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"Uh..." The man on the ship's viscreen was visibly wilting with disappointment. "Uh, did you say the Legion of Substitute Heroes? Because we were kind of hoping--"
"--for some real heroes?" Chlorophyll Kid's voice was sharp, and the man on the screen paled. He crossed his arms and glared. "Well, the real Legion is tied up with real crises right now, so I'm afraid you're stuck with us subs."
The official rallied. "A potential world war is not a minor crisis! The people of Hyrk need any help we can get, even, uh, you guys," he finished lamely.
"We'll be landing soon. Be ready for us." Chlorophyll Kid snapped off the transmission, then turned to the rest of the team. "Okay, guys. This is it--your first assignment in the Legion. Are you ready to face whatever we must to bring peace and justice to the people of Hyrk? Are you ready to be heroes?"
Marl Khoss looked at the other members of his team as they all cheered. Chlorophyll Kid looked confident and energetic, his chestnut-brown hair falling into his eyes somewhat as he exhorted his teammates. Chlorophyll Kid had the ability to make plants grow to gigantic size. He also claimed he could talk to them, although this was rather more difficult to prove. He was one of the founding members of the Legion of Substitute Heroes, and Marl was still a little dazzled at being so close to someone so close to greatness.
The rest of the team was all brand-new. Beside Marl was Virus, a tall, slender woman with azure skin and a curtain of dark hair. Virus could cause people to catch colds or the flu. Unfortunately, she couldn't target her power, so it affected friend and foe alike.
Virus was a very nice girl, but Marl wasn't sure he was happy to be on a team with her.
Sludge was a large, sweaty guy with olive-green skin. His power was the ability to cause surfaces to be covered with muck. His inability to cause the muck to go away again had caused some consternation during his tryouts.
Spy was a shadow in white robes. He had super-senses and rudimentary telepathy--he could sense the strongest emotion in the room, basically. Marl was surprised he hadn't become a full member of the Legion, but Lightning Lad had been in a pretty bad mood when they got interviewed. None of them had made the cut, and they had ended up on the Legion of Substitute Heroes together.
It was a noble organization, with the lofty goal of helping the Legion of Superheroes when they needed it. Anyone with a power could be a hero, its founders claimed, no matter how small or seemingly useless.
As they stepped onto the transporter pads, Marl squared his shoulders.
No--not Marl. He wasn't just Marl Khoss anymore.
He was Fruit Boy.
He had the power to ripen fruit.
He was a hero.
: : :
The negotiations hadn't gone well. The Hyrkians of the North Continent and the Hyrkese of the South Continent had sent envoys to try and find a peaceful solution to the looming war. Fruit Boy had listened carefully to the conference, but neither side seemed able to compromise. Every proposal was met with rejection, and both sides seemed determined to provoke a war, despite their protests to the contrary. It was a beautiful planet, lush and civilized, and Fruit Boy ached to imagine it razed by war.
The door swished shut behind the Legionnaires, and Chlorophyll Kid turned to face his team. "All right. Suggestions?"
Sludge threw his hands in the air. "Are you florging kidding? Did you hear those people? They're absolutely set on war! Even my father, the vice chancellor of Antares, would admit the case was hopeless."
Chlorophyll Kid's eyes narrowed. "With the Legion on a case, it's never hopeless."
Sludge just shook his head in disbelief. "What are we going to do? Give them colds? Ripen their apples? Oh, I know--I could drip slime on them! This is pathetic. We're pathetic."
"Excuse me, sir." Spy's voice was quiet as he addressed Chlorophyll Kid. "If I may intrude on this moment of theatrical despair, I might have some valuable information."
"Go ahead, Spy," said Chlorophyll Kid while Sludge glowered.
"It's true I can only sense strong emotions, but there was one sensation foremost in every mind in the room: hunger. Sir, all these people are starving to death. I suspect that is causing their desperation."
Chlorophyll Kid's green eyes kindled. "Of course. Each side thinks the other has food and is withholding it."
Virus's brow was wrinkled. "But it's such a fertile-looking planet. How can they have a famine?"
Fruit Boy shook his head slowly. "There are other causes of famine than drought. Sometimes it's distribution problems. Sometimes it's overpopulation. Or politics--during a great famine on Earth, potatoes were being shipped from the affected country to other countries because they got higher prices there, leaving the locals to starve." Chlorophyll Kid's gaze was both assessing and admiring, and Fruit Boy felt himself blushing a little. "I'm something of an ancient history buff. Especially on topics relating to agriculture."
Chlorophyll Kid nodded, grinning fiercely. "All right. We've got a mystery to solve, people." He turned to Virus. "I need you to wander around the facility and make as many people sick as possible. They can't provoke each other into war if their command structure is out with the flu." Virus nodded. "Oh, and Virus? Give us a ten-minute lead so we're well out of your range."
Even the sulking Sludge laughed at that one.
: : :
The botanist clutched at his thinning hair. "I don't know anything!" he wailed.
Chlorophyll Kid gestured at the greenhouse behind him. "The tulips are telling me that you have vital information..." he cocked his head slightly, "...something about a famine?"
The botanist crumpled. "Damn those backstabbing tulips! It's true," he sobbed. "But it's top secret, I shouldn't..."
"Sir, your information could save millions of lives." Chlorophyll Kid's eyes glowed with fervor, and the botanist sobbed harder.
