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SUPERBOY AND TRIAD: THE ODYSSEY.
CHAPTER 1: Separated by Time.
This is Luornu Durgo, she is better known as Triad, member in good standing of the super-hero team called, quite simply, The Legion of Super-heroes, and she is very depressed. It seems lately that life is hitting her hard. For the last few months she had been dating a friend of the Legion named Chuck Taine, she was happy, until things happened. Prior to their dating Chuck had gone on a date with a fellow Legionnaire named Salu Digby, a.k.a. Leviathan II. It had been more to help Salu get out of her shell, than anything serious. That's what Luornu thought, but she was apparently wrong.
She had noticed over the last month how chummy they were becoming. She didn't think much of it at first, but they started to spend a lot of time together, without 'Lu around. She admitted she started to feel a little paranoid when Apparition told her about how.......cozy they looked one time. 'Lu didn't pay attention to it at first, she trusted Chuck, but perhaps she was wrong. She remembered the day it all fell apart. She heard a knock on her door, opened it to see Chuck standing there with a worried look on his face.
"Hey 'Lu."
"Hey Chuck, what's up?"
"Sit down 'Lu, we need to talk." Triad got an equally worried look on her face as she did.
"Luornu, you know I never wanted to hurt you, but I can't deny my feelings. Luornu, I think we should see other people." Luornu's mouth dropped in shock as those words came out.
"See other people." She said with a slightly simmering rage.
"I know you weren't expecting this, but....."
"See other people?" She said again. The rage was starting to rise.
"Like I said I never wanted to hurt you, but I've decided to try a relationship with Salu and....
"See other people!?" She yelled, she grabbed Chuck by the scuff of his shirt and literally threw him out the door.
"Fine then, if you want to see other people go ahead! But don't you even think of crawling back to me!" She yelled and slammed the door in his face. Triad then sat on the edge of her bed, and cried.
'How could he do this?' She thought to herself. She sat there for hours, crying to herself. Finally Apparition came into the room.
"......Hi."
".......What do you want?" Triad eked out.
"I heard, I thought you might like to talk about it."
"No I don't! The last thing I want to do is talk about Chuck Taine!" She said.
"Okay....." When Tinya came in, she noticed that Triad had hid something under the pillow of her bed, she decided not to pry.
"Thanks for asking Tinya, but I really want to be alone right now." Said Triad. Apparition solemnly nodded and left. It had been like that for Triad as well, the last few months. It seemed like her teammates were seeing her as less and less of a important part of this team. She had seen others tell her to stay back when she knew she could handle it. It started small, like the thing with Chuck, and grew much larger over time. She didn't know why they would do this, but they did, and she was staring to wonder is she even had a place in the Legion.
As Tinya left, Luornu took the picture out from under the pillow. It was a picture of the 20th century hero Superboy, she looked at it and started to cry again.
She is not the only person with this problem though. This is Kon-el, Superboy to the public at large. He is an agent of the Government genetics organization called Project Cadmus, and he, like Miss Durgo, is depressed. He has been a hero of this world ever since he was born, from Cadmus cloning banks, he moved to Hawaii for awhile, but eventually his public approval began to go down, and he left the islands, to go to his current job. He also joined the teenage super-team Young Justice, which right now was just another problem.
He had enjoyed the people at Cadmus, still did in fact, but it seemed like life lately was getting tough for the kid. He was, of course, the next possible inheritor to the title of Superman, but recently Supes went nutso, and tried to make the world a more "ordered" place, by taking care of all the worlds problems. Afterwards, approval of a lot of people wearing the "S" had gone down, and nobody felt it more than Kon-el. As an agent for a government agency, he was lately being required to be more anonymous in his missions, which just wasn't him.
Plus there was Young Justice. He had freely admitted that Robin was the leader awhile ago, but now it was getting worse for him. One of the Marvel family, a boy called CM3, formerly Captain Marvel Jr, had joined the team, effectively replacing him on it. CM3 had been called on to do the hard jobs he had usually down ever since, all the things he used to do for the team had gone to Jr. Superboy was as much in the dark about why as anyone. Perhaps it was because CM3 really had super-strength and flight, while Superboy really just simulated it? Probably not, but all he had at the moment.
Next there was Serling Roquette, a teenage prodigy currently in the employ of Cadmus. He had been attracted to her since she got there, but she had never returned those affections. She had been attracted to the head of security, a clone of a 40's superhero named Guardian. He didn't return her attractions, but she didn't feel anything for Superboy either. Eventually she started dating a student from Metropolis U, once again leaving SB out on the dust.
Superboy was wondering sometimes why he stayed here. Cadmus was nice, and the people here where some of his best friends, but he didn't have anyone here who was his own age, no one he could really talk to about problems and they would understand completely. He had known Dubilex almost his entire life, and he was the closest thing to a father he had, but even he had been distracted lately, after he took the role of head of genetics.
