downtown.
"Get me those coordinates," Leo said.
"Done," Cyborg said.
With that, Leo portal shifted… and almost got hit by the car he was there to investigate, cop cars following close behind. He waited until it was a good distance away before he began running, building up speed as he went.
Leo quickly caught up to the car and caught it by its bumper. The sudden loss of speed shunted the energy into his hands and arms, which allowed him to begin lifting it, bringing it back and over his head.
Leo used his X-ray vision to see inside the car and was horrified to see a man slumped into the driver's seat and what looked to be a little girl reaching over and grabbing the steering wheel.
The unconscious man had his foot on the gas pedal, so Leo carefully shook the car. He saw the man's foot slip off and the car quit revving. He waited a moment to make sure its moment wasn't going to make it take off again before gently lowering the car to the ground.
Leo motioned to the girl to hit the unlock button and she did. "Are you alright?" he called over to her as he checked the man then turned to the incoming cops, "We need an ambulance." They nodded and used their radios to call it in.
The little girl still looked like she was scared out of her mind but she nodded. "Daddy said his chest hurt then fell asleep," she was able to manage.
Leo nodded. The nanites in his suit were showing him the man had a heart attack, which he relayed to the responders, who were holding back at first in case it was a bad situation he needed to deal with. "What's your name, sweetie?" he called across to the girl in the passenger seat.
"Jessica," the girl answered softly.
"Well then, hello, Jessica," Leo said, "I'm Trezo though I'm guessing you know that already." He nodded to Jessica's shirt, to which he couldn't help but grin at as he noticed it had his variation of the El family symbol. She nodded.
"I'm also guessing you were the one keeping the car from hitting anyone?" Leo asked and Jessica nodded again.
As he stepped back to let the cops check the driver, Leo held out his hand and a small El family shield appeared in it. He'd been wanting to do this on Earth, but Vic never could get the nanites to do it quite right until a few days ago so he decided to wait until he got to Terra Venture.
Leo then portal shifted to Jessica's side of the car. She turned and looked up at him in awe. "Here, I want you to have this," he said, kneeling down to window level so he wasn't towering over her too much and handing the small object to her.
Jessica took the shield and looked at in awe. "This is for me?" she asked.
Leo nodded. "It's partly to help you remember that you were the real hero here today, Jessica, not me," he answered, "I was just glad to assist you in saving lives. From now on, you're my hero, my inspiration." Jessica beamed happily. He knew this would be a day she'd always remember.
"It's also a beacon," Leo explained, "If you ever need me to come assist you again, squeeze it and I'll come help in a heartbeat. But please only use it in an absolute emergency as I'm not sure how much of a charge it has as it's new and I'm still working the problems out of." Jessica nodded.
"Thank you for your assistance, Trezo," one of the cops said.
"Don't thank me, thank Jessica," Leo replied, "She was the real hero today. I've got to go but take good care of my cute little buddy here, all right?" He winked at Jessica, causing her to blush though she was still grinning.
"You've got it," the cop answered.
"Bye, Trezo, and thank you," Jessica called out.
"Bye, Jessica, and thank you for inspiring me," Leo said with a wave, grin, and wink then portal shifted back to the roof of his apartment. Nothing else too terrible was coming over the emergency bands so he figured it was all right to head down and relax for a while.
'Not a bad little first outing in a new place if I do say so myself,' Leo mused deactivating his gear as he headed down the fire escape back into his room and started unpacking. About an hour later, he was a little surprised when the hairs on his neck stood up as he was leaving his room. The door buzzed a minute later.
"That's weird, he almost never comes to the front door," Leo muttered as he headed down the hall and opened the front door to reveal Bruce. He seemed to be alone. "What's up, Bruce?" He opened the door and waved him in.
"I just finished my meeting with the Commander and thought I'd come pay a little visit," Batman said once he was inside and the door closed. He was doing the gruff voice bit, so Leo knew he was in hero mode. "We got a report about you saving that girl and her father. Good job."
"Thanks," Leo said with a nod, "Look, even with the portal shifting, I don't know how often I'll be back to Earth, but you know if something big comes up and you put out the all-hands-on deck signal, I'll come running."
"That was never in question," Batman said with a nod, "However, you do know you were supposed to report to Commander Stanton before you started saving people, right?"
Leo winced. He'd forgotten about that. 'Hopefully he'll cut me some slack,' he thought. He'd met Commander Stanton on a few occasions through Mike and liked him as he seemed to be easygoing, which he hoped would help his case this time.
