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#2

"Familiarity Breeds Contempt"

by David Marshall

 

Inside the Star Rocket Racer

How do I get myself into these messes? I had no idea how to fly the Star Rocket Racer, yet there I was circling it hundreds of feet above Blue Valley High while the fire department scrambled below to control the flames engulfing the old alma mater. And somewhere in that mess my friend Stargirl was mixing it up with a bad guy.

I couldn't help but imagine the conversations when I returned to college in St. Roch, "So Mary, what did you do over the summer?"

What am I supposed to say? "Oh, not much. Swam in old man Murphy's pond, finally read Hardy's, 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles', played super-hero sidekick to my best friend Stargirl - you know the Stargirl with the JSA! Not much what about you?"

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Stargirl is my best friend, Courtney Whitmore. Her step-dad, Pat, used to be a super hero of some sort back in the 1940's. He and Courtney didn't get along for awhile and when she found his old partner's duds and weapons she figured it would be the perfect way to get back at him. In the process she became a bona fide hero herself.

But back to me. My name is Mary Kramer. I'm the girl you don't really notice. I like to think I'm a late bloomer but that's more of a coping mechanism than the actual truth. Hey, we do what we must to keep ourselves sane and make our way in this world. Right?

Anyway, Courtney and I were out driving and minding our own business - for once - when we noticed a fire back in town. That was my first surprise - excitement in Blue Valley !

Ever hear that old song, "Over the River and Through the Woods"? Imagine my surprise when Courtney's car left the ground and flew over the cornfields! Surprise number two. We got to the school and of course there was a bad guy involved! There always is in Blue Valley . I expected Courtney to land the car and kick the villain's ass. Surprise number three came when she told me to take the wheel and bailed out the window!

I love that girl like a sister but in case she didn't know it, most of us have little or no experience with flying cars. I cursed her under my breath. "There has to be a manual here somewhere!"

I fumbled through the glove compartment and instead of a manual I discovered a wish list of system upgrades that I assume Pat scribbled. Some were crossed off. I'm not sure if that meant they were already a part of the car's arsenal or whether he realized just how corny the phrase "Star-Spangled Side Guns" really sounded.

Ever drive down the road and drop something? You know that old keep-your-eye-on-the road-while-searching-the-floorboard-with-one-hand routine? Try playing it while hovering several hundred feet in the air! I tossed the laundry list aside and continued searching frantically for any piece of valuable information that could help me land the Star Rocket Racer.

I found nothing so I got brave and decided to press my luck and just started pushing buttons. I nearly peed my pants when the radio blared to life.

"Mother of God!" I shouted.

"Now is that any way for a lady to speak?"

"Holy crap!" I yelled, but this time because I was startled.

I didn't recognize the voice, but its Midwestern drawl and warmth assured me I wasn't in danger. "Who are you and how did you get in here? If you're Mike playing some trick on me..." I know it sounds impossible to believe but a ghost materialized in the seat next to me! He was dressed in a western shirt and a pair of jeans. I could see only his eyes as his face was hidden behind a bandana, like the villain set to hold up the stagecoach in an old cowboy movie. He wore a white hat and I'd seen enough spaghetti-westerns, thanks to my dad, to know it meant he was a good guy.

Here's the real weird part (as if the ghost of a cowboy materializing beside me in a flying car wasn't weird enough). I could see through the bandana! I spied clouds floating lazily by as I stared into where that bandana was supposed to be. For some reason that spooked me more than anything else. Then I looked into his eyes. They didn't belong to someone I should fear. They were warm like someone's grandpa, but burned with a fire I could only describe as relentless.

"So... you're a ghost?" I asked, already knowing the answer but it seemed like a good ice-breaker. Believe me. There was plenty of ice to be broken.

He laughed heartily. "I reckon so, Ms. Kramer. Least that's what most people would brand me."

He knew my name? I wasn't sure what was going on but the situation was creeping me out! The last thing I wanted to see when I crawled out of bed that morning was a ghost - good guy or otherwise! I closed my eyes.

