Wednesday, June 19, 2024

The Life and Times of a Deadman - Episode 25 - Secrets in the Shadows: Confronting Cultists and Fiends

The session began with Sabrina interrogating Greely, but he refused to disclose any information. Audrey Rose tried to intimidate him with her flesh-eating bombs and scalpel, yet he remained uncooperative. Zita took her turn, but all Greely offered was a cryptic suggestion to talk to someone named Molag-Bol, without revealing his whereabouts. No one in the group had ever heard of Molag-Bol.

Sabrina attempted to negotiate, but Greely was steadfast. Audrey Rose was adamant that Greely should either be handed over to the city watch or killed. Deciding to take action, the group grabbed Greely and headed to the toilet, lifting the seat and descending a ladder. Sabrina pushed Greely down the twenty-foot drop and followed with a lit torch. London cast light on Sabrina, illuminating the narrow passage of ancient stonework. Signs of recent passage were evident, and London could easily follow the trail through the twisted tunnels.

The group reached a section of the tunnel where they heard rocks shifting above them. They turned to see a large spider, an Ogre Spider, dropping from the ceiling. Audrey Rose threw a bomb, hitting it squarely between the eyes. Sabrina attempted mind control, but the spider’s mind was unreachable. Zita sneak-attacked with double daggers but had to dodge as the spider lunged at her. Suddenly, a second spider descended, pushing Greely aside. Bosley tried to strike but missed. London blessed the group.

Dol closed in and attacked the first spider, while Audrey Rose drank a Targeted Bomb extract. Sabrina cast Shadow Splinter on herself. Zita tumbled past the first spider, flanking it with Tweetie Bear and double-daggering it into four pieces. The second spider lunged at Sabrina but missed, and Bosley shot a ray of frost at the ceiling.

Audrey Rose threw a Targeted Bomb at the second spider, which Tweetie Bear then bit. Zita tumbled again, flanking the second spider. The spider bit Sabrina, turning her green. Bosley stabbed the spider, and Audrey Rose followed with Alchemical Fire, scaring it. Sabrina activated her Mistarmor, obscuring herself in a cloud. Tweetie Bear then beheaded the spider.

Audrey Rose extracted two doses of giant spider venom from the corpses. London healed the party, and they continued forward. The passage led to natural, warped stairs ending at a portcullis. Two wooden mannequins in green robes stood on either side. The room also contained crates, a table, and several hooks with green robes. A winch was ten feet away.

Greely suddenly shouted, “Hey guys. We have intruders down here.” Bosley and London attempted to lift the portcullis but failed. Dol searched for a hidden passage but found none. Sabrina confirmed that the mannequins were not magical. Audrey Rose picked the lock, and London used a crowbar to bend the bars and lift the portcullis. As Sabrina and Greely entered the room, green and purple runes flashed on the floor.

Three figures with dark blue skin and white eyes, wearing metal chains, appeared. One said, “Look brothers; we have toys.” Tweetie Bear charged but only got a mouthful of chain. Bosley tumbled behind one and attacked. The creature approached Sabrina, hissing, “I want your liver and your tongue,” and lashed out with spiked chains. Another creature threatened Bosley and hit him with chains. The third one examined Tweetie Bear and lashed it with chains.

London blessed his weapon, making it good-aligned. Audrey Rose threw Alchemical Acid at the middle demon, splashing the third. Sabrina’s Hideous Laughter spell failed due to their spell resistance. Zita tumbled to the third demon. Dol identified the creatures as Velstrac fiends, vulnerable to silver and good-aligned weapons, with a gaze attack that could shake a creature and immunity to cold.

The first fiend attacked Sabrina and London with its chains. The second fiend struck Bosley and missed Tweetie Bear. The third fiend lashed at Zita, badly injuring her. London’s good-aligned sword left a bright purple glow on the first fiend, who mocked, “Foreplay, that’s nice.” Audrey Rose threw a bottle of lightning. Sabrina missed with her sword, while Zita stabbed the third fiend. Tweetie Bear attacked the third fiend, and Bosley used Shocking Grasp on the first fiend.

The first fiend missed Bosley but struck London. The second fiend lashed London around. The third fiend attacked Tweetie Bear and Zita, with Zita looking badly hurt. Audrey Rose threw Alchemical Fire at the fiends. Zita double-daggered the third fiend, killing it. Tweetie Bear missed the second fiend. Bosley was injured by a chain, and London was lashed. Tweetie Bear disappeared in a puff. London called on his god to heal the group. Audrey Rose threw Alchemical Acid, and Zita stabbed the second fiend, making it vanish in smoke.

Dol’s daze attempt failed. Bosley missed his attack and was retaliated against. The creature struck London twice, but London retaliated. Sabrina approached London, and Audrey Rose’s Alchemical Fire set the fiend ablaze. Hissing, “Liver and Tongues,” it faded away.

The group searched the crates, finding green robes, torches, and lantern oil. They found eight silver spider sickles worth 26 gold each and a spider candelabra worth 200 gold. Greely, now looking terrified, revealed this place was the cult’s base. They supplied him with Shiver, which he sold, and he brought them supplies. The cult operated from a ransacked house on Hook Street with an underground meeting place.

When Audrey Rose asked about any identifying greetings, Greely demonstrated a spider-like hand gesture. Zita inquired about the purpose of distributing Shiver. Greely admitted it was primarily for profit but hinted at a grander, political plan known only to the three leaders, indicating there was infighting among them.

The Life and Times of a Deadman - Episode 24 - Sleepy Reptiles, Surprise Ambushes, and Hidden Passageways

The group continued their adventure with a fierce battle. London swung at a reptilian creature and missed, while Sabrina swam to the surface. Audrey Rose hurled a flesh-eating bomb at the creature, cutting it off mid-speech. Dol missed the target and clambered up to the roof. Tweetie Bear charged towards the threat but was unable to advance. Zita vaulted off Tweetie Bear onto the roof, positioning herself near the reptile.

The reptile’s neck expanded as it spat a liquid at Audrey Rose, causing her to fall asleep. It then flew forty feet into the sky. London attempted to strike again but missed. The creature attacked London three times, severely injuring him, prompting him to heal himself.

Sabrina stabbed Audrey Rose to wake her up. Startled, Audrey Rose threw another flesh-eating bomb at the creature. The reptile swiped at her but missed, growling, “I will deal with you next.”

The battle continued with Sabrina making the creature laugh, potentially saving the group. Eventually, Zita landed a critical hit, and London decapitated the beast. With the fight over, the levitated water dropped back into the ocean, and the people inside the building, though gagging, were alive. Suddenly, swarms of armed people poured out, yelling, “Get them.”

Audrey Rose ran forward and threw a flesh-eating bomb, while Tweetie Bear charged. Zita readied her crossbow, and London rushed forward, barking and swinging his sword, shaking the mobs. A fight ensued, and after the dust settled, Sabrina interrogated the three goons from earlier.

Sabrina: “How do we get Shiver to you?”

Goon: “The Shiver dealers hired us to ambush you. They promised us Shiver for life.”

Sabrina pressed on with her questions, and the goon revealed that Greely was under the Red Elephant, near the Midnight Fountain. Sabrina secured the goons inside and iron-staked the door shut, then led the group to the Red Elephant to find Greely.

They found a secure door in a dead-end alley. Zita and Audrey Rose picked the lock, revealing a courtyard with an outhouse and a spiral staircase. Sabrina heard muffled voices beyond a door. Four people were in the courtyard. Sabrina asked for Greely, bluffing her way through, and learned that he was upstairs. The group followed her up.

They entered a room with three single beds and found two more men and a robed figure. Sabrina shouted, “Greely, we’re here about raises.” Greely spun around, yelling, “That’s them. Get them.” A fight ensued. Zita took down a blind man and stripped down the mage, finding a potion, scrolls, and a magical amulet.

Audrey Rose examined a pretty parakeet in a non-magical cage. The group searched the room, finding that the outhouse didn’t smell right. London discovered a hidden passage under the wooden seat. Sabrina identified the amulet as natural armor +1, the potion as invisibility, and three scrolls of cure moderate wounds.

Zita found a secret door in the wall, checked it for traps, and found it unlocked. Audrey Rose examined items on a table, including lanterns, mirrors, candlesticks, and various pieces of jewelry worth 300 gold. There was a large glass jar filled with gold-filled teeth worth 30 gold, three holy symbols to the Sovereign Host worth 25 gold each, a gilded birdcage worth 10 gold, and a wooden case of silverware worth 120 gold. They also found a gold holy symbol worth 50 gold.

Audrey Rose remembered Lady Carrington mentioning that Frell Tan had tried to sell her items, including a silverware set and a birdcage. They discovered 40 glass vials of Shiver. Zita opened the secret door with a crowbar, revealing a narrow hallway. She proceeded cautiously, discovering another door. The floor gave way beneath her, but she jumped aside just in time. She opened the unlocked door to a smaller room packed with mundane goods worth 800 gold and an imp corpse resembling a desiccated monkey with a poison stinger.

The Life and Times of a Deadman - Episode 23 - Dreams, Deceptions, and Drenched Discoveries: A Night in the Fallen District

Madam Carrington was once a noblewoman, but her family fell on hard times, leaving her as the last of her line. Despite this, she is highly respected in the Fallen district for her skill in interpreting dreams, and she is guarded by the spirit of a former lover.

The group arrived at her flat, which had seen better days. Despite the state of the building, there was evidence of an effort to maintain it, with tents set up around it. Sabrina knocked on the door, and they were instructed to place their weapons inside a wardrobe.

Entering a room with fine but faded furniture, they found an ancient woman with a slack left side of her face but bright, active eyes. Beside her was a peculiar device, a desk with an arm equipped with gears. The arm grabbed a feather, dipped it in ink, and began to write, producing a slip of paper for Zita. It read, "Why have you come to me to pierce the veil of dreams?"

Zita explained their quest, asking what would bring Leng spiders into their realm and put them in servitude. The Mystic responded, "The dread arachnids of Dracor do not typically spend time in this plane and wouldn’t be placed into servitude."

Zita continued, "Are you asking about the Brotherhood of Spiders?"

"Yes," Zita confirmed. "What knowledge do you have of the brotherhood?"

The Mystic suspected that the Dread Brotherhood was distributing a dream drug causing havoc in their neighborhood. She provided a slip of paper with a symbol of a black spider on a web motif, identifying it as the Brotherhood's emblem. Their dissemination of poor-quality Shiver had given the area a nightmarish quality.

Zita asked, "Where would we find the Brotherhood?"

"That is not known to me," the Mystic replied. "Your best bet is to find one and interrogate them. Does the name Greely mean anything to you?"

Zita inquired about an antidote for the dream drug. The Mystic explained that only time could counteract it. She mentioned another man, Frell Tan, who had tried to sell items to buy more Shiver, including a book on dreams, which he wanted too much for.

Zita asked what other weapons or strategies the Brotherhood might employ. The Mystic revealed that the Brotherhood sought to awaken the foul creature they worship, Mog-Lathr. Dah suspected this cult was part of the Cults of the Dragon Below.

Audrey Rose asked how the terrors manifested into reality. The Mystic explained that the tainted Shiver was affecting Lucid Dreaming, bringing night terrors to its users. Those who died in their nightmares died in real life.

Zita asked how to fight dream creatures. The Mystic assured them that the creatures of Dalcour could not exist in the material plane.