"I'll report in with him as soon as I can, probably tomorrow sometime," Leo promised, "I'll keep a low profile until I do, don't worry. I just heard about the car speeding recklessly through the streets and thought it'd be best to help out."
Batman nodded. "I'll see you around then," he said and to Leo's surprise, he extended his hand and he shook it.
After Bruce left, Leo plopped down on the couch. "I think I'm gonna like it here," he sang.
PRGJ
Imagine Leo's surprise when Mike came back from training drills a couple of hours later with Kendrix in tow. She'd taken time to change clothes and was in a nice little pink dress, looking visibly nervous though that changed when she saw him and gave him a bright smile.
"Wow, this is a surprise," Leo said. He was even more surprised when Kendrix walked right up to him and hugged him like he had her earlier.
"I'm sorry I didn't say much earlier," Kendrix said as she pulled away after giving Leo a kiss on the cheek, "I was just caught by surprise and by the time I had really recovered, we had to head out."
"Hey, nothing to apologize for as it was shocking to me too," Leo reasoned, "How have you been? Is Val here too?" His heart sank as a shadow fell on Kendrix's face. "Oh shit, I'm so sorry, Kendrix. I know you two were close and Val was like an aunt to us."
"It's all right," Kendrix murmured, "You couldn't have known. She died of…" Her breath hitched and she teared up a little.
"Leukemia and she doesn't like to talk about that part," Mike whispered low enough that only Leo could hear. He nodded.
"She died back in August, right before my birthday," Kendrix said, "Thinking about it's still painful but at least I know she's no longer in any pain and in a better place now as she'd been fighting it off and on for years." Tears started falling and she wiped them.
Leo couldn't help but pull Kendrix into another hug, at which point she couldn't help but start sobbing into his chest. "Absolutely and I know she's watching right now and is bound to be so proud of how you're doing, just like we are," he said.
"Just try to focus on all the good times you had with her, not what you must've gone through at the end," Leo added, "We've been there and you and Val both helped us through it, so now it's our turn to be here for you whenever you need someone to talk to."
"Absolutely," Mike agreed, patting Kendrix on the back reassuringly.
"Thanks," Kendrix said. She'd forgotten just how sweet these 2 were.
The 3 sat down and caught up for a while until Clark and Kara and then Amanda popped up with some dinner for everybody. She also had a bottle of wine. Clark and Kara begged off as did she as she'd been feeling bad recently and knew alcohol wouldn't help but Leo drank some while Mike and Kendrix got more than a bit tipsy.
Clark and Kara left when it started getting late and Mike and Amanda headed for their room, making out pretty hot and heavy, leaving Leo and Kendrix still chatting on the couch. They'd talked her into staying the night in the guest room as she was pretty well lit. "I just can't get over how much you've changed," she said.
"Well, it has been almost 11 years," Leo reminded Kendrix with a grin and was a little curious when she blushed, "But I know what you mean. I used to think you were really cute growing up but wow, look how amazingly beautiful you are now."
"Me wow?" Kendrix asked, "No, you wow. You were cute too but… mm, and you're so muscly now." The last was almost a whisper as she moved closer. Her hands began rubbing up and down Leo's arm first then trailed their way up to his chest.
Leo tried not to moan as Kendrix's ministrations were making things a little uncomfortable, especially as he didn't need his X-ray vision to see she didn't have a bra on as she leaned forward. He couldn't help but wonder if she was wearing anything underneath it.
"I think maybe we should go to bed," Leo murmured softly but despite his words, he couldn't budge.
"Good idea," Kendrix said just as softly before she kissed Leo. It was sloppy of course as she was drunk, but it was very heated. He pulled her into his lap as they began full on making out hot and heavy. He pulled away and started kissing down her face and neck as she tilted her head back.
This went on for a few minutes and Leo slid the straps of Kendrix's dress down to let it pool around her waist and kissing between her breasts teasingly, her cradling his head in her arms as he did so.
"Oh God, you don't know how long I've wanted this, Leo," Kendrix murmured, "I've dated guys but always told them I wanted to wait for marriage with sex, but I think I've always wanted you to be my first, even when we were kids."
"Same," Leo agreed. He couldn't help but notice that while he couldn't see much below Kendrix's waist, he did see enough to know that she didn't have panties on either, which begged the question, did she come here for this?
All of a sudden, the memory of Amanda and Mike catching them like this years ago popped into Leo's mind and reality hit him. "I'm sorry, Kendrix, but we have to stop," he said reluctantly as he pulled away from the beautiful topless blonde in his lap.