"What are you doing?" the ghost asked.

"Making you go away," I replied.

"How'd you reckon to do that?"

Maybe I'd already crashed the Rocket Racer and was stuck in purgatory? If so, I was going to kill Courtney! "I don't believe in ghosts, fairies, elves, imps, leprechauns, or Ashlee Simpson's staying power, so when I open my eyes you'll be gone."

"Interesting theory," the ghost answered. "If true. Say cowgirl, you do remember that you're flying a car you know nothing 'bout? Be easier if you open your eyes."

Whether an apparition or a product of my overactive imagination, the ghost made a good point. I opened my eyes in time to see that I was about to bury the Star Rocket Racer nose-up in Mr. Anderson's corn field!

"Hold on!" I shouted as I pulled up as hard on the steering wheel as I possibly could.

The Racer responded to my erratic maneuver and shot straight up into the sky. I managed to level it off before the radar at Fort Valley registered me as a missile and shot me down. "I could have gotten us killed!"

"No need to worry 'bout me," the ghost laughed. "I'm already dead, but you - that's a different story. Ironic, huh? I spent my whole life cheating death and now that I'm pushing up daisies, I've never known greater freedom! You can't threaten a dead man."

"Who... are you?" I stammered.

The ghost tipped his hat. "The name is Saunders, Greg Saunders. And I have a proposition for you, Mary Kramer."

 

The Lawn of Blue Valley High School

My name is Courtney Whitmore. Most folks know me as Stargirl of the JSA. People assume because you're a super-hero you can do anything and sometimes it feels like you can. Most of the time though I feel more helpless than ever.

See that's the thing folks with no powers fail to realize is that we don't have all the answers. We don't change the world every time and sometimes we fail. Ever watch a hospital drama on tv? You know the obligatory episode where the smart, gifted doctor loses a patient and struggles to deal with it? We experience that too. Take that helpless feeling and multiply it a million fold when the folks you're trying to save are your own family. I swear I don't know how some of the big guys like Alan, Jay, or Superman do it sometimes.

An old enemy of mine, Shiv, renamed herself the Dragon Queen in her father's honor. I took part in the battle in which he was killed and she returned to the scene of his demise for revenge. My family was chosen as her instrument of vengeance and were trapped in a steel cage that dangled from her pet dragon's neck.

"Release my family now!" I screamed.

"You're in no position to make demands, Whitmore!" Dragon Queen hissed. Oh yeah, she knew my secret identity from way back. "Let's discuss how this will play out. Shall we? First you will bow before your queen and kiss my boot as a sign of surrender. Then when I feel you've sufficiently abased yourself, you will help me destroy this atrocity of an institution where my father perished at your hand!"

"Come on, Cindy! Where's your school spirit?" I shot back. "You were head cheerleader!"

I didn't really give a damn about whether she still bled blue and white, but the longer I kept her busy trading verbal barbs, the more time Pat had to think of a plan that ended in one big happy family. And he had to. If I made one move toward the Dragon Queen, she'd order the dragon to roast my family. If I attacked the dragon, its queen would take me out and my family would still be toast.

My family.

I never really considered the weight of those words. Other than mom, I never had much family until Pat and Mike came along. They weren't perfect, but they were mine - warts and all. Mike and I bicker back and forth but that's our thing. Sometimes you just fall into roles even though you've outgrown them entirely. The JSA's family too but I'd never go on with Kendra the way Mike and I go at it. It's our unique dynamic and it works for us.

It strengthens the foundation of trust when you know what that person will do before they even act. I was careful to never cross the line either. I knew everyone's boundaries - Mike, Pat, Mom, hell even our dog Patton! It what makes the Whitmore-Dugan household tick.

As close as I was to Kendra, she had no idea that I always lost a sock in the middle of the night. I have no idea how it happens. A sock troll maybe? But every morning like clockwork one foot ends up bare. I usually stumble down the stairs half-asleep and unaware that I'm even missing a sock until Mike points it out and calls me Monkey Toes. He says I peel socks like a monkey peels bananas.

