PREVIOUSLY...

Kang struggled to break free from the webbing that had restrained him. After a few desperate attempts, he managed to free himself and made a run towards the Cosmic Cube. However, his attempt was thwarted by Peter-2, who leaped in his way and kicked him out of the way. Peter-2, being a skilled web-slinger, webbed the Cosmic Cube and tossed it away from Kang's reach.

But Kang was not one to give up easily. He grabbed the web and pulled the Cube back towards him, overpowering Peter-2's strength. In a swift move, Kang kicked Peter-2, sending him stumbling and falling over.

As the ground beneath them grew increasingly unstable, Kang smirked at Peter-2 and taunted him, "You truly thought that you could win? I will just go back and ensure that this victory never happened!"

Peter-2 struggled to stand up, his body aching, and his mind urging him to surrender. But he knew that he couldn't give up. Kang was a threat to all of time, and to everyone he ever loved. He was determined to see this through, no matter the cost.

"I don't have to win," Peter-2 declared, stamping his foot on the ground with such force that it trembled beneath them. He dashed toward Kang and knocked the Cosmic Cube from his grasp while he was preoccupied. As Kang fought to regain his footing, Peter-2 encircled the Time Criminal with his arms, resolute in his intent to hold him in place. "We both just have to lose!"

Miles was screaming in agony as he absorbed the energy from the Time Drive. His suit was unable to contain so much raw energy, and he was flung backward. But he held on, and when he looked up, he saw that he had drained the core of the Time Drive, and the timeline was being rebuilt.

And with that, what remained of the Fearamid began to crumble and the entire thing began to fall onto the Washington Bay. Kang struggled to escape Peter-2's grasp as the monument was falling down all around them.

Courtney was awoken when a breach opened and Chavez saved both her and the unconscious Teresa as they fell through and managed to get away from the chaos and destruction.

As the Fearamid collapsed, the other heroes immediately set out to search for their fallen comrade who went down with the structure. Scott, being the strongest of them all, moved the bigger pieces of debris out of the way. Meanwhile, Hope Van Dyne shrank down to ant-size and carefully searched through the rubble for any sign of their friend.

Jessica, using her powerful Lantern ring, conjured up some equipment to aid in the search. Hope Haddock and her trusty dragon also helped by moving some of the rubble, hoping to uncover any clues.

After a long and exhausting search, they finally spotted a hand coming out from the ground. "We found him!" Hope Haddock exclaimed as everyone rushed towards the area.

They quickly cleared the remaining debris, revealing their friend, who was badly injured. "Peter?" Hope Van Dyne asked as she enlarged and checked his pulse.

"Pete!" Teresa flew her way over and landed beside her brother. "Pete?" She saw he wasn't responsive. "Peter?"

Courtney flew her way over and landed to run over to see he was injured. "Oh, god. Pete."

Peter-2 moaned as he saw his friends were around him. "Is...everyone okay?"

"We're safe," Courtney promised. "All of us."

"Kang?" Peter-2 wondered if he survived.

"There's no sign of him," Riri said as Ravonna was beginning to disappear. "Great job there, man. You killed the master of time."

Peter-2 groaned as they saw he had a pole sticking in his side. "Oh, that doesn't look good," Scott commented. "We gotta get him out of here."

Cindy however was the bearer of bad news as she was also good with medical studies and saw Peter-2 wasn't going to make it. "I...don't think it'll matter."

"Yeah...I got the same impression." Peter-2 told them with a cough. "Yeah, that doesn't feel like a good sign."

"No, come on, you...you're gonna be fine." Teresa stated, denying he was injured. "You survived the ISA, the future, you can survive this."

Peter-2 was struggling and his sister Teresa could sense it. She looked at him with concern and reached out to hold his hand, hoping to offer some comfort. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized that her brother was not going to be okay. It was a heartbreaking moment for both of them.

Just then, Courtney stepped in and placed a gentle hand on Peter-2's cheek. Her touch seemed to have a calming effect on him. He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh as if he was relieved to have someone there to support him. It was a small gesture, but it made a big difference. Peter-2 seemed to like the feeling of Courtney's touch, and it gave him a moment of peace in what had been a difficult time.