Bit by bit, the story came out. Hyrk had become dependent on genetically-engineered bananas as their food staple. Through genetic manipulation, the bananas were identically delicious and nutrient-rich; almost all food on Hyrk used the bananas in it. When an offworld plague wiped out all adult banana plants on the Northern Continent, it caused a catastrophic collapse of the food system. The plague was so efficient--destroying the entire banana crop in less than a month--and with the adult plants dead the plague had also died out. But the damage had been done.
"We--we assumed the Southern Continent was unaffected; they said nothing..." the botanist stammered.
"And they assumed the same of you--" said Spy.
"--and paranoia and hunger built--" said Chlorophyll Kid.
"--and now you're both on the brink of war," finished Fruit Boy. He bit his lip. "Are there are any banana plants left?"
"A plantation full--but they're shoots, it will take a year or two for them to reach fruit-bearing age."
Fruit Boy met Chlorophyll Kid's eye; the team leader nodded. "Take us to the forest."
: : :
The banana grove spread out for hectares; knee-height shoots as far as the eye could see, rustling slightly in the breeze. Chlorophyll Kid closed his eyes and held out his hands, fanning the fingers out as if feeling the heat of a sun before him. "They're willing," he murmured. He tensed all over and Fruit Boy felt a wave of energy prickle across his skin; the vast acreage of young plants before them writhed and then unfurled toward the sun, their fronds stretching and elongating. The rustle was deafening. Beads of sweat stood on Chlorophyll Kid's brow and his lips moved in wordless entreaty.
"Sludge," he gasped. "We need...more nutrients. Is that muck of yours--"
"--organic? Yes, yes!" Sludge still looked dumbstruck at the sight of the growing foliage, but he pulled himself together and darted between the rows of plants. Around him, goopy brown slime formed and spread, and Chlorophyll Kid sighed in relief.
The banana plants reached their full growth, put forth abundant bunches of little green bananas...and Chlorophyll Kid fell to his knees. Fruit Boy leaped forward to support him. "It's...too much," wheezed Chlorophyll Kid. "I can make them bigger, but...can't force the natural ripening. Fruit Boy--"
Fruit Boy felt a wave of panic. "You can't do it?" He stared wildly out over the endless green expanse, then back into the endless green of his leader's eyes. "But I've--" He swallowed hard. "I've never ripened more than two or three fruits at a time before. I don't think I can--"
Chlorophyll Kid reached up and grabbed Fruit Boy's shoulders. "The peace and security of this whole world is resting on you! You're the only one who can do this job, man. Lightning Lad couldn't do it. Saturn Girl couldn't do it. Only you can ripen those bananas and save this world. It's time, Fruit Boy. Time for you to be a hero."
After a long moment, Fruit Boy nodded. With Chlorophyll Kid's hands still resting on his shoulders, he closed his eyes and focused.
Marl had never told anyone how his powers worked--mostly because no one had ever cared enough to ask. But if anyone had ever asked, he would have been forced to admit that he sang to the fruit in his mind, a song of waxing and maturing, a song of potential being realized.
Now he sang to millions on millions of fruit, feeling his song and his mind stretched to beyond anything he had ever experienced before. Come into being, he sang. Become what you are meant to be. At first there was no response and he felt despair grip him. He was inadequate to the task, he couldn't do it. Then he remembered the trust in those bright green eyes and poured that hope, that longing, into his song. He felt the plants responding then, a vast ripple of green brightening into gold, joyous as sunlight, impossibly bright. He heard the gasps of wonder from his team and felt Chlorophyll Kid stand up, his arms still wrapped around him, holding him as the song carried him into brilliance beyond words or sensation.
: : :
In his dream, Marl sees the universe before him, a perfect sphere. Its rind is of the blackest velvet, and he can feel the innumerable stars within it like seeds, shining.
He puts out his hand and sings to it.
The universe sings back.
: : :
The dream gave way to the antiseptic white walls of a hospital room. "Ah, you're finally awake again." Marl turned his head to see Chlorophyll Kid sitting in a chair beside the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Thirsty," Marl managed. Chlorophyll Kid held a glass of water for him to sip. Once his throat wasn't so dry, he added, "Not bad." He smiled weakly at the other Legionnaire. "So...is that a banana in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"
Chlorophyll Kid looked surprised and reached for his pocket. "Actually...that is a banana in my pocket."
"Oh," said Marl, feeling rather deflated as Chlorophyll Kid pulled out the yellow fruit.
"...But I'm happy to see you, too."
Marl's second "Oh" had a distinctly different tone.
"That was some good work there. You should be proud of yourself, Fruit Boy. I know I'm proud to be on the same team as you."
Marl cleared his throat, feeling awkward. "You can call me 'Marl' if you want. 'Fruit Boy' is a...pretty ridiculous name. I couldn't think of much, and 'Ripening Lad' seemed right out."
His teammate snorted laughter. "Okay...Marl. Feel free to call me Ral. But I kind of like Fruit Boy, at that." Ral's smile was warm and Marl felt a blush blooming on his cheeks. "I'm curious," Ral continued, leaning forward. "How do your powers work? Would you mind telling me?"
Marl closed his eyes for a moment and felt the sunlight slanting across his face. He met Ral's gaze. "I'd love to," he said.
As they talked, Marl could feel everything everywhere ripening toward perfection, the world around them coming to fruition, slowly, peacefully, with the grace of time and nature.