Leo would love nothing more than to pick Kendrix up and continue this in his bedroom or maybe Shedquarters and knew that she felt the same way if her thankfully soft moaning was any indication, but also knew that was a bad idea for a couple of reasons. 'God, I hope Amanda didn't hear that,' he mused.
"Aw, come on, Leo," Kendrix purred, "Are you saying you don't want this, that you don't want me? Even back then, I fantasized about this, you know, and that was before you grew into such a strong, handsome man."
"I won't lie and say I don't want you, but not when you're drunk like this," Leo admitted, "You also know my agreement with Mike and Amanda." Kendrix nodded. She knew better than just about anyone that Leo might've dated since they'd last seen each other.
Leo had a long-standing agreement with Mike and Amanda he wouldn't be doing that under their roof. It had mostly applied to when he was a hormonal teenager after they got caught making out half-naked, but he loved and respected them more than enough to still stick to it to this day.
Leo was a little worried when Kendrix didn't say anything as she slipped off his lap and turned away, pulling the straps of her dress back up. He was even more so when he heard her sniffling and saw tears running down her face.
"I'm sorry," Kendrix whispered, "My emotions have just been all over the place since Mom… and seeing you again just brought everything back.
"I mean, look at me," Kendrix said, "I've never been particularly girly like this. I went and bought this dress and everything right before I met up with Mike, just because I wanted to look good for you. I don't even…" She cut off in mid-sentence, hanging her head and blushing. "You must think I'm a whore."
"Hey, it's all right," Leo said softly, hugging Kendrix. "Like I said earlier, I know almost exactly what you're going through when it comes to Val and you're doing a hell of a lot better than I did under similar circumstances.
"If it hadn't been for you, Val, Mike, Amanda, and the Kents' and Danvers', I might've wasted away in my bed," Leo continued, "I could never thank any of you enough and now, I am happy to be that rock for you. It's the least I could do for an old friend.
"As for how you're dressed, I would never think that in a million years," Leo interjected, "You could've fooled me about not being into girly things like this as amazing as you look. You're definitely no whore. We just got caught up in kissing is all, both of us.
"Thank you," Kendrix said. She leaned forward again and Leo tensed. He didn't know if he could hold off anymore advances as it'd taken every bit of willpower to stop before.
However, Leo was a little relieved when Kendrix kissed him on the forehead. He knew that it was an old gesture from her Mom as he could remember Val kissing him like that often, especially after his folks died and he'd stayed with them for a while until Mike was able to finish his active time in the Marines.
"I should get to bed before I embarrass myself even more," Kendrix said, "Good night, Leo."
"You've got nothing to be embarrassed about but good night, Kendrix," Leo said reassuringly. Kendrix stood and headed for the guest room, giving him one last look before heading inside.
Leo let out the breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding, glad for once that he didn't have freeze breath. He had almost given in but was glad he didn't as who knows how Kendrix would've reacted in the morning not to mention Mike and Amanda would've been pissed. He headed for bed.
PRGJ
Leo woke the next morning to find both Kendrix and Amanda already gone and Mike in the living room. "Morning, bro," he called out, "There's some breakfast for you in the microwave."
Leo nodded as he stepped over to the kitchen and activated the microwave. "Where are the ladies?" he asked.
"Amanda had to head to the Comet Café," Mike answered. Leo nodded as he'd expected that much as it was nearing the day of the the Grand Opening. "As for Kendrix, you tell me. She was acting kind of weird as she left. Did anything happen last night?"
Leo sighed. "Yeah, but not exactly what you're probably thinking," he said, "We were out here catching up some more after you 2 headed for your room and… well, she kissed me."
"Whoa, you work fast, bro," Mike teased. He actually knew all this as Amanda had told him before she went to work that she'd heard them making out and had been just about to walk out and interrupt them to give them a piece of her mind when she heard Leo stopping and they had a discussion about letting up on the old rule.
PRGJ
"So, what are you saying, that we should give him permission to sleep with Kendrix or any other woman he meets here?" Amanda hissed, "That's just asking him to get her or someone else pregnant in no time."
"You know that's not exactly what I'm saying but look, the situation has changed," Mike said, "He's going to be putting in his fair share of rent as soon as he finds a job outside of being Trezo and when he does, I don't think it's fair to ask that of him anymore as this will be as much his place as ours.
"He's not the same near 14 year old we caught with Kendrix when we first put that restriction in place anymore," Mike added, "We both know that he's become a lot more responsible as Trezo and we just have to pray it's enough that he won't get her or anyone else he dates and wants to have sex with pregnant."
