"Hey Pat, can I talk to you for a second?" Courtney asked that night after dinner.
"Yeah sure, what's up?" Pat asked as Courtney led him up to her room.
"What was he like?" Courtney asked and Pat smiled, since he should've known that Courtney would ask him that and didn't even need to ask who she was talking about.
"Sylvester was a great man. Kind, honorable, courageous. In fact, I see a lot of him in you, especially now that I know that you really are his daughter." Pat said.
"Do you find it awkward being married to my mom now that you know that she's your boss's ex-fling?" Courtney asked and Pat shook his head.
"No. Maybe if Sylvester and your mom had actually dated I would, but now, I just see this as another way to honor Sylvester's memory, since now I have the chance to help raise his daughter." Pat said and Courtney smiled, since she was liking Pat more and more and honestly, he was her favorite parent right now since all his attitude in regards to her being a hero were simply due to him being protective and since he'd lived this life before, she could understand his concerns.
"So, tell me more about him? And I mean Sylvester, not Starman." Courtney said.
"I know. Honestly, I'd known Sylvester since he was around your age actually Court. I was 20 when his parents hired me to be their family's driver and mechanic. Sylvester was 15 when he first started out, taking down some criminals that were threatening his parents and I helped as best I could." Pat said as he began to tell Courtney stories about her father, stories that honestly helped Courtney make sense of a lot about herself, since it sounded like her father was a lot like her. Something that made her very happy, but also wishing she could've met him herself.
"You okay?" Pat asked her.
"Yeah, it's just, after hearing all these stories, I kind of wish that I'd been able to meet him myself." Courtney said and Pat nodded in understanding.
"I get that hearing stories about him from me isn't the same thing, but Court, I can tell you for certain that if he were here, Sylvester would be so proud of you." Pat said.
"I hope so. But now this mission isn't just about stopping the ISA, it's about getting justice for the JSA, especially my dad." Courtney said.
"I know. But Courtney, this just means that I'm going to be pushing your training even harder since Sylvester would never forgive me if I let something happen to you." Pat said and Courtney nodded, still wishing that she could've met her father in person, since honestly, it felt nice to finally be able to let go of anger at a father she never actually had, though instead it was now focused on the people who'd taken her actual father from her.
A few days after school, Pat had Courtney, Yolanda and Beth at his shop, since that was where they'd decided to setup an interim headquarters, mainly because they couldn't keep going all the way out to the Old JSA base everyday and they'd decided to establish the cover of the three girls actually working for the shop to explain why they were there everyday.
Anyways, while Beth was mainly sitting on the sidelines and playing around with her new goggles, Pat had Courtney and Yolanda sparring with each other, Courtney without her staff and Yolanda without her claws, since he wanted them to be able to fight without weapons or powers, plus, it it would be a good way for Yolanda to learn to control her claws so they didn't pop out whenever she panicked and so far, they'd been doing well.
"Huh, that's interesting." Beth said as she worked with her goggles.
"What's interesting?" Pat asked as he signalled to Courtney and Yolanda to press pause on their sparring.
"It turns out Courtney isn't the only JSA legacy here in Blue Valley." Beth said.
"What do you mean?" Pat asked.
"Court, Yolanda, you know that Rick guy who eats with us?" Beth asked.
"Yeah, the guy who seems like a loner." Yolanda said.
"Turns out that while his last name is legally Harris, it's not his real last name." Beth said.
"So what is it?" Courtney asked, waiting for Beth to get to the point.
"His real name is Rick Tyler, son of Rex Tyler, aka, Hourman." Beth said.
"I never knew Rex had a son." Pat said.
"It's possible that it might be for the same reason you never knew about my relationship to Starman." Courtney said and Pat nodded.
"Doesn't surprise me." Pat said.
"So, should we reach out to him? Maybe try to recruit him?" Beth asked.
"I don't know. Rick doesn't exactly seem like the kind of guy who's a team player." Courtney said, right as Beth learned something new.
"Well, if what Chuck told me is true, then I think he has just as much right to join us as you do Court." Beth said.
"What do you mean?" Pat asked.
"According to Chuck, Rick's parents didn't die in a car crash. They were killed by something that Chuck calls Solomon Grundy." Beth said.
"Who or what is this Grundy?" Yolanda asked, seeing the look on Pat's face at the mention of it.
