"I like the old radio station in Blue Valley; the DJ is great, and the songs have a lot of flavor."
Pat Duggan said to his daughter Courtney.
Pat is an old hero from the American Justice League—Star-Spangled. After the Justice League was destroyed decades ago, he returned to his family to live a quiet life and raise his children.
The only thing that troubles him is that, as a stepfather, he doesn't have much authority in front of Courtney.
Of course, more than lacking authority, he's more troubled by the fact that Courtney accidentally discovered the cosmic staff of the late superhero Star-Spangled and managed to activate it successfully.
Now, Courtney is consumed with the idea of inheriting Star-Spangled's legacy and re-forming the Justice League to fight evil and promote justice.
"Pat, I think there's a huge gap in our tastes. They just play ten songs on repeat until they become fossilized garbage."
Courtney complained to her stepfather.
"You know? If you want to listen to public radio, that's fine. Just head outside Lincoln City."
Pat turned up the radio volume and walked toward Courtney. "By the way, a friendly reminder: tonight's family dinner is at 6:30. I plan to cook fish, salmon or tilapia would be good."
"I'd rather have fish sticks."
Courtney sat at the dining table. "Do you know why, Pat? Because with fish sticks, you can't even taste the fish."
"."
Faced with Courtney's teasing, Pat clicked his tongue, unsure of how to respond to his unconventional daughter.
"I think we have a very important task at hand."
Courtney said, approaching her stepfather and speaking quietly since her mother and brother were upstairs. "That is to find those villains from the Unjust League."
"Uh."
Pat pondered for a moment and asked, "Didn't I tell you that the Justice League was destroyed by the Unjust League? Courtney, aren't you scared? If you get involved, we might be killed."
"But we're not dead yet, are we?"
Courtney said to Pat, "And even though it sounds crazy, since I moved to Blue Valley, I've felt like I'm where I'm supposed to be. I finally know who I am—I'm the heir to Star-Spangled—Stargirl."
"Listen, Courtney."
Pat interrupted his daughter's superhero dream. "If you want to go up against the Unjust League, you must act discreetly, carefully, and come up with a plan. You don't know how crazy those villains are; I saw the Justice League fall to them with my own eyes."
"I certainly have a plan."
Courtney said confidently, "I have a three-step plan: find them, scare them, and beat them up! We're superheroes, aren't we?"
"OK."
Pat finally said with resignation, "Most of the time, superheroes are just ordinary people. I need you to go to school now and act like a normal girl."
"That sounds boring!"
Courtney said it wasn't cool at all.
"But it's safer."
In the end, Courtney went to school.
As soon as she entered the hallway, she saw a familiar face.
Jessica opened her locker and put her clothes inside.
"Hey, Jessica."
Courtney, feeling a bit out of place in the unfamiliar hallway, approached Jessica, who was also a transfer student.
"You left a bit early yesterday. I wanted to wait and go back with you. You joined the school's extracurricular activities, cheerleading? I think your build is great for dancing."
Once Courtney started talking, she had a tendency to go on and on.
"What about you? Why don't you join the cheerleading team?"
Jessica closed her locker and casually asked.
"I like gymnastics, but for some reason, the gymnastics team at Blue Valley High was canceled this year. If I had transferred here a year earlier, I might have joined the team. But then I might have missed meeting you—who knows!"
"Hey!"
Jessica interrupted Courtney's chatter. "I know you're eager to make friends right now, but trust me, we're not really the same type of person."
"Maybe so, but I think it's worth trying. After all, it's only your second day here, and there's still plenty of time, right?"
Seemingly not picking up on Jessica's rejection, Courtney shrugged and replied.
"By the way, I heard you mentioned that you saw some impressive people in Smallville. Can you describe them in detail?"
Courtney was fixated on finding those villains from the Unjust League.
Upon hearing Jessica mention impressive people from the town she had previously lived in, Courtney immediately suspected they might be members of the Unjust League.
As for why they weren't members of the Justice League, it's because those superheroes were already gone, so that possibility was automatically ruled out.
Blue Valley and Smallville are both located in Kansas, close to the former headquarters of the Unjust League—Metropolis—so Courtney had ample reason to suspect they might be members of the Unjust League.
"Trust me, you wouldn't want to mess with them."
Jessica shook her head. "I heard you describe Stargirl's powers. Maybe you think it's cool, but I see it more like rhythmic gymnastics—just jumping on a horizontal bar. I don't think it would be effective against enemies."
"The two people I know, I couldn't even see their movement trajectories in battle. Plus, one of them can fly without any external help. If they are villains, they might soon unify the United States."
"Oh!"
Jessica suddenly remembered something and looked at Courtney with suspicion. "Stargirl's fighting style is quite like rhythmic gymnastics. You just said you like gymnastics. Could it be that you are Stargirl?!"
Faced with Jessica's sharp questioning, Courtney's heart skipped a beat.
As she was thinking about how to deflect, Jessica turned away. "Whatever. I'm not interested in such things. Whether you are or not is none of my business."
After locking her locker, she ignored Courtney and walked away.
But after taking a few steps, she saw someone she didn't expect.
Her body froze suddenly, as if petrified, and she stood motionless.
Her heart felt like it was being gripped by an invisible hand, filled with fear.
Why is this person here?
Are they here to kill me?
What should I do?
Seek help or run away?
No, with their power, they could easily kill me. Running away wouldn't help!
Courtney saw Jessica suddenly stop and tremble slightly, which she found strange, and followed her gaze.
She saw a tall, somewhat handsome but undefined high school student standing at the other end of the hallway.
Thud! Thud!
Eric's rhythmic footsteps approached Jessica and Courtney.
The rhythmic sound made Jessica's heart beat faster.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
10 Advance Chapters: patreon.com/ReadingOasis
Make Sure to give a Review!