Jo set the time bubble on the ground and Querl stepped out quickly. “Should we go in or wait for the girls?” Jo asked.“They have not checked in as they were supposed to, neither has Reep. It’s possible something has gone wrong. We should use extreme caution. If something has jeopardized the mission, Earth’s future looks awfully bleak.”
Hesitantly Jo asked, “So what’s the plan?”
“I’ve got a device to disable any motion sensors or cameras. We have to make sure we are not detected.” Querl took a device similar to the one he gave Tinya out of his utility belt. He flicked the switch, “Let’s go.”
Jo and Querl took to the air across the clearing to a group of houses, just avoiding being seen by a man running towards the beach. They were at the windows to the room Tinya and Violet entered. Jo was about to smash the window to gain entrance when Querl stopped him.
“Do you really wish to alert everyone?”
“I’d prefer a straight fight. Why can’t we just zip in there, grab the girls, and get out?”
“Stealth is still the objective here. Also, we still need to find what we need to prevent the destruction of Earth, we need to make sure the time-line remains intact.”
“Oh, right.”
Reaching into his utility pouch once more, Querl withdrew a long pen shaped object. He pointed it at the window and pressed a button. A faint humming noise was heard and the glass dissolved allowing Querl and Jo to fly into the building. “Be ready for anything.”
“Don’t worry. I already have my ultra energy switched to invulnerability. Nothing can harm me now.”
Querl took out another of his devices and began scanning for life signs. Satisfied with his findings, he returned the device to his pocket. “As they say in this century, those could be your famous last words.” With the flight rings now turned off, Jo followed Querl out of the room and down the hall. “We need to find some sort of a device that leads to another level below us. A lift, teleporter…”
“Stairs?” Jo asked pointed to a set from inside the kitchen. Querl was always so gadget and gimmicky minded he at times forget the simplest of devices.
“Can you hear anything?”
“Not with my normal hearing. It seems quiet. Are the girls down there?”
“Yes and a trap likely awaits us as well.”
“No problem. Switch on your force shield, let’s go.” Without waiting for Querl this time, Jo descended the stairs. He looked around and saw only large equipment. He waited for Querl to make it down the stairs. “Want to check your reading again?”
“My readings are not wrong; logically things are not as they seem here.”
“Oh, bravo!” A voice spoke from the back of the room. Suddenly there was a shimmering in the room and Mekkt Ranzz, Lightening Lord was standing with a military Colonel; an older man with a thin mustache. To the right of Jo and Querl along the wall was Tinya and Violet. There were two soldiers on either side of them with guns held to them.
“Lightening Lord, how did you get here?” Jo asked.
“That’s unimportant. What is important is you are my prisoners.”
“We’ll see about that.” Jo said advancing towards Mekkt.
Mekkt began to crackle as lightening overtook his body, as if challenging Jo to grab him. Using his invulnerability Jo grabbed him anyway, unaffected by the lightening in his invulnerable state. “You think it’s going to be that easy?” Mekkt pointed at a rafter over the girls and hit it with an electrical bolt, splitting it in half which came crashing down towards the two unconscious girls.
With only a second to act Jo quickly let go of Mekkt and switched to super speed to grab hold of the falling beam, then switched to ultra strength to hold it up and push it out of the way. As he did so he felt an electrical charge fill is body. He fell to the ground paralyzed; his head fell into Tinya’s lap. The room glowed with electrical energy as Mekkt began to laugh. He gave a glance to the older man with the thin mustache. “Baites, tag him.” The man walked over to Jo and placed a small disc on his neck. The two girls were already tagged.
“Why?” Querl asked, “how could you possibly profit from the destruction of Earth? This is mass murder.”
“Murder? I think not. This was destined to happen. I’m just making sure you don’t prevent it. With the destruction of Earth, the United Planets will no longer have Earthgov to help finance them. With no more finances from Earthgov…”
“No more funding of the Legion. You knew we were going to be here.”