Superboy had not always had this problem, back in Hawaii, he had encountered a group of heroes from the future, called the Legion of Super-Heroes. He had been made an honorary member of the group, and considered them friends. One of them was almost more than a friend though. Her name was Luornu Durgo, Triad, they had hit it off almost instantly, well, he and her purple self had, the other two came along later. They had flirted ceaselessly since they met, and he had liked to think that sparks had grown between the two of them over the time. He missed her. The thought struck him hard, He missed her!
She had made him an offer once, to come back to her home time of the 30th century and be a full fledged Legionnaire, but he had turned her down, he was a hero in Hawaii then, before the approval drop. Now he would love to take her up on it. But how could he? Superboy thought to the Zoomway located beneath Cadmus, and wondered just what its inhabitants could do?
"You want to do what?" Asked the aged man called the Gadget Guru.
"I want to know if you can make a time machine." Said Superboy bluntly.
"Well, I have a few plans here. Why would you want to time-travel man? Ain't you got enough headlines in this millennium?" Asked the Guru.
"I just don't think that this is my place anymore."
"That's stone crazy Man! But I guess I can do something." Said the Guru resignedly. "I got something from the JLA when they where here during that whole thing with that far-out jacket, made by somebody called Epoch. I got the designs for his time-engine from them. It should do the trick."
"Thanks. Really."
".....Hey it's no big problem, Man. You know Tekka'll miss you."
"Yeah, I'll come and visit if I can, of course."
"Oh yeah, Man."
"I guess I better go tell Mickey and the rest."
"Right, see you in a few."
"You want to do what?"
"I want to go back to the 20th century." Said Triad, to the Legionnaire called Brainiac 5.1.
"Why would you want to go back to that primitive jungle?!"
"I want to because I have nothing keeping me here anymore."
"What about the team?! What about R.J.? I know there was that thing with Chuck, and all....."
"Can you do it or not?"
"Well, I did find something. It was in the ruins of the old Project Cadmus, it's a form of time engine, I haven't told any of the Legion about it, for fear of what they might do with it. I suppose it'll work."
"Great, thanks Brainy." She said as she walked towards the door. "I need to go tell R.J. See you in a bit."
"Sure." Once she left Brainiac thought to himself.
'She wants to go back in time?! Sure it has been a little hard for her lately, and I have no idea what Chuck was thinking. I guess I can do this for her.'
"Are you sure about this?"
"I know how weird it sounds Mickey, but I've thought I over, and I think it's the best for me."
Superboy stood before the three people who had had the most effect on him here, Cadmus director Mickey Cannon, The Guardian, and Cadmus's head of genetics, Dubilex.
"This is rather sudden Kon-el. I am not sure of what to say." Said Dubilex. It was rare for him to ever have trouble with what to say. "I can only say that if this is what you really want, than good luck."
"The same for me. We all have certain destinations in life. Maybe this is yours." Said Guardian, who rose to shake Superboy's hand. "Just promise me you'll be careful."
"I promise." He said. "Well Mickey?" Superboy looked up at Mickey Cannon. Superboy had grown exceptionally close with this gruff man, and was going to miss him, but things happened.
"Well, I guess I can't stand in your way. Go one, have a blast." He said, a smile coming on his face as he finished. Kon smiled himself as they finished here. "Well, the Guru is probably finished by now. I guess I better get going." Superboy went and picked up his two large duffle-bags, and went to the door.
"Wait up, we'll see you out." Said Guardian as the three of them went down to the Mountain of Judgement with him.
"It looks very....unusual Brainy." Said Triad as she looked at the large glowing ball of energy suspended in the air in front of them.
"How'd your talk with R.J. go?"
"It went very well." She said. Her mind flashing back to earlier today. She had walked into the office of her adoptive father, R.J. Brande.
"Hey R.J." She said.
"'Lu!? It's nice to see you." He said getting up from his desk. "What's going on?"
"I have something to tell you." Triad had told her father exactly what she was going to do. She saw this panicy look enter his eyes.
"You're....leaving?"
"Yes, I now how sudden this is. But you have to realize that I have to do this. I can't just deny my feelings anymore." He seemed to calm down at this a bit. But she saw this awful sad, lost look enter his eyes. She hated making him sad like this.
"Are....are you sure?"
"Absolutely." She nodded her head slowly. To her surprise R.J. got up and hugged her, which she responded to immediately. She just let him hold her like that for a minute. She finally heard him say.
"Be careful."
"I will." She felt very close to her father right now. She wished it could just be like this, but it was a small wish, overcome by a bigger one.
"I better get going. I'm already packed."
"Right, I'll come and see you off."
"What about your work."
"Not important." She smiled as he went with her. Now R.J. stood behind her and Brainy as he fiddled with the last part of his machine.
