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Post by markymark261 on Nov 21, 2006 15:22:29 GMT -5
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Post by markymark261 on Nov 21, 2006 15:23:30 GMT -5
From the Encyclopedia Galactica, 2996 edition:The Kryptonian Super-Computer had traveled the galaxy for well over a century cataloguing worlds, adding them to his massive database and then destroying them so he alone would have knowledge of the planets’ existence. A cold and unfeeling computer, it was his way.
In the early 19th century, Brainiac discovered a distant planet near the Taurus Nebula that peaked his interest. It was an unremarkable world, with no advanced technology. The planet, that he named Colu (meaning Primitive in Kryptonese), was inhabited by a race of, what he considered, primitive green-skinned humanoids. Brainiac was the first extra-terrestrial being the race had encountered.
For reasons unknown, Brainiac assimilated a tribal elder, named Vril Dox, into his computer matrix. A new being emerged, still a green-skinned humanoid with blonde hair, but with Brainiac’s vast intelligence. The new Brainiac, amazed with the potential of the Coluan mind to assimilate data, set out to remake the Coluan society in his own image.
Through genetic manipulation he was able to create a race of beings with computer-like brains, but without willpower; slaves to do his bidding. In return, Brainiac eliminated poverty and disease, and granted the Coluans extremely long life. He became known in outside worlds as the Computer Tyrant of Colu.
Brainiac’s next great experiment was an absolute clone of himself. Created in a laboratory tube, Vril Dox II was programmed with all of Brainiac’s knowledge before his ‘birth’. The one thing Brainiac had not thought of was that his ‘son’ was ‘born’ Coluan, with a brain and free will.
Vril Dox, upon reaching maturity, led a revolution against Brainiac. Details on this portion of Coluan history are limited, since much data was lost during the Coluan Civil War. It was in the early 21st century that Brainiac was banished from Colu forever and Vril Dox was named Brainiac 2.
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Post by markymark261 on Nov 21, 2006 15:24:04 GMT -5
Legion of Super-Heroes [/i] Issue #2: “Siege on Colu” Written by Scott Kruger Cover by Scott Kruger Edited by Mark Bowers[/center]
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Post by markymark261 on Nov 21, 2006 15:24:54 GMT -5
Legion roll call:
Querl Dox
Home World: Colu
Abilities: 12th Level Effector Computer Mind
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Post by markymark261 on Nov 21, 2006 15:28:56 GMT -5
Why?
Why do we associate ourselves with these ridiculous and pathetic Neanderthals? Humans: Inferior. Useless. Stone-Aged incompetence.
Querl Dox passed through the silent halls of his laboratory fuming to himself after being interrupted from his important studies. At least the studies were important to him… not that the United Planets understood that. He was near a damned breakthrough! He was so close to opening a Quantum Singularity! Time travel… something the idiots on Earth at the Time Institute had been unable to do since their inception the year before!
An entire team of Scientists could not achieve it in a year… yet he did! But like a circus animal, he was being forced to perform for the UP government!
Everyone around him walking through the halls parted before him… They knew better than to stand in the way of a Dox.
He rounded a corner blindly, nearly knocking a female scientist off her feet.
“Watch where you are walking, you idiot!” he shouted at her, without missing a step.
“I’m sorry Mr. Dox…” she apologized to deaf ears.
“Incompetence!” he rambled on as he continued.
Querl entered a large computer-filled room. The sign above the door read ‘United Planets Communications Hub’ in Coluan. A small sign of rebellion from the Coluans was their usual refusal to write and speak in Interlac. The room itself was the central communication station for all of Colu. It alone kept Colu in constant contact with every world in the United Planets (not that Colu needed any of those other worlds!), which was vitally important since Colu was the computative brain of the UP.
Only the top scientists had direct access to the communications hub, and Querl was, of course, the top scientist. The only beings on the planet, nay, the galaxy, that he answered to were members of the Coluan governing council. And unfortunately, when they beckoned he had to answer.
Querl plopped down into a chair at a secure station. “Computer on, receive transmission, Earthgov 5.2, authorization: Dox 1.1A.2B. Execute.” Querl spoke to the computer with as much disgust as he did most other things.
{“Querl… good of you to join us,”} the human said with a mildly sarcastic tone. The Neanderthal wore corrective eye lenses and wore his hair long... Did he not realize that they lived in the 31st century? His very sight disgusted Querl. How anyone with such limited intelligence could be elected to an official government position, especially one so high up, was beyond even Querl’s intelligence.
“Vice President Leland McCauley.” Querl nodded an acknowledgment, yet refused to remove the disdain from his voice. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he continued in Coluan, “Coluan ambassador Eretrian said you had need of my expertise. What is it that I can do?”