“Indeed I did. All of the Legion of Super Villains knew. And with the Legion crippled, we will rule the 31st century.” Mekkt shot a large bolt of energy towards Querl. The shield held. “Do it now!” Mekkt shouted to Baites who drew up the weapon he used on Tinya earlier and blasted Querl’s force shield. Immediately the shield collapsed and Mekkt discharged a bolt of lightening. Querl fell to the ground, his force shield projector fried. Baites walked over and placed a small disc on Querl’s neck. His head suddenly slumped down. Mekkt began to laugh once more.
The laughing only happened for a second as Querl suddenly stood up. He grabbed the disc and pulled it off of his neck. “I’m afraid you can’t take over my 12th level mind with such a primitive device.”
“It doesn’t matter. I have won. There is nothing you can do to prevent what happens. If I can’t control you, I’ll simply destroy you. And when I get back, the Legion of Super Villains will make sure your Legion is finally down and out for good.
Querl looked at his comrades on the ground; the mind control device on their necks suddenly gone. “We may be down, but we are never out. The Legion will always be ready for you.”
Mekkt gave him a puzzled look. “Your friends are…” Mekkt looked over and saw Tinya and Jo standing up. Violet was gone.
Suddenly Baites was grabbing the side of his head and rubbing his ear as though an annoying bug were in it. Tinya turned around and grabbed the gun of the soldier next to her. A quick kick to his leg and a punch in his face sent him to the ground. Jo ran over and grabbed Mekkt, making sure his invulnerability was turned on.
“Shoot them.” He called to Baites, but he was far too distracted by the interference in his ear. It stopped for a moment but he was now caught off guard and as Violet returned to her normal size one quick blow knocked him out. Mekkt turned his attention to the one guarding Violet. He was now standing there, doing nothing. “Shoot them.” He now told him. The guard just smiled, suddenly his face began to blur and shift. The soldier was actually Reep Daggle, Chameleon Boy.
This time Querl was the one smiling. He picked up one of the mind control devices and placed it on Mekkt. His mind cleared and he passed out.
“Now you know why Reep had to be a secret.” Querl told Jo. “I needed him to infiltrate. I had a feeling the Legion of Super Villains was going to try something, I just didn’t know what. Are there any others Reep?”
“One went through this device they were working on, he never came back.” Reep said sadly. “But the guy who’s image I copied took off hysterically down the beach when Mekkt broke in. He ran off towards the beach.”
“He shouldn’t be a problem. Jo, make sure to wipe their minds, then find the guy on the beach and erase his mind of the last day. Meet us back at the time bubble.”
“Check” Jo said. He wiped the minds of the guys on the ground then switched his ultra energy to speed and ran to the beach and brought the other man back in less than a second.
“Reep, can you bring Mekkt? He’s going to have a nice long rest in Takron Galtos.”
“What about this equipment Querl? Surely we can’t allow it to continue.” Tinya asked him.
“Of course we can. Now that I have my readings, I know how we can stop it in the future.”
“But the explosion they have will be catastrophic; can’t we do something about it?”
“I’m afraid not, if we alter that course of events, Earth will not be threatened and we’ll never know to come back to fix it. The resulting paradox this far back in time could be just as disastrous. We must allow it to happen. Besides, this island is very remote, casualties will be to a minimum if at all.” Reep changed his body to that of a gorilla and picked up Mekkt. The group walked out to the time bubble.
Violet spoke up quietly. “What about the Earth in our time? It’s already begun to implode. The Earth is still doomed.”
Querl looked around. “No it isn’t, as long as we arrive before it happens. We do have a time machine idiot.” Querl told her. Violet’s face reddened in embarrassment and she shrank her body down, hiding from the group as she flew along with them.
Jo was already waiting at the time bubble for them. As the group entered Reep spoke, “I said it before and I’ll say it again Querl. You really are a crappy friend.”
“Perhaps, but this crappy friend just saved the entire planet Earth, that should count for something.” Querl hit a few controls and the time bubble disappeared, heading back to the 31st century. He dreaded it, but he realized he had to file a report with Rond at the time institute.
*This is part 20 of the 20 part 'Time And Alternate Dimension In Space'.
A Doctor Who, Quantum leap, Writers Block, Sliders & Legion of Super Heroes crossover.
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