1589/A Pin, Dropped Slowly onto the Point

A Pin, Dropped Slowly onto the Point
Date of Scene:	21 July 2017
Location:	Legion Cruiser, Outer Space
Synopsis:	Brainiac 5 tells Invisible Kid & Triplicate Girl he's going on a mission. They aren't letting him leave alone.
Cast of Characters:	Brainiac 5, Invisible Kid, Triplicate Girl

---

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Querl has just made his announcement. He is sitting in the ready room off the bridge, and watching Livingston the Lionfish swim slowly back and forth in his aquarium. He steeples his fingers together, and begins to count down.

"Five, four, three, two, one..." He looks toward the door.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "YOU GREEN SO-- *THERE* you are!" Lyle explodes, storming into the room. "I don't even know where to begin!" He's genuinely spluttering -- fury? Frustration? Fear? Hard to tell. "Of all the--! How could you--? What can possibly--?" Take a deep breath or two, Lyle, your sentences aren't finishing. "WHAT? Why? Why NOW?" Well, technically a sentence, sort of.
    And lastly, as almost a wail, "And I don't have TIME to be in charge!"

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Brainy looks up at Lyle through steepled fingers. "Lyle, an advanced Brainiac iteration has gone active. I MUST go." He looks down, and away. "I don't expect you to understand. I just expect you to follow my orders." He takes a deep breath, and lets out a slow sigh.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "*Try* explaining," Lyle says hotly. "You *know* everything we have going on here. Now is *not* the time to go looking up family!" He stumbles a bit over that last word. "Can't it at least wait until Our Little Pest is taken care of?"

Brainiac 5 has posed:
"A Brainiac is a holocaust, Lyle. The doom of worlds. BILLIONS of lives. Trillions--" He sits back in his chair, consciously or not letting Invisible Kid take the power position in their argument. "You and Triplicate Girl and the Wasp have that well in hand, I think." He fixes Lyle with a look.

"And I have complete confidence in your ability to lead. Plainly more than you have."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "*You're* not a holocaust," Lyle says pointedly, ignoring -- or not even noticing -- the compliment. "You've *saved* worlds."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Brainy curls his fingers. "Yes. I have." He fixes Lyle with an icy look. "Just like I'm ABOUT go and try to do." Then he begins to get to his feet. "I am entirely aware that what other Brainiacs do does not reflect on me. But that DOESN'T absolve me. Would you RATHER I sit here on the Cruiser while whole worlds are collected?"

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle stares for a moment, then seems to deflate. "As a Legionnaire, no, of course not. If anyone understands having to do rotten things to your teammates in the name of duty, I do. And I can *never* apologize enough for what I... what I had to do."
    He takes another couple deep breaths, trying to calm down a little. It doesn't work. "As your *friend*," he says, with clear and unmistakable emphasis, "we need you here. Desperately."
    he takes another deep breath, shakily. "And no, I can't say which I am more right now, a Legionnaire or a friend."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Brainy looks away, and says, "And I can't tell you if I'm acting as a Legionnaire, or just as Brainiac 5. But I *am* a Brainiac. There may be no one else in the galaxy who can hope to stop this -- except me." Then he says, "You and Triplicate Girl will keep things under control here. You have my full faith and confidence. You WILL catch Micro Lad and then it will be a simple matter to get the engines up and running."

"When I come back -- and if I don't come back -- hold a vote for leader. I've held the chair by my own say-so for too long. Any longer, and the Legionnaires will forget that we pick our leaders democratically, and that's unacceptable."

Triplicate Girl has posed:
    "As unacceptable as you not taking the rest of us with you?" Asks a Luorno dressed in an all-black uniform. Grey, and White Luorno follow in behind her as she holds up a ring, a Legionaire's ring, in her hand to openly display it.
    She does not give Brainy, just yet, the moment to respond to her accusation. Instead, she goes off on another tangent, "Booster Gold is perhaps the most selfish, uncaring individual I have ever met who dares to call himself a hero. Before you leave, we need to analyze this. So I can give it back to him. And get her ring," she points at the grey Luorno, "Back. The only way we could get it from him without taking it by force was to exchange rings so he still had one." She does not look happy about this turn of events.
    The girl in the grey uniform looks slightly abashed, and admits, quietly, "I may have lost my temper." Which - both Querl and Lyle will know, as they know her far too well, the girl in grey is usually the quiet, shy, and more subdued of any of the three. Such behavior is almost unheard of by her, rather than her counterparts.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "WHEN you come back," Lyle says fiercely, glaring at Brainy. "And Lu is right, if it's that big a threat, you should *not* be going alone."
    And then Lyle double-takes at Grey Luornu. "Wait, *you* lost your temper? Wow, I don't know if I want to meet this guy... I didn't think you *had* a temper."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Brainy squints, and then says, "He made you trade your ring for OUR property? I should've just sent Laurel to take it or had Lyle steal it. He plainly doesn't deserve any consideration." He shakes his head, and says, "I need the rest of you here to get the Cruiser up and running once Micro Lad is caught. Hopefully by then I'll have coordinated with Stellar Empires and we'll be able to put this to rest." He does not seem OVERLY hopeful of that. Then he reaches out to take the ring from Luornu, and he holds it up in two fingers. "I'll get to the bottom of this RIGHT NOW."