{“Querl, that is uncalled for.”} Ambassador Eretrian’s image stepped up behind the image of the Vice President. Querl straightened up in his seat. He would have felt embarrassed had he the need for such emotions. {“We understand that your studies are very important, but you will speak Interlac when spoken to!”}
“Yes Ambassador,” he responded in Coluan before switching dialects. He was irritated at the ambassador for scolding him in front of the Vice President. He was nearly 15 years old and could count the number of times he had been scolded on one hand. The most brilliant mind on Colu in over a century and here he was being scolded for talking down to a being with less intelligence than an Argathian monkey. “What can I do for you, Vice President McCauley?”
{“Well young man…”} Querl shuddered. {“As you are, I’m sure, aware, the United Planets was viciously attacked by an unknown group of terrorists last night…”}
“Of course, your agents sent me evidence that proved inconclusive to them. I determined that the terrorists used a crude system of ‘Matter Decompression Explosives’ to, essentially, crumble Mars Colony Delta’s dome.” Querl barely stopped for a breath before adding a special postscript for Vice President McCauley. “In fact the backup systems that were designed to go online, if such an incident were to occur, were manufactured by the company you created before being elected into office. Your point, Mr. Vice President?”
{“My… my point? You sanctimonious little…”} McCauley began but was interrupted again.
“It was not my intention to insult you, Mr. Vice President.” That was just a fortunate side-effect, Querl thought. “I was just placing all of the facts before us so we could continue.”
{“Right… my point. Your ambassador brought before me schematics for an invisible defense shield that is virtually unbreakable, tamper-proof and self-replicating. He says you designed it.”} Querl flushed with rage, how dare the ambassador take his designs and offer them freely to the United Planets! {“The President has requested that you design something larger for mass production. Something that could be used… in case something like this were to happen again.”}
“Absolutely not!” Querl blurted out without a second thought.
{“ Querl Dox!”} the ambassador exclaimed in Coluan, showing more emotion than most Coluans were capable of. {“You are a direct descendant of the Liberator! You are just a step away from achieving the ‘Brainiac’ title… that name alone comes with much prestige! It is what you’ve been striving for your entire life. You would be the first Dox in over three centuries to obtain that title, and the youngest one at that. And you would toss that aside for what… your pride? Your selfishness stands against everything that the ‘Brainiac’ title stands for! You are hereby ordered to begin construction of a larger defense shield immediately. END OF DISCUSSION!”}
The screen went dark.
“Sprock!” Querl shouted. Everything the ‘Brainiac’ title stood for??? Need Querl remind him of who the ‘Liberator’s’ father was? Selfishness was a part of the ‘Brainiac’ package.
“He had you there, you know.” A voice from the shadows behind him spoke up, “This tech should be used for the greater good…”
“Be silent!” Querl spat. “Or I’ll put you back in the test tube I found you in!”
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Post by markymark261 on Nov 21, 2006 15:30:01 GMT -5
Deep space, just outside Coluan airspace…
A small transport shuttle emerged from hyperspace, its hull pock-marked from its travels throughout the universe. Its teenage pilot bared far less wear, except for the wear in his heart. The things he had been forced to do, he would never do of his own volition, but he had no choice. His will was not his own. He belonged to the Dark Circle now and its very persuasive master.
The navigational computer beeped; he had reached his destination. It was as far as he was allowed to fly his shuttle, though he wished he could turn it around and fly back home. Though his home was nothing to brag about… anything was better than the Dark Circle.
That thought was interrupted by an image of his leader deeply ingrained into his mind. He couldn’t remember when the leader initially took hold… but he was there and in full control.
He opened the compartment on the control panel and pulled out the black hood. Laboring for breath as he struggled against his master’s formidable willpower, he pulled it in place over his head. The small gray circle on his forehead signified his status in the circle as nothing more than a pawn. He tried to think of home again… Rimbor was so far away.
His fingers moved on the console of their own volition. The hatch above his head opened and Jo Nah took flight toward Colu at Ultra-speed.
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Post by markymark261 on Nov 21, 2006 15:30:42 GMT -5
Proximity sensors blared to life across the planet as the humanoid projectile barreled through the Coluan atmosphere. The planet shook as the missile struck, knocking everyone off their feet; unfortunately, that was only the opening salvo. The Dark Circle agent sprang from the impact crater, flying a short distance before landing in a ready stance.
Coluan security circled and charged the being, but from his eyes burned lasers that cut them down in mid-stride. One escaped the fury of his eyes, only to be grabbed and hurtled into a building a quarter mile away.