Dr. Midnight conducts a complete annual physical of every JSA member. He knows every inch of our bodies and still has no idea how I received that two-inch scar above my left knee. Bicycle wreck - eight years old and trying to be like the older kids. The ramp didn't look so high until I jumped it. My pride hurt far worse than my leg though and Mom doctored both back to health.

And Pat? What can I say? I'll never forget the day he gave me the Star Rocket Racer. I hadn't had my learner's permit long. For years I carried around a stupid locket that my dad gave me - one of those with two halves that make a whole. I kept his picture in it and dreamed of the day when he'd return and take me away from the mess Mom moved us into in Blue Valley . God, I hated Pat so! I dreamed of my perfect father pounding his sorry butt to a pulp and me rubbing it in. Dad finally showed up alright and told me some lame-ass story about needing the locket back so he could sell it to get his brother out of trouble. Like a dork I gave it to him knowing he was lying to me the whole time. I hoped that if I believed hard enough it would all be true. Mom told me he didn't even have a brother. I felt like the biggest idiot that ever walked the planet. Pat could have said, "I told you so" but he didn't. He consoled me and for the first time I felt like I had someone stable in my life - a real father. Then he surprised me with the Racer!

And in battle? We're like Astaire and Rogers in spandex and steel! I love Ted Grant to death and there's no one I'd rather have at my side in a scrap as he calls them, except Pat. It all goes back to that familiarity. I know his every move has my well-being in mind. It allows me to know when to back off, lest I needlessly endanger his life.

"You're not bowing," Dragon Queen smirked. She made a show of extending her booted foot and pointed to it. Over her shoulder Pat worked feverishly to release our family from their prison. And high in the air Mary was.... What the hell was she doing? It looked like she was...

 

Inside the Star Rocket Racer

"Freakin' nuts!" I shouted.

"That's hardly polite," Mr. Saunders replied. "Maybe I chose unwisely."

"I'm sorry," I answered, unsure why I felt compelled to apologize at all. "It's just a bit much to soak in. I'm trying not to crash land this cool old car and you show up and scare the bejeezus out of me then tell me you want me to carry on some legacy?"

"That's right."

"Why me?" I asked.

Mr. Saunders - I couldn't call him Greg - smiled. "You want to make a difference in this world, Mary. "

"As an archaeologist," I replied. "Dig around in old tombs and watch the history of civilization spring to life before me. I'm no super hero."

"Neither was I," Mr. Saunders replied. "I was just a simple man with a gun."

"And that's another thing," I protested. "I'm not a gun person. I don't even own a cowboy hat or like John Wayne movies!"

Mr. Saunders winced and covered his heart. "You wound me, child! Leave the Duke out of this!"

"Sorry," I answered, but it was true. I wasn't cut out to be Dale Evans in spandex. I wasn't even sure I could go out in public wearing spandex. I didn't have Courtney's body and sure as hell was no Power Girl!

"I'm asking you to take the mantle of the gun - the Vigilante," Mr. Saunders explained. "What you do with the gun is your business, but know I will guide your aim and make it true."

"I'm not sure..."

"Let me show you something," said Mr. Saunders. He reached forward and turned what looked like a dial on the radio. A view screen popped out of the dash.

"How did you do that?" I asked. "Can you land this thing?"

"Just watch," he replied.

On the screen I saw the Dragon King knee Stargirl in the gut. "Courtney, no! The Dragon King...."

"Is dead," said Mr. Saunders. "This is his daughter, the Dragon Queen. She has planned her revenge well. Fifteen-thousand fanatical followers worldwide and her network drawing additional power from the Society."

"Cindy?" I asked. "Shiv?"

"Much more now," Mr. Saunders answered. "Her father's empire paled compared to what she's built from its ruins. Stargirl needs your help."

That much was true, but what could I do? And why if someone was going to make me keeper of a heroic legacy did it have to involve guns? "Guns kill."