"I thought we were going to have a future together," Courtney whispered.

"Yeah?" Peter-2 was surprised by that. "What would you have imagined?"

"I'd never really thought that much detail," Courtney whispered. "But if I had to...I'd say after college, we would move in together. Maybe in Blue Valley. It...really has become my home."

"And what would you do?" Peter-2 asked. "Would Stargirl still be going at it?"

"Always," Courtney stated. "And you would continue being...spectacular."

"I wish I was there to see it." Peter-2 whispered, his breath catching up with him. "But we did it..."

"No, Peter." Cindy couldn't believe what she was doing as she kneeled down and actually tried to comfort him. "You did it."

Peter-2 then smiled at her. "You make a good hero, Cindy."

Cindy scoffed. "Let's see."

"We're going to be okay," Rick promised him. "We've got it, man."

"You can rest," Courtney promised.

Peter-2 slowly drifted off into eternal slumber. Teresa was overwhelmed with grief and clung to him tightly for support, unable to accept that he was gone. Courtney stood by, tears streaming down her face, as she leaned in to kiss Peter-2's cheek in a final farewell. The war had ravaged everything and everyone in its path, leaving little behind but devastation and heartbreak. It was a time of great loss and sorrow, and the weight of it all was almost too much to bear.

Ravonna then looked down at her hands and saw that she was returning to her proper place to the timeline and vanished. She let the heroes mourn in silence as she vanished to the future, back to where she belonged.

STARS CROSSED 3

SHADOWS OF DESTINY

PRESENT DAY: EARTH-2:

Courtney stood with an air of profound sorrow, her attire entirely black, from head to toe. Her arms were tightly crossed, and in her hands, she clutched onto a single flower, seemingly with a sense of desperation. Despite being surrounded by her loved ones, she appeared completely lost in her own world, utterly oblivious to the environment around her, consumed by her own emotions and thoughts. Teresa walked over and took Courtney's hand; they stood in silence together, tears streaming down their faces. Teresa hadn't talked much since the death of her brother as she didn't have much to say.

"Comfort us today with the word of Your promise as we return our brethren to the Earth. And leave us with the hope that we will meet again," a Eulogist said, her voice trembling with emotion.

Yes, it was a funeral service. In remembrance of their dear friend and fellow Avenger, Peter Barton, a moving funeral service was held. Peter's selfless act of sacrificing himself to thwart Kang the Conqueror during the Rise of Cipher resulted in a powerful paradox that rewrote the timeline and ultimately saved the lives of his comrades. Despite the immense pain he must have been enduring, Peter showed incredible strength and remained composed throughout, putting on a brave face for his loved ones until his very last breath. His unwavering courage and sacrifice will never be forgotten by those who knew and loved him.

Phoebe walked over to the casket and placed a flower on top of the body of her first real friend. "I'm sorry that I couldn't save you," she whispered, her voice cracking with sorrow.

Rick walked up and didn't present a flower, but instead placed his hand against the casket. "I should have been stronger," he said, his voice heavy with grief. "I'm sorry."

Riri walked up to the casket and placed her flower on top. "You weren't just an Avenger; you were our friend. We will always remember what you sacrificed for us. You will be forever in our hearts," she said, her voice wavering.

Scott approached the casket and sighed. "I...I am... I'm happy you let me steal that suit. When we first met." He chuckled softly as he remembered how his journey as Ant-Man had begun. "Happy that you gave me a place to really belong. Just...sad you are not going to be here to see what I become."

Bobby approached the casket with MJ and Cindy Moon, who had come all the way from the X-Mansion just to say goodbye to their friend. Once there was a time where it was just them against the world, and now...two of their members are gone.

Cassandra walked up and placed her flower down. "We never got to know each other for long, but... thank you for leading me to them," she said, her voice trembling with emotion.

Cindy B. was there, but she didn't have much to say. She had known Peter for many years, but he was always just this nerd to whom she never gave a second thought. Even then, her first impression of him was minimal at best. Now she had nothing but respect for the boy after everything he had done.

Mayday approached the casket and sighed as she placed a flower on it. "I am thankful for your help in saving my future, changing my fate. I just wish it hadn't ended this way," she said, her voice trembling with grief.

