The plan was actually pretty simple.
Yolanda Montez was an outcast. It all started three months ago when this whole school scandal thing had gone down. The poor girl didn't show up to school for days, and when she did, nobody dared to talk to her, they just stared and laughed. Zoe wanted to approach her, to say something. But she and Yolanda were never even friends, and what could she possibly say to her that will help her situation anyway?
So, if she could find out who Yolanda was hanging out with, she could find the mystery girl.
And the plan seemed to work very smoothly, as Courtney Whitmore, AKA the new girl, was the only one that talked to Yolanda. She also had blonde curly hair and her voice sounded more and more familiar when Zoe was thinking about it. She was definitely the girl Zoe was looking for.
"Gotcha," The redhead victoriously mumbled to herself, seeing Courtney and Yolanda walking down the halls together.
"Got who?" Jake asked, leaning over her shoulder behind her, causing her to jump in surprise.
"Gosh, Jake!" Zoe scolded, putting a hand over her now pounding heart, "Someone needs to put a bell around your neck."
The boy only furrowed his eyebrows in return, trying to figure out who his best friend was watching, "Who were you looking at?"
"No one, it's really not important," Zoe told him quickly (perhaps too quickly), "Um, anyway, where is Artemis?"
"Hanging out with the team," The brunet replied simply to her poor attempt to divert the conversation.
"Right, I'll go find her. Save me a seat in Biology, will you?"
Zoe walked away before she could even hear his answer.
People around her had orange flyers in their hands, and Zoe realized that Jenny and Cindy were holding them out, inviting everyone to her Halloween party at her house. Well, almost everyone.
Cindy stopped in front of Courtney and Yolanda, glaring viciously, and Zoe was close enough to hear what she said.
"Everyone's invited except you two. I wouldn't want a slut in the same house as my boyfriend," The girl sneered at Yolanda before looking at the blonde beside her, "And you better hope I don't see you there, new girl,"
And with that, the popular duo strode past them and continued giving away invitations. However, they paused briefly as the girl with the silver highlights found a new prey – Zoe.
"Look Jenny," Cindy started, looking at Zoe with nothing but mockery in her eyes, "Zoe Bennet doesn't even need a costume for tonight – she already looks like a walking pumpkin, and an ugly one, too. Just look at those bangs!"
Jenny laughed loudly, obnoxiously, that Zoe almost winced. But Artemis told her she should never show any sort of weakness to the likes of Cindy Burman. Ignoring her never resulted in a good way either, as the girl practically lived off attention, so Zoe gave her a tight smile, thanked her for the invitation (though she knew she'd never step anywhere near Cindy's house), and kept walking.
Zoe let out an annoyed breath. She couldn't let people distract her from her mission.
She didn't want to make it obvious she was following Courtney and Yolanda, so she watched out to see if someone was looking at her strangely, or if Artemis and Jake were still around (she had noticed Artemis earlier as she tackled one of the boys from the football team to the ground, but Zoe had managed to sneak away past her sight). The students in Blue Valley were, as per usual, pretty much oblivious to those around them. All of them except one.
Beth apparently had a similar idea, observing the two girls as she casually followed them across the halls, stopping only when she nearly slipped on the water they used to mop the floors.
"Why are you following Courtney and Yolanda?" Zoe asked the girl. Beth frowned at her.
"I want answers, and since someone here has been avoiding me," Zoe was quick to look away, feeling slightly guilty. She had been avoiding her, purposely running away whenever Beth was close enough to start a conversation, "I'm going to get them myself."
For a moment Zoe remained speechless, not because she couldn't bring herself to reply, but because she didn't know what to reply. Following people and hiding stuff from her friends and family. This was foreign territory for her and she didn't know what to do.
And maybe she needed help.
Zoe took in a quick breath and made her mind, "I don't know what's going on here as well, but maybe we can figure it out together?"
"Like investigation partners?" Beth's eyes seemed to lighten up at the proposal.
"Sure," Zoe agreed hesitantly, hoping she wasn't making a mistake. Trusting people other than Jake, Artemis, and her parents was a foreign territory, too.
The dark-skinned girl seemed joyful at the idea and Zoe turned to look in the direction she had last seen the two masked girls, "Well, first things first, if we want to find out more, we should be discreet and not do it in school. Do you know where Courtney lives?"
Beth gave her a knowing smile and nodded.
~~~
When the two girls rang the doorbell, a tall, blonde woman, wearing a bunny ears headband and holding a candies bucket in her hands, was quick to open the door. She seemed to look delighted when Beth told her the two of them were Courtney's friends (a statement Zoe strongly disagreed with but kept quiet for the sake of their mission).