"People kill," Mr. Saunders replied. "It's what we do best - destroy one another. Ever hear of Annie Oakley?"

"Of course," I answered. "Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. We studied it years ago in history."

"Ms. Oakley possessed the Spirit of the Gun," said Mr. Saunders. "Countless orphans were fed with the proceeds from her shows. Many young women's wrecked lives were turned around because of her generosity, wealth, and fame. She too was a difference maker."

"Typical male," I huffed as I pulled the Racer hard to the right. "You're discounting her talent and years of practice! Did you know she learned to shoot by hunting wildlife to feed her family when they lived on the Ohio frontier? Why are men so frightened of strong women that they neuter their talent and strength and credit it to dumb luck, a metagene, or the supernatural? Anything but a strong, skilled woman!"

"On the contrary," said Mr. Saunders. "I would do no such thing! Ms. Oakley was as true a shot that ever put a finger to the trigger! She didn't need the spirit of the gun to guide her aim! But it drove her to change the lives of others. Whether it was putting food on her family's table or helping young girls escape the saloons and houses of ill repute, it was the Gun that allowed her to make it happen."

"And how does all this help Courtney?" I asked.

"Dive toward the Dragon Queen and squeeze the triggers built into the steering wheel," Mr. Saunders instructed.

"So you do know how to fly this thing!"

Mr. Saunders shook his head. "No, but I know a gun when I see it."

"And the viewer screen?" I asked.

"Pat's a good man but a creature of habit," Mr. Saunders answered. "It's in the same place it was in the old Star Rocket Racer."

I lowered the steering wheel and directed the Racer in a downward spiral.

"Should I close my eyes and concentrate?" I asked.

"Sure," Mr. Saunders replied. "If you want to join me in the afterlife. Otherwise, I'd keep my eyes peeled."

I took a deep breath. "Please tell me you're not going to ask me to use the Force or anything hokey like that."

"Just pull the triggers," Mr. Saunders instructed.

I pressed the twin triggers on either side of the steering wheel. Lasers shot from the front of the Star Rocket Racer and exploded in front of the Dragon Queen, knocking her off her feet. Chunks of charred earth were sent skyward and fell back to the ground in a shower of debris. I hoped Courtney could take advantage of my distraction.

On the Lawn Outside Blue Valley High School

Mary's attack was the kind of break I was looking for. With the Dragon Queen disoriented I leaped toward her pet. I fired the Cosmic Rod, but not at the dragon itself. I aimed for the chain around its neck. Once the chain gave way, the steel cage that held my family plummeted. I caught it with an anti-gravity burst from the Rod and lowered it to the ground.

"Get the others to safety and get back here! I can't take Big Ugly and her dragon by myself!" I yelled to Pat.

He nodded and ushered Mike and Mom away from the scene. All I had to do was stay alive until he returned in the S.T.R.I.P.E armor.

Dragon Queen recovered from the surprise attack by the Star Rocket Racer and fired a volley of what appeared to be claws from gauntlets adorning her wrists. "Poison claws, courtesy of my associate Cheshire ! One of them touches you and you're a dead woman!"

I erected a force shield and the claws bounced away harmlessly. "Thanks for the warning! Maybe we should change your name to Telegraph Girl?"

"Talk all you want," Dragon Queen warned. "But one of us will not leave here alive!"

"Sucks to be you then," I answered. "With my family out of harm's way, you know you can't beat me."

Dragon Queen laughed. "Your family? You think I'm so short-sighted I'd deal myself in a game holding only one Ace? No, love. See, my father's old lair lay beneath this school. It was child's play to have my forces wire the school to blow sky high."

"Schools can be rebuilt," Stargirl countered. "And with this one burning already it's a good bet that Blue Valley will operate another year in manufactured housing classrooms anyway. You realize of course that leaves your threat without much weight?"