Dal asked, "What would happen if someone were sent to the dream realm and had to fight creatures there?"

Madame Carrington, with the help of her clockwork dictation apparatus, replies:

"The plane of Dal Quor, the Dreamlands, has many inhabitants that have emigrated from the Material Plane: moon beasts, Leng spiders, humanoids of every shape.  And all dreaming creatures enter Dal Quor psychically when they rest, returning to their native realms upon awakening.  But the true natives of that realm, a host of beings collectively called the quori, are the living embodiments of dream and nightmare.  They resist magic, are immune to enchantments involving sleep, fear, or charms, and shrug off most elemental damage.  You won't see one in Sharn, or anywhere on Eberron, though, as dream matter cannot exist in the waking world.  They would be snuffed out in an instant."

Dal asked about the environment favored for their rituals. The Mystic indicated it would be somewhere nearby.

London asked, "Is there anything to eat?"

Audrey Rose and Zita discussed compensation for Madam Carrington. The Mystic mentioned that Mr. Tan and Mr. Greely were notable figures. Audrey Rose revealed that Mr. Tan was dead, to which the Mystic responded, "Yes, I know. He was killed by the Brotherhood’s witch."

Audrey Rose pressed for more information about the witch. The Mystic mentioned Sally Scrabblebones, a night hag of local legend who haunted children's nightmares. To kill a night hag, one needed to take her heart stone, a gaudy gemstone she kept close.

After exchanging gold for information, the group was offered shelter in the Mystic's domicile. She introduced them to an acquaintance who consumed bad dreams.

As they left, Audrey Rose advised London on when to give money, prompting Sabrina to playfully suggest he always give her money. The hobgoblin joined the game.

The group headed to the well. London sniffed the water, confirming it was just water. They found places to lurk. Zita and Sabrina hid in dark doorways, while Bosley and Audrey Rose staked out the well. Dahl disguised herself as a local resident, and London sprawled on the street to nap.

A coffee vendor approached London, who barked him away and ordered skewers of unidentifiable meat. Sabrina and Zita noticed a pattern at the well, where people frequently bent over to tie their shoes. Investigating, Zita found a loose stone with a small leather pouch and empty glass vials.

The group gathered to inspect the findings. The pouch was empty, and the vial had contained Shiver. London identified the faint smell of the drug.

A homeless person approached, revealed to be Dahl. They strategized about the drug deal's usual operations. Hours passed with no activity until a squirrely young woman with tattered red hair informed them the dealers wouldn't come while they were around. For a hundred gold, she offered to lead them to the dealers' location.

She guided them to Ship’s Tower in the harbor district, pointing out a jetty and a boarded-up shed. Audrey Rose handed over half the gold, and Sabrina approached the door, discovering the fake boarding.

Inside, they found four shabbily robed individuals. Sabrina bluffed her way through, claiming an inspection. They revealed their ignorance about the Shiver's supplier. Suddenly, the water rose, and a water elemental emerged.

A battle ensued. London swam back to land, casting Heroism. Sabrina used Forbid Action on the elemental, while Zita floundered. Audrey Rose drank a mutagen and swam towards the door. Dahl enlarged London, who cast Bull Strength. Sabrina maintained eye contact with the elemental, commanding it not to attack. The elemental missed London but struck Bosley.

Audrey Rose threw a shock bomb, dazzling the elemental. Tweetie Bear dragged Zita into flanking position. Dahl climbed onto the roof, enlarging Tweetie Bear. Bosley used Shocking Grasp, and London struck with his sword.

Sabrina's Forbid Action held, and the elemental stared at her. Audrey Rose threw another bomb, and the elemental imploded. The water didn't recede, and Audrey Rose suspected a caster's presence. They all heard thumping, revealing a reptilian creature in the shed.

Daily Planet 27 May 2987

Community

CELEBRATION TURNS AWKWARD THANKS TO A STARTLING TRANSFORMATION
by Tawn Ortega

A family’s triple celebration turned strange today as an unexpected transformation disrupted what was supposed to be a time of joy. Earth President Kel Wynters and Alessandra Maria-Luisa Alvarez Blanca Sanchez de Carrillo Wayne Wynters were hosting a party at stately Wayne Manor in honor of their first wedding anniversary, while also celebrating the former Mrs. Wayne’s daughter Diana’s quinceañera. The party was additionally a Klordny celebration, honoring the holiday’s foundational principles of Freedom, Friendship, and Frunt. But the unexpected happened when one of the couple’s guests, Legionnaire Sun Boy, who was present as Diana Wayne’s date, suddenly transformed into a Quatro and disrupted the celebration.

The quinceañera is an ancient Earth tradition among some cultures, notably Latin American and Inuit peoples, to commemorate a female sentient’s passage into adulthood on their 15th birthday. In the absence of her father Thomas Wayne, who was brutally murdered two years ago, Miss Wayne, the youngest of three children, was enjoying the traditional father-daughter dance with her mother’s new husband, President Wynters, when the party was disrupted.

Dirk Morgna, better known as Sun Boy of the Legion of Super-Heroes, was present under special dispensation of EarthGov to attend the celebration since Legionnaires are currently barred from Earth. During his, reportedly, fifth visit to the Silverale-spiked punchbowl, he was loudly proclaiming the virtues of “barely legal” females, according to other guests, when he began spasming and convulsing. His Caucasian skin color darkened to purple as two extra arms burst from his sides, shredding the faux-velvet tuxedo he was wearing. With one pair of arms he grabbed the punchbowl and quickly downed the remaining liquid, while the other pair of arms snatched Miss Velma Dinkley, the daughter of Earth Minister Arnaq Dinkley and one of Diana Wayne’s closest friends. The newly Quatro-fied Sun Boy hoisted himself and Miss Dinkley into the trees and quickly brachiated them out of sight.


Dirk Morgna aka Sun Boy is the son of noted nuclear scientist Derek Morgna. The younger
Morgna gained the power to radiate intense light and heat after an accident with an atomic
reactor. He is one of the longest-serving Legionnaires and notorious for his womanizing behavior.
Lately he has been spending free time away from his duties with the Legion as a model. Legion
Leader Sensor Girl, when reached, had no comment about Sun Boy’s latest escapade.

A search of the Wayne Estate by the Science Police officers who were providing security at the party finally discovered the pair in the manor’s attic. The transformed Sun Boy was asleep, and the disheveled Miss Dinkley refused to comment on what exactly had happened in the hour they had been missing. Straightening her dress and fixing her hair, she was heard by one observer to quietly say, “Once you go foursie, you always want moresie.” The slumbering Legionnaire was taken into custody by the Science Police, and Chief Kimball Zendak, who had been a guest at the festivities, indicated that a full investigation would be held into both Sun Boy’s behavior and his startling transformation.

Other guests at the celebration included members of EarthGov’s cabinet, including the President’s Chief Advisor Vid Gupta, who said that such disgraceful behavior was a big factor in why the Legion of Super-Heroes is no longer allowed on Earth. Another celebrant was noted holovid producer Leww Kohan, who announced that the party would be incorporated into the latest season of his hit holoprogram, Whine-asty and Her Amazing Friends, which includes as one of its characters Li’l Hunty, based on Wayne scion Ian, who, however, was not present at the party.

Chief Advisor to the President Vid Gupta said he strenuously objected to the dispensation that allowed Legionnaire
Sun Boy to be present on Earth for the Wynters-Wayne triple celebration. “This disgraceful behavior, exhibited time
and time again by the so-called heroes of the Legion, is a threat to the well-being of Terrans and the planet’s
standing among the United Planets. You can rest assured I will be doing whatever I can to keep something like this
from happening again.”

President Wynters finished his dance with his stepdaughter Diana, followed by one with his wife Alessandra. In a statement to the press after the party concluded, the President refused to answer questions about either the events of the afternoon or his controversial comments about the Khunds at last week’s EarthWar Memorial Commemoration. Instead, he merely said that he was happy to be celebrating his anniversary with his lovely wife and was grateful for her loving family that have accepted him with open arms, a family with includes daughters Diana and Yoana as well as the absent Ian.


Following the disruption, Earth PreEarth President Kel Wynters (right) and CEO of Wayne Enterprises Alessandra Wayne (left) were married last year. This is the second marriage for both. Both have long maintained silence about the deaths of their respective spouses.
The President’s first wife and husband were killed in EarthWar, while Wayne’s husband was murdered by an assailant who has never been identified or caught.


News of the Weird

MASS ORGY PREDICTABLY RESULTS IN MASS PREGNANCY
by Tawn Ortega

Readers of a prurient nature no doubt remember the vast orgy on Velok-3 that accompanied an unexpected meteor storm last year. Fully 100% of the human colony participated in the carnality, as immortalized in the bestselling holoporn Venereal Veneration on Velok-3 from Porno Prince Productions. Now, months later, it has been confirmed that 97.3% of the mature females on the moon are pregnant as a result, with the other 2.7% having been pregnant already at time of the orgy.

The colony, established in 2975, was naturally populated with sentients tested to be fertile and genetically compatible in order to ensure the growth of the population, currently numbered at 386 adults. Nevertheless, this stunning fertility rate has attracted the attention of the UP’s Department of Reproductive Biology, who is sending scientists to the small moon to conduct testing on the population and the fetuses, which are said to be in their third trimesters despite the short time since the incident in question. Some have speculated that the inhabitants of Velok-3 merely evolved the ability to reproduce more quickly, just as residents of Braal, for example, evolved magnetic powers to fight the metal beasts its colonists were threatened by.

Local vintner Myron P. Hornswaggle III was thrilled by the news of his wife Maisie’s pregnancy: “I always knew my little swimmers had a lot of pep to ‘em. At least I hope ‘twere mine that knocked Maisie up. I mean, that night was pretty wild, and I can’t rightly recall who else might have been in the pool, if you know what I mean. I mean, I took a dip in other pools, too. Little Sue, she done jumped me after she was through with Lester, Legless Pete, and 7-Fingered Kaveh. I guess we’ll see if any of them little babies have the traditional Hornswaggle third nipple.” When reached for comment, Hornswaggle’s wife, Maisie Lou Gurnpupple, just said: “Get this thing out of me! I’ve got work to do!”

Myron P. Hornswaggle III and Maisie Lou Gurnpupple, local vintner and xenogeologist respectively, are
expecting their first child, as are hundreds of other couples on Velok-3.

Faced with the impending births of hundreds of children, the colony has despaired of being able to care for them all. However, Terran entertainment mogul Leww Kohan has announced that he will be donating surplus Legion Academy Babies merch, including Foursie diapers, Skid Mark baby wipes, and Whine-asty blankets. The planets Winath and Cargg have also indicated they will be providing supplies for the newborns.

Sunday, April 21, 2024

The Life and Times of a Dead Man - Episode 22 - Spiders, Shiver, and Swine: A Tale of Twists and Trepidation

In the shadowed labyrinth of the Fallen district, our group delved into the murky depths of the night. Their quest led them through a myriad of dimly lit pubs, each offering a spectrum of dubious alcoholic concoctions. Amidst the labyrinth of alleys, they sought out the elusive Shiver den rumored to neighbor a pigsty, the scent of swine mingling with the city's underbelly.

Their inquiries led them to a weather-worn establishment known as the Rook’s Roost, its facade a testament to neglect. An eager hobgoblin, quickened his pace to arrive ahead of his comrades. With a locked entrance barring their way, Sabrina suggested the straightforward approach: knocking. A gnome with a crimson turban greeted them, revealed as Shrosh, the proprietor.

