905/LSH in the 21st Century

LSH in the 21st Century
Date of Scene:	11 June 2017
Location:	Varies
Synopsis:	The Legion plays Roulette's game, for the life of their teammate!
Cast of Characters:	Brainiac 5, Magno, 360, Invisible Kid, Timber Wolf, Mon-El

---

Brainiac 5 has posed:
RAND METROPOLIS, PENTHOUSE:

Brainiac five is sitting in an entirely unfuturistic office chair, in front of his computer consoles, which look futuristic in the sense that they're a conglomeration of computer equipment that's been spliced together into something that suits his needs. In the middle of a hazy and overheated Metropolis summer afternoon, he sent out a signal asking all available Legionnaires and allies to gather at the Penthouse.

"We have a problem." He gestures, to a cobbled together holographic display. "I've been running bot programs searching the Earth's Internet for any signs of missing Legionnaires. This morning, they found this on what this era calls a 'Dark Web' site.

A video begins, showing a burly metahuman fighter--he demonstrates his might by picking up two cinderblocks and crushing them to powder in boulder-sized fists. He's called 'The Clobberer'. "Not a very imaginative name. But that's not the point."

A staticy, female voice comes over the connection, "And he's challenging our UNDEFEATED champion, THE MIGHTY VALOR--"

Then there is a blur, and the Clobberer goes flying into the force bubble wall of the enclosure, causing a blinding flash--and then before the audience can react, he yets yanked back and slammed into the floor.

The figure left standing above him is in a ruined costume and the tatty remnants of his cape, but it's unmistakeably Mon-El, if unshaven, sallow-eyed, and sick looking.

The video cuts out.

Magno has posed:
"What's *wrong* with him?" Dyrk asks quietly; "Aside from the obvious exhaustion, which by itself is cause for concern." He's already back in his Science Police uniform, making sure his baton and stun-pistol are in working order - he doesn't even need to *ask* if they're going to go get Mon-El, that's how sure of their impending rescue plans he is... no matter what they are.

Sussa Paka (360) has posed:
Sussa came to answer the call, and watches the video without speaking. She considers the scene and says, "I know what is wrong with him. We all haave psychic blocks to prevent remembering anything that would cause problems with history...but he actually LIVED in this time, so his own past is gone...he does not know who he is."

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Oooh, I don't like the look of that," Lyle comments, watching over Brainy's shoulder. "What *happened*? And what're we going to do about it?" He has a few ideas, but he doesn't like any of them. Lar is not to be handled lightly.

Timber Wolf has posed:
"All I know," Brin Londo says in a low growl, "is that his form is /terrible/." He crouches on a short cabinet in the penthouse space, scrutinizing the video with narrowed eyes. "But what's even worse is ... I'm not invited to join in the fray." Brin flexes his hand from stretched claw-like fingers to clenched fist and back again.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
"From what I was able to dig up on 'Roulette' by digging into the FBI and Interpol and MI6, she's a fight promoter, wanted across the world for setting up illegal cage fights using metahumans, sometimes against their will via mind control technology." Brainy waves a hand. "It may very well be that he's lost his memory, Sussa, but the more immediate concern is that he's dying. Daxamites have an allergy to lead. Exposure to it causes their endocrine systems and organs to malfunction. Even the smell of it can make them sick, but without a regular infusion of the antidote, they... die, in Earth's atmosphere. Slowly. Painfully. I don't know if she knows he's dying, but from what I found on her, even if she does, she doesn't care."

Then Brainy looks up, and says, "I was able to dig up the location of the Cage, which is where she's hosting her brawls in Metropolis -- deep underground. She's even had lead shielding installed to keep out prying eyes. The plan is, we go there. We figure out how to get close enough to Mon-El to give him the serum, at which point he SHOULD be strong enough to shake off whatever Roulette's doing to keep him under control. From the looks of him, he's well into the point where he's beginning to hallucinate."

He looks up to Brin, and says, "Timber Wolf, your arrival was fortuitous. And I'm sorry I have to ask you to do this, because it's going to hurt. We're going to enter you as a cage fighter to challenge Mon-El, tonight. Your job will be to distract him long enough for us to get past Roulette's security and inject Mon-El with this, he holds up a hypo-gun loaded with a canister of purplish liquid, and then gestures to a table where more have been laid out. "Everybody take one, we only need to do this once, but I always assume something will go wrong."

