Freya's POV:

My parents and I carefully eye the new coach as the team introduced themselves with Principal Bowin's supervision.

Once the Coach reached Artemis, she proudly stood up as Principal Bowin gestured to her. "And this is our star player--"

Artemis proudly stood up from her spot and shook his hand. "Artemis Crock." She greeted with a smile. "I look forward to working with you."

Principal Bowin excuses herself and starts to head off the field until she locked eyes with us with a glare before she walked back inside the school.

"Welcome to Blue Valley, Coach Karasick." My mom called out with a wave and the coach nodded his head with a smile.

"You've got a great team, Coach." My dad added before he made the gesture that he's keeping an eye on him and chuckled.

From the corner of my eye, I see someone approach us which causes me to turn to see Steven Sharpe toss a bag of peanuts on the ground which completely missed the trash can.

"Mr. Sharpe." I greet but see my dad's jaw clench once I mentioned his name.

"Good afternoon." He greets as he leaned against the railing in front of my dad.

"You better not bet against us this season, Sharpe." My dad said, not bothering to look him in the eyes.

"I wouldn't dare think of it. Your daughter's gonna take Blue Valley all the way." He emphasized. "I know that. Yes, sir."

"What do you want?" My mom questioned.

"Not me, Paula. Jordan." He took out a keycard from his vest and handed it to him. "We've got the broadcasting equipment. Now we need to retrieve the satellite codes to use it. Everything's set for tonight, my friends."

What?

My dad sarcastically smiled. "We're not your friends."

Steven's jaw dropped slightly as he held his hands out. "Come on, sure you are."

He shook his head again. "No." Steven rolled his eyes in annoyance before he started to walk back where he entered from.

"Steven," My mom called out which caused him to pause in his steps. "We pride ourselves in keeping the school clean. Pick up your trash." She sternly ordered and Steven's expression turned to a smirk.

He picked up the bag of popcorn on the ground before waving it in the air and tossed it in the trash.

"What a putz." My dad scoffed.

"What does Jordan want me to do?" I ask, seeing that they already had talked things over with him without me. "What's the plan?"

The sound of the bell goes off but my mom keeps her eyes on the field. "Just get to class, Freya."

I scoff and grab my bag from the floor, carefully stepping down from the bleachers before I walked back inside the school.

What the hell were they planning?

.·。.·゜✭·.·✫·゜·。. *✭˚·ﾟ✧*·ﾟ*✭˚·ﾟ✧*·

The final dismissal bell rings but Courtney and I push through the sea of students that were leaving campus, trying to follow after Yolanda and Beth.

"Beth! Yolanda!" Courtney called out as I trailed behind outside. "Guys, wait. Please."

"'Please' what? Give up being Wildcat?" Yolanda scoffed, briefly looking back at us before she continued to walk with Beth. "I already said no."

"And I'm not giving up Dr. Mid-Nite. He's my friend, Courtney." Beth pointed out.

"I know how important it is to you two." I tried to say but Yolanda didn't bother to make eye-contact with me. "But guys, this stuff isn't even ours, to begin with."

Courtney manages to walk a bit faster than them which caused the duo to stop behind the bleachers. "Maybe we can just go talk to Pat?"

"I just did." We all turn to see Rick stand there with a look of annoyance. "I don't get him. What did your dad see in him? What do you?"

"There's more to Pat than you know." Courtney narrowed her eyes.

"I've got one question for you, Courtney. If Pat asks for your staff back, are you giving it to him?" He questioned. Courtney stays silent for a while which caused my eyes to widen slightly. "I didn't think so."

Rick holds up a journal for us to see and Beth tilts her head a bit with confusion. "What's that?"

"It's my dad's journal. He was a chemist, right?" He asked and Beth nodded. "So can your goggles tell me what this equation is? Pat thought it might be some kind of code."

As Beth dug through her bag for the goggles, Courtney let out a scoff. "See, he's smarter than you think."

Beth puts the goggles over her eyes and grabs the journal from him. The goggles instantly glow green as it scanned through the book but then she shook her head.

"He doesn't know." She answered as she shut the journal and handed it back to him. However, the goggles glow green again and she stumbles back a bit with a gasp but I put my hand to her back so she wouldn't fall. "Whoa!"

"What happened?" I cautiously ask as she looked around in shock.

Yolanda waved a hand in front of her face. "Earth to Beth? Hello?"

"Someone's trying to hack into the Empire Enterprises system." Beth explained and instantly my memory flashes to the company truck I hijacked with Anaya and Steven.

"What's Empire Enterprises?" Yolanda asked with confusion.

"A communications company."

"So a hacker is trying to hack into some lame phone company?" Rick raised his voice slightly in annoyance. "So what?"

"So, the hacker works for the Injustice Society of America." Beth stated.

Courtney's eyes widened. "What?"

"Chuck's main adversary. He's known as The Gambler." She answered and her goggles lit up again. "He's a master strategist. A genius when it comes to probabilities. A programming whiz. Encrypted networks are his thing. Real Dark Web stuff." She shivered. "He's wanted for fraud, conspiracy, and murder."