"I know," Amanda admitted with a sigh, "Look, we still have almost a week before launch and we need to focus on that so how about after that, the 3 of us sit down and we hash this out as a family? We'll even invite Kendrix as she's practically a part of this family and probably will be soon."
"That sounds good," Mike said. With that, they kissed before Amanda headed out.
PRLG
"Very funny," Leo said, "One minute we were talking, then she was kind of rubbing my arms and then my chest, and the next, we were kissing. Making out really, to be honest.
"But it didn't go past that, I promise," Leo said. "I'll admit I was tempted but I knew I couldn't take advantage of her while she was drunk not to mention my promise to you 2.
"She started crying over Val dying, I hugged her to help console her, and we talked for a little while longer before she headed to bed," Leo continued, "She was pretty drunk, so I'd be surprised if she even remembers last night. It all happened kind of fast."
Mike nodded. "You might want to find her later and talk to her," he advised, "She's head of her department in the main R&D building. By the way, when do you think you're going to report to Commander Stanton as Trezo?"
"Today hopefully as I don't want to risk trouble the next time that I try to help someone," Leo said. The microwave beeped and he got out his food. He was surprised to find out Mike hadn't proposed yet, saying that the timing just hadn't felt right yet.
"Well, I've got to go but I'll see you later," Mike said.
Leo nodded and Mike left. He sighed as he thought about what happened the prior night, curious just how much of it Kendrix remembered. 'I'll report in then go visit her,' he decided.
Activating his suit and going into chameleon mode, Leo headed up to Shedquarters. "Cyborg, can you get me coordinates to the Command Tower?" he inquired. Cyborg acknowledged the request so he portal shifted that way, deactivating chameleon mode.
Leo imagined he surprised a lot of people when he'd portal shifted just outside the Command Tower and headed in. He stepped up to the security checkpoint. "Whoa, you're Trezo," one of the guards said, "This is so cool. It's a real honor. I'm a huge fan."
"What's up, buddy?" Leo asked, nodding to the guard. They all wanted to shake his hand and he was glad to comply. It was all part of being a superhero. "I'm here to report in, so feel free to do anything you need to register me or whatever."
The guards nodded and they spent the next 20 or so minutes of them scanning Leo's suit and asking him basic questions. He was surprised when Commander Stanton came to meet him as he figured he'd have to go upstairs.
"Welcome to Terra Venture, Trezo," Commander Stanton said, extending his hand. "It's a pleasure to have you aboard and I hope we can have a good relationship going forward."
"I hope so too, sir," Leo replied, shaking Commander Stanton's hand. "I'm sorry about acting yesterday before reporting in, but I was near the scene and wanted to help, forgetting I needed to do this first."
"It's all right as I think we can overlook it since you probably saved lives," Commander Stanton said, "I'll save the whole bit about not interfering with investigations as I'm sure you've heard that plenty of times." Leo nodded. "Just please email reports of your activities to the TVPD as regularly as possible and we shouldn't have any trouble."
"Thank you, Commander, and I will," Leo said. He made sure he was good to leave before portal shifting away, putting his suit into chameleon mode while in transit this time as he headed for the R&D building which was not that far from the Command Tower.
After he found a good spot to deactivate his gear altogether, Leo stepped into the building and after going through security, he stepped up to the main desk. "Can I help you, sir?" one of the assistants asked. She was a pretty woman about Mike and Amanda's age. Her badge said Kim Hart.
"Hi, my name's Leo Corbett and I was hoping I could see Kendrix Morgan if she's in and has time," Leo answered, "I'm an old friend of hers, heard she worked here, and was looking to catch up if she wasn't too busy."
"She just got in a few minutes ago," the assistant explained, "Do you have an appointment?"
"No, I've been running around all morning and haven't exactly had the time to set one," Leo admitted a little sheepishly, "I'm sorry if it's a hassle but while I wasn't exactly planning this, I was kind of in the area and thought I might come see her."
"It should be no trouble, but I'll have to call and ask Assistant Director Morgan to check, just a moment," the assistant said. Leo nodded as they rang up Kendrix and talked to her a moment before nodding and grabbed a couple of things nearby.
First the assistant handed Leo a few sheets of paper. "She said it's fine, but I'll need you to sign this non-disclosure agreement that states you'll never tell anyone what you might see here," she said, "Please read them over and sign where indicated."
Leo read over each sheet and signed them. The assistant then handed him a visitor's badge. "Go up to the third floor, take a right out of the elevator, and you can't miss it," she instructed.