Attempts to procure both drinks and the elusive Shiver proved futile, leaving Bosley and the rest to settle for lodgings. Led to a makeshift common area with military cots, their eyes soon fell upon a suspicious area, a corner cluttered with crates and barrels, hinting at a concealed trap door.

The denizens, lost in the clutches of addiction, lay dormant on their cots, impervious to Audrey Rose's attempts to rouse them. London's keen senses detected traces of poison, foretelling the awakening of two addicts in due time.

Speculation turned to the fate of Frell Tan, suspicions rising as Dol and London ventured into the pigsty's depths. Amongst the filth, a crimson silk fragment and a grim discovery—a human finger, adorned with the sigil of House Tan.

Shrosh's reaction to the signet ring hinted at concealed truths, leading Audrey Rose to press further. Details emerged of Frell's association with mysterious figures, cloaked in peasant guise, haunting the nearby alleyways.

Their path led to a chilling encounter as Sabrina communed with a boarded-up window, a dire warning resonating within her mind. Unheard by her companions, the threat loomed unseen, leaving Sabrina unsettled.

Within the alley's confines, the group confronted the Shiver-addled trio, their inquiries met with incoherent murmurs. Chaos erupted as the addicts succumbed to a ghastly fate, their bodies hosts to a grotesque infestation of spiders.

In the ensuing melee, Audrey Rose's alchemical prowess turned the tide, decimating the arachnid horde. With the immediate threat quelled, attention turned to the deceased, revealing the grim truth of venomous laced Shiver and the enigmatic Brotherhood of Spiders.

A somber procession led the adventurers to the Blackstone Church, their burden of the dead and addicted entrusted to the care of Ieess. Guidance led them to Madame Carrington, a Dream Interpreter, promising insight into their unraveling mystery.

As dawn broke, the group ventured forth, their minds awash with unsettling revelations and unanswered questions, their next destination clear—Madame Carrington's abode.

Sunday, April 14, 2024

Legion of Super-Heroes - Daily Planet - 10 April 2987

 Daily Planet 10 April 2987

Science

WAYNE GRANT UNDERWRITES SCIENCE RESEARCH IN NUEVO MUMBAI

by Alia Igo

Dean Sanjay Pérez announced today that the University of Nuevo Mumbai will construct a new state-of-the-art facility for the study of Science! thanks to a multi-billion credit grant by Wayne Industries Earth. The new laboratory complex will begin construction immediately and is expected to be ready to open by year’s end. Dean Pérez at the same time confirmed that the new facility will be named for donors Alessandra and Thomas Wayne.

The centerpiece of the Alessandra and Thomas Wayne Science! Complex will be research laboratories dedicated to the study of the mysterious element atmospherium. Previously, experiments on atmospherium had been conducted by EarthGov-owned facilities in Nuevo Mumbai, but after a disastrous accident three years ago and the villainous Universo’s use of the element in his takeover of Earth and the UP, EarthGov has ceded research rights to the University. However, many of the same scientists who studied atmospherium under EarthGov auspices will continue their work in the new complex.

Discussions concerning the grant reportedly began before the tragic death of Thomas Wayne earlier this year and were continued afterward by his wife Alessandra (formally Alessandra Maria-Luisa Alvarez Blanca Sanchez de Carrillo Wynters). “My dear late husband, Thomas, believed strongly in the power of science to improve the lives of sentients everywhere, and atmospherium from all initial studies has the capacity to transform the United Planets. I’m proud to partner with the amazing scientists in Nuevo Mumbai to continue their work on this extraordinary substance,” the CEO of Wayne Industries said during the announcement of the grant. Given her recent marriage to Earth President Kel Wynters, the transfer of EarthGov resources and the atmospherium itself from government facilities to the new complex will likely be free of any red tape.



Thomas Wayne and Alessandra Maria-Luisa Alvarez Blanca Sanchez de Carillo at 2983’s Nine Planets Ice

Cream Golden Globes Awards Ceremony to honor innovations in frozen confections. Wayne was murdered

more than a year ago under mysterious circumstances, and his murderer has not yet been apprehended. In

addition to his wife, Wayne left behind three children—Ian, Yoana, and Diana—and, strangely, no known

mistresses or kept boys of any species. Given de Carillo’s recent marriage to President Wynters, it is yet

unknown whether the president will be adopting her children.

Dean Pérez brushed aside questions about rumors that a fragment of atmospherium in the university’s control went missing last year, claiming that all of the sample is in a secure location as the Wayne Complex is being constructed. He reported that the university and EarthGov are working together to provide the highest security possible for the new labs.

Discovered in 2981, atmospherium (atomic number 173) is so-called because of the theory that, irradiated properly, it will be able to aid in terraforming newly colonized planets by replicating within the existing atmosphere and adjusting it to a combination of gases most conducive to human life. Alternately, it could be programmed to form, for example, a methane-heavy atmosphere or whatever other balance is desired. Based on its use by Universo, its properties also seem to magnify extranormal powers, including mind control, thus raising concerns about the element’s possible uses other than terraforming.

A formal reception will be held to launch the Wayne Science! Complex at the end of the month when construction is complete.

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Op Ed

WHITHER THE LEGION?

by Alefia Santiago, Professor of Xenosociology, Metropolis University

The question in the headline is not meant just spacially, though that of course is to be wondered. Since the Legion of Superheroes’ banishment from Earth last year, their surprisingly mobile headquarters has slowly meandered through space in the direction of Mars. With their current speed and heading they will reach the orbit of Mars’ moon Deimos within a couple of weeks. What then?

But no, my question is meant in a much more philosophical sense. Since the retirement of the three founding Legionnaires—Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad—a few years ago, the team has seemed to flounder. Remember the early Legion, with the clean-cut lads and lasses that saluted their flag and showed respect to the United Planets and its sentients? Now, they flout authority, fight amongst themselves, and even fornicate publicly. They even have their own line of pornographic holovids! It’s no wonder that EarthGov banished them and even stripped them of their training academy, turning it into an adjunct of the Science Police Academy.

Once they had charming codenames, such as Colossal Boy, Light Lass, and Bouncing Boy, names that spoke to simpler, more innocent times and the heroics of the Golden Age of Heroes in the 22nd Century, when figures such as Superman, Wonder Woman, and Sandman kept the Earth safe. New Legionnaires now have “cool” names like Vanguard, Dynasty, Quantum Cat, and Quislet. What do those even mean? Colossal Boy gets big, Light Lass makes things light, Bouncing Boy bounces. Duh. Dynasty appears to make energy constructs and perform magic. How does that even relate to her name? And what even is a “Quislet”?

What might be the final straw is their latest leadership shake-up. The team has voted in Invisible Kid and Kid Skid as Leader and Deputy Leader respectively. The former, notoriously publicity-adverse as his name might imply, is by all accounts “a nice guy” who harkens back to the team of old. But does he have the leadership skills and presence to control this band of rambunctious, horny teens? He hasn’t even been seen, on missions or elsewhere, in months, perhaps speaking to the efficacy of his powers, but is this really what the team needs in a leader right now?

The opposite is true of Kid Skid. He is the Prophet of Howardism, a religion that has swept the United Planets in the last years as planet after planet has adopted it, and its mantra “Wood Be Good” can be heard across the galaxy among everyone from the downtrodden of Rimbor to the high-rollers of Ventura. His holopic shimmers alongside Howard’s in shrines and households on dozens of planets. Even though he seems to have turned over the organizational duties of the religion to his son, Kid Skid Kid, is he indoctrinating the Legion to turn them into his own Army of the Faithful that will be serving Howard rather than the United Planets?

So I ask, whither the Legion? Will the team remain a symbol of the United Planets as a group of youthful sentients from different worlds with different abilities mirroring the union of disparate worlds joined together for a better galaxy? Or will they continue their slide into degeneracy and irrelevancy and become a footnote in history like the Global Guardians, the Myrmidons, the Venusian Five, and other forgotten superteams of the past? Howard only knows.

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Legion of Super-Heroes - Season 4 recap!

 Season 4 recap


What happened in Season 4 of Legion Academy so many years ago? I’m glad you asked! Old plot points were settled, new information was revealed, and a new hero joined the team. We’ll hit all of these points thematically in rough chronological order. If you need to refresh your memory further back, or just have a handy reference guide to search, consult the Season 2 and 3 recaps.



The Introduction of Hunter (kinda)


We actually first met Hunter a couple of seasons ago, when he popped in next to the heroes as they were drifting in space and rescued them. He was hunting for his father’s murderer and based on information from our team, he concluded the murderer was Vandal Savage. Whenever he and Dynasty touched, there were chronal ripples that changed things briefly. He disappeared as mysteriously as he had arrived.


This season we met him properly. Ian Wayne was the son of Thomas Wayne, who had indeed been murdered. Ian was also a Science Police cadet at their Academy on Mars but had just been assigned to the SP outpost in Africa. However, our Ian was actually from another timeline and had been slipped into this timeline by a figure in purple that looked like Dynasty’s mother, replacing the Ian that belonged in this timeline. Our Ian’s history and life were mostly identity to this timeline’s, with a few differences in skills and attitude.


Responding to a call for help from the jungle, Ian encountered our heroes and helped them foil a plot by Grodd to cybernetically enhance animals and attack humans. In the course of the adventure, the group met Danielle Foccart, Invisible Kid’s sister, who has the ability to talk with electronic equipment.


Ian was reassigned to SP Academy Earth (see below) to keep an eye on the students there. Other cadets from the Mars Academy were also reassigned, including Javi Olafsson, who apparently had carried on a torrid romance with the original Hunter of this timeline. Kyle Ramirez (formerly Shade!, now Obsidian) also put the moves on Hunter.



Magic Rises and Mordru Awakens


Previously, friends and foes of the Legion had been possessed by the elements Fire (Sun Emperor), Air (Nightwind), Water (Lamprey), Earth (Crystal Kid), and Aether (Dynasty). During the fight with Aether, she teleported Miss Momentum away. Following the team-up with the 20th-century team the Myrmidons, Aether gathered a number of powerful magic artifacts from the teams.


This great confluence of magic caused the area of Metropolis surrounding the Tower of Fate and its forest to start transforming into a magical fairyland under Aether’s control. The team battled her, and a clone version of Dynasty killed her, causing the landscape to return to normal. Both the Tower and the forest disappeared as well. Dynasty used a bracelet that her mother had given to Hunter to make her cloned body real again.


The rise of magic also empowered a 5th Dimensional imp named Zyx, who was trapped in the body of a young boy, giving him a persistent cough. Zyx brought the team into an episode of Legion Academy Babies where they fought the Fetal Five, until they convinced Zyx to go home and return them to normal.


There have also been various portents that have signaled that the great sorcerer Mordru is awakening and the Temporal-Magic War will begin anew.



Banished!


Due to various catastrophes blamed on the Legion, EarthGov has banished the team from Earth. Brainiac 5, warned by a premonition from Dream Girl, had made Legion HQ spaceworthy and so launched it toward Deimos, moon of Mars. Legionnaires are forbidden to operate on Earth, and the Academy is now under SP Control. Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel were removed as headmasters. Commandant Belka Sorb and 2nd in command Lt. Roger Stephens now oversee the Academy.


