(Front cover. Cissie King-Jones is standing in the middle of a bunch of products, smiling an insincere smile. She is holding up a can of soda in one hand and a box of cereal in the other. She is wearing a nice blouse and a pair of blue jeans.)
Voice (From off panel): C’mon! More sincerity in that smile!
Cissie: I’m going to kill my mother.
(Page 1, panel 1. Cissie’s dorm room. She is in her school uniform, and studying a math textbook.)
Cap (N1): Cissie is getting her chance to study, the first one in days.
Cap (N2): Too bad it won’t last too long.
Cap (N3): Then again, things would be pretty boring if she did get to study.
(Panel 2. The phone rings.)
SFX: Ring! Ring!
(Panel 3. Cissie answers the phone.)
Cissie: (1) Hello?
Cissie: (2) Hi mom.
(Panel 4. Cissie has a look of sheer terror painted on her face.)
Cissie: WHAT!?
(Page 2, panel 1. Cissie looks angry.)
Cissie: Mom! We agreed that you wouldn’t make me do any product endorsements!
(Panel 2. Go over to Bonnie King. She is driving a minivan, leading another delivery van down a road. She is talking on a cellular phone.)
Bonnie: I couldn’t stop myself, Cissie… they promised us lots of money if we did this. It’s just one day.
(Panel 3. Cissie is very upset.)
Cissie: Mom, you’re not my legal guardian anymore! Get that through your head! I am not doing any product endorsements, and that’s final!
(Panel 4. Cissie slams the phone down on the receiver.)
SFX: SLAM!
(Panel 5. Enter Traya as Cissie removes the phone from the wall. Traya is in her school uniform, carrying some books.)
Traya: Another endorsement solicitation?
Cissie: Mom. She’s wanting me to endorse something.
(Page 3, panel 1. Traya sets her books down as Cissie tries to release her frustration.)
Traya: I’m glad I don’t have your mother.
Cissie: I wish my mom would be more normal sometimes.
(Panel 4. Go back to Bonnie. She is driving down the school driveway, still leading the van to the school. She is talking on the cellular phone again.)
Bonnie: Of course she’ll do it! Once she sees how much money you’re offering, she’ll do it.
(Panel 5.)
Bonnie: You can trust me. I’ll deliver. No sweat.
(Page 3, panel 1. Go back to Cissie. She shows exasperation.)
Cissie: Let’s hope this is the end of that scene.
(Panel 2. There is a knock on the door.)
SFX: Knock knock!
Cissie: You get it.
(Panel 3. Traya answers the door to see Bonnie there with a photographer and several other people there.)
Traya: Uh, Cissie? I don’t think mom’s going to take no for an answer this time…
Cissie: I really don’t need this right now.
(Panel 4. Bonnie forces her way into the room, followed by the entourage.)
Bonnie: Cissie! Remember I said we were going to do that shoot today?
Cissie: Mom…
(Panel 5. Cissie stands up, and lashes out at her mother. Anger is scribbled all over Cissie’s face. Bonnie is shocked by her daughter’s behavior.)
Cissie: (Shouting) HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!? I TOLD YOU I DIDN’T WANT TO DO ANY PRODUCT ENDORSEMENTS! YOU’VE DONE SOME BAD THINGS TO ME IN THE PAST, BUT THIS ONE TAKES THE CAKE!
(Panel 6. Bonnie, somewhat reeling from this, tries to recover.)
Bonnie: Cissie, look, the deal’s been done, and we’ve got quite a lot of money coming if you do this one picture…
Cissie: (Still angry) ARGH! Get out! I have a big test tomorrow that I need to study for! You’re always poking your nose into my life! Can’t I have a moment of peace for once!?
(Page 4, panel 1. Cissie shakes her fist at her mother, and a photographer takes her picture.)
Cissie: (1) I’m going to make this as clear as I can. In no way will I –
Cissie: (2) Hey! What are you doing!?
(Panel 2. The photographer smiles.)
Photographer: That was a perfect shot! We’ll get that one processed right away!
Cissie: Hey! You have no right to use my image in your ad! I never consented to anything!