"Okay," Yolanda slowly nodded. "So this is our chance to go catch one of them."

"You're kidding." I exasperated, annoyed at the fact that their plan is reckless. "And then what?"

"Then we interrogate them. Make them tell us everything they know. Or else." Rick stated harshly.

"Or else what?" Beth questioned.

"Uh, we should tell Pat." Courtney tried to ease the tension as she glanced between Rick and I.

"So he can tell us no and try to take all our stuff?" Rick turned away from me to look at Courtney. "Forget it."

"Yeah, I'm with him." Yolanda added. "We already have five against one. We don't need six."

"Oh, six including my pal Chuck." Beth tapped on her goggles.

"I'm going. Anyone else?" Rick said as he picked up his bag from the ground and began to walk.

"I will." Yolanda added as she started to follow after him.

"Uh, me too!" Beth squeaked and quickly picked up the pace.

"Wait!" Courtney worriedly called out and I reluctantly trailed behind her as she tried to run after them.

"It's only a hacker, Courtney." Rick emphasized.

"That hacker could have the power to melt our faces." Courtney tried to say but Beth took a step closer to them.

"Incorrect." She quickly added. "The Gambler doesn't have any physical powers of any kind."

"So, what, you'll beat it out of them?" I take a step forward as well with a glare towards the three. "Just because you punched a car, you sliced a metal toaster, and you have goggles that act like google, you guys think you're invincible?" I say, pointing to each of them. "These guys have been doing this for years and you've had this power for like, what, a week? Be realistic. They won't say a word." I argued.

"It's one guy," Rick glared as well. "we're not fighting the entire ISA."

"Well, then you're all idiots for thinking you have a chance against one guy!" I huff as I take a step closer to him, not phased at the fact he was twice my size.

Yolanda took a step forward as she held on to the straps of her backpack. "He sounds like an easy target, Court. Maybe the easiest of them all."

Courtney lets out a sigh before she shook her head. "Okay. I'm coming--"

My eyes widen. "Are you--"

"But if we're going to do this, we need to protect our identities." Courtney finished her sentence which caused Beth to excitedly smile.

"Does this mean I get a costume?" She clapped. "I'd really like a costume."

I shook my head with disbelief. "Did what I say just go in one ear and out the other?"

"Freya like they said...it's one guy." Courtney tried to assure. "Just come with us."

Whatever they're planning to do tonight, I have to make sure they stay out of the way but if I tell Jordan, he'll show up and kill them all.

I sigh as I crossed my arms. "I just need to get my helmet." I answer and Courtney nods before we continue walking to the car.

I discreetly take out my phone and pull open the contact in my text messages.

UNKNOWN

We have a problem.
{3:05 p.m}

.·。.·゜✭·.·✫·゜·。. *✭˚·ﾟ✧*·ﾟ*✭˚·ﾟ✧*·

Artemis and I were seated on the couch while our parents stood in front of us. "We won't be gone all night. I mean, we'll be gone for a while. We're going to--"

"Have a date night." My mom innocently smiled. "Your father and I haven't done that in quite some time. So..."

"You've never done date night, Mom." Artemis pointed out.

"Well, we're doing it tonight." My dad cleared his throat. "And we're gonna go to the city."

"We'll be home before midnight, but you two need to do your push-ups." My mom ordered and my dad nods in agreement.

"Side crunches. I would say three sets of twelve." He added.

"Hamstring curls."

"And so you wanna do pull-ups, underhand."

"Toe presses. Drink your shake. And remember," My mom finished listing off the exercises. "Mom and Dad love you both."

"Okay?" Artemis muttered, clearly weirded out by their behavior.

The sound of our doorbell goes off which causes our parents to turn to each other with confusion. "Were we expecting anyone?" My dad asked and my mom shook her head in response which then they turn to Artemis and I. "Were you two?"

I raise a brow. "I've never invited anyone."

"You two know that I'm usually the one that goes to my friend's house." Artemis chuckled.

My dad walks over to the door, grabbing one of his baseball bats that leaned against the couch. He opens the door and I could see his expression turn to suspicion. "Can I help you?"

"Is Freya home?" I hear Yolanda speak up which causes my eyes to widen.

"Depends." He tightly clutches onto the baseball bat and I quickly sit up from the couch to rush to the door. "Who are you?"

"Dad, she's a friend." I emphasize sternly and see him discreetly put his baseball bat to lean against the wall before I turn to Yolanda with a nervous chuckle, seeing that she had her backpack. "What are you doing here?"

"We have a project, remember?" She said with a small smile. "It's due tomorrow."

I nod slowly. "Oh, right." I say and turn to my dad. "Is it okay if she stays? You and mom are going out anyway."

My dad was about to protest but my mom steps in with a smile. "Of course. Just stay out of the basement." She reminded as she wrapped her arm around his. "Come on, I already put our things in the car."

He nods before he looks to Artemis and I. "Bye kids." They say in unison before they quickly leave the house.

I gesture for Yolanda to come inside and shut the door behind her. "So, a project huh?" I say and she scratches the back of her neck. "How'd you get my address?"