Weapons fire erupted toward the super-powered being, but he stopped, stood still and let it ricochet off of his invulnerable body. The ricocheted lasers and projectiles were sent back toward the shooters, mowing them down where they stood. The weapon fire stopped as one security agent launched a missile toward him. The marauder side-stepped the missile, grabbed it as he moved, and threw the rocket toward the Communications Hub spire atop the largest building on Colu, the Brainiac science building. The explosion knocked the spire free of its mooring, sending it plummeting toward the fleeing crowd of civilians below. With one blow Colu’s communications were cut off.
The being then ran at super speed toward the building’s entrance...
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Post by markymark261 on Nov 21, 2006 15:32:38 GMT -5
Alarms blared throughout the building as Querl sprinted from the Communications Hub toward his laboratory. He watched the monitor during the attack and quietly assessed the situation until the attacker took out the Communications spire. He needed to seal off his laboratory in case the maniac tried to destroy it… If that were to happen, with the experiment Querl was running… the results would be disastrous.
Not only for Colu… but for the Universe itself!
His time experiment required the use of a small quantum singularity that was open at all times… to close it would ruin the experiment, forcing him to start anew. If it wasn’t shut down at all and the lab were demolished… it, theoretically, could tear a gaping hole in the space-time continuum, setting off a chain reaction that, again, theoretically, could unmake the Universe.
Not one to tempt fate, Querl ran into his lab entrance, sealing the door behind him.
“Hey!” shouted a small flying insect that chased after him. “You nearly caught my antennae in the blast-door.”
Querl raced to the Quantum Singularity regulator in the center of his lab, ignoring the pest that shadowed him. He began the shutdown sequence as the building rocked from an impact.
The insect changed his shape, mutating into a green tentacled form contained by a deep violet colored cloak. He slithered to Querl’s side, awaiting a request for assistance, knowing that it would never come. Since being freed of the test tube by Querl, five months earlier, he had become little more than a pet; albeit, a mistreated pet.
“You could have said you’re sorry,” the creature mumbled.
“I neither have time nor patience for you right now, Durlan. Stay out of my way.” Querl hit the final sequence of buttons shutting the singularity down. “Weeks of work… gone!”
He rushed to a closet on the far end of his lab, throwing the door open and diving inside as the building rocked once again.
“No… no… no…” Querl repeated, throwing things over his shoulder. “No… no… a-ha! Wait… no… no… Yes!”
“What are you doing?” the Durlan asked in distress, as the sound of screams echoed through the halls just outside the lab. “Are you going to stop it?”
“Me? No… we. We are going to stop that thing!” Querl replied with a cocky grin as he strapped the large yellow belt around his waist. He looked up into the Durlan’s hood, his thin lipped grin mutating into a toothy smile, “And you are going to be the bait.”
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Post by markymark261 on Nov 21, 2006 15:33:10 GMT -5
Tears streamed down Jo’s eyes as he tore through metal, flesh and bone. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t break free of his master’s will. He tried to scream warnings… but all that came out was a choked gurgle. This was not the first time he had been used as a killing machine for the Dark Circle, but it was the first time he had committed mass-murder. The Master watched through his eyes and commanded his every move.
He had done awful things on Rimbor when he was a part of the Emerald Dragon gang… but after gaining his abilities, he swore he would turn his life around. But then the Dark Circle came to Rimbor… and him… the Master. The warring gangs were absorbed into the Dark Circle… with promises made of riches and glory. Then word of Jo’s new-found abilities trickled to the ears of the Master.
Jo was ambushed, and, without having full control of his powers, he was easily taken prisoner. He stopped struggling after his first meeting with the Master. His life was nothing but a fog until he was needed.
Jo tore through blast doors until he finally reached his destination: the lab of Querl Dox, science prodigy of Colu. The voice in his head told him what to do next…
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Post by markymark261 on Nov 21, 2006 15:34:11 GMT -5
Querl sat alone at his desk, his back turned toward the blast door as the assailant peeled it apart like a ripe banana. Querl did not move or flinch as the being approached slowly.
“Go away, I haven’t the time for you!” Querl said with a dismissive wave as he focused on the neutron microscope before him.
“I WANT THE QUANTUM SINGULARITY AND ITS REGULATOR, NOW.” The voice was inhuman and seemed born of more than one set of chords. Its breath labored.
“Really?” Querl turned around to face the masked man. “And you think you can make it work? You’re nothing but a boorish thug!”
“THAT’S WHY WE ARE TAKING YOU AS WELL…” the creature’s voice calmly replied.
“We?” Querl asked.
The villain reached for Querl but was stopped in his tracks as a force field bubble surrounded him.
“WHAT? SET US FREE!” the being roared, and pounded its fists on the bubble to no avail. His hood was stained wet, and torn slightly, revealing tufts of dark brown hair.