Dream Girl and Chameleon Boy sent our heroes back to the Academy in disguise to ferret out what might be going on there, with the heroes taking on new identities:

Dynasty becomes Majestrix

Reflecti-Kid becomes Split Sight

Katrina becomes Camo Kid (but is commonly called Kif Kroker)

Skid becomes Graviton Guy

Quatro becomes Dr. Q

Hunter, as mentioned previously, is reassigned to SP Academy Earth

Ultra Boy is also there in the guise of Omni Lad as back-up

The other Academy heroes are still there as well as new cadets reassigned from Mars.


Various events focused on Laurel Kent happen. Hunter discovered that Laurel seemed to be an advanced android and told Kid Skid. Comet Queen departed the Academy, having been told by Laurel that her true love, Bouncing Boy, was waiting for her offplanet, but Laurel denied ever telling her that. Double Header was driven out of the Academy by mocking from other cadets, supposedly instigated by Laurel. Porcupine Pete and Infectious Lass quit the Academy after the former said he was stalked and threatened by Laurel, though no security footage showed this. Ron-Karr was also supposedly threatened by Laurel but there was no evidence. 



Prison Break!


Ultra Boy and Power Boy arranged to get kicked out of the Academy and sent to the prison planet Labyrinth. Meanwhile, the heroes were assigned to investigate a series of suicide bombings happening on Ghoran Prime. Lt. Stephens was assigned to escort the prisoners to Labyrinth and then drop the rest of team off on Ghoran Prime. Hunter’s psych evaluation raised questions, so he was not on the mission. Quantum Cat and Magnetic Kid were assigned to take part in the Ghoran Prime mission, so professional photographer and shapeshifter Proty II took Kif’s place at the Academy.


While dropping off Ultra Boy and Power Boy at Labyrinth, there was a power failure resulting in some of the criminals being released. Lt. Stephens insisted that Universo was the most dangerous prisoner and needed to be secured. Fighting villains along the way, the team got to his cell, and Stephens suggested they evacuate him from the planet. As it turned out, Universo already had control of Stephens and most of the SPs on the planet.


Meanwhile, Ultra Boy and Power Boy had gotten themselves imprisoned to investigate a newly captured Power Fist, who had been Ultra Boy’s villainous persona. It turned out that Ultra Boy had snapped and resumed that persona. The Ultra Boy with the group turned out to be the fancy Ultra Boy sexbot who believed he actually was Ultra Boy.


Among the battles, Lightning Lord also escaped and battled the team. Dynasty got so pissed off at him that she magically carved “Legionnaires’ Bitch” into his forehead after he was recaptured.


Meanwhile, Universo revealed that Phora was the result of implantation in Katrina since even under his hypnosis he couldn’t get her and Quatro Lad to mate. He wanted to see the effect that atmospherium had on a fetus. He also mouthed off to Dynasty, causing her to magically transform him into a goat.


Power Boy, Ultra Boy, and Ultra Bot took Universo back to Earth, while Lt. Stephens was taken into custody. Magnetic Kid, Hunter, and Obsidian joined the group on their way to Ghoran Prime.



Wood Be Good? Flesh Be Best?


Ghoran Prime has been sending ambassadors to other planets in the UP as a cultural exchange and to share agricultural knowledge. Meanwhile, the suicide bomb attacks on Ghoran Prime were being made at shrines of Howard, and the bombers were miniature replicas of Pflx Rambo. SP officer Barb had been investigating but vanished. In her office, there was a map with a valley in the southern hemisphere marked, so the team traveled there, where they were attacked by all sorts of strange creatures.


They discovered a Node that was on the opposite side of the other Node they had previously visited on Ghoran Prime. It seemed to be an incubator for animal life much like the other one had been a greenhouse for plant life. The Red in Skid urged them downward until they found a lab where the miniature Pflx Rambos were being created and infused with explosives, including some with banned Nega-radiation.


Officer Barb, Skid’s brother Catd, and Katrina’s son Phora were all prisoners there, meant for dissection and examination. Officer Barb was already dead, but Skid resurrected her, leading to her conversion to Howardism. Catd was a large hybrid plant-metal creature that had been investigating the bombings and trying to save people. Phora had come to Ghoran Prime to hang with Catd since he had nowhere else to go. They learned about the valley and came to investigate but were captured.


Pflx Rambo himself appeared, with former Legion applicant Crusader and Fatal-Five member the Persuader as bodyguards. Persuader noted that he had a beef with Hunter’s father, who stiffed him on a job. Pflx got Crusader to convert from Howardism to Ramboism, and he oversaw the suicide bombings. Pflx was planning to use the Nega-Rambos to destroy the entire planet. The villains were defeated, and the team discovered that Roon Dvron was also captive there, having been taken by Pflx from Ventura where he had been impersonating Mona Climaxia to try to discover who was above Rambo in the crime syndicate there.


After the battle, three Chuot-ids emerged from the shadows and told how they created Ghoran Prime as a place for the Green and the Red to experiment creating life, each in a hemisphere. But the Green and the Red soon became hostile to one another, one of their battles resulting in severing their galaxy-wide networks. The Red created Pflx Rambo to serve their interests, but he went rogue and thought of himself as a god. The Green used Skid as their avatar to get their essence from Earth to Ghoran Prime and now are using Ghoran ambassadors to recreate their network across the UP. Red then took human Skid as an avatar to expand its own network. But the Red and Green now realize they have to work together as part of Team Magic for the coming Temporal-Magic War.


The team was directed deeper into this Node where they found themselves outside time and saw visions of past and future. Some of them were changed—Quatro became a  hulking Nega-Q; Katrina split off a separate self to act as Phora’s mother—Bhumica Ramachandra; Skid gained the ability to transform himself between human and Ghoran. Magnetic Kid wouldn’t say what happened to him. Obsidian now looked like his 20th century self. Everyone’s Legion flight rings and other tech were all been fried. They exited and found themselves in the plant Node.


Howardism has become rampant on Ghoran Prime, which is now depicting Howard with a black halo. The team is considered Skid’s apostles, and Skid’s home is now a shrine. Catd and Phora remained on Ghoran Prime under the care of Skid’s mother and Bhumica. Since Officer Barb is now considered an apostle as well because of her resurrection by Skid, Roon Dvron stayed on the planet to clean things up until the SPs send a replacement officer.



Mogo


The team dropped off Pflx Rambo and Persuader at Labyrinth and learned that Lightning Lord escaped in the aftermath of the prison break, killing some guards and then going on an SP murder spree.


On the way back to Earth, the heroes were intercepted by a planet that turned out to be Mogo, a Green Lantern where immortals tend to live or at least visit. The shuttlecraft with Power Boy, Ultra Boy, Ultra Bot and Unigoato was there as well. Among the occupants the team met here were Danny the City, Alan Scott (the original Green Lantern and Dynasty’s ancestor), and Shade, who was having episodes where his shadow powers go out of control and release shadow demons, which attacked the heroes.


Power Boy’s group released Unigoato to graze while they were (ahem) otherwise occupied, and Unigoato absorbed some of Mogo’s green energy, become Goat Lantern before attacking the team while they were fighting Shade’s shadow demons. Despite Katrina’s raging attack on him, he survived the encounter but was defeated.


Mogo manifested and talked to Katrina, revealing himself as the source of atmospherium, as well as the strange metal that Phora and Catd have. He offered to help with anger management and also helped return her memories. He noted that he also does memory work with others there, helping Alan Scott with his faulty memory as well as the Girl Who Forgets. He kept Unigoato and began trying to rehabilitate him.



Trouble at the Academy


On the way back to Earth, the team got a warning call from Laurel Kent. They arrived to find Lightning Lord holding the Academy hostage. There was a big fight in which there were two other hidden opponents, a transmuter and a telepath who had Antonio Stefanacci under her control. She escaped with Stefanacci, but Lightning Lord was grounded with copper in his heart.


The battle seemed to reset Laurel’s memory so that she didn’t remember anything since joining the Academy. Kryptonite that the villains had put in her didn’t affect her, and her android nature was clear. Reflecti-Kid hit on her as she headed off to figure out who she is.


The Academy temporarily closed.



X-mas with the Waynes


The team was invited to Wayne Manor for X-mas. Ian tried to maintain the façade that he’s this dimension’s Ian, especially to his twin sister. His younger sister seduced Reflecti-Kid and Quatro and tried with Skid. Ian’s mother seemed to have a relationship with President Wynters. Ian’s mother used her connections to arrange access to Daxam for the team to investigate Laurel Kent.


On X-mas Day, Wayne Manor was attacked by a robotic Santa and elves. Everyone, even the Waynes and their swimming pool, were teleported to the planet Quatros. The Quoncil of Q revealed themselves as the secretly intelligent hidden leaders of the planet. They wanted Dr. Q to travel back 1000 years to introduce an intelligence-boosting serum to Quatros of that time to change time so that the Quatros of today would be intelligent, respected members of the UP. The team initially thought the Quoncil was behind the ongoing disappearance of male Quatros across the UP, but they denied this.


In fighting the Quatros, the team found their time-travel equipment, which was activated, causing Miss Momentum, a little girl who called Skid “Grandpa Ollie,” and baby versions of Cosmic Boy and Night Girl to appear. The team and the Waynes escaped Quatros with these time travelers.


Meanwhile, Invisible Kid and Kid Skid were elected leader and deputy leader respectively. But since Jacques is missing, Skid is in charge. Polar Boy forwarded a distorted message from Jacques, which seemed to show him in Snell Station where there were also a bunch of captured Quatros.



Cross-over


The Wayne daughters got sick on the way home from Quatros and were taken to Brainiac 5’s lab. He called in Harmonia Li to consult. There was a Kryptonian virus affecting them that seemed to have been introduced to them by Ian. From the chronal pattern of the virus, Harmonia theorized that the virus was from a different timeline, which Brainy said theoretically shouldn’t exist but she insisted it does, and that Ian was thus from that timeline. 


To effect a cure, she and Brainy needed the essence of a full-blooded Kryptonian female, which they said the team could get in the 20th century during a period between Crises when the walls between timelines were thin. They constructed rods of an atmospherium/nth metal alloy to gather the essence at certain points where the walls were especially thin and were likely to contain the essence of a Kryptonian supergirl.


To keep the team from being chronally affected they were given bracelets linked to members of the Myrmidons. They were sent off in a time bubble, where another version of Ian appeared en route. In the 20th century, they joined with the Myrmidons and separated into teams to retrieve the essences. After battles with various villains, including the Fatal Five from their own time, the heroes filled the four rods with Supergirl’s essence and captured a half-filled, magic-based rod from a villain team. They also learned that Mordru was behind the villains.


On the way back to the 30th century, Dynasty and Nu-Hunter fell out of the time bubble and disappeared into the time stream.


Monday, April 8, 2024

Legion of Super-Heroes - Season 3 recap!

 15 Things You Need to Know before Legion Academy Season 4


Ok, so we’re cheating a little bit here by taking our recap from before Season 3 and updating it to take into account the events of that season, with some new additions. Season 4 is promising to wrap up a lot of dangling questions and plotlines, yet still introducing a new main character and still more new plots. Let’s see if it holds together or just becomes one jumbled mess.


