Whats this again?
Its an old Earth delicacy, Garth, called tomato soup.
Garth Ranzz, the Legionnaire called Live Wire, looked at the bowl of red liquid sitting on a plate in front him that the Legions resident cook, Tenzil Kem, had handed him. The soup was steaming hot; the outside of the bowl was quickly covering in condensation due to the cool temperature of the room.
Seeing Garths hesitant expression, Kem chimed in, You said you wanted to try something different, said you were in the mood for a good soup. Well, this is a good soup.
Yeah, I did say I wanted to try something different, didnt I.
Oh, hold that thought
said Kem as he sprinkled some green herb on the soup. Seeing the bits of the herb floating in the steaming bowl of red liquid, Garth gave Kem a puzzled look.
Parsley, Kem stated with smile, Really complements the flavor of the soup.
After a few seconds of staring at the bowl of red fluid with little green bits drifting on its surface, Garth grabbed the spoon and dipped it in the soup. He brought it to his lips and slurped it down. It was hot, but it was nice and smooth and rich in flavor.
Nodding his head in approval to Tenzil Kem, Garth said,
Hey, youre right, Tenzil. Thats some good stuff.
See? What did I tell you, Garth?
Thanks, Kem, Garth said with a wave as he walked into the seating area of the mess hall.
There were only a few other Legionnaires there at the time.
Jo Nah, codenamed Ultra Boy, was sitting at a table talking to woman who isnt there, Tinya Wazzo, also called Apparition. The pair had become close, but they werent able to take their growing relationship to the next level due to Jos inability to see that the boss of his then group, the Work Force, was morally questionable. Later on, when the Earth was being ravaged by a group of Daxamites, who were members of the racist group the White Triangle, Jo fought along side Tinya to stop the Daxamites and save the Earth from total destruction. Sadly, at the end, Jo was unable to save Apparition who was killed by one of the Daxamites blasts of flash vision. Still, as bad as it sounds, the story had a happy ending. When Tinya died, she was somehow able to take advantage of Ultra Boys invulnerability and survived, in an ethereal state, inside Jos body.
After some time, Tinya was able to extract herself from Ultra Boys body, but only Jo and her mother were able to see her. Now the pair is reunited, and Jos guilt over Tinyas death was gone. And, even though they could never touch, they were truly happy.
Garth smiled at that thought. He used to feel a bit of envy at seeing the other Legionnaire couples, and it didn't sit well with him to feel that way about his friends and teammates. But now, he felt their joy, for, after a long time, he had taken his sisters advice and began dating fellow Legionnaire, Saturn Girl. Imra Ardeen. The most beautiful girl he had ever laid his eyes on. He loved her the moment he saw her. Just thinking about Imra put warmth in his heart and a smile of joy on his face.
Not wanting to bother Jo and Tinya, Garth made his was to the other Legionnaire that was sitting in the mess hall at the time, his sister, Ayla Ranzz, aka Spark. Garth and Ayla were twins, and, along with their older brother Mekt, the three went off joyriding in their parents ship. Unfortunately, they had to make an emergency landing on the planet called Korbal. Their ships power core was drained, but the trio attempted to herd a group of lightning beasts, the only real indigenous animal of the planet, to their ship in order to use the creatures electrical powers to recharge it. The plan backfired though, and the beasts turning on them, blasting the siblings with electrical energy. Amazingly, the attack did not kill them though, but instead gave them the ability to generate and channel electricity akin to the lightning beasts.
With his powers, Garth ended up becoming a founding member of the Legion, and Ayla joined later on. Mekt, however, took a different road, and used his powers for his own selfish reason in taking a life of crime.
Hey, sis, mind if I join you?
Ayla took a sip of her drink, a dark purple liquid that Garth had no idea what it was,
Sure, have a seat.
Garth sat down and took another slurp from his tomato soup. Looking at Aylas drink as she took another sip, he asked curiously,
Just what is that youre drinking?
Braalian tea, she answered in between sips,
I tried some of Cos the other day, and Ive been hooked ever since.
Ayla put the drink down and leaned over the table to stare quizzically at what Garth was eating. Seeing his sisters unspoken question, Garth responded,
Its an old Earth delicacy called tomato soup. At least thats what Kem said.
Is it good?
You bet. Want to try some? Garth said as he handed Ayla the spoon.
Sure, why not, said Ayla with a big smile on her face.
Ayla dipped the spoon into the steaming red liquid and brought it to her lips, slurping it down. Smacking her lips for a few seconds, a look of disgust came across her face.