“Indeed?” a second Querl walked out from behind the man, this one operated the force field from the large yellow belt around his waist. He walked over to the chair the first Querl sat in and leaned on his shoulder. “He did say ‘we’ and ‘us’ didn’t he?”
“Indeed he did!” the first Querl responded, folding his arms over his chest, a thoughtful expression playing on his face.
“Who are you?” the force-field-wielding Querl asked.
“WE ARE THE DARK CIRCLE!” he replied.
“He’s awfully small for an entire terrorist group, isn’t he?” the first Querl, said as he morphed back into his natural form.
“DURLAN!!!” the attacker’s inhuman voice howled, nearly shattering Querl’s eardrums. The force field bubble took off toward the Durlan, the creature inside on a murderous rampage.
“eep!” the Durlan squealed and took flight, changing into a large bird-like creature. The force-field-burdened terrorist followed, the power of the field tearing through steel and permacrete like they were butter.
Querl stood there in the lab unsure of what to think. He looked over at the Quantum Singularity Regulator, then back at the gaping hole that once held the blast doors. The killer would rather murder his Durlan than steal the time machine he was demolishing Colu to get to? …Illogical.
He looked over at his computer remembering the terrorist’s initial attack a few minutes earlier and sprung into action. Typing at speeds he never thought he could muster, Querl tapped into Colu’s ancient satellite surveillance system.
He reached for a microphone beside his monitor, then typed a sequence of numbers into a keypad.
“Durlan!” he said into the microphone.
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Post by markymark261 on Nov 21, 2006 15:35:09 GMT -5
The Durlan flew out of the science building as fast as he could manage, his pursuer close on his heels. Had his attacker been free of the force shield, the Durlan would have already been overrun.
{“Durlan!”} Querl’s voice echoed through the Durlan’s body.
“What the…?” The Durlan paused briefly only to get clipped by the force field. Regaining control he shot off again as the energy bubble doubled back for another pass. The Durlan looked all around. “Where are you?”
{“The laboratory! Listen. Lead him through the atmosphere and into space. I have a hunch…”}
“First… how can I hear you? Second: I don’t know if I can survive in a vacuum, not to mention entering the atmosphere! I could burn…”
{“We don’t have time! Trust me, you won’t… just GO!”}
The Durlan did as he was told, flying straight up he changed shape again into a smaller, more aerodynamic winged being by instinct. His skin insulated itself as the heat intensified. He dared not look behind, but he didn’t need to. The energy field sizzled as it strained against the heat.
At last free of Colu’s atmosphere, the Durlan flew freer than he ever imagined he could. His body reconfiguring itself to compensate for the lack of an atmosphere.
The moment the ancient satellite system displayed two blips entering orbit, Querl shrank the field, introducing the attacker’s head to the vacuum of space. He immediately stopped pursuing the Durlan, and sat there motionless.
“What did you do?” The Durlan asked.
{“I noticed earlier while watching him attack the city… he only used one ability at a time. I theorized that in order to exist in a vacuum he needs to be invulnerable, thus disengaging his ability to fly. Before you ask, yes, he did fly through space seemingly unaided on his own before, but in the laboratory, I noticed his torn mask… It was made of two separate layers of cloth. He obviously wore a trans-suit!”}
“You theorized?” The Durlan flew closer to his defeated adversary. The being just held its head low in defeat. “How is it that I can even hear you? How did you know I would survive the heat and the vacuum?”
{“I implanted a communication device into you before I freed you. And you really do not want the answer to the other questions.”}
The Durlan hovered there, wondering why he even bothered asking, when several ships emerged from hyperspace, surrounding him and his foe. All ships weapons were trained on the two as they floated.
“Ummm, I surrender?” the Durlan said as a Legion cruiser approached.
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Post by markymark261 on Nov 21, 2006 15:36:05 GMT -5
{“This is Laurel Kent reporting for the Daily Planet, and this is Universal News Tonight! We start off tonight’s broadcast with breaking news from Colu where chief scientist Querl Dox has apprehended an agent of the Terrorist organization responsible for yesterday’s attack on Mars Colony, and, as of this morning, Colu! The Terrorist was immediately taken into Science Police custody, and though he claims he was being controlled, he is being held without bail. His identity is being withheld at this time for his own protection. A side note: as a result of his ‘amazing intelligence, heroism and courage under fire’, Querl Dox was awarded the prestigious title ‘Brainiac V’ and will be meeting with the President of the United Planets later this week to discuss his future service to the United Planets.
In other news…”}
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Post by markymark261 on Nov 21, 2006 15:36:25 GMT -5
The End!
Next: Legion of Super-Heroes #3 “The New Guy”. The Legionnaires come to terms with their new member, Brainiac 5, and the Dark Circle strikes again, this time a little too close to home.
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