Young All-Stars

The **Young All-Stars** is a new superhero group founded by Mike Dugan and Jakeem Williams. They decided to start their own group after the Justice Society of America rejected their applications, believing they weren't ready to be heroes. The duo, paired with Thunderbolt, began investigating The Gambler's murder to prove themselves. They slowly recruited Cindy Burman to their team.

## History

After the Battle Against Eclipso, Mike decides that he and Jakeem should start their own superhero group since they were rejected by the JSA due to their age and safety concerns.

After the events of Chapter Thirteen: The Reckoning, the group is most likely inactive as all the members of the team were accepted into the Justice Society of America.

## Series

### Solving a Murder

The day after Steve Sharpe/The Gambler's murder, Mike and Jakeem prepare for their paper route, stacking papers in their sacks. Jakeem questions the "bizarre accident in trailer park leaves one dead" headline, shaking his head as the rest of Blue Valley thinks it was a tornado. Mike is thrilled, as it's the best thing that could ever happen to them - a murdering murderer being murdered. If they can catch the killer, everyone's going to take them seriously. Jakeem reminds him they aren't detectives, but Mike puts a hand on his shoulder, as they are now. Thunderbolt zaps to life, beginning to ramble on about "*Columbo*", a reference that confuses Jakeem.

They try to cheat their way into solving the case by making a wish from Thunderbolt to know the name of Gambler's killer. Thunderbolt zaps awake, remarking it's an excellent question. This is why he spent years studying calligraphy. He burns the answer into the wall in giant pink calligraphy letters, adding an exclamation point at the end - "The killer has many names!". Mike exclaims it's a rip-off, wanting him to wish for it again. Jakeem reminds him they can't wish for the same thing twice. They decide to leave before anyone sees what Jakeem did to the wall.

As more information comes to light, Young All-Stars learns from the JSA that Dragon King is their current suspect. The boys enter the bathroom at BVHS to talk in private, looking at the burns in the wall from Thunderbolt's answer.Mike thinks Dragon King makes sense, though Jakeem questions if he's really the guy with the reptile skin and the big sharp teeth. Mike never saw him but thinks it has to be an exaggeration. He begins to ponder that Dragon King could still be in the tunnels under Blue Valley. Maybe The Gambler found out and that's why he "got offed". He wants to check as this is their chance to finally solve the mystery before school gets out and before Courtney and the others do. Jakeem asks when it became a competition, so Mike glibly tells him that no one takes them seriously. They should ditch P.E. and go get S.T.R.I.P.E., though Jakeem thought Pat hid them. Mike tells him to wish for them. From outside the bathroom, a bright pink glow grows brighter and bigger until the door itself blows off the hinges. A mountain of keys pours out of the bathroom, with Mike and Jakeem sitting atop it. They briskly walk away, though Jakeem peeks back, so Mike pulls him along.

### Building a Team

A few days later, Mike and Jakeem talk by the lockers. The tunnels are empty, which Jakeem thinks is good. Mike thinks this means they still have a chance of catching the perp themselves. That's what Starman said they should do, surprising Jakeem. They have to step outside of their comfort zones, but Jakeem likes his comfort zone. It doesn't have crocodile people in it. Besides, he thought they weren't going to do this alone, he thought they were supposed to form a team. A locker slams shut as Brian Tanner Balloid and Travis walk up. They're collecting money for the hungry - the hungry being them. It's a tax for being losers. Jakeem thinks that's fair but Mike stops him. Mike wishes they could figure this out, sparking inspiration from Jakeem. He whispers to Thunderbolt that he really wishes these bullies were nicer to them. Thunderbolt affects them, making their eyes glow pink. They bullies now nicely ask for their money or else they'll hit the boys really, really hard in their quite handsome faces. Cindy intervenes and takes down both boys, putting Brian in an arm lock. If she catches him messing with the freshman again, she'll break way more than his arm. He groans why she cares, but she doesn't, sauntering off. The boys watch her go, a pink glow surrounding her as they admire her.

