Showcase: The Heroes of Lallor

Children of the Atom

by Libbylawrence

The Pax Children’s Home was one of the most beautiful structures on the planet Lallor. The care and cost that went into the design and construction of the orphanage was evident to any observer. The fact that the children who lived there were clearly happy and well cared for was equally obvious. There was a large staff to tend to their needs and these workers were well paid for their duties. This type of thoughtful concern for basic humanitarian needs was not in the least remarkable on Lallor since almost every public building or private service on the near utopia had been created with the care and resources necessary to make the ideal real. The People’s Park was nearby and the children of Pax often visited the luxurious scenic park on their day trips. The Medical Center was at the other end of the huge complex and once more any casual observer could tell the facility was run with care and an abundance of features designed to make the patients comfortable and well!

While such niceties were pleasant surprises for those tourists who were visiting Lallor for the first time, such considerations had long been familiar to the natives. The key to much of the planet’s humanitarian and social service based infrastructure originated in the fact that the planet had experienced the opposite extreme as well during its history. During the time of Prime Minister Vorr, Lallor had been as militaristic as any other world outside the carefully regulated borders of the United Planets; however, an atomic disaster had destroyed the entire continent of Antillar in the year 2958. This terrible accident had altered the entire sociopolitical climate of Lallor. All weapons were destroyed and the planet was temporarily quarantined. When the ban on tourism was finally lifted, Lallor had established an extremely capable “orbit patrol” dedicated to preventing any weapon from being smuggled on to the planet. In addition to the restriction against all weapons except for the simple batons carried by the Lallorian Police, the entire amount of money traditionally allocated for armaments was redirected to the creation of the Lallorian social services system.

The irony that so much positive change could be born out of a nightmare was only one idea pondered by an odd looking young man who sat in an awkward lotus position and tried to keep a brightly feathered turban from slipping off of his abnormally large bald head.

“Now, boys and girls, while many of you may think the story of brave Aladdin to be nothing more than a quaint fairy tale handed down from era to era from one world to another, I shall prove you wrong by displaying the magic lamp itself!” he shouted. He stood up and adjusted his turban as he reached down to uncover a gleaming golden lamp. Yikes! I almost stepped on the lamp. I’ve got to learn to become more at ease during these charity shows! thought Sev Tcheru as he stood before the assembled orphans and staff of Pax Children’s Home.

The hero known as Evolvo Lad was far more comfortable in situations that required the mutant to use his remarkable powers of personal evolutionary alteration in lifesaving or crime prevention ways. Still, the caring young man felt a deep and abiding desire to entertain the orphans and he rose to the occasion in spite of his normally reserved manner. “Kids, from the magic lamp, I will produce a genii!” he said as he struggled to modulate his tone. Public speaking had not prepared him to act as a story time reader for kids and he feared that his efforts to seem inviting had instead made him shrill!

He rubbed the lamp and the kids began to laugh as nothing happened.

He frowned and lifted the gold lamp until he was peering into its flowing spout. “I know there’s a magic spirit in there someplace!” he said with a deliberately assumed look of consternation on his narrow face.

A freckled boy with a messy mane of red hair scowled at him and whispered, “This guy is a joke. I’d rather ride the servo-pony!”

Sev whispered into the lamp as he tried to keep one eye on the crowd. “Tal, this is not funny. Come out! I’m dying here!” he hissed.

A girlish giggle echoed from the lamp as a mist began to emerge from the lamp and fill the area in front of the turban-wearing hero. The kids gasped and cheered as the mist assumed a decidedly female shape and a beautiful and dramatic woman appeared before them! She had a filmy nimbus of white hair that surrounded her face like a cloud. She wore heavy if expertly applied make-up and posed before the kids in a revealing gold harem outfit. She shimmied slightly and then bowed low before an amused Evolvo Lad. “Master! How may your genii serve you? Shall I bring the very stars down from above? Would you prefer that your slave turned your humble abode into a palace fit for a sultan?” she cried. The kids cheered and clapped as Tal Nahi (Gas Girl) used her well-developed talent for attracting attention, along with her power to form herself into any gaseous form, to entertain the group.

Sev tilted his turban to one side and nodded appreciatively. Tal is a natural! She loves the spotlight. She’d love nothing more than to become another Luiza Karamonte Nolan and star in the holo vids if she could! he thought. He said, “I order you to turn yon rug into a flying carpet!” He gestured to an ornate rug that he had brought in earlier.

Gas Girl smiled broadly and winked at him. “Your wish is my command!” she said as she batted her eyelashes at him. Sev rolled his own eyes as the carpet began to dance around the room in a wild display of power.

