Legion of Superheroes: Occupational Hazards

Legion of Superheroes: Occupational Hazards

• We begin the story with a number of new recruits along with Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl taking down a raging alien monster flying through the sky of New Metropolis. Mon-El, Starman, Ultra Boy, and Wildfire are flying through they sky as Cosmic Boy coordinates through Saturn Girl’s psychic link. They manage to coral the beast through buildings, preventing collateral damage. They direct the beast to take a hard left past a building right towards a 50 ft tall Colossal Boy who was waiting to sock it in the face. The beast falls and the newer members are patted on the back.

• That mission crew return back to Legioon headquarters and meet up with the others. Bouncing Boy gives them props and revels at how powerful they all are and he wished he could be like them. Ultra Boy is cocky and takes credit but Saturn Girl tells Bouncing Boy how special he is in his own way. Ultra Boy says he is more powerful than Mon-El, a descendent of Superman with a fraction of Kryptonian dna. Mon-El says at least he can use all his powers at once unlike Ultra Boy. Ultra Boy keeps taking credit for the victory and says he would’ve killed that crazy beast alone anyways. That’s when Chameleon Boy walks in and says actually it was Collosal Boy who nailed him in the jaw for the final takedown. Cosmic Boy thanks Chameleon Boy for the surprise training situation for the newbies, as he was secretly the monster all along. Mon-El and Starman give Ultra Boy crap for what he was saying. Saturn Girl looks around the HQ and asks where Timberwolf and Lightning Lad are. Triplicate says she thinks Lightning Lad is visiting his sister at college and Timber Wolf is probably sticking a flurgen up a tree somewhere.

• We cut to Garth talking to his twin sister, Ayla. She asks him if he regrets dropping out of college and he says no way. He loves hanging out with his super dudes, plus school isn’t for the cool always. His sister playfully punches him on the shoulder and she tells him that his lightning powers won’t help him learn how to do his tax credit calculations. Garth says he isn’t worried, that’s what Brainiac is for. The two say their goodbyes as Lightning Lad flies away out of the window and Ayla returns to her studies. The perspective then shifts to a view from inside the closet of Ayla. Somebody was in there. Breathing. Watching. Waiting.

• Lightning Lad arrives back at Legion HQ and Brainiac 5 intercepts him and approaches the rest of the team with worry. Brainiac tells the team that they have received a troubling encrypted message. The message says, “Your efforts are fruitless. Survival of the most fit shall continue to drive all civilizations. Sease your interventions with interplanetary conflict and allow them to occur as they are meant to unfold. You may have power but eventually, all heroes fall. You might be able to protect yourselves but not those closest to you. Consider removing your rings before they are removed for you. -the Persuader.” Starman and Ultra Boy ask who this guy thinks he is, people say they are going to kill them all the time. Brainiac explains that this message was delivered straight to their HQ’s operating system. This level of sophistication should not be taken lightly. Phantom Girl chimes in by saying that it doesn’t matter if we can take down are enemies. That message was threatening someone else. Cosmic Boy addresses the threat and says they will carry on with business as usual but to stay on high alert. No need to scare your loved ones with the news unless there is an active situation. 

• Saturn Girl talks to Lightning Lad and says how scary that was how he was just with his sister and asks if there was anything weird going on. He says no and he’s not worried about the threat. 

• Cut back to Ayla in her apartment, where she is sitting doing her homework until she hears a noise and looks over to notice her closet is not shut all the way. She cautiously gets up and approaches the door to open and check. Her heart rate patters faster and faster before she eventually flings the door open, and there it is, nothing. She exhales in relief before an axe handle clams down around her body as a masked man grabs her from behind. 

• Lightning Lad, Wildfire, and Starman are helping clear the railways after preventing a devastating loss of life in a mag-lev crash. Lightning Lad is complementing Wildfire and Starman on how great of an addition they are making to the team. Wildfire uses his intense heat to near-instantly melt down the metal debris from the crash. Starman thanks Lightning Lad for giving him a chance, especially considering his neurodivergent brain condition. Lightning Lad says it doesn’t matter to them. It’s all love but Lightning Lad thinks Thom just needs to chill out and go with the flow. 

• At another location, Saturn Girl, Phantom Girl, Ultra Boy, Mon-El, Triplicate Girl, and Brainiac 5 are working together to control a protest turned riot near New Metropolis University. As they are trying to settle things down and Triplicate works to contain them, the communicator on Brainiac’s ring begins to receive interference. A message comes in that says, “I see you kids in costumes just can’t help yourselves, can you? I will have to prove my point to you after all. You will find how persuasive I can be at 958 Otto Street. I wouldn’t rush right in if you know what’s good for you.” Brainiac tells them and Saturn Girl relays the message to the crew. They panic and Mon-El thinks it’s a trap but Saturn Girl doesn’t want to take the risk. Brainiac runs the address through his processor and realizes one of the residents in that complex is Lightning Lad’s sister, Ayla. Phantom Girl, Ultra Boy, and Saturn Girl fly toward the address and radio to tell Lightning Lad while the other 3 keep containing the riot.