"Thanks and have a nice day," Leo said, nodding as slipped the lanyard around his neck. He headed for the elevator. Once at the third floor, he took a right as instructed and as promised, he couldn't miss the door saying Kendrix Morgan, Assistant Director. He stepped up to the door and knocked.
"Come on in, Leo," Kendrix said.
As he did so, Leo found Kendrix's "office" to be more of a decent-sized workspace. She wasn't that far from the door, peering down a microscope at first but looked up and smiled as he entered the room. "I hope I'm not bothering you," he said as he stepped closer to her.
"Not at all," Kendrix said, "So, what's up?"
"Mike said you were acting kind of weird as you left this morning, so I thought I'd come check up on you," Leo explained.
"Yeah, I'm good," Kendrix said, "I just kind of slept in a bit later than I usually do, not to mention dealing with a hangover, and had to rush home to get ready for work was all. Thanks again for last night. I haven't really had anybody I could talk about Mom with since then and it felt great to get it off my chest. That was really sweet of you."
"Hey, anything for you," Leo said, "I meant what I said by the way. Anytime you need to talk again, about anything at all, I'm all ears and I know Mike and Amanda would agree." Kendrix nodded. He was reluctant to mention it, but he was curious. "Do you remember…"
"Us making out?" Kendrix asked and Leo nodded, "Yeah and I also remember you being the perfect gentleman and not letting it go farther. Except for me being drunk and not getting caught, it was almost exactly like that day."
They both chuckled. "It's still so weird," Leo said, "I can still picture you from back then as that cute little spitfire Mark Cross used to chase around the playground until I made him finally stop and now, you're all grown and you're not just cute, but beautiful, especially in that dress. I hope you'll wear it again sometime."
The bully had quickly learned not to mess with Kendrix. Eventually Mark had had given up being a bully and the 3 had become good friends. Leo even kept in touch with him to this day.
Kendrix felt the heat rising in her cheeks at the compliment. Leo always had been quite the sweet talker. "Thank you and you shot up like a weed into a very handsome, muscular young man," she retorted. He couldn't help but grin at that and she felt her heart melting. "As for the dress, we'll see."
"Look, the reason I asked is that us making out last night and stopping somewhere between second and third base has been on my mind all day, especially since we were well on our way to doing more," Leo said softly, stepping right up to Kendrix.
"Ditto," Kendrix admitted, "It's been flashing through my mind so much that I haven't really been able to focus on my work." She smirked at Leo with a raised eyebrow, something she knew drove him crazy. "So why don't we do something about it, huh?"
"Here?" Leo asked.
"Why not?" Kendrix replied. "We're not under Mike and Amanda's roof, I'm not drunk, and no one should be coming in anytime soon, so what's stopping you?" Leo was surprised when she hopped up on a nearby counter and gestured to him to come closer with a suggestive grin.
"Don't mind if I do," Leo said, matching Kendrix's grin as he walked over to her but before their lips could meet, the door to the office opened and he moved back as a man with short light brown hair came walking in. She hopped down so he wouldn't realize what had almost happened.
"Hey, Director Morgan, I'm sorry for barging in but my readings are off and I need you to… oh I'm sorry, I didn't know you had a visitor," the man said, noticing Leo. His badge showed "Quinn Steel".
"I've got to go anyway," Leo said, "Thanks for seeing me on such short notice, Kendrix, and good luck with whatever you're working on, man. I know she'll help you knock it right out of the ballpark." The two nodded and he left the office going back downstairs to turn in the visitors' badge and going outside to portal shift back to the apartment.
PRGJ
Feeling a little antsy, Leo headed up to his Shedquarters as he jokingly referred to it as to get a bead on any crime happening. All of a sudden, he heard a familiar voice. "Unit 6 requesting backup," came the voice of Angie Marshak, "A Metahuman is tearing up Elm Street."
Leo quickly typed a keyboard and pulled up the coordinates of her signal and scanned them into his suit. Making sure everything was in place, he portal shifted and found himself a few feet behind Angie as she was about to repeat her request. "Backup's here," he said, "What's the situation?"
Angie turned and gave Leo a grin. "Wow, I couldn't ask for better backup," she replied, "All we know is that this guy's a Metahuman nut job that goes by Sonar, who uses…"
"Hardened sound waves as a weapon, right?" Leo said. Angie nodded. Sonar was one of Kyle Rayner's minor rogues. He held up a finger as he connected to JL HQ. "Cyborg, please tell one of the Green Lanterns I'll need them to come collect one of their bad guys shortly."