(Panel 3. Cissie grabs the camera, and yanks the film out of it.)
Cissie: Give me that!
Photographer: Hey!
Voice: (from off panel): Excuse me…
(Panel 4. Enter the Principal, along with a security guard.)
Principal: I’m the principal of this school. Is there something wrong here?
Cissie: Mom is on one of her ego trips where she thinks she can control me again.
Bonnie: I can’t believe you’d let me down like this, Cissie!
(Panel 5. The Principal takes the camera, and gives it back to the photographer.)
Principal: Any picture taking of a student on school property must be approved by the administration board. If you refuse to comply with this, you will be asked to leave.
(Page 5, panel 1. The photographer turns to Bonnie.)
Photographer: Hey! We were promised an exclusive ad with Cissie! We want our money back!
(Panel 2. Cissie buries her face in her hand, and Traya tries to comfort her.)
Cissie: Most moms don’t like their kids to be heroes. Why did I have to get the exception to the rule?
Traya: Look on the bright side, she still could have been your legal guardian.
(Panel 3. The photographer and his crew draw Bonnie out of the area.)
Photographer: We want our money back now!
Bonnie: O.k., O.K.! I got it in the car!
Principal: I trust this was not of your design, Ms. King-Jones.
(Panel 4. Cissie turns to the Principal, exasperated. Bonnie and the Photographer exit.)
Cissie: It’s awful. Every day I’m being bombarded with product endorsement requests. I can’t take it anymore.
(Panel 5. The principal tries to reassure Cissie.)
Principal: Well, if it’s any consolation, you can keep your humility by remembering your grade on your last algebra quiz.
Cissie: Don’t remind me.
(Page 6, panel 1.)
Principal: Well, I had trouble with math when I was in school too. Just relax, and study hard, Ms. King-Jones.
Cissie: Uh - right.
(Panel 2. Exit the Principal.)
Traya: I’m glad academic decathletes like me aren’t bombarded with such problems.
Cissie: You should try it sometime. It’s horrific.
(Panel 3. Go to a young woman standing in front of a computer screen. Her hair is brown and eyes are blue. She is about 11 years old, and wearing a spandex outfit. She has a bow and quiver of arrows on her back.)
Cap (N1): The time is the future.
Cap (N2): The place is the New Young Justice Headquarters.
Cap (N3): One of their members, Quickshot, has been alerted about a special event in her mother’s past.
Quickshot: (girl) Computer, what is this about me?
Computer: The probability of your existence, that is to say the chances of your being born – have decreased 50% in the last 3 days because of events in the past.
(Panel 4. Quickshot is shocked, and appears horrified.)
Quickshot: 50%!? Computer, what can I do to rectify this?
Computer: Sources show that it is your mother who will decide this fate. You must journey back in time to visit her, and convince her to come back to the life you knew she led.
(Page 7, panel 1. Quickshot turns away from the computer.)
Quickshot: Then fire up the time machine – it’s time to head back into the past!
(Panel 2. Young Justice headquarters. Robin, Secret, Impulse, Wonder Girl, Superboy and Empress are all sitting down at the table.)
Cap (N1): Elsewhere, in the headquarters of Young Justice,
Cap (N2): They have a roundtable discussion about things.
Robin: So that should do it for today. Anyone have anything else to add?
(Panel 3. The members shake their heads no.)
Robin: Well then, let’s get back to our lives.
(Panel 4. A red light flashes on the computer.)
Superboy: Aw, man!
Impulse: You know, it’s hard enough to be a teenager, but do they really have to pile the extra work on us?
(Panel 5. The team stands, and goes toward the computer.)
Wonder Girl: At least you can move at super-speed to cram for an exam.
(Page 8, panel 1. Robin pushes some buttons on the computer.)
Robin: There’s a temporal disturbance in Western Pennsylvania.
Secret: Isn’t that near Cissie’s school?
(Panel 2.)
Robin: That’s right at Cissie’s school. We’d better get word to her at once.
(Panel 3. Robin pushes some buttons.)
Impulse: I’ll go on ahead and see what’s going on.
