Freya's POV:

Sylvester Pemberton. The almighty powerful leader of the previous members of the JSA, one of my dad's old friends, had been close to death once more.

How exactly? I'm not even sure. Nobody was sure.

Just before I could make my way over to Yolanda's to have a small movie night at her place, Courtney messaged the group chat and explained that the Cosmic Staff woke her up by practically forcing her out of bed. At first, she assumed it was just another late-night patrol but the staff flew her to The Gambler's demolished trailer and ended up finding a beaten-up Sylvester.

As soon as I read the message, I didn't hesitate to change directions and fly to the hospital. I mean, despite not liking Starman, I had to make sure Courtney isn't shaken up.

I push open the entrance to the hospital doors and my eyes slightly widen in surprise at the sight of the familiar woman typing away at the front desk. "Inza?"

She snaps her head to me and her eyes widen in surprise. "Freya? Oh, what a nice surprise!" She walks around the desk and embraces me in a hug with a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad to see that you're okay. They blamed it on bad weather or faulty wiring in the frozen food section. Are your caretakers okay?"

I nervously laugh. "A little bruised but they're not letting it hold them back."

"Thanks to you, if you hadn't run in there like some sort of hero, it could've been worse." She chuckled as she patted my arm. "Looked like an instinct almost."

"Hero is a bit exaggerating, Inza." I shyly scratch the back of my neck with a laugh. "Just doing the right thing."

Her eyes briefly soften before she warmly smiles. "I expect nothing less."

"Anyway, how long have you been working here?" I ask, gesturing around the hospital. "Is it just the front desk?"

"Oh! I'm a nurse but I was just double checking if one of my co-workers added in our recent patient who came in...an hour ago?" She trailed before she shook her head. "But why are you here? Are you hurt?

"No, I'm visiting someone. Sylvester Pemberton?"

She snapped her fingers at me. "That's actually the patient I was assigned to. Visiting hours are almost up but I can take you there if you'd like?"

I quickly nod. "Please, that would be perfect."

"Right this way." She gestured for me to follow.

Thankfully his room is only on the first floor so the walk wasn't so bad. Especially since I got to know Inza a little bit more.

She transferred to Blue Valley a couple of months ago around the time summer started which made sense as to why I've never seen her around before.

That and because I avoided the hospital as much as I could.

"And...this is it." She gestured to the room before her cell phone pinged in her pocket. She glanced down at the device before letting out a sigh. "I have another patient to get to but it was great to see that you're doing okay. I can't help but feel like I owe you lunch or something."

I dismissively wave my hand. "That's all right, Inza."

"No, no. I insist. One day I'll take you to lunch, my treat. So for now," Unexpectedly, she pulls me into a quick hug and pats my back a few times. "See you around, Freya."

"Oh—uh, yeah. See you!" I call, watching as she quickly walked to the hallway and turned the next corner, disappearing from my sight.

My amulet thrums against my chest which causes me to quickly pull it from under my shirt, seeing the bright glow finally dim.

I should really find time to read the journal.

I knock on the door a few times and wait. "Come in!"

I slowly push open the door and my eyes soften in relief, seeing Sylvester awake in his bed while Courtney, who seemed clearly tired, sat beside him.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I softly ask, noticing the nasal cannula over the tops of his ears to his nose. Despite it being covered by bandages, there was a gash on his forehead with a few small cuts and a bruised eye.

Sylvester tries to sit up a bit more but immediately winced. "Could be worse."

I close the door shut, taking a seat next to Courtney. "And you?"

"I'm okay." She reassured with a small smile and looked over to Sylvester. "Do you remember who attacked you?"

"I don't. Didn't see them...coming or going. Nothing like a...ambush to make you feel like a rookie" He tries to sit up again but this time he audibly lets out a groan. "Though I can now...confirm personally that yes, our killer is, in fact...very strong."

"What were you doing at the trailer park?" She worriedly asked.

"More like why would you go to the trailer park? Especially alone." I emphasize, shaking my head in disbelief. "You should've at least told Pat or something."

"Once the leads had dried up, I went out looking for new clues. I figured...criminal always comes back to the scene of the crime. Just didn't think it would be that very moment."

Courtney guiltily looks down at her fingers. "Well, why didn't you take the staff?"

"A deal's a deal, kid. It wasn't my turn."

"We have to rethink our agreement."

"Oh... getting jumped like that...I should be rethinking a lot of things."

She quickly shook her head. "If I'm not around and you need the staff, next time take it."

Sylvester weakly smiled. "That should go both ways, then, right?"

"Regardless, we're gonna find out who did this." I reassure him with a nod. "We can have a look ourselves but this time with the others."