This display came not from Evolvo Lad or Gas Girl. The carpet has been temporarily brought to life by the power of their third friend Somi Gan (Life Lass). The pretty dark haired girl hid behind a row of room dividing screens and carefully used her power by peering out around one of the screens. As the extremely shy girl had hoped, the kids were so busy watching the flamboyant Gas Girl that they did not think to glance her way. She continued to make the carpet fly around the room until the kids laughed and clapped again and again. I’m really just making the rug throw itself around but to the kids, it looks like a flying carpet! Hmm, a throw rug! I guess that joke won’t make the act! she thought with a smile.

After the show ended and the kids filed out to eat, the manager shook hands with the three heroes and thanked them warmly. “You Heroes of Lallor really live up to your name! You’ve made those kids wonderfully happy!” she said.

Evolvo Lad smiled and said, “No thanks are needed. It was our pleasure. This type of thing is a welcome change from some of our duties! We grew up in a restricted center of scientific observation. We can understand how kids who don’t have a home could use some fun.”

The manager departed as Sev and Somi packed up their gear. Tal lounged languidly on the nearest bench and idly polished her nails. “You know I could really make a splash if I came out of the lamp without a costume!” she sighed.

Somi gasped and said, “Tal! How could you even suggest such a thing? Why, the very idea shocks me!” She continued to sputter as Gas Girl giggled and raised her hand in protest.

“I’m just teasing you, Somi! By Lallor’s Moons, you still can’t tell when your roomie is joking!”

Evolvo Lad concealed his own amusement and said, “Girls, you two never tire of this kind of banter. You’ve think after all these years together, you’d grow up a bit!”

Tal said, “You mean you want us to evolve? Is that it?”

While the threesome were indeed known as planetary defenders, they were united by far more personal ties. As Sev had mentioned to the staff member, the group had spent their childhood together within an observation center where their unique mutant powers had been the subject of intensive research. They had reacted to their odd environment in different ways. Somi had retreated into herself to a degree in that the bashful girl had developed a passive streak that led her to defer to her friends. She felt more secure in the shadows and seldom ventured far from at least one of the others. Tal had responded to their early years as lab subjects by being governed by a desire to be in the spotlight. She deliberately took any opportunity to display her powers, charm, beauty, or wit. Her need for attention was painfully obvious. As for Sev, his keen intellect had allowed him to understand the others on levels that went beyond their own surface expectations and desires. He also could stand back and view them somewhat clinically; however, his affection for them was no less genuine for that type of perspective. He knew the final and most popular member of the heroic group Duplicate Boy (Ord Quleu) had elements of all of their own traits in his own nature. He liked attention and yet he covered his own insecurities by a brash show of machismo. Beneath that cocky attitude, Ord also had his own quirks. He was vulnerable and his heart was his weakness. He had once developed a psychosomatic loss of his power after he had failed to help a loved one in peril.

Ord was not stupid; however, his mutant ability to duplicate the powers of other individuals had left him with something less than a striking and well-developed personality of his own. He tended to rely on his looks and his brawn to win the day. Still, he was very happily involved with the Legionnaire known as Shrinking Violet and she was a good influence upon him. Their romance had led him to travel space far more than his teammates had ever done. Thus, Ord added his own talents and experience to the group.

Evolvo could ponder such theories of human dynamics for hours but he could also merely relax and accept the fact that he and his friends were more like a family than a business organization.

He noticed Tal flirting with a handsome Rigellian teacher as Somi watched with a quite interest of her own. Before he could continue their affection banter, the Astron News flashed on the holo screen on the wall and they stopped talking to listen to the bulletin.

Pretty and perky Miet Vije looked grim as she announced the story. “In what can only be believed when seen, the Heroes of Lallor are apparently engaged in a brawl amongst themselves. No reason for their strange actions can be determined! We take you live to the scene outside their Paragon Plaza HQ!” she said.

The three heroes gasped as the holo image displayed the bewildering scene in which Duplicate Boy battled against three beings that looked exactly like Evolvo Lad, Gas Girl, and Life Lass!

The odd situation had started earlier during the time the three Heroes had been busy entertaining the orphans. Duplicate Boy had been on patrol while the others performed their charitable act. He enjoyed performing for the kids as well; however, his power was so great in comparison to the mutant gifts the other three possessed that he could easily keep order on their world without their help or at least that had traditionally been the case.

The handsome brown haired hero in green merely drew upon the super sensory powers of Mon-El to scan the world with effortless ease. If he spotted an accident or natural disaster, he could reach the scene in amazing time via the super speed or flight of that hero as well. He enjoyed helping people but sometimes he grew bored. Lallor was a very peaceful place. It’s not like I want to see Mordru or the Fatal Five come calling or anything but a guy who can copy the power of any Legionnaire finds it dull to just blow out timber fires or redirect hovercrafts to their proper lanes, he thought.

I wonder what Violet is doing today? I could go see her later. Maybe, we could watch one of those mystery vids she loves so much. He frowned in consternation as he saw his friends appear in their hovercar. “You guys finished the show a bit early. Don’t tell me the kids started throwing citrus spheres at you again?” he asked with a grin.

