Freya's POV:

Since we were in our suits, we didn't want to start bombarding Courtney with questions in the middle of the cul-de-sac. Especially since this was a team discussion, we met up with Beth at the Pit Stop.

And the ride there was awkward. Yolanda refused to ride back with Courtney on her staff and Rick opted to pick up Beth in his car.

I tried to at least strike up something to start a conversation with Yolanda but she stayed quiet. I wasn't even sure if she needed time to think or if she was pissed at me too for not tagging along to take the laptop back.

Courtney stepped away from STRIPE with a sigh and I lean against the ladder Beth sat on. "You should've had a plan."

"We did have a plan, Court." Rick scoffed in annoyance. "You just weren't involved."

"Because you haven't been around. You've been training the new Icicle." Yolanda harshly stated from beside me.

I wince at the tone. Not a good start.

"I'm not training anyone." Courtney emphasized. "I'm trying to help him, just like we should be trying to help Cindy."

"This isn't about Cindy anymore. Okay? You lied to us."

"I didn't mean to, but--

"You would think, after everything that happened with your mom and Pat, you would realize how damaging this is to us." Yolanda interrupted.

"It was Cameron's secret. It wasn't mine to tell--

Rick crossed his arms over his chest. "And Cameron mattered more than us?"

"No, I-I-I promised not to tell anyone."

"Courtney, he is a threat!" He yelled out in frustration.

"No, he's not!" Courtney rose her voice as well.

"Yes, he is, and you made that decision by yourself when all of us," Rick gestured to all of us. "who are a team, are at risk."

"You turned your back on us for him, Courtney." Yolanda firmly stated.

Courtney looked over to where Beth and I stood, seeing that we hadn't said one word.

I turn to Beth and notice her nervous demeanor before she lets out a sigh. "I've been on your side this whole time. Trusting everyone because you think we should. But Rick and Yolanda are right. You should've told us, Court."

Courtney's eyes land on mine but Yolanda and Rick look toward me with expectant looks. Great.

"Courtney...I've always been there through your screw-ups but that's because you've always told it to me straight. This time you didn't and..." I trail as I lean off of the ladder to take a step forward. "What do you think is going to happen as soon as Cameron finds out what really happened to his father? For all we know, his grandparents might already know and told him and he's just waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He might spare you since you're dating him but the rest of us? Our families could be in danger and the least you could have done is trust us enough to tell us what's going on with him. To figure it out as a team. Not training him by yourself while the rest of us are trying to solve a murder."

"All this talk about trusting each other." Yolanda spoke up, shaking her head in disappointment. "Turns out, the person I'm closest to is the one that can't be trusted."

Tears begin to well in Courtney's eyes as she let out a shaky breath. "I'm sorry. I really am. Um..." She momentarily looked off to the side to take a deep breath before she turned to us. "Look, until we get this sorted out, maybe Sylvester should lead the JSA."

My eyes widen in surprise. Wait, what?

"He already has been." Yolanda harshly stated.

Courtney visibly winced at her words but reluctantly nods before taking the cosmic staff from the table and exiting out the door.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. *✭

"Freya, I should get home soon. I'm genuinely not in the mood to deal with my mom. Any surprises really." Yolanda huffed, reaching to remove the blindfold from her eyes but I quickly slap it away. "Baby." She whined in annoyance.

"We're almost there. Besides, didn't you tell your mom you were working at night shift at the diner?" I ask, carefully guiding her to Ripped City's back door.

"Yeah, but I could only use that excuse for so long. Come on, are we there yet?"

"Almost..." I pull out my keys and swiftly unlock the new chain tied around the handle. For some reason, the last set was ripped off the hinges so Crusher had to buy a new one. "got it."

"Please tell me we're not breaking and entering."

I pull open the door and guide her inside the building with a laugh. "Of course not! Don't you trust me?"

"I do! It's just...sorry my mind is still on overdrive after tonight." She sighed.

"I know. That's why we're here." I place the duffel bag on the bench before I walk over to her, sliding the blindfold with ease.

She blinks several times before she looks around in confusion. "We're...at Crusher's gym?"

"Yup." I take the wrap out of my pocket and toss it for her to catch. "I figured you needed something to hit after tonight."

She raised a brow. "I fought Cindy."

I move aside the bench, giving us enough room on the padded mat. "I hate to break it to you, but she held back." I snort.

"You don't know that."

"But I know you, Yolanda. All of that build-up used against Cindy was barely enough. You've been on edge and don't tell me it's from whoever killed The Gambler."

She averted her eyes but I walk to stand in front of her once more, seeing that she barely finished wrapping her knuckles. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Okay, whatever you say." I give a small smile, take the wrap from her and start to cover my knuckles with it as well. "But regardless, this will help blow some steam."

"Freya."

I toss the wrap on the duffel bag and since I had a tank top underneath, I slid off my t-shirt. "Come on, Montez. I didn't take you as the type to back down from a challenge." I tutted, tossing my shirt on the duffel bag as I get into my stance and hold my fists up. "If I recall our previous conversations, you said that you could take me down. Prove it."

