Disclaimers

All characters appearing in D.C Comics & Time Warner, Marvel Comics, Gargoyles/Gargoyles: the Goliath Chronicles, cartoons created by Murakami Wolf Swenson Inc. & IDW comics, media created by Joss Whedon, DIC Entertainment, Hasbro, and Toei Animation & Akira Toriyama are the property of their respective owners. No infringements of these copyrights are intended and are not authorized by the copyright holder.

All original characters and concepts are the property of Celgress.

CONTENT/LANGUAGE WARNING –

THIS EPISODE CONTAINS CONTENT THAT MANY OFFEND MORE SENSITIVE READERS. READER DISCRETION IS STRONGLY ADVISED

Legion of Superheroes – Episode Eleven Life Goes On Part I

By

Celgress

Earth Mid-March 2021

Five years passed in relative peace for our heroes, villains and others who call this version of Earth home. In November of 2016, Senator Robert Kelly was narrowly elected President of the United States of America. With a Democratically controlled Congress and Senate, however, the ability of the new president to enact the more controversial parts of his platform was curtailed. Four acrimonious years later the Republican Party managed to secure both the Congress and Senate by comfortable margins while President Kelly was elected for a second term. Nothing now seemingly stood in Kelly's way. He and his allies could enact their long-promised agenda to "regulate the deleterious activities of super beings and vigilantes alike".

Mansion of Lex Luthor in Metropolis, afternoon

"This time on Life Styles of the Powerful and Infamous - Teen Edition we visit the Eastern European nation of Latveria where we profile fifteen-year-old Sophie Von Doom. Sophie daughter of dreaded dictator Dr. Victor Von Doom lives a life of absolute power few other girls her age can imagine." Cat Grant said while standing in a lavishly decorated foyer. The scene then changed to Cat conducting a sit-down interview with her subject who wore a formfitting dress styled after Dr. Doom's trademarked green and silver outfit. The seated Sophie was flanked by a Dombots who were distinctly feminine in their appearance."Tell me Ms. Von Doom how does the daughter of an absolute monarch entertain herself?" Cat asked.

"Any way I want to." The brown haired girl sighed with a roll of her grey eyes. "Look the only reason I'm even talking to you people is that daddy promised me a dragon for my sweet sixteen if I indulge your nonsense questions So, you better make this fast I don't want to waste all day here dealing with you lot."

"Is a dragon some sort of vehicle class, or a drone perhaps?" Cat asked pretending she had not heard Sophie's derogatory comments.

"No dummy, I want a real fire breathing dragon to keep my unruly servants in line. Peasants can be so lazy and stupid." Sophie snapped.

"Are you serious?" Cat gasped.

"Duh, of course, I'm always serious," Sophie said with another eye roll. "You're pretty dense, huh? Daddy has always told me American reporters are smart, guess he never met you."

Lex Luthor chuckled as he watched on his tablet as Cat Grant search for words to preserve what little dignity she had left. Lex stood in his kitchen preparing a shrimp stir fry. As he grew older Lex discovered simple pleasures were often the best kind.

"Daddy," Called out a red-haired little girl who ran into the kitchen. The little girl was accompanied by her mother currently who was currently in her civilian guise.

"Hello, my little princess," Lex said. He set his work aside so he could scoop the girl up into his arms. "How was your day out with mommy?"

"We went shopping. We went to the park and fed the ducks. I ate a lollipop this big." The girl said excitedly making a shape with her hands bigger than her own head. "It was so yummy."

"I hope you saved some of your appetite, Alexis. I'm making shrimp stir fry." Lex said smiling at his daughter.

"My favorite, yay." Alexis Luthor said. Lex carefully put Alexis down.

"Run along and get washed up, Alexis. Mercy is waiting to help you in the first floor bathroom." Karen Starr-Luthor said.

"Yes, mommy," Alexis said running off.

Karen walked up to Lex. "Can I have a taste?" She asked eyeing the scrimp stir-fry a mischievous look on her face.

"Allow me," Lex said. He put some on a spoon. Karen opened her mouth so Lex could feed her.

"Tasty," Karen said licking her lips.

"Not as tasty as you, my dear," Lex said after he gave Karen a quick kiss.

Karen aka Power Girl could scarcely believe she had once feared Lex would either reject their daughter outright or be a bad father. She seriously doubted there was any parent on Earth who loved their child more than Lex loved Alexis. He had dotted on the little girl since her birth over four years ago. Life was good for Karen and her family and they were not the only ones.

Kent Farm in Smallville Kansas

"You're all a mess." Lois Lane-Kent exclaimed looking at a mud-soaked trio of a boy, a girl, and a dog. It was planting season so she and Clark had decided a trip to the family farm was in order. Looking at the muddy trio Lois now regretted that decision.