(Panel 4. Impulse runs out as the screen reads “Dialing.”)
Robin: Let him go.
(Page 9, panel 1. Cissie’s room. She is on her computer, busily typing away. She is alone, and in her school uniform.)
Cissie: Aw, Nerts!
Cap (A): There goes the good grade I had in Computer Science….
(Panel 2. She pushes a button.)
Cissie: What is it this time?
(Panel 3. From a split panel perspective, Cissie is on one side, while Robin and the rest of Young Justice (minus Impulse) is on the other.)
Robin: Cissie, we’ve detected a chronological displacement at your school. We need you to inform the authorities. This could get ugly.
Cissie: Wonderful. I’ve got too much homework to do, guys. I want to sit this one out.
(Panel 4.)
Robin: That may not be an option, Cissie. Just be ready if something does happen.
(Page 10, panel 1. There is a knock at Cissie’s door.)
SFX: Knock knock!
Cissie: Right. Uh-oh. Gotta go.
(Panel 2. Cissie turns away from the computer, and goes to the door.)
Cissie: I’m coming.
(Panel 3. Cissie opens the door to find Quickshot standing there.)
Cissie: Aw, man! Look, I’ve given up the super heroine thing. I’m not in the mood to fight anyone today.
Quickshot: I’m not here to fight you, I’m here to help you.
(Panel 4. Apprehension is written on Cissie’s face.)
Cissie: Just what do you mean by that?
Quickshot: My name is Delia Allen… and I’m your daughter, mom.
(Page 11, panel 1. Cissie puts her hand to her forehead.)
Cissie: Please don’t let this get convoluted. I’ve got enough headaches to last me a lifetime now.
Quickshot: I’ll put it as simply as I can. I come from the future. Where I come from, you are in the Justice League of America. Dad’s in it too.
(Panel 2.)
Cissie: I know I’m going to regret this, but who is your dad?
Quickshot: The world knows him as Impulse.
(Panel 3. Cissie looks up, and grits her teeth.)
Cissie: Bart put you up to this, didn’t he? You’re one of his friends, aren’t you?
Quickshot: I’m more than a friend, I’m his daughter. Look, I know it sounds incredible, but you have to believe me.
(Panel 4. Cissie shows Quickshot the door.)
Cissie: I’ve heard enough. Good bye, whoever you really are.
Quickshot: Mom! Please!
(Panel 5. In the hallway, Cissie tries to push Quickshot out.)
Cissie: I don’t care if you think you’re the queen of Sheba. I want you out now.
(Page 12, panel 1. Impulse enters, running in.)
Impulse: I got here as soon as I could.
(Panel 2. Impulse stops, and looks over Quickshot.)
Cissie: Bart! How could you do something like this to me?
Impulse: Say, who’s your friend here?
Quickshot: (turns to Impulse) Dad! I’m glad to see you.
(Panel 3. Impulse is extremely shocked.)
Impulse: Dad?
Cissie: She claims to be our daughter from the future. I think she’s full of hot air.
(Panel 4.)
Impulse: Well, we did detect a chronological displacement here….
Quickshot: Please, let me explain fully. When I come from, the two of you joined up together, and got married. I came along about a year later. But you’ve got a big decision ahead of you, mom – one that affects my being born.
(Page 13, panel 1. Cissie turns back toward her room.)
Cissie: As I said before, good bye.
Impulse: How do we know you’re our daughter?
Quickshot: I’ll prove it to you.
(Panel 2. Quickshot fires a volley of arrows. She moves so fast it is a blur.)
Quickshot: Let me show you.
(Panel 3. She gestures to the wall.)
Quickshot: Look at the wall.
(Panel 3. There are numerous arrows into the wall, which spell out the words “Does this convince you?”)
Cissie: So what is this big decision I have before me?
Quickshot: Either you can become a model and make a living endorsing products, or study, graduate, and return to Young Justice, then become a member of the JLA. If you become a model, I won’t be born.
Impulse: How did you do that? Any normal bow would break if pulled that fast.
(Panel 4. Quickshot shows off her bow.)