She blinked before she slid off her jacket and tossed it to the side as well.

She takes the first step toward me and attempts to swing but I swiftly block it with my arm and jab her side.

She stagers a bit but didn't waste another second to throw several punches. However, I could feel her anger with each swing and since it clouded her focus, it made it easier to find her exposed point. I manage to block the series of attacks with my arms before I eventually swipe my leg underneath, forcing her back to slam on the ground.

"Agh—!" She groaned in annoyance before slamming her fist against the mat in frustration. "This is so stupid."

"What's stupid? The spar or what happened tonight?" I casually ask before offering my hand for her to grab.

"No! Courtney's stupid shockwave. I'm still recovering from it so...that's why your attacks are catching me by surprise." She reluctantly takes my hand and I help her stand on her feet. "If not for that, you would totally be losing right now."

"Are you sure that's the only thing that caught you by surprise?"

"N—Yes. Stop distracting me!" She huffed and swung another punch again but I jerk my head away from the attack and strike two punches against her chest, forcing her to stagger backward again.

"Is it a distraction if it's the truth?"

Miraculously she maneuvers around my punch and strikes a hit against my stomach but I grab her wrist, forcing her to wrap our arms around her neck, pulling her against my chest to hold her still. "Courtney should've been honest from the start."

"And you brought it upon yourself to twist the knife by making her feel like she was kicked off of the team?"

"She brought it upon herself." She scoffed and harshly elbowed my abdomen which causes me to release my grip. She tries to swing another punch but I take a few steps back to get back in my stance again. "She chose to hide the truth from us, Freya. She should've at least said that he had his father's abilities."

I tilt my head to the side. "And you think she deserves the silent treatment? Maybe she hid it from us because of how you and Rick were treating Cindy."

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Don't tell me you're siding with her on this."

"Well..."

"Freya!"

"I'm not too big of a fan of what she did, but I'm not going to give her the silent treatment. It's not right what you said to her." I say with a shrug. "I mean, she didn't do that with me last year. Plus she could've chosen to do that with the other former villains but she didn't."

"This is different!" She exclaimed and ran towards me. "She lied to all of us!"

In a flurry of punches thrown, rather than finding an opening to pin her down, I block her punches again but this time I couldn't feel her holding back.

"And now what? Does it feel better now that you're not friends with her anymore?" I shout.

Using every amount of her strength, she shoves back hard enough for us to stumble and collapse on the mat with a groan.

I hold onto her wrists, meeting her teary eyes as she shook her head. "No. I just—I'm so tired, Freya. Not from trying to find clues from The Gambler's murderer but...I'm so exhausted from it all."

I nod in understanding, helping us sit up from the floor.

"I know what I said was messed up. I was being too harsh and honestly...I think my attitude from these last few days built up because of how my mom's been treating me." She mumbled, fiddling with our interlaced fingers. "Non-stop arguments, the pressure for my future, accusing me of the most insane things. I'm exhausted and...I don't know how much longer I can put up with it."

I scoot closer to sit beside her and she leaned her head on my shoulder. "You know that if I could, I would have you stay with me but--"

"The Crocks."

I nod with reluctance. "I don't think you would be too thrilled about limited foods and early mornings with former ISA members."

"Speaking of former villains, Cindy mentioned something about keeping a secret from me about your mom. Probably to piss me off." Just from my silence alone, she lifted her head and turned, meeting her curious eyes. "Unless...you have something to tell me?"

"Remember my story with Inza Cramer? There's more to it." I hesitantly explain and her eyes slightly widen. "That night when you were trying to get ahold of me to go to the tunnels, she was showing me a picture of her family and accidentally left it when she had to leave. After some digging and comparing a certain stuffed animal the picture of a toddler had...I learned that she could be my mom."

"And...you told Cindy first?" She trailed, her eyes softening in disappointment. "Were you that scared that you couldn't come to me?"

I quickly shake my head. "No, of course not! Do you know how desperate it sounded that I'm clinging on to the last bit of hope of something that might not be true? I didn't want to go through the embarrassment where I could've been wrong about this and...you guys already had enough on your plate with the murderer, Courtney spending time with Cameron, and getting the laptop. Plus, I didn't even want to tell Cindy but she threatened to tell everyone else!"

"Freya, your problems will never be a burden." She emphasized, brushing her thumbs across my knuckles. "I...care about you. So much. You don't have to hide the fact that your mom might be alive. For god's sake, it could be your mom! Is there something I can do to help confirm it with you?"

"In all honesty...I had the chance to but I chickened out before Beth called me to stop you and Rick." I mutter.

"What? Why?" She tilted her head to the side, noticing my discomfort. "You were scared."

I reluctantly nod. "How do I look someone in the eyes and tell them that their husband sacrificed himself to save me? She talks so highly about her daughter, wondering how she grew up to become...what if I'm not what she envisioned?"