The woman, who quickly had introduced herself as Barbara accompanied them into the kitchen for a quick chat until Courtney would arrive. However, that quick chat turned into a whole conversation – well, it was more like Beth rambling – about her parents and their family hobby of ant farming.
Zoe tried not to flinch as the younger kid in the kitchen, who she assumed was Courtney's brother, kept lodging knives angrily into the pumpkin he was carving faces into. It was kind of spooky if she was being honest. She didn't see many horror movies but in those she did, going into strangers' houses was always a red flag and that kid had too many knives in his grasp. She quickly pushed those thoughts away and mentally groaned – Jake filled her head with too many Halloweens' stuff at school.
She needed to stay focused.
"Ants, they're like a total and complete mini-society, working for the greater good." Beth continued eagerly, "Oh, we used to have a roach farm too. But then all of those got..."
"Oh, wow, would you look at the time." Barbara suddenly said, "I have to get ready for these trick-or-treaters. Would you mind waiting in the living room?"
"Of course," Zoe said, grabbing Beth's arm leading her toward the living as an idea crossed her mind.
While Beth comfortably sat on one of the couches, the redhead girl used this opportunity to check if Barbara or any other household resident was nearby and luckily it looked like they were left alone.
"What are you doing?" Beth asked when she noticed Zoe making her way up towards the staircase.
"Investigating. Come on," Zoe answered, motioning upstairs.
Before she could even begin to tiptoe upstairs, a dog dashed in her direction, wearing some sort of red devil costume. Beth immediately stood up when she noticed the dog was chewing on something.
"Mrs. Whitmore, is the dog supposed to be chewing on that?" Beth called worriedly but got no response.
"Leave the dog," Zoe quickly said and pointed upstairs, "Let's go."
It would appear the dog had a similar idea, and he climbed up the stairs, with the two girls quietly following behind.
"Come here, doggy." Beth said, smiling with satisfaction as the dog finally let go of the item he was holding, which looked a lot like a pair of old swimming goggles to Zoe.
They were both standing in front of a door that was slightly opened and revealed what they guessed to be Courtney's room. Zoe glanced at Beth for a second and they shared a short nod of agreement before walking in.
That was weird. At least it felt weird for Zoe.
She'd never sneaked into someone's room before, and certainly not for the purpose of secretly finding information about them.
"So, this is the room of a superhero." Beth said and hummed, not seeming very impressed. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary, Courtney's room looked like any other teenager's.
As Beth continue to look around, Zoe headed over to the closet. Its size was big enough to hide somewhere in it that glowing stick she was searching for. But no matter how deep she dug in between the piles of the clothes or the school stuff, she couldn't find anything.
A yelp from behind her caused her to jump and almost knock her head into one of the shelves. When Zoe turned around, she was caught off by the goggles Beth was suddenly wearing.
"What happened?" The redhead asked, but Beth didn't even look at her and kept moving her head in random directions, sounding alarmed.
"What?" Beth replied, but Zoe didn't think she was replying to her question. It was like she was talking to somebody else. "I'm Beth Chapel. Who are you?"
Zoe started to walk toward her, frowning in confusion when she realized there was a low buzzing sound coming from the goggles, and when she got closer it started to sound like a robotic voice was talking to Beth, but it was too low for her to pick up what it was saying. The lenses of the goggle began to glow in bright green color, and Beth lifted up her fingers as if she was trying to touch something in the air. Whatever it was, it kept talking to her, and she simply replied with confirmation to whatever was going on.
"How do you know everything?" Beth asked in astonishment.
"Beth," Zoe tried to get her attention again, "Who are you talking to?"
The girl finally turned to her, and even through the green glow of the lenses, Zoe could see Beth's eyes widening in realization and curiosity. She asked whatever or whoever she was talking to who they were, and more questions were quick to follow, but Zoe was confused and frankly a bit irritated.
"You do you, Chuck. Oh, do you mind if I call you Chuck?" Beth smiled gleefully.
"Beth, what is going on?" The redhead girl snapped.
"This is Chuck!" Beth exclaimed, pointing at the old goggles, "An A.I. of Dr. Charles McNider who was a superhero and part of the Justice Society of America! He knows everything! Look, Chuck, tell me about Zoe."
There was something in the way Beth suddenly deflated, and her confidence turned to something that reminded Zoe of guilt, "Well, almost everything... He doesn't know who your real parents are."