Quickshot: Ordinary bows, yes. This one, not at all. The string is a special plastic-resin-steel polymer that can withstand rapid shooting.
Cissie: I have a third option: I’m returning to my room to study. Now, get lost.
(Panel 5. Quickshot gets an idea.)
Quickshot: I know how I can prove to you I’m your daughter! We can run a DNA test. They have those now, don’t they?
Impulse: Well, yea, but …
(Panel 6. Quickshot smiles.)
Quickshot: Great! Let’s go get one.
Cissie: Are you out of your mind!? I think this whole thing is silly. I’m going back to study, good bye.
(Page 14, panel 1. Quickshot zips in between Cissie and her dorm room door.)
Quickshot: Mom, please! What do you have to lose?
Impulse: We’ve got DNA samples of me and Cissie on file at Young Justice HQ. We’ll check things out there, o.k.?
(Panel 2. Cissie pushes Quickshot aside, and goes to her dorm room.)
Cissie: I’m going back to studying.
(Panel 3. Cissie enters her room, and slams the door.)
SFX: SLAM!
Quickshot: Still that same temper….
Impulse: Let’s go… what was your name again?
(Panel 4. Quickshot approaches Impulse.)
Quickshot: I’m Delia Allen, your daughter. Codename Quickshot.
(Page 15, panel 1. Impulse rushes out.)
Impulse: If you’re my daughter, you should be able to keep up with me.
Quickshot: Dad!
(Panel 2. Delia rushes off after Impulse.)
Quickshot: Mom said you were called Impulse for a reason….
(Panel 3. Follow Impulse and Quickshot as they run to YJ headquarters.)
Impulse: So why did you come back in time?
Quickshot: Mom’s about to have a major decision in front of her: Be a super heroine or be a supermodel. If she becomes a supermodel, she’s going to be very rich but very unhappy. If she becomes a super heroine, she’ll marry you, have me, and be very happy.
(Panel 4. Go back to Cissie and Traya. Cissie slumps over in a chair.)
Traya: You know, something this confusing could only happen in a comic book.
Cissie: I don’t know what to think. Me, a supermodel or a super heroine? I don’t think I could be either.
(Panel 5. Cissie straightens up, turning to Traya.)
Cissie: After I decided to quit being a super heroine, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I thought about being a business woman, but I just don’t know…
Traya: I really wish I could advise you on this one… but I’ve never been a super heroine. I’m only the adoptive daughter of one. I can say this though: you can be a good parent and be a heroine.
(Page 16, panel 1. Young Justice headquarters. Secret is there, working on the computer.)
Cap (N): Young Justice got a report from Impulse, and decided to part for awhile. Secret returned to her computer-based education.
(Panel 2. She is examining some medical texts.)
Cap (N): She is studying to be a doctor of medicine. After all, there’s bound to be some injuries in their line of work…
(Panel 3. Impulse and Quickshot run in.)
Impulse: We’re here now. What happened to the others?
(Panel 4. Secret turns away from the computer, and faces Impulse and Quickshot as they stop.)
Secret: Bart, they went home when they got your report. Seems that they thought I could handle this. I’ve been reading up on how to perform the DNA test, I think I can do it now.
(Panel 5. Quickshot smiles.)
Quickshot: Well, if it isn’t Doctor Toni. Sure, go ahead.
Secret: Huh? I haven’t told the others I’ve been studying medicine.
(Panel 6. Later, Secret is busy on the computer. Impulse and Quickshot are standing nearby.)
Cap (N): One DNA test later…
Secret: The computer is finishing the test up. I’ve set the margin of error at .01%.
(Page 17, panel 1. The computer displays some text.)
Secret: The chances of Quickshot being your daughter and that of Cissie are… 99.99%.
Quickshot: Maybe now you’ll listen to me.
(Panel 2. The next day, Cissie is visited by her mother. Traya watches the scene. Cissie and Traya are in their school uniforms, and Bonnie is in a nice blouse and pants.)
Cap (N1): The next day, Cissie will have to face her decision…
Cap (N2): Things will not be made easy by Bonnie, however.
Cissie: I don’t want to talk to you.
