Post by C_Miller on Oct 30, 2011 23:19:06 GMT -5
Ultimate Justice Society of America #2
Legacy Pt. 2
“Courtney Whitmore?” a voice in the darkness.
“Who’s there?”
Courtney’s vision went red as she felt a blunt force collide with her stomach and knock her backwards. Before she realized what was going on, she saw a large man come fly through the window feet first towards her. She staggered up and made her way over to her bed. “Who… who are you?”
“The name’s Degaton. I’m sorry we have to meet like this…” He pulled out his sword and drove it into her shoulder. In pain she fell backwards onto her bed and cried out for her mother, her stepfather and Jack.
Degaton brought the blade over his head and sent it crashing down into her stomach, pinning her to the bed.
Suddenly they both heard the window shatter and the thumping sounds of two sets of feet on Courtney’s soft shag carpet. “Spoiler to the… Oh God!” screamed Stephanie Brown in full Spoiler costume as she took in the sight of all the blood and the innocent girl pinned to her bed.
Steph hesitated only for a second, blinking open the Spoiler-to-Spoiler channel built into their suits. It was a quick order. A bark more confident than she felt. "Get her out, Charlie." the next could barely be considered a whisper. "I'll... distract him." Now wasn't the time to risk Charlie's teleporting. In the chaos, there was just too much a chance of the three of us fusing together.... Someone had to stay behind.
Before Charlie had the ability to get to Courtney, Degaton ripped the sword from Courtney’s abdomen and swung it towards the girls. “Well this is a nice change of pace.” Stephanie quipped. “You see so many guns on the street. You have no idea how refreshing it is to see a sword outside of training.”
Degaton swung hard at her, which she managed to duck under. She wasn’t so lucky when he came back for the jab, which grazed her thigh. “Argh,” she groaned. The suit was supposed keep-out stuff like that. It was sharp. Very sharp. ‘I’m getting a refund!’ She thought to herself.
Suddenly she felt an intense pain in her side to which she reflexively looked down and saw the sword stuck between her bottom two ribs on her left side. ‘Godammit… rookie mistake…’ she thought as her mind started to race and then go blank. She looked over at the bed where Courtney was lying and saw Charlie grab her and teleport away. “Mission… Accomplished…”
As Degaton was about to pull out and deliver the finishing blow on the young vigilante in the androgynous costume, the door to the room swung open. Degaton snapped his head up and Stephanie craned her neck to see who it was, but was only able to see a pair of yellow shoes with wings on the side. “Oh shit…” she mumbled. ‘Why am I always bleeding?’
“Get away from her!” Jessie Garrick yelled from her spot, planted in the doorframe, preventing his easiest exit.
Degaton smiled at her. “You’re Jessie Garrick. Pleasure to meet you, luv.”
Jessie quickly scouted out the room. “If you know me…” She started, but wasn’t quit sure how to finish. “Then you should know what I can do!”
“Yes. Yes.” Degaton sneered. “The Flash. How does it feel to be the worst out of four and the fourth has only worn the costume for two weeks?”
At this point in Jessie’s life, she didn’t take well to many forms of criticism. Without thinking, she rushed Degaton and began landing punches on him as fast as she could, although you couldn’t tell. He acted entirely unphased.
During the fight, Courtney’s phone, which had landed on the floor near Stephanie, began to ring. Lazily, she lifted it off the hook and before her eyes a man in a blue and red costume grew out of the receiver from half the size of a carpet fiber to a full grown man. ‘Gotta love blood loss…’
Degaton snapped his neck around at where Proton now stood, distracting him from the window. “Hey, wanker!” A voice came from the window. Degaton spun around again and he was met with an energy blast from Starman’s Cosmic Rod right in the gut.
“Had enough?” Jessie shrieked as she landed another eight punches on him in roughly a tenth of a second with the last one causing his nose to bleed. “So you do bleed.”
She went in for another one, but Jack held her back. “There’ll be plenty of time for that, Jess.” She nodded reluctantly and let Jack go down to his level. As he situated himself on one knee, he unscrewed his staff to where it was only the rod and he shoved it into Degaton’s face. “Who do you work for?”