Crisis in Time

Time has changed. The main changes to the timeline seem to center around the non-existence of Brainiac 5 and his two preceding ancestors. Without Brainiac 5 in the Legion, the third body of Triplicate Girl was never killed by his creation Computo. Jacques Foccart never became Invisible Kid II. Mon-El was never permanently cured of lead poisoning and so resides in the Phantom Zone, where Phantom Girl has become his girlfriend, leading Ultra Boy to hook up with Shadow Lass. Legion flight rings are less efficient, as are intergalactic communications. Colossal Boy and Shrinking Violet both died in battle. Tellus never graduated from Legion Academy to the team. For some reason, the President of Earth is no longer Katrina Gupta’s ex Kel Wynters but rather Lyna Rosas, someone who wasn’t even a candidate in the last election.

Rond Vidar and Circadia Senius likewise do not exist. Without them and Brainiac 5, there is no Time Institute and no time travel through normal scientific means. As a result, Superboy never joined the Legion. Without his presence in the 30th Century, his descendant Laurel Kent was never inspired to join the Legion Academy until recently when she was moved by the sacrifice of Kid Skid (see below). Cosmic Boy and Night Girl, however, were apparently outside of time when the changes occurred and still have an operational time bubble now that our protagonists enabled them to escape from the Time Trapper’s realm at the end/beginning of time.

The planet of Naltor, whose inhabitants can all see the future, has been wiped out by Roman soldiers from the distant past. Likewise, Dream Girl was killed by an ancient Roman, driving her surviving sister, the White Witch, mad with grief.

Harmonia Li, a scientist from the previous timeline’s Time Institute, still inexplicably retains her memories of the old timeline and apparently others as well. Despite her unexplained hostility toward Dynasty, she has been working with our heroes to restore the timeline.

With a still-extant time bubble, will our heroes follow through on their plan to travel to the past to restore Brainiac 3 and hopefully his descendants to the timeline and undo the Time Trapper’s meddling?

Solved. The heroes traveled back to the 20th century and ended up in the middle of the Invasion, where they became captives of the Psions. The Psions did things like remove Quatro Lad’s second brain as well as Dynasty’s eyes, which they combined with Kryptonian DNA. The heroes met Vril Dox (Brainiac 2) and ensured the propagation of his genes and the eventual birth of Brainiac 3 and the rest of the line. They also met a Durlan, who was later tossed in time to become Legion benefactor R.J. Brande, the father of Chameleon Boy. 

In addition, they met a time-travelling Callista Ramirez (Dynasty’s mother) in a Green Lantern costume, who was training with Vidar, the GL of her time, 2973. She learned Dynasty is her grown-up daughter from 2986 and was told she had to keep future knowledge from Dynasty, thus explaining why she became a distant and severe mother.

The Time Trapper admitted defeat and restored the other changes made to the timeline, thus reestablishing the heroes’ original timeline, on the condition that Dynasty keep Katrina from becoming a villain. There was still some hinkiness to the timeline though that was causing Dynasty’s family to warp in and out of existence, so modern-day Callista went back in time to solve them and ended up becoming the new incarnation of the Time Trapper, replacing elderly Katrina Gupta.


Who Is Katrina Gupta?

A late addition to Season 1, Dr. Katrina Gupta introduced herself as Vid Gupta’s daughter who had gained her powers due to an accident involving the rare element atmospherium (Science!), which also caused her amnesia. Vid Gupta was supposedly the Chief of Staff to President Mojai Desai, but actually turned out to be old Legion foe Universo, who had disposed of the real Vid Gupta and taken his place. 

But wait, it turned out that Katrina wasn’t Gupta’s daughter but rather his wife! Her overbearing parents, the Ramachandras, had married her off to “businessman” (actually crime lord) Vid Gupta before Universo’s impersonation. Universo as Gupta had no desire to be saddled with a wife as he carried out his universe-dominating plans, so he took advantage of her amnesia to tell her she was his daughter and pawned her off on the Legion Academy with hopes that she could be of use to him there.

But wait, it turned out that Katrina’s parents aren’t actually her parents! To her surprise, she discovered from the Time Trapper that she was adopted. Her mother finally confessed that decades ago during a war between the snakelike Naga and their ancient foes the Eagles, the King Naga had deposited his infant snake with the Indian couple for safekeeping. He never returned, and the shapeshifting infant took human form and was reluctantly raised by the humans.

But wait, it turned out that a battle between Durlan and Thanagarian armies had occurred on the same day that Mrs. Ramachandra said the Naga/Eagle war had happened! It seems that Katrina isn’t a Naga but rather a Durlan. Does that mean she can shapeshift?

But wait, because of her marriage to the real Vid Gupta, Katrina inherited his “business,” actually a criminal gang, and was suddenly independently wealthy, to her adoptive parents’ great joy. But ZsaZsa Patil is contending for control of the gang, now called Nagini (see below), so whether this windfall remains Katrina’s is in question. The Ramachandras had turned over Katrina’s son, Phora (see below) and Kid Skid’s brother Catd to Patil, from whom our heroes had to rescue them.

But wait, during an encounter with the Time Trapper, “he” revealed that “he” was actually a future version of Katrina, her simmering villainous urges finally come to light! Have the Legionnaires actually been fighting a future version of one of their own this entire time? 

But wait, Katrina is no longer the Time Trapper, replaced by Callista Ramirez.

But wait, R.J. Brande recently took a blood sample from Katrina and after testing it revealed that she is actually his long-lost son, Liggt, a claim Katrina met with blasé indifference. Katrina sure has some parent issues, after she (well, her destabilized clone) tried to incinerate her adoptive parents, the Ramachandras. Surely this will be the last dicking-around of her origin, right?


Gang War

As mentioned, Vid Gupta’s former gang now has Katrina as its leader, with its wealth funneled through her bank account. Before she learned this, she was faced with periodic choices that she made mostly at random. Her first choice was between money and drugs, with her choosing the former. Then she chose a woman over a man, both of whom she remembered as being connected with her husband.  She also seems to have inadvertently caused the death of Pflx Rambo of Ventura (who remains dead). At another point, with similar lack of knowledge Dynasty chose Frzz Takol-C, the first wife of Vid Gupta, to die instead of Dynasty’s own father. An assassin using high-tech weapons of Hindi design is responsible for both deaths.

Katrina discovered that the woman she chose initially was ZsaZsa Patil, who was previously Gupta’s second-in-command and seems to have designs on controlling the gang herself. She had possession of Katrina and Quatro’s son, Phora, who has aged into a pre-teen despite only being a few months old (see below). The team rescued him and Skid’s brother Catd from her, despite numerous illusions and hints of great power that she had.

Meanwhile, Quatro’s old gang on Rimbor, the Golden Wolves, whom he had narced on leading him to join the Legion Academy for protection, has been increasingly active. They made one attempt to retrieve him, which failed, but they have been increasingly active offworld, especially on Ventura and Tau Ceti V and seem to be allied with a larger organization. Their rivals, the Emerald Dragons (to whom Ultra Boy had belonged), have also moved operations offworld, leading Science Police observers to fear that a Gang War is heating up. No doubt our team will be affected by the increasing violence around the UP.

The gang war continues to heat up, with the Golden Wolves allied with the not-really-dead Pflx Rambo and some greater power on Ventura, while the Emerald Dragons seem to be working with Nagini. The Wolves tried to re-recruit Quatro Lad to be their leader, on the condition that he take out former Emerald Dragon Ultra Boy and, later, Katrina Gupta, whom they accused of the (attempted as it turns out) assassination of Pflx Rambo. Quatro Lad failed at both, so the Wolves tried to do it themselves, getting themselves and their leader, Lo Beu, arrested.

Meanwhile, Phora continued to age rapidly, becoming a rebellious teenager and a bad influence on Kid Skid’s brother Catd. ZsaZsa Patil continued to communicate with him and gave him a nipple ring made of an unidentified metal with a small gem of atmospherium, which seemed to exert some sort of mind control on Phora, letting Patil turn him into an assassin. He was sent to a bar on Tau Ceti V to assassinate Hermen Ramirez (Dynasty’s father) for an unknown reason. Our heroes prevented the assassination, but yet a dozen Golden Wolves were shortly thereafter killed brutally in the same bar.

The heroes took the fight to Patil in Nuevo Mumbai on Earth, where it seemed as if she was working with the Emerald Eye of Ekron, an artifact commonly associated with the Emerald Empress of the Fatal Five. She also had some connection with Katrina’s adoptive parents, as mentioned above, and seems to have protected them from Katrina’s rage (well, again, her clone’s).

So the Golden Wolves are crippled, but Pflx Rambo has returned (see below) and there seems to be someone still further up. Patil is still striving to take control of Nagini and, despite losing Phora, seem as strong as ever. No doubt the gang war will continue to heat up!


Magic Time

As mundane gangs have operated on the terrestrial sphere, larger forces are also facing off. There once was a truce between Time and Magic, as embodied by the Time Trapper and Mordru, that resulted in the Time Accords, assuring that one force would not intrude upon the realm of the other. Dynasty unwittingly pushed against the truce, but it was broken when a quartet of Mordru’s acolytes, commanded by the insane Daxamite Ol-Vir, tried to collect various artifacts from throughout time to bring the Dark Lord Darkseid back. The Super Moby-Dick, the Fatal Five, Universo, and a Quatro assassin were all pulled from various other times so that the acolytes could gain items they possessed. The heroes eventually defeated Ol-Vir, who was killed by the three surviving mages, and the artifacts were returned to their proper time, but the damage was done.

The White Witch, better known as the Black Witch now due to her descent into madness at the death of her sister, Dream Girl, tried to enlist Dynasty onto Team Magic. The Time Trapper, who may or may not be Dynasty’s ally Katrina Gupta, has similarly tried to woo her for Team Time. It’s unclear how or even whether the Time Trapper’s alterations to the timeline fit into this war, which will surely continue to affect our heroes.

As established, the timeline has been fixed and Callista Ramirez is now the Time Trapper. But is she still pursuing the same goals that the Katrina Trapper did?

In any event, the Time-Magic War seems to continue heating up. The first half of last season was focused on the Time side of it, but the latter half began showing us more of the Magic side. The Helm of Nabu completely subsumed Antonio Stefanacci, Former Curator yadda yadda, into its Dr. Fate persona. Elemental forces were released and took human hosts to channel their power. Fire inhabited the villainous Sun Emperor and used its transformative power to turn Kid Skid into a human (and villain Micro Lad, who was hiding in Skid’s foliage, into a Ghoran). The Terrible Trio of Lamprey, Nightwind, and Crystal Kid quit the Academy in a huff and later attacked an underwater research station before becoming possessed by Water, Air, and Earth, respectively. In all four cases, our heroes were able to defeat the Elementals, leaving them in Dr. Fate’s care.

But a fifth Element, Aether, the most powerful of them all, possessed Dynasty’s clone’s body (see below) and freed the others. Again our heroes managed to defeat them, but Aether was only defeated by donning the Helm of Nabu, which subdued it. So Fate now has control of an Aether-possessed Dynasty, a triple threat if there ever was one. At least the other human hosts were freed from the Elementals.

But in a special crossover with Achilles and the New Myrmidons, the 20th-century heroes ended up in the 30th century looking for the powerful magical artifact, the Spear of Destiny. Working together, the heroes of both centuries were able to retrieve the Spear, but Aether/Fate/Dynasty took possession of it and sent the past heroes back to their own time, taking the opportunity to loot their treasury of other magical artifacts they had gathered, thus further empowering her.