America Chavez approached the casket and let out a small sob. Tears fell from her eyes as she spoke. "I was a stranger to this world, and you were one of the first few to welcome me. I will always be thankful for our friendship," she said, her voice full of sorrow.

Then Teresa approached her brother's casket and cried, "I always feared that I would never have time to get to know you. But I never thought that I would run out of time with you."

Beth and Yolanda stood to the side and cried over the loss of their friend. However, they felt more sorrowful for their friend because Courtney had lost the first boy she ever loved. Dying so that even if he didn't have a future, his family would have one of their own.

Courtney stood among the other children, some schoolmates, and a few teachers as they gathered to bid farewell to the boy. They weren't exactly aware of the details of what had happened, since they had deliberately used their psychic friends to block out the details from their minds.

As everyone expressed their sympathy to Clint and Lyla, Courtney remained at the graveside, observing as the others began to depart. Time seemed to freeze for her, while it appeared to fly by for everyone else. With a heavy heart, she said her last goodbye to her beloved friend, her voice barely a whisper, yet echoing in the silence of the cemetery.

CHAPTER ONE

HONOR THE FALLEN

2 months later:

Things were...odd around Blue Valley after the events of Weirdmageddon. The group of friends was doing their best to make do with their new lives after the death of one of their main friends. Things were also odd considering there were a lot of ex-villains moving into Blue Valley and even a few old heroes. Especially with Sylvester living with the Whitmore-Dugan family. Bishop had been called to finish her S.H.I.E.L.D. training and would be returning in the next few days coming up.

Mayday (or Maybelle, whichever you want to look at it, but she refers to be called Mayday) was moving in with Barton and his wife. They offered her to stay in Peter's old room so that she could try and really make some roots somewhere after she had to leave her home world of Earth-616 to stay out of her family's way, so they could raise her younger counterpart and her sister without worrying about her. Growing up in the apocalypse has many disadvantages, including the many role models that she grew up to know were now her age. That is indeed an odd transference.

Cindy was making good on her promise to Peter that she would try and be a hero. He gave his all for her to get this chance at life, and she was going to take advantage of it. It was just odd to imagine that Peter was gone after so much he did to help them. He helped save the world from the ISA and DA, stopped AIM from rounding up mutants/Inhumans, and stopped Kang the Conqueror from destroying the world.

Cindy walked down the street where she noticed Yolanda was eyeing her from the church. She just ignored her and kept walking when she noticed there was an old lady needing help carrying a bag as she was walking down the street. Usually, she would just ignore something like that, but she knew what a good person would do and stopped to help.

"Hi, sorry, do you need help with that?" Cindy asked, taking the bag of groceries. "It just looks pretty heavy."

"Thank you, dear." She said as she allowed Cindy to take the bag and follow her home.

At the Whitmore-Dugan household, the front door opened to admit Pat, Barbara, Buddy, and Mike. As soon as they entered the house, they began discussing the film they had just seen. When they made their way into the living room, Sylvester greeted them.

Over the course of the few months since Weirdmageddon, Pat started growing a beard, Mike got a bit taller, and Barbara grew her hair out. Mike likes to joke that

"Welcome home, Star family," Sylvester greeted them as Buddy the dog came running up to them.

"Hey, did Court come back? She said she was going to be hanging out with her friends." Pat tells Sylvester.

Sylvester's surprise at the news made Pat anxious. "Well, she mentioned she had things to take care of before school resumed. She mentioned you were aware," Sylvester said.

Pat let out a deep sigh as he gazed at Barbara, feeling exasperated by her persistent attempts to deceive them. Even after the tragic demise of Peter, Courtney had taken it upon herself to meticulously comb through every single file that had even a hint of being connected to redirecting or resurrecting someone. Her dogged determination was both admirable and concerning, considering the sensitive nature of the subject matter.

"I'll go see what she's up to," Pat said as he walked upstairs to see what she had done.

When he walked up the stairs and reached her room, he found piles of files everywhere, to the point where there was more paper on the floor than not. Courteney looked up and realized how long she had been searching when Pat walked in.

Courtney said, "I know how this looks." As she was holding a case file.