Life Lass said, “Nothing as pedestrian as their opinions could hope to influence us. We need the approval of a bunch of sniveling humans as little as they need more gamblers on Ventura!”

Duplicate Boy shook his head and said, “Somi, what kind of crazy talk is that? We’re humans too. I mean, sure, we can do certain things other people can’t do, but people are people!”

Evolvo Lad said, “I would expect such simplistic tripe from one who lacks any imagination.”

Gas Girl smiled coldly and said “Let me spell it out for you. We’re a higher life form. We should rule the world and let the non-mutants live only to serve us! It is our destiny!”

Duplicate Boy said, “Is this a joke? You all sound like replays from the days of Vorr. That creep thought we weren’t good enough to live with normal people. You’re talking as crazy as he used to by claiming we’re too good for other people.”

Evolvo Lad nodded sadly before turning to the two girls and saying, “He is too brainless to join the cause. That is a pity!”

Duplicate Boy said, “Sev, I don’t like that kind of comment. You know none of us is as smart as you are!”

Evolvo Lad shifted form and became a massive ape-like being. He growled and said, “Let me come down to your level!” He tackled Duplicate Boy and they plunged off the hovercar to crash into a fountain below.

Ord had been too startled by the actions of his friends to draw upon any heroic power before Sev’s furry form had attacked! Still, he was a skilled hero and he knew how to fight even when he didn’t understand why he was in a battle. He wrestled Evolvo Lad down with superior strength and then deflected an attack by a misty Gas Girl with a blast of super breath. “I don’t know why you’re all acting so weird but I do have the means to find out!” he said.

He dodged a statue as the animated creature reached out for him. He knew Life Lass had been responsible for the stone object’s sudden movement and hostility. Duplicate Boy said, “I can dodge your pets all day, Somi but as Violet always says the important thing to do is to get to the bottom of any mystery. That means, all I have to do is draw upon Saturn Girl’s mental powers to scan your minds or mind!”

He smiled broadly and said, “Funny, I know we sometimes act as if Sev was the only thinker in the group but while the rest of us lack his smarts, we do actually have minds of our own. That’s not the case with you bogus Heroes! I only detect one brain guiding you. You’re all illusions!”

Duplicate Boy scowled as the mental pattern began to trail off. “Running scared, huh? Well, no one this side of Superboy can move as fast as I can!” he declared. He flew off and frowned as he lost trace of the other mind that had been projecting the illusions of his friends. He landed and switched powers.

“Great, just great! By switching from Saturn Girl’s power to Superboy’s speed, I lost the ability to track the mind of my enemy. Now, that I’ve switched back to Blondie’s mental gifts, I can’t keep up with the rapidly departing mind!” He pushed his way past a thick growth of imported Zuunian Dark Trees and emerged deeper within the city botanical gardens.

“I see I lost the Astron News crew. I saw them arrive just after the fake Heroes jumped me. That’s just as well. I don’t want to risk hurting them if my sparring partner returns!”

“How commendable! You truly care about those insects! I suppose you really believe the nonsense about equality that you were spouting earlier when you thought you were talking to your friends!” said a man who stepped into view. He looked exactly like Duplicate Boy himself!

“Very funny. I don’t know how you managed to get such a sophisticated holo image projector but looking like me won’t enable you to get me to pull my punches. Just what do you want?” he said. He managed to maintain a reasonable bluff but Ord didn’t like seeing his exact image confront him in such a manner! A Saturn Girl style mind scan helped him determine that this figure did not possess the mind he had touched briefly before. That meant this foe that looked just like his mirror image was not the illusionist from before. Perhaps, it was a Durlan?

The odd duplicate shifted form and Ord gasped as he saw the imitation of his handsome features alter into a nearly liquid sludge that ran down his foe’s body in a constantly shifting display of amorphous change! “What are you? I’ve never seen a Durlan do that! It’s like you don’t have any normal form at all!” he whispered.

“Enigma lacks your pretty features. That much is true. He can only retain a normal appearance by copying other people’s forms for a brief time,” said a woman. He turned to see a tall woman who had a wildly upswept tower of hair that cascaded around features that would have been at home in a horror holo. Her eyes stared vacantly into space and she groped almost blindly as she moved closer.

“Image can create illusions. She was the one who lured you here after we created the impression that you’d all gone mad for the media! It is a useful power but the poor dear has suffered for her gift!” said a third figure. He was an ugly man with a gaunt body and an almost skeletal appearance. He wore a black costume with a golden cape.

Duplicate Boy said, “What’s your problem? Why try to smear our image? Are you super crooks in search of a big score?”

