“How many more?” Wildfire called out, fighting to be heard over the din of laserfire and heavy artillery. He was ushering in the young teens who were racing through the heavy blast-door to take shelter inside the tower that had come to be known as ‘Legion World.’ Saturn Girl landed near him, setting a green-skinned boy down and hurrying him inside.

*Only a few left,* she thought to him. *We’ve done the best we could, but the SP still captured many of the underagers out here.*

“Well, Cos and his crew better hurry inside,” Wildfire said, looking past her to the battle being fought outside. The Science-Police were bearing down and were about to pass the last of the trenches he had burned into the ground. “Once they get past that trench, they’ll be on our outer wall in nothing, flat. We’ve got to get inside and put up the shield.”

*Just give him some more time,* Saturn Girl urged. *He’ll make it back in.*

The sound of screeching metal filled the air as several more sky-tanks were brought down by a joint attack from Sun Boy and Star Boy. A last wave of underagers flooded through the massive blast-door and Wildfire yelled at them to hurry into the bunkers belowground. Saturn Girl reached out telepathically for the rest of the team, and found them rushing back for cover, but as they flew through the space overhead and inside, Cosmic Boy wasn’t with them.

*Where’s Cos?* she asked Live Wire as he brought up the rear, laying cover-fire with sweeping arcs of lightning.

“I don’t know,” the redheaded teen said through clenched jaws. “Last I saw, he was--“

“I’m right here,” came Cosmic Boy’s voice from above. He floated down and landed softly, holding a limp and unconscious Kid Quantum in his arms.

Live Wire looked furious. “Is she…?”

“She’ll be fine,” Cos said. “Take her before that changes.” Handing the girl off to the lightning-hurler, he turned to Wildfire. “Is everyone in?”

“Everybody but us.”

“Fall back, close the doors, and raise the shields.” Without waiting for a response, the leader of the Legion walked inside the building, checking on several situations at once through his communicator. He slowed to a halt as he heard the sound of the blast door heavily slamming to the ground. He winced at the booming noise as it reverberated through the large hall. Saturn Girl put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and Wildfire stood protectively nearby.

“We’re with you, Cos,” he said.

*We all are. We’ll fix this.*

“We have to,” Cosmic Boy said at last. “But until we can, we’re underground. Locked into our own building like rats. Like criminals. Like… like children.” He switched open a private comm-line and started walking again, determination adding speed to his stride. “Brainiac, you reading this?”

“Naturally.”

“Fire up that impossibly advanced computer network of yours. I want answers on this bizarre-Legion, and I want them yesterday.”

“Done.”

“And, Brainy? If you think you can handle the challenge, start working up weakness profiles in their strategies. These punk kids are going down.”

To be Continued!