Brave New World: Stargirl

Chapter 16

When Pat and Rick arrived at his shop, Rick was surprised when he saw the three girls he had lunch with at school sitting up in the upper level of the shop, all of them not so subtly staring at him as he walked in.

"What's up with the viewing party." Rick asked and Pat chuckled.

"Sorry, that's just my stepdaughter and her friends, they hang out here when they have time and lend a hand." Pat said.

"So anyways, you said that you knew my dad?" Rick asked and Pat nodded.

"I did. Very well. But before I tell you anything, I want to know what you know about your dad." Pat asked.

"Not much. My uncle never really talks about him unless it's to complain about how he ruined his life." Rick said.

"Well, your father was not the person your uncle no doubt made him out to be." Pat said.

"Then who was he really?" Rick asked.

"Your dad was one of the bravest people I've ever met. You ever hear of the Justice Society of America?" Pat asked.

"Vaguely. A team of superheroes who quit around the same time Superman showed up?" Rick asked.

"Yeah, that's not exactly what happened." Pat said.

"And how would you know?" Rick asked.

"Because I was there. The JSA didn't quit, they were slaughtered by their enemies, the Injustice Society of America and your father was one of its members. In fact, he's the only member of the JSA that's actually second generation." Pat said.

"What do you mean second generation?" Courtney now asked, since that was new information to her too.

"Come on down, I'll tell you guys too." Pat said as the three girls came downstairs.

"Anyways, the JSA you guys know about was the second incarnation of it. The original JSA was a team that was actually founded in World War 2. That team was established by the US government to utilize super-powered or gifted assets for the Allied war effort to combat the Axis Powers. That team was made up of a much smaller roster, Commander Steele, Vixen, Obsidian and Rick's grandfather, Rex Tyler Sr, aka the first Hourman. After the JSA disbanded during the war, due to Vixen retiring and the others being killed on a mission, Rex settled down and started a family, eventually passing his mantle onto his son, Rick's father, Rex Tyler Jr., who became the next Hourman and began recruiting his own JSA made up of members like Wildcat, Dr. Midnite, Dr. Fate, Johnny Thunder, Green Lantern, the Flash." Pat said.

"I thought that the Flash didn't show up until a few months ago." Beth interrupted.

"Different Flash, but honestly, I think this new guy could give the old one a run for his money, but anyways, along with them, the team also had Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Courtney's father Starman." Pat said.

"So what happened to them?" Rick asked.

"Like every superhero, they had enemies and some of those enemies came together and formed the Injustice Society of America and a few years ago, on Courtney's exact birthday, the JSA and the ISA had a huge battle that ended in a majority of the JSA being wiped out. Rick as far as I know, your dad was the only survivor." Pat said.

"How do you know all this?" Rick asked.

"Because I was there. While I wasn't an actual member of the JSA, I was Starman's sidekick and essentially an honorary member." Pat said.

"More like a butler." Courtney mumbled to Yolanda, who chuckled.

"I heard that. And don't forget, unlike your mom, you can't hold the guilt card over me anymore." Pat reminded her.

"Just saying." Courtney said.

"So, my dad survived being attacked by supervillains, but he died in a car accident with my mom. Kind of lame." Rick said.

"Except it wasn't a car accident, it was the Injustice Society tying up loose ends." Beth said.

"What do you mean?" Rick asked.

"Show him Beth." Pat said and Beth nodded as she put her goggles on and used them to project the hologram of what really happened to Rick's parents.

"What was that thing?" Rick demanded.

"That was Solomon Grundy. He's the ISA literal wrecking ball." Pat said.

"So it wasn't my dad's fault." Rick asked.

"No. Best we can figure is that he and your mom were leaving to try and protect you because the ISA realized he was onto them. We don't know anything else." Pat said.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Rick asked.

"Because we want you to join us Rick. I'm building a new JSA and just like your parents, my dad was killed by the ISA before I even got a chance to know him. I didn't even know he was my dad until a few days ago. But the ISA is up to something and now we're trying to bring them down and get justice for the entire JSA. Including my dad and yours. And we want you to help us." Courtney said.

"This is a lot to process." Rick said.

"I understand. You can take some time to figure things out if you need to, but don't tell anyone what we told you. We don't know who we can trust." Pat said.

"No, I'm in. I want justice for my parents." Rick said.

"You sure it's justice you want and not revenge?" Pat asked.

"I think it's a bit of both." Rick admitted.

"Which is understandable, but you'll need to work through some of that rage before we give you your dad's hourglass." Courtney said.

"What's the big deal about the hourglass?" Rick asked.

"That hourglass was invented by your grandfather and improved by your father. It was created to give its user enhanced strength for a 60 minute period of time and the reason for that is because both your father and your grandfather didn't want to risk getting addicted to the power." Pat said.

"Do you think it will work for me?" Rick asked.

"It'll only work for people who have Tyler family DNA in them. Your grandfather designed it so that way no one else could use it." Pat explained.

"I had no idea that my dad was a hero." Rick said.

"We have something in common. My dad was Starman and I got his staff." Courtney said.

"Whereas Beth and I are not legacies like you guys are, but we still get cool stuff." Yolanda said.

"Who are you guys?" Rick asked.

"The new Wildcat because I can do this." Yolanda said as she summoned her claws before retracting them, since she'd mastered controlling them.

"That's cool. What about you Beth?" Rick asked.

"I'm the new Dr. Midnite, even though I'm not a doctor." Beth said.

"So I guess that makes me Hourman 3.0." Rick said.

"I guess so. I'll get you the hourglass once you prove to me that you can keep your temper in check, but I do have some other things from your dad that I think he'd want you to have. I'd also like you to start working here so that you have an excuse to be around here." Pat said.

"I'll do that on one condition." Rick said.

"And that would be?" Pat asked wearily.

"You have to help me fix up my dad's car." Rick said and Pat grinned.

"I'd be happy too." Pat agreed as he held out his hand to Rick who shook it.

"Welcome to the new JSA Rick." Courtney said, since she honestly felt like they were getting close to the team she'd seen in her dreams.