"On it," Vic said.
Leo took a look over Angie's patrol car and saw Sonar stomping around. He looked at her. "If you're good here for the moment, I'm going to go confront him," he said, "Shouldn't take long as the guy's such an idiot that I don't even know how he keeps getting out of prison."
"Go kick his ass," Angie replied with a grin Leo returned with a wink as well.
"Villain mode, profile Sonar," Leo said as he stepped away and portal shifted. He's helped Kyle beat Sonar a couple of times and found that his sound wave weapon could wreak havoc on his enhanced hearing but found having his suit absorb them muffled it.
"Been a while, Trezo," Sonar said as Leo came into his view.
"Yep, I was just wondering what happened to my old buddy… wait, what was your name again?" Leo asked. He could hear Angie cracking up and he grinned over at her. "Bah, no matter. You're such a no name idiot, I don't even think the Green Lantern you annoy most remembers."
Sonar growled as he shot his hands out and sent a blast and he was surprised when Leo didn't budge, his suit absorbing the power of the sound wave. As the villain was winding up to try again, he shifted through a portal to his left.
Leo came out behind Sonar and couldn't resist tapping him on the shoulder. The villain spun around and tried to blast him again but instead got a mouthful of knuckles for his trouble, knocking him out. He winced at a sound like breaking glass as all of the guy's teeth probably shattered.
Angie came out from behind her cruiser, clapping. "Great job, Trezo," she said. Leo nodded his thanks then made a big show of bowing like a stage performer, to which she laughed.
It didn't take long for Guy Gardner to come fetch Sonar, leaving Leo and Angie at the scene. "I'm a little surprised I haven't gotten a call from you," she said.
"Yeah, sorry," Leo replied, "With the move here to Terra Venture, it's been kind of crazy, you know?" Angie nodded. "By the way, here." He made a shield like the one he'd given Jessica yesterday and he gave it to her. It worked on a slightly different frequency than the first one he'd made.
"Not that I don't think you can handle yourself, but if you ever find yourself backed into in a corner like this again, squeeze that and I'll come help as soon as I can," Leo explained, "I'm still working on it though, so I'm not sure how many times it can be used though so use it sparingly. It's a work in progress if you don't mind helping me kind of Beta test it."
"I don't mind at all, but what if there's not an emergency but I still want to see you?" Angie teased, "The offer from Blackgate's still good if you want to come to my place for a wild night. I know you'll just love where I got that El family shield tattoo I mentioned."
Once again, Leo was glad the image inducer didn't register blushing or most visible signs of embarrassment at Angie's forwardness. "I don't know if that's a good idea right now, but I'll keep that in mind, Angie," he said.
Angie nodded. "Well, call anytime," she said, "See you around, handsome." With that, she walked back to her cruiser.
'Oh, I definitely will,' Leo thought.
PRGJ
A couple of days later, on the day Terra Venture was scheduled to launch and Leo just portal shifted home after an uneventful patrol of the city, a call came over his suit's HUD that he didn't quite recognize. It was on his personal line, so he deactivated his gear. "Hello?"
"Is this Mike's brother Leo?" a male voice asked.
"Sure is," Leo asked, "Who is this?" The voice sounded kind of familiar, but he couldn't quite place it."
"My name's Kai Chen," the man said, "We met the other day, when you first came to Terra Venture. Something happened while we were running training drills on the moon. A young woman named Maya came falling out of some kind of weird portal and said her people were being invaded.
"Mike told me to stay here and gave me your number to contact you before he followed her back as he didn't have time before leaving as the portal was closing, taking Kendrix and our friend Johnny with him," Kai continued, "I don't know what to do."
Leo's eyes widened. "Are you still on the moon?" he asked.
"Yes," Kai answered.
"I'll try to see if I can get that Trezo guy to help," Leo said, "I hear he has super hearing like Superman and Supergirl so if I sound in desperate enough need of help, I imagine he'll come running. Maybe call out for him yourself to see if that'll help. Between the two of us, one of us should get his attention. If he comes here first, I'll send him your way."
"Good idea and thanks," Kai said, "I'm kind of freaking out."
"Just try to stay calm as that won't help anybody right now," Leo reasoned, "I'll be back in contact as soon as I can if I can't get hold of him. If not and you get his attention, he'll probably be there shortly." With that, he cut the call and connected with the Justice League line after activating his gear. "Cyborg…"
"I was wondering what that portal that opened on the moon was, but haven't had time to send someone to investigate," Vic said. He'd thought a call to his buddy from the moon was odd and had listened in. "Sending coordinates to Mr. Chen's location. Do you need any backup?"