"Sorry momma, we fell into a mud puddle. Lara was chasing a bullfrog." Said four-year-old Jon Kent.

"I was not, momma. Skip chased the frog I ran to catch him. Jon ran after me and fell in. I tried to save him. I fell in too." Lara said denying the charges. She then stuck out her tongue at Jon when Lois turned her back for a moment to examine the mess the trio had left on her once clean kitchen floor.

"Momma, Lara is sticking her tongue out at me!" Jon dutifully reported.

"Jon, you're such a tattletale," Lara said about her twin brother.

"Am not," Jon said.

"Are too," Lara said.

"Am not," Jon said louder.

"Are too," Lara said even louder.

"Alright, that's enough from you two. Go to the bathroom and take off your dirty clothes so I can wash them before they get ruined. I'll be along in a minute to help you clean off." Lois said.

"Are you mad at us, momma?" Lara asked her lips quivered as if she was on the verge of tears. Lara was already skilled at turning on the waterworks when she wanted something or to avoid getting in trouble. If Jon was like Clark with his sense of duty and fair play Lara was like Lois as she was headstrong and knew how to size up others.

"I'm not mad at you or your brother, Lara. Now get out of those dirty clothes," Lois said. Jon and even Lara knew there was no sense arguing with their mother once he mind was made up. They went off to follow her instructions. "You outside," Lois said pointing at Skip aka Krypto the Super Dog who was supposed to be keeping the twins out of trouble while Clark plowed the fields and Lois fixed up the farmhouse. "I'll deal with you later." With a whine Skip exited through the doggy door tail tucked between his legs. He left a fresh trail of mud behind him much to Lois' disdain.

Not long after Darkseid's failed invasion and Catwoman's near death beating Lois and Clark decided they should not wait any longer to be married. The pair wed on Valentine's Day in 2016. Lois discovered she was pregnant shortly thereafter and the twins were born that August. Lois had never thought she would one day be a mother. Her career had always come first. From the very first moment she learned of their existence, however, Jon & Lara fundamentally changed Lois' outlook on life. Lois would not give up her "little angels" for anything. They along with Clark (and even Skip she supposed) were her entire world. She would do whatever she must to protect them and safeguard their future.

Cider Falls in Upstate New York

"Miles if Mr. Khan catches you hanging around his property again he'll tell Aunt May and you'll be grounded for the rest of your life. You know he doesn't want you around his daughter." Fifteen-year-old Anya Parker told her cousin turned adopted brother Miles Morales. When May Parker adopted the pair Miles unlike Anya opted to retain his former surname.

"I don't care if he is old fashioned, Kamala and I are in love. We should be allowed to date if we want." Said twelve-year-old Miles who stood with his hands on the handlebar of his red ten-speed bike. "Besides I'm not afraid of him even if he is ex-military. I'm a man."

"Whatever you say, Miles," Anya said. She playfully ruffled the hair of Miles who was several inches shorter than her.

"Quit it, Anya," Miles said swatting her hands away.

"If you do get scared I'm just across the road," Anya said.

"Leave me alone. I got this." Miles said.

"Okay big man, bye," Anya said with a giggle before crossing the road and heading up the driving to the Parker Residence.

Anya and Miles had come to live with May Parker during the summer of 2016 after they had been rescued from a secret Oscorp Facility hidden deep in the deserts of Northern Mexico. The children had been abducted by agents of Norman Osborn and experiment upon to recreate the circumstances that had created Spider-Man. Anya's surrogate father Miles' Uncle Hobie Brown then sought out Spider-Man's help retrieving the pair. Before Hobie Brown aka Prowler perished during the rescue he confided in Spider-Man that Anya was, in fact, Peter's biological sister born from a frozen embryo Brown had stolen from a defunct government facility and later had implanted in his late wife years before. After DNA testing confirmed Anya was indeed his sister Peter arranged with the help from the Legion of Superheroes for her and Miles to go live with his Aunt May in Cider Falls. Ayna's powers had been trigger earlier by the experimentation she suffered at the hands of Oscorp personnel. Miles meanwhile was used as a test subject for the mutagenic serum derived from Anya's altered DNA. If Spinneret and Wolverine had not been present to restrain him at the time Spider-Man was sure he would have killed Green Goblin right there and then. Norman Osborn the man behind the fearsome persona now languished in the Federal Super Being Detention Facility nicknamed the "Ice Box" Prison in Antarctica far from his victims but never from their nightmares.