"Then she doesn't deserve to know the Freya I grew to like so much." She squeezed my hand. "There's no way she would be disappointed because look where you are now. You told me what your father said to you when he entrusted you with the amulet so who's to say she won't feel the same way?"

My heart swells in remembrance of the warmth I felt when he finally held me in his arms, reassuring me he would always be proud of me. "If it's her, depending on if tomorrow isn't so chaotic, I want to meet up with her again. Maybe to at least get some answers about where she's been all these years."

She warmly smiled. "That sounds great, Freya."

"But," I cup the side of her face, brushing my thumb across her cheekbone. "it would mean a lot if you could come with me this time."

Her eyes light up. "You want me to come with you? Are you sure?"

"If there is more than to what she's saying, you'll spot whatever it is that I don't catch. Besides, what better way to introduce my girlfriend, the person who changed my life, to my mom?" I casually explain but instantly my heart dropped in realization at my words. Oh god, maybe introducing them is too soon. "Only if you want to, of course. Whatever you're comfortable with, I understand. I can talk to her tomorrow by myself and--"

"Freya," She giggled, leaning close enough to bump her nose against mine. "I would love to."

"Cool. Cool, cool, cool." I clear my throat, my heart quickening at her being close to me. Oh god.

She quirked a brow. "Do I still make you nervous?"

"No."

"You answered that pretty quick."

"No, you don't make me nervous." I answer slower this time but she still held her playful smile.

"Did you know that I learned that one of your tells for lying is that your ears or cheeks get a little red." She poked my face with a teasing smile. "And Freya, my love, even in the dark I can see that your ears are getting red."

"You know, I think I'm gonna head home--"

She cuts me off by leaning forward, leaving millimeters of our lips apart which practically catches me by surprise. Her brown orbs looked at mine one more time, almost as if asking for permission to make sure it was okay to kiss me.

I nod slightly and she closed the gap between us, pressing her lips against mine.

Suddenly, the sounds of Yolanda's ringtone pings on the duffel bag which causes her briefly to pull away in annoyance.

Thankfully the bag was behind me which made it easier for her to reach for the device and click the button before tossing it to the side. "It's just Beth. It can wait for later." She whispered before leaning in to kiss me again, ignoring the consistent vibrations from the device.

I pull away again with a chuckle. "Fine with me." I mumble, carefully switching sides so that she would lie down.

Unfortunately, in a matter of seconds, my phone begins to ring in the duffel bag. Okay, something's up.

I pull away in reluctance and grab the duffel bag as Yolanda lets out a huff. "Whoever it is, they better have a good reason."

I take my phone out, seeing Beth's name flash across the screen. "She's calling me too."

"Seriously?" Yolanda grumbled, wrapping her arm around mine as she scooted to sit next to me. "Just tell her that you're helping me spar."

I click answer as Yolanda leaned close to my ear to listen to the call. "Hey, I'm a little busy with something--"

"I know this will sound weird, but don't look too scared of what I'm about to tell you." Beth sternly instructed and my eyes widen in surprise. "Pretend that you're on the phone with Artemis, okay?"

I slowly look at Yolanda. "How did she--"

"I said to pretend that I'm Artemis!"

"Okay, okay. Uh...Artemis, I'm in the middle of my sets at the gym. Just tell Crusher that I borrowed his keys." I hesitantly explain. "Unless there's something wrong?"

"Try not to react but...when I hacked into The Gambler's files, I found live surveillance cameras filming at dozens of spots in Blue Valley, including our houses. I don't know where but one of them is currently aimed at you and Yolanda."

Instantly my heart drops but I keep my expression unfazed. "Does that mean they...saw the blender was out?"

"I don't know if they saw the little more-than-friendly interaction, but they have enough cameras to spy on all of us!"

Yolanda shyly shrinks in her spot. "I feel violated all of a sudden." She muttered.

"I'll fill you and everyone else in later just in case they try to tap our phone call. I'm about to leave for Courtney's to show them." She hurriedly explained.

"I can go home if Crusher and Paula need me. Just in case?" I suggest, moving to reach for my bag.

"No, it's okay. We don't want them to know that we know about the surveillance cameras. I'll talk to you guys later, okay?"

"B--Artemis--" I warn but instantly the line clicks. "Dammit." I worriedly look to Yolanda in concern but she nervously rubs her arms with a shiver.

Oh, man.

。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

A/N:

Hello!

Man...can't believe stargirl ends this week :( this show brought me so much comfort and at this point I'm hopinggg a different network picks it up sjcbsjcb

((every now and then, I'd update the irl chapter page by adding a few manips, acting as if Freya/Liza Soberano is actually there with the cast so go check it out!))

Anyway sorry for the late update! My finals are coming up and I've been pretty much focused on that rather than writing/planning for future chapters and other stuff.

But!! After Stargirl's episode airs, lookout for updates from gollygeesociety !

I hope you all have/had an amazing day! Bye!!

~Cimbello