"Do I even need to give you an answer?"

I start to smile. "Beth." We both say in unison which causes us to let out a small chuckle.

"Well," Artemis spoke up which causes us to jump, completely forgetting she was in the room. "I'm gonna get started on my exercises in my room." She said as she went up the stairs.

Yolanda narrowed her eyes to me. "Exercises?"

"Since my dad can't come with us to the gym, he wants us to exercise on our own." I explain and she nods slowly.

She walks over to the counter that had several family photos. "Is this you?" She questioned with a smile as she grabbed the photo from the counter, pointing to the little girl that stood in between my parents. "You look so adorable."

"That's...Artemis." I awkwardly admit and she looks at me with a confused expression. "I took the photo for them."

She puts the picture down and looks at the rows of pictures that only had my parents and Artemis, as well as the ones that were hung on the wall. "Oh."

"Come on," I say as I gesture for her to come upstairs. "we can hang in my room until then."

She follows me up the steps and she looks around more at the picture frames on the walls before she follows me into my room. "I hope you have some baby pictures."

I shut the door behind us. "Is that the real reason why you came here?" I tease before I grab the picture frame that was on my desk. "Lucky for you, my mom found this one in some boxes."

She grabs the picture frame of when I was little, seeing that I was holding a Christmas present in my hand with a grin. "Okay, this one is way cuter." She smiled. "This picture is technically rare since you barely smile."

I scoff. "That's not true. I smile when I'm with you!" I counter and she curiously raises a brow. "That didn't sound right. Let's pretend I never said that."

"Sure." She teasingly trailed and placed the photo back on my desk before she looked around the room, seeing the small floral paintings and ukulele leaning against the wall on top of my desk. "So is this where you got the inspiration to draw on my locker?"

"That's purely coincidental." I say as I quickly start to shove my dirty clothes inside my closet since they were on the ground. "I didn't paint your locker."

She turns to me with an amused expression. "How did you get the paint smears in your hands?"

"I had an art class before." I counter and she takes a step closer to me with her arms crossed. "What?"

She scoffs with a smile. "You're a horrible liar, Freya Crock." Her eyes land on the old raggedy bunny plushy that rested on my dresser which causes her to let out a small gasp as she grabbed the toy. "And a softy deep down. Do you still sleep with your bunny?" She cooed, playfully shoving it in my face and I roll my eyes at the action.

"It's my only childhood toy." I snatch the toy from her grasp. "Of course I'd keep it." I place the toy back on the dresser but from behind, she lets out a chuckle.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of sleeping with stuffed animals, Freya." I turn around to face her and see the smile that rested on her expression. "It's cute and very...soft of you."

"So you're the first person that's seen my baby picture and my stuffed bunny but now you're calling me a liar and a softy?" I jokingly ask as I take a seat on my bed. "I'm starting to regret inviting you to my room."

"First?" She furrowed her brows in confusion. "How come you're not in any of the family pictures?"

I shrug. "My mom always said that I was camera shy when I was little," I admit and she takes a seat next to me. "And I guess it's been that way ever since. Never really liked being in a picture."

"Not even with friends?"

I look down at my fingers. "I...usually keep to myself. Would rather hang in the locker room if no one was there."

I look up to see her eyes soften. "And if there was?"

"I'd go to my locker." I shrug before I shook my head. "Obviously things changed."

She started to smile before her eyes lit up. "You're right." She says before she pulled out her phone. She swipes left and it switches to her camera before she aimed it at us. "Starting with getting your picture taken."

My eyes widen slightly. "Wait, what?"

She wraps an arm around my neck and pulls me closer to her. "Smile!"

I blink in shock, seeing as she took several photos before I finally give in and smile at the camera.

"There we go!" She cheered. "Another rare photo."

I roll my eyes playfully. "I hate you." I mutter as she unwraps her arm from me.

She scrolls through the camera roll, seeing that some were a bit blurry or one of us had our eyes closed until she stopped at one, showing one where we were smiling. "Aw, this is cute. I'm setting this up as your contact photo."

I watch as she clicks on Freya and changes the blank picture to the selfie of us two but I took note of my contact name. "Yellow heart?"

She bumps my shoulder. "It matches your suit." I watch as she sends the photo to me before she shuts off her phone.

Remembering our conversation at the school, I nudge her side. "So...what was the real reason you came over? I thought Rick was picking you up."

"He was..." She trailed off. "but I didn't want to leave off on a bad note between us. I didn't like it."

"Courtney's just listening to Pat." I say and she picks at her fingers. "She wasn't thrilled to tell you guys about taking the stuff away."

"I know. It's just...it feels like I'm giving away something special that felt like was a part of me."

"You don't need the suit to feel special." I say and bump her shoulder. "Your heart is special."

Her cheeks start to flush before she let out a chuckle. "Now you're just trying to help Courtney out."

"I mean it." I give a small smile. "Having the Wildcat suit is like a bonus."

She shook her head with an amused expression as she stood up from her spot. "I better get dressed. The sun is starting to set." She says before she unzipped her bag to pull out her suit and cowl then left the room to change in the bathroom.