She couldn't even move if she wanted to. It was not the first time somebody brought up that subject and it certainly wouldn't be the last time, but it didn't mean she wanted to be reminded of that. It was no secret in Blue Valley, everybody in the town knew Zoe's story. It wasn't hard to figure out either, Zoe looked nothing like her parents, well, adoptive parents. But it had been years since somebody brought that up.
Zoe coughed uncomfortably, "Um, yeah, well, those are no news for me."
"But he knows so many other things!" The girl tried to raise her feelings, "Like how you were part of the swimming team back in 6th grade, you have a 4.2 weighted GPA, and you have been volunteering at the Medical Center for seven months and 15 days."
"How do those goggles know all that?"
But before Zoe could get an answer, Courtney rushed into the room, glaring at them with a stormy look. "What are you doing in my room?"
"Oh, Chuck, tell me about her."
Courtney looked at two girls, baffled, as the A.I. began to analyze her.
But Courtney was not having it, "Take those off." She demanded but Beth only grinned enthusiastically, telling her how bonkers the goggles were.
"The goggles are just something my stepdad is working on." Courtney said, but her uneasy look convinced Zoe otherwise.
"False. These were invented by Dr. Charles McNider after he lost his sight fighting the mob." Beth quickly corrected her. The blonde was quick to shut the door closed, panicking at the history and information Beth began to share, "They helped a blind man see. He put on a mask and became Dr. Mid-Nite. Later joining the Justice Society of America."
"Give me those, right now." Courtney insisted again.
"And I know that you're a superhero too."
Zoe's head started to throb. Superheroes? The Justice Society of America? It was crazy! But... considering everything that happened in the last few days, it somehow made sense.
"What?" Courtney was startled.
"We saw you last night at the hospital. You were literally flying on your glowing stick or whatever it was!" Zoe finally spoke up.
"That's crazy, and that wasn't me." Courtney was quick to deny, "And you shouldn't even be in my room right now, I don't even know you two."
While she was right about Zoe, the way disappointment flashed across Beth's features made Zoe wonder if maybe the girl wasn't lying when she told Barbara that she and Courtney were friends. But it seemed now the sentiment was one-sided.
"Um...Well... A, we eat lunch together every day," Beth reminded her, "and B, last night at the hospital I heard you call Yolanda by her real name. Chuck says it's a common rookie superhero mistake. It got someone named the Red Bee killed."
"And I also saw you that night at the drive-in movie theater. You know, the one where you basically blew up Henry King's car," Zoe added to the accusation.
Courtney's eyes widened, "You were there, too? Wait, who even are you?"
"My name is Zoe," The redhead replied simply.
"Alright. Beth, Zoe, let's sit down." Courtney brought the two near the window. "Look, this is all top secret. You can't tell anybody. Nobody at school, not your parents."
"I don't really keep secrets from my parents." Beth commented and Zoe was about to agree but then paused in her place. She hadn't been doing so great at that lately.
"Do you want them to die?" Courtney asked gravely, "Because that's how you'll get your parents killed. Secret identities are superhero 101. They keep the people you love safe. Now before I let you go, I need to know a little bit more about you..."
"What were you doing in West Farms?" Beth wondered, gazing at Courtney's dirt-splatter shoes as the goggles analyzed them.
"What?"
"The dirt on your shoes, they have... farm fertilizer in them."
"Ew! Don't change the subject." The blonde girl rebuked.
"Rick Harris is the only kid I know who lives way out in West Farms. I mean... that's what he calls himself."
Rick Harris was probably the most known kid in Blue Valley, but for all the wrong reasons – he was bad news. He constantly got into trouble in school and had a regular seat in the detention class. There were a few times when Zoe caught him drinking after school, but with every encounter, Rick walked away with a steely gaze.
But there was always this nagging voice at the back of her head that told Zoe that Rick was just more than a troubled kid. It happened last year when the teacher had paired Zoe and Rick for a school assignment. Zoe remembered how disappointed and frustrated she felt, thinking she had to do the entire assignment herself. But a few days later Rick showed up next to her locker and handed her his part of the assignment. And it was good, it was great actually.
When Zoe had told this to Artemis and Jake, Artemis had speculated he paid or forced some kid to do the job for him. At the time, Zoe just nodded. But when they had gotten their grade and turned out to get one of the highest in the class, Zoe caught sight of a proud smile tagging up at Rick's lips. A genuine smile. It faded away when the whispers of how Zoe must have done all the work, or how he had probably cheated began.