"It looks like you were doing exactly what I told you to stop doing two months ago," Pat sighed.

Courtney handed the file to Pat, saying, "I think I've finally figured it out." She continued, "A guaranteed method to bring him back without any consequences."

"The Resurrection Elixir?" Pat inquires, astonished. "Court—"

"Whoever drinks the elixir will be brought back, and his or her body will be healed," Courtney explained why she thought it would work. "It's a surefire way to bring him back."

Pat paused and knew this was gonna break her. "The ingredients for this elixir require both the bones of dragons and human blood in a ritual only acomplishable during the Blood Moon."

Courtney was slightly taken aback. "Huh?" she uttered, reclaiming the file and quickly scanning it. "Haven't reached that part yet," she remarked, thumbing through the pages further. "That's the kind of thing they should put at the beginning."

"Courtney," Pat said, sighing and knowing that this was going to be difficult for her. "It's over. Peter died. He stopped Kang."

"There has to be a way to bring him back!" Courtney said as she tossed the file. "There...there has to be something here that brings him back."

"You're willing to go at the risk of bringing that monster back to being Peter back?" Pat asks. "What do the others think?"

"Everyone else has thrown in the towel," Courtney admitted, sinking to her knees amidst the scattered papers. "Joey's abandoned his spellcasting attempts to bring him back, Beth's halted her scientific methods; they've all stopped trying to help."

"Did they? Or have they finally learned to accept what he has done?" Pat asked her as he kneeled over to look her in the eye. "Court, Peter died to stop Kang the Conqueror. How do you know that bringing back Peter won't wind up bringing back Kang?"

Courtney hadn't considered that these past few months and sat there in silence. She really didn't know how to let this go. To let him go.

"I know this is hard, but you need to let him go," Pat said as he tried to comfort her. "I don't think he would want you to waste your life trying to bring him back."

Courtney teared up and nodded, seemingly finally ready to let it all go.

Cleaning everything out of her room, Courtney threw all of the files into a box like Pat had before and placed them outside in the trash. Pat saw it was time to let them go since most of these were dangerous ways to bring people back to life and shouldn't be known.

"This is the right thing to do, Court," Pat promised her. "And putting this out of the way, maybe you could start speaking to Sylvester about training with the Staff. Protect those still left directly from the master himself. He knows what he's doing, and by teaching you to be a better Stargirl, you might learn something hints that could stop this from happening again."

"Hey, neighbors!" Lawerence Crock called from across the street, spooking them as they saw they were mowing their lawn.

"Howdy." Pat replied.

"Hi." Courtney called.

"Oh, please tell Barbra we have got to get together for coffee." Paula said cheerfully.

"I will." Pat said nervously. "She'll be thrilled." He and Courtney then started to head inside. "She won't." They then headed inside and Pat locked the door. "Boy..." Courtney watched him and walked her way over to them unlock the door. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" Courtney asked him.

"Well, I'm locking the door." Pat replied.

"We have to learn to trust them." Courtney stated.

"Trust who?" Pat asked as he locked the door again. "The Crocks? Are you kidding me?"

"They're not our enemies anymore." Courtney defended.

"Hey, you're very trusting, all right? And that's a great quality, but when it comes to people like that, you gotta be very careful." Pat stated.

"You want me to honor Peter, but want to go against exactly what he died for." Courtney stated. "He believed Cindy could be good; we can really make a difference in the world, Pat. We can help the bad guys break... good."

Pat didn't seem on board with that idea.

"If we could all learn to trust each other, not only would we be better people for it, but no matter what evil comes our way next, if we're on the same side like we were against MODOK or even Bill Cipher...we'll be unstoppable."

"She's right." Clint said, revealing he came from the back door. "Also, you should lock the back doors, not the front doors. Those are the ones you wanna watch out for."

"How did you...?" Pat looked to the back door and to the front door. "Don't do that."

"Sorry, couldn't resist." Clint confessed. "Look, it's fine. Just thought I'd go for a walk, and ended up passing by, wanted to avoid the Crocks, so went through the back."

Then there was a knock at the door, getting them to look and wonder who was there. When Pat opened the door, they were shocked to find that it was Barney Barton, aka Trickshot. The man who was helping AIM last year was at their doorstep.

