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[evilbeej]

It's a gorgeous day in Metropolis on Earth, cradle of humanity and seat of the United Planets. The blue and white world, birthplace and home of many of the galaxy's heroes and legends, is currently also the main base of operations for the Legion of Super-Heroes: while they rebuild what's left of their extra-planetary headquarters from rubble and slag, they're back at their roots -- One Legion Plaza, alternately known as One Weisinger Plaza, formerly known as the Legion Academy, and still further back, their first real home.

Zooming in on the place, then through the roof and down several floors with the magic lens of third-person omniscient narration, we join Catalyst (who is too cool to have a 'Kid' attached to his name, the bastard), Matter-Eater Lad, and Cosmic Boy in the Mission Monitor Room.

"--so," the Braalian is explaining, gesturing to different displays as he gets to them, "we've got a team in TwenCen, set up at the Justice League's old headquarters in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. Chuck, Brainy, Cygnus, and Lydda Jath are currently stationed there, keeping up monitoring of the time anomalies as they crop up and generally getting into things up to their necks. Native to that era, we also have two Honorary Legionnaires, Superboy and the Flash. There's meant to be a core of Legionnaires staying primarily here, keeping in constant communication with the team in TwenCen via the station set up at the Time Institute. I also need people checking in regularly with other eras-- and it's not just observing we need to be doing, gentlemen. We're also trying to *ground* ourselves in this reality." He finally pauses, looking from one teammate to the other. "Am I making any sense at all?"

Tenzil Kem furiously writes as Cos speaks. He's taken a seat at the table of the monitor room -- not his, Livewire's, as his is too far away from Cos to catch all the details -- and continues to scribble. Every now and then, he eats a pencil, but there's a couple dozen nearby for just an occasion. "No," he says flatly, even as he still writes.

Eventually he looks up and begins tapping the pencil to his paper one at a time, in rhythm with all of his questions. "Why were the teams chosen as they were? Who's been chosen to stay in this century, you didn't mention that. Why are all the time anomalies springing up? Since when is the Flash an honorary Legionairre, considering we have XS, and their powers are similar? Why is Dyrk suddenly leading the team, when we have you, and thus have the same powers?" Legion charter, he seems to be referring to. "Which other eras are we checking in with? Is Earth the only planet at risk?"

"I second Tenz's answer. No, Cos, you're not making any sense at all." Kem-El leans back in his chair. "Then again, I'm also illiterate when it comes to anything past the bare bones of the temporal sciences. I learn fast, but not /that/ fast."

He glances at Tenz. "Earth isn't the only one, our newly red sky notwithstanding. The Kelvenor system in the Imperium is in flux from a temporal anomaly as well, but the Crucible moon is immune to it -- apparently, it's 'grounded' to our reality, as Cos put it. Durla's also having major problems, as are several other worlds. Durla and the Kelvenor system, however, seem to be the two being most affected by the reported anomalies thus far. As to a source... not found it yet, although I believe Rond is still working at a feverish pace to find out the cause."

"I'm sorry I haven't had time to brief you on everything, Tenz. When I got back from TwenCen, I hadn't realised you'd already returned-- if I'd known you'd finish so quickly, I'd've had an info-packet collated for you before I left." Cosmic Boy's voice is wry, and he props himself up against the table, palms flat against its surface; he glances at Kem-El. "Well put. Thank you, Catalyst."

Then the Founder's looking at Tenz again, eyebrows up. "As for your other questions, in order -- the teams were partially chosen out of convenience, partially out of personal preference, and partially out of a list of people who BY NO MEANS are to be allowed near Cygnus. They are, in fact, still being put together -- and are /fluid/. We currently have free reign to time-travel, so we're keeping the lines of communication between centuries as open as possible.

"Invisible Kid has elected to remain in this century, we have the willing cooperation of the TwenCen version of Kara Zor-El here, and those Legionnaires who are on the list Cygnus handed me - and I *did* send that memo around - are primarily staying here.

"We don't *know* why all the time anomalies are springing up, but they began, slowly, some time last year. Inconsistencies, breaking points. Rond Vidar noticed them first; we're still trying to figure it out, that's why we're watching and sending people out to the sources. As far as other *eras* go, we're looking at the ones with the most sensitivity, the ones with the most temporal scars. Rond has *that* list, but off the top of my head, it includes the 19th, 20th, 21st, 26th, 27th, 30th, 57th, 60th, and the 853rd centuries."

Cos takes a deep breath. "And I think you should have Rond and Lyle check you out, Tenz. Our bylaws have no prohibitions against duplication of powers." Quick glance at Kem, and then back, as he adds, "Nor against age at time of induction. The Flash was voted in. And you just missed the last election-- I'm Leader, Star Boy is Deputy, and Sun Boy is Second Deputy."

Is Cos yelling at him? Well, he's not yelling, but the words aren't happy. Tenzil's face droops a bit and he continues to write, doing it sort of half-assed now. "Why can't we have certain people around Cygnus?" He's a blur for a second and a dozen pencils are missing, and he just looks at Cos in a questioning manner.