Once class ends, Mike and Jakeem watch Cindy from around a corner of lockers. Thunderbolt sparks that Operation: Dragon Queen is a go. The boys argue over who will go to talk to her. By the time they both decide to go, Cindy is at the corner to get into her locker. They greet her and she coolly asks what they want. Mike has a preposition for her, which makes her smirk as that's not what he means, but tells him to go ahead. He tells her to face it - Courtney and the others are not her biggest fans, and a woman with her skills needs to be appreciated. Jakeem blurts out worship. Mike stammers that the appreciation is just not coming from the JSA. He asks her to ditch those ingrates and join them, the Young All-Stars. Cindy pauses then bursts out laughing, calling it adorable. They boys eagerly think that's a yes, but she chuckles that it's never going to happen, ever. She means that in the nicest way and walks off. Mike calls after her that they haven't told her the perks yet. Thunderbolt asks what she said, as he couldn't hear. Jakeem wonders if she just doesn't like the name, which is a bit long. Mike thinks that's the best part, but eventually agrees to workshop the name.

Jakeem and Mike stand outside Cindy's house with chocolate and flowers. If she doesn't eat sugar they'll give the flowers, and if she doesn't like flowers, they'll have to bribe her with something else. The boys talk on the front porch. Cindy has to join them, especially if everyone else thinks she's working with Dragon King. Cindy Burman might be guilty of many things, but killing The Gambler is not one of them. That's beneath her, as she's got class and information. She has access to all the files on the ISA, stuff the others don't even know about. So while Courtney's slacking off, they can figure out the puzzle. Jakeem reminds him the point of everything his sister wanted was for them to all work together. Mike wants to win, and nobody wins if they do that. Jakeem shrugs as he's just saying. Courtney wants everyone to trust each other, but then this murder happens, and no one trusts anyone. They should be transparent. Mike scoffs that he's as transparent as a window. He rings the doorbell and Cindy answers. He greets her, grinning that the Young All-Stars bring her offerings. She smirks and gives a simple no, slamming the door shut on them.

Jakeem still wants to help Cindy now that she's turning into a lizard, justifying his beliefs as standing up for them, but they didn't stand up for her. They bike to the Etter Produce Farm looking for her, but instead, find a giant white albino gorilla. While running from the creature, they trip a netting trap and get stuck mid-air. Cindy emerges from behind a tree. She asks what the two idiots are doing here. The boys poke their heads through the net. Mike exclaims they found her, with Jakeem questioning if it's Cindy, smiling when he sees her. He greets her with a hello, and Thunderbolt warns them not to tell her they have all of her stuff. Cindy cuts them down with her shiv, making the boys scream until they thump on the ground. She smirks and sheathes her shiv.

Jakeem exclaims that she's still alive. She asks again what they're doing there. Mike admits they're looking for her, which confuses her. They wanted to see if she was okay, now that she's turning into a lizard. Jakeem quickly adds that lizards are, by far, the most beautiful and intriguing members of the reptile family, if she were to ask him. Mike tells Cindy they found a giant, big, white gorilla while they were looking for her. Jakeem isn't good at estimates, but he'd say it was 30 feet tall. Cindy knows, as that's what the trap was for. Mike remarks she'll need a bigger trap. Cindy sighs then points over her shoulder. Down there, they'll find a road, Etter Lane, that leads right back to town. Mike tells her to come with them, but she can't. She thinks that thing is one of her dad's crazy science experiments. He suggests it has to be what killed The Gambler. She agrees it probably is, which is how she'll clear her name and shove it into the smug faces of his sister's dumbass friends faces. Thunderbolt snips that it's an admirable goal. She tell them to do themselves a favor - go play some video games and leave this to her. Jakeem starts to explain what Thunderbolt said, but a distant boom catches their attention. They look behind them and when they look to Cindy again, she's gone.

The team is rocked by the return of Jordan Mahkent, which spurs Cindy to confront the boys at the Williams residence. The boys are shocked to see Cindy, who informs them their doors were unlocked. She could have been Jordan Mahkent, and wonders where they would be then. Jakeem admits they'd probably be frozen. Mike asks what Burman is doing here. With everything going on, she decided it's a lot for anyone to do alone, especially the two of them. She sits on Jakeem's bed and forces a smile - she wants to team up. Thunderbolt gasps dramatically. Mike's unamused and points to her, asking if she's serious. She merely remarks sure, why not. Jakeem grins and excitedly steps forward, welcoming her to the Young All-Stars. She lets out a noise as they're gonna have to work on that name. He nods eagerly as that's fine. He looks down at her and, through his teeth, muses that she's sitting on his bed. Thunderbolt mockingly says, "smooth", while Cindy averts her eyes and grimaces.