Ewww! Garth, how can you eat that? It tastes horrible.
Garth smiled and stared directly at Ayla as he grabbed the bowl from the sides, brought it up to his mouth, and took a big gulp.
Ahhhh
tastes even better now, he said with a teasing smirk on his face.
Ayla just crossed her arms and shook her head.
Now, it was Garths turn to lean across the table and grab Aylas glass of Braalian tea.
Hey!
What? You tried my soup, so I get to taste this spectacular tea of yours.
I know, but you couldve at least asked.
Garth took a sip of the tea, and then held it out in front of him, as if inspecting the glass intently. As he nodded his head, Garth stated,
Not bad
if one considers the bodily fluid of a Sloth-Ape tasty.
Give me that! said Ayla as she snatched the drink out of Garths hand with an irritated look on her face. Seeing his sisters facial expression, Garth just laughed.
After a minute of silence, Ayla smiles and asks,
So
how are thing going with you and Imra?
Garth put down his spoon and sat up straight as he smiled warmly,
Well, as you know weve only been seeing each other for about a week, but things are going great so far.
Garth leaned forward and looked at Ayla keenly,
I want to thank you, sis, for urging me to tell her how I feel about her.
Wow, Garth Ranzz
thanking me for advice? Ill have to mark today on my calendar, replies Ayla, with a mild chuckle.
Seeing Garth purse his lips in a frown, Ayla states,
Im only teasing. Even though Im sure she already knew how you felt, being a telepath and all, its good that you finally got the nerve and told her.
Ayla leaned back in her seat, took another sip of her Braalian tea, and gave her brother a playful half smile,
Women like a confident man after all.
So Ive heard, said Garth, as he downed another spoonful of tomato soup.
After another minute of awkward silence, Ayla speaks again, but this time in a more serious and concerned tone,
So, Garth
hows the arm doing?
Its ok
Dr. Gymll said Ill never be able to channel my lightning powers through it though.
Im sorry to hear that, Garth.
So am I. Ive been meaning to ask Brainy if he can help me out with it
maybe fix it up so that it would be able to guide my electrical powers through it.
When Garth came to after the incident with the lightning beasts, Mekt was gone and Ayla was still in a coma. He left immediately though to find Mekt and make sure he was all right. His search took him to Earth, where he saved the life of the richest man in the galaxy, R.J. Brande, along with Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl. Afterwards, Brande talked them in to forming the Legion of Superheroes, which would be the living embodiment of the newly formed United Planets.
After many adventures with and without the Legion, Garth eventually was able to continue his search for Mekt. He eventually found Mekt, but it was not the happy reunion that he had hoped for. Mekt was no longer the big brother Garth had idolized growing up on their home planet, Winath. He had become a heartless criminal and terrorist called Lightning Lord who was out to exterminate every being in the galaxy with lightning powers so that he could be unique.
Luckily for Garth, Ayla arrived in time to help him defeat Mekt by combining their powers
but at the expense of Garths right arm, which was incinerated. Mekt had been taken into custody by the Science Police, who were the peacekeepers of the UP, but that did little to alleviate the sorrow he felt of having lost his big brother.
You should go talk to Brainy, Garth. If anyone could help you out, its him. I wouldnt wait though; the sooner you talk to him, the sooner you can work something out after all.
More sisterly advice? asks Garth with smile.
Of course, Ayla said as she smiled right back.
Garth finished his bowl of soup and wiped a bit of the red liquid from his mouth and sighed in satisfaction.
Now that was some good stuff.
Ayla laughed,
Yeah, if one considers the bodily fluid of a Sloth-Ape tasty.
Both brother and sister shared a good laugh at Aylas reiteration of the same comment Garth made about her Braalian tea.
Wiping a tear from her eye, Ayla asked,
So, Brande asked you to lead the Legion while we were stuck in the past.
Yeah, he did, Garth said a bit uneasily. He was uncomfortable with being named Legion leader, and was more than happy to see Invisible Kid take over that role after a formal election was held upon the return of the missing Legionnaires from the 20th century, who were thrown back in time by the Emerald Eye of Ekron, a sentient mystical artifact of unimaginable power.
Seeing his look of uneasiness, Ayla leaned over the table and grabbed his left hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.
Hey, you did a fantastic job, Garth. You really did. I know you werent comfortable with the burden of command, but you did a great job, she said with a sincere look in her eyes.
Garth smiled back and nodded his head slightly,
Thanks, Ayla.
Silence again descended upon the table, but this time in was not in the least bit awkward.