"Possibly, but I'll have a better idea when I get there," Leo said. He could hear Kai calling out to him as Trezo. "I've got to go but I'll be in contact when I get to the portal."
"Gotcha," Vic said.
With that, Leo portal shifted to the moon, to the coordinates Kai was at. "How can I help you, sir?" he asked. The man quickly repeated what had happened. "Where was the portal?"
Kai pointed up the dune. "Can you help me?" he asked.
"I'm not sure yet but hopefully, yeah," Leo replied. He made his way up the dune. He could see the ripples left behind by the portal better as he got closer and changing the energy frequency of his nanites let him see the portal itself. "Cyborg, are you reading anything through my suit?"
"Yep, that's a doozy of a spatial distortion all right," Vic replied, "I'm trying to get the spatial coordinates of the planet on the other side so you can portal shift, but something's interfering with my equipment. If you can get it open and go through, that should help."
"Any ideas on how to reopen it?" Leo asked.
"I've been working with a man named Damon Henderson on a device that can open portals as well as detect and reopen them," Vic said, "He's signed on as an independent contractor to Terra Venture's Engineering department and I'm currently reading him there. Just sent you his last known coordinates."
"Gotcha, Cyborg," Leo said then turned back to Kai, who was looking a bit lost as he'd only heard this end of the conversation. "I'll be right back as Cyborg gave me a lead on how to go through it. Give me, I don't know, maybe 10 minutes and we'll follow them.
"What about Leo, Mike's brother?" Kai asked.
"That was why it took me a few minutes to get here," Leo said, "He grabbed my attention first and sent me this way. He understood he can't help and begged me to help his brother." Kai nodded as the superhero portal shifted to the last known coordinates of Vic's friend Damon.
PRGJ
Leo zipped out of the portal and was instantly deluged with the sounds of loud music. The nanites worked an alternate version of what he used against Sonar to muffle it. "Damon Henderson?" he called out loudly.
"Whoa-oa," a voice said and Leo looked up. A young man in green overalls was on top of a huge ladder a few feet away and was apparently startled by his voice and started falling.
Leo tensed up his legs and jumped up high enough to catch the man before he fell very far, landing a few feet past the ladder. "Are you all right, sir?" he asked as he put the man down.
"Yeah, thanks to you," the man replied, not paying attention to who he was talking to at first as he turned to dial down the music. "But how…" It was then that he really noticed Leo. "Whoa, you're Trezo. This is so awesome. I'm a huge fan."
Leo nodded. "Are you Damon Henderson?" he asked. Damon nodded. "Look, something happened on the moon and Cyborg sent me because you have a device you two were working on to find and open portals. Some Infantry went through one and I need your device to follow them through it in case they need help."
Damon nodded. "Well, it's over here… somewhere," he said and sighed as he waved his hand at a pile of what seemed to be junk, "Sorry it'll probably be tough to find but I haven't exactly needed it since he entrusted me with it."
"What does it look like?" Leo asked.
"Why… never mind, forgot about your X-ray vision for a second," Damon said, "Look for an iPad. We deliberately made it from an older model in order to make it look inconspicuous and not worth bothering to steal."
Leo nodded and activated his X-ray vision to quickly find the device and retrieve it. "Thanks," he said, "I'll get it back to you as soon as I can, though it might be tomorrow at the earliest."
"That won't work," Damon warned, "Cyborg encoded it to my DNA so if someone was able to steal it, they couldn't do anything with it. I'll have to come with you."
"All right, but from what I've heard, the situation might be dangerous where we're going," Leo replied.
"Doesn't matter," Damon said, "No offense, Trezo, but Cyborg trusted me to have this so it's not going anywhere without me even if it wasn't encoded to me."
Leo nodded. He could more than respect that as it said something that Vic trusted Damon with such important tech. "Problem is, I don't know how I can get you there as Phantom Zone portals are completely different than any you might've used it on so far and the place itself is very dangerous," he said.
"Oh, that's no problem either," Damon said, "I also made it to where it can change the properties of all known types of portals and Phantom Zone portals are one of many. Just show me the portal you used to get here so I can make it where I can go through as well. I haven't had the chance to test that part yet, but now's a good a time as any."
"If you're sure," Leo agreed reluctantly.
"Hey, science is all about experimentation," Damon reasoned. Leo had to give him that point as he showed the engineer where the portal he used to come here was and he began hitting buttons on his device and a beam of light came from the "camera".