“Someone who doesn’t officially exist.”
Jack switched the rod on so that the room, especially Degaton could hear the parts moving inside it, proving its functionality. “That’s not an answer.” Degaton simply laughed at the implied threat. “If you know anything about us, then you know what this can do at full blast.”
Degaton nodded with the smile not fading as he reached into his pocket and grabbed something. “Jack Knight… you now have the opportunity to finish your father’s work… don’t waste it.” He tossed a small ball on the floor and a flash of white light flooded the room. When it subsided, he was gone.
Jessie quickly got into her runner’s stance. “He couldn’t have gotten far!”
Again, Jack held out his hand and set it on her calf, looking up at her with pleading eyes. “Jess, not now.” He stood up and fastened his Cosmic Staff back together and tapped it on the floor twice. “Ryan, head back to Camelot and touch base with Jay and Rex. We have to get the girls to a hospital.”
Ryan nodded. “You got it, Jack. Take care.” He looked down at Stephanie and gave her a brief nodded and he shrunk down and hit the keys to dial Ted Knight’s mansion. After a few second pause, he disappeared into the receiver again.
Jack pointed to the girl the on floor. “Jess, I need you to take the Spoiler to the hospital. Be careful, she’s losing a lot of blood.”
Jessie nodded and swiftly, yet with extreme care, lifted the girl up into her arms. “Kick… the habit yet?” She gritted her teeth, but sped out of the room before she could say or do anything.
Jack’s mind raced for a second as he fully took in the blood covering Courtney’s bed until he heard a small voice coming from the doorframe. “Starman… she’s in the other room.”
He turned and saw another Spoiler in the doorway, in exactly the same costume. Had he not have seen the other one disappear with Jessie, he would have thought they were the same. “Courtney?”
The other one nodded. Jack followed her thorough the house into what he could assume was Courtney’s parent’s bedroom, but his cheeks went red and entire face began to burn when he saw the lifeless Courtney lying their with multiple puncture wounds. “Oh no.” He gasped. “We have to get her to a hospital… can you help me move her?”
“I can… I can teleport her.”
Jack was shocked. He had seen some crazy powers in his time, but he had never seen teleportation. “Do you know the way?”
“Oracle already showed me… we can’t waste much time.” Jack nodded the girl walked into the corner. “Starman, you can’t tell anyone about this.”
She pulled the hood off of her head and then did the same with the fully black mask that covered her face. “Charlie?” Jack mouthed as he instantly recognized Barbara Gordon’s ward. She nodded affirmatively as she continued to remove her costume.
Jack knew what she was doing and ran to Courtney’s room to grab some clothes, picking out a simple red t-shirt and a pair of jeans. When he returned Charlie thanked him as she put them on. “Can you take both of us?”
Charlie shook her head. “Maybe, but we can’t risk that. Can’t you take your rod?” Jack wasn’t at all comfortable with this, but he nodded, as he didn’t have a better idea. He patted her lightly on the shoulder as she scooped Courtney up and teleported away.
Without thinking it further, Jack blasted the window out with his Cosmic Staff and flew out in the direction of St. Robinson Hospital. He flew to the hospital from his house, which was right next door to Courtney’s quite frequently, however tonight it felt like it took an eternity. When he was within visual range of the hospital, he saw Charlie rematerialize off to the side, out of sight and subsequently saw paramedics working on Spoiler near the entrance way.
“Jess!” Starman yelled as he lowered himself on his staff to the ground.
The paramedics looked up at him with a bit of amazement. Even though Jessie was only partially active, being in the presence both Starman and The Flash left them star struck. “Starman, how’s Courtney?” Jessie asked with concern.
Starman looked over to where Courtney and Charlie were lying off to the side. “Oh no, Steph!” She breathed in a voice that only Jack and Jessie could hear. Once they had reached Courtney, she raced over to where Steph was being put on a stretcher. “She’s my sister… um… Sami. Sami Dixon.”