"Hey, Pat. Clint." Barney greeted them.

It didn't take a second for Clint to react and punched his brother in the face. It ended up sending him flying backwards and falling off the front steps. Pat and Courtney ran out to watch what was about to happen. The fuss also got Sylvester's attention as he came out and saw the confrontation.

"What the hell do you think you are doing!?" Clint asked as he marched over, ready to punch Barney again. "Coming here after everything you've done?!"

"Wait! Wait! Please!" Barney pleased. "Let me explain." Clint seemed to be giving him a limited time to explain. "I came here because I heard about the kid. I'm sorry."

"Really?" Clint scoffed. "That's why you dared to show your face?"

"No...not the only reason." Barney confirmed, watching as Clint allowed him to stand up. "When AIM was shut down, all of their assets went down with them. Including the cloning equipment that gave me infinite life. This is the last one." He explained as he gestured to himself. "And...when you've died over and over, and you come back to life...you really get to put life into perspective. Everything I've done. To you. The kids. Look...I want to make amends. I'm not exactly expecting you to forgive me...but please...just let me try and make things right."

"Is he being sincere?" Sylvester couldn't even tell.

"It sounds like it." Courtney was surprised she was trusting him.

"Okay, Trickshot, here the thing, you're not exactly afforded the same courtesy that other people here are." Pat tells him.

"Yeah, while you were still working for AIM, the others came back and helped us save Blue Valley." Clint proclaimed.

"Clint..." Barney tried to help him. "Look...this is my last time around. If I die, that's it. I have nothing to gain. My benefactors are gone. I have no reason to betray you. And...you're already proven you'd be able to best me in a fight."

Clint wanted to believe him, he really did. But his brother had betrayed him before. But at the same time, with everything he had already gone through, and he just dragged Barney in for a hug. He geared up as Barney hugged him back.

Courtney looked over to Pat and gestured to the sight before her, this only proving her point from earlier.

The next day, Pat heard a juicer whirring in his kitchen and it was loud. He made his way downstairs to see what was going on. What he was surprised to see that Crusher was the one in his kitchen, using his juicer to make some protein drinks or something.

"Morning, Bud!" Crusher called over the loud noise.

"Crusher, it is 5:30, what are you doing in my kitchen?" Pat wonders.

"I'm making breakfast." Crusher said as he powered down the machine.

"What you're actually doing, it's trespassing." Pat informed him.

"You're gonna love this." Crusher said, either ignoring or not understanding what Pat just said. "Wheatgrass, spirulina, bee pollen,mane a pinch of testosterone. No offense."

Pat took the drink and placed it down. "My testosterone is fine, thanks. And I'm good on the juice."

"So, tell me...what was that sharp-head doing here yesterday?" Crusher asked, only confusing Pat. "Trickshot?"

"Yeah?" Pat was confused.

"Why didn't you guys lock him up?" Crusher wonders.

"We're dealing with it." Pat promised.

"Let me tell you something." Crusher tells him. "That circus freak is not to be trusted. Whatever he says, he is only out for whatever the score is. Revenge, money, or whatever it is.'

"Yeah, we got it." Pat said as Courtney came down. "That's for the intel."

"Uh, what is going on?" Courtney asks.

"Crusher broke in." Pat informed her.

"Door was unlocked." Crusher defended as he gave Pat a bit of a friendly shake around. "Just trying to get your old man back into the program! Okay, listen, juicer that's on us." He then showed some shaker powder. "First one's free, and I'll see you at Ripped City." He then started to make his way out. "Grand reopening today." He then gave a few friendly non-hitting punches towards Pat. "New bod, new life."

"Hey, hey, remember what happened the last time we fought." Pat dared Crusher. "Almost killed you."

"You wish." Crusher chuckled as he walked off. "Later!"

Pat looked down at Courtney as Crusher left. "We gotta start locking the doors, alright?"

Courtney had to say she was starting to understand what he meant. They might be able to trust the enemies, but...better safe than sorry.

Then later on, they started to make their way for school. Mayday (Maybelle) was never in a public school and was taken in under the implication she had been homeschooled from her old foster family before she was adopted into the Barton's. She and Courtney were talking to Yolanda about recent events with stuff like Trickshot coming back, and Crusher in her house.