Dynasty through her increased use of magic seems to be firmly on the Magic side of the war, despite her own mother being the Time Trapper. Katrina with her chronal expertise and as a former/future incarnation of the Time Trapper seems to firmly on the Time side. Kid Skid through his previous possession by the Green and now through his magical transformation to human would seem to be on Team Magic. During the battle with the Elementals, Quatro Lad briefly wore the Helm of Nabu and saw a vision of Mordru awakening. Is this enough to put him on Team Magic too? And what about new member Reflecti-Kid? His retro-future aesthetic might put him on Team Time, but it’s probably too early to tell.

In any event, the Myrmidons’ magical time traveling and Aether/Fate/Dynasty’s casual use of time travel and the transport of magical artifacts through time has probably shattered whatever remains of the Accords. How will the Time Trapper respond? What will Mordru do once he is fully awake from his long slumber?


Heart of Darkness

Possibly also related to the War of Magic and Time is the fate of Talok VIII, home to the Legionnaire Shadow Lass. The heroine and her cousin, former Academy student Shadow Kid, gained their powers in a magical cave, where their ancestors gifted them with control over darkness. When our team visited the same cave after fighting a time-displaced Fatal Five (see above), Dynasty spoke with her ancestor Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern, while a confused RJ Brande, the Legion’s benefactor, appeared to Katrina. Thereafter, the shadows, which seem to be related to the dark dimension that Dynasty travels through, started expanding beyond the cave. They now envelop the entire planet, trapping Shadow Lass there when she returned to nurse her injuries from the Universo Uprising. The entire planet has now been quarantined by the United Planets.

Dynasty’s trips through the shadow dimension had become increasingly tumultuous and unpleasant, especially for her passengers. The last journeys, however, have been calm. Is this connected to the shadows of Talok VIII?

With the timeline reestablished, the crisis seems to have diminished. The shadows are still spreading from the cave but have not yet overwhelmed Talok VIII and Shadow Lass is not trapped there in the restored timeline.

Meanwhile, however, Dynasty (well, her clone) gifted the shadow side of her powers that originated with Alan Scott’s son Obsidian to her brother Kyle. The impulsive youth has taken to them and in a short time has become extremely proficient with them, transporting himself and others across vast distances through the shadow dimension, which has calmed down, and using the inherent control of light and darkness to create increasingly realistic illusions. He has transferred from the Science Police Academy on Mars to Legion Academy on Earth, taking on first the name Shade! but then choosing to honor his ancestor by adopting Obsidian as his preferred sobriquet.

As if that weren’t enough, he revealed that he allowed himself to be experimented on by Mantis Morlo, and his new metagene gave him ill-defined “bad-luck powers” that seem to have disappeared now that he has the shadow powers.

Oh, and Vandal Savage and Mantis Morlo have dozens of his clones running around Tartarus, being even creepier than the original. When Dynasty gave him the shadow powers, all his clones got them as well, giving Savage a possible army of shadows, even as the immortal caveman continues to use the clones’ energies to magically replenish his strength. One has to feel sorry for Kyle; even if he is a dick he doesn’t deserve that.


Now You See Me

One of the stranger alterations to the timeline involves Jacques Foccart, the second Invisible Kid. In the previous timeline, he gained his powers after coming to Brainiac 5 to help his comatose sister. Brainy’s malevolent computer creation, Computo, took control of the girl, and Foccart drank the original Invisible Kid’s serum to help defeat the menace, after which he became a Legionnaire. Eventually, Laurel Kent set him up with Katrina Gupta, and the two began a tentative, polite relationship. In the new timeline, with no Brainiac 5 and thus no Computo, it made sense that Foccart never became Invisible Kid or a Legionnaire. But he suddenly reappeared in the new timeline with powers and membership in the Legion. He is vague and confused about his own origins and spends much of his time skulking invisibly around Legion HQ. The Time Trapper must have reinserted him into the timeline, but why?

Solved. The timeline has been restored, and Jacques is legitimately back. Apparently, during the heroes’ trip to the past to restore the timeline, their clones operated in their place, and Katrina’s clone cruelly dumped poor Jacques in favor of President Kel Wynters and the chance to become his Minister of Science. The real Katrina was naturally confused upon her return. She rejected both Wynters and the position in his administration and eventually reconciled with Jacques. A sweet date to his favorite restaurant turned out to be part of the Computo/Snell Station VR simulation, and they haven’t yet had the chance to do it for real. Let’s hope that with all of the upheavals in Katrina’s life Jacques will be a stable, positive part of her story.


A Tree Grows in Metropolis

During what should have been a routine mission at a powersphere in Bayouopolis, Kid Skid was set aflame by the homicidal villain Sun Emperor. Dousing the flames in the nearby swamp, he found himself possessed by the Green energy of the Earth, which manifested as a ghost of Alec Holland, a previous host of the power. Although, the Green gave Skid increased powers, the plant life in the swamp and then around the Earth began dying. Holland compelled Skid to take the Green to his home planet of Ghoran Prime and deposit it deep with the ancient structure known as the Node. 

Earth’s biosphere, however, died completely. Antonio Stefanacci (Former Curator of the Museum of Mystic Arts in Sanangelopolis, Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, Assistant Instructor at the Legion Academy, Wearer of the Helm of Nabu, and Servant of the Lords of Order) devised a spell that, with the proper ingredients gathered by our heroes, allowed Kid Skid to jumpstart the biosphere. Plant life once again flourished across Earth, at the cost of Skid’s life. Just hours after his induction into the Legion, they mourned his death and planted a tree in his honor.

But Skid, still present in disembodied form in the Earth, was able to concentrate his essence in this tree and regrow his body, though as a child. Will it be the same Skid of old, or something new?

With Chlorophyll Kid’s help, Kid Skid was regrown to his normal age. Hailed as Earth’s savior for restoring the biosphere, he soon became swept up in the growing Cult of Howard. Howard, the last vegiform on Ventura, was a seemingly inanimate tree that the heroes used to purge Skid of Darkseid’s taint and then destroyed in the heart of a sun. But when Howard was regrown on Ventura, a cult formed around this supposed resurrection, and Kid Skid was declared a Prophet of the new god. Met with the blessing “Wood be good” first on Ventura and then on Earth, Skid was perplexed by his new role and wondered what “dogs” had to do with him. Meanwhile Howard’s cult began talking of the 10 Miracles of Howard—the first of which was his own resurrection, the second his restoration of Earth’s biosphere through his Prophet Skid, and the third the new growth of plant life upon Ventura.

Meanwhile, Pflx Rambo turned out not to be dead and claimed to have been resurrected. He proclaimed himself a god and tried to drug a large crowd to worship him. Later, a Legion tryout applicant, Blimp Boy, acted as a suicide bomber to try to assassinate Kid Skid, telling him he was sent by the “one true god.”

But then unbeknownst to most, Kid Skid was transformed into a human by the Fire elemental in Sun Emperor. Soon thereafter his new human body was torn to pieces by wolves in his dorm room, leaving a tiny baby that immediately regained his true age. On two separate occasions, on the water world Vuruna and on Leland McCauley’s arms-dealing asteroid, Skid suddenly shed his entire skin, which then regrew almost immediately, leaving the old skin to be eaten or swept away. Meanwhile, the Cult of Howard is growing concerned that their Prophet has disappeared from sight.


Real Genius

Quatro Lad for all his physical might and fighting ability was never the smartest vacuum tube in the circuit board. But during a fight with ravenous Cthot-ids on the planet where Mordru’s acolytes were hiding, his brain got sucked out of his skull by these mind-flayer-like creatures. Nevertheless, he kept operating on a primal level due to the secondary brain that Quatro males have at the base of their torsos. Dynasty used her green energy to regenerate his brain, not realizing that natural Quatro biology would do that. As his real brain grew back, Quatro became smarter and smarter, and his skull expanded to fit his double brain, with the downside of occasional blinding pain. Now Quatro is the smartest Legionnaire (in Brainiac 5’s absence), but he still seems to solve problems with his fists, bringing the boom-boom to the bad guys. Will his intelligence continue expanding or will his head eventually burst?

Solved. In the 20th century, the Psions removed his second brain and dissected it, leaving Quatro Lad slightly smarter than originally, not that you could tell. Despite the best(?) efforts of Tenzil Kem, Attorney-in-Law, he finally married Margi Tinelli in a ceremony on R.J. Brande’s asteroid during the wake for Timber Wolf. Continued doubts about her fidelity grew, however, as she was found in compromising positions with a hospital orderly and a party of surfers on the beach.

Plans for a lavish honeymoon were canceled when Margi’s bank account was frozen after Tenzil Kem submitted his bill to Quatro Lad. Meanwhile rumors began to circulate that she was not actually related to McCauley and had no claim to his fortune. Traveling to a secret McCauley base to find out the truth, the group came across Snell Station weirdness (see below) and were forced to leave. Margi, however, chose to remain with her uncle, leaving Quatro heartbroken.


It’s a Family Affair

As might be expected for a program centered on teens, there has been lots of family drama. Quatro Lad put his parents, Ouro and Myrn Rud, into witness protection when he narced on the Golden Wolves on Rimbor, but Universo managed to hold them hostage anyway, along with the family members of other students. He took them back into hiding after they were freed, but thanks to an encounter with Lady Memory on Talok VIII he forgot where he left them. Reports of a wild Quatro’s encounters with the Science Police on Zuun seemed to answer that question. Though soon thereafter there were similar reports of drunken Quatro misbehavior coming from Ventura.

Quatro Lad tracked his parents down on Ventura where they were guests of Lo Beu and the Golden Wolves, who wanted Quatro Lad to take leadership of the gang. His mother was rejuvenated by her pregnancy and now looks ten years younger. She eventually gave birth to a daughter, but due to complications one of the baby’s arms had to be amputated. They’ve named her Troika.


Katrina had a contentious relationship with her parents, Rupesh and Zsuzsanna Ramachandra, and they were only too happy to marry her off to crime lord Vid Gupta. After Katrina gave birth to Phora, he was given over to them to care for while she was on the run. They in turn turned him and Skid’s brother Catd over to ZsaZsa Patil, who was operating Gupta’s former gang, now called Nagini. During a fight, Katrina’s mother admitted that she was adopted and that she had been left with them as an infant by what they interpreted as a Naga but was probably actually a Durlan. The infant serpent took on human form, patterned after them, and grew to be Katrina.

Things have devolved even further between Katrina and her parents. During a confrontation with Patil, where they were present, Katrina lost her temper and tried to incinerate them. Although they appeared to die in her blast, they were in fact still fine, much to Katrina’s confusion. She swore that she wanted nothing more to do with them. But given that this turned out to be a clone of Katrina that was becoming unstable toward the end of its existence, who knows whether the real Katrina will resume relationships with the Ramachandras.

Meanwhile, to complicate her family dynamic further, Legion benefactor R.J. Brande revealed to her that he’s a Durlan, too, and is the father of Chameleon Boy. He then told her that blood tests confirm that she is actually his long-lost son, Liggt, who would be Chameleon Boy’s brother.


Dynasty has a similarly contentious relationship with her mother, Callista Ramirez, a prominent politician on Earth who worked in close concert with Vid Gupta/Universo. It was Callista’s disapproval of her ancestral powers that led her to wear a mask and hide her true identity. While Dynasty was on the run, her mother revealed her identity to the public, but somehow that genie has been put back in the bottle, and now only her closest friends and teammates, and her fiancée Nightwind, know her true identity.

The villain Universo, who seemed to have an unusually close relationship with Callista while she worked with him when he was disguised as Vid Gupta, claimed to be Dynasty’s real father. But she compared their genetic profiles and ruled out that possibility. Surely Universo was just jerking with her.

