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

Peter struggled to stand up, his body aching, and his mind urging him to surrender. 'Kang has to die.' Peter began to think to himself. 'But I am Kang. As long as I am alive, Kang will always have a way to come back... I have to do something. If I don't stop him now, he is just going to come back stronger. He will become a cancer to my family. I have to stop him. I am sorry, Courtney..."

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 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 encircled the Time Criminal with his arms, resolute in his intent to hold him in place. "We both just have to lose!"

The next thing he remembered was a blinding light followed by darkness. He wasn't sure how long he was unconscious, but when he woke up, he felt the pain in his hip, causing him to look downward and see the injuries and rubble currently sticking out of him. That was when he watched the rubble be lifted off of him and he was shocked to see everyone.

"We found him!" Hope Haddock exclaimed as everyone rushed towards the area.

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

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

"Kang?" Peter 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 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 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 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'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 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 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 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 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 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 slowly drifted into an eternal slumber, the weight of the world lifting from his tired limbs. When he finally awoke, a wave of confusion washed over him as he found himself surrounded by the solemn faces of his friends and family, their eyes glistening with tears. A heavy stillness settled in the air, punctuated by quiet sobs; they were mourning his absence. As he floated closer, a chilling realization enveloped him—he was now a soul, unshackled from the earthly realm and traversing into the afterlife.

His gaze turned to Courtney, her heart-wrenching cries echoing the depth of her sorrow. Desperate to comfort her, he reached out, but his hand passed through the air, a mere whisper of what once was. Suddenly, a cold touch gripped his shoulder, causing him to gasp in surprise. He turned to face an eerie figure—a woman cloaked in shadow. She wore a tattered black veil that hung heavily over her face as if she had just stepped away from a funeral. Her dark, ragged robes dragged on the ground, stained and worn, a ghastly reflection of centuries spent in mourning.

As she emerged into the dim light, Peter's breath caught in his throat. He could see the grotesque absence of her jaw, a skinless expanse where flesh should have been, yet her eyes sparkled like a pearl of unsettling wisdom. With a slow, deliberate gesture, she beckoned him to follow. Unable to resist the pull of her presence, Peter stood in stillness, watching as she glided towards a doorway that had materialized from the darkness—a threshold that had not existed a moment before.

She reached out, taking his hand in her cold, ethereal grip, and together they stepped into the void, leaving behind the world of the living.

Courntey was woken up by the Cosmic Staff after Sylvester never returned and found he was attacked. They took him to the hispital where Beth's mother looked him over snd set him up with the hospital equipment to help him heal.

"Sylvester?" Courtney saw he was waking up. "You were attacked."

"Yeah, kid. I remember." Sylvester said with a sigh.

"Okay, well, who who did it?" Courtney asks.

"I don't know," Sylvester said with a groan. "Didn't see them coming or going. Whatever it was it swooped in and attacked. Took me into the air and dropped me." He winced as he tried to sit up. "Nothing like an ambush to make you feel like a rookie.

"What were you doing at the trailer park?" Courtney asks.

"Once the leads had dried up, I went out looking for new clues," Sylvester explained. "I figured criminal always comes back to the scene of the crime. Just didn't think it would be a vulture. Oddly enough, he didn't seem that strong to destroy the trailer. I think it's just a henchman for someone bigger."

"Well, why didn't you take the staff?" Courtney wonders.

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

"We have to... rethink our agreement," Courtney stated.

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

"If I'm not around and you need the staff, next time take it," Courtney tells him.

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

"We're gonna find out what did this," Courtney said.

Peter was staring down at the face he had sketched out on the floor of the ISA's headquarters. He knew that face was supposed to mean something but wasn't sure who she was.

"You really think you're being hunted?" Cindy asked.

"I know I am, I just don't know how I know," Peter whispered. "I remember the blinding light...I remember darkness... I remember your face."

"And when you try to remember, you get flashes," Cindy commented. "Of what?"

"Fire," Peter whispered. "She took me from the battle. I remember crying. She promised they would be okay... but I felt a darkness. Something was coming after me. Us... So, I ran."

"Wait, a woman took you?" Cindy wanted to clarify. "You're saying that after you died... someone took you? Who was she?"

Peter considered that answer. "Death."