He holds the ring up on his force-field, as he takes a set of tools out of his belt, and calls up a holo-computer lens. "If any Legionnaires want to volunteer to go with me, they're welcome to do so. Just NOT the two of you." He squints, as he analyzes the ring. "The circuitry's degraded, transponder's damaged... five hundred years of neglect." He clucks his tongue. "I can reroute the micropathways and activate the ID tag..."

Triplicate Girl has posed:
    "You can also - make sure - it doesn't do anything else other than fly. He's unaware of the language encoding and communications systems," the Luorno in white begins, gently touching the girl in grey's shoulder for support. "I'd, we'd," she shared a look with her black-dressed counterpart, "Had given up on convincing him. He said something about how he was a hero, and needed it. After telling us we were too worried about our past, and how he got it. I don't think he got it from one of us, at all. By gift, or by thievery."
    The grey Luorno looks towards Lyle, and then down at the floor, grinning a bit, and she shrugs, "He just - he said he was all these things, like a hero, and how he needed it to be a hero. But not a single thing he said or did -was- acting like a hero. More, like a selfish prat." She covers her mouth, surprised she said that outloud.
    The Luorno in black grins, sharply at her grey-self, and then looks to Brainy. "Take Laurel, and, or, Mon-El with you at the very least. Ask Dream Girl as well. Her precognition could give you abundant aid. You're taking someone with you, though. But if you think Lyle and I are letting you go alone, we will vote right now, and, we'll station you on this Cruiser permenantely." She crosses her arms, defiantly.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "I'll g--" Lyle almost volunteers, then considers a moment. "I'll recommend Lar. Or Laurel. If you're going up against an evil version of you, you'll need a generalist, not a speciali--oh *grife*!" He claps a hand over his eyes... then opens a gap between his second and third fingers so he can stare at Lu, who has made more or less the same suggestion. "You're making us sound like we could be in charge! Stop it!" He huffs petulantly. "I don't care. You *are* coming back. And she's right, you're *not* going alone, or *you're* *not* *going*. If you're going to stick me with leadership, then those are your orders!"
    And then his inner alpha nerd takes over, and he peers over Brainy's shoulder at the errant flight ring. "I'd swear that looks familiar."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
"I'll take Laurel with me." Brainy says, "If she's willing to go. Lar might draw more attention than I'd like." Then he says, "...All right. Activating the ID tag... now." He connects something, and there's a flash of light from the ring.

"It's out of focus," Querl says, at the garbled mess of static, "But if I..." Another micro-adjustment. "There. That should do it--"

And he hasn't looked up yet, but it's Brainy's own face staring at the three of them.

Triplicate Girl has posed:
    "Good," says the white-dressed Luorno, somewhat mollified, as are the other two when Brainy agrees to take at least one or two of the Legion's members with him.
    Yet, when Querl's own face appears on the ring, all three of the Lu's frown, puzzled. "Querl," asks the white one still, "I don't remember you ever losing a ring."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle's voice is thin: "Yeah, that's familiar, all right." He stares at Brainy, then at the ring, then back at Brainy. "Any theories on how he got your flight ring? Or how you might have lost it, or deliberately left it somewhere?" The alternative as to how Brainy might not have it is utterly unthinkable.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
"What? I didn't, I'd hang onto my ring with my--" Brainy looks up, and his eyes widen slightly. "--Life."

Then he straightens up, and puts his tools away. "I see." He says, his voice gone quiet and soft, "I'm going to go and pack." He sets the ring down on the ready room table.

"Before I leave, I'll fabricate a new flight ring for Booster Gold. And I'll deliver it to him, personally. I should... thank him for returning my property." He closes his eyes, and his jaw visibly tightens.