A few days later, underneath the Burman house, the Young All-Stars enter the ISA's former headquarters. Mike thinks it's awesome. He asks if the ISA just sat around looking at a painting of themselves. He's not sure if they want to use this for the Young All-Stars HQ, as it's pretty cold down there for a reptile. No offense to Shiv. Jakeem asks what's happening to her and she shakes her head. He only wants to help as they're a team now, and that's what teammates do. Her dad experimented on her for her entire life. He put metal shivs in her arms and pumped her so full of chemicals her hair turned white. She thinks her father did something else to her, something that lay dormant until she came back from The Shadowlands. Mike asks if it hurts, and it does, sometimes. Jakeem summarizes that she took The Gambler's laptop too look for her dads hidden labs. She did, but she searched through all the labs she could find, hoping one might have answers on how to reverse this. Jakeem has an idea, taking out Thunderbolt. He's going to wish for something. Mike grabs him and shakes him a little, telling the madman to wait. He should write it down first, think it through. Jakeem knows what he's doing and tells Mike not to embarrass him in front of her. He turns back to Cindy and wishes that Thunderbolt would take him, Mike, and Cindy to the labs that has what they're looking for. Thunderbolt sparks to life and zaps them away.

### Fighting Dragon King

*See also: Battle of Blue Valley*

The Young All-Stars navigate the underground tunnels where they're headed to place to "find what they're looking for". Mike asks what they're looking for, which Jakeem answers is a cure. Thunderbolt explains that Cindy Burman was, but Jakeem made the wish and was looking to impress her. So ta-da, here's his chance. Mike asks what that means but Thunderbolt refuses to answer. Mike tells him to pull the guy out there and "so-kewl" his pink ass. Cindy tells them to wait, recognizing a dragon painting on the wall. They're by on of her dad's labs. She excitedly tells Jakeem that she thinks he did it, telling the idiots to follow her. Jakeem is happily to have done it, but Mike wonders what he did exactly.

Mike realizes they're in one of Cindy's dad's creepy labs. Jakeem echoes the very creepy statement. He asks what they're looking for, assuming it's a potion. Mike scoffs that Dragon King's not a wizard. Jakeem defends his belief as there was a wizard in the ISA, and Mike admits there was. Cindy nervously tells the boys that someone's been working in there. She nudges a half-open book as proof. Mike thought she said her dad was dead. She admits he's supposed to be.

Jakeem pokes at a jar with eyeballs in it. Mike swats his hand away as he might catch what Cindy has. She hears him and Jakeem scolds Mike, asking what's the matter with him. Mike tries to justify it but Jakeem doesn't let up. Cindy looks around the lab until she finds a body covered in a white sheet. Mike turns on the overhead light. Cindy carefully pulls back the sheet, revealing Dragon King's body. The smell gags the trio, but Cindy shakes it off. It's her dad's body. She pulls off his hood to reveal the top of his head is cut off and his brain is missing. Heavy footsteps shake the lair as a huge albino gorilla emerges from the hall. He greets Cindy as his daughter, revealing himself to be Shiro Ito/Dragon King. She's in shock as she looks at her dad. Mike questions his identity. Cindy realizes he put his brain in that thing. Mike puts the pieces together; if Dragon King put his lizard brain in the white ape, he wonders where the Ultra-Humanite's brain is.

Dragon King grumbles lowly that he's missed Cindy, his greatest experiment - well, until now. Cindy tells Mike and Jakeem to be ready to run, so they sneak aside. Cindy tells her father that the new look is not an improvement. He snarls angrily and approaches her, so she throws one of the jars at him. It explodes giving the trio time to run away as Dragon King's left stunned.

After running for quite some time, Shiv launches out of a manhole, pulling Jakeem out behind her. She urges them along as Mike struggles to climb out. She pulls open a gate and leads them into an empty lot. They see the Blue Valley Tires sign, with Mike suggesting a foolproof wish to get them out of this mess. A roar splits through the air, and Shiv yanks Jakeem along.