He glances up to Brin. "So your job is to fight a man who can shatter mountains for... according to my estimates, which are almost always good, two minutes."

Then he says, "Civillian clothes, everyone. Let's go."

Later, at the Cage:

"So what's your name again?" The bouncer says, eyeing up Brin and his 'Handler'. Brainiac 5 is wearing an image inducer, dark glasses, and a neat suit. "His name is Lone Wolf. And my consortium and I want to test him as a proof of concept against your Valor."

There's a pause, and then the bouncer takes out his cell phone, "Some group here called L.S.H. Solutions with some kinda... Weapon X looking monkeyman, Roulette. They wanna fight."

There's a pause, and then he listens, and nods. "Lucky you. Carl Creel was gonna fight him tonight but he got picked up in New York. Ok. You're in. The rules are simple. No interfering from outside the match, Roulette gets 50 percent of the total take, if your guy bombs it we don't do business again." He points to Brin. "Your uh, Lone Wolf here goes into the Blue Zone to get ready -- I suggest he start with a prayer -- and the rest of you go into the stands. You got me?"

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Meanwhile, a nervous-looking doctor is looking over Mon-El, in the Red Zone locker room. "I don't know what's wrong with him, Roulette. He's getting sicker and sicker, seeing things, and when you ease up on the inhibitor to let him fight he's getting more and more erratic. His heartbeat's all over the place, I can't get through his skin to give him anything, and he's having trouble breathing--"

Roulette, an athletic asian woman in a sheer silk dress with winding dragon tattoos up her arm and back, pushes down her sunglasses and frowns. "So you're telling me he's dying. Well, then, we make the most of him. When he's about to keel over we'll bring in some heavy-hitter to kill him in the ring, make it look good, and make a mint." The noxious perfume she's wearing wafts around her like a cloud, acrid and green-smelling, before she takes out a remote and turns a dial. "If tonight's another squash match, so much the better. All right, 'Valor', go out there and make me rich."

Sussa Paka (360) has posed:
Sussa knows, fights like this, they have multiple bouts in different weight classes. She comes in gressed in her old Legion of Super Villaiuns costume and asks to be entered in the women's division. Brin may be the best bet of getting close, but the secons best bet is another questin. Possibly Lyle with his invisibility, but Sussa is there and able to help if the others fail.

Timber Wolf has posed:
"Oh, it's going to hurt, alright," Brin says with a grin slowly spreading across his face. "For Mon-El." He cracks his knuckles and drops from his perch to a standing position on the floor. "In two minutes I'll make him cry 'uncle'."

Brin looks around. "That's totally a thing people say these days, right?" He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I'm so tired of trying to remember how to fit in..."

Magno has posed:
Dyrk has decided to dress ... well, like some spoiled rich kid there to spend an obscene amount and generally look at-place-while-out-of-place. Because he's too clean cut to convincingly be a bodyguard or thug, and with no powers there's no way he'd be Metabrawl Material. Working his way around the *outside* of the cage, he tries to at least get a good sense of the layout of the place while things start to ramp up for the shows.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
Spider Girl's opponent is billing herself as Dora the Destroyer, a young woman with catlike reflexes, razor sharp talons, and a so-called "map to victory." She's fast, all right, but nowhere near the seasoned fighter Spider-Girl is. She immediately tries to go low, failing to realize her opponent can come at her from every angle at once. However Sussa mops the floor with her, whether she ends it fast and hard or plays with her opponent, the crowd eats it up.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Oh, this definitely isn't good. Lar looks to him to be in some stage of lead poisoning to Lyle, and while Invisible Kid's certainly worked on the serum, getting within arm's reach is *not* an activity that's in favor of one's long-term health.
    "I don't like this any more than you do," he whispers to Brainy. "Any ideas that don't involve getting clobbered?"

Mon-El has posed:
    Somewhere Mon-El was hurting. He was tired. He was sore. His whole body was on fire. His skin was moving all over. His eyes burned with the heat of a thousand stars. His very insides felt like boiling acid. His body would not agree with his commands. He tries and tries to close his eyes, but all he sees is destruction. Death. His memoires would not come to him, except in jagged slashes of crimson pain.

    Mon-El was angry. He was mad. The best way he knew how to deal with the pain and the loss of his memory, of the knowledge of who he was...was to hit things. And people. That would make things better. The growl that erupts from his mouth was one of pain, and anger, and frustration. It was a growl of what was to come.