Bonnie: Good, then I’ll do all the talking.
(Panel 3. Cissie turns her back to Bonnie.)
Bonnie: All right, I was wrong to bring some people here to get you to endorse products. But I think it’s time for you to start facing your future. The state won’t support you forever. Once you turn 18, you’re out on your own. By then, I may not be around to help you out either.
(Panel 4.)
Bonnie: You should start preparing for college, Cissie. That starts with earning enough money to pay for it. By the time you get to college, it’s going to cost you several times per semester what I paid for my 4 years of college education.
(Panel 5. Bonnie approaches Cissie.)
Bonnie: I’ve always had your best interests at heart, Cissie. It’s just like my mom was to me.
Cissie: Mom…
(Panel 6. Cissie turns around, still in a defensive posture.)
Cissie: Since it’s obvious that you’re not going to be happy until I do this, and you’re not going to take no for an answer, I’ll do one, but only one.
Bonnie: You won’t regret this, Cissie. I’ll give them a call and we can set up a time.
(Page 18, panel 1. Bonnie turns and exits.)
Bonnie: You’ll thank me for this later. We’ll carefully invest the money so you can have a great college education.
Cissie: Thanks, Mom.
(Panel 2. Bonnie exits.)
Cissie: I feel like I sold my soul to the devil.
Traya: You really can’t blame her, Cissie. You’ve managed to do what she’s been so frustrated with doing. Just how did this whole archery thing start, anyway?
(Panel 3. Cissie turns to Traya, opening herself up with non-defensive posturing.)
Cissie: That’s a long story…..
(Panel 4. Flashback. A 9 year old Millie Gardner is in school, in phys. Ed. class. She is jogging around a track. She is wearing a 1950’s sweatshirt and shorts, with running shoes.)
Cap (A1): Back in the prehistoric late 1940’s, my grandmother Millie was in a phys. Ed. class one day…
Cap (A2): She spotted some boys shooting archery in school.
(Panel 5. She sees some boys shooting bows and arrows.)
Millie’s thoughts: What is that? I think I’d like to try that.
(Panel 6. Millie stops running as she approaches her coach. Her coach is a 40something woman with dark hair and eyes. The coach is in a sweat suit.)
Millie: Coach, what are they doing?
Coach: That’s something you shouldn’t be concerned with, Gardner. Get back to running.
(Page 19, panel 1. Later, Millie has snuck back to the archery range, and is picking up a bow and arrow.)
Cap (A): Grandma wasn’t the kind to take no for an answer, so she snuck back in when nobody was looking….
Millie’s thoughts: This looks interesting… I wonder why they won’t let women do this?
(Panel 2. Millie places an arrow in the bow, and pulls it back.)
Millie’s thoughts: This is harder to pull than it looks.
(Panel 3. She shoots the arrow as a coach enters.)
SFX: Zing!
Coach: What are you doing, young lady!?
Millie: Gasp!
(Panel 4. The arrow his the bulls eye as the coach leads Millie off.)
Coach: This activity is not for young ladies.
Millie: But I wanna try it! Look, I got it in the center!
Cap (A): Grandma was chastised by her parents for this incident. She wouldn’t be able to pick up a bow again until the late 1960’s. By then, it was too late.
(Panel 5. the late 1960’s. A 20something year old Millie King is standing at an archery range, bow in hand and ready to use it. Several men around her scoff at her.)
Man: Archery is a man’s sport. Women can never be good at it.
Millie: Let’s see about that, shall we?
(Panel 6. Millie shoots an arrow, hitting the target dead center.)
Millie: I believe that’s a bull’s eye…
(Page 20, panel 1. Enter Millie’s husband.)
Millie: Darling, look! I got a bull’s eye!
Husband: Millie, we have to talk.
(Panel 2. Aside, Millie and her husband.)
Husband: Darling, I just got a call from Doc Pritchard. He said that the test came back positive.
Millie: Test?
(Panel 3. Millie’s husband puts an arm around her.)
Husband: You’re pregnant, Millie. We’re going to have a wonderful child!