Ever since that day, Zoe felt some sort of uncertainty towards Rick.
"What do you mean?" Zoe couldn't help but ask.
"Rick Harris's real name is Rick Tyler. And Rick's dad's real name is Rex Tyler." Beth revealed.
"What? Rex Tyler?" Courtney sounded surprised, "He was a superhero."
"Rick's dad was a superhero?" Beth asked, puzzled.
"Rick's dad was Hourman."
Zoe stood up and walked over to Courtney, her patience running thin, "Look, it's great that you found yourself a super friend and all, but the only reason I came here is that you undo whatever you did to me that night at the drive-in."
If Courtney wasn't confused already, she sure seemed to be now, "What do you mean?"
"Ever since I touched that glowing, laser-shooting thingy of yours, weird stuff has been happening to me," Zoe replied, but at the look of utter bafflement from both Beth and Courtney, the redhead knew she'd have to give them a better explanation than that.
She had made it stop at the school's restroom, so maybe... she could make it appear?
Every time the red mist occurred, it had felt buzzing and electrifying, but now it felt like a chill was running down her spine as if she had just jumped into cool waters. It was... soothing almost. The sensation was rushing through her, spreading from her arms to her fingertips. And within seconds, it happened. She only lifted her gaze up when she heard the girls gasp.
"Woah, that's so cool!" Beth exclaimed, staring at the now-formed sphere hovering above Zoe's palm.
"No! Not cool, Beth! This thing blew a hole in my bedroom wall!" Zoe told them, not bothering to hide the frustration in her voice.
"This floating bubble did?" Courtney asked, watching the glowing orb with a doubtful look.
"It's dangerous! Don't touch it—" Zoe tried to warn but had no choice but to fling her hand away as Courtney came close to touching it. A few moments later, a shattering sound was heard, and with it, an innocent unicorn lamp that was placed on Courtney's desk went to lamps heaven.
The trio jumped in shock, "See! I need you to make whatever it is stop!"
"I, I didn't do that!" Courtney insisted.
"Well then maybe your glowing stick did?" Zoe suggested.
"It's called the cosmic staff."
"Whatever. Will you make it stop?"
"She can't. Chuck says the cosmic staff can't give people abilities." The dark-skinned girl informed them.
"What? Then why is this happening?" Zoe was wracking her brain in order to find something, anything, that could solve this mess.
"He says it's genetic, you got this from your parents." Beth told her, the goggles flashing green as they kept investigating the situation.
"My biological parents?" Zoe's voice quieted down, feeling as if someone just cut off her air supply. Courtney looked at her with furrowed eyebrows, and Zoe sighed, sitting down on Courtney's bed. "I was adopted when I was just a baby, but no one really knows what happened to my parents."
That was the short story at least. Zoe never liked to tell the circumstances of the event.
The room stilled as the blonde-haired girl took Zoe's situation in. "Some kids get their parents' eye color or nose, but I guess I got stuck with explosive, deadly bubbles." Zoe broke the silence but then glanced up at Beth, "Can the magic goggles tell me how to get rid of it?"
"No. Whatever was related to your abilities was stolen 10 years ago by the Injustice Society of America, and the rest of the files are compromised."
"The Injustice Society of America? What's that, another superhero group?"
Courtney pursed her lips, seeming hesitant. Maybe she had a lot to process as well. "Bad guys actually. Really, really bad guys." But then a wave of determination washed over any uncertainty in her blue eyes, "They are here in Blue Valley, and I'm going to stop them."
And apparently, Zoe was making a lot of rushed decisions that day, because the words escaped her mouth before she could really understand what she was getting herself into.
"I have to find a way to stop whatever's happening to me. So, whatever you're planning on doing—I'm in."
~~~
Courtney's plan was easier said than done. She planned to form a team of superheroes, a new generation of the JSA. The blonde told them she was Stargirl, the daughter of Starman, who was part of the original JSA and was killed by the ISA. Then she told them how she recruited Yolanda to be the new Wildcat.
The next recruit was Rick.
When the four girls walked towards Cindy's house, Zoe probably should have realized she might have needed to think it through before. But ever since Chuck (Beth had insisted she would call him by his name and not just as magical goggles) revealed that there was a connection between Zoe's newfound abilities and her biological parents, her mind just went to overdrive.
Her biological parents were a mystery she had pushed to the deepest and farthest corner of her mind after years of failed attempts of finding the truth. Julia and Ray, her adoptive parents, had tried to help a lot, but it didn't take long until they had hit a dead end. They always had. It was like her biological parents were wiped off the face of the earth. No lead to who they might have been, no clue of what could have happened to them. No nothing.
