The Star's Ghost

Chapter 3

"I might have to." He whispered.

Judith hummed, "You seem sad."

Jake let his eyes fall from Judith, focusing on the table in front of him instead. "I'm worried about my family. If they continue as they have been, we'll be found very soon. I'm not ready for that, I'm not sure I ever will be."

Judith placed her hand on top of Jake's, comforting him. "You'll be ready, we'll be ready." She assured. Jake's eyes flicked up to her again.

"I just cleared up my drawing board. We could map out their movements together?" Jake said.

Judith nodded, "I have basic outlines already drawn up, I'll bring copies over tomorrow."

"It's a date then." Jake grinned.

"Fool, we're already on a date."

"Another one then."

"Two dates in a row? My, you seem to be getting comfortable."

"Is that bad?" Jake tilted his head slightly.

Judith shook her head, "Not at all."

Jake grinned. Jake picked up the menu for the first time that night, Judith following suit.

"Do you think Ghost still needs some time off?" She asked.

"No."

"Good, I want him to make an appearance at ColossaCon. I believe it's time for him to interact with his fans."

Jake took his eyes off the menu and met Judith's eyes, "You're sure?" He asked, Jake wasn't sure if making his official public debut now was best.

Judith nodded, "I know it may not seem like the best time, but it would also be an opportunity for you to meet a few other heroes. You need allies. Among the public and heroes alike."

Jake knew what she said was right, but that didn't stop the nagging feeling in his head from making itself known. "And Havoc?" He asked.

"What about her?"

"Once she finds out you'll be at the Con, she'll try to get revenge."

"I'm sure you can foil any of her plans." Judith stated.

"You wouldn't be wrong."

Judith smiled, "We'll sort out the details later. Let's just enjoy ourselves."

Jake nodded in agreement. "Food first, business later."

"Cheers to that."

-+-

Jake dropped Starling off at her place after their date. He had a feeling his family had done something stupid and was desperate to get home.

He changed out of his suit and teleported to his room in Valley View.

He walked downstairs and was met with an odd sight. There were two Hartley's in his living room. One behind Celia, and one in front.

"Grandma!" The Hartley standing in front of Celia shouted. His family standing right behind her.

"Hartley?" Celia looked between the two Hartley's.

"No, um..." Eva objected, "Flickering lights must have messed with your eyes. That's..." She used her power to turn off the lights for a moment. "...Colby."

Colby was indeed standing where the second Hartley had just moments ago. Jake figured Colby must have gotten his power.

"Sup, Celia." Colby greeted.

Hartley walked up to her grandma, "Grandma! You will never believe what just..." she suddenly went silent, and cast a glance at Jake's family behind her. "You know what? Never mind. I missed you." Hartley wrapped her arms around her grandma.

Jake's heart was pounding wildly in his chest, Hartley knew. He took a sharp inhale, his family would be the death of him.

Celia looked at Hartley in confusion, "Missed me? You've been here the whole time."

Hartley pulled away from her grandma and turned back to Jake's family, "I have?"

Celia chuckled, "Here she goes again, pretending she bumped her head so she doesn't have to go to the dentist."

"Well, speaking of which, you should go." Jake's mother waved their guests towards the door.

"What about the flickering lights?" Celia asked. Jake supposed that was the reason she had her tool belt with her.

"I've grown used to it." Eva answered, "Kind of like a disco." she laughed.

Just as Hartley was about to leave the house, Amy stopped her, "Hey! Wait. You didn't tell her what happened."

"And risk her knowing the truth? I couldn't do that to my friend. Look, you may be villains, but everyone deserves a chance to be better. Your secret's safe with me." Hartley grinned, "See ya!"

"Bye Hartley!" Jake said.

"Oh! Bye Jake!" Hartley closed the door.

"Jake?!" Amy exclaimed, "When did you get here?!"

"A few minutes ago." Jake answered.

"You told her our secret?!" Vic demanded.

Amy huffed, "I wouldn't have had to if you had just given me the right device or gone yourself."

"So it's my fault?" Vic scoffed.

"Yes!"

"Hey now," Jake stepped between the two, "Who's at fault is irrelevant, the important thing is that someone outside our family knows."

"Jake's right, we should terminate her." Eva chimed in.

"That is not what I meant." Jake objected. "But clearly I can't leave the house without something going wrong."

"She's not a threat as long as she doesn't say anything." Amy added.

"How can we trust her?" Colby asked.

"If she tells one person we're villains, the authorities will come and lock us up. Unless Onyx finds us first." Eva stated.

"Then we move!" Vic declared.

"Oh! I say we move to the beach," Colby said, "so I can scare some surfers by shape shifting into a shark or a man eating crab." Colby laughed, "Either way, I'm snacking on someone."

"We can't leave." Jake said. Mentally he was racking his brain to come up with a reason. "It'll be suspicious if we leave now." Nailed it. " We've gone to school for less than a month. It's not typical to put your kids in school for a few weeks then leave."

His parents traded eye contact again, "That does make sense." Vic nodded, "It'll be easier to watch Hartley's every move if we stay anyway."

Thoughts?