Second Chances: Stargirl

Chapter 6

That night, despite everything Courtney had learned and all the thoughts she had going through her head, especially how betrayed she felt by her own mother, she had a better night's sleep tonight than she'd had in months, since it appeared that the staff calling to her was what had been causing her weird dreams and now that she'd finally claimed both it and her father's legacy, her dreams were peaceful.

Another thing that was helping her sleep was the fact that she was finally able to let go of her anger towards her father. An anger that she'd held onto for so long, she could actually feel the difference now that it was gone. However, unfortunately, her anger towards her father had been replaced by a new, maybe even greater anger towards her for lying to her for so many years and denying her the opportunity to grieve her father until now. She honestly wasn't sure when she'd be ready to forgive her mom, but she knew that it wouldn't be anytime soon.

A sentiment that didn't change when she entered the dining room for breakfast the following morning where she found her mom, Pat and Yolanda already sitting down at the table, but it was clear that Mike was taking advantage of the fact that today was the last day they could all sleep in.

"Courtney, how did you sleep?" her mom asked, only to receive silence in return.

"Courtney, I know I made a mistake, but you can't just spend your whole life ignoring me." Barbara said, only to get nothing back from her daughter.

"Barb, I think you just need to give her some time. It's a lot to process." Pat said.

"Mr. Dugan, maybe after breakfast, you can take us back down to the citadel and give Courtney and I a history lesson on the JSA, since they aren't covered in school." Yolanda said, trying to change the subject and Pat nodded, since he was going to do that anyways, but he was grateful to Yolanda for trying to change the subject.

"And maybe while we're down there you can tell us how you got powers." Courtney said, since they hadn't really addressed that last night.

"Like I told you last night, if I had any idea about how I got powers, I'd tell you." Yolanda said as Courtney sat down next to her and had her favorite breakfast placed in front of her by their staff.

"Thank you." Courtney said to the servant, who nodded before walking away.

"So, are we telling Mike about this, does he already know or are you gonna make the same mistake with him that you made with me?" Courtney asked, though this question was more directed at Pat than her mother.

"I originally wanted to keep Mike out of this, but I realize that would be hypocritical of me considering how much I wanted you to know the truth. But Mike is younger than you, so he is not getting involved, since unlike you, there's no weapon seeking him out and unlike Yolanda, he doesn't have powers." Pat said and both Courtney and Yolanda nodded.

After breakfast, Courtney, Pat and Yolanda headed down to the Citadel so that Pat could give them the full history of the JSA, which was why they were currently in the new meeting room.

"Okay Pat, start from the beginning." Courtney said and Pat nodded.

"Okay, it all started back during World War 2. That was when the original JSA was formed as an elite covert strike team to combat the more dangerous parts of the war, mainly meaning supernatural or enhanced assets the Axis powers tried to use. The team was led by Wonder Woman, I'm sure you've heard of her." Pat said.

"The half amazon warrior goddess who's the reason we won world war one." Courtney asked, since Wonder Woman was well known in history.

"Yes. She led the original JSA, which was made up of Commander Steel, the first Hourman, Vixen, the Black Canary, Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Courtney's grandfather, Barb's father, Ted Knight, who was the first Starman. After the war ended, the JSA kind of drifted apart, since they weren't needed, especially after the Cold War ended. Eventually the staff was passed down from Ted to Courtney's father Sylvester, though Sylvester had been acting as a vigilante for years before the staff chose him." Pat said.

"What do you mean?" Courtney asked.

"I mean your dad was around your age when he first started out as the Star Spangled Kid. His parents, your grandparents on his side, were being threatened by some criminals and he put on a mask to protect them and I partnered with him, since I was his family's mechanic at the time." Pat said.

"So, he'd already been a hero when the staff chose him?" Courtney asked and Pat nodded.

"After the staff chose Sylvester, he took up your grandfather's mantle of Starman and he also began working on building a new JSA." Pat said.

"Who else did he recruit?" Courtney asked.

"First he recruited another legacy, the original Hourman's son, who'd been named after him, Rex Tyler Jr. he also recruited the reincarnations of Hawkman and Hawkgirl, since as part of their powers, each time they die, they reincarnate, it's weird, even by our standards. Your father also recruited the other greatest heroes of the time. Dr. Charles McNider, aka, Dr. Midnite, Alan Scott, the Green Lantern, Jay Garrick, the Flash, Kent Nelson, Dr. Fate, Johnny Thunder and the Thunderbolt, Wesley Dodds, the Sandman, the Spectre, Liberty Belle, Black Condor, TNT, Blue Beetle and Wildcat, aka, Ted Grant." Pat said.

"Wait, Ted Grant was a member of the JSA?" Yolanda asked.

"Yeah, why?" Pat asked.

"He was my uncle and godfather." Yolanda said.

"Then I guess in a way, that makes you a legacy too. What did Wildcat do?" Courtney aside.

"He didn't have powers, but his suit had tech that basically gave him the same abilities as Yolanda." Pat said.

"Then I guess it's a good thing my powers allow me to take up his mantle, but where is his gear, since you had the staff?" Yolanda asked.

"I kept the staff with me since I promised Sylvester I would keep it safe. The rest of the JSA gear is stored at their old base in Civic City." Pat said.

"Well, maybe we should move it here, since this is the new JSA headquarters, so we should keep the gear here for any other new members we recruit." Courtney said, quickly falling into the role of team leader and Pat knew that she was just like her father in that regard and knew better than to argue with her, especially since he knew she was right.