“You’re sister’s going to be fine. Does she have any powers?” The lead paramedic asked as they began to wheel her to the ER. Charlie frantically shook her head. “Okay, we’re going to take her to Dr. McNider anyways. You’re going to have to wait here.” She stopped dead in her tracks and watched them wheel her off.
Outside, Jack, Jessie and a barrage of paramedics were hard at work on Courtney, trying to stop the bleeding. “Starman, what happened to her?”
“A guy who’s going by the name of Degaton. My Dad, told me about him. For all intents and purposes, he’s a time traveling Nazi and now apparently he has a grudge on the Justice Society.” Jack said affirmatively.
The main paramedic gingerly wrapped Courtney’s stomach in a gauss bandage while another female paramedic patched her shoulder. “What’s her name?” The lead asked.
Starman shook his head. “She’s not Meta, but I need to protect her identity. Get her to Dr. McNider.” They got her onto a stretcher and began to rush her towards Dr. McNider’s operating room in the basement of the hospital. Courtney had regained some consciousness and had Jack’s hand in a vice like grip. “You’re gonna be fine, you’re gonna be fine.
With the stretcher, the group pushed through the swinging doors to Dr. Charles McNider’s emergency room. After she was situated on the operating table next to Stephanie’s, the paramedics left to leave them to their business “Starman, what happened?”
“Degaton.”
Dr. McNider gave Starman a knowing nod. “I’ve heard of him. Now, please let me work.” He walked over to the far wall and switched off all the lights, saving only what appeared to be dark room lights.
Jack and Jessie both left the room with Charlie in close pursuit. “Okay, Jess, this is Degaton, I’m not sure what your father told you, but he is not someone we want to mess with. We need to get both Rick and Yolanda to safety.”
“I’ll continue looking for Yolanda. Umm… you can go get Rick. The jet should work fine.” Jessie paid especially close attention to Jack’s shoes in that moment and began to bit her lower lip.
Jack eyed her with trepidation. “You and Rick were pretty good friends from what I remember correctly.”
“Yeah… it’s just after the whole thing with Wally… I’m not sure I want to dig up the past anymore.” Jessie lamented as she continued to hang her head.
Jack placed both of his hands on her shoulders, which caused her to look up at him with tears beginning well up in her eyes. “Jess, that’s the nature of the mission. Our history is why we’re here.”
Just then, Jack’s cell phone rang and the computer readout in his goggles revealed that it was Jay. “Jay, I was just about to touch base with you. Courtney was hurt… bad. It’s going to be touch and go for a while. What’s happening on your end?”
“Jack, you’ll never believe who just got here?” Jay could barely contain the surprise and sense of wonder in his voice.
“Who?”
“Yolanda Montez. Wildcat’s daughter.”
Jack’s eyes grew in amazement. “Ace. We’ll be there as soon as we can. See you soon.” He pressed a button on the side of his costume that shut off his communicator. “Okay, we have to go. Now.”
“Jack…?” Jessie yelled at him, as he was half way down the hall. He looked back at her and saw that she was looking back and forth between Charlie and him. Charlie had a look of sorrow on her face that he could hardly bare to look at.
He walked back and leaned in towards the young girl, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Sorry, luv. Can you look after Spoiler and Courtney for me? I need to go help my friends. Can you do that?”
She nodded and he looked up at Jessie for approval who also nodded. The pair took a few steps towards the door of the hospital and then Jessie tapped into the Speed Force, letting Jack follow in her wake.
***
The tension was as thick as molasses as Jack Knight, Jessie Garrick, Rex Tyler, Jay Garrick and the woman who claimed to be Yolanda Montez sat in an uncomfortable silence waiting for someone to speak up. Jack opened his mouth, but he turned it into an entirely conspicuous clearing of his throat.
Jay raised his hand slightly to signal the group. “So, you’re Ted Grant’s daughter? That must be a good feeling.”
She gave him a cynical snigger. “If you say so.”