Kem-El shrugs. "Kirby dots, whatever they are," he says, glancing back at Cos for a moment with a brief smile before tapping on his wristband -- and he did catch the reference, given that he has varying levels of the same abilities as at least three active Legionnaires, if not more. "I have a theory about the potential cause -- even though it'll make me sound paranoid." Some more tapping on the wristband. "I'd feel a lot better if I could try to confirm or deny it, but I'm at a loss as to how to contact certain parties to make the confirmation or denial of my theory."

"I have a feeling it relates to the fact that her exact words to me were, 'I know you don't know who they are, but if what's going on IS my fault, I need you, right now, to give the order that Kinetix, XS, Gates, Magno, Kid Quantum, Gear, Thunder, I-45, Catalyst, and Shikari to stay as FAR AWAY FROM ME as POSSIBLE.' Why in bloody sprock *wouldn't* I know who they were, unless I'd never met them?" Cos looks more annoyed at the universe than anything else, but deliberately makes himself relax and give Tenz an apologetic look; he noticed. "And I don't care about paranoia right now, Kem. Out with it."

"And you didn't make her tell you why?" questions Tenzil. He's done fidgeting, that just sounds very... odd. "Though I agree with her on the Kid Quantum part, the rest seem alright to me."

Kem-El looks up. "This started last year... right about the time we found ourselves on that alternate Earth -- the one that Hypertime-Glorith, as I've been calling her, mucked with time both here and a thousand years in the past to create her little hellish 'paradise'. We defeated her, fine -- sent her back outside of time, for that matter. But I keep thinking we didn't."

He leans back. "If you had control of time, and you knew exactly who would threaten you, when they would threaten you, all the circumstances around that threat to your power -- wouldn't you make some sort of contingency to bypass it, just in case you couldn't stop it? Most people don't stop to think about that sort of thing, but the idea has been a recurring one in my head for several months now." A brief pause. "The problem is that I need to talk to two parties to confirm the possibility truly exists -- one of them being the Trapperminion-Glorith, and the other being The Time Trapper himself."

He looks at Cos. "I /hate/ thinking worst-case scenario."

"/You/ do? /I/ think something's *happened* to the Time Trapper," says Cosmic Boy frankly. "And I can tell you right off that controlling time, and knowing exactly who'd threaten you and when and how-- none of that matters, because the good guys always win." He looks at Tenz, uncomfortable. "Remember what happened to Jenni in Glorith's world?"

Tenzil nods. "Angrier, hotter, better hair, less-spandex but more skin, big axe." It's good to remember the important things. "Is someone going to do that to the rest of us? Has it already happened to anyone?"

"...dude, that's my /girlfriend/," Cos says to Tenz, giving him a kind of 'dude!' look. There's really no other word for it, unfortunately. "But yeah. And-- since Cygnus currently /looks/ like-- I can't give you-- I mean, I can't explain it. I can't be objective, because I can't /remember/ why I couldn't remember them."

"You're right. Her dating you does make her decidedly less appealing on an aesthetic level," Tenzil says with a nod. After Cos is done babbling Tenz looks at him, sizing him up but not saying anything. When, at last, he does speak, he says, "You're not telling us everything about Cygnus."

"I'm telling you everything I can remember," says Cos, voice even and body motionless. "And I'll ignore that, because I was asking for it."

Kem-El raises an eyebrow for a moment at Tenz's statement. He glances between Cos and Tenz for a moment, then hmms quietly to himself. o O (Perceptive... but how perceptive is the question.) O o "What exactly happened, Cos? That you can remember, at any rate?"

"I was in TwenCen and Cygnus called me using Superboy's flight ring. The Kara /here/ has Cygnus's. And then I got there, and I *guess* it was Cygnus, but I remember thinking Superboy wasn't right, and there was a speedster there who *wasn't* Jenni but *was* a Legionnaire -- and he didn't start that way, I don't think -- and Kara and I left because it was obvious something was going wrong, and then it turned out she couldn't leave. She can't leave TwenCen. She met up with the others, and I came back here, and I sent the memo out."

Kem-El frowns, holding up a hand. "First: How did TwenCen-Kara get Cygnus's Flight Ring? Second: What changes exactly do you mean when you say 'Superboy wasn't right' and this other unknown speedster that you seem to know about, despite never having met him before?" He taps on his wristband again. "I think Cygnus altered you, temporarily at any rate. It's the only way you'd 'know' things weren't quite right, especially with the speedster."

"Most likely. Which is why I /do/ have to go near her again, with Kem's Crucible metal, so we can test /that/ theory of Brainy's. And, presumably the two Karas got switched bodily, right out of their uniforms," Cos shrugs. "Either way, think about where you want to go, Tenz, or if you'd rather man the base. Diplomacy's one of your strong suits, so I'd prefer if you helped with the checking in on other eras -- but I'm not making /anyone/ time travel against their will."