Cap (A): Of course, this meant the end of her arrow-shooting career. But what she couldn’t do, she made sure that her daughter would be able to do …
(Panel 4. Millie is now teaching Bonnie how to shoot a bow and arrow.)
Cap (A): Believing my mother inherited my grandmother’s ability to shoot a bow and arrow, from around 1970 to 1976 she worked mother hard. She thought mom could win at archery when she could not.
(Panel 5. Bonnie is shown in a montage of arrow shooting at targets, hitting a good number of them dead center.)
Cap (A): Mom practiced and practiced. Grandma wanted her to be the best.
(Page 21, panel 1. The year is 1976, and the Olympics are at Montreal. We see the parade of US athletes. Among them are Bonnie King, and Jefferson Pierce, a.k.a. Black Lightning.)
Cap (A1): The USA had never won a medal in archery before for women.
Cap (A2): Grandma was confident that Mom could take the gold.
(Panel 2. The scene shows the results of the contest: a copy of page 61, panel 2 in Secret Origins #1.)
Cap (A1): Unfortunately, a Norwegian woman with a long and difficult name had other ideas.
Cap (A2): She and another woman from Japan beat mom.
Cap (A3): Ironically, the Norwegian gold medal winner went on a spree of product endorsements, fast living, and a lot of other things.
Cap (A4): She died in 1979 of a drug overdose.
(Panel 2. A repeat of panel 1, but the balloons and streamers are placed differently. Millie has also turned away from the scene.)
Cap (A1): I also found out the Japanese woman had a very obsessive father who demanded perfection from her.
Cap (A2): Since she didn’t win the gold, she was sold as a geisha.
Cap (A3): She died of AIDS Related Complex in 1985.
(Panel 3. Go back to the present. Cissie and Traya are sitting opposite each other in chairs.)
Cissie: Then you know the rest. I think it’s ironic that only mom lived to see her 30th birthday of those three.
Traya: Man… that’s really rough….
(Panel 4. Cissie turns back to the computer.)
Cissie: I don’t think I want to be a part of it anymore. I had enough problems getting the gold in Sydney. Tina Thomas can take the gold in Athens.
(Panel 5. Cissie sits at the computer.)
Cissie: I’d better get back to this – this project is due tomorrow and I want to finish it on time.
(Page 22, panel 1. Later. Cissie is still working on the computer, bleary-eyed and half-asleep.)
Cap (A1): Got to stay awake.
Cap (A2): I need to finish this.
Cap (A3): My grade depends on it….
(Panel 2. She continues to type, and her head starts to droop.)
Cap (A): Almost… done….
(Panel 3. Cissie falls asleep onto the keyboard.)
SFX: Smek!
(Panel 4. Cissie is shocked awake by the computer’s buzzing sound.)
SFX: BEEEEEEEEEP!
Cissie: I’m awake!
(Panel 5. Cissie pushes some buttons.)
Cap (A): Done. Now to save it…
(Panel 6. Cissie stands up, and then falls asleep on her bed.)
SFX: Whump!
(Page 23, panel 1. Next morning, Cissie wakens to find herself in a bed with satin sheets on it. She is in a New York apartment and the place is pleasantly decorated in a pink girl’s motif. Cissie is in a silk nightgown.)
Voice (from off panel): Wake up, Cissie. Time to go to work.
(Panel 2. Cissie wakes up to see her mother and her agent standing over her.)
Agent (Frank): Come on, Cissie. You’ve got a major shoot today. We’re going to endorse feminine napkins with mom here!
Cissie: Huh? Where am I?
(Panel 2. Frank and Bonnie try to get Cissie to come out of bed.)
Cissie: I’m tired, go away.
Frank: Nice try, Cissie, but you’ve been in that bed for three days now. It’s time you got out there and earned yourself some money.
(Panel 3. Picking Cissie out of bed, Frank and Bonnie lead her to the shower.)
Frank: Let’s get you showered up and all ready, Cissie.
Cissie: What’s going on here? Who are you?
(Panel 4. Frank and Bonnie push Cissie into the bathroom.)
Frank: Just take a shower, Cissie! We’ll sort the details out later.