Another silence feel on the group that was even more uncomfortable than the last one. “How did you find us?” Jack asked sheepishly.
She pulled her bag out from under her chair and began to dig through it. She then pulled out a letter that was typed from an old style typewriter and presented it to Jack who was sitting on her left. He quickly scanned it. “What is this?”
“I found it on my doorstep after a night of patrol.”
Jack did a quick double take. “Patrol? You’re one of us.”
Yolanda looked at Jack with a glimpse of contempt and he caught a flash of yellow as she eyed him. “Honey, there ain’t anyone like me.”
Jessie gritted her teeth and gave Jack a knowing look. “I think what Jack meant is to ask if you were… you know… a hero.”
Yolanda laughed loudly. “That’s something I rarely hear directed at me. Usually bitch, whore, and slut are closer. I’m no hero.”
Rex was growing tired of her cavalier attitude. “Look, why are you even here? You obviously have no interest in this… and your father was one of the best the JSA ever had. The apple certainly has fallen far from the tree.”
“My father!? MI PADRE!? TÚ NO TIENES UNA PISTA SOBRE MI VIDA! SE PUEDES CHINGASE!”* She was deep into hysterics by the time she finished to the point where Jessie was ready to kick into the Speed Force and Jack had began to charge his Cosmic Staff.
Jay however maintained his poise. “I’m sorry. Slow down, is there anything we can do for you?”
Yolanda closed her eyes and took in a shaky breath. “Look, I don’t know who my father is. But who ever he is, he was a bastard. All he did was knock up my Mom and leave her… not that she was much better. Her birthday present for me when I turned fourteen was twenty bucks and the guardianship of my three younger siblings. Never saw a dime from my mother or him.”
“Fourteen?” Jessie asked with deep sympathy in her voice.
Yolanda regretfully nodded. “Yeah. I lied about my age and got the first waitressing job I could. I didn’t make nearly enough to feed four, much less pay rent. I had to pick up some extra work where I got it.” She didn’t specify, but everyone knew what she meant.
Jack picked a point near the center of the old JSA’s meeting table and stared blankly at it. “You… you said you were on patrol. What did you mean by that?”
“Starman, I grew up on the streets and I saw so much. And with my… talents… I had to do something.” The group nodded. “Look, I just want to know what I am.”
She waved her hand in front of her face and her nails grew out to sharp points instantly. A shrill, spine-tingling sound emitted from the table’s brass binding as she drew her fingernail across it. “This on top of my choice of profession got me kicked out.”
Jessie had gotten up from her spot across the table and moved into the seat closest to her. “Your Mom again?”
She chortled. “My sister. She met a nice rich sugar daddy and took the rest of my siblings.” She fell towards the table and put her head in her hands. Jessie reached out and began to lightly rub her back. “Why am I telling you all this?”
“We’re a support system. Always have been. Back when we were in Vietnam, all we had was each other. I guess it’s continuing with the next generation.” Jay also had moved over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
Yolanda snapped up, storming to the center of the room where she faced them in an aggressive stance. “I don’t know why I was sent here and I don’t know who you are, but I have nothing to do with you. If you’re such a support system, why did I have to live the first twenty-four years of my life without any support?”
The silence in the room rendered everything uncomfortable. “We dropped the ball, Yolanda. I’m sorry. We should have done better.”
“Rose… Please call me Rose.”
Jay smiled at her as she looked up at him with her newly softened features. “Rose? That’s a pretty name.”
All of the tension instantly left the room, which even made Jessie smile. “So, who sent you?” She asked, hoping to tie up the only remaining loose end.
“I did.” The whole room turned to the entranceway to see who had crashed their private gathering. Standing there was a man dressed like a pulp detective from the 1930s and 40s, all in black. The other defining feature was a World War Two style gas mask and next to him was a young man with blonde spiked hair, wearing a brown trench coat.
Jay and Rex stood their mouths agape with Jessie not far off. “Sandman? Wes?” Jack mouthed.
“No time for pleasantries, ladies and gentlemen. We have work to do.”