It turned out, much to Dynasty’s surprise, that her mother had Green Flame powers as well and a decade ago was acting as a Green Lantern and being trained by another Green Lantern named Vidar (who later became Universo). As part of her training, she traveled back to the 20th century where she met Dynasty from 2986 while our heroes were in the past. Returned to her own time, she was advised not to reveal anything she had learned about her and her daughter’s future, explaining why she remained distant and disapproved of Dynasty’s superheroics. Further disturbances in the timestream surrounding her family led Callista to travel to the past again, during which time she became the new incarnation of the Time Trapper.


Dynasty’s father, Hermen, with whom she has a much closer relationship, is a member of Metropolis’s City Council. After the family’s home was trashed during a fight with familial enemy Vandal Savage, Hermen bankrupted the family trying to keep up their lavish lifestyle. Dynasty encountered him on Ventura where he claimed to be on business but later admitted that he was gambling to pay their debts. Apparently he was successful, because Dynasty’s bank account is once again full.

So Hermen wasn’t on Ventura gambling but rather getting involved with whatever larger crime organization Pflx Rambo and the Golden Wolves are part of. This involved two mysterious women known as Starlight and Starbright. Dynasty found out and expressed her disappointment in him. She advised him to talk to the Science Police and give them what information he had and possibly go undercover to help take the gang down. She hasn’t checked in with him since.


Kyle, Dynasty’s brother, was content with being a holovideo-game-playing slacker until Vandal Savage attacked him. After losing a chunk of ear before his sister saved him, he decided that he needed to be able to protect himself and so joined the Science Police Academy on Mars, though he’s been less than a stellar student there. His dead body showed up on Ventura, two of them actually, and Dynasty determined that they were clones, though there was a slight variance from Kyle’s current genetic markers. Later, when confronting Vandal Savage on Tartarus, Dynasty discovered a whole lab of clones of Kyle in various states of growth and undergoing various experiments conducted by Mantis Morlo. She put down one of these clones herself. Savage was also using some of them to feed his need for the blood of his ancient enemies through arcane rituals.

Kyle revealed that in an effort to gain superpowers so he wouldn’t be victimized again he visited a shady doctor (Mantis Morlo in disguise) who gave him a metagene, thus explaining why his earlier genetic sample used for the clones didn’t have the same metagene marker. His new power seemed to involve causing bad luck around him.

But Dynasty chose to give him her shadow powers, since they were traditionally carried by the male side of the family. Kyle took the name Shade! at first but eventually settled on Obsidian as he became more proficient with the powers, able to use them far better than Dynasty did. He joined the Legion Academy, where he has made moves on Miss Momentum and other women there, but also seems to have a newfound attraction to men, hitting on both Power Boy and Quatro Lad as well.

Unfortunately, the ritual Dynasty used to transfer the shadow powers to him also transferred them to his clones on Tartarus.


Speaking of brothers, Kid Skid’s little brother Catd was another of Universo’s hostages, after which he hung out with his big brother for a while until, as mentioned above, he ended up in the custody of Nagini to serve as a playmate for the rapidly aging Phora. Now that he’s been rescued again, and his older brother is once more alive, will he continue to hang with the Legion or will he finally return to Ghoran Prime, where he has been selected for a special reseeding overseen by President Det Sillas? Also on Ghoran Prime, of course, are Skid’s other brother, Sallam, and his parents Khom and Khori, who seem to be the most normal of Academy parents.

Left to their own devices when their relatives traveled to the past, Catd and an adolescent Phora began a juvenile crime spree, mainly vandalism and petty theft though Phora did assault someone. During this time, at ZsaZsa Patil’s urging, Phora got a nipple ring composed of atmospherium and a strange metal, and Catd got a brand with the same metal implanted in him. After Kid Skid returned and took authority over him, he returned Catd to Ghoran Prime, where their mother was justifiably horrified over the new brand, which couldn’t be removed. It was speculated that the metal had some sort of mind-influencing properties, so it became more urgent to remove it. Finally, Catd tried reseeding to get rid of it, but came out as a hulking brute partially composed of this metal.


We can’t talk about families without looking at perhaps the most dysfunctional one, the unusual unit of Katrina, Quatro, and Phora. When under Universo’s mind control, the former two apparently mated, and shortly thereafter Katrina discovered she was in the advanced stages of pregnancy and ten years younger, though she had no memory of the conception. The pregnancy continued to advance rapidly, perhaps due to the use of Skid’s healing powers, or so Katrina theorized. Very shortly, she gave birth to a Quatro/human hybrid and thus learned who the baby’s father was. A reluctant mother, especially since she was undercover and on the run, she sent Phora (Hindi for “four”) back to Earth with Power Boy and Catd. Power Boy turned them over to the baby’s grandparents, who let Nagini have them. Phora continued to age rapidly and is now a pre-teen, in Katrina and Quatro’s custody once more.

One odd (well, odder) factor in this, weeks ago the team was attacked by a grown Quatro that was seeking Dynasty’s father. In battling him, he demonstrated notable hostility toward Quatro Lad and Katrina. At one point in the fighting, he became a snake before being taken by Mordru’s acolytes. The team speculated that he was actually Phora from the future, brought back for the atmospherium-studded nipple ring he wore, to be used in their magical ritual. Was this indeed Phora and why did he want Hermen Ramirez? And from how far in the future was he, given Phora’s rapid aging?

ZsaZsa Patil continued influencing Phora and sent him to assassinate Hermen Ramirez. The heroes stopped him and seemed to break Patil’s hold over him. He continued to age rapidly though, so Katrina and Brainiac 5 put him in stasis until they could find a cure. Katrina speculated that the rejuvenating properties of Quatro sperm might be the key. During Computo’s takeover of LSH HQ, Phora was removed from stasis and continued to age, becoming an old man until he could be put back in stasis.

Our heroes have been too busy to check in on their various relatives lately, so who knows what’s going on with them currently. Family, am I right?


Love’s Labors Lost

In a short time, our protagonists have wracked up a number of wannabe-suitors and exes, a veritable Legion of Rejected Lovers. Despite both Dynasty and Quatro vying for her affections, Laurel Kent chose Kid Skid, but shortly thereafter was critically wounded in the Universo Uprising and sent to Daxam for medical attention. In the new timeline, after a non-descript life hiding her powers, she has finally joined the Academy, inspired by Kid Skid’s heroic sacrifice. Now that Skid has returned to the living, will they be able to renew their long-interrupted relationship in these new circumstances?

Laurel returned to the Academy, fully healed, and resumed her relationship with Kid Skid. Since his transformation to human, however, she’s been distant and has been avoiding him. After a heart-to-heart with Katrina, however, is she ready to renew their relationship?


Quatro has left a string of abandoned lovers behind him. After trying and failing miserably to date Laurel, he ended up with a prom date in the form of coprophiliac Margi Tinelli. The Universo Uprising, his departure to see to his parents, and his undercover activities delayed their relationship, but now that he’s back on Earth she sought him out and proposed. The impending marriage is perhaps more attractive to Quatro now that he’s learned she’s the niece of Leland McCauley IV and is the 3rd richest female sentient in the United Planets.

While the heroes were in the past, Quatro’s clone (see below) decided he didn’t want to marry Margi and so hired Tenzil Kem to get him out of the engagement. Despite Kem’s increasingly elaborate attempts to end the engagement, the real Quatro Lad was determined to go through with the wedding after his return. After a false attempt inside Computo’s VR, they wed for real. But as mentioned above, the two are now separated. Will true love win out? And is Quatro still stuck with Tenzil Kem’s bill?


Katrina, single now that her husband Vid Gupta is dead, has had a couple of suitors. Kel Wynters, with whom she had a brief fling at a Science! Conference, tried to renew their relationship. Even after he was elected President of Earth in the old timeline, she ultimately rejected him, as nicely as she could. If the timeline is restored, will he use his presidential powers to seek vengeance? Katrina, however, has found a much better match with Jacques Foccart, the second Invisible Kid, whose values and personality better line up with hers. He was seemingly removed from the Legion and thus his relationship with Katrina due to the change in timelines, but recently has mysteriously returned. 

After a brief blip in their relationship due to her clone moving to hook up with President Wynters again, Katrina and Jacques are back together again. She’s even given him a brief kiss (scandalous!). Will the path of love continue unimpeded?


Power Boy had dated Magnetic Kid during their time in the Academy together, but when the latter was accepted into the Legion he ended the relationship. Broken-hearted, Power Boy eventually found love again with new student Omni Lad, with whom he shared a passionate and very physical courting until the two were engaged. Power Boy was once again broken-hearted when it turned out that Omni Lad was actually Ultra Boy under cover and with his memory erased. Now that Ultra Boy has had his memory returned, he has confirmed his love for Shadow Lass (his paramour in the new timeline, as opposed to Phantom Girl, his long-time love in the old timeline), but she is trapped and inaccessible on her home planet. Will poor Power Boy ever find lasting love?

After regaining his memory, Ultra Boy hastily married Phantom Girl, breaking Power Boy’s heart and leading him to leave the Academy to work on Ventura. Ultra Boy’s clone found him there and engaged in a very public coupling with him before disintegrating. Meanwhile, irresponsible rumors suggested that Ultra Boy’s numerous fights with Phantom Girl were caused by an affair he was having with Shadow Lass, his best friend Mon-El’s girlfriend. Mon-El confronted him and the two fought, damaging Legion HQ until Kyle Ramirez broadcast the Venturan sex tape of Ultra Boy and Power Boy. The fight stopped, but Phantom Girl left Ultra Boy and returned to her home dimension. Power Boy’s ex, Magnetic Kid, also took leave from the team and returned home. Ultra Boy is torn between Phantom Girl and Power Boy, while Power Boy is torn between him and Magnetic Kid. And now Kyle has been hitting on Power Boy too. Does anyone really care this much about an NPC’s love life?


Finally, Dynasty has had no shortage of suitors. Crystal Kid invited her numerous times to join the polyamorous group of him, Lamprey, and Nightwind, offers that Dynasty vociferously rejected. Her obvious attraction to Laurel Kent was unrequited. A whole galaxy of bidders tried to win a prom date with her, but ultimately the Legion’s benefactor, RJ Brande, won and had a chaste, avuncular dance with her. Her devotion to the students’ friend in the Science Police, Lt. Roon Dvron, was misunderstood by him after his death and subsequent resurrection, and she had to politely set him straight. He hasn’t been seen since. In the new timeline, Dynasty finds herself in an inexplicable relationship with Nightwind, who has foresworn her former partners for her. Uncertain of how this change could possibly have happened, Dynasty was caught by surprise when Nightwind called her “Maria,” evidence of their close relationship, and proposed marriage. Will we see two Legion weddings this season? Bouncing Boy and Triplicate Girl, and Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl have all proved that Legion marriages can work.

As it turned out, Nightwind and Lamprey had overheard Dynasty talking about the changed timeline and so pulled a prank on her, pretending that Nightwind was her lover in this “new” timeline. During the heroes’ trip to the past, Nightwind and Dynasty’s clone married. Upon her return to the present, Dynasty “dumped” Nightwind, which the latter seemed genuinely sad about. And recently Nightwind joined Lamprey and Crystal Kid in leaving the Academy and seemingly attacking a research station. Could Dynasty’s love have saved her from a life of villainy? And will Dynasty ever find someone with whom to share her life?