The man in black and gold laughed and said, “You do prattle on witlessly. We’re more than super crooks as you so mundanely put it. We’re mutants like you although we have never been allowed to bask in adulation like your group has done. We might be called Villains of Lallor if we decided to use such an inane name. Suffice it to say, we intend to rule this planet by right of genetic superiority!”

Duplicate Boy said, “Rule this, pal!” He punched the gaunt man in the jaw and fell aside as energy exploded from his body and he suddenly replicated into a second being.

“I am known as Multiplicity for reasons obvious to anyone with half a brain. That includes you, my friend!” said the odd pair in unison. Before Duplicate Boy could get up, he was savagely struck from behind by a hulking being with rocky skin and an inhuman appearance. “I hope I didn’t break the Pretty Boy!” he said as a jagged gap that served as his mouth opened.

“You did well Brute. We all did well. With Duplicate Boy out of the way, we will easily vanquish his allies!” said Multiplicity.

Shortly, thereafter the real Heroes of Lallor were in route to the battle scene in their hovercar. The three mutant champions were grimly silent with one notable exception. Tal Nahi, now clad in her customary pink, white, and black costume sat with her legs propped up across her side of the control panel. She idly retouched her make-up in the mirror and then pursed her bright, red lips as she concentrated. “You know that was some illusion! I almost believed we were seeing ourselves in combat for a moment!” she said.

Evolvo Lad said, “Gas Girl, how do you know we were seeing an illusion? Our doubles might very well be Durlans or shape shifters or crooks with illegal image distorters!”

Gas Girl sighed as if the weight of the world was on her trim shoulders as she replied.

“Hair! I know you don’t exactly spend a lot of time thinking about it. I mean, how could you? Still, I noticed the scene we saw on the news report showed Ord’s hair moving as he fought the evil doubles but neither my double nor Somi’s double showed even a trace of movement. The hairstyle on my so-called double made me look really ugly too. Believe me, when you work as hard as I do to look good then you notice things like a bad hair day. We were looking at illusions since the wind affected Ord but not the images of Somi or me!” she said.

Evolvo Lad shook his head and exchanged a glance with a bemused Life Lass. “You know when she’s right, she’s right! I didn’t even take that particular visual clue into account. Tal, I will never complain about how much time you spend in front of the mirror again!” he said.

Somi said, “I can animate any distorter if that’s what they or he or she used! My rapport with inanimate objects will let me sense such a device in use if we get close to it!”

Before they respond, the pretty girl in red yelled out in alarm! “Swerve left! We’re heading right for a tower!” she cried.

Evolvo Lad wrenched the wheel and sent the hovercraft veering wildly to the side. The vehicle shuddered but no impact occurred. Gas Girl had been thrown to the floor of the wildly moving craft and she returned to her seat in a huff. “Sev, how about warning a girl next time you decide to play Astro-Chicken!” she said.

Somi said, “Tal, one of the old industrial towers was directly in our path. It had been made invisible by some strange illusion. That is why the path before us looked clear! We could have wrecked had I not sensed the structure itself!”

Evolvo Lad said, “Our illusion caster must be near. That was a subtle trick. We better be careful!”

Somi shrugged and said, “I can tell you that I can’t detect any distorter. The illusions may be magical or innately powered.”

Gas Girl said, “By the same token, I detect no type of narcotic or hallucinogenic gas. If we’re seeing things then it is due to no chemical process either!”

The landed the craft in People’s Park where Duplicate Boy stood with three odd newcomers. “Ord, what’s going on here? Are you in trouble?” asked a worried Life Lass.

Duplicate Boy said, “No. I’ve never been better. These three have enlightened me!”

Evolvo Lad said, “Something is wrong here.”

Gas Girl frowned and nervously ran a hand through her misty hair. “That woman has no pupils in her eyes. She seems blind!” she thought as she noticed the odd woman who stood by Ord’s side. She turned to gaze at the man in black and gold. He looked gaunt and sickly but apparently possessed more vitality than his appearance would suggest.

The final figure was a true monster with a rocky hide and a massive body. Duplicate Boy said, “I’d like you three to meet my new allies. Brute, Multiplicity, and Image.”

Gas Girl changed to a gleaming mist as the weird threesome attacked without warning. Got to try to blind them all by becoming Jovian glitter mist! she thought. Before she could press her attack, the creature called Brute had inhaled her into its mouth. She tried to alter her composition to any number of narcotic forms but his inhuman body seemed immune to her best efforts. She could not return to human form either. She had trapped herself!

Evolvo Lad has shifted down the evolutionary scale to his more menacing primate form. He darted forward with impressive agility but his tackle of Multiplicity only resulted in the instant replication of the man in black and gold. The two Multiplicitys worked well as a team and wrestled with his stronger body. Still, Evolvo Lad was very strong in that altered form and he managed to hold them both apart and then slam them together. This resulted in more replication and he fell beneath the foursome as they continued to increase in numbers.

