Freya's POV:

"Thanks, Mel." I wave goodbye to the convenience store clerk and exited the store with the bag around my arm. A cold breeze hits me and I dig my hands inside my jacket pockets with a shiver, carefully stepping down the pathway.

However, before I could cross the street, my eyes land on a figure dressed in a dark coat staring at the mural painted on the wall. "I'm sure you've seen this painting. My son is talented, isn't he? He takes after his mother." Jordan slowly turns his head with an innocent smile. "Good to see you again, Freya."

I clench my jaw at his casual tone. Within seconds, I unsheathe my hidden dagger from my coat and swiftly throw it at his chest.

With quick-like reflexes, his ice-coated hand grabs into the blade just before it could plunge into his body. Ice travels across the weapon until he crushes it with ease, making the shrapnel clatter to the floor.

Unfazed at the action, I take a few steps closer to him. "Consider that a warning shot because you and I both know I never miss. You have some nerve to even try to talk to me. So whatever you're doing, whatever you're planning, I'll do everything in my power to make sure you stay dead with your wife." I harshly state and his brows subtly raise in surprise. "You're lucky that we're in the middle of the town because anywhere else, we would not be having this conversation."

"Sounds like your attitude hasn't changed." He sighed. "Surprised that group of yours hasn't cured it. Though, maybe not yet at least."

"Congratulations on being stalker of the year." I scoff. "It wouldn't be a surprise if you were spying on your son."

"My son is all that matters to me. And if Courtney is important to him who you and along with the rest of her friends, are important to her, you're important to me." He emphasized, taking a few steps closer to me. "I don't want to be enemies, Freya. I want us to be allies. I do think that we can be a great team, like how you were supposed to be with the ISA. You may not share my abilities, but I considered you my protege. Even a daughter. I was--still am, proud of the accomplishments you made during our missions."

I look away from his eyes, recalling the times I spent doing whatever task he assigned me to do. "What you made me do...they were twisted." I mutter.

"I'll be honest. Revenge was the first thing that overtook me when I first regained sentience. But I see now that vengeance has no purpose. It's misguided. Primitive, even. Courtney helped me see that and she helped you too, which is why you joined them in the first place, correct? The more I watched her, the more I saw who she truly is. She's changed countless hearts and minds. The Shade, Cindy Burman, The Crocks--"

My heart tightens at their name. "Right before you murdered them."

"Yes...it was regrettable but--"

"And Joey, The Zaricks," I scoff in disbelief. "You made sure that The Gambler forced me to kill that innocent worker and dozens of other people that worked under that factory, and you tried to brainwash half the country and didn't care that it would kill millions! You murdered the JSA--you forced The Crocks to kill my father!" I exclaim and push his chest, making him take a step back.

"Freya—"

"You made my life a living hell to the point it left permanent scars on me! You mentally damaged me by forcing me to follow your outrageous beliefs! Do you know how long it took me to rebuild everything with everyone and still feel like I have to prove something to them? Huh?" I harshly shove him again with a glare. "I finally gave The Crocks a chance and you ripped them away from me! Ripped them away from Artemis! No one can ignore that! So the audacity to even compare yourself to them and ask for a second chance, you're lucky that I'm even letting you speak a word to me."

"I'm not asking you to forget. I'm just hoping you forgive. We can work together...all of us." He offered a small smile before taking a step closer to me. "And I'm not a fan of pointing fingers but you've always had the choice to walk away. I'm beginning to understand Courtney's words about accountability...perhaps you can take that advice as well. Thanks for hearing me out."

He steps back and waves goodbye, turning the next corner of the building and disappearing from my sight.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

"Sounds like your attitude hasn't changed..."

I struck my fist against the indented spot in the tree with a huff and swing again, hearing the leaves shake at the sudden impact.

"You may not share my abilities, but I considered you my protege. I was--still am, proud of the accomplishments you made during our missions."

I huff again and swing harder, feeling the pain ripple across my knuckles but continue to punch the tree again.