"Weight?" Dragon Queen cooed. "Did I mention the hostages? Thirty-five overweight, debate-loving, Star Wars-quoting, protractor-wielding, fashion disasters headed to the big wallflower line in the sky! Even if you get by me, you'd have to battle your way through a hundred of my loyal followers to get to the poor doomed freaks! And they say only the good die young!"

I should have known things wouldn't be so simple. They never are. I wasn't sure what bothered me the most - the fact that the Dragon Queen would use a bunch of kids as hostages or that they were chosen because they were on the fringes of what people like Cindy Burman considered normal. I do know, however, that I wasn't going to allow those kids to die, even if it meant tearing off Cindy's head and feeding it to her pet.

"Time for a hot foot dear," said Dragon Queen. "Percy, show our sweet Stargirl how much you hate to miss a good barbecue!"

Percy belched a plume of white-hot flame toward me. I could feel the heat even through the shield I erected. This beast was much more dangerous than its smaller mechanical cousins I smashed earlier. I took to the sky which was a mistake. He missed me and caught some trees on fire. I'd have to leave the blaze to the B.V.F.D.

I landed and had an idea I hoped would work. I chose a spot in the blazing tree line that divided school property from the Blue Valley Municipal Offices next door. When Percy was close enough I aimed the Cosmic Rod and shot down a massive tree that promptly fell on the pursuing beast. Exit one more dragon.

Before I could even turn to face the Dragon Queen, I felt a sharp pain explode in my left shoulder. It hurt so bad I wanted to cry. It had been a long time since I never experienced pain on that scale. It was only then that I heard the gunfire. I'd been shot!

I turned to see the Dragon Queen smiling menacingly and holding a smoking police revolver. A slain officer lay at her feet. "A pity my father eschewed these nasty little things. They're such an effective weapon, no?"

She wanted to see me squirm. Everything from ordering me to kiss her boot to shooting me in the shoulder so I'd know she had a gun was evidence of that. I felt blood running down my shoulder and trickling onto my right leg. For the first time in a long time, I was actually scared. It wasn't the gun though. It was the pain and the unnerving sight of my own blood. I didn't even think of using the Cosmic Rod to create a bulletproof shield. I was too focused on my shoulder and the life-blood draining out of me.

With Dragon Queen holding a gun on me in my weakened state, time seemed to pass more slowly. I was aware of every sight and sound. A butterfly fluttered by in a devil-may-care flight path, not at all phased by the drama unfolding within twenty feet of him. In the distance I heard a bird singing. I noticed how intense the heat of a Nebraska summer could be.

Then a massive fist slammed into the Dragon Queen from behind. It knocked her into the wall of the school cafeteria and crumbled the brick facade. If not for the bio-engineering she'd undergone while we were in school, the blow would have killed her.

Pat was back and mad as hell! He fired his armor's boot jets and shot across the campus toward Dragon Queen once more. He ejected a second fist and it too plowed into our foe, knocking her through the crumbled wall this time and into the cafeteria itself. His ejected mechanical fists rose into the air and returned to him like high-tech boomerangs. They docked into place and he wriggled his fingers a few times to assure the proper connections were made.

"What took you so long?" I asked.

Pat rushed to my side and checked on my shoulder. "Courtney, my god! Are you ok?"

"It burns," I replied. "How bad is it?"

Pat inspected my shoulder and shook his head. "Too much blood to tell. We need to get you to a hospital soon though."

"There's no time," I replied. "She's wired the school to blow and there are hostages trapped inside. Not to mention a hundred lunatics guarding them who are willing to die in service to their queen."

The Dragon Queen pushed her way through the rubble and unleashed a hail storm of throwing stars at Pat. They sunk into his armor, exposing circuitry and eliciting showers of sparks wherever they struck.

"S.T.R.I.P.E reroute air filtration and base hydraulics through the auxiliary circuits," Pat ordered. "And get Dr. Mid-Nite on the horn! Tell him he's needed in Blue Valley A.S.A.P!" He turned to the Dragon Queen who, though on her feet, was still reeling from Pat's attack.