"This is what happens when you forgive one of the bad guys." Yolanda didn't seem to be on board with the idea still. "They all start coming for handouts."

"Okay, we don't know if Barney is up to something bad." Courtney defended.

"Of course we don't, Court." Yolanda stated. "He's not gonna tell us. None of them are, especially Cindy."

"Cindy?" Mayday asked with a scoff, not believing the idea of Cindy having bad intentions. She grew up with Cindy in that post-apocalyptic world, and she never stabbed anyone in the heart. "Come on, she hasn't done anything wrong. She's been taking Peter's lessons to heart. She wants to turn herself around."

"You honestly believe that?" Yolanda definitely didn't seem convinced. "She might have been some hero in your world, but she isn't like that here. She stabbed me in the back and she will do it to you the first chance she gets."

They made their way over to their table and saw the groups were either silent or talking amongst themselves.

"I have enough problems with my parents." Yolanda said as she placed her food down. "If they catch me sneaking out of the house again, I wouldn't be surprised if they ship me off to boarding school."

"Hey, if it's that big of a problem, give me five minutes." Phoebe offered her services as a telepath. Her sisters still refused to go to school, so she was here amongst friends. "I can even make them nicer if you really want."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Scott asks.

"Only if they resist." Phoebe shrugged. "Besides, I've been getting better at it."

"How so?" Scott asks.

Phoebe looked him in the eye. "Give me your milk."

"Okay." Scott said as he handed over the drink. It didn't take him long to realize what he just did, and take his drink back. "Stay out of my head."

"I told you, gold and red are Riri's colors." Beth said into her goggles, communicating with her parents. They weren't hearing the full conversation, but since they learned Beth's superhero persona, they've been wildly supportive of her. They couldn't hear the full conversation since they were in the goggles. "Okay, I gotta go. Bye." She then hung up and took her glasses up to see everyone looking her way. "Shouldn't have given them this number."

"I think it's pretty sweet they're supporting you." Cassandra tells her.

Beth then started to look into her lunch. "Yum, what's that?" Courtney asks.

"Crispy chicken, over turmeric, lemon, cabbage, and peas." Beth listed her lunch. "My parents made it. Breakfast too."

Rick came over with a sigh as he sat down, Jane not too far behind. She was in her normal attire, leaving her Hammer outside amongst the bushes. It wasn't like anyone was going to pick it up and steal it.

"Hey, guys." Rick said, everyone felling a little uncomfortable since what happened with Peter.

"No luck with the Hourglass?" America asks.

"Nope." Rick nodded. "I contacted the guys at S.H.I.E.L.D., even the alternate dimensions, nobody seems to know how to fix it. Kang really did a number on it."

"Really?" Scott asked. "Have you tried the Forces of Nature?"

"God, is that what they're calling themselves?" Phoebe asks.

"I think it fits." Scott liked it.

"Yeah, they're basically disbanded last we heard about them." Beth informed them. "Avery went on her own, somewhere in China currently. The others haven't been checking in, but they are found on the news constantly."

They then heard someone dragging a chair over, causing a lot of noise as they saw it was Cindy. She stopped and dropped the chair at their table. "Hi. Welcome back to school, JSA."

She then took a seat at there table, disturbing a few, but seeming to leave a few of them either not caring for her presence. Courtney tried to calm the situation with a few of the angered ones.

"Hi, Cindy." Courtney said.

"So, I guess me sitting here means that this isn't the losers' table anymore." Cindy comments.

"It never was." Rick informed her.

"So...wow." Courtney said. "All of us are here."

"Minus Teresa." America reminded her.

Teresa was a grade below them, meaning she was with Mike and Jakeem. So, she wasn't going to be around them often during the school hours.

"So, I want to start this team meeting by talking about leadership amongst the Avengers." Courtney said. "You guys...vote or something on any new leaders?"

"Honestly, no." America stated. "We...most of us haven't really gotten over what happened."

"It's only been a few weeks since Weirdmageddon, Courtney, we're still...struck about Peter." Riri informed her.