Life Lass turned in horror as Duplicate Boy’s face melted into a runny puddle and he became her own double. “You’re not Ord! You just copied his looks!” she gasped.

Enigma grabbed her and laughed as she struggled to free herself. Before she could animate anything around them, Life Lass received a stunning blow from Enigma and she fell to the ground. Enigma said, “We’ve defeated them. Now, to rid ourselves of the Heroes of Lallor and to conquer this world once and for all!”

Much later, the Heroes of Lallor awakened to find themselves reunited with the real Duplicate Boy. The foursome were aboard a spacecraft and while they could move freely none of them could use their unique powers. “I suspect some type of neutralizing device is blocking our individual powers. They are not gone but they’ve been suppressed!” said Evolvo Lad.

Duplicate Boy said, “No kidding! I figured that out and I’m not even the smart one!”

Gas Girl said, “Where are we? I’ve never seen this section of space. The celestial patterns don’t match any I’ve seen before!”

Life Lass shrugged and said, “I’m afraid. Why do these people hate us so much? We’ve never fought them before and yet they acted as if we had wronged them!”

Multiplicity entered their chamber as a door slid aside and his allies quickly followed him. “We were wronged by you! You did much more than merely slight us. You betrayed us! Still, why don’t I let a much more elegant speaker explain our history? He’s well-known to you as well!”

As the black clad rogue moved aside, an older man with thinning brown hair stepped into view.

“Vorr!” gasped Life Lass.

The former Prime Minister of Lallor smiled slightly and inclined his head in acknowledgment. “Correct! You recall the man you destroyed! How fitting. I assumed you had all suppressed any memory of how you stabbed me in the back!”

Duplicate Boy said, “Hold it! You are the creep who tried to banish us from Lallor years ago! We were content to a point in the Center where we grew up until you decided we were a menace to your world order so you shipped us off into space!”

Evolvo Lad said, ” I concur! You lost power because of your own mistakes. You were to blame for the atomic accident that gave us our powers. You were to blame for the way we were locked away for years. You saw us as living symbols of your own failures so you tried to cast us off into space. When the Legion helped us find a role as defenders of our world, there was no place for you. Still, we were not even on the planet when other forces put you out of office. You can’t blame us!”

Life Lass said, “Vorr, why have you had these super crooks attack us? Is this all revenge for the loss of your position?”

Vorr chuckled harshly. “On the contrary, it is payment in full for the way in which you usurped any public role these other Children of the Atom might have had. They too were born of the accident that spawn your powers. However, unlike you four, these mutants paid a harsh price for their powers. They hate you for the fact that you have basked in adoration while they have been feared and shunned! As for me, I wanted to help them pay you back for your betrayal in order to clear the way for my own return to power! With these four by my side, I shall wipe out the weak defenders of Lallor and claim this fickle world for myself!” he said. He gestured to Multiplicity and said, “He can replicate his body endlessly upon any human touch; however, he also can never know the warmth or affection of normal contact with other people. One touch creates a double and so on.”

Vorr pointed at the opaque eyed Image. “She can create illusions but her own perceptions are clouded. All she knows is shadow and smoke. Her reality is a thing of nightmare and void!” He pointed to the lumbering creature called Brute and the being called Enigma. The first one had rocky skin and a distorted body while the shape-shifter lacked any coherent facial features. “They respectively have strength and the ability to change shape but they can’t live among normal people because of their deformities.”

Brute opened his mouth and a croaking sound signaled his painful efforts at speech. “You were born with gifts. We were born accursed! That is reason enough to see you banished from Lallor!” he cried.

Gas Girl said, “You’ve blocked our powers! What are you going to do with us?”

Vorr said, “I won’t kill you. I’ll simply profit off of you at last by selling you into slavery. That’s the leading form of commerce on Stygia. That’s the world below us. That’s your new home until you die!”

Duplicate Boy jumped forward and tackled Vorr but before he could vent his frustration, he was roughly pulled back by the replicating Multiplicity. “You still have spirit! That’s good. The slavers will make a nice sum off of you. The ladies will also bring in many credits for their charms. I don’t think Evolvo Lad will be much of a prize though.,” said Vorr.

The Heroes were shoved off the ship as the craft landed and the hull doors parted. Stygia was a gloomy world and a sense of oppression pervaded every scene. The world had a shockingly simple societal code. Some people were masters and others were slaves. The masters lived in luxury while their slaves suffered endless years of abuse and pain. Cruelty was the norm and not the exception.

This cold and brutal world was well known to the beautiful blonde woman who watched as the Villains delivered the Heroes to the port’s Slave master. She was tall and striking. Her lovely features came from her late mother who had been captured from the planet Femnaz by her daring father. Zaryana had never known her mother but she had loved her father and admired him greatly before his death changed everything.