To Be Continued
* My Father?! You have no clue about my life. He can go fuck himself.
Legacy Pt. 2
“Courtney Whitmore?” a voice in the darkness.
“Who’s there?”
Courtney’s vision went red as she felt a blunt force collide with her stomach and knock her backwards. Before she realized what was going on, she saw a large man come fly through the window feet first towards her. She staggered up and made her way over to her bed. “Who… who are you?”
“The name’s Degaton. I’m sorry we have to meet like this…” He pulled out his sword and drove it into her shoulder. In pain she fell backwards onto her bed and cried out for her mother, her stepfather and Jack.
Degaton brought the blade over his head and sent it crashing down into her stomach, pinning her to the bed.
Suddenly they both heard the window shatter and the thumping sounds of two sets of feet on Courtney’s soft shag carpet. “Spoiler to the… Oh God!” screamed Stephanie Brown in full Spoiler costume as she took in the sight of all the blood and the innocent girl pinned to her bed.
Steph hesitated only for a second, blinking open the Spoiler-to-Spoiler channel built into their suits. It was a quick order. A bark more confident than she felt. "Get her out, Charlie." the next could barely be considered a whisper. "I'll... distract him." Now wasn't the time to risk Charlie's teleporting. In the chaos, there was just too much a chance of the three of us fusing together.... Someone had to stay behind.
Before Charlie had the ability to get to Courtney, Degaton ripped the sword from Courtney’s abdomen and swung it towards the girls. “Well this is a nice change of pace.” Stephanie quipped. “You see so many guns on the street. You have no idea how refreshing it is to see a sword outside of training.”
Degaton swung hard at her, which she managed to duck under. She wasn’t so lucky when he came back for the jab, which grazed her thigh. “Argh,” she groaned. The suit was supposed keep-out stuff like that. It was sharp. Very sharp. ‘I’m getting a refund!’ She thought to herself.
Suddenly she felt an intense pain in her side to which she reflexively looked down and saw the sword stuck between her bottom two ribs on her left side. ‘Godammit… rookie mistake…’ she thought as her mind started to race and then go blank. She looked over at the bed where Courtney was lying and saw Charlie grab her and teleport away. “Mission… Accomplished…”
As Degaton was about to pull out and deliver the finishing blow on the young vigilante in the androgynous costume, the door to the room swung open. Degaton snapped his head up and Stephanie craned her neck to see who it was, but was only able to see a pair of yellow shoes with wings on the side. “Oh shit…” she mumbled. ‘Why am I always bleeding?’
“Get away from her!” Jessie Garrick yelled from her spot, planted in the doorframe, preventing his easiest exit.
Degaton smiled at her. “You’re Jessie Garrick. Pleasure to meet you, luv.”
Jessie quickly scouted out the room. “If you know me…” She started, but wasn’t quit sure how to finish. “Then you should know what I can do!”
“Yes. Yes.” Degaton sneered. “The Flash. How does it feel to be the worst out of four and the fourth has only worn the costume for two weeks?”
At this point in Jessie’s life, she didn’t take well to many forms of criticism. Without thinking, she rushed Degaton and began landing punches on him as fast as she could, although you couldn’t tell. He acted entirely unphased.
During the fight, Courtney’s phone, which had landed on the floor near Stephanie, began to ring. Lazily, she lifted it off the hook and before her eyes a man in a blue and red costume grew out of the receiver from half the size of a carpet fiber to a full grown man. ‘Gotta love blood loss…’
Degaton snapped his neck around at where Proton now stood, distracting him from the window. “Hey, wanker!” A voice came from the window. Degaton spun around again and he was met with an energy blast from Starman’s Cosmic Rod right in the gut.
“Had enough?” Jessie shrieked as she landed another eight punches on him in roughly a tenth of a second with the last one causing his nose to bleed. “So you do bleed.”
She went in for another one, but Jack held her back. “There’ll be plenty of time for that, Jess.” She nodded reluctantly and let Jack go down to his level. As he situated himself on one knee, he unscrewed his staff to where it was only the rod and he shoved it into Degaton’s face. “Who do you work for?”