"Without him, it doesn't really feel like a team anymore." Scott admitted.

"Well...okay then," Courtney was almost on the same boat after everything. "Moving on for that, I would like to talk about teamwork. I made some notes." She pulled out some cards. "The first thing is to wipe the slate clean, all of us. If I can look beyond Cindy's past, so can all of you."

"Not necessarily." Yolanda stated.

"Get over your trauma already." Cindy scoffed.

"We don't want you here, get it?" Yolanda stated.

"Uh..." Mayday raised her hand. "I kinda want her here. She's the only person I really know from my time."

"Do you?" Yolanda asked her. "You knew her as a hero." She then looked over to Cindy. "But the Cindy Burman before us is a backstabbing, monster, who would stab anyone in the back."

"Okay, can we move down the 'Starman is back'?" Cindy's asks. "Because I'm dying to know what the deal is. That's the real elephant in the room. Isn't it, gang?"

That was something on their minds and they looked to Courtney for her response. "It's...great that Starman is back." She said with a false smile. "I don't know, it's...I've been mostly focusing on Peter. Trying to see if there was a way we could save him, I never really stopped to think about it. He thinks the staff did it some-"

"What about the staff?" Rick wonders. "What now?"

"Sylvester is gonna show me how to use it." Courtney informed him.

"But you already know how to use it." Yolanda tells her,

"I'm sure there's plenty to learn." Jane defended. "You'd be surprised how much I learned about my Hammer in Asgard. How to control lighting, summon wind, a lot of cool things."

"Exactly." Courtney concurred with her. "It's got some tricks I haven't discovered, so that's exciting."

Suddenly Artemis appeared their table, slamming her hands against the table. "Yeah! Go, team!" She cheered, subtlety seemingly not her specialty, as she walked off.

"Artemis, what are you talking about?" One of the guys following asked. "They're losers."

Phoebe decided to have some fun, mentally using her powers to smack the jock against the wall, giving him a minor concussion that he could walk off.

"What was that about?" Casandra asks.

"I don't know." Courtney admitted.

"You sure?" Yolanda asks. "Because it's starting to feel like anyone could join the JSA now." She easily eyed Cindy.

Yolanda then got up and walked of. "See you later, teammate." Cindy called out.

"I'll wait until she gets back." Courtney tells them

"I...I may be from a dystopian world , but even I can tell I don't think she's coming back." Mayday tells her.

Phoebe groaned as she held her head, flashes of debris of sorts falling on her in her mind. She winced as she rubbed her head in discomfort.

"You okay?" Riri asked her.

"Yeah...it's been something going on recently." Phoebe tells them. She saw the confusion on everyone's faces and shrugged. "Well, you know how a few weeks ago, we wanted to resurrect Peter? Well, I tried to restart his brain using my powers. And what I saw was...glimpses of his last moments. From the Kang fight to the rubble crushing him, those seemed to be his last thoughts. I...I just can't shake them recently."

"What could that mean?" Scott asks.

"Maybe you drove too deep into his mind." Riri offered as a suggestion. "Maybe a fragment of him is living inside of you now."

"That...I wouldn't know how to feel about that." Phoebe admitted.

That night, Beth and Riri got word of trouble going down and followed the alert to a small attempted robbery. They found the people were wearing wreaking gear, confusing them as Riri and Beth did analysis. Riri was wearing her new red and silver armored outfit she redesigned since Weirdmageddon.

"Five guys in construction gear?" Cindy asks. "And you called us all for this?"

"Those guys aren't normal guys. They're the wrecking crew." Beth told them.

"Yeah, they're advanced with high tech alien gear they stole from the Avengers back in the day." Riri confirmed.

"Well, let's kick their asses." Mayday said as they moved in.

But before they could make their move, they heard a shriek, causing them to turn and see Artemis appear and leap on top of the fence. "JSA, let's go!" She called out, getting the Wrecking Crew's attention.

Artemis leaped off the fence, dodging a guy carrying a small wrecking ball, using a baseball bat to smack the one with a indestructible helmet, sending him flying into a few crates. Then she spun and wrapped the wrecking ball man's weapon up in her bat, yanking it out of his hands and throwing it towards the third guy carrying the blades.

