Chapter 8

"Okay, this place is way cooler than the Sanctum." Jen said as she, her dad, Pat and Barbara entered the Citadel.

"Gemma." Pat said as the Citadel's AI appeared.

"How can I assist you Mr. Dugan?" Gemma asked.

"Wait, this place has an AI?" Jefferson asked and Barbara nodded.

"It does, but the only person here that Gemma actually likes is my daughter Courtney. She'll take commands from the rest of us, but Courtney's the only one she's actually programmed to obey. Much to my annoyance. I still don't know why Sylvester did that." Barbrara said.

"Where are Courtney and Yolanda?" Pat asked.

"Yolanda is currently in the gym working out while Courtney is in the meeting room going over JSA files. Particularly the ones regarding her father. And Mr. Pierce, I see you got my signal." Gemma said.

"Wait, you sent Jefferson the signal?" Pat asked, surprised.

"I was following my protocols. Starman programmed me that once his daughter claimed the staff to send out a signal to any JSA communicators that were still operational. I believe he set the protocol up to bring any surviving JSA members together to help teach the new generation." Gemma said.

"That actually does make sense." Pat said and Jefferson nodded.

"Was I the only JSA member you sent the signal to?" Jefferson asked.

"Only two Justice Society Communicators have been detected as still active. One of which was yours." Gemma said, surprising them both.

"Who was the other?" Pat asked.

"The other signal was sent to a communicator in Central City and belonged to Jay Garrick." Gemma said.

"Wait, Jay's alive? I thought that he died when the rest of the JSA did? I saw his helmet left behind." Pat said.

"Maybe he faked his death." Jefferson said.

"Maybe, but we'll need to go to Central City to find out. But that can wait till later." Pat said as Jefferson nodded as Pat led them to the meeting room where they saw Courtney sitting at a computer, looking at files about her father from the JSA archives.

"How did you access the JSA database in Civic City here?" Pat asked, since he could tell that the files she was looking at came straight from the JSA mainframe.

"The citadel has remote access to the computer system." Courtney said as she turned to see the strangers with her mom and stepdad.

"Uh, Pat, why did you bring two strangers into the Citadel?" Courtney asked.

"Courtney, this is Jefferson Pierce, aka, Black Lightning." Pat said.

"Wait, as in the only member of the JSA who wasn't killed by the ISA?" Courtney asked and Jefferson couldn't quite gauge her reaction to that, not that he could blame her, since he was alive but her father was dead.

"Court." Pat said.

"Relax, I'm not upset about that, if anything, I kind of wish dad had made the same choice as him, but I understand why he didn't." Courtney said and Jefferson sighed in relief.

"But who's this?" Courtney asked, referring to Jennifer.

"I'm Jennifer Pierce and we have something in common, seeing as both our fathers were members of the JSA." Jen said.

"Really. Can you do anything?" Courtney asked, very curious.

"Can I?" Jen asked her dad, who nodded.

"Just don't destroy anything, since we can't afford to repair it." Jefferson said and Jen grinned eagerly as she showed off her powers.

"Okay, why don't you join me in the training room. I want to see what you can do." Courtney said as she held out her hand and suddenly, the cosmic staff flew into it.

"I'm in." Jen said happily as she and Courtney ran out of the room.

"It's been awhile since I've seen Jen look that happy." Jefferson said.

"Well, she's around other people her age who are like her. I can't say I blame her. I just hope that they don't almost kill each other." Barbara said.

"The training room's been designed to be able to withstand almost anything, it should be able to contain them." Pat said.

"Still, why don't we keep an eye on that." Jefferson said and Pat and Barbara nodded as they headed towards the observation room next to the training room, where they found Yolanda already waiting for them.

"I take it you already met Jen?" Barbara asked Yolanda.

"Yeah, she seems great and honestly, I wanted a good seat to watch the fireworks." Yolanda said as they saw Courtney and Jen circling each other, Courtney with her staff and Jen with her hands glowing with power.