"Okay, I think it's ready." Brainiac hit a button and a small tornado appeared in reality.
"One last question, what should I tell the Legion?" Asked Brainy.
"That I......went away for awhile, to think, which is true to some extent."
"Alright."
"Well, Brainy, Dad, see you around." With that Triad stepped into the whirlpool.
"Well, it's ready." Said the Gadget Guru. Superboy, Guardian, Dubilex, and Mickey Cannon stood behind them. The Guru hit a button and a whirlpool in reality appeared. Superboy stood and looked at it for a minute, and then turned.
"Well guys. It's been fun." He said with a smile.
"Good luck." Said Guardian.
"Farewell Kon-el. Do visit." Said Dubilex.
"Good luck Kid." Said Cannon. With this, Kon stepped into the portal and was gone. Suddenly there was a spark from the machine which the engine was attached to.
"What the heck!? Feedback!" Said the Guru as sparks came from the machine. He got a fire extinguisher, and put out the small fire.
"What the hell happened?" Asked Cannon.
"We got a feedback, man. He got through but there was a serious bump in the time-stream at the same time. Where could it have come from?"
"What the?" Yelled Brainiac as the machine sparked and fittered. Brainy whaled his arms at the fire, before running for an extinguisher, and putting the fire out.
"Brainiac! What the hell happened?!" Brande yelled.
"It shorted, had too much feedback." He yelled back as the fire sputtered out.
"Where's my daughter? What did you do?!"
"Don't worry, she made it. But it looks like this engine is useless now."
"She made it? Safely?"
"Yes. She was already through the gate when it happened, she's probably just fine."
Brande let out a sigh of relief. "I hope you're right."
This is a place outside of time, a city built with doors that could access any different time-stream. It was built by a genius in Chronal physics, and an alien being from another dimension. They built it from the designs of the man, a student at Berkeley called Tsui Fei Hong, the alien was called Gravesend. Right now, the quiet here is interrupted, interrupted by the flashing of a time distortion, two to be exact. One is from the late 20th century, and the other is from the 30th century. The current owner of this place watches the two travelers emerge, safely hid in the shadows.
"Man, talk about a head banging experience!" Said Superboy as he got up. "Jeez! This isn't the 30th century! Looks like the something from the 18th century!" Superboy noticed the classical looking décor of the place, and wondered if the Guru had set the controls wrong. The man in the shadows steps away from here and goes to the section where the other distortion was. He sees a young woman emerge.
"Shockin Grife! Where am I." She said to the empty room.
"Shockin grife?" Thought the man. "Great, a 30th century teenager, they of the worst swear words of all time." He thought to himself, and no one knew time better than this man. He decided not to introduce himself to them yet, let them find each other first.
"Hello? Is anybody there?" Superboy yelled to the empty room. He had not seen anyone here so far. He was now almost scared, he had no idea where he was. There seemed to be no end to this place, wherever he was. He just hoped that someone was here, someone who could get him out of here. He continued his walking through the rooms
Luornu Durgo was now very scared. She had never seen a place like this before, not even in history books. It was decorated almost like some 18th century palace, but more understated. She had walked down several spiraling stairways and through several ornately decorated walkways, it was exotic, but it seemed so empty. She finally heard something, and jumped.
"Mrroow?" She turned to see a small black cat standing behind her.
"Oh, just a cat." She breathed a sigh of relief, and called the cat over to her. She petted it a bit, and looked at the nametag.
"Houdini? That's a nice name. Are you lost too?" She spoke to the small cat. The cat just responded by purring and rubbing up against her leg. She then heard something else.
"Hello? Is anybody there?" She immediately ran to the room where the voice came from. Houdini followed her all the way. She ran into the room where she heard the voice, and her jaw dropped in pure shock.
"Grife!" She whispered.
Superboy had heard someone running at him, he turned around to see who, and was met with the biggest surprise of his life. He turned and saw her standing there. Triad, the girl he had been going to meet. Now here she was standing in front of him, and he didn't know what to say. He didn't need to do anything. She ran up to him and hugged him.
"Superboy?! Where are we?"
"What, you mean we aren't in the 30th century?" He asked.
"No, I was going back to the 20th, and instead I ended up here." She said fast, she was still in her almost panic mode, a mood he could readily understand. "I can't believe you're here."
"I can't believe you're here!" He said.
"Where are we?"
"You are in Chronopolis." Came a voice from behind them. They both turned in shock to see a man standing there. He looked to be in his early 30's, and was dressed in a black jumpsuit, decorated with green lines that formed an unusual decoration on his front. Behind him was a woman dressed in a brown jacket decorated with many different symbols, all of a superhero origin. She had a purple shirt on beneath, it and jeans, with curly brown hair.
"This my associate Alexandra Damaskinos, I am Walker Gabriel, but you can call me Chronos."
END OF CHAPTER ONE.
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