And as just as nobody knew who Zoe's real parents were, nobody knew a lot of stuff about Zoe. Things like her real birthday date or her real birth-given name. She wasn't registered anywhere, like the knowledge of her existence in the world was hidden away.
She didn't like to think about it.
If they got the stolen information from the ISA, could she find out why her 'accidents' as she liked to call them suddenly began to happen? How could she stop them and get rid of them for good before they ruin her life? And maybe – maybe she could find out who were her parents and what happened to them.
The last one terrified her the most.
She honestly felt like she was about to vomit. Somewhat thankfully, she was forced to snap out of it as a kid dressed as a ghost ran past her and almost crashed into her.
"I can't believe how much Mr. Keegan owes on his house." Beth said and kept looking around with the goggles. She hadn't taken them off since Courtney's house, but thanks to Halloween, it wasn't so odd to see kids roaming around with weird accessories.
"When you called and said you'd found a new recruit I wasn't exactly expecting Beth Chapel. Why did you choose her to be the new Captain Midnight?" Yolanda asked, leaning closer to Courtney as Zoe and Beth walked together in front of them.
"Dr. Mid-nite. I didn't choose her. She just found the goggles and got them working." Courtney replied.
"And Zoe Bennet?" Yolanda added to the question.
"Zoe has her own thing," Courtney tried to answer, "It's a bit more complicated."
"You can say it, Cortney," Zoe 's spoke up, having heard their quiet conversation. She was far too annoyed by then, the last place she wanted to be was near Cindy's house, "I can create bubbles out of my hands that make things explode, and apparently helping this superhero club is the only way I can find out what's going on with me and how to stop it."
'And what it has to do with my biological parents' Zoe thoughts echoed.
"Yeah, and that's why Zoe's here and why Beth has got the goggles. And she hasn't stopped talking ever since." Courtney said, motioning to Beth at the last part.
"Oh, it's well known that talking is Beth Chapel's super-power." Yolanda commented, somewhat irritated. She seemed annoyed since the minute they all started to make their way to find Rick, and Zoe guessed it was because she didn't like to be around so many people.
"It's true." Beth replied, sounding not in the least offended, "Okay. So, you wanna find Rick. Chuck tracked his phone... from his house to a liquor store on Highway 4 to Cindy Burman's house."
Beth went on about whatever information the goggles gathered, but Zoe was busy staring at the huge fake spider that decorated the front wall of the house. There were tons of spider webs and glowing pumpkins scattered around as well. She could say a lot of bad things about Cindy, but that girl surely put the effort when she wanted to.
"Okay, narc." Yolanda said, before turning to look at Courtney, "I'm going home. This is a bad idea."
"Don't go, Yolanda." Courtney pleaded, looking at her with a hopeful look, "This is a huge deal. Rick's like me. His dad was a member of the JSA. He's a legacy! This is beyond exciting!"
"Okay. Well, I'm not going in there." Yolanda insisted, staring at something behind them. Zoe frowned when she realized the dark-haired girl was looking at Henry through the house window.
"I'll go find Rick." Courtney decided, realizing Yolanda's discomfort.
"I'll help." Beth was quick to offer.
"Me, too. The more we are, the faster we'll find him." Zoe said.
"Okay. Great!" Courtney smiled at them awkwardly.
"So, this is a party." Beth commented when they walked into the house. The music, 'Juice' by Lizzo, was playing and getting louder, "Parties are loud!"
"Let's split up." Courtney suggested and both Zoe and Beth nodded.
As Courtney and Zoe tried to find their way inside the house, Zoe heard a girl call, "Hey, Cindy. This party is awesome!" and realized Cindy was marching down the stairs towards them. Recalling Cindy's threat to Courtney from that morning, the redhead pushed Courtney to the nearest hallway in an attempt to hide from the popular girl.
Zoe let out a sigh as Cindy passed by without noticing them.
There was that gagging sound behind them, and the two girls saw a boy holding a weird, big, monkey-like mask stumbling towards them before collapsing to the floor, passed out. Seeing as he didn't need the mask any longer, Zoe tentatively lifted it from the floor, knowing that Courtney needed some sort of disguise.
The blonde scrunched her nose in disgust, before wordlessly putting it on. Her voice was muffled through the mask, "You go search in the kitchen, and I'll check the backyard."
The music in the kitchen, much to Zoe's relief, was less noisy.