Savage Times

One of the recurrent villains the Academy students have faced is the immortal Vandal Savage. Originally a caveman who was exposed to a life-extending meteorite, he has lived for millennia as a would-be conqueror and ruler. In the 20th century, he came into conflict with the fabled Justice Society of America and most especially Green Lantern Alan Scott, Dynasty’s ancestor. Battling with numerous individuals and groups throughout the Age of Heroes, Savage was eventually trapped within the magical Tower of Fate, where he spent the next thousand years. 

Freed when Darkseid drained the magic from various artifacts, including the Helm of Nabu that was keeping Savage prisoner, Savage explored his newfound world. Reliant on the organs of his descendants for full health, he killed his last known relative and began seeding new ones. He discovered that a magical ritual with the blood of his enemies’ descendants, especially super-powered ones, could also sustain him, and so he killed a number of JSA descendants. This led him to Dynasty’s family, where he brutalized her brother before she tried dropping him out of the sky. He escaped but took with him a sample of Kyle Ramirez’s DNA.

Eventually, Savage found his way to the criminal world of Tartarus, where he took control of the newly reforming Devil’s Dozen from Prince Evillo. Our heroes went undercover to infiltrate the new group and were surprised to find him in charge of it. They discovered that he had been cloning Kyle and allowing Mantis Morlo to experiment on some of the clones while he used the blood of others to sustain himself. After he toyed with our heroes for a while, he imprisoned them all except Katrina, whom he saw as potential breeding stock. But his telepathic servant, an undercover Mentalla, had swapped the heroes’ minds so it was actually Ultra Boy in Katrina’s body he slept with. There was a great battle in which most of the Devil’s Dozen were apprehended, including Savage himself apparently. But the captured Savage turned out to be his shapeshifting Durlan lackey, Lyja. The real Savage used his teleporting ally Zymyr to escape along with his cloning equipment. No doubt he’ll return at the most inconvenient time for our heroes.

Vandal’s cloning experiments continue (see below), and he is back on Tartarus, working with Harmonia Li. His clones of Kyle Ramirez are now powered, giving more power to their blood for Savage. He’s warned Dynasty that he plans to infiltrate the Legion with clones, confusing her as to why he would reveal this. Savage always works the long game, however, so who can tell what he’s actually up to.


The Deadly Mantis

The most persistent foe our heroes have faced off against is Dr. Mantis Morlo. In various guises, he has been experimenting on various races to augment existing powers or create new ones. At one point he was a doctor for an illegal fight ring on Rimbor, during which time, he claims, he boosted Qar Rud’s strength and fighting prowess for the Golden Wolves. When that ring was shut down by Rud’s betrayal, he escaped to Braal where he took the name App Hidd and experimented on magnoball player Temm Drekk, increasing his natural magnetic powers to make him a champion. He also managed to make it to Ghoran Prime, where he found especially fruitful subjects in the natives there, whose reseeding process allowed new breakthroughs. He supposedly was responsible for the unique abilities that Ollie Andre, Vargi Pere, Tori Some, and many other young Ghorans found themselves with after reseeding.

His experiments were not always sound, however, and most of the empowered Ghorans eventually found themselves sick and their powers out of control, leading to fears of a Ghoran plague on other worlds where these Ghorans had relocated. With the help of Substitute Hero Chlorophyll Kid and Academy student Crystal Kid, these patients were stabilized. Many of the powered Ghorans formed a group, unofficially dubbed the Legion of Super Trees, with Chlorophyll Kid as its leader.

Meanwhile, Temm Drekk’s power likewise went out of control, almost leading to the destruction of Metropolis Stadium during a magnoball demonstration. Fortunately, Legionnaire Magnetic Kid and some of the Academy students were there to prevent disaster. Drekk has since disappeared, and it’s unknown whether Morlo still has his hooks in him.

Morlo returned to Ghoran Prime where he disguised himself as President Det Sillas and ran a rigged lottery program to allow those Ghorans he felt had the best genetic potential to reseed themselves within the ancient, mysterious structure called the Node. His experiments upon the reseeding Ghorans were mostly failures, resulting in a number of malformed or dead Ghorans until our heroes defeated him again. Once more, he escaped with the aid of teleporting Ghoran Tori Some.

Morlo’s other notable experiment has been creating mindless artificial life forms he has dubbed Chemoids. These hulking beings originally had the ability to counter a single power used against them. At our heroes’ goading, Morlo continued to improve their resistance, until most recently they were resistant to three powers used against them simultaneously.

At some point, Morlo found himself in the Devil’s Dozen, where Prince Evillo was funding his experiments in creating super-powered beings in the hopes of using them to create new villains. When Vandal Savage took control of the group, he redirected Morlo’s efforts to stabilizing the cloning process so that clones could last longer than 36 hours before disintegrating. He also allowed Morlo to experiment with granting powers to the clones of Kyle Ramirez since super-powered blood of his enemies better sates the immortal conqueror. Morlo was captured and returned to Earth for trial and imprisonment. Given that he has often exhibited mind-control over his patients, it’s unknown how many unwilling and unknowing slaves he might still have around the UP. No doubt his schemes will again intersect with the fortunes of our heroes.

Morlo escaped custody but hasn’t been seen since. Quite likely he’s working behind the scenes with Vandal Savage on his projects. Or perhaps he’s taken on a new identity elsewhere, and his experiments will have no further impact on our team. Nah!


Bringing Up Babies

We can’t let this recap go without mention perhaps the oddest twist from Season 1, the airing of the hit animated holovid, Legion Academy Babies. Created by producer Leww Kohan, who not coincidentally is Crystal Kid’s uncle, the holovid program depicted the Academy students as precocious tots. Our heroes’ counterparts—Whine-asty, Skidmark, and Foursie—along with the other babies, such as Li’l Lamprey, Nighty-Night Wind, and Pow became smash sensations.

Universo used the holovid to carry a hidden signal that helped to bring most of the UP under his control. Upon discovery of this, there was a backlash against the show, and it (and its planned spin-off, Whine-asty and Her Amazing Friends, which was set to introduce Quantum Kitty) was cancelled. Much of the merchandise produced for fans was destroyed in public bonfires.

Memories dim, however, and Skidmark merchandise resurfaced during the mourning for Kid Skid after he restored Earth’s biosphere. Might we again see Foursie diapers, Pow sippy cups, and Whine-asty wet blankets again? Might we even see new episodes of the holovid itself? We can only hope.

Still no new episodes of LAB. But Tenzil Kem did use a Foursie doll with Real Pooping Actiontm on the first episode of his new holovid, Tenzil Kem, Attorney-in-Law, so perhaps this will help spur interest in the franchise given his spectacular ratings. If so, what would the baby version of heroes like Reflecti-Kid, Obsidian, and Porcupine Pete look like? We only hope we have the chance to find out.


What’s That Snell?

In Season 3 we were introduced to a new character, Reflecti-Kid, a mirror-covered hero from Snell Station that hoped to join the Legion in the tradition of heroes like Arm-Fall-Off Boy. Jean Snell’s home is supposedly a colony of millions located by a neutron star that the inhabitants of the station mined. They (Reflecti-Kid is intersexed) came to Earth in their antique-looking rocket ship and was soon swept up in our heroes’ adventures.

Meanwhile, they received strange messages supposedly from Snell Station and even a state-of-the-art McCauley Omnicom from their people back home. During a trip on his rocketship, Quatro Lad and Katrina looked under the hood, so to speak, and found it surprisingly sophisticated despite its retro appearance.

On Ventura, Reflecti-Kid discovered a new holovid game called Snell Station was being beta-tested, and soon holoads for it were everywhere and it became the most anticipated game of the decade. They managed to acquire blueprints from Pflx Rambo’s office that showed the schematics of the station as they knew it, with only subtle differences.

At Legion tryouts, a hero called Mirror Lad (real name Salg Nikool) demonstrated almost identical powers as Reflecti-Kid and made it to the next round. Before further testing, however, he was found beaten to death. Investigating, SP Officer Gigi Cusimano found that his uniform contained fibers trademarked to Snell Station, Inc. Mirror Lad had also left a strange message indicating his confusion over his supposed origin and his past.

Upon Reflecti-Kid joining the Legion and allowing their Omnicom to link up with the Legion’s computer system, a program on his Omnicom tried to gain access to the Legion’s larger operating system and ended up releasing the Computo program that had been trapped behind a firewall after its previous attempts to take over LSH HQ. The combined programs created an elaborate virtual-reality simulation that the team was trapped in for almost a week. After the heroes finally escaped, the program faked a message from Dynasty that convinced the rest of the team that all traces of the program had been contained. 

Not long afterward on a secret research station owned by Leland McCauley, Reflecti-Kid and the others discovered a room filled with people wired into a computer system. Reflecti-Kid recognized them as people he knew from Snell Station. There were also three room filled with sophisticated VR equipment, one labeled “J. Snell,” one “S. Nikool,” and one “B. Allen.” 

The Snell Station program spoke to Jean there, telling them that it had deleted the Computo program because it didn’t agree with Computo’s plan to destroy all organic life. Before there could be further communication, McCauley and his guards broke in, and a firefight resulted in the death of the one of the wired-in people. The heroes agreed to leave, and Reflecti-Kid took the body for proper burial.

Opinions vary whether Reflecti-Kid is part of the Snell Station game come to life or is just insane. Clearly there are a lot of questions to be answered about Jean and Snell Station, including their relation to Mirror Lad and Leland McCauley. And will the game itself ever be released after repeated delays?


The Clone Saga

We know that Vandal Savage and Mantis Morlo have been working on clones and trying to expand their typical life-span beyond 36 hours, possibly with help from the Dark Circle. According to what Savage told Dynasty, they’ve had success in this, but clones with superpowers still have shorter life-spans than those without. 

Savage indicated that when the heroes went to the past and were missing, he replaced Dynasty, Quatro Lad, Kid Skid, and Quantum Cat with clones. Those clones’ personalities eventually began to destabilize, leading clone Dynasty to marry Nightwind, clone Quatro Lad to hire Tenzil Kem, clone Quantum Cat to dump Invisible Kid to hook up with President Wynters, and clone Kid Skid to ignore his brother and let him become a juvenile delinquent.

After the real heroes’ return, Savage still worked to replace them. A new Katrina clone went out of control and tried to kill her parents, while a new clone Dynasty transferred her shadow powers to her brother. The LSH cell banks were also raided and genetic material taken. Savage told Dynasty that he planned to infiltrate the Legion with clones.

Tasked by Dream Girl to find a way to detect clones, Katrina invented a device to analyze the quantum signature of an individual to determine how long they’ve existed. Widespread testing of the team still hasn’t occurred yet.

Savage recently awoke Dynasty and told her that Aether had possessed her clone. He was afraid that the clone body would deteriorate quickly with catastrophic results if Aether was still possessing it, so he told Dynasty to retrieve Aether and bring the clone body back to him for separation.

Meanwhile, Dynasty and Reflecti-Kid made startling discoveries about the extent of Savage’s clone plans when they invaded his castle on Tartarus. What will they do about this? And how many other clones are running around? Do clones count as real people or are they soulless abominations? Do clones dream of Dolly?



Whew, that’s a lot of updates. Join us for Season 4 where maybe some of these questions will eventually be answered. But probably more questions will be raised than answered the way these things go. Chris Claremont, eat your heart out!