“Someone who doesn’t officially exist.”
Jack switched the rod on so that the room, especially Degaton could hear the parts moving inside it, proving its functionality. “That’s not an answer.” Degaton simply laughed at the implied threat. “If you know anything about us, then you know what this can do at full blast.”
Degaton nodded with the smile not fading as he reached into his pocket and grabbed something. “Jack Knight… you now have the opportunity to finish your father’s work… don’t waste it.” He tossed a small ball on the floor and a flash of white light flooded the room. When it subsided, he was gone.
Jessie quickly got into her runner’s stance. “He couldn’t have gotten far!”
Again, Jack held out his hand and set it on her calf, looking up at her with pleading eyes. “Jess, not now.” He stood up and fastened his Cosmic Staff back together and tapped it on the floor twice. “Ryan, head back to Camelot and touch base with Jay and Rex. We have to get the girls to a hospital.”
Ryan nodded. “You got it, Jack. Take care.” He looked down at Stephanie and gave her a brief nodded and he shrunk down and hit the keys to dial Ted Knight’s mansion. After a few second pause, he disappeared into the receiver again.
Jack pointed to the girl the on floor. “Jess, I need you to take the Spoiler to the hospital. Be careful, she’s losing a lot of blood.”
Jessie nodded and swiftly, yet with extreme care, lifted the girl up into her arms. “Kick… the habit yet?” She gritted her teeth, but sped out of the room before she could say or do anything.
Jack’s mind raced for a second as he fully took in the blood covering Courtney’s bed until he heard a small voice coming from the doorframe. “Starman… she’s in the other room.”
He turned and saw another Spoiler in the doorway, in exactly the same costume. Had he not have seen the other one disappear with Jessie, he would have thought they were the same. “Courtney?”
The other one nodded. Jack followed her thorough the house into what he could assume was Courtney’s parent’s bedroom, but his cheeks went red and entire face began to burn when he saw the lifeless Courtney lying their with multiple puncture wounds. “Oh no.” He gasped. “We have to get her to a hospital… can you help me move her?”
“I can… I can teleport her.”
Jack was shocked. He had seen some crazy powers in his time, but he had never seen teleportation. “Do you know the way?”
“Oracle already showed me… we can’t waste much time.” Jack nodded the girl walked into the corner. “Starman, you can’t tell anyone about this.”
She pulled the hood off of her head and then did the same with the fully black mask that covered her face. “Charlie?” Jack mouthed as he instantly recognized Barbara Gordon’s ward. She nodded affirmatively as she continued to remove her costume.
Jack knew what she was doing and ran to Courtney’s room to grab some clothes, picking out a simple red t-shirt and a pair of jeans. When he returned Charlie thanked him as she put them on. “Can you take both of us?”
Charlie shook her head. “Maybe, but we can’t risk that. Can’t you take your rod?” Jack wasn’t at all comfortable with this, but he nodded, as he didn’t have a better idea. He patted her lightly on the shoulder as she scooped Courtney up and teleported away.
Without thinking it further, Jack blasted the window out with his Cosmic Staff and flew out in the direction of St. Robinson Hospital. He flew to the hospital from his house, which was right next door to Courtney’s quite frequently, however tonight it felt like it took an eternity. When he was within visual range of the hospital, he saw Charlie rematerialize off to the side, out of sight and subsequently saw paramedics working on Spoiler near the entrance way.
“Jess!” Starman yelled as he lowered himself on his staff to the ground.
The paramedics looked up at him with a bit of amazement. Even though Jessie was only partially active, being in the presence both Starman and The Flash left them star struck. “Starman, how’s Courtney?” Jessie asked with concern.
Starman looked over to where Courtney and Charlie were lying off to the side. “Oh no, Steph!” She breathed in a voice that only Jack and Jessie could hear. Once they had reached Courtney, she raced over to where Steph was being put on a stretcher. “She’s my sister… um… Sami. Sami Dixon.”