"What's your problem lately? You've been kind of a drag." She heard Cindy complaining to her boyfriend.
"My problem is that my dad is in the hospital, Cindy." Henry said, glaring at her.
Cindy sipped her cup and gave him a sarcastic grin, "Maybe you should go visit him then. Hospitals are quiet."
His glare just hardened, and he finished his drink before throwing his cup to the ground and walking away.
"Oh, my God, you're so sensitive." Cindy said, before realizing her mistake, "Henry, wait..."
"Whoo!" The attention Zoe had on the couple was gone when she heard Beth yelling excitedly next to her. She was throwing her arms up, dancing, and definitely enjoying the party.
"Beth!" Zoe called and Beth smiled widely at her. "What are you doing?'
"Zoe, you have to come!" The girl gushed in return, grabbing her arm and leading her to the living room enthusiastically. "I've never been to a party! This is so much fun!"
"Wha— we have to find Rick, remember?"
"Why not do both?" Beth proposed. Zoe was about to oppose the idea, but Beth quickly cut her off. "Don't worry, Chuck is constantly scanning everybody to find Rick. This way we're both covering more ground and enjoying the party!"
Before she could say anything, a girl in a pirate costume crashed into Zoe, almost knocking her to the floor but Beth grabbed her hand quickly before she could.
"Come on," Beth said, helping her stabilize, "I found your friends here, too!"
"My friends?" Zoe asked with a frown.
Beth nodded, but instead of answering she just led her to a different room, where Zoe was immediately met with a familiar brunet. He was wearing a skeleton costume and his face was painted with gray and black colors.
"Jake? What are you doing here? You said you weren't going to come," Zoe told him, confused. He'd mentioned many times before how he thought Cindy's parties were just a big mess.
"Well so did you but look at us!" Jake smiled, dancing along with the music. He turned to Beth and raised his voice, "Nice goggles!"
"Thank you! By the way, congratulations on the Ohio inte—"
But Zoe was too upset at her best friend and cut her off, "Seriously, what are you doing here?"
"Trying my chances with Cindy Burman," He said it so easily as if was the most obvious answer.
"Okay... wait, WHAT?"
"So, remember our talk at the drive-in when you said how the nerd and the popular girl somehow always end up together? That's exactly what I'm aiming for."
Zoe blinked one. Then twice. She was waiting for the moment he'd break into laughter and tell her it was just a joke, but he didn't. He was actually serious about it.
"Did you miss the part when I said she would literally rip you apart?" Zoe asked in disbelief. "This is Cindy we're talking about! Not to mention she already has a boyfriend, I don't understand why..."
A sudden realization dawned on her, and she narrowed her eyes at him almost dangerously, "Are you drunk?", she grabbed his shoulders and leaned closer to his face, checking to see if she could smell alcohol on his breath, but he pushed her away with a grunt.
"I'm not drunk!" Jake stubbornly stated.
Zoe glanced at Beth, silently asking for confirmation. For a second, the goggles flashed in a green light that could have easily been mistaken for the party lights, as Chuck scanned the brunet boy.
Her confusion only grew when the girl with the goggles gave her a slight nod, telling her he wasn't lying. She would have continued to question him (and his sanity) if it weren't for the quick and urgent tug she had felt at her sleeve. Courtney had found Rick.
"This conversation isn't over yet, please don't do anything stupid," Zoe told him before quickly following Courtney to the backyard.
And apparently Jake wasn't the only one whose sanity was questioned that night because Rick looked at Zoe, Beth, Yolanda, and Courtney like they were crazy after Courtney had told him what she found out and who they were.
"So, you think you're all superheroes, huh?" Rick asked, slightly snickering at them. He looked at Courtney, "So you're Stargirl."
He then turned to Yolanda who introduced herself as Wildcat, and then to Beth, who was interrupted by Yolanda telling him the girl was just borrowing the goggles for the night.
"And you?" when he looked at Zoe, something in his expression changed just in the slightest, like he expected more. It caused her to hesitate before she answered.
"Trying to figure it out, too."
"Right." He sounded unconvinced. He lifted up the hourglass Courtney had given him, "So, what can this 'magic' hourglass do?"
"It's science. Your dad invented it. The hourglass gave your dad super strength. For one hour a day." Beth told him.
"One hour? So, the other 23 hours he was what, just some dude?"
"He was a brilliant chemist!" Beth scoffed at him, "Y'know that hourglass only worked for your dad. It was tied to his DNA."