The door pushes open which causes us to turn, seeing Pat enter the room as he briefly looked back. "I called someone who can hopefully help with that.

From behind, Charles McNider enters the room which causes me to immediately smile. "McNider?"

"Nice to see you again, Freya, Courtney." He warmly smiled. "Hello, Sylvester."

Sylvester weakly chuckled. "What's up, Doc?"

"It's good to see you again, old friend. Now, let's have a look at your injuries."

Since I couldn't stay long at the hospital being that I technically wasn't family, I decided to stop by Yolanda's to give her a ride to the trailer park since Rick couldn't pick her up without any of her parents seeing.

"Okay. Come inside."

I quietly swing my foot through the window and step inside Yolanda's room then slip off my helmet with a pant. "After I saw Courtney's message in the group chat, I stopped by the hospital and came here as fast as I could." I explain as Yolanda got up from her computer desk and pulled me into a hug.

"It's okay, I just got off the phone with Rick and Beth to check in." Yolanda pulled away from my embrace with a sigh. "How is he?"

"He's stable but from what Dr. Chapel said, there are large contusions across his body, and on his back, some sort of puncture wound." I explain and her brows furrow with a glare.

"Like the shiv that went through The Gambler's heart?"

"It's not a shiv, Yolanda." I state which causes her to roll her eyes in annoyance. "Whoever did this did a number on him."

"Then where else would it come from? The police aren't going to blame this on a freak tornado." She crossed her arms over her chest in discomfort.

"My concern is that it debunks my suspicions for the murderer going after old ISA members. They almost killed Starman." I emphasize before letting out a sigh. "Court wants us to meet up at the trailer park to investigate."

Her eyes soften. "Do you think they're targeting the rest of us now?"

"I wish they would even try to." I harshly remark. "Instead, they're acting like a coward by hiding in the dark and making us look for clues."

"Are you sure there aren't any old enemies that weren't too fond of the JSA or ISA?" She worriedly asked. "Maybe it's an old JSA enemy like Eclipso?"

"Not that I know of. I was pretty much sheltered with only the ISA--"

"Yolanda?"

Yolanda quickly gestured for me to hide and I scramble by crawling underneath her bed before her mother entered the room.

"Who were you just talking to this late?" She sternly asked and I watch as her shadow crept closer to the bed.

"It was Maria. She was asking if I could...work a shift tomorrow night." Yolanda awkwardly paused.

"It's a school night, Yolanda."

"I know, but it'll only be for a few hours. Please?"

"I would have never let you take that job back if your father hadn't lost his." My eyes widen in surprise. Were they seriously taking the money Yolanda earned to pay their bills? "Apuesto a que le has dicho a todos."

"No, no es asunto de nadie, ma." Yolanda softly answered.

It was quiet for a moment until Yolanda's mom let out a breath. "Tips go to your college fund."

"I know."

"Keep your room clean. We have a realtor coming over tomorrow."

"Okay, Mom."

Her mom's shadow retracts away from the bed and disappears from my sight as she walked out of the room without another word.

I keep still in my spot just in case, hearing more footsteps walking away from the bed until the door shuts. "You can come out now."

I quietly scoot from under the bed but sit down nearby her nightstand, noticing her solemn expression as she rested her head against her hand. "I know that we're supposed to meet the others but I don't think they'll mind that you sit out if you're not feeling it tonight. I can even say that Artemis needed me for something." I place my hand on her knee. "I'm not the best with advice but...I'm a good listener."

She moves her right hand from the desk and interlaces it with mine, tugging me closer to her so that I can embrace her in a hug.

"I need the distraction and can be ready in a minute but...can you just hold me?"

"Of course."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. *✭˚

"Phantamogriphia Decorum." I wave my hand in front of The Gambler's trailer as everyone else continued looking for clues.

"So...what exactly does someone see now that you did that?" Rick curiously asked as he moved aside the police tape for us to walk through to get closer to the trailer. "Are we invisible?"

I shrug, watching as Courtney, Beth, and Yolanda continued their search while Cindy stood outside with a bored look. "Sort of? If they end up walking past a certain point, they'll see us."

Cindy scoffs. "So in other words, we have to hurry up."

"You could at least contribute to looking for clues instead of just standing around." Rick remarked in annoyance and gestured to me. "She at least did something."

"I would but Montez over here looks like she'll snap the second I stand an inch closer to her."

"She's not the only one who--"

"Okay," I clap my hands together, cutting him off from his sentence. "You find anything, Beth?"

She shook her head with a sigh. "Nope. Nothing, like, at all." She answered as Yolanda stepped down from the trailer first to stand beside me. "There isn't a single strand or drop of blood, as if someone wiped it clean since Sylvester was here."