Cindy was confused by his answer when she got a text. "Starman was attacked."

Courtney called everyone in so that they could search the trailer for any new details after the attack Sylvester endured.

"Anything, Beth?" Courtney asked.

"Nope," Beth said with a sigh. "Nothing, like, at all. 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 stated, getting everyone to look at her. "Hey, whoever did this isn't stupid."

"Whoever means you?" Yolanda asks.

"If it were me, I wouldn't have let Sylvester live." Cindy defended, getting more odd looks. "Just being honest."

"I think we've hit a dead end, Court." Riri sighed as she removed her helmet.

"Again?" Rick asked in anger.

"Wait," Beth said, scanning something. "I've got something." She then leaned into the table. "A single skin cell. It's got the goggles all worked up. I guess I almost missed it. It doesn't belong to Starman."

"Then it belongs to whoever attacked him." Courtney guessed.

Peter found himself in the dimly lit basement of the ISA, surrounded by the lingering scent of old paper and dust. His fingers brushed over the worn cover of the school yearbook Cindy had brought him, each crack in the spine whispering stories of years gone by. As he flipped through the pages, snapshots of cheerful faces greeted him, their smiles frozen in time. Among them, he spotted a recent photo that captured a moment of pure joy, featuring himself surrounded by friends whose names teetered on the edge of his memory.

With each turn of the page, fragments of his past flickered in his mind like an old film reel, momentarily illuminating the foggy recesses of his memory. Vivid scenes intermingled with the blur—laughter echoing in hallways, shared jokes behind classrooms, and the thrill of carefree days long forgotten. Slowly, these fleeting images began to piece together the puzzle of his life, urging him to recall the warmth of friendships and the experiences that shaped him into who he was. He waited for Cindy's return, eager to uncover more of the story hidden within the pages and in the depths of his own mind.

"Well, I might have a small problem," Cindy said as she returned with a sigh. "I think that I might have shredded a little at the trailer. "

"You shed?" Peter asks.

"Not me, this," Cindy stated, showing off the scales on her arms. "These stupid things. I need to cure this before they start to think I am a criminal. Or at least get your memories back so I have a witness."

"I'm sorry," Peter told her.

"Not your fault," Cindy sighed as she began to remove the armor.

"No," Peter said in a hushed tone. "It is."

"What do you mean?" Cindy asks.

"I ran," Peter whispered. "I ran from Death."

"It's not like you're the only one," Cindy said as she listened. "Someone who would run from Death."

"Except... Death followed," Peter informed her.

On the outskirts of Blue Valley, a peculiar figure emerged as if materializing from thin air. She stepped onto the earth with bare feet, the cool grass yielding beneath her touch. Draped in a form-fitting dress as dark as the deepest night, her silhouette exuded an eerie elegance. A scarf was wrapped tightly around her head, concealing her hair and framing her face, which peeked out with an unsettling clarity from beneath the hood.

Each step she took was charged with a sinister energy; the lush green grass crumbled and withered at her approach, turning brittle and brown as if drained of life. With a deliberate stride, she advanced, the soft sounds of nature momentarily silenced by her presence.

As she moved into the moonlight, her true visage was revealed—an abomination that sent shivers down the spine. Her jaw, devoid of skin, was a gruesome sight, the raw edges stark against the pale pallor of her skin. Despite this horrifying countenance, she marched resolutely toward Blue Valley, an unyielding determination driving her search for the soul that had cleverly eluded her grasp.

Riri and Beth were looking over the fragment of DNA that they found at the scene to find out what they could.

"The DNA it's not human or identifiable," Riri said with a sigh, removing her mask.

"So now we don't know anything." Beth sighed.

Clint however was looking over the screens the data was being uploaded into, searching what S.H.I.E.L.D. Files Kate gave them access to.

"What do you see, Clint?" Beth wonders.

"I seem to recall a result like this once before," Clint said as he looked over the data.

"Who?" Beth asks.

"Cindy's father," Clint said in terror.

"Dragon King?" Riri asked in shock.

That was when Riri ran the scan against the DNA exact results on file and indeed it matched the Dragon King.

"So Dragon King is the prime suspect now?" Yolanda asked as everyone was being filled in on it.

"I thought Cindy killed him," Scott commented.

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

"That's impossible." Yolanda scoffed.

