SPIFFY DISCLAIMER THINGIE!!

Ah don't own them DC Comic does! Ah'm not making any money off'n this so y'all please don't sue moi, heah??

Rated PG-17 for implied M/F sex! (Yeppers! Who'd a thunk it??)

For 'rith, as always, and any other Legion lovers out there:):)

Wolf In The Fold

A Legion Tale by Dannell Lites

"Vi," said Brin Londo, Timber Wolf, "we need to talk."

Grife, I loathe the sound of his voice. Low and deep, it sounds like a kettledrum rattling around in his broad chest, ominous and foreboding. Just like the rest of him, actually. From his broad feet to his lupine pointed ears, I despise everything about Brin Londo. I will never, ever understand what Ayla saw in him. It's had to be pity is the only thing I can guess. Lightning Lass has a big heart. To sprocking big sometimes. Her misplaced compassion leads her to make mistakes on occasion. Big mistakes. Mistakes like Brin Londo.

The thought of him touching her makes my skin crawl. And he's not even a faithful lover. Now, he and Imra both say that nothing happened when they were alone on that asteroid. I'd never call Saturn Girl a liar to her face, but I think Garth and Ayla are both fools for believing them. It doesn't matter any more, I guess. When Ayla left the Legion after that horrible fight with Darkseid, Brin didn't go with her. And now that she's back it doesn't look like they're going to get back together. Good for Ayla, I say.

"We've got nothing to talk about, Timber Wolf," I tell him in an even voice. "Nothing at all." His answer is almost a growl.

"Oh yes, we do, Violet," he grabbed my arm, "we've got a LOT to talk about! A lot."

I twisted away from him and he let me go. "Don't touch me!" I cried, "Don't ever touch me!" To my horror, I was practically shouting. But Brin was smiling, now. "What are you afraid of, Vi?" he asked, his voice unusually soft. "What are you afraid of?" Gritting my teeth, I turned to go, snarling, "I'm not afraid of *you*!"

I thought he'd left me alone until I was standing before the automated door, watching it spiral open, allowing me to escape. And then I heard his voice in my ear, felt the warmth of his breath on the back of my neck.

"Oh yes, you are, Shrinking Violet," he whispered. "You're a fearless woman these days, but you're scared to death of *me*." He never touched me, but I shivered anyway. Silent, inches from my body, his nose followed the curve of my neck and shoulder. "I can see it in your eyes when you look at me," he told me, "smell it on your skin. You reek of fear ... fear ... and something else ... " I spun on my heel and he sidestepped neatly away from my intended blow. Val was a good teacher but it's easy to forget how *fast* Brin is. It's not a mistake any of his opponents get to make twice. He caught my hand and this time he wasn't letting go. He bared his teeth and shook me gently.

"Not this time, little Imskian," he ground out between sharp teeth, pulling me close to his tall body. I could feel the heat of him, see the muscles of his arms and chest roll like silk on oil under the tanned velvet of his skin.

"Damn you!" I cried, "Damn you, Brin Londo!" He released me so abruptly that I fell forward and had to catch myself before I hit the floor, cursing him all the while. Under my verbal assault he stepped back and crouched.

"Damn me to *what*, Vi?" he demanded in that gravelly voice that always set my nerves on fire, staring at me from out of those strange pupil-less eyes of his. "Damn me to hell?" When he laughed there was absolutely no mirth in it at all. "You're a little late. I've never lived anywhere else," he said simply. He circled me, prowling, stepping lightly around me, never taking his eyes off me.

"I've never belonged anywhere but *here* with the Legion," he explained. "And you want to take that away from me. Why, Violet, tell me why? Why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't - I don't hate you, T-Wolf," I stammered like an idiot. "I - I -" From behind he lay his hand on my shoulder and I jumped.

"No you're right," he said, "you don't hate me, Vi. You don't hate me at all." His lips were inches from mine and his hand glided along the curve of my neck and shoulder, down my arm until his fingers entwined themselves with mine. "The body doesn't lie," he reminded me. "Scents don't lie. You want me. You want me so badly you can taste it. And it scares you senseless."

"Liar!" I cried. For an instant, but only an instant, I thought to escape him by using my power to hide in the familiar safety of my chosen hiding place deep within the molecules. By grife, he couldn't follow me there!

But I didn't.

I refused to run away from him. I was through running away from anything. Anything at all. The old Vi would never have stood up for herself. One thing that spending time a in sense-dep tank at the mercy of terrorists, forgotten by your friends and even a stranger who called himself your lover, will do for you is teach you to be independent. Not to count on anyone or anything but yourself. My official Legion code name might still be Shrinking Violet, but *I* wasn't. Not anymore. And I didn't care who knew it. Especially not Brin Londo, damn his eyes. He shook me again like a rag doll in the hands of an irate child.

"Is this what you want from me, Vi?" he growled. "Is this what you *want*?"

