Lauriver Chronicles

Chapter 90

Sylvester immediately shot up and gasped for air as he struggled to get his bearings.

"What happened, where am I?" Sylvester asked, since the last thing he remembered was dying after the JSA was wiped out by the ISA.

"Sylvester, calm down." Pat said, thinking that he was probably the best one to help Sylvester handle it.

"Pat, what's going on?" Sylvester asked.

"Well Sylvester, there's no easy way to say this, but you've been dead for 10 years." Pat said.

"What?" Sylvester asked.

"It's true dad." Courtney said as she walked up to him.

"Courtney, is that really you?" Sylvester asked, not believing that the teenage girl in front of him was his daughter, since the last time he'd seen Courtney, she'd been a five year old girl he'd tucked into bed before heading out for what would apparently be his final battle.

"Yeah, it's me dad." Courtney said, not really sure what else to say right now, since this wasn't your average thing.

"The last time I saw you, you were just a little girl. And now you're grown up." Sylvester said.

"I'm only 15." Courtney said.

"Still, I missed so many milestones." Sylvester said, trying to wrap his head around this.

"I missed you so much." Courtney said as Sylvester wasted no time in dropping the staff and pulled his daughter into a hug.

"I'm back now Courtney." Sylvester said.

"Though your daughter inherited several of your mannerisms." Barbara said.

"What do you mean?" Sylvester asked as Courtney held out her hand and the staff flew into it.

"The staff chose you." Sylvester said, since this was his worst nightmare. While he'd known that there was a chance of the staff choosing Courtney due to her heritage, he'd still hoped that after he passed away, the staff would choose someone else.

But it appeared that wasn't the case.

"And it looks like her connection to the staff is stronger than yours or Ted's ever was." Pat admitted.

"Of course it is. In addition to being chosen, Courtney is also a blood descendant of both Starmen. Chances are high she's connected to the Star Force itself." Sylvester said.

"What's the Star Force?" Courtney asked as Nova entered.

"It's where the staff came from." Sylvester said.

"It's more than that. Based on records I managed to recover in my time, the Star Force is kind of like the speed force I tap into to access my powers. It's a source of infinite light and creation. And it sounds like Courtney has done what neither her father or grandfather could do." Nova said.

"What do you mean?" Courtney asked.

"Your grandfather and I both needed the staff to access the power of the Star Force and even then, neither of us could fully unlock the staff's full power. But I think that you can. With the right training. Your connection to the staff, plus the residual star force energy you inherited from both sides of the family, it's allowing you to become an actual avatar of the Star Force itself." Sylvester said.

"What do you mean, residual energy?" Barbara asked as Ryan interjected.

"I think what he means is that prolonged use to the staff alters the physiology of the people who use it. Both Sylvester and Ted Knight were exposed to the staff's energy long enough for it to alter their physiologies to at least be able to use its energy. And both of Ted's daughters inherited residual energy from their father, not enough to connect them to the staff or give them powers, but enough that when combined with the energy Courtney inherited from Sylvester, along with an actual connection to the staff, there's a chance that Courtney's actually become a metahuman, but I'd need to run tests on her to be sure." Ryan said.

"Do it." Courtney said, needing to know the truth.

"Well?" Pat asked after Ryan finished running tests on Courtney.

"Yeah, these scans confirm it. The staff has altered Courtney's physiology, turning her into what's essentially a human version of the staff. With enough time and training, she'll be able to learn how to use that energy without the staff." Ryan said.

"Amazing." Courtney said.

"Guess it's a good thing that I'm going to have plenty of time to teach you, since I'm officially passing the torch to you now Courtney. My time is over. But I can be a teacher to the next generation. While I also figure out what's next for me." Sylvester said.

"That's great, but I think we have other things to talk about. Especially since I think Pat and I are going to need to get remarried, since now that you're alive, technically, we still need to file for divorce and all that stuff." Barbara said.

"And I'll comply completely, since I'm grateful to Pat for taking care of my girls while I was gone. But Courtney needs a teacher and I'm the only one who's qualified to train her." Sylvester said.

"We'll work something out." Barbara said.

"Oh, and by the way, we need to get going soon, since we're invited to Kara's birthday party in National City." Courtney said, since Dick had also been invited, since he and Kara were old friends and he and Kory had already left for National City.

"That's right. I promise we'll continue this conversation later, but for now, we need to go. Especially since I talked to Alex and she said that if you're up to it Sylvester, you're invited to join the party too." Barbara told her ex, who smiled.

"I'd be happy to attend a social event after being unconscious and nearly dead for 10 years." Sylvester said.

"Then I guess we better get going so we can all get ready, since these parties are usually pretty fancy." Courtney said, thinking that this party would be a good way to help her dad catch up on everything he'd missed, since Kara had played a very big part in helping the world since he'd died.

And that is it for the Titan's arc. It's back to regular Lauriver after this.