She pushed a lock of long blonde hair away from her pinkish hued face and stared into space. She didn’t really care about the new arrivals. She had seen it all before in the many years since her life as a slave started.

She remembered the pain that had marked the beginning of the end for her old life. Still, before that pain she had known pleasure and pride. She had been born on the Khundian colony world of Brok. Her father Zaryan had risen to a high rank in the service of the Khunds in spite of the fact that he came from one of the many worlds Khundia had subjugated. The Brokians resembled Khunds in many ways and clearly shared some common ancestral genetic stock. Zaryan had been awarded the honorific of the Conqueror and he had earned it through a series of dazzlingly effective and brutal military campaigns. He had been the warlord selected to begin a slow but lethal invasion of worlds that neighbored the Khund Empire. The worlds had fallen to his forces like domino blocks. He was smart and he was ruthless but he loved Zaryana. She suspected that he had taken the woman who became her mother as nothing more than a pretty spoil of war; however, something about Zaryana as an infant made the soldier choose to give her status as his child and not as a mere nuisance.

Zaryana smiled even now as she recalled life as the pampered daughter of the much-feared Zaryan the Conqueror. She remembered the strong almost astringent fragrance of Zaryan’s customary scent. The aroma made her think of power and of danger. She also remembered the last time she had talked to her father. She had been ten years old and he had bent down to embrace her in his normal rough way.

“Zaryana, I am about to face the United Planets favored defenders the Legion of Super Heroes. I expect they will try to stop my plans of conquest. They will fail. There will be death. There will be suffering. In the end, the result will be exactly as it always has been when I have invaded or attacked a planet. I triumph. That is my destiny. I want you to remember that such shall be your own fate as well. You will be strong. You will survive. You will bring honor to my name. If you always carry yourself as the Daughter of the Conqueror then you will never go wrong!”

He had touched her face for a moment before departing. The rest of the story was one of pain and anguish for Zaryana. Her father had been as capable as ever but the Legion had triumphed. One of their members named Lightning Lad had sacrificed his very life in order to drive off Zaryan! Zaryan had lost. He had died. His replacement had been a cruel and mocking warrior named Garlak.

Garlak had assumed command of Zaryan’s forces or the remnant that was left to them. He had been a cocky, strutting figure who stroked his pointed beard and oiled his hair. He also had decided to remove any remaining trace of his late predecessor so ten years old Zaryana had been taken to Stygia and sold into slavery.

She knew that Garlak had lost his own mind during the Earthwar and she relished this small victory. However, that news only came to her after she had learned a painful lesson in survival. She had been victimized by Garlak and his crew and she had vowed to make them pay for the indignities they inflicted upon her. That silent vow had sustained her during the voyage to Stygia and it had motivated her as she started life as a slave. Her courage, wit, and above all, her will to survive had carried her from the role of menial slave to amorous partner to a position of reasonable authority under Gennings the Port Slavemaster.

She hated Gennings. She hated his touch. She despised the sight of the fat and wheezing tyrant. Still, while she was technically his property, she did enjoy a bit more freedom than many slaves. She turned to the pale Stygian and said, “This new lot is different from most. Why have they been brought directly to us? Usually, the receivers handle this part of the deal!”

Gennings said, “Because they need watching. We’ve been instructed to maintain their servitude through more extreme measures than are normally required.”

Zaryana bit her lower lip and scowled at them. “That lot? The bigger male might be of value as breeding stock but I see little value in the rest. The females lack spirit!” she said in disbelief.

Gennings said, “Just take them to processing. We’ll find a place for them.”

She nodded and hurried down the rows of stairs that led down to the port. She hoped this group would not bother her with the usual number of pleas for help or aid or the threats that followed when she refused to assist them.

Zaryana sighed. She hated her life but she would honor her father and never truly be conquered.

She met the hapless Heroes of Lallor as Vorr turned them over to the port authorities. “I am Vorr. I trust my documentation filed as we docked was in order? Excellent. I’ll turn these fine specimens over to your care. You do know about their special needs?” he said.

She nodded and said, “Of course. We do our jobs well here. You know that from your previous dealings with us. Your payment has been transferred to your account.”

Vorr nodded and said, “Fine. I’ll leave them in your capable hands but watch your tone, Slave girl!” He turned and walked away as three armed men stepped forward to herd the Heroes along the alley.

“We’ll take them to the main receiving center. We’ll feed them and evaluate them for sale!” said Zaryana.

Evolvo Lad said, “My powers are still nullified. It has to be due to the presence of some factor in Stygia’s atmosphere or within range of broadcast from the planet. We had powers until we woke up above this world! Even then, Multiplicity retained his powers so it must be a specific type of broadcast that only limited us but not the villains!”

Gas Girl said, “What about you, Somi? Can you sense any kind of machine that might be doing this to us?”

