There was a tinge in the air; a minor change that few could have detected and even less could have seen coming. But it was there. And it had significance.
Six figures appeared from nowhere. Quickly gaining their surroundings, most of the newcomers just saw that they were in a space station; a very advanced space station, but still just that. Only two people among them knew the significance of where they were, and more importantly, when.
Hourman and Brainiac 8 both scanned and found it was the correct time; January 7th, 3066. Today was the day that Computo would be activated.
Before they had gained their bearings, a high-pitched noise caught their attention. It was an alarm. Before they knew it, the Metal Men were surrounded by a variety of superheroes. One of them, a green-skinned man with blond hair and a purple costume, stepped forward and spoke for them.
“What are you doing here?” He asked. Brainiac 8 recognized the man instantly; he was Brainiac 5, her great-grandfather.
“We come from the year 6300.” Hourman spoke for the team. “Today, you will activate Computo. We need to stop you from doing that.”
It didn’t take long for Brainiac 5 to analyze the situation and respond. “You trespass in our headquarters, with the Tomorrow Woman, the Red Tornado and Ajax, three historic villains of the 21st century, despite claiming to be from the 64th century, and demand that I shut down my new operating system?” He paused, letting the effects of his answer sink in. “Forgive me if I’m a little skeptical.”
“Please.” Brainiac 8 said. “You have to believe us. In our time, Computo will become a tyrant and a conqueror, and will have most of the known universe under his control.”
“We can’t trust you.” He said. “We’ll have to detain you.”
As the Legion of Super-Heroes prepared to assault the Metal Men, one thought echoed through Hourman’s mind: This isn’t working out.
* * * * * *
Back in the past (or present, as it were), David Magnus sat down, across from his younger brother William, in the basement of Will’s house. Dave looked at Will curiously, trying to find the problem with him. Then, in the calmest, least threatening demeanor he could muster, Dave asked “What’s wrong?”
“Nothings wrong.” Will said dismissively. Had he still any work to do, Will would gladly be doing it to avoid this inquisition, but as it stood he could only look at the dusty corners of the laboratory in hopes of avoided eye contact.
“Somethings wrong.” Dave pressed his interrogation. “You’ve been acting strange since we got out of the hospital.”
“Maybe I don’t like being drafted into a team of superheroes.” Will answered.
We’re not on the team, we’re just tech support. Dave thought. He didn’t say it out loud; now was not the time to disagree with or antagonize his brother. He instead said “Will, what’s wrong?”
“Nothings wrong!” He answered, this time with more anger. “I’m not…this isn’t…I’m not going to talk about this!” He stood up from his chair and headed towards the stairs.
“Will! Stay here!” Dave yelled after him. He heard the door slam forcefully upstairs. He looked out the window near the ceiling and saw his younger brother’s feat as they marched angrily away.
“What’s going on with you?” Dave asked faintly.
* * * * * *
The conflict between the new Metal Men and the Legion of Super-Heroes had escalated to a full-on brawl. The heroes of the past were holding their own against the small group of heroes of the future. Tomorrow Woman was tearing off pieces of the floor with her telekinesis and hurling them at her foes and from the look on her face, having the time of her artificial life. Red Tornado, his lower body a crimson funnel of wind, was blasting powerful hurricanes at the attacking Legion, with blankness on his masked face. Ajax was handling them directly, using his great strength to hold them off. Mercury was, almost playfully, leaping off the walls and hitting any opposition in his way.
Brainiac 8 had held back from fighting, putting herself behind a force field and attempting to divide the forces with her powers. “We aren’t here to fight!” She attempted to yell over the chaos, but to no avail. The Legion and the Metal Men continued to fight relentlessly.
Hourman had the most difficult job of all. He had to locate Computo, but Brainiac 5 had put a force field between the two. The time-traveler struck the glowing wall with all his strength, but found it impenetrable.
“We need to save the future!” He said. “And you are destroying it!”
The force field changed and reformed until it was a bubble wrapped around Hourman’s form. “You trespass in our headquarters and attack our team. You’re going to prison. It’s as simple as that.”
“You attacked us first!” Hourman said angrily, placing his hands on the walls of his makeshift prison.
Brainiac 5 slowly approached the sphere, his hands behind his back. “We’re the Legion of Super-Heroes. We are the protectors of this universe, of this entire time period. You attack the protectors, you go to jail. It’s simple as-”
Hourman closed his eyes. The force field began to waver and dissipated before the surprised eyes of Brainiac 5. Taking advantage of this, the time-traveler shot forward, yelling “Brainiac!” as he flew off down the halls of the Legion’s headquarters. Brainiac 8, hearing him, flew after him, catching up with him easily.