She wasn't out of tricks yet, but she was starting to fall back on ones we'd seen before. A plume of fire erupted from her Dragon Staff and engulfed the S.T.R.I.P.E armor.

"Extinguishers online," said S.T.R.I.P.E. Two extinguisher guns arose from each of S.T.R.I.P.E's arms and drown the flames in Ammonium Phosphate.

"Forget the Dragon Queen!" I yelled. "Leave her to me! There are kids inside that school and there's a bomb underneath it!"

Sure I was hurting, but so was she and those kids were more important. Remember what I said about feeling helpless? Sometimes you just have to kick helpless in the 'nads and push on.

Pat looked confused as if he wasn't sure what to do. I understood that he was concerned about me, but it wasn't like him to hesitate where innocents were concerned. I prayed he would remember our dynamic.

"Go!" I yelled.

Before he could move, we were surrounded by Dragon Troops. They beaded their guns on us. I'd seen enough guns for one day.

"Shall we kill them now, my Queen?" asked a Trooper. "A token of our love for you?"

Dragon Queen limped to our impromptu huddle and spat blood from her mouth. "Not yet, my pets. I want to see dear sweet Stargirl's face when the Science Club disbands for good."

"I can shield us," I said.

"Should have thought of that earlier. Shield yourself," Pat answered. "This baby can take all the bullets these creeps can dish out!"

Whether anyone was going to die that day or not, I had to know one thing. "Pat are you ok?"

"I'm fine, why?" Pat replied.

"You're acting a little... weird," I answered.

"Pardon me if having my family dangling from the neck of a dragon and facing certain death pisses me off a little," said Pat.

"Ok..." I answered. It felt like there something he wasn't telling me, but I let it go and hoped we'd get an opportunity to straighten it out this side of the pearly gates.

Suddenly one of the Dragon Troopers screamed like he was giving birth and clutched his leg. He fell to the ground and dropped his gun. Then I understood why. Someone shot an arrow through his left leg. In rapid fashion, five more of the Dragon Queen's finest fell victim to the same attack. It seemed we had an ally.

The Dragon Queen shook her fists in the air and searched the trees. "What now?"

We wasted no time. I lowered the Cosmic Rod and blasted the Dragon Queen. I only held back a little. I wanted her to know how tired I was of her game! And there was the matter of my shoulder. It was only right that I educated her on real pain. It was a favor I was happy to repay.

The massive fists on S.T.R.I.P.E's armor morphed into fan blades and blew up a dust storm.

Yet another arrow flew overhead and exploded high above us. A steel netting plummeted quickly to the ground thanks to the added weight of lead sinkers. It entangled even more of the Dragon Queen's troops. Whoever our friend was, his help was greatly appreciated.

An acrid puff of smoke appeared on the campus lawn and the heroine known as Empress materialized along with two very frightened young girls. Another puff and Empress was gone again.

Four more kids stumbled out the front door of the school. One didn't look as frightened as the other three. She led them to a safe spot and rushed back into the burning school. I recognized the face but couldn't place it. She was a pretty girl with short, dark hair and wore no mask or special costume of any kind. The only thing that separated her from the others was her black leather jacket. A hero or an innocent bystander inspired to a higher heroism?

"I don't know who she is but she's got the right idea," said Pat. "We've got to fight our way into that school!"

"Mind if I join you?" asked a voice from the trees.

I recognized it immediately. "Not at all. Good to have you back in the game, Arrowette! I thought you gave it up for good."

Arrowette dropped from the tree canopies and joined Stargirl and her partner inside the ever-shrinking circle of Dragon Troops. "Blame it on a bad flashback. I saw firsthand what crazies like this can do to when turned loose inside a school. This time I make right with it."

"So who is the girl in the leather jacket?" I asked as my boot connected with the chin of a hapless goon.

"You don't recognize Secret?" Arrowette asked. She swept another of the Dragon Queen's finest off his feet with her bow. "Or Greta as she calls herself now. Cover me."

Pat and I shielded Arrowette. We weren't sure what she was up to but I trusted her. We hadn't worked together extensively, but the resolve in her voice told me it was the thing to do.