Triplicate Girl has posed:
    Luorno watches Brainy, "Please do it soon. And, be certain to get mine back. We can't merge until we get it back, without potentially losing it. And, well, we don't necessarily like being separated for long periods of time," the black Luorno says. She adds, "But, if more than one of us go, he'll certainly feel threatened. He -asked- me to show him my other selves and then was jumpy the entire time." She frowns, shaking her head.
    If she gets an idea for what Brainy is thinking, she only says, "I promised him that I would return a ring to him. He would not notice if the ring was different. All he cares about is that he can fly with it."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Hold it, Querl." Lyle is doing his best to be unreasonably reasonable, having read a lot into Brainy's wording. "There are plenty of reasons you might not have that particular ring any more. Either one of us might have come up with an improvement to the current model flight ring and replaced them all." He pauses a beat, grins a 'hit me in the face with a two by four' grin, and adds, "At least *I* might have upgraded them.
    "Anyway, he doesn't need to know it's yours. All he needs is that ring back, although with the stuff he doesn't know about disabled. Other than the tracking features. We should know where it is even if everything else is turned off."
    Lyle sighs heavily. "We replaced the flight belts with flight rings. There's no reason a flight ring can't be replaced with a more advanced flight ring. So just because this Rooster Gold or whatever has your ring doesn't mean anything."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
"Oh, he won't feel threatened by me. I won't be making any threats at all." Then Brainy turns, and the corner of his mouth turns up. "Triplicate Girl? I would appreciate it very much if none of you talk about what I'm about to do. I try not to engage in public displays, because I feel they're vulgar." Then he turns back to Lyle. "That ring isn't his, is it? He's a thief."

Then Brainy says, "Stay an optimist, Lyle." Then he's grabbing him by the front of the uniform with both hands--and the mouth-to-mouth contact is brief. "For luck. And for what might've been." His smirk is a little less tight now, and a little more tired. "Nobody *ever* asks. Only Chameleon and Chuck knew, and they used it to *blackmail* me into staying silent when their bumbling destroyed hard-to-replace equipment. But it doesn't matter now."

Then he turns to walk out, and he says, "Thank you, Lu. You are a wonderful friend. Please do everything in your power to help Lyle... how fitting that Invisible Kid doesn't see what's obviously inside him!"

Triplicate Girl has posed:
    "Be careful," says the grey-dressed Luorno, who kisses Brainy's cheek, impulsively, and then hugs him, before letting him go.
    "We won't breathe a word. He's a coward, Querl. But, we did make a promise. Do what you feel you must. But, do not have us break our word, is all I would ask of you. Regardless if he deserves it, or not," says the girl in white. "You're a dear friend, too. Remember that, on your journey, Querl. You have a home to return to."
    The black dressed Luorno steps up behind Lyle, "Don't worry about it. Between the two of us, I think everything will continue to go smoothly. We just shouldn't do too good of a job, else they'll vote for us, instead of Querl when he comes back."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle's knees just about give way -- if Brainy didn't have a hold of him, he just might buckle. "You *are* coming back," he says, a little breathily, and staring glassily into Brainy's eyes, "or else I'm coming after you myself and *dragging* you back."
    HLyle glances briefly at Luornu Black. "I suggest we make it look like he's still here so they vote for him when we finally hold the election."

Brainiac 5 has posed:
"Working relationship, Invisible Kid. Besides, you're spoken for...!" Brainy says, as the door hisses shut behind him. "Take care of all of them--" Then it closes behind him, and he leans his hand against the door, briefly, before he straightens up, and goes to pack, and fabricate that new ring.

Triplicate Girl has posed:
    The grey Luorno continues to watch after Brainy, as her other selves move to gently hug her. Group hugs, afterall, are the best. Then they, together, all look back at Lyle after Brainy has moved on to pack his things. "Make sure both Laurel and Mon-El know. I don't think Querl will try and evade talking to Laurel. But, I think he also won't go out of his way to involve any more than what he promised to. I'd like to send a couple of us with him, at the very least. But at least one of our very gifted heavy hitters. It may be a family matter, but I think this is one thing in which he won't be able to avoid his emotional conflict. And it may get the better of him."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "If it's a family matter," Lyle says softly, "all the more reason to have the rest of us involved. *We're* family. All of us Legionnaires. Our Little Pest can wait, if need be. He needs us alive if he wants to get home, and that means he can't destroy our cruiser, even in the absence of all of us."
    He stares after the closed door, after Brainiac 5 leaves. Then he turns to a terminal, tapping out a message to both Mon-El and Laurel, advising them to confer among themselves and with Querl about which of them is going to accompany him.
    There is a *very* long pause.
    And then he -- with obvious reluctance -- signs it 'Invisible Kid / Acting Team Leader' and sends the message.
    He stares at the door a moment longer. "He *is* coming back. One way or another." Lyle grins sheepishly. "I guess that's an order."

Triplicate Girl has posed:
    "Don't worry. I'll keep you in line," Luorno assures Lyle, somewhat fondly. "And yes. I think he knows he really doesn't have a choice to not come back." And the white Luorno shrugs, smiles again. "I'm going to go finalize the plans for dealing with Micro Lad in the meantime."
    Grey Luorno sighs after Brainiac, and exchanges her own look with Lyle. "It would just be nice if we could get a break."
    The girl in black murmurs, "You'll be fine, Lyle. As she said, we've got your back. Anything you need."