"I'll go wherever I'm needed," Tenzil states flatly. How could it be otherwise? "Don't know how useful I'll be, but I'll be there. I do have a bit of a question, though, to see if I'm getting this all right." He's still doodling, scribbling notes, and there are lines all over his paper, all over, that draw one thing to another. "If whatever's happening can 'rewrite' us, so to speak, and you can't remember things you should be able to, has it already rewritten us? Or perhaps just you?"

For several moments, Tenz's question hangs there. "I don't /think/ so," Kem-El finally replies. "I mean, for what you're implying, Tenz, it means that time would be flowing in a straight continuum, past to present to future, with no breaks or branches. But time isn't working that way. What's happening in the past is, for some reason, staying in the past, but not affecting us here in the future."

He brings up a couple of reports. "The destruction of Pokolistan, for example, shouldn't have happened -- Pokolistan should have survived as a political entity until the end of the twenty-second century, when Zod left Earth with Ignition, The Cyborg, and several others for the Phantom Zone Krypton and New Almerac to lay the foundations of the Imperium. Zod also hadn't ever been imprisoned in the Phantom Zone that anyone was aware of, yet right now, in the past, that's precisely where Zod is. The ramifications of what's happened a thousand years ago aren't reaching us, or are reverting back to some previous state, like they've been rewritten."

He pauses for another moment, deep in thought, then looks up at Cos. "Yucca Mountain reverted to what it was a thousand years ago... after you visited it, from what I recall of the reports. When exactly, did you go there?"

"Almost two years ago," replies Rokk quietly, finally turning a chair around and straddling it, arms crossed over its back, chin resting there. "With Jenni's father."

"We know, though, that time is linear," Tenzil says. "It doesn't branch and weave like that. If none of the things that're happening in the past ever actually happened, that means one of two things: 1) the past hasn't caught up, as it can do sometimes, but will, or 2) we've already fixed it, which is why it's fine. For instance, consider this," begins the chef, tracing a few of the lines on his pad as he speaks. "Zod was never imprisoned. Cat-Lad says he was -never- imprisoned, which means something's wrong with the past. You say you don't want to go back there because family loyalties might have you springing him. What if you're supposed to do just that?"

"Time is a loop," says Cosmic Boy, getting up again. "An infinite loop. Similar every time around, but not exactly the same. We don't change because we're protected -- or, we /were/. The things that are happening now, they're not right. Nothing's solid except the Crucible moon and *maybe* the Kara who's here, and it's our *job* to find out what's happening. No one else /can/." He pushes the grav-chair in and steps back a pace. "We can't find anything out if we rule out possibilities by relying on precedent, when we /know/ that even precedent can be overwritten right now."

Kem-El thinks for a moment. "It isn't that, Tenz. It's the fact that, since... grife, this is going to be difficult." He straightens up. "Short version: I'm an altered clone of Kal-El II, my 'father', who in turn is Zod and Ultima's eldest son. In a weird, convoluted way, it also makes Zod as much my father as Kal-El II." He pauses for a moment. "Now, there are no guarantees with time travel, from what little I understand of the concept. If I go back, I think there is a chance that I would immediately disappear. I'm not a speedster, and they have a certain tolerance for time-travelling and the like, from what very little I know. Jenni's pretty much the only benchmark I have in that regard, since I've never met The Flash. Add to that the fact that the prospect of being around certain people who will remember me further down the road -- Superman, anyone? -- is the stuff of which temporal paradoxes are made."

He leans back in his chair again. "Find out? Fine -- let's start with Yucca Mountain, then. That seems to be the real beginning, assuming Hypertime-Glorith wasn't making the subtle tweaks back then like she did with Mordru to release him, or with any of the rest of us that she tampered with." He taps on his wristband again. "What documentation do you have on Yucca Mountain and the trip you and Jenni's dad took there? Any reports? What, if anything, happened while you were there? Anything out of the ordinary?"

Tenzil Kem just nods a lot. That's all he really can do here. He's so far out of his league that he's playing the wrong sport, so why not just enjoy the ride.

"...it's in the reports, Kem," sighs Cos. "Nothing happened while I was there. And a team that did /not/ include me went there, and found out much more useful stuff. I went before it was a problem. You want science, you talk to the science guys. Tenz, since you're not indicating a preference, take a trip to TwenCen and talk to the team there. Kem, after I go get yelled at by the President, I need to talk to you about talking to your grandfather."

Kem-El raises an eyebrow. "I'm not going to ask why President Wazzo is yelling at you, but I am curious about why you want to talk to Grandfather."

"You'll find out when I talk to you about it," Cosmic Boy says easily, heading toward the door.

"I choose diplomacy, as always, Cos. I just may need a few shoves to get head to the right places, at the right times." Tenzil stands as Cos does, a sign of respect more than anything, and looks at his notes. He seems to have more questions, but no words to voice them, so he instead devours his notes and shrugs. "It'll be nice to go to centuries I have no ideas about, talking to people that're not related to my species in any way, and asking them to believe me when I tell them their whole way of life is because someone six thousand years earlier cut the red wire instead of the blue one. Good ol' diplomacy. That's me." Of course, in his mind, he's thinking (and unfortunately muttering aloud) "Why can't this just be solved by hitting someone?"