"Close your eyes," Arrowette instructed.

I heard a small explosion and then men cursing that they couldn't see. I opened my eyes and saw them rubbing their eyes and screaming. A smoking arrow was buried in the ground between us.

"What did you do to them?" I asked.

"Flare arrow - close range," Arrowette replied. "Highly effective."

"What kind of name is Greta?" Pat asked.

What the hell was wrong with Pat? It wasn't like him to be three steps behind or to ask dumb questions at bad times.

"Duh, Einstein! Like, her real one!" Arrowette asked.

Maybe it was trivial detail but since Pat brought her up again, there was one thing bothering me. "I thought Secret was the spooky girl who turned into gas or something like that?"

"Darkseid 'cursed' her and restored her human form. It's a long story," Arrowette replied.

A helicopter landed on the lawn. The remaining Dragon Troops rushed their queen to it. It took off before we could fight our way to it. The Dragon Queen leaned out and shouted something but I couldn't hear her over the increasing rhythm of the blades.

"We should go after her," said Pat.

"No way," Arrowette argued. "We need to evacuate that school. Empress and Greta can keep those bozos busy for awhile but we don't know how long until the school blows."

"She's right, Pat. I don't like her getting away any more than you do, but we have to think of the kids," I said.

Pat touched my shoulder. His massive, steel hands were cold to the touch but his words were so warm and caring I wanted to hug him. "But... she shot you. We can't just... You're right. Let's get those kids out of there!"

I shared his disappointment in Dragon Queen getting away.

We watched the helicopter rise higher in the air as we raced toward the school entrance.

That's when the Star Rocket Racer got back in the game. It swooped low and fired upon the Dragon Queen's helicopter. Its twin guns proved true. The helicopter sputtered and limped back to earth. Authorities would later say it was a hell of a lucky shot to damage only the lines responsible for maintaining the manifold pressure and leave all other systems intact. No crash, no mess, just a crippled helicopter that couldn't maintain its altitude. It was like someone guided her shot.

Whether luck or not, I couldn't help but give a shout out to my girl. "Yeah! Mary!"

By this time a Metahuman Task Force was on hand to detain Dragon Queen and her forces. They helped us mop up the operation. Empress assisted the bomb squad in locating the bomb and they successfully defused it.

"Courtney? Where are you?"

It was mom's voice. It sounded more worried than relieved the ordeal was over. "I'm over here...."

Mom found us comparing notes and making small talk as heroes often do after such things are over. "Honey, it's about Pat! Oh my god! You've been shot!"

I rolled my eyes. How many times did I have to tell her not to use my real name when I'm in costume? Enough jerks know my identity as is without her broadcasting to the world!

In typical mother fashion she was on me like a pack of wolves and poking at my shoulder. All the while she screamed for a medic.

"Pat already has a call in to Dr. Mid-Nite," I assured her. "Right, Pat?"

Mom looked confused. "What are you talking about? Honey, I had to take Pat to the hospital. He's had a heart attack!"

I felt numb. "Then who...."

The doors on the rear of the S.T.R.I.P.E unit swung open. Mike stepped out. "Surprised?"

Surprised? I was furious! He could have gotten us both killed impersonating Pat like that! "What the hell do you think you're doing? What kind of idiot steals a high powered suit and runs off fighting dangerous super-villains? It takes more than a fancy costume to make a hero!"

Despite the gravity of the situation, I heard Mom chuckle.

"What's so damn funny?" I demanded.

Mom looked perturbed. Oh god, not the foul language speech again! "One day you'll appreciate the irony!"

"How's Dad?" Mike asked.

Mom hugged him hard. "It was mild sweetheart, but we need to get over there right away."

"There's something I need to take care of first," I said.

"What could be more important at this moment than seeing Pat?" Mom asked.

I pointed heavenward. "Teaching Mary how to land that damn thing before she kills herself!"

"About your language young lady..."

Ah, familiarity!