"We wish we could've done some things differently and as soon as we got out again, we saw that as our last chance to change."

"We baked you a cake. To show that you don't have to be afraid of being yourself around us. To feel comfortable enough to bring Yolanda around and not have to sneak out anymore."

I growl, ignoring the leaves falling in front of my face that temporarily block my vision and punch harder at a faster rate.

It's all my fault.

"We were never parents of the year to you, Freya, and we will work to change that. We know we'll never be your parents and you have the right to shun us, but all we want is to show that you will always have a place with this family."

"We love 'ya kiddo. Even if you might not feel the same with us," Larry slung his arms around Paula and Artemis. "we will always have your back and we will continue to work to earn your good graces again."

"I'll never forgive what they did but...I don't want to continue the rest of my life holding a grudge. I want them to see that they could change for the better too."

I shut my eyes, attempting to block out the voices but all I could see were them. Flashes of moments I spent with them, their ecstatic cheers when we were in the bleachers watching Artemis play, their last relieved smiles when they heard I considered bringing Yolanda over so that they could properly meet her.

"We trained you hard to make sure if situations like this ever happened where things went south for us, you could look out for Artemis without needing our help." Larry's voice slightly raised, causing me to strike harder against the wood. "Look Freya, while we haven't been the best parents to you, deep down you still want to be there for Artemis. Am I right?"

"I knew your heart would cause the downfall of the Injustice Society but they didn't want to hear it. It's only a matter of time before you realize it holds a burden."

SHUT UP!

"Freya!" I hear someone call from behind, the mixture of voices finally silencing which only left the faint sounds of my tired breaths and my erratic heartbeat. I slowly turn around and despite how dark it was outside, I could see Beth's expression filled with concern.

Her gaze lands on my hands and I glance down in remembrance. Despite being in my Doctor Fate suit, I had taken off the gloves beforehand which showed my knuckles drenched in blood and her eyes soften at the sight. "Why?"

"You're interrupting my training, Chapel." I deadpan.

"You and I both know that what you're doing is not even close to training." She stated and I look off to the side. "My mom wanted to check in to see how you were doing but you weren't picking up your phone so I insisted to drop by to see for myself. When I got here, your mom told me that you went on a walk to clear your head but when you came home, you immediately went to the backyard. She's worried about you Freya. We're worried about you. You're punishing yourself over something beyond our control."

I look away, not wanting to see her saddened expression. I didn't even have the strength to object to her. Not because I believe she's right.

What I was doing, it is punishment. I should've trusted my gut the second Paula and Larry went down there. I should've been there. I should've told someone.

But I didn't.

Was all the messed up things in my past finally coming back to strike against me? Was this my punishment or just the beginning?

"Beth, go home."

"No. I'm staying whether you like it or not because you're more than just my teammate and my friend." The leaves crunch as Beth takes a few steps closer to me. "Just like Rick said in the cafeteria. We're a family. That includes being there for each other and...you've been through so much, Freya. I know that you wanted to be there for Artemis today, but someone has to be there for you too. Don't ignore your grief." She whispered and I shut my eyes, ignoring the ache in my heart. "I won't force you to take off the helmet. Plus, from what I read in Doctor Mid-Nite's notes, it'll drive whoever tries to force off the helmet to insanity."

I keep my stare on the ground but I carefully slip it off of my head, de-transforming to normal, and drop my helmet near my feet. "Beth. I can't—Artemis, she—I'm not—" I accidentally stammer, forcing myself to hold back the tears.

But within a second, Beth pulls me into a hug. "You don't need to be strong in front of me. It's okay to let go."

I crumble at her words and my knees buckle, causing us to lower to the ground as I cried into her chest, feeling her rub circles around my back.

"I'm here for you, Freya." She soothed through my quiet sobs as she rocked us back and forth. "I'm here."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Something delicately grazes across my cheek and I open my eyes, meeting the tired smile on Yolanda's face.

"Morning." She whispered as she pushed away some of my baby hairs away from my eyes before interlacing my left hand with hers once more. "Did I wake you up?"

