"Pat?"
"I'm here."
Pat walked to Courtney's bedside. "Courtney, it's alright, everything is fine."
Despite his somewhat grim expression, he forced a smile to comfort his daughter.
"I'm sorry, I messed everything up."
Courtney apologized to Pat with a dejected expression.
"I even got Hourman killed."
As if she had found someone to confide in, Courtney hugged her stepfather, her voice choked as she said, "I didn't want to do that. At first, I told Midnight Doctor and Wildcat to give me back the equipment, but they refused and insisted on coming here."
"If I could have convinced them, maybe Hourman wouldn't have died."
"There's something I need to tell you."
Pat hesitated, then said, "Actually, Hourman isn't dead. The hourglass on his chest saved him, but…"
Before Courtney could be happy, Pat added, "He's seriously injured and still in critical condition, and that hourglass is broken."
"The hourglass?"
Courtney showed a sad expression. "That hourglass is everything to Hourman. It's a memento his father left him. He used it to gain power and then search for his father's killer."
"There's something I need to tell you, Courtney. Even though it sounds a bit painful, you have to learn to accept it. Many times in our lives are spent this way, even if we don't like it or even detest it."
"So, Pat, are you trying to tell me even more tragic news?"
Wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes, Courtney forced a smile, trying to appear strong.
"Yes, you and your companions, Hourman, Wildcat, and Midnight Doctor, you've been expelled from the Justice Society."
"What?!"
Courtney looked utterly astonished.
"Didn't you say there was no one left in the Justice Society? No, only you are left in the Justice Society. You're telling me that I and my companions have been expelled? Did you expel us?!"
"You can't do that, Pat!"
Courtney's expression grew even sadder, even showing a hint of grievance.
"You can punish me however you want, but you cannot strip me of my honor. That's been my goal and my guiding light. You can't push down my streetlights! My father is Starman, and I am proud of him. I… I can't accept this!"
"I wouldn't do that. By the way, your father isn't Starman. Haven't we discussed this many times?"
Pat let out a breath, calming himself down.
"Eric Kent, the one who took your Star Scepter, he… we made a deal. The Justice Society is now his property. The naming rights, the branding rights, and the relics of those heroes, all belong to him. Of course, he didn't take the equipment of your three friends, Midnight Doctor, Hourman, and Wildcat."
Pat stated these facts in a slightly heavy tone.
"You… you can't do that, Pat!"
Courtney showed an incredulous look of shock. "That was founded by your comrades, and they even sacrificed for it! How could you just hand them over so easily?"
"Then what should I do?"
Pat sighed, saying helplessly, "Compared to your lives, which is more important, those things or you?"
"I…"
Courtney shook her head blankly, a struggling look on her face. "I don't know, but I know we shouldn't do that! That's a betrayal, Pat, not just you, I… I also betrayed what I stood for."
"At least one thing, he has now inherited the Justice Society, which means he will deal with those Injustice Society people for us, won't he?"
Stroking his daughter's hair, Pat comforted her:
"When I was Starman's friend, he once told me: Those who have struggled through are true gold that fears no fire. No path of disillusionment can shake their faith; because from the beginning, they knew that the path of faith and the path of happiness are different, and they cannot choose; they can only walk this path, all others are dead ends.
You must not expect this from fifteen or sixteen-year-old children, because before gaining this belief, one must first endure great sorrow and shed many tears."
Pat paused, then continued, "This is also why I oppose you being a superhero, because you are all fifteen or sixteen-year-old children. You don't have this belief, you haven't experienced sorrow, or shed many tears."
"I know."
Courtney reached out and held her stepfather's hand. "Now I have this belief. The reason I'm not dead now is because I was lucky, so I hope you train me. I will use my strength to reclaim the Star Scepter and the Justice Society, and I will also use my strength to deal with the Injustice Society."
"By the way."
Courtney smiled slightly at her father. "That line probably wasn't said by Starman, but by Romain Rolland."
Pat cleared his throat and immediately changed the subject, "How about we talk about how to train you!"
Metropolis, Eric sat in the empty Justice Society Hall.
The dim lights cast a faint yellow glow in the dark night.
Eric sat at the round table in the center of the hall, one arm resting on the table supporting his chin, quietly observing the hall's furnishings.
