We Were Legion - Chapter 1 - Original fanfic

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 31^st 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.