    The cage. His mind drifts to the cage. What was it again? A fight...and what did they call him? Mon-El can almost think straight, if only for a moment. Valor. That was it. Valor. Was that his name? He was confused.

    Than the lights come on. The Doctor bows. A beautiful woman beckons. She says something to him about making her rich, but his mind translates it into, "It is time. Time to make the pain go away, my Valor." Her voice is soothing to his agony. His eyes look at her, red and glowing slightly. The lead poisoning was progressing and Mon-El did not have much time left. He croaks, "Llllaaarrrr." And he grimaces, the struggle to just say that was too much. That word. It meant something to him. Something buried deep inside his mind. He walks past her, and moves to get ready to enter...the cage. All thoughts of who he was, gone. Now there was only Valor. "The Main Event!"

Brainiac 5 has posed:
"If we had other Legionnaires here, yes. Lightning Lad could stun him, Sun Boy could depower him, Saturn Girl would be able to get through to him and help him shake off whatever she's doing to keep him under control, Andromeda would be a fair fight, XS could run in and inject him with the serum before he was able to react--but none of them are here." He walks up into the stands. "That force-screen is crude, but effective. I should be able to drop it momentarily. In the chaos, we'll get to Mon-El."

Roulette takes her place in her luxury box. "Something about that L.S.H. group doesn't sit well with me. I've never heard of them before, and I know every player in the game. Boys, I smell a rat."

And then Mon-El steps out of the arena, to the cheers and howls of the crowd. This is bloodsport. They want blood. Bets are being taken... long odds against the newcomer.

Hope you're ready, Timber Wolf...

Sussa Paka (360) has posed:
Sussa has two choices, she can do this fast and easy, or she can do it long and hard. Hard is more impressive, she opts for that.

The cat girl is fast, but Sussa has sparred with Brin, whi is faster, more agile...and also has claws. She starts by wrapping a strand of hair around Dora's leg and pulling it out from under her as she starts a leap...resulting in an awkward landing well off target. Dora is more cautious on the second approach, watching the hair, ready to dodge. It does her no good, Sussa slid strands down into the mat and pulled it out from under the other woman...then kisked her as she was in mid air and unable to dodge.

Dora decided to try speed next, a blinding flurry of jumps to try to prevent Sussa from predicting her position. Sussa matched her moves, using her hair to pus off in whatever direction needed.

Sussa has an advantage, she does not tire from using her hair...the other girl soon becomes fatigued...and when she does Sussa slams her with a hair-lash and knocks her out.

Timber Wolf has posed:
From his corner, the 'Lone Wolf' beats his chest and then snarls in the direction of his opponent. "Come on!" he shouts. "Let's do this!"

The Zuunian paces back and forth, slashing at the cage walls to make noise. He looks toward the VIP seats and growls quietly, then turns his attention to Valor. The 'Wolf' rolls his head about his shoulders, stretching.

"Hope you made peace with your maker, chump," Brin says, spitting onto the floor to punctuate his boast. "Now..." He thinks for a moment. What's the saying again? "Come at me, guy."

Magno has posed:
Mostly, Dyrk is trying not to get hassled by other "Cool Kids" and is on watch for security happenings while trying to make sure he's close enough to the cage to zip in and administer a shot if he gets the opportunity. "No, I don't know you from school," Dyrk tells a particularly persistent guy trying to talk to him. He even holds up his hand. "Nuh uh." Busy.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    "Brainy," Lyle hisses in the Green One's ear, "I recommend multiple vectors to introduce the serum. *One* of us has to get through. He can't stop us all.

Mon-El has posed:
    The man now known as Valor growls. The crowd was loud, and he winces at the loudness. He is slightly haunched over due to the pain, but it only takes moments before he moves forward. Now the contest begins. His reddish eyes peer at his opponent, taking in his movements. Watching Brin carefully, waiting. Mon-El stands up straight. He flexes, and stretches. At least for a moment, the pain is gone from his face. Now there was a mask of concentration and intensity.