Life Lass leaned closer to the taller girl and said, “No. If I was going to guess though, I’d say that tower above the docking station might be what is blocking our powers. Perhaps, it projects some type of genetic tranquilizer that renders our mutations harmless!”

Duplicate Boy said, “Well, we could still take those gunmen. I could handle them on my own while you made a break for it!”

Evolvo Lad hissed insistently. “No! Don’t be a dolt, Ord! You might be killed!”

Zaryana put one hand on her hip and laughed. “I hear your every word. I was trained for that kind of thing as a child. We Brokkians have very keen senses so don’t try anything funny!” She frowned for a moment and said, “You mentioned power. What kind of power could a pathetic lot like you possess?”

Ord said, “I’m known as Duplicate Boy. I can duplicate the power of any one being. I could get us out of here if I could use those powers. You are a slave too. Wouldn’t you like to be free?”

Zaryana said, “Are you all looks and no brains? I’d relish freedom but there is no way off this world. This docking port is heavily guarded. No one can leave or arrive without proper clearance!”

Evolvo Lad said, “Don’t you see? We don’t need a ship! Ord can survive in space. He can copy the powers of Mon-El himself! He can get free us all! He can bring help!”

Life Lass said, “Please! At least tell me if I’m right! Is it that tower that is blocking our use of our powers?”

Zaryana said, “I’ll take you to get food. If you tell me more that intrigues me perhaps I’ll tell you more!” She cursed herself for feeling hope again after so long as a slave but something about the Heroes of Lallor gave her that long forgotten sensation. Could they truly be able to free her? Vorr certainly was insistent that they be cared for with extra precautions.

Gas Girl said, “We’re the Heroes of Lallor. We truly do have powers. We defend our world. Vorr is a creep who wants to get rid of us so he can rule.”

Duplicate Boy said, “Look, lady, we know the Legion! They’ll bring this place down around you like a Venusian fire storm!”

Zaryana stopped walking and whirled to confront him. “I hate the Legion! I hate them almost as much as I hate the Khundian Empire! They killed my father. The Legion killed him. Then, the Khunds cast me aside like I was nothing! If you claim to be allies to either of those groups we have little to talk about!”

Evolvo Lad shoved in front of Duplicate Boy and said, “We do know the Legion but we think for ourselves. Tell us your story and we’ll tell you more about our own plight. What can you lose? At least, we’ll amuse you for a time!”

Zaryana smiled and said, “Very well, little man! Tell me your story!”

An hour later within the meal hall of the docking port, Zaryana sat with both long legs across the edge of the table, while the others ate from bowls of soup. “I don’t know why but I believe your words. I also know that my hated master Gennings insisted that I keep you all within the sight of the tower. That means you can only be sold to owners who work this dock area. I think that could mean that you really do have dangerous powers outside the range of the tower. I’m going to do something I never imagined I could do. I’m going to trust someone else. I will take you to the tower,” she said.

Evolvo Lad said, “Get us inside and we’ll earn your trust! We’ll take you with us!”

She snorted indignantly and said, “Little man, if you don’t take me with you, I’ll gladly take you all to the Underworld if I can!”

That night under cover of darkness, the five aliens made their way to the Tower. This huge construct loomed over the docking port and was ringed with armed guards. Zaryana said, “I am taking these slaves to perform routine tasks within the tower. I will require your swift aid should they try to escape.”

The guard said, “Bah! You will not be in peril. We will shoot them down like carrion should they emerge without you!”

Zaryana slapped him across the chest and said, “My thanks!”

Gas Girl whispered to Life Lass as they entered the tower. “She could use some lessons in flirting!” said Tal.

Zaryana said, “You are within the tower. The main broadcast center is ahead. It should merely broadcast regulatory data for incoming ships. I can’t see any type of odd equipment.”

Evolvo Lad said, “If it is here then I will recognize it. I may not have my advanced mind but I do recall things I learned from past evolutionary enhancements!” He smiled as he saw a row of gleaming dials. “That can’t be a communications signal station. It must be what we seek. I can only imagine that those devices inhibit genetic mutation.”

Gas Girl said, “It is heavily guarded too. I’d wager that means there may be other super humans enslaved here too!”

Zaryana said, “There are other slaves designated to work only within the sight of the tower but since the docking port is our major industrial center that has never been questioned!”

Life Lass said, “How can we destroy it? Those gunmen could cut us down before we came near to them!”

Gas Girl smiled and said, “Leave that to me. I know how to get a man to let me draw closer to him!” She smiled broadly and walked in a sultry manner until she was near the row of guards. “My, what an attractive group of men! Couldn’t one or more of you enslave me? I’d work ever so hard to please you!” she said.

A guard laughed and elbowed his friend as he reached out for her. “We don’t change shifts for 5 more degas. Let’s have a bit of fun!” he said. He pulled Tal closer and she jumped into his arms with a girlish laugh. As he kissed her, she moved closer to him and grabbed him tightly. They moved backward and she felt the control panel touch her back.