"How do you turn it on?" Rick asked, examining the golden piece in his hands.
"How do you use any hourglass? You turn it over."
Rick looked at them skeptically as he placed the chain with the hourglass around his neck. When he turned the hourglass over the sand glowed brightly with a golden light. It swirled inside the glass as if someone lit up a fire in it.
Zoe watched in amazement as the glow began to spread from Rick's chest to his entire body, like a wave, until it enveloped him.
"So super strength, huh?" Rick said and picked up a metal keg that was near his feet. They were all taken back once Rick crushed it easily as if it was a soda can. He let out a silent chuckle and smiled in disbelief.
Courtney looked around to make sure no one has seen it, "Hey, you... You really shouldn't test out your powers in public. Our identities—
"Protecting them is Superhero 101." Beth said, repeating Courtney's words from earlier that day. "And you need a costume. Technically, we all do. Since it's Halloween."
"I'm not wearing a stupid costume. You guys, do whatever you want. I'm doing my own thing." Rick told them, clearly not interested in joining their team.
He tried to leave but Courtney was quick to stand in front of him, trying to block him "Hey! You can't just take the hourglass like—"
"Yes, I can. It was my dad's, right?" Rick reminded her coldly, "Now it's mine. Later."
"Wait," Zoe tried to protest but Rick brushed her off and walked away.
'So much for putting together a team...'
"Congrats. You just made the biggest delinquent in school an unstoppable beast." Yolanda congratulated the blonde sarcastically.
"I'm not giving up, yet. We can still get through to him." Courtney said with determination.
"I don't think he wants to listen to anything we have to say," Zoe commented. She then muttered quietly, "I can't believe I got swept up in this superhero mess,"
"And how do we make him?" Yolanda asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"We can't when we're dressed like this." Courtney replied.
"Wait, are you actually serious about the costumes?" Zoe said, shocked.
Beth however was ecstatic "Yes! Let's go suit up!"
Yolanda arched an eyebrow at that, "Thanks, Beth, but we'll take it from here." Courtney gently turned her down and gestured to Yolanda and Zoe, "Okay? Things could get really dangerous."
"You two can go ahead and try to talk some sense into him." Zoe quickly rejected the two and turned back to the party.
"Where are you going?" Courtney asked.
"To take care of some personal damage control," The redhead gave them a simple answer and left the backyard.
It wasn't so easy to find Jake, and unfortunately, he didn't exactly stay where she'd last seen him. She kept pushing through the crowd and looked to her right when she heard a familiar roaring of victory.
"Another win! Suck it, Jerome!" Artemis yelled, jumping proudly next to the table they played Beer pong, "I told you I'm the best! Who's next?"
"Artemis?" Zoe shouted in confusion. The girl turned to her, just as surprised. "You came, too?"
"Yeah, Scott convinced me to come with him after practice," Artemis explained, nudging Scott who was standing to her right and smiling smugly, "You wanna play? I have to warn you though, Scott and I are kind of an unbeatable duo,"
"I think I'll pass. Hey, have you seen Jake?"
"Yeah, he's right there," The Asian girl motioned to a point behind her.
And there he was next to the snacks table. Zoe rushed towards him but noticed he was completely drenched in punch, which were, with no doubt, the results of his plans to woo Cindy. He seemed more lost than she had ever seen him.
Zoe mentally sighed, 'He did something stupid.'
"Can't say I didn't see that one coming." Zoe said once she found a free spot next to him, "And considering it was the queen of darkness you were dealing with, you got off easy if you ask me."
Jake had a look of disappointment written all over his face but he stayed quiet.
"Hey," Zoe started, trying to control her temper, "I saw Artemis here, too. She was here with Scott."
"Yeah, of course she was," Jake answered, his words sounding bitter. The redhead's anger dissolved to concern, something was very off with her best friend
"What are you even trying to achieve here?" She tried again, softer this time.
"A reaction," He seemed to regain some sort of clarity. Maybe it was the punch.
"From who?" Zoe asked with confusion. But once again, he didn't say anything. Zoe let out a sigh, she didn't want to leave him but she felt a bit unwanted and that stung, "I – I think I'm gonna head home."
However, her hand was gripped when she started to make the first steps towards the exit. "Wait—" the spell he was under finally seemed to break, "I'm sorry... but are you really going to say no to Rihanna?"
Zoe just realized the song had just changed to 'Disturbia' by Rihanna. She could never say no to Rihanna, and he knew that.