    Something...sticks. To his mind. His face is one of confusion as Mon-El regards the man across from him. The haze of the lead poisoning was too much though, as his momentarily look of recognition is replaced with one of pain. And madness. A smile appears as Brin goads him on. "Come at him..." One minute Mon-El was across the room. The next, he was in front of Brin with a "whoosh" and an outstretched hand in a flat, open palm. Valor strikes forward with the intent to make this quick, pushing Brin into the back of the cage with Daxamite strength. Even in his weakned state, Valor was still a Daxamite.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
There is a silent nod from Querl. "Agreed. I think that this is what Cosmic Boy would call a 'Get 'Em' strategy. I'm not normally known for battlecries, but I guess it's required." He'd been working with a modified smartphone, and then he strikes a combination of buttons, and the field drops, with a buzz-hiss-crackle. "Get 'em! LET'S GO, LEGION!" And then he's over the rail. Brainiac 5... leading from the front.

Roulette grits her teeth. "I knew it." She grabs her microphone, "Ladies and gentlemen, DO NOT PANIC. To all participants in tonight's Metabrawl, I will personally pay out five million dollars for every one of those interlopers you take down!"

That's when the chaos starts, as the members of the warmup matches (the ones that can still fight) and some members of the audience join in the melee. And start fighting each other. "Remember me?" Dora says, as she lunges at Sussa.

As Mon-El charges Brin, those keen savage sense spot it -- a little black receiver, barely a fleck, embedded in his ear.

Sussa Paka (360) has posed:
Sussa does what she does best...expands her hair to fill the area, entangling and immobilizing everyone. She Purposefuly leaves the Legionnairs out of it, but dozens of people ares suddenly out of the action. She spares a strand of hair with an injector, she tries to sneak it in silently fron behind lar and inkect him somewhere not vovered ny his invulnerable uniform.

Timber Wolf has posed:
The Lone Wolf is still waiting for some notice that the match has begun when his opponent is suddenly in his face, slapping the taste out of his mouth.

Even weakened, the strike is enough to cause a *CRACK* on impact, and Brin winces while being pressed against the back of the cage. Then, his eyes grow wild, and he begins slashing wildly at Mon-El's face and throat.

While Brin's stronger and tougher than a human, he is, unfortunately, no Daxamite. His claws begin to break upon impact with Valor's skin. 'Lone Wolf' can only froth and scream in rage through his flurry of attacks.

Magno has posed:
Another come on, and the guy gets Dyrk's fist right in his face just as everything breaks loose - because timing. Perfect! Hopping over the edge, Dyrk is a little less worried about tangling with Metabrawlers than he is about getting too close to Mon-El: Look what just happened to Brin!

Using a couple of the hair-captured guys for platforms, Dyrk pulls his stun pistol and cranks it up a few notches before starting work to try and clear ... *anyone* a path to the Mad Daxamite. *BZAKT! BZAKT!*

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Oh yeah. Great plan, Brainy -- 'Let's go!' Well, actually, Lyle can work with this, as plans go. Certainly everyone else is going to draw a lot of attention... which works in Invisible Kid's favor.
    So he flicks out of visibility and dives in at full speed, dodging hair and *BZAKT!*s as best he can, and touches down behind Mon-El, well out of arm's reach.
    Want to know what's distracting? When nothing at all calls your name. "HEY! LAR! OVER HERE!"
    *Please* let that mean someone can get in close with the serum, before Lyle gets caught and beaten to a pulp...

Mon-El has posed:
    When Brin strikes at Mon-El, he raises his arms in a defensive posture. He hadn't expected the speed and the ferocity of Brin. It was enough to surprise him, and make him step back, away from the flurry of blows. Brin's slashes actually cause some damage in his weakened state. A few scratches.

    Suddenly, the intensity in the glow of his eyes get brighter, and instinctively, Valor prepares to unleash the full power of the yellow suns energy upon the Legionnaire in front of him. The "hhiiiissssss" of steam starts to come from around the nimbus of energy as Mon-El's heat vision burns away the heavy miosture in the air of this underground Metabrawl.

     Then, suddenly, Valor bends over, in agony, as he weakens further. Normally his blow would have crushed a lesser opponent without much effort. His heat vision would have come at his command, and incinerated his enemy. As it was, Valor goes down on one knee, shaking his head. Barely able to move, he tries to see straight. His head moves side to side, as though he was fighting dizziness and fatigue. It was almost over, as it took a herculean effort just to stay upright and conscious.

    Then, Mon-El hears a voice, out of the darkness. Something calls to him...as he appears suddenly, Lar looks sideways, and sees two or three Lyle's. "Help..." is all he can gasp.

