We Were Legion - Chapter 1
by Christian Zamora Dahmen
Shangalla was a sad and lonely place. As a small planetoid, it served as a cemetery where dead
Legionnaires would rest for all of eternity. “Rest,” a curious word for those who no longer felt a
thing. Those who were left behind
were the ones who deserved some peace, most times. Letting go and moving on were some of the hardest trials in
life, and even if this was the 31st century, this part of human
nature hadn’t changed one bit.
You would expect this time in the future would be filled with joy,
considering humanity would have left behind its pettiness and lack of empathy,
and finally replaced it with a glorious sense of universal caring. But truth be told, people may have moved
into different planets and conquered the most unusual worlds but their nature basically
remained the same: They still were
selfish creatures that would battle each other just because they could and they
wanted what they couldn’t have.
These battles over demanding something they wanted to own were basically
what moved humanity these days. People’s
sense of greed grew into a cosmic scale; they leapt from desire and went
straight into the taking. The
result was staring right at us, from these graves. Those who would get in the way of wants would often pay the
ultimate price. As of a now, the
so-called “heroes” were a rare species which would always get in the way of the
holiness of power and money; they would do anything to protect those who needed
protection and save those who needed to be saved; they would put their lives in
the line for the sake of the universe; something that simply would not be
appreciated by those who wanted more and more no matter what. The Legion of Super-Heroes’ task was a
noble one; sadly it had gone unappreciated with time until it was forced to
fade away.
The Legion’s testament, the only inheritance these brave men and women
left behind, now rested at Shangalla:
The cold stones representing those who sacrificed their lives willingly,
always hoping for a brighter future.
Now, it seemed that it had accomplished nothing. The same Science Police they used to
help so frequently disbanded their team and sent them home, as brats who had
just thrown a tantrum and deserved some punishment. And with this incomprehensible move, the former Legionnaires
were somehow exiled from Earth leaving behind a lack of hope that would hardly
be ever filled again; and at the same time, each hero carried within a sense of
ungratefulness that would be stuck inside forever.
The dark and cold planetoid was often deserted. It required little maintenance and only
occasional visitors would give a little heartbeat to this desolate monument to
loneliness and death. In this
occasion, a small spaceship arrived.
It was evident that it came in stealth mode, choosing the less traveled road
to get to this place unnoticed. It
came from a very distant world and didn’t make any stop before arriving to
Shangalla with an unstoppable desire to get to the very place where
hopelessness seemed to have set foot.
It landed softly and its door lifted with a quiet murmur. A woman descended from the ship,
wearing a black outfit that covered her entire body in a long dress that looked
vaporous when it reached the floor.
She walked down the stairs with a slow pace; now that she had finally
arrived there was no sense in rushing.
She had a broad-brimmed hat that seemed to belong to another era, one of
those only rich women would use for a funeral, with a veil that covered her
face, hiding her eyes as if she didn’t want to be recognized, keeping her sadness
as a private thing. She walked
straight to the two new burials that were right at the end of the newest row. She stopped and stared at a strange
monument which shape she could barely describe, but she still noticed the
sculpture of a little sun up at the top.
She put her hand over the strange monument that got built over the empty
casket that couldn’t even contain the remains of the man who left behind such a
resonant history.
“Oh, Dirk, never thought you would go like this. No glory, no flames, no nothing. I know death can find us unguarded, but
she did play a bad joke on you, didn’t she?” She caressed the small monument that was built over the
memorial site. “I never got the
chance to tell you how much of myself I saw you. If I had been a man, I think we would have been the best of
friends.” She paused for a moment,
bowed her head and made a gesture with her hand in the air proper of her own
world to show respect and made a reverence. “I can’t believe there was nothing to bury-- But you-- I will never forget you, I
can promise you this.” She kissed
her the tip of her fingers and touched the monument once again, staying frozen
in time as if she was caressing his face one last time.
She turned around and walked towards the other new burial site. A void took over her stomach just like
the first time she attended this particular spot.
“Thom--“ Her words broke as
she couldn’t hold her voice any longer.
She raised her veil and strands of white lively hair fell to both sides
of her young and beautiful face, finally allowing itself to show the redness in
her eyes, the only witnesses of the pain she had been carrying within for so
many days.
Nura Nal, whose nom de guerre,
“Dream Girl”, was known through the entire United Planets, was right there,
standing tall as she was devastated inside. She had been the sexy Legionnaire for so long, then the
leader and finally the wise woman who always had some powerful insight into
whatever situation the former Legion of Super-Heroes had to face. She had an ability that was common to
every native of her homeworld, Naltor, she was a precog and had visions of the
future that would come. It was
probably a fatalist power, but the way she used her natural power forged her as
a hero. She accomplished many
victories by the side of her teammates, but now those days seemed far-gone. And if the sadness of letting go of her
past wasn’t enough, she was also mourning the death of Thom, her long time
lover, teammate and the kindest soul she had ever met. Thom Kallor was also a super-hero in this
Legion, he was Star Boy and he was always the brighter star in her sky. Sadly, the heat of his embrace and the
kindness of his smile were now gone and she would have to live the rest of her
life knowing she had lost him forever.
She sat by the little monument’s side and leaned her head against the
metallic stone searching for a warmth and comfort that were no longer there. Tears ran down her face, as she no
longer held back the unbelievable pain she had been carrying inside for the
past few weeks. It was easy to
keep a strong face in front of others, but now that she was all by herself, she
didn’t have to prove anything to anyone and so, she finally let go. Images of a past life together ran
through her mind and over her soul giving her a physical pain inside her chest
she wouldn’t have expected.
Dealing with such a big loss was the toughest task she had ever
faced. She didn’t want to move on
as others asked her to, definitely not at this point. She was simply stuck in the moment where everything lost direction
in her life. What was left to hold
onto anyway? Not only the one man
that meant everything to her got taken away, but she was now adrift in a huge
universe, senseless, with her ideals shattered and no place to call home. No, her world would never be home to
her; not like the Legion always was that special place for her-- And the Legion was no more-- For the first time in her life, she was
an orphan with nowhere to go and without the strength to move forward. At another time she would have gathered
what was left of her and fought against all odds, but was there really anything
left behind worth fighting for?
“Nura?” A manly voice broke
the moment startling her and forcing her to wipe out the tears off her face.
This story takes place after LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 23, 2013. Names, concepts, and characters belong to DC Comics. No infringement of copyright is intended. This is only a work of fan fiction.
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