"It's a party, we might as well make the best out of it," Jack tried to convince, somewhat hopeful, "Also, I could really use a distraction, and nothing is funnier than seeing you attempting to dance."
A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. There was her jokester of a best friend, "I hate you,"
And with that, the brunet pulled her towards the dance floor.
The party wasn't so bad. Not that it lasted so long for Zoe anyway because after about five songs she was suddenly met with Beth who dragged her away with a worried look.
"We have to go!" Beth told her urgently.
"What? Why?" Zoe said after she had barely found an excuse to tell Jake about why she had to leave.
"Rick's parents—" She gasped as they started to run, "It wasn't an accident. I tracked Courtney, Yolanda, and Rick at the woods near West Farms. I'll explain when we get there, I promise."
And so they kept running.
Chuck navigated them through the woods, locking down on Rick's location as much as it was possible, but the area was too wide to find his exact location.
Suddenly they heard a scream and right after that there was a loud crash.
"This way!" Beth guided, rushing towards the direction they had heard the noise from.
As they got closer, Zoe finally saw Rick, Yolanda, and Courtney facing each other. Rick was still wearing the hourglass and Courtney and Yolanda were suited up in the same suits she had first seen at the hospital. There was a fallen tree near them, evidently what caused the crashing sound they had heard.
"When have I ever had a choice?" Rick's voice echoed through the woods, "Be a hero like my dad? My dad's dead."
Yolanda tried to pull her friend back, "Hey, Court, come on, let's go."
"No. I can't let you keep that hourglass." Courtney said, aiming the Cosmic Staff at him, "Not when you're like this."
But even from afar, Zoe could tell Rick wasn't going to go down without a fight. Zoe and Beth needed to get to them right now!
"Yeah? Try and take it." Rick confronted her, taking a step closer.
"Rick, wait!" Zoe yelled as they finally reached the group, "Beth says it wasn't an accident."
"What?" The group diverted their attention to the girl with the goggles.
"Your parents were murdered." She revealed, but Rick didn't believe her
"They crashed right here." He pointed to the tree behind him, "They hit this tree and—"
"No." Beth interjected, "Dr. McNider says it wasn't the tree that killed them. He says he can show us?"
Beth's goggles shone brighter than Zoe had ever seen before, illuminating the forest with two dazzling green beams before they formed a moving picture in front of them. There was a green hologram of a car moving towards them.
"They were here. But so was someone else. Or something." A figure joined to the projection, it reminded Zoe of a huge beast but also had human features, "Chuck calls it Solomon Grundy."
The five teens watched quietly as the hologram showed them the beast hitting the car, hurling the vehicle off its track. The four girls moved as the car was flying in their direction, but Rick stood still, letting the hologram passed through him as he watched the true event of his parents' death.
The hologram crashed into the tree behind them and disintegrated.
Zoe couldn't look away from Rick. He stood with his back to them, gazing at the tree that caused all his misery. But that wasn't the tree, it was the ISA. She wanted to say something to him, but Rick's silence was terrifying.
"Beth?" Zoe looked back and saw Courtney crouched next to Beth, who took off the goggles, looking overwhelmed by the truth that unfolded in front of their eyes. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. It's just so scary." Beth nodded shakily and wrapped her arms around herself.
"Your parents... I'm betting they were killed by the same people that killed my dad." Courtney said, slowly approaching the boy.
Rick turned around to face them, his eyes glinted with tears that refused to fall, "Who?"
"I don't know yet. But whoever they are, they're in Blue Valley. They're the reason, I'm putting together this new team." Courtney said confidently, "To get justice. For my dad. For yours. For all of the JSA."
"I'll do it. But I don't want justice, Courtney." His voice was coated with rage and hatred, "I want revenge."
Rick's unwavering gaze met Zoe's and she felt the anger and the vengeance radiating off him, but she didn't have to be a genius to realize under the layers of those emotions was immense pain.
For just a moment she couldn't help but wonder that perhaps there was some sort of blessing in not knowing the truth.
~~~~~~~~
So Zoe is finally part of the team!! I was so excited for this chapter!
Sorry it took so long to update, but 7000 words are no joke (this is the longest chapter I've ever written). I worked really hard on it so please tell me what you think of the chapter! What do you think of Zoe and her revealing parts of her past, and how do you think she'll get along with the team in the future?
Also, updates might be slow as I suspect the chapters will get longer than usual as Zoe gets more involve with the show plot, and my college work is picking up so I can't make any promises!
In the meantime, feel free to check out the stargirl reading list in my profile, it has awesome stargirl fics which some were written by my talented friends