Jakeem and Mike try to figure out where to wish themselves. They decide on The Bahamas, somewhere towards the ocean. Dragon King roars then punches the crates the trio is hiding behind. Shiv goes flying through the air as the boys take cover. Dragon King calls out to Cynthia, telling his dear daughter to come now. The boys assemble behind Shiv as Dragon King taunts her that she doesn't belong with them. She belongs with him - she belongs to him. Cindy unsheathes her shiv and asks if he wants to see what his little pet project can really do. She runs towards him and leaps into the air with a shout, just as Dragon King swings at her.

Shiv begins to lose to the oversized mutated gorilla. Mike sits and tells Jakeem to look at him now. He pulls the boy to his level, telling him again to look at him. He puts a hand on Jakeem's shoulder, telling him to do everything they say. Stop overthinking, be direct, be honest, and be specific. Jakeem stands and looks at Shiv, who is about to be torn apart by Dragon King. Her bones crack under his weight. He grumbles that it'll be over soon. Jakeem points Thunderbolt at the duo, wishing the most beautiful woman in the world will never have to be bothered by her father again. Nothing happens and Mike complains that he just said to be specific. Who's to say she's the most beautiful woman in the world? Jakeem turns back to the duo, commanding with the gumption that he does.

He said it, the kid with the pen. His eyes glow pink and streaks of pink lightning emerge from his eyes. The energy ripples down his body and triggers the pen, releasing Thunderbolt. The imp cheers that his wish is granted. He launches at Dragon King and scoops him into the air. Shiv struggles to sit as silence falls over the factory. From above, a white stuffed animal gorilla falls with a whistling noise. The pink energy around it slowly fades as it lands promptly in Shiv's lap with a squeak. She picks up the toy with a mixture of surprise and disgust. Thunderbolt emerges from the side, musing that it's for her, his queen, from her not-so-secret admirer. It's Jakeem, it's from Jakeem. Simultaneously, the JSA defeats the Mahkents and Ultra-Humanite.

One night at the Whitmore-Dugan House, Mike and Jakeem chase after Buddy, who has hold of the Dragon King gorilla plushie. They shout for him to put it down as it's dangerous and very bad. Jakeem cries out that Buddy ripped his arm off, with Mike exclaiming that's not his arm. Cindy smirks from the smaller kitchen table, asking her daddy even if he's having fun.

### Ten Years Later

By the year 2031, the Young All-Stars, now Dragon Queen, Jakeem Thunder, and S.T.R.I.P.E. 2.0, have merged with the Justice Society of America, working together to defeat countless foes. They each have banners featured in the JSA museum, and artifacts dedicated to their journeys as heroes, including Shiv's scepter and a pink pen.

## Members

### Former Members

* Mike Dugan/S.T.R.I.P.E
* Jakeem Williams and Thunderbolt
* Cindy Burman/Shiv

## Allies

* Justice Society of America
	+ Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl
	+ Yolanda Montez/Wildcat
	+ Beth Chapel/Dr. Mid-Nite
	+ Rick Tyler/Hourman
	+ Pat Dugan/S.T.R.I.P.E.
* Zeek
* Artemis Crock

## Enemies

* Shiro Ito (Transformed into a gorilla stuffed animal by Thunderbolt)
* Ultra-Humanite † (Defeated by the JSA)
* Jordan Mahkent † (Defeated by Artemis)

## Notes and Trivia

* Cindy Burman is Mike's first recruit, however, she rejects his offer. The next day later the team heads over to recruit her again, she again rejects their offer, however in Chapter Eleven: The Haunting, she gives in and joins the boy's team.

## Comic Comparisons

* Young All-Stars is a reference to the group in the DC Comics. Canonically, the group was founded in 1942 during World War II, and operated alongside the All-Star Squadron as their younger allies. Their team leader was Iron Munro.

## References

1. ↑ "*Summer School: Chapter Thirteen*"
2. ↑ "*Chapter Two: The Suspects*"
3. ↑ "*Chapter Four: The Evidence*"
4. ↑ "*Chapter Five: The Thief*"
5. ↑ "*Chapter Six: The Betrayal*"
6. ↑ "*Chapter Nine: The Monsters*"
7. ↑ "*Chapter Ten: The Killer*"
8. ↑ "*Chapter Eleven: The Haunting*"
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "*Chapter Twelve: The Last Will and Testament of Sylvester Pemberton*"
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "*Chapter Thirteen: The Reckoning*"