"Wait, so your father was Starman?" Beth asked as she, Courtney and Pat took the elevator down to the Citadel while Courtney brought Beth up to speed.
"Yeah. Turns out the man I thought was a deadbeat was actually one of the bravest men on the planet and my mom is still in the doghouse for lying to me about that. And Yolanda's uncle was Wildcat, Rick's father was Hourman and Jen's dad is Black Lightning." Courtney said.
"So I'm the only member of our friend group that doesn't have a superhero relative?" Beth asked, feeling left out.
"Trust me, it's not as glamorous as you think." Courtney said as the elevator opened to reveal Yolanda, Rick, Jen and Mari all waiting for them in the Citadel.
"Who's the new girl?" was the first thing Beth asked.
"This is Rick's cousin Mari McCabe, since it turns out that both of Rick's grandparents were superheroes. His grandfather was the first Hourman and his grandmother was the first Vixen." Courtney said.
"I've heard of Hourman, since I followed the old JSA's adventures in the comic books and news reports, but I've never heard of Vixen?" Beth asked, since Amaya's actions with the rest of the original JSA were classified by the US government and Mari's mother Esi had never made the headlines as the second Vixen like her brother Rex had.
"Vixen was a hero from the original JSA back in World War 2, since that's when the JSA was originally founded." Pat said.
"Really?" Beth asked.
"Yeah. The original JSA was created as a top secret response division of the US military during World War 2 that helped turn the tide of the war in the Allies' favor. It was made up of some of the world's first metahumans and other powered individuals. Including both of Rick's grandparents, Rex Tyler Sr, the first Hourman and Amaya Tyler, the first Vixen and my grandfather on my mom's side, Ted Knight, the first Starman." Courtney said.
"What are your powers?" Beth asked Mari curiously and Mari smiled as she showed Beth her necklace.
"This necklace has been passed down through my family for generations and it's actually a totem. One of six. This is one of the legendary six totems of the tribes of Zambezi, specifically the Anansi or spirit totem. It allows me to access the ashe or spirit of any creature in Earth's animal kingdom and take on their attributes from the strength of a gorilla or the speed of a cheetah or the flight of an eagle to name a few." Mari said.
"Cool. What are the other totems?" Beth asked curiously.
"They've all been lost to time, but they're fire, water, earth, air and death. Each one gives the user the ability to harness that particular element of nature as a means of helping the tribes defend themselves from danger." Mari said.
"Anyways, based on the goggles Beth is wearing and the owl on her shoulder, I guess that means she's joining our little club." Yolanda said.
"Yeah, it was weird, I went into my room earlier tonight and found this owl sitting on my bed with these goggles in front of him and they have a man's voice in them." Beth said.
"Must be an AI version of Dr. McNider." Pat said.
"Who?" Beth asked.
"Dr. Charles McNider, aka, Dr. Midnite. It sounds like his sidekick, that owl Hootie, has decided to choose you to be the new Dr. Midnite just like how my dad's staff chose me to be Stargirl." Courtney said, since that was the name she'd chosen for her superhero alter ego, since Stargirl was the nickname that her father had given her when she was a little girl.
"Wait, so you didn't just get the staff because you're his daughter?" Beth asked.
"No. You have to be chosen by the staff and bloodline doesn't guarantee that you're chosen, since if it did, my mom would've been chosen before me, since her dad is the one who made the staff." Courtney said and Beth nodded in understanding.
"I inherited my powers from my dad, though I'm an upgrade compared to him, since he needs to charge himself up in order to maintain his powers while I actually generate energy." Jen explained.
"I'm still not sure how I got my powers." Yolanda said.
"Rick?" Beth asked the only boy on the team.
"My grandfather invented an hourglass that gives the user super strength for one hour a day that only members of my family can use, but Pat and my mom won't give it to me." Rick said.
"Why not?" Beth asked curiously.
"Rick's temper." was all Courtney would say in response and Beth nodded.
"So, can I join?" Beth asked.
"Since Hootie picked you, yes. Though Beth, you do know that this has to be kept secret right? You can't tell anyone, not even your parents." Courtney said.
"You know I don't keep secrets from my parents." Beth said.
"Beth, it's to protect them." Courtney assured her.
"Okay, so what now?" Beth asked.
"Now we start teaching you how to fight, since you can't just have brains." Courtney said and Beth nodded and as Hootie flew off her shoulder.
YOU ARE READING
Second Chances: Stargirl
FanfictionPart Two of new version of Second Chances. Courtney Whitmore was living a relatively normal life until her mother married Pat Dugan. That was when she found the Cosmic staff and learned the truth about her father's disappearance and his legacy. Afte...