The portal quickly became very visible, showing a very surprised Kai on the other side. He could see the portal to the other planet behind him. "Don't worry, I'll close the portal once we're through," Damon said, "That much I do know. I just haven't gone through one myself except a basic portal."
"I'd go through it first myself to see if it's safe or not, but I doubt it would be able to seriously hurt me anyway, so that probably wouldn't be a good way to test it," Leo pointed out.
"Yeah, that's true," Damon said, "Well, here goes." With that, he stepped through the portal and passed through with no trouble. He turned and gave Leo a thumbs up and he stepped through next.
As soon as Leo was through and quick introductions were made, Damon closed the portal before turning to where Kai showed the other portal. It took him an even shorter time to reopen that. "You have a backup I can borrow?" he asked Kai, "I'd rather not go into an unknown situation without some kind of weapon."
Kai nodded and unholstered a pulse pistol from his waist and handed it to Damon. "Are you good?" he asked Leo.
"As long as there isn't a red sun wherever we're going I'll be fine," Leo said, "Look, we have no idea what we're going into so I wouldn't think less of either of you if you don't want to go through and I don't think they would either. You could leave the portal open until I find the people there, Damon, and you can trust me to get your friends back, Kai."
"Not that I can't trust you to get them back, Trezo, but Mike, Kendrix, and Johnny would go through it to rescue me without hesitation and there's no way I'd let them down, so I'm going," Kai replied.
"And Cyborg told me it's not a good idea to leave something like this open for too long, so I've got to go too," Damon said.
"All right and speaking of Cyborg, I've got to call him and apprise him of the situation before I leave, so why don't you two go recon the immediate area to see if you can find which way they went?" Leo suggested, "I'll join you shortly." They nodded and walked through.
Leo rang up Cyborg. "Cyborg, I'm going through the portal," he told his friend, "If I can. I'll send the spatial coordinates of wherever we're going when I get through. If we're not back in say an hour, can you have Kal or Kara portal shift there to come help us out?"
"You've got it, buddy, and be careful," Vic answered. With that, Leo stepped through the portal.
To be continued…
Notes: Surprised the premier is going to be a 2 parter? Well, for one thing, I'm going with a more episodic approach to this series, with all of the stories being chapters of the same story. Secondly, this premier was originally over 70 pages, so I thought I'd split it up. And finally, do I have to point out that actual PRLG premier did the same?
Anyway, guess I should point out all of the little references I made, starting with Leo's Shedquarters, which is a reference to the episode of Phineas and Ferb, where they teamed up with a bunch of Marvel heroes. All of the rights to those are owned by Disney of course.
I also made a reference to the long running show Doctor Who alongside that. All I know about who owns that is the BBC. The was a reference to A nightmare on Elm Street during the fight scene with Sonar, owned by New Line Cinema and maybe Warner Brothers(?).
As any readers of my White Galaxy Ranger series knows, Johnny Marshak is a reference to Friday the 13th The series, not sure who owns the rights to that as Chiller once had the syndication rights but that's been defunct for a while now. Whether or not other characters named after them will appear here hasn't been decided yet.
Also, while I still haven't quite figured out what Johnny should look like, Angie is based on her namesake, the supermodel Angie Everhart. Yeah, I'm being a little lazy naming her but oh well.
If you're wondering how I came up with Leo's Kryptonian name, I had been looking for names of prominent El family members in the comics when doing research for this and I came across a Tro-El. I liked the name, but it felt a little too simple, so I modified it and as such, Trezo-El, the twin brother of Kal-El, was born.
As you can tell, while I reused the name, the Johnny here isn't much like his White Galaxy Ranger counterpart, whom I admit I've gone a bit overboard in kind of making him into a Captain America-like figure and moral compass for the team.
Basically, this version of Johnny's morals are the same and he's still loyal to a fault but he is much less confident as him and Angie had a rougher childhood without the Olivers to help and he's a martial artist but not the human fighting machine I've made his WGR counterpart.
Instead of her becoming a Ranger, I was instead thinking of making Angie a superhero and I'm leaning towards either making her my version of an old DC character named Maxima or a female speedster to give them a Flash analog, though I might also just give her an original superhero name and powers.
So, I'll make it an informal poll. Should I base Angie's superhero persona off Maxima, a Flash-like superspeedster, something else entirely, or would you even want me to just leave her as an unpowered cop ally for the team?
Anyway, while this hasn't gotten to the team getting their powers yet, I thought I'd packed enough excitement to make up for it. Be here next time when the Mirinoian shit show goes down and as always, Catch ya on the flipside.