Brainiac 5 shook off the shock and said into the ring on his left hand “This is Brainiac 5, requesting backup from all available Legionnaires. We have invaders in Legion headquarters. They need to be contained and imprisoned. Execute if necessary.”
* * * * * *
David Magnus was an optimist. He considered himself fortunate and counted his blessings often. One such blessing was that after their brief argument, he had found his brother Will. The younger Magnus brother wasn’t hurt, but he was intoxicated, and it was Dave’s priority was to get him as normal as possible.
The pair entered a diner and sat down at a table. A waiter approached them and said “What can I get for you?”
“Well, he’s drunk.” Dave answered quaintly. “He’ll need a glass of water and grilled cheese sandwich.”
“He doesn’t look drunk.” The waiter answered.
“Yeah, he doesn’t.” The older Magnus brother said. Will had the curious ability to maintain his motor functions when intoxicated.
“Look, if he’s drunk, you should probably get him a cup of coffee.”
“Why would I do that?” Dave asked. “Look, right now, his liver is counteracting the alcohol in his blood. But if I give him coffee, it’ll be fighting the toxins in the coffee. Which means that the alcohol and the caffeine from the coffee will both be affecting him, which means I’ll have an awake drunk on my hands, and God knows I don’t need that.”
“Okay…” The waiter paused, surprised by the detailed response. “So what’s the stuff you ordered gonna do?”
“The water will flush out his system and the bread will absorb some of the alcohol.”
“Well, why the grilled cheese?” The waiter asked.
“He likes grilled cheese.” Dave answered. The waiter, apparently satisfied, walked away.
Dave turned to Will and said “Okay, time to talk. What is wrong with you?”
“Nothing is wrong with me.” Will answered. “Nothing. I’m fine. In fact, I’m better than fine. I’m a living miracle.”
“Will, listen to me.” Dave said in his most serious tone. “You are not fine. Look at yourself, you’re a mess! Now talk to me.”
“I don’t need this. I don’t need this and I’m not doing this!” Will stood up and prepared to walk away. Dave stood up and gave him an open-hand slap across face.
There was a pause.
Then Will slowly sat down. Dave joined him and simply said “Talk. Please, Will.”
“…I shouldn’t have this.” He began. “This. This whole de-aged miracle. When I walked out of that hospital, you know what I was thinking? I was thinking ‘What the hell do I have to go home to?’ Huh? I got an empty lab, in an empty house, in my whole empty life.”
“Will, you could have done anything.” Dave said.
“I didn’t want to do anything! I don’t want to do anything! I wanted to try and rebuild the Metal Men. Again. How pathetic is that? The thing that I was obsessed with, the thing that took over and ruined my life, and I wanted to go back to it.”
“Well, you’ve never been boring…”
“Dave, do you know what I would give to be ‘boring’? I lived an 'exciting' life and what did it get me? Nothing! No, not nothing, it got me constant work and psychopaths trying to kill me. You lived normal, and look what you got. Security, tranquility…Helen…”
Dave sighed. He knew that was going to come up again. “I’m sorry. Okay? I know I’ve said it before and I know I can’t make up for what I did, but I’m sorry.”
Will acted as if he hadn’t heard the last statement. As he was about to speak, Dave interrupted him. “Look, Will, you gotta drop this pessimistic, self-loathing crap, okay? You had a miracle happen to you. It’s only a handful of people who have this kind of divine intervention. You have to appreciate this!”
Again, Will ignored him. Dave continued. “I get that you didn’t want the hero life again, but think about it. You’ve help saved the future. Not just the city, or the world, but the future! An entire universe, in debt to you. Think about that.”
Will allowed himself a rare smile. He even chuckled a bit.
“The choice is yours.” The elder Magnus brother said. “You can resent your mistakes and consciously repeat them, or you can change. You can do anything that you want with this new life. Personally, I’m just gonna try to do good. But you can do whatever you please. Again, the choice is yours.”
At that point, the waiter came around and brought Will his meal. Dave gave his brother a ten dollar bill to pay for his food and stood up.
“Will, you’re an adult. And you’re much older than you look.” He said with good humor. “I can’t force you to decide what to do. But I think you know what you should do.”
He left, feeling a distinct sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Will simply sipped his drink, took a bite of his sandwich, and thought.
* * * * * *
Hourman and Brainiac 8 shot through the halls of the Legion of Super-Heroes’ headquarters. As they flew, the familiar voice of the ancestor Brainiac came over the intercom.
