Category Archives: The Legion of Nothing

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 9

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I didn’t move. It didn’t even occur to me that I could. Listening felt like the most natural thing in the world to do. How could anyone argue with that voice? You just wanted to obey it.

I kept facing straight ahead, so I don’t know where Julie came from—just that she came from behind and to the left. I didn’t even know what was on that side of the street because Travis and I had been talking, and apparently neither one of us had been paying enough attention.

She stood in front of Travis and I, looking the two of us over. Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 9 →

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 8

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Did cellphone service even make it out here? Normal cellphone service, that is. It didn’t surprise me that the League’s somehow did, but who knew how Nick had managed it.

I took the call even though I was tempted to ignore it. Mom and I didn’t always get along.

“Mom, I… didn’t expect to hear from you. It’s a program weekend, so I might not be able to talk long.”

“Did I catch you at a bad time?”

She caught me off guard with that question. It depended on your definition of bad. On the one hand, we’d barely avoided meeting up with xenophobic, superpowered killers, and an alternate version of my ex-boyfriend’s stalker. On the other hand, neither one was around right now.

Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 8 →

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 7

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Tara bit her lip, and said, “Let’s talk about it outside.”

It didn’t take long to go outside. We passed the concrete lions without anything weird happening, and found ourselves standing on the grass next to the river again. Tara kept walking until we were out of earshot of any of the other people.

Well, out of normal earshot—Travis could hear every conversation on the lawn, and right then I was grateful for it.

Tara looked both ways before she said anything. “I was going to tell you about them. It’s a standard part of the tour, but with me being who I am, it gets… complicated.”

No one said anything while she paused.

Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 7 →

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 6

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I told them the whole story, explaining the statue and a little bit about what’s like to phase out. I finished with, “Julie’s not here anymore. I think we’ll be safe leaving after lunch.”

Tara had stopped eating while I talked. When I stopped, she started, her words coming out all at once, moving her hands as she talked, “So that’s how they keep tabs on everybody—I bet they’re listening to all of us. And you wouldn’t believe the stories I’ve heard about people who started fights here. They completely disappeared! I wonder if they’d talk to me if said hi on the way out?”

Rod opened his mouth a couple times when it almost seemed like the torrent of words would stop, but said nothing, looking frustrated. Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 6 →

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 5

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“Or,” I said, “if the Julie out there had a completely different problem which was worse.”

Tara broke in before I could continue or Travis could reply. “I think you both made good points. Julie’s powerful, and we don’t know what she’ll want to do because she doesn’t have the same history as our universe’s Julie. We’ll need to be careful on the way out. Does anybody have earplugs?”

Samita furrowed her brows, concentrating, and then started to talk. “I could have blocked out the sound around us, but I don’t have any idea where to get the materials I’d need.”

Tara smiled. “I’m sure I could help. We’d have to—”

“Leave,” Rod said, “and then we’d have to walk around deaf all day. I remember that spell. You used it when we ran into the banshee, remember?”

Samita held up her hand. “I know you didn’t like it, but it worked.”

Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 5 →

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 4

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“Travis, don’t look now, but remember Julie? She’s over there, and there’s no way she came with us.”

Travis didn’t look. He smiled at me calmly, as if we were talking about something pleasant. He handled it better than I thought he would. “I smelled her. I’ve been pretending not to see her.”

“Good.” It took all of my self-control not to check whether she’d noticed us.

I remembered the briefing. You don’t mess with alternate versions of yourself or anyone you know. It’s right up there with going back in time to kill your grandfather—a dumb, dumb idea. You never knew what forces shaped them, and it was so easy to assume you were talking with the person you know.

Look, I may not always trust authority figures, but I listen when they’re talking sense.

Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 4 →

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 3

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I tried to point out the euthanasia shop to Travis, but he missed it.

“Super senses?” I asked, speaking softly and, turning away from the window to look at him.

Travis frowned for a moment. “Night vision,” he muttered. “Not this. Besides you’ve got the window seat.”

I smiled at him. “You were polite.”

He had been. He let me on the bus first.

Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 3 →

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 2

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Something about Bullet’s attitude rubbed me the wrong way, so I didn’t make a big effort to hurry. It didn’t matter. Half the people in front of us did.

Travis stood up before I even put my hand on the seat.

It didn’t allow either of us to exit the bus any faster—not with everyone getting up at the same time.

Eventually we did, and instead of being in a line waiting to get out of the bus, we stood next to the door, waiting to pick up our CDPS’s, split into groups, and step into an impossible place.

Why it took as long as it did, I have no idea. We’d been told which groups we were in before we’d even gotten on the bus. Plus it was cold. Standing on a grassy plain in the month of November isn’t something I’d recommend to anyone.

Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 2 →

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 1

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Grandma Vander Sloot told me about the city, how it existed simultaneously in an infinity of alternate dimensions, how an alley could lead you somewhere Kaiser Wilhelm and Germany won World War I, and you might meet the version of yourself that lived there.

She told me about the people imprisoned there, exiles from too many universes to name.

You’d think a place like that might put you in mind of Victorian Gothic novels—Wuthering Heights’ moors and ghosts, a decaying aristocracy, and their uneducated, superstitious servants.

If you did expect that, it would only be the first of a long list of disappointments. Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 1 →

Arc 5.4: Picking Up Pieces

Picking Up Pieces: Part 11

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Cassie noticed the men, frowned, and said, “Let’s go into my room.”

We walked upstairs. I couldn’t help but remember other times I’d been inside, most of them during the summer before we’d reformed the League. Cassie had been on bed rest after the treatments that activated her powers. I hadn’t known it at the time. I’d just thought she was sick.

I’d helped her gather everyone for movie nights while wondering if she’d make it through the summer.

Even then it hadn’t been a cluttered house. It always felt clean and orderly, but a little like a hotel. Her mom commuted to Washington D.C. a lot and had hired people to keep it clean.

Sure, her cover as a realtor had never been blown, but I’d always wondered if adding a little mess to the house might have helped.

Continue reading Picking Up Pieces: Part 11 →