“You’re sister’s going to be fine. Does she have any powers?” The lead paramedic asked as they began to wheel her to the ER. Charlie frantically shook her head. “Okay, we’re going to take her to Dr. McNider anyways. You’re going to have to wait here.” She stopped dead in her tracks and watched them wheel her off.
Outside, Jack, Jessie and a barrage of paramedics were hard at work on Courtney, trying to stop the bleeding. “Starman, what happened to her?”
“A guy who’s going by the name of Degaton. My Dad, told me about him. For all intents and purposes, he’s a time traveling Nazi and now apparently he has a grudge on the Justice Society.” Jack said affirmatively.
The main paramedic gingerly wrapped Courtney’s stomach in a gauss bandage while another female paramedic patched her shoulder. “What’s her name?” The lead asked.
Starman shook his head. “She’s not Meta, but I need to protect her identity. Get her to Dr. McNider.” They got her onto a stretcher and began to rush her towards Dr. McNider’s operating room in the basement of the hospital. Courtney had regained some consciousness and had Jack’s hand in a vice like grip. “You’re gonna be fine, you’re gonna be fine.
With the stretcher, the group pushed through the swinging doors to Dr. Charles McNider’s emergency room. After she was situated on the operating table next to Stephanie’s, the paramedics left to leave them to their business “Starman, what happened?”
“Degaton.”
Dr. McNider gave Starman a knowing nod. “I’ve heard of him. Now, please let me work.” He walked over to the far wall and switched off all the lights, saving only what appeared to be dark room lights.
Jack and Jessie both left the room with Charlie in close pursuit. “Okay, Jess, this is Degaton, I’m not sure what your father told you, but he is not someone we want to mess with. We need to get both Rick and Yolanda to safety.”
“I’ll continue looking for Yolanda. Umm… you can go get Rick. The jet should work fine.” Jessie paid especially close attention to Jack’s shoes in that moment and began to bit her lower lip.
Jack eyed her with trepidation. “You and Rick were pretty good friends from what I remember correctly.”
“Yeah… it’s just after the whole thing with Wally… I’m not sure I want to dig up the past anymore.” Jessie lamented as she continued to hang her head.
Jack placed both of his hands on her shoulders, which caused her to look up at him with tears beginning well up in her eyes. “Jess, that’s the nature of the mission. Our history is why we’re here.”
Just then, Jack’s cell phone rang and the computer readout in his goggles revealed that it was Jay. “Jay, I was just about to touch base with you. Courtney was hurt… bad. It’s going to be touch and go for a while. What’s happening on your end?”
“Jack, you’ll never believe who just got here?” Jay could barely contain the surprise and sense of wonder in his voice.
“Who?”
“Yolanda Montez. Wildcat’s daughter.”
Jack’s eyes grew in amazement. “Ace. We’ll be there as soon as we can. See you soon.” He pressed a button on the side of his costume that shut off his communicator. “Okay, we have to go. Now.”
“Jack…?” Jessie yelled at him, as he was half way down the hall. He looked back at her and saw that she was looking back and forth between Charlie and him. Charlie had a look of sorrow on her face that he could hardly bare to look at.
He walked back and leaned in towards the young girl, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Sorry, luv. Can you look after Spoiler and Courtney for me? I need to go help my friends. Can you do that?”
She nodded and he looked up at Jessie for approval who also nodded. The pair took a few steps towards the door of the hospital and then Jessie tapped into the Speed Force, letting Jack follow in her wake.
***
The tension was as thick as molasses as Jack Knight, Jessie Garrick, Rex Tyler, Jay Garrick and the woman who claimed to be Yolanda Montez sat in an uncomfortable silence waiting for someone to speak up. Jack opened his mouth, but he turned it into an entirely conspicuous clearing of his throat.
Jay raised his hand slightly to signal the group. “So, you’re Ted Grant’s daughter? That must be a good feeling.”
She gave him a cynical snigger. “If you say so.”
Another silence feel on the group that was even more uncomfortable than the last one. “How did you find us?” Jack asked sheepishly.