"And go." Yolanda called out as the two teenage girls began to hash it out, the two of them, blasting each other, though it became clear that Jen had the upper hand, since she had a lot more training with her powers than Courtney did with the staff, but Courtney quickly made up for it with ingenuity, since after Jen tried to blast her, Courtney somehow managed to use the staff to grab the energy she fired and used it to yank Jen across the room.

"Wow. She's a natural with that thing." Jefferson said, impressed.

"Yeah, I think this is all instinct with her, since I haven't really taught her how to use the staff yet and she still needs to learn to fight without it." Pat said and Jefferson nodded in agreement as they continued watching the fight.

"So, does your entire family have powers?" Courtney asked Jen after the fight and now they and Yolanda were hanging out in the Citadel's meeting room while the adults talked.

"My mom's a normal human and while my sister has the metahuman gene, she hasn't shown any powers yet." Jen said.

"You seem very smug about that." Yolanda said.

"It's something I have over my older sister." Jen said and Courtney chuckled.

"Still, it's too bad you have to go back to Freeland, I think you'd make a good fit here." Courtney said.

"Yeah, honestly, I've felt happier today than I have since before my powers showed up, since for the first time, I feel like I can be my true self to people my own age. Until now it's only been adults." Jen said.

"Sounds like you don't want to go back to Freeland." Yolanda said.

"Honestly, I love my family and my home, but it never felt right to me. I always felt like I was the outsider and no one in my family ever really understood me. They did their best." Jen said.

"Well, maybe you should stay then." Courtney said.

"What?" Jen asked.

"You just said you prefer being here than Freeland and honestly, rebuilding the JSA would be a lot easier with more legacies." Courtney said.

"And you're really the one leading it?" Jen asked, since she still couldn't believe that.

"Pat and I are co leading it, since he's got the most experience, but the more experience I get, I feel the more I'll become the leader." Courtney said.

"Makes sense. And I'm definitely interested. I can tell that Blue Valley is a much nicer place to live in, since it doesn't have quite as many problems as Freeland, but there's no way my dad would ever agree to that." Jen said.

"Except I already did." Jefferson said as he and Courtney's parents entered the room.

"What?" Jen asked.

"Jen, I saw how happy you were today. And Pat, Barbara and I were talking about how it would be better for you to be around people like us who are closer to your age and honestly, considering what's going on back home, it might be better for you to be here." Jefferson said.

"What's going on in Freeland?" Pat asked.

"Nothing, he just means that I'm seriously pissed at my older sister right now and getting some space from her is a good idea." Jen said and Jefferson nodded.

"Are you sure you're okay with this dad?" Jen asked.

"I want what's best for you Jen and it's clear that this is what's best. I saw you today. You looked more in control of your powers then I've ever seen you be. This is where you belong." Jefferson said.

"Does mom know about this?" Jen asked.

"I just got off the phone with her and she agreed that this is the best place for you, though there are some conditions." Jefferson said.

"I'm listening." Jen said.

"Number one, you have to call us every week just to be sure that you're safe, you have to come home every school vacation and school work has to come first." Jefferson said and was barely able to stop himself from being knocked over by the hug Jen gave him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." Jen said happily, since she felt like she'd finally found her people.

"Come on, we do need to get back to Freeland to pack up your stuff and so you can say your goodbyes." Jefferson said.

"And when you come back, we'll have a room waiting for you here, since we have plenty of it. We're already housing Yolanda." Barbara said.

"Thank you. I promise I'll be a good houseguest." Jen said.

"We know you will." Pat said as Jen looked at her new friends and teammates.

"Guess I'm here to stay. Once I get back." Jen said with a smile as both Courtney and Yolanda hugged her.

"Welcome to the JSA Jen." Courtney said.

"Call me Lightning." Jen said with a grin before she and her dad made their way out, though they knew that she'd be back soon.

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top