Since she'd been laying on my arm, I pull her closer to my side and closed my eyes again. "Hmm." I mumble, still too tired to utter a proper response.

She lightly chuckles. "Hm?"

"Hm."

I guess before the...mini breakdown in my backyard, Beth called Yolanda to spend the night so that she could keep me company. She would've stayed as well but her mom wanted her back home.

To keep my thoughts occupied, Yolanda had us binge-watch a ton of movies until neither of us could stay up anymore. Though, the movie she was excited the most to show me was called Tangled. It had some similar points that reminded her a lot of me.

I could understand the similarities between learning about the wonders of the world, discovering the truth about my family, learning more and more about myself, and feeling trapped.

But Rapunzel as a person is a bit too chipper for my taste.

I didn't tell Yolanda though. I didn't want to kill the mood since she was excited to show me...plus it was a nice movie.

It felt nice to forget. To be just teenagers for once.

"If you want...I can make us some breakfast. Pancakes and bacon?"

"Nooo." I mumble before I press a kiss on her head and nuzzle my head against hers. "I want to stay like this for a little longer...give me five more minutes."

From her silence, I assumed she would let me go back to sleep until I felt her thumb continuously brush across the back of my hand.

"I didn't want to push you yesterday, because I knew you were still processing it all and wanted to be there for Artemis to grieve. And...Beth told me what you were doing last night." She trailed, causing my heart to ache in remembrance. "Don't punish yourself over this, Freya. It wasn't your fault."

I open my eyes once more and see the solemn look in her eyes. "Isn't it? You should've seen Artemis last night. My gut told me that I should've gone with them but I didn't listen because Paula and Larry told me to stay behind. I had the opportunity to go and if I'd gone—"

"Artemis would have lost her sister too." Yolanda sternly cut in. "Your friends would have lost you. I would have lost you."

"That's not fair."

"What's not fair is watching you blame yourself over this. It's not good for you." She emphasized. "Especially feeling like you have to grieve alone. I went through the exact thing when we lost Henry, going through every scenario in my head and wondering if there was even a chance to save him. You saw how much it drove me insane when I killed Brainwave."

I guiltily avert my gaze to our hands but she doesn't hesitate to tilt my chin with her finger to keep my eyes on hers. "Freya, I don't want that to happen to you. Don't be blinded by rage. You taught me that it's okay to be vulnerable with others...it's time to take your own advice. Grieve."

She lets go of my chin and clasps her hand with mine, giving it a short squeeze in support.

"But I don't want to feel it." I whisper, feeling my heart tighten as if it wanted to prevent me to voice my thoughts. To avoid letting the walls crumble. "I hate feeling this way, Yolanda. It's like..."

"Like what?"

"Like my head is spinning. Like I'm drowning." I shut my eyes, feeling my breath quicken. "I feel so selfish to even say it because I know we've all gone through loss but I hate feeling like I can't turn to anyone."

"Listen to me." She pulls her hand away to cup my cheek. "Paula and Larry wouldn't want you to blame yourself over what they chose to do. It's going to feel like there's no moving forward and that things will never be the same. It's not the same but...blaming yourself won't erase your suffering." She quietly reassured, brushing the stray tear from my eye and I meet her gaze. "The only way for you to heal is to face that trauma. The people we—"

Before she could answer, our phones erratically buzz on the nightstand in unison. She pulls away from my embrace and grabs the device, her brows furrowing in confusion once she read her screen.

"Who is it?" I curiously ask.

"Sylvester. He—well, surprisingly put us in a group chat with us, Rick, and Beth. He wants us to meet at the Pit Stop."

"Now?" I ask in disbelief.

Our phones buzz again and she lets out a sigh. "Team meeting, but Freya," She turns to face me again but cups my face in her hands. "the people we love never leave us. You've taught me that, remember? We can talk about this later."

Not wanting to object to her wishes and start an argument, I simply nod in response before we quickly get dressed into newer clothes.