She pulled her bag out from under her chair and began to dig through it. She then pulled out a letter that was typed from an old style typewriter and presented it to Jack who was sitting on her left. He quickly scanned it. “What is this?”
“I found it on my doorstep after a night of patrol.”
Jack did a quick double take. “Patrol? You’re one of us.”
Yolanda looked at Jack with a glimpse of contempt and he caught a flash of yellow as she eyed him. “Honey, there ain’t anyone like me.”
Jessie gritted her teeth and gave Jack a knowing look. “I think what Jack meant is to ask if you were… you know… a hero.”
Yolanda laughed loudly. “That’s something I rarely hear directed at me. Usually bitch, whore, and slut are closer. I’m no hero.”
Rex was growing tired of her cavalier attitude. “Look, why are you even here? You obviously have no interest in this… and your father was one of the best the JSA ever had. The apple certainly has fallen far from the tree.”
“My father!? MI PADRE!? TÚ NO TIENES UNA PISTA SOBRE MI VIDA! SE PUEDES CHINGASE!”* She was deep into hysterics by the time she finished to the point where Jessie was ready to kick into the Speed Force and Jack had began to charge his Cosmic Staff.
Jay however maintained his poise. “I’m sorry. Slow down, is there anything we can do for you?”
Yolanda closed her eyes and took in a shaky breath. “Look, I don’t know who my father is. But who ever he is, he was a bastard. All he did was knock up my Mom and leave her… not that she was much better. Her birthday present for me when I turned fourteen was twenty bucks and the guardianship of my three younger siblings. Never saw a dime from my mother or him.”
“Fourteen?” Jessie asked with deep sympathy in her voice.
Yolanda regretfully nodded. “Yeah. I lied about my age and got the first waitressing job I could. I didn’t make nearly enough to feed four, much less pay rent. I had to pick up some extra work where I got it.” She didn’t specify, but everyone knew what she meant.
Jack picked a point near the center of the old JSA’s meeting table and stared blankly at it. “You… you said you were on patrol. What did you mean by that?”
“Starman, I grew up on the streets and I saw so much. And with my… talents… I had to do something.” The group nodded. “Look, I just want to know what I am.”
She waved her hand in front of her face and her nails grew out to sharp points instantly. A shrill, spine-tingling sound emitted from the table’s brass binding as she drew her fingernail across it. “This on top of my choice of profession got me kicked out.”
Jessie had gotten up from her spot across the table and moved into the seat closest to her. “Your Mom again?”
She chortled. “My sister. She met a nice rich sugar daddy and took the rest of my siblings.” She fell towards the table and put her head in her hands. Jessie reached out and began to lightly rub her back. “Why am I telling you all this?”
“We’re a support system. Always have been. Back when we were in Vietnam, all we had was each other. I guess it’s continuing with the next generation.” Jay also had moved over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
Yolanda snapped up, storming to the center of the room where she faced them in an aggressive stance. “I don’t know why I was sent here and I don’t know who you are, but I have nothing to do with you. If you’re such a support system, why did I have to live the first twenty-four years of my life without any support?”
The silence in the room rendered everything uncomfortable. “We dropped the ball, Yolanda. I’m sorry. We should have done better.”
“Rose… Please call me Rose.”
Jay smiled at her as she looked up at him with her newly softened features. “Rose? That’s a pretty name.”
All of the tension instantly left the room, which even made Jessie smile. “So, who sent you?” She asked, hoping to tie up the only remaining loose end.
“I did.” The whole room turned to the entranceway to see who had crashed their private gathering. Standing there was a man dressed like a pulp detective from the 1930s and 40s, all in black. The other defining feature was a World War Two style gas mask and next to him was a young man with blonde spiked hair, wearing a brown trench coat.
Jay and Rex stood their mouths agape with Jessie not far off. “Sandman? Wes?” Jack mouthed.
“No time for pleasantries, ladies and gentlemen. We have work to do.”
To Be Continued
* My Father?! You have no clue about my life. He can go fuck himself.