"'Cause someone probably did." Cindy pointed around us. "Hey, whoever did this isn't stupid."

Yolanda's eyes narrow. "'Whoever' meaning you?"

The corners of Cindy's lips perk up. "If it were me, I wouldn't have let Sylvester live." Her tone sassed which caused everyone else to share looks of discomfort. "Just being honest."

Unfortunately...she isn't wrong.

"I think we've hit a dead end, Court." Beth broke the silence, slowly shaking her head.

"Again?" Rick questioned.

Noticing Courtney's features filled with defeat, I let out a sigh. "I think we need to take a step back and talk about this more tomorrow. It's already almost one in the morning and I don't want Ms. Woods to give me detention for sleeping in class." I say, looking to everyone else who simply nodded in agreement.

As Courtney stepped down from the trailer, Beth lets out a gasp which causes everyone to quickly turn, seeing as she had her eyes set on the marble countertop.

"Wait, I've got something!" Beth taps the side of her goggles and it brightly lit green. "A single...skin cell? It's got the goggles all worked up. I guess I almost missed it." Her eyes slightly widen as she worriedly looked at us. "It doesn't belong to Starman."

Courtney nodded resolutely. "Then it belongs to whoever attacked him."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. *✭˚

"Hey, Prairie Dogs, remember to pick up your spirit banners from the student store by the end of the day."

"So Dragon King is the prime suspect now?" Rick curiously asked as the five of us walked through the school hallways, discussing what Beth found with Dr. McNider. "I thought Cindy killed him."

"Yeah, there's no way he survived a knife through his chest." I add until it dawned on me. "But then again...Sylvester got stabbed with one of Jordan's ice shards and now he's sitting in the hospital, cheating death again."

"Pat said Dr. Ito experimented so much on himself, he might be unkillable." Courtney emphasized in discomfort.

"That's impossible." Yolanda argued.

"Dr. McNider said the same thing." Beth countered.

Courtney nodded. "We need to warn Cindy her dad might be back.

"What if she's working with him?" Yolanda questioned.

I snort. "Doubt it. She would never work with that psycho."

"She literally just did, last year." Rick pointed out.

Courtney quickly moved to stand in front of us. "We never told you everything that happened in the Shadowlands. When Freya and I were trapped there with Cindy..." Courtney trailed off and I look to the floor in discomfort, remembering the dark moments I spent with Eclipso.

Or at least, what he forced me to relive.

"What?" Yolanda worriedly asked, glancing between Courtney and I.

"We saw more into Cindy's childhood." I speak up, bringing my binder close to my chest. "Practically living in it and...it was rough."

"Her dad never treated her like a daughter. She was his lab rat-- a lifetime full of abuse." Courtney emphasized. "And now she's finally free. She would never work with him again."

"If Dragon King is still alive..." Beth trailed off with a shrug. "maybe he came back to Blue Valley for her."

"Has anyone seen Cindy today?"

I shake my head but as if on cue, the school bell rings, signaling that we had at least two minutes left to get to class.

"We'll regroup after school. Sound good?" Courtney asked and the rest of us nod, splitting away from each other except for Yolanda and I since thankfully, our classes were close together.

"So...I was thinking," Yolanda looped her arm through mine with a grin. "since we couldn't do our movie night last night, how about we try again?"

I start to smile. "I would love that."

"Great! I have a selection varying from cheesy Disney movies I've been wanting to show you, action, comedy, or others that will most likely make us cry our eyes out." She rambled excitedly. "Oh! And Alex saw that I had pan dulce when you brought me breakfast that one day and managed to get my Abuela to bake some this morning so I can sneak a couple for us to snack on."

"How about you choose the movie and I'll buy us milkshakes and fries from Richie's diner?" I suggest with a small smile. "Then if we're hungry again, we'll get...pan dulce?" I slowly pronounce and she nods with a smile. "Did I say that right?"

"You said it perfectly." She whispered as she squeezed my hand, her eyes flickering downward in realization and pulling her arm away from mine. "You think you can come over an hour or two after school? Just so I can make sure I handle any chores that my mom might ask me to do since the realtor is supposed to come today and to avoid having you crawl under my bed again--"

"It's okay, Yolanda. I understand." I gently cut in which causes her to shyly push back some of her hair strands behind her ear. "We should get going to class or else we'll be late." I say, seeing that most of the students that were in the hallway already headed inside their classrooms.

"Right." She nodded as she glanced around the hall before pressing a quick kiss against my cheek. "See you later!" She waved goodbye, leaving me with my face flushed red.