The team was watching everything from afar, not sure if they should intervene or not. Scott winced as he watched Artemis break one for her arms, even making him turn away from it. Artemis then leaped, knocking the last of the Wrecking Crew out and left her victorious.

"How's that for a tryout?" Artemis asked as she checked on the victim, seeing he was okay, just banged up. She then jumped as she made her escape. "Artemis, 1! Bad guys, 0!"

"How did she not survive in my future?" Mayday wonders.

At a trailer park, Barney was currently living. He was looking over his laptop he got from AIM, some of the few benefits he decided to keep. He needed it since during his time with AIM, he found there was something going on around the small town.

There was some sort of signal around, and he wanted to see if he could figure out where it was coming from and what it was about. He hasn't had any luck yet, and he was sincere about wanting to be a better brother this time around.

"So, this is where you guys hang out?" Cindy asked as she looked around Pat's garage. "Your stepdad's smelly garage?"

"Our base was taken back after AIM found out about it." Scott defended.

"And it's the only place we can hold STRIPE." Courtney defended.

"It smells like a gas station bathroom." Cindy commented.

"Are you gonna complain about everything?" Yolanda asks.

"We could meet at my house." Cindy offered them as she tapped on the VISION pod from AIM. He was still inoperative until they found a power source capable of powering him, if one existed. "Where there's comfortable chairs and wine."

"We're not old enough to drink." America informed her. "None of us are 21."

"God, could this get anymore lame?" Cindy asks as she walked off.

"Yep, we've got confirmation." Beth said. "Those guys were indeed the Wrecking Crew. Small time players who battled some of the Avengers."

"Come on, do we really think this is a coincidence?" Rick asks them. "Trickshot comes into town, and then the Wrecking Crew is right behind him?"

"Well, guys like Trickshot never really change, now do they?" Yolanda asked, eyeing Cindy.

"Okay, this is beyond boring." Cindy tells them.

"Well, let's make things interesting." Mayday offered. "You and I go talk to Barney. Let's see if he can defend himself. I can be nice officer, you be scary officer."

"It's good cop and bad cop." Rick corrects mayday as they leave.

"Really?" Mayday asks. "That doesn't sound right."

Back with Barney, he was still working on the computer trying to find the strange source of the signal. But suddenly a strange source was detected. He wondered what it was, and what he found was a bunch of cameras. They were strategically placed around town, specifically where the team would hang out.

There were cameras in their own homes, the school, and the many other places where they would hang out. And what was scarier? There was one right outside his trailer.

Barney didn't take any chances as he reached over and grabbed his equipment. Grabbing an arrow from the quiver and then making his way outside. He started to look around, seeing the camera in the distance and made his way towards it. As he slowly approached, he kept his eyes out for anything that could be coming to attack him.

As he approached and reached for the camera, he gasped at something approaching, aiming and shooting his arrow. But he was struck by something powerful, and it wrecked his entire trailer.

That was the scene that Mayday and Cindy showed up to, shocking both of them. "What the hell happened?" Cindy ssks.

"I don't know." Mayday said as she looked around. "But whatever it was, it wasn't good."

Cindy looked down at Trickshot's body, which looked like it was hit by something that scorched his entire body. You could barely tell who it was once. She leaned down and felt the scorched, feeling how hot they were.

They then heard a gasp, getting them to turn and see the JSA and Avengers were there. "I didn't do it." She informed them in worry, seeing how it looks.

"She's right." Mayday said as she approached. "We just got here."

"What the hell could have done all of this?" Riri asked in worry.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling that whoever it is isn't done yet." Mayday whispered in fear, having a feeling.

Meanwhile, back at the cemetery, something strange was going down. Above the ground of Peter's grave, the dirt in front of the grave started to move. It was like something inside of it was diffing it's way out.

Then all of a sudden, a hand reached out of the grave and struck out, searching for ground to grab. When he finally managed to grab some of the ground, the hand yanked the rest of the body out, and revealed someone completely covered in dirt and grass. He let in a gasp of air, as if this was his first breath in weeks.

He then started to look around, trying to wipe the dust away from his eyes. It was still hard to see, but he looked down at his hands in concern and confusion.

He was alive...but how?