Kansas, Blue Valley High School.
Jessica walked down the hallway, backpack slung over one shoulder.
After leaving Smallville with her father, the two had settled in Blue Valley.
Though moving had become routine for her, she still found it irritating to adjust to yet another new school.
Dressed in punk-style clothes with dark eyeliner and chewing gum, Jessica easily drew attention from the boys in the hall.
Passing by the teachers' office, she caught the sound of an argument inside.
"I don't understand," a teenage girl's voice complained. "Blue Valley High used to have a gymnastics team. Why did you say it doesn't, Ms. Jennifer?"
"It did," replied a middle-aged woman patiently. "But last year, the American Dream Foundation reorganized our extracurricular programs. To ensure balance between academics and athletics, some teams were merged or removed."
"I have no idea what that means."
"It means," Ms. Jennifer sighed, "there are other activities—like cheerleading, for instance. It's similar to gymnastics, and the boys love it."
"I'm not interested in cheerleading."
A few seconds later, the office door opened, and a brown-skinned girl with curly hair stepped out—almost bumping into Jessica.
"Sorry!" she said quickly.
"It's fine," Jessica replied with a small grin. Her eyes flicked over the girl's figure, a teasing smile tugging at her lips. "Didn't expect to get bumped by such a soft landing."
"Heh." The girl gave an awkward laugh and offered her hand. "Courtney. Courtney Whitmore."
"Jessica Brooks," Jessica said, shaking it.
"I've only been here a week, so I'm still lost. Everything feels... weird."
"Me too," Jessica admitted. "Transfer student—first day."
"Wow! No way!" Courtney's eyes lit up. "I just moved here from California."
The two girls continued chatting as they walked to class, bonding quickly over being the new students.
By lunchtime, they were sitting together in the cafeteria when a group nearby started whispering excitedly about a local superhero.
"Did you hear about Starlight?"
Jessica raised an eyebrow. "Starlight?"
"Yeah," Courtney said eagerly. "A superhero in Blue Valley. She fights bad guys with a glowing staff and apparently flies. But I think 'Stargirl' sounds better—it fits her vibe more, don't you think?"
Jessica gave her a curious look. "You sound like you know her."
Courtney grinned. "I wish! People are saying she might be the new heir to Starman's legacy. Don't you care about stuff like that? Heroes, saving the world, all that?"
"No," Jessica replied bluntly, setting down her burger.
Her mind flashed to that day—to Adrian and Clark, locked in a battle that shattered everything she thought she knew about power. That kind of fight could erase cities.
To her, "superheroes" with fancy names and bright costumes felt like children playing pretend.
"It's just make-believe," she said.
Courtney frowned, poking at her lunch. "You've never seen real power, then. Stargirl can destroy a car with one blast from her staff! And she flies! She's fighting real villains right now."
"Jessica, have you ever heard of the Justice Society of America?"
"Yeah," Jessica muttered. "Those old-timers in tights from the last century?"
Courtney pouted. "They were real! Maybe Stargirl could bring them back someday."
Jessica's patience thinned. "You have no idea what a real fight looks like."
Her voice grew colder. "When people move faster than your eyes can follow, when the air itself explodes around them, when a single leap crushes stone to dust—that's real power. And it's terrifying."
Courtney blinked.
"Demons don't crawl up from hell," Jessica murmured, looking out the window. "They fall from the sky."
---
Kent Farm — Smallville
Martha Kent had just finished tidying the house when her husband walked in, followed by Adrian and Clark.
"The weather's brutal," Jonathan grumbled, wiping sweat from his neck. "Half an hour on the tractor and I'm drenched. Maybe we should take a page from the Aussies and call it summer vacation."
Martha smiled as she handed him a glass of iced lemonade. "Careful, Jonathan. Australians celebrate Christmas in the middle of summer. You sure you'd want that?"
But before he could answer, Martha swayed. Her vision blurred.
"Ugh…"
The glass slipped from her hand, shattering on the floor. Lemonade splashed across the tiles as she began to collapse—straight toward the broken shards.
Jonathan froze in shock.
Before she could hit the ground, two blurs of motion streaked forward.
Adrian moved faster than Clark, catching Martha just before she struck the floor.
Jonathan rushed over as Adrian gently lowered her onto the couch.
"Martha!" he called, brushing her hair from her face.
"Adrian, Clark—call an ambulance! Now!"
---