With one arm he crushed me to his chest and smiled at me when I struggled in vain to escape him. "Why don't you use your power, Vi?" he crooned at me. "Why don't you run and hide in your sub-molecular world where I can't find you?" he demanded. He lay his hands on my buttocks and pulled me roughly closer to him, until, despite the cloth between us, I felt naked. Through the thin fabric of his uniform I felt the firmness of his body pressing tightly against mine and gasped. Relentless as the predator he so resembles, he covered my mouth with his, nipping and sucking at my lower lip.

"Because you want me to do this," he accused. "You've always wanted me to do this, Vi, from the first moment you set eyes on me." He slipped a hand down into the cleavage of my uniform and cupped one breast. He traced the shape of my nipple with rough fingers and pulled my breast free of the confining cloth. Lowering his head, he covered it with his mouth. I buried my hands in his hair and pulled as hard as I could, but he was too strong for me. As I always knew he would be. Groaning, I reigned blow after blow on his back, but he ignored me.

"You want to be taken," he husked in my unwilling ear, "taken and taken hard, no questions asked." I tried to scratch at his eyes but he turned me aside easily. Entwining his hands in my short hair he pulled it back smoothly until I was staring up into his eyes.

"And you want it to be my fault."

"You're an animal," I shouted in his face, "an animal!"

"That's what you're counting on, isn't it, little Vi?" His smile was savage, feral as he pressed me closer. "After all, everyone knows about Timber Wolf ... that he's less than human. Even he knows it. So if he makes you writhe and scream and fight while he takes you ... well, how can that be *your* fault? He's an *animal*." With that startling suddenness of his, he released me and I went stumbling back. His face twisted in the most amazing blend of anger and pain I've ever seen as he barred his teeth at me yet again.

"Well, you're wrong, Salu," he snarled, using my real name to hurt me as he was hurting. That was my name, once upon a time, back when I was mousy little Salu Digby. Salu became Violet to be effective-another kind of hiding, behind the mask of a code-name. But now Salu Digby is dead; she died in a sense-tank. Long live Vi.

"I'm *not* an animal!' Brin hissed at me. "I'm *not*! So you're not going to get what you want, Vi." Unconsciously, he thrust out his hips and even at this greater distance I could still see his arousal. My eyes must have given me away.

"But I hope you long for it," he taunted me in a throaty voice that was almost a deep purr. "I hope you pine for it and dream about it ... because you can't have it. It isn't real. And it's not *me*" Scowling fit to frighten demons, he stalked away from me. Still stinging from his truths, I almost let him go. Damn him! It was just like him to humiliate me then leave me to my shame.

But I knew that he was right. I'd always known that, hadn't I? Biting back anger, I admitted to myself that I'd never been fair to him. From the beginning he stirred me in ways that I couldn't talk about. Ways that left me aching, making me breathless and sweating in his presence. Nervously, I shifted from one foot to the other. Was he right? Was I trying to make him feel unwelcome in the Legion home he'd worked so hard to find?

Yes, I was.

I followed him and Ayla to the Metropolis Interstellar Zoo once, back when they were first finding one other. I watched Brin Londo, Timber Wolf, crouch by the habitat housing his namesake, a huge feral beast with bright blue eyes. Each the only one of their kind, each alone, the two regarded one another warily. But when Brin reached out to touch the wolf, to stroke its muzzle, the wild creature licked his hand like a tame dog. When Brin left, it threw back its great dark head and howled like a forlorn child. At the time I told myself it was because the wolf sensed another of its kind; another animal. That it knew Timber Wolf's real nature. Now ... I wonder if it didn't sense some other caged spirit, another lost soul.

"Timber Wolf - Brin! Wait!" I pleaded. I can't tell you why I called out to him. Why I tried to stop him. Was it because I wanted to apologize ... or was I still hoping for ... something else? I don't know. He froze in the doorway at the sound of my voice.

"What's the matter, Vi?" he mocked me savagely without turning to look at me, "wasn't Dirk enough for you? Didn't Sun Boy shine bright enough to satisfy you?"

"Space take you, nothing happened between Dirk and I! Nothing!" I shouted at him. "He never touched me! I was too afraid and he was too kind! I - I - I've never ... I haven't ..." He spun around and stared at me, then.

"You mean you're a *virgin*?" Timber Wolf said in astonishment. This time *I* was the one who barred my teeth at him.

"Of course I'm a virgin, you idiot! Why do you think I chose Duplicate Boy, who lives half a Quadrant away, as a boyfriend? Because he was never around! Ord may not be very bright, but I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised when even he finally got tired of waiting for what he wanted." I refused to cry. Damn him, he would NOT reduce me to that!

I didn't hear him at all. I thought he'd left; gone away and left me alone with my pain. I was surprised but I didn't jump this time when he lay his hand on my shoulder. I was rather proud of myself.