“Attention intruders.” He said. “You can’t win. You’re out numbered, outmatched and you’re in our headquarters. No matter where you hide, we will find you. Surrender now.”
The pair ignored him and continued their flight, searching the massive structure for their target. And finally, they found it.
Hourman had never seen Computo in person before. The machine was tall and wide, easily towering over them. It was painted yellow and covered in various dials, displays, switches and buttons. Hourman almost found it hard to believe this was the scourge of the far flung future.
The time-traveler approached the machine and placed his hands upon it.
“No.” Brainiac 8 said. “No, this won’t work.”
“I did the same to Henshaw.” Hourman said. “This will be fine.”
“Brainiac 5 is my ancestor.” She responded. “I know what he’d do. If we destroyed it, he’ll build another. One more resilient. We need to find a different way.”
“Do you have any ideas?” Hourman asked.
“I do.” Brainiac 8 said. She found a port on Computo and plugged her hand into it. “Work quickly.” Hourman said. “Because the Legion is here.”
With Brainiac 5 at the lead, the future’s greatest heroes had arrived in the same room as them, the other Metal Men all captured within the leader’s force field prison. “This is your last chance.” Brainiac 5 said. “Give up.”
Hourman had nothing to say. He couldn’t reason his way out of this. All he could do was be silently amazed by the vast array of heroes. This was the golden age of heroism; the kind that was no more than myth where Hourman came from. He was glad that at least once in his lifetime, he could witness this.
“Very well.” Brainiac 5 said. Behind him, the Legion charged forward, ready to take them out.
“And…time!”
A voice from nowhere announced. All around Hourman, everything froze. The Legion, the Metal Men, Brainiac 8, they were all completely motionless. The time-traveler looked around and saw a figure before him; one who wasn’t there a minute ago.
“What’s happening?” Hourman asked.
The figure stepped into the light, revealing he was a human, wearing a flashy blue and gold costume. “Let me explain…”
* * * * * *
“My name is Booster Gold.” The figure said. “I’m something of a time-traveler, like you. And what happened is that you saved the future.”
Hourman said nothing. He was still trying to process all this. Booster continued his explanation. “Brainiac 8 here, her plan worked. She interfaced with Computo and shut down it’s time travel functions. Now Computo is still going to rebel and fight the Legion, and there may be some casualties, but they will overcome it and move forward.”
The robotic hero turned to his ally, only to find that Brainiac 8 had vanished. “Where is she?” He demanded with anger in his electronic voice.
“Gone.” Booster said simply. “You helped to create a future where Computo never gained power; he never created Brainiac 6, who never created Brainiac 7, and, well, Brainiac 8 never came to be. I’m…I’m sorry.”
He felt distinct sense of sadness. His friend had vanished. This was the price of his success.
“Why do I still exist, then?” Hourman asked.
“Because the people in charge, my bosses, they want you to exist.” He responded. “You’ve been unhinged from time.”
“Why? What am I supposed to do?”
“Well, whatever you want.” Booster answered. “You’re free to travel through the time stream as you please. You can do anything, Tyler.”
He paused. “Tyler?” Hourman asked.
Booster’s face suddenly displayed a sheepish expression. “I wasn’t supposed to say that. You can just go ahead and forget that little tidbit.”
“Alright,” He continued. “If there are no further questions, I’ll be on my way.” As he turned to leave, Hourman said “Wait. What’s the future like now?”
Booster paused. He looked over his shoulder at the robotic hero and asked “Would you like to see?”
Hourman thought about this and responded “No. I don’t want to dwell on the past.”
Booster smirked. “Alright. Best of luck to you.” And with that, he vanished in a blinding flash of light.
* * * * * *
It was a statistically impossible that the actions of Hourman and Brainiac 8 had such a profound effect all across not only the universe, but across the time stream as well. And yet, they had. The robots captured in the 21st century returned to where they were, completely free of all modifications done to them on Titan. The Legion of Super-Heroes, though they searched in vain for their intruders, eventually returned to their business as usual. And finally, there were the Magnus brothers.
Returned to their natural ages, Will Magnus still lay in his hospital bed, trying to avoid losing consciousness for fear of never regaining it. Dave sat beside him in a wheelchair, having made his peace to his brother and was now waiting in sorrow for death to come.
A glimmering light appeared in the room that caught both of their attentions. From it, a figure appeared wearing a unique gold and brown outfit.
“Hello. My name is Hourman.” The figure said in an electronic voice. “You may call me Tyler. I can heal both of you."
David Magnus was in shock, too startled to form any words. Will, however, sleepily replied "W-What's the catch?"
"Well," Hourman said. "I'd like your help in locating some friends of mine."