Brainiac 5 has posed:
It's absolute chaos, utter bedlam in classic Legion style, and when somebody lunges at Querl, no kidding, with a folding chair, he uses his force-field to negligently slap it and the would-be attacker away. "Insect!" ...Seriously, the guy was a meta-insect.

Then somebody pulls out a blaster gun, and shoots at him, and the impact of it against his energy field knocks Brainy flat -- and the tumble across the floor knocks the satchel of extra ampules loose from his arm. A robed figure reaches down and picks the bag up, and... then tosses it to him, before it turns away, surreptitiously slipping one of the ampules into its voluminous robes. As it sneaks into the locker room, it turns its head, revealing the sallow yellow skin, black eyes and needle-tooth mouth of a Dominator, then it vanishes into the dark. Querl grabs the sachel and gets back up, and catches three other interlopers in mid-air. "Now! Do it NOW!"

Meanwhile, Roulette is headed out the back, toward where her express elevator to the surface and her limousine are waiting. "I want to know who these guys are. They hit me right in the checkbook and that I *never* forgive."

Sussa Paka (360) has posed:
Now, while Lyle and Brin have Lar distracted. Sussa lunges a strand of hair clutching an ampuole at the back of Mon-el's neck...about the only spot not covered by Daxamite cloth she can reach.

Timber Wolf has posed:
A better man, more in control of his faculties, might recognize when an opponent--really, a friend--is injured or otherwise weakened and in danger.

Brin Londo, overwhelmed by the nigh-feral instincts that kept him alive as a youth, lacks that control.

As soon as Mon-El drops to one knee, 'Lone Wolf' rears back to kick at his enemy's face.

Brin, of course, doesn't even acknowledge the incredible toughness of his foe. A possible advantage is present, and so the predator must strike.

In fact, Brin does not seem to acknowledge the Legion's overall plan coming to fruition, and as he begins his assault, he recognizes Sussa--and a light bulb, however dim in the back of his mind in his animalistic state. Brin's kick becomes a leap--and he tries to flip himself forward, grabbing at Mon-El's head as he tries to flip over the Daxamite to distract him.

Invisible Kid has posed:
    Lyle backs off fast, just to be safe. He does *not* become visible. "Listen to me, Lar. Follow my voice. Stand down. There is no fight." He moves sideways as soon as he finishes speaking -- he is *not* remaining anywhere he can be reached. That's not likely to be healthy.

Mon-El has posed:
    As Brin grabs him by the head, Mon-El tries to struggle, to prevent it, but in his weakened state, he can barely resist. The distraction is total, and with Lyle and Brin's help, the "hiss" of the ampule connecting with Mon's neck was complete. Sussa strikes the target perfect. Teamwork indeed.

    Mon-El shakes his head. It was Lyle's voice that helps him to resist what was playing in his ear. His words that begin to bring him back. "No! I will not listen!" His eyes stop glowing. Mon-El closes his eyes. His face remains expressionless. Then, with a casualy flick, he destroys the black device in his ear. Mon-El stands up, and it is obvious that he looks...different. His breathing isn't as shallow and rapid. The discoloration of his skin and eyes starts to fade. His rage and anger fades, and slowly, he begins to smile. Mon-El then looks down at his state of disrepair and says, "Um. Anyone know where I can find a good tailor?"

Brainiac 5 has posed:
As all around the Man of Might, the Legion is in the middle of a chaotic brawl. Spider-Girl has Dora the Destroyer in a rear naked hair-choke. Brainy has hold of that folding chair with his force-field and is battering someone with it. There's like four guys chasing Magno! And two guys running away from Brin! And Lyle's standing against the side of the arena eating an apple! This is chaos! No.

THIS. IS. LEGION.

...But later...

There is a hiss of air, as the door opens, and the robed figure pulls back its hood. It approaches a throne where a shrouded figure sits, and it sinks down to one knee, before it says, "The rumorsss were true, Majesty. The Daxamite warrior who appeared on Earth is prince Lar Gand. I could not identify the group who ressscued him, but it included a Coluan and a curioussss meta-human... And I recovered this. It appears to be some sort of amino acid sssssolution. They were attempting to inject him with it." It extends a clawed hand, holding the ampule.

"Excellent." The shrouded figure says, taking the ampule in a gloved hand. "You have done well, and your people will be rewarded. I wonder what secrets this little vial holds. What was it for, Lar? I *wonder*..."