"The first time I ever tried to make love to Ayla ... I couldn't," he said to me. "I was so terrified that I was going to hurt her. I'd never been with anyone before and I was convinced I'd lose control of myself and harm her. Like everybody else, I thought I was an animal. Ayla was the one who taught me that I wasn't. She was patient with me. She never laughed at my fears. When we finally did make love it was everything it was supposed to be. It can be that way for you too, Vi. You just have to find the right partner."

"And who would that be?" I sniffed.

"Not me," he returned sadly. "What you want from me isn't what you need." His voice lightened. "It seems to me, though, that you might give Dirk another chance." I spun to face him. "Dirk?" I exclaimed. "But ... " He actually smiled.

"There's more to Sun Boy than his reputation," he chuckled, a deep sound from far within his chest. "He's not exactly what everyone imagines him to be, either. He won't hurt you." His chuckle deepened even more. "And you have to admit, he's got experience." My answering smile was rueful.

"Now *that's* the truth!"

But when I opened my eyes again after my fit of ironic laughter released me, he was gone, melted away like smoke. I think I began to understand what Ayla had seen in him, then. There were hidden, unsuspected depths to Brin Londo, Timber Wolf. Luckily for me. He could have had me; right there on the Rec Room floor. I wanted him. He was right about that. But he didn't. Oh, he didn't stop himself for me, because it would have been wrong for *me*. He did that for himself. But when he steered me in the direction of Sun Boy, someone who'd be kind to me ... that wasn't for him. That was for me.

For the rest of the day, I thought about Dirk Morgna, Sun Boy. He really had been very sweet to me. I couldn't seem to get him out of my thoughts. I tried. Space knows I tried. I puttered around my quarters, exercised in the gym, grife, I even went shopping without Ayla. None of it did the least bit of good. From the recesses of my memory Dirk smiled at me and stubbornly refused to leave me in peace. Before I quite knew what was happening, I found myself seated at my holocom, staring into Dirk's blue, blue eyes. He smiled at me like the sun.

"Hey, hey!" he cried happily, "change your mind about another dinner date, beautiful?" Before I could lose my courage, I smiled back and demurred, "Why, yes, I think I have."

Legion Meta:

Brin Londo - Timber Wolf. Gifted with enhanced senses, great strength and super agility, Brin Londo if the planet Zuun is the result of genetic experiments his father subjected him to in an attempt to create "the perfect Zuunite". For a long time Brin was under the impression that he wasn't human -- that he was an android. His self-esteem suffered massively and never really recovered. For many years (Legion time) he had an ongoing relationship with Ayla Ranzz, Lightning, Lass who stood by him and even helped him through a bout with drug addiction.

Shrinking Violet - Salu Digby of Imsk. Vi has the ability to shrink herself to microscopic size just as every Imskian can. When she first joined the Legion of Super-Heroes she lived up to her name in a big way! Not long after joining the Legion she became enamored of Duplicate Boy, Ord Querlu, one of the Heroes of the planet Lallor. The two rarely saw one another and this seemed to suit them both very well. Vi was kidnapped by Imskian terrorists and held in a sensory deprivation tank for a time. When she was rescued she was understandably bitter about the whole thing. She became much more assertive and even abrasive after this incident:):)

Ayla Ranzz - Lightning Lass of the planet Winath. Ayla and her twin brother Garth were supercharged with electrical (lightning) powers when their cruiser crashed on the planet Korbal and they attempted to use the fabled lightning beasts of Korbal to recharge their space cruiser's depleted power source. She was Brin Londo's long-time lover when they were both members of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Their relationship eventually came to an end when she left the Legion.

Garth Ranzz - Lightning Lad of Winath. He and his twin sister Ayla were both members of the Legion of Super-Heroes. The husband of Imra Ardeen, Saturn Girl. One of the founders of The Legion.

Imra Ardeen - Saturn Girl of Titan. The strongest telepath in the United Planets and one of the founders of the Legion. She and Timber Wolf were once stranded together for a short time and when they were rescued they were discovered virtually in a clinch! Both later claimed that *nothing* happened. Heh, heh, heh:):) Wife of Lightning Lad.

Val Armorr - Karate Kid of Earth. The galaxy's greatest martial artist. Before he was killed Val was Timber Wolf's closest friend. In fact, in his will he left everything to Brin.

Dirk Morgna - Sun Boy of Earth. Possessed of great thermal powers involving heat and light, Dirk is the Legion playboy. Incredibly handsome with equally flashy powers and personality, he's a 30th century babe magnet of mammoth proportions:):)

This site is dedicated to the memory of Dannell Lites, who died unceremoniously on 16 September, 2002, in Kansas City, MO. Other than characters, place names, etc., which are ©DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Warner Bros., WGBS or any other television/movie owner, or Wizard Magazine, all content is ©2002 Dannell Lites. Background set ©2002 by SleepyHead. Please do not use without her permission. Site url= http://dannfan.50megs.com/