"Grundy was or maybe even still the ISA's muscle. He's a giant, mindless wrecking ball that literally has no mind of his own. He's essentially a very big, very scary, very angry and destructive zombie." Pat said.
"Then yeah, it sounds like the ISA had him kill Rick's parents because Rex was digging around too much." Courtney said.
"Okay, Beth, can you get an address on this Rick kid?" Pat asked.
"Yeah, why?" Beth asked.
"Because I think it would be best if I went to talk to him, introduce myself as a friend of his father's and tell him I have a few belongings of his I think Rick should have, which is true. Courtney, I think you should go back to the old JSA base and grab Rex's Hourman gear, since if Rick does agree to join us, then he should take up his father's mantle just like you took up yours, plus that hourglass will only work for him." Pat said and Courtney nodded, right as Barbara entered the shop, some kind of package in her arms.
"Pat, you here?" Barbara asked.
"Yeah Barb, what's up?" Pat asked.
"Can you Courtney that this package was delivered to the house today for her, though I don't know what it is." Barbara said.
"What package? I wasn't expecting any package." Courtney said as she came downstairs, taking the box from her mom without a word before heading back up to her friends and Barbara just sighed, since she knew that Courtney would be freezing her out for a while, but that didn't make it any easier.
"I'll talk to her." Pat promised.
"So, what exactly is going on here, since I know that the girls aren't just working for you." Barbara asked.
"This is where I'm training Courtney and Yolanda, making sure that they actually know how to fight, since they're going to do this regardless, so I might as well make sure they don't get themselves killed." Pat said and Barbara nodded.
"Well, I guess I'd better head home, I just wanted to get that package here before Mike opened it." Barbara said and Pat nodded.
"What's in the box?" Beth asked Courtney when she rejoined them.
"No clue. All I know is that it was delivered to the house for me earlier." Courtney said.
"Well, open it and let's find out." Yolanda said and Courtney nodded as she opened the box and was stunned by what she found inside.
"You okay Court?" Pat asked as he saw what was in the box.
"I don't know who made this or how they knew I needed it, but I love it." Courtney said as she pulled out a blue and white suit.
"Someone sent you a super suit?" Yolanda asked.
"Yeah, but I don't know who, since there's no return address on it." Courtney said as she then noticed a letter in the box.
"Who's the letter from?" Beth asked.
"I don't know. Let's find out." Courtney said as she opened it and a few tears came to her eyes as she read it.
"What does it say?" Pat asked as Courtney took a deep breath.
"Dear Courtney, I know that this likely won't make much sense to you when you get this, but this is a gift from me, your real father. If you're reading this letter, it means that I'm not around to give it to you in person and for that I'm sorry. And not just for that, but for leaving you to inherit my burden. The staff picked you just like it picked me. I kept tabs on your mother after I met her, since I was hoping that I could convince her to let me have time with you after you were born, but that clearly didn't happen. Before you ask, the way I know your name is because shortly after I found out your mom was pregnant with you, the staff showed me a vision of a girl who I knew could only be my daughter and would one day be my successor. I had this suit made so that you could look the part when you're ready. I know you'll put it to good use, because the staff wouldn't have chosen you if you wouldn't. I wish I was there to explain all this to you in person, but I can't. I hope that someday you can understand why I'm not there and that you'll understand what it means to be a hero. And one more thing. If you're with Pat, tell him I'm sorry for not telling him about you, but I expect him to help you the same way he helped me. I love you Courtney, even though I never got to meet you. Love, your father, Sylvester. PS, tell Pat that as my daughter, you have full access to whatever is left of my estate by the time you get this, so make sure you get it." Courtney read out loud and now they could all understand why she was so emotional.
"You okay?" Yolanda asked her.
"Yeah, it's just, more than I was expecting." Courtney said as Pat carefully took the letter.
"Everything okay?" Beth asked.
"Yeah, I just wanted to be sure that this was Sylvester's handwriting, which it is. I'll see what I can do about that estate." Pat said.
"Good, because I want to be rich." Courtney said and Pat laughed.
"We'll see." Pat said as Courtney put the suit and the letter down.
"Do you want to call it for the day?" Yolanda asked.
"Yeah, I think that would be best. My head is not focused on training anymore." Courtney said and they all nodded in understanding as they packed everything up before heading out.