• Lightning Lad receives the communication but is about 15 minutes out from the apartment. Worried, Lightning Lad and Starman leave the rest of the clean-up to Wildfire in hopes that he can make it in time to help the other crew save his sister. 

• Back at the apartment, Saturn Girl, Phantom Girl, and Ultra Boy arrive. When they land, Persuader steps out onto the balcony of Ayla’s apartment holding her neck to his axe. He tells them they will now pay the price for their meddling as they face an event they are unable to stop anyway. He tells them if they attempt to rescue the girl, they and the girl will face consequences. Persuader says she will not die until her brother, Lightning Lad, is there to witness. He then throws down a cleanly cut finger down to the sidewalk. Ultra Boy says he bets he can get up there and knock him out before he even has a chance to react but Saturn Girl calls him crazy and forbids him to try. She also radios into Lightning Lad telling him to stop coming immediately because if he arrives, he will kill her. 

• Lightning Lad hears this and freaks out. He feels the need to protect his sister and doesn’t know what to do. Starman comforts him and says he hears his torment. When faced with a seemingly impossible situation, all we can do is our best. Sometimes it doesn’t seem possible, but as a wise man once told him, you just need to chill out. Lightning Lad composes himself and realizes that if they are going to rescue her, they need to have their heads on straight. He radios into Saturn Girl’s team to hear what the plan is.

• At the apartment, Ultra Boy keeps trying to convince them he can do it but Phantom Girl volunteers herself as the obvious choice to try something. She can shift her density and walk through the walls of the walls nearly undetected. If she gets her hands on Ayla, she can phase her down with her and that’s when the others strike Persuader. Lightning Lad thinks the plan is good and they try it. Phantom Girl phases up to the room, in through the walls. Persuader is still facing out on the balcony and Phantom Girl approaches from behind but as she does, Persuader notices her and turns to swipe his axe. Phantom Girl nearly has a hand on Ayla when Persuader’s axe swings towards the low-density hero. Expecting it to pass right through her, Phantom girl doesn’t even flinch but the blade skims her shoulder and slices it even though she was intangible. Ayla screams and Phantom Girl quickly phases back down to get out of there. Bleeding, Phantom Girl reports that somehow the axe was able to cut her still. Now with the team directionless, Persuader yells down to them that what comes next is their fault. A painful scream is then heard before Ayla’s hand falls down to the concrete. Lightning Lad hears this and Starman tries to keep him calm again but Lightning Lad can’t help it and says, coming in now!

• In the apartment, Persuader is lecturing Ayla as she thrives in pain and tears over the torture. Her trauma is copable and builds her rage until something strange happens. Her pulses of electricity begin to flicker in the room. Just the same as her twin brother years before as he nearly drowned, the trauma and pain has triggered a dormant response. Ayla’s screams continue as blue lightning accumulates at the end of her hand. Persuader doesn’t like what he sees and fears he needs to end it now. He charges to decapitate Ayla but as he does, Ayla extends her arm towards Persuader, discharging all of the energy she held within. Persuader is launched back into a mirror and falls to the ground. 

• The heroes on the ground see this large light from above after the screams. They fly up to see what has happened as Lightning Lad himself arrives too. Garth pushes the other Legioners out of the way and finds his sobbing sister on the ground, missing her hand. Ultra Boy asks how and Lightning Lad explains. Saturn Girl asks if she killed him and Lightning Lad says no. He can still feel the electrical pulses of his neurons firing inside his brain, but Lightning Lad says maybe he will finish the job. Garth gets up in fury to finish off Persuader but his arm is grabbed by his sister who says no. They are heroes, not executioners like him. Lightning Lad protests because of what he did to her but Ayla says she learned that from Garth. The Legion is built on his sense of positivity and hope that all will work out. Saturn Girl agrees and Starman says he really ought to listen to himself more. Garth agrees and tells them to lock him up with the others at Legion HQ.

• A few days pass and we are back at Legion HQ. Brainiac 5 continues to study the axe. He is amazed at how quantumly sharp it is. The blade is capable of cutting a substance down to the atom. He hypothesizes there is almost nothing it can’t cut and is excited to use it as a research tool. Timberwolf calls him a nerd but Bouncing Boy assures Brainiac he thinks it’s cool. Lightning Lad then walks into the fray accompanied by his sister, who now has a clean robotic hand thanks to Brainiac and is wearing a blue and yellow suit similar to her brother. Cosmic Boy presents her with a Legion ring as says, “Welcome to the Legion of Superheroes, Lightning Lass.”