Miles stood alone on the quiet country road a while longer before the person he waited for arrived pushing her own yellow colored ten-speed bike. Kamala and her family had relocated to Cider Falls from New Jersey three years ago after her father retired from his job working as a logistics expert and interpreter for the US Armed Forces. Mr. Khan's own parents immigrated from Pakistan to Michigan when he was eight-years-old. A bit conservative by American standards Mr. Khan was in no way a fundamentalist Muslim but he did believe in traditional family values which were one of the reasons he moved his family to the country when he took early retirement. The other reason was his life long dream, which he shared with his wife, to own and operate an orchard which specialized in plums, peaches, and pears. Khan's Jellies and Jams had already earned a solid following through the Northeast no mean feat considering they had only been in production for two seasons. The reason Mr. Khan and Miles did not see eye to eye was that Mr. Khan thought his daughter should not date until she was older, preferably at least eighteen.

"Hi Miles, ready for our ride?" Kamala Khan asked with a smile.

"Hi Kami," Miles said using Kamala's nickname. "I sure am. I've been looking forward to it all day."

"Y-You have?" Kamala stammered blushing.

"Ah, yeah," Miles said blushing himself as he struggled to maintain eye contact with Kamala. "Bet I can beat you to Simpson Swamp today." He added quickly to dispel the sudden awkwardness between them.

"No way, I'm faster than you," Kamala said. Miles was one of the few people who knew Kamala's secret, even Kamala's family did not know. She had powers of her own which were of unknown origins.

"We'll see about that," Miles said.

"Race ya," Kamala said taking off on her bike.

"Not fair, you've got a head start!" Miles yelled peddling after her fast as he could manage.

Washington D.C

"The Democrats in the Senate continue to filibuster the Registration Act Bill. They won't permit a final reading so there can be no up or down vote." Reported Secretary of Defense Dell Rusk to the Cabinet of President Robert Kelly. He sat around a table with his fellow cabinet members, the president, and the vice president.

"Why doesn't the Senator Majority leader just go nuclear? Then our side would only need a simple majority of fifty-one votes, not a super majority of sixty votes to break the filibuster." Bhavin "Bob" Malhotra asked. The bombastic controversial former host of Patriotic Firing Line had been made White House Spokesperson by President Kelly when Kelley began his second term.

"Because like many career members of the legislative branch the Majority Leader is a coward. His only ambition is to keep his own seat safe." Said Secretary of State David Hyde formerly CEO of Golden Trident Shipping.

"Perhaps if we remove some of the more problematic provisions from the Registration Act the Democrats in the Senate will drop their objections?" A male aid offered.

"Impossible, every provision in the act is necessary to make our nation safe again." President Kelly said firmly.

"Including the provision which calls for the detention and reeducation of all juvenile super beings by a yet to be established branch of the government?" The aid asked.

"Henderson has a point, sir," Another aid said a woman who specialized in public relations. "The whole ripping children from the arms of their families thing plays poorly in Middle America and the suburbs."

"These deviants don't have real families! They are simply loose collections of like-minded overpowered subversives who produce children they can use as weapons to undermine our society." Bhavin "Bob" Malhotra yelled slamming his fist on the table.

"Take an aspirin Bob before you have a stroke or a heart attack." President Kelly said. "We need to play this one cool people, no public outbursts. Those lying rats in the media would love nothing more than to drag our noble cause through the mud yet again."

"The President is correct." Vice President Hila Hyde said in her silky smooth voice. Hila, who had replaced President Kelly's first VP who mysteriously vanished during a fishing trip to the Gulf of Mexico shortly before the last election, was in truth the Atlantean criminal Siren as her husband David was Black Manta and their good friend Dell Rusk Nazis war criminal Red Skull. "Our administration can't be seen as overtly prejudice against super beings and their vigilante allies at this time."

"What about the Registration Act? It needs to be passed. We can't wait sitting on our hands forever." Bhavin "Bob" Malhotra insisted. "With all due respect, Madam Vice President what we need now is action, not complacency."

"What we need is a super being caused crisis, one which will bring down the crushing weight of overwhelming public opinion firmly on our side. Such an event would make it impossible for those damn Democrat Senators to obstruct our work without risking their reelection prospects." President Kelly observed.

"Mr. President I would like to speak off the record." Secretary of Defense Dell Rusk said. President Kelly dismissed the aids along with any other observers present. "Now that we are alone I say we cannot wait for such a crisis to occur naturally."

"What are you proposing Rusk?" President Kelly asked.

"I propose we help the process along. Give it a gentle nudge if you will." Secretary of Defense Dell Rusk said.

"What do you have in mind?" Vice President Hila Hyde said.

Secretary of Defense Dell Rusk grinned. The time had at last arrived, good girl Hila. "Tell me, have any of you ever heard of a little organization called the Brotherhood of Mutants?"

To Be Continued

Author's Note -

Other characters besides those featured in this chapter will appear in these story arcs. I picked the characters I did as they fit best for the intro theme for the upcoming story arc.