New Earth: Stargirl

Chapter 4

"So, how was everyone's first day?" Barbara asked as the Whitmore-Dugans sat down to dinner that night.

"You were right about Blue Valley. This place is awesome. I made a bunch of friends in my new computer design class. It's a class where we use a computer to make our own video games." Mike said eagerly.

"That's great Mike. Way to dive in and immerse yourself in Blue Valley, I'm proud of you." Pat said proudly.

"Yeah, I mean, there's nothing here for kids to do except to play video games. My group and I started working on this shooter called Pizza Blood Party." Mike said.

"Really. Pizza Blood Party? And that name has been approved by your teachers?" Pat asked.

"Yeah, totally." Mike said.

"How about you Courtney? Did you join the gymnastics team?" Barbara asked.

"The team got shut down. I did however learn that some of the people in this town are incredibly small minded." Courtney said.

"Really." Barbara said, honestly a bit disappointed by that.

"I didn't say my day was all bad. I did make two friends. Who knows, maybe this town won't suck after all." Courtney admitted and both Pat and Barbara smiled, since it looked like Courtney was finally coming around to their move to Blue Valley.

"That's great Courtney. I told you that this place would be good." Barbara said.

"Hold on, I said it didn't suck. Let's not get carried away." Courtney said.

"I'll take it." Barbara said.

"And how was your first day at work Barb?" Pat asked.

"It was good. How about you?" Barbara asked.

"Okay. Gonna take some time to get the shop up and running, but I met one of the neighbors today. Nice guy, though a bit eccentric." Pat said, right as Mike's phone buzzed.

"Hey dad, can I go over to Johnny's tonight? We're playing Fortnite for research." Mike said.

"Really?" Courtney asked, raising an eyebrow at her stepbrother.

"It's learning." Mike insisted as Pat and Barb chuckled at the banter between them.

"Sure it is. But yes, you can go, just be home by 10:30." Pat said and Mike grinned.

"Thanks dad." Mike said as he got up and left the table.

"What about you Courtney, any plans?" Barbara asked.

"Not tonight, but I do have plans with my friend Beth tomorrow, she's going to show me around town." Courtney said.

"Sounds great. You know if you want, we can go to the old drive-in." Pat said.

"Thanks Pat, but while I think we may be getting better, we're not quite there yet." Courtney said as she left the table.

"Well, I'd say that's progress." Barbara said and Pat nodded.

"I know. I honestly thought I was trying too hard." Pat said.

"Honestly, I think that now that we're here, she's starting to adjust, she's starting to open up." Barbara said and Pat nodded. However, that was when Pat noticed Courtney heading towards the basement, which was strange, since it looked like she'd been heading upstairs when she'd left the table.

"Hold on a second." Pat said, since for a second, he could've sworn he saw a bit of a glow in Courtney's eyes, as if she was in some kind of trance.

"Courtney, you okay?" Pat asked.

"Yeah, but for some weird reason, I can't help but want to go downstairs. It's like something down there is calling to me. But I don't know why. Everything down there is just a bunch of junk. Right?" Courtney asked.

"Yeah, it's all junk. You know what, I think you might just be tired. Why don't you go get some rest upstairs." Pat said and Courtney nodded, however, before she could go, suddenly, they heard some kind of explosion from the basement.

"What was that?" Barbara asked.

"I don't know." Courtney said before noticing that whatever the boom had been, it had caused the basement door to open and before she even knew what she was doing, she rushed down the stairs.

"Courtney." Barbara said as she rushed after her daughter before Pat could stop her and he was just glad that Mike was out of the house right now as he followed his wife and stepdaughter downstairs and groaned at what he saw.

The long crate that been blown open and it's contents were not only intact, but they were in Courtney's hands, glowing brightly.

"What is this thing?" Courtney asked, since while she had no idea what this object was, she knew that it was what had been calling to her. It was drawing her to it.

"That is a very long story." Pat said, already knowing that he'd have to explain everything to her and Barb now, since his wife looked terrified, and rightfully so at the sight of her daughter holding one of the most powerful and dangerous artifacts on the planet.

"Well Pat, maybe you should start explaining everything. Right now." Barbara said and Pat sighed, since he knew he was not getting out of this as he took a deep breath and began to explain.