He had previously found Stargirl's stepfather, and after some "coercion and inducement," he obtained ownership of the Justice Society from him.
He had no interest in the so-called Justice Society title.
What interested him was this real estate located in Metropolis, sufficiently private and sufficiently prestigious, a mansion that money couldn't buy.
Besides his interest in real estate, he also had a strong interest in the equipment within the Justice Society.
He got up and walked to a metal shelf in a corner of the room, observing the Owl on it and reaching out to stroke the Owl's feathers.
The grey-black Owl's eyes rolled "gulu gulu," seemingly not resisting its new owner.
Then Eric walked to a golden helmet.
The golden helmet, cloak, and amulet lay quietly on the storage box, awaiting their original owner—Doctor Fate.
It was said that once one put on the helmet and became Doctor Fate, the body would often be controlled by Nabu's consciousness.
The so-called "Nabu God" was not human and had no human emotions.
Facing the person wearing the helmet, Nabu would gradually desire to occupy their body, seizing control of the body.
This kind of thing…
Casually tossing the helmet down, Eric shook his head.
Although it had high prestige, it could be defeated by a group of villains whose names he hadn't heard of.
Weak enough!
He put down the Doctor Fate helmet and looked at another conspicuous item placed in the room—a dusty, somewhat tattered Green Lantern.
"Green Lantern, huh?"
Eric examined the broken Green Lantern with a hole in it.
He reached out and picked up the Green Lantern, finding that its wick was missing.
Without a wick, and without the Green Lantern Ring to charge it, it could only serve as a mere decoration.
After putting down the Green Lantern Ring, he noticed a very distinctive red battle suit next to it.
A lightning bolt was drawn on the chest, and the feet had dark golden metal decorations.
It immediately identified the owner of this uniform—Flash.
"What a pity…"
Eric sighed, what a pity there was no suitable uniform for him.
Either too ugly or already taken.
Putting down Flash's uniform, Eric left the Justice Society Headquarters and flew towards Smallville.
Thump!
His feet landed on the road not far from the farm, and Eric prepared to walk home.
But after taking two steps, he saw someone riding a horse slowly walking not far ahead.
"Hey, Eric!"
Seemingly surprised to find Eric on the road, Lana smiled and greeted him, "I didn't expect to run into you here."
"It is a bit of a coincidence."
Eric nodded. Even though he was reclusive and disliked socializing, he wasn't a weirdo who wouldn't say a word when encountering an acquaintance.
He had a good impression of Clark's friends: Chloe, Pete, and Lana.
"Tyson has been a bit listless lately, maybe it's his age, so I often take him out for walks to clear his head," Lana explained to Eric with a smile.
Tyson was the name of the horse Lana was riding.
"Ever since Whitney was hospitalized, he rarely went out. Perhaps some fresh air will help him recover. We asked the vet, and that's what the doctor suggested. Whitney's mother wants to sell him now; she can't afford him anymore."
"Uh-huh."
Eric continued walking forward, not intending to respond.
"So…"
Lana hesitated, then said to Eric, "Clark found out about this and suggested I keep Tyson at the farm. I don't know if that would cause you trouble."
"For Clark, he'd be very happy, even though cleaning the stable is a bit of a hassle for him," Eric replied casually.
"That's good then."
Lana nodded, then hesitantly asked Eric, "I heard there was a car accident at the farm yesterday. Is everything alright?"
"Yes."
As they spoke, the two arrived at the farm entrance.
Clark was waiting at the farm gate and was a bit surprised to see them walking together.
After Eric nodded to Clark, he entered the farm.
He had no interest in his older brother's romantic drama.
Clark coughed and reached out to touch the long hair on Tyson's neck.
But Tyson didn't cooperate, sneezing and turning his head away, resisting Clark's touch.
"What's wrong with Tyson?" he asked Lana, somewhat surprised.
"Tyson's illness is getting worse. Will putting Tyson here bother your parents?!" Lana reconfirmed with Clark.
"No," Clark said to Lana with a smile, "We all don't want a part of our lives taken away, do we? I'll take good care of Tyson."
As he spoke, his gaze suddenly caught a familiar back, which startled him.
"Sorry, Lana, I have to leave for a moment."
With that, he instantly vanished, leaving Lana standing there helplessly.
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