She caressed his face and then brought his head down into the panel with one swift move. Tal kicked at the machines as sparks flew and the gunmen rushed over to fire at her!

Zaryana cursed and threw herself at them with surprising speed. She grabbed a fallen rifle and blasted at the guards with a scream of defiance! “You better be able to get me to freedom!” she shrieked!

Before any of the other guards could open fire, their rifles tore themselves out of their hands and crashed into their faces! Life Lass had been able to animate the weapons just in time!

Duplicate Boy smiled and knocked every guard flat with a gust of super breath! “Oh, yeah! I’m as super as they come now! All it took was the destruction of that broadcast device for our powers to return!” he said.

Gas Girl said, “I’ll handle the rest of the them. A bit of Saturian Mindmist will make a wonderfully hallucinogenic experience for the dock crew! We can steal a ship while they see Jovian elephants!” She quickly took on the form of the powerful gas and floated over the docking port until she had knocked out all the remaining guards.

Life Lass said, “Now, we can take a ship back to Lallor and capture Vorr and his criminal mutants!”

Evolvo Lad, now in his evolved genius state, said, “I’ve been thinking about that. Perhaps, we should give them the benefit of the doubt. We could have all suffered their fate had our mutations taken a different path. If we could get them to reform perhaps they could become champions of Lallor as well!”

Gas Girl said, “Those losers? As if! I’d prefer to see them locked away!”

Life Lass said, “We were locked away for too long as well!”

Gas Girl shook her head and said, “Well, yeah. That’s true. I guess I wasn’t thinking straight!”

Zaryana followed them into a nearby spacecraft and said, “The security guards and crew are all dazed. This is remarkable!”

Duplicate Boy said, “What will you do with your new freedom?”

The blonde Brokkian said, “I hate the United Planets and I hate the Khunds. I can find no home in either of their dominions. Would your world of Lallor accept me? Would I be of use to you all as a new defender of your world?”

Evolvo Lad said, “Your skills are impressive. We would welcome you! First, we need to come to terms with the other mutants and we must defeat Vorr. He is an enemy!”

As the cruiser warped through space, the group became silent as each one pursued his or her own thoughts. When they reached Lallor, Evolvo Lad said, “You all know my plan. Follow it to the letter and we should emerge victorious!” They nodded in agreement and followed Duplicate Boy as he led them to a private home outside of the capitol city.

“By using super senses and the genetic tracker you whipped up, we can easily locate our targets!” he said. Evolvo Lad said, “My tracker is a rather effective invention I must say!”

Zaryana slapped him on the back and said, “You amuse me! You are always pleasantly surprised with your own skills! That is not Khundish and that appeals to me!” They followed Duplicate Boy as he blasted the wall into rubble with a variant of Lightning Lad’s potent energy!

The four evil mutants and Vorr whirled to face them but they were too slow! Life Lass gestured and Multiplicity’s own costume animated to bind him until he was helpless!

The pretty dark haired Somi smiled and said, “I can’t touch you without creating more doubles to fight but as Evolvo deduced, your own body doesn’t active your powers upon touch. That’s why a simple straight jacket out of your own costume can tie you up without creating more doubles!” The man in black and gold cursed but he could not free himself.

Gas Girl used her power to saturate the area around the shape-shifting Enigma with a potent but unseen knock out gas and the disfigured villain passed out in seconds! “He could really use a makeover!” she said with a smile.

Duplicate Boy had vanished via Invisible Kid’s power and now he closed in on the hulking Brute. I don’t like to fight unfairly but we do need to end this quickly! he thought. He returned to normal and knocked the big man across the room with a release of Wildfire’s anti-energy! The massive rocky creature tried to rise but fell to the ground in pain.

As Image tried to blanket the room with illusions to confuse the Heroes, Zaryana calmly closed in on her and slapped her to the ground with one blow. “Your tricks can’t conceal your odor or your heart beat from a Brokkian!” she said with a cocky smirk.

Vorr said, “You can’t be free! You can’t ruin my plans again!”

Evolvo Lad said, “We have defeated your pawns and in time, they might even join us. As for you, Vorr, you defeat yourself once again. You see people as tools. You are a relic. Lallor will never embrace your ways again!”

Duplicate Boy said, “Right! Plus, your little abduction of us should place you in a prison for a long time to come!”

Vorr scowled and said, “I never expected you to return! I thought I had time to take control!”

Gas Girl said, “Lighten up, Vorr. Maybe, they’ll let you be head trustee at the prison!”

The other laughed and Zaryana smiled as well. She felt as if she finally had a role of her own and perhaps, in time, she might even think of Lallor as home. It was not part of the U.P. nor was it in the Khundian Empire. If nothing else, it was a new start for her!