In Blue Valley, Pat Dugan was working beneath a car that had just been brought into his garage, half his body hidden under the lifted chassis.
Hearing footsteps and voices, he rolled out from beneath the vehicle on his creeper.
"You said you were looking for Courtney?" he asked, wiping his hands with a rag as he looked up at the visitors.
"Yes," Kara replied with a warm, practiced smile. "We're her classmates. There's something we'd like to discuss with her."
Pat frowned. Kara didn't look anything like a high school student, and neither did the two with her.
Both were tall and powerfully built—one of them easily over six feet, with the calm, sharp presence of a soldier.
Compared to them, Pat thought wryly, I probably look more like a student than they do.
"Courtney was in a car accident recently and is recovering in the hospital," Pat said. "I'm afraid you won't be able to talk to her right now."
He gave them a polite smile and rolled himself back under the car.
But before he could turn his wrench again, the world around him suddenly brightened.
The shadows vanished.
The reason became clear a second later—the car above him was no longer on the lift.
It was floating, effortlessly held aloft by one hand.
Pat's eyes widened.
The woman before him, wrapped in a dark cloak, was holding the entire car as if it weighed nothing.
"I know you," she said coolly. "You're the Star-Spangled Kid from the Justice Society, aren't you?"
Pat froze.
"I… I'm—" he swallowed hard, "Pat. Just Pat. I don't know anything about the Justice Society."
"Is that so?"
Without another word, Diana released the car.
It dropped instantly.
"Okay! Okay, I admit it!" Pat shouted, panic flooding his voice.
Diana caught the car just before it crushed him, her grip stopping it inches from his face.
"Smart choice," she said calmly. "If you'd lied again, I would've had to use… other methods."
She set the car down gently and stepped back.
Pat scrambled to his feet, shaken but alive.
"What do you want from me?" he demanded.
"Information," Diana said simply. "Where is Courtney?"
Pat sighed.
"I told you the truth. She really is in the hospital—but not because of a car accident. Come with me."
The group followed him out of the garage and down the quiet street toward the small hospital on the edge of town.
As they walked, Kara muttered to Hal, "Would she really have let the car fall?"
Diana's voice drifted ahead of them. "Of course not. I would have pulled him up—then let the car hit the ground instead."
Kara smirked. "That's more like the Wonder Woman I know."
Inside the hospital, Pat led them to a room with a large glass window.
Courtney Whitmore—Stargirl—lay inside, unconscious, her arm bandaged and suspended.
"Fractured arm, internal bleeding, concussion… She's lucky to be alive," Pat said heavily.
"I promised her mom I'd take care of her. But right now, I just feel like a failed hero—and a worse father."
Hal's expression hardened.
"Who did this?"
Pat's jaw tightened.
"She said it was a woman—someone who could fly and shoot red energy from her eyes. She called her Kara."
The three heroes froze.
Wonder Woman and Green Lantern turned to stare at Kara, whose eyes widened in disbelief.
"Courtney lost her Cosmic Staff," Pat continued, unaware of their tension.
"If she'd had it, maybe she could've defended herself."
"So the Staff was stolen?" Diana asked quietly.
Pat nodded.
"By someone who called himself… Homelander."
Diana's expression darkened.
"Then we're already too late."
---
Four Miles Away – The Hunt Begins
At a deserted barn outside town, two costumed figures—Sportsmaster and Tigress—stood face to face with two uninvited guests.
Adrian Kent stood calmly before Sportsmaster, his sharp blue eyes fixed on the man's hockey mask.
Beside him, Clark faced Tigress, tension radiating between them.
The villainous couple exchanged amused glances.
"Well, this is convenient," Sportsmaster said, removing his mask with a grin.
"I thought I'd have to hunt you down, but it seems my prey came right to me."
"Prey?" Clark's frown deepened.
"Of course. Your brother—Adrian Kent, right? He humiliated our daughter."
"When a young girl gets rejected by someone she admires, it tends to sting."
Clark's tone hardened.
"I heard she attacked other students on the baseball team and injured them. Doesn't sound like someone fragile to me."
Sportsmaster chuckled.
"She gets that from her mother. Dana's got spirit."
Tigress smiled beside him.
"And she learned from the best."
Adrian's patience wore thin.
"Enough talk. You called this a hunt—then stop wasting time. I don't play games that drag on."
Sportsmaster blinked, then grinned wider.
"As you wish. Game time."
Several baseballs appeared in his hand.
He tossed one lightly, then hurled it.
It cut through the air like a bullet aimed straight for Adrian's head.
Adrian caught it mid-flight without flinching and crushed it in his palm.
Before Sportsmaster could react, Adrian's leg whipped around, striking him square in the chest.
The man flew backward, slamming into the dirt with a heavy thud.
"If that's your best," Adrian said coldly, "this game won't last long."
Sportsmaster staggered up, blood trickling from his mouth.
Panic flickered in his eyes, but pride forced him forward again.
Meanwhile, Tigress lunged at Clark with blinding speed.
Clark dodged effortlessly, countering with a gentle shove that sent her sprawling.
She rebounded, releasing a cloud of smoke, and vanished.
A second later, she reappeared behind him, striking with her metal claws.
They barely left a scratch.
Clark sighed.
"You really don't want to do this."
His punch hit her square in the chest, sending her flying again.
But as he reached for her, Tigress hooked his leg, dragging him down.
She wrapped herself around his back, locking her arms tightly.
Clark grimaced.
"You're really making this awkward."
While Clark wrestled free, Adrian had already ended his fight.
Sportsmaster swung desperately, but Adrian blocked every strike with one arm, then countered with a single devastating blow that broke the man's nose.
Sportsmaster stumbled back, terrified.
He turned to flee, but Adrian moved faster—kicking a nearby planter.
It smashed into the villain's back, launching him forward into the air.
Adrian leaped high, landing before him like a thunderbolt.
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
Sportsmaster barely had time to look up before Adrian grabbed his collar and hurled him through the barn roof.
Wood splintered as the man crashed inside.
Adrian descended slowly, landing on the broken rooftop.
He turned toward a shadowed corner.
A sudden shout split the air.
A teenage girl leaped from hiding, swinging a metal bat.
Dana.
She'd followed her parents here, fueled by rage and a twisted thrill she'd inherited from them.
Violence was her comfort, her addiction—and now, she faced something far beyond her understanding.
Adrian caught the bat effortlessly.
His other hand shot out, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off the ground.
She kicked wildly, face reddening, eyes blazing with fury and fear.
Adrian's gaze was cold and unflinching.
"You should've stayed hidden."
He released her—and she fell, screaming, into the darkness below.
____
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