"I'm sorry, impossible?" Phoebe asks. "She's from a dystopian future," she stated, gesturing to Mayday. "I'm a telepath." She then pointed to Scott. "He can shrink to the size of an ant." She pointed to Courtney. "She's besties with a living glow stick. And our friend who was killed by his futuristic evil variant has risen from the dead."

"Yeah, I gotta agree, the word 'impossible' has lost all meaning the last two years," Chavez agreed.

"We need to warn Cindy her dad might be back," Mayday said.

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

"She would never do that," Mayday stated.

"How could you be so sure?" Yolanda asks.

"Because I know what happened to her," Mayday explained. "She told me about childhood. Her dad never treated her like a daughter. She explained how she was his lab rat a lifetime full of abuse. That's why she treated me like a real parent. Of course, the world was dead, and a lot of different things going on, but my point stands."

That surprised everyone.

"If Dragon King is still alive, maybe he came back to Blue Valley for her," Beth said.

Courtney then realized the absence of Cindy. "Has anyone seen Cindy today?"

Cindy was still down with Peter as she felt her body beginning to morph on her. She groaned and tried to find a way to stop the transformation.

"Are you okay?" Peter asks.

"No!" Condy groaned in anger. "The longer this takes, the more about me changes."

Peter got up and walked over to her side. "I am sorry I can't be more help."

"yeah, me too," Cindy groaned as she saw his sorrowful look. She sighed and knew her negative attitude wasn't helping. "Sorry. I'm... I'm just stressed."

Peter looked down at the vials and picked one up. He seemed to recognize what the serum was and looked over the others on the table. Cindy was confused about what he was doing as he began to mix the vials. She then watched as he spun it around in his hand, mixing it together.

"Try this," Peter said, handing it over.

Cindy looked down at the vial and up to Peter. "What is it?"

"A temporary antiserum," Peter told her. "It won't permanently remove your powers, but it will slow down what's happening."

Cindy looked at the visl and shrugged. What was the worst that could happen? A lot, but like she cared. She chugged the vial gagged at the taste and shook her head. Peter then moved up her sleeve, surprising Cindy with how bold he was going. She then watched as the scales on her arm lowered and vanished into her skin.

"How did you...?" Cindy was shocked.

"I don't really know," Peter shrugged as he looked down at Cindy's arm. He caressed the arm and saw the fragment of her hand where the spike poked out of it. "We're both mistakes of science."

Cindy wasn't sure where that came from but saw he did have a point. "I guess we are. Except at least your parents didn't experiment on you."

Peter then released her hand, and Cindy was just surprised at how well Peter accepted her. Even if this wasn't the same Peter that died; it was basically, but without his memories. She was surprised to see he was so calm around her when everyone would always try to avoid her as best they could. Even the other members of the team outside of Mayday. It's like she's only attracted to the Spider-People. Odd.

"Thanks, Peter," Cindy said.

"What are friends for?" Peter told her with a smile.

.

At the bathroom, Mike and Jakeem were looking at the wall where someone crossed out THE KILLER and replaced it with 'your mom' HAS MANY NAMES.

"Now your mom's a suspect." Jakeem scoffed.

"I'm telling you, Dragon King?" Mike said. "It all makes sense."

"Cindy Burman's dad?" Jakeem asks. "The guy with the reptile skin and the big sharp teeth?"

"I never saw him, but that's got to be an exaggeration, right?" Mike asks.

"Oh, no," Teresa said, causing them to shriek and turn and see she was standing against the stalls. "It's true. I've seen the photos."

"What- you were-" Mike looked over to the door and back to Teresa in shock. "How did you get in here?!"

"The door was unlocked," Teresa stated as she gestured towards the doorway.

"You didn't lock the door?" Mike asked Jakeem.

"I don't have a key," Jakeem stated.

"Guys, I am here to help," Teresa told them. "I am a bit sidelined on the older kids' team which is dumb considering I am S.H.I.E.L.D. trained. But, I wanna help. And I am taking pity on you guys. If it is Dragon King, he could still be in the tunnels."

"Under Blue Valley? Right now?" Jakeem asked, looking downward in terror.

"She's right. Maybe Trickshot found out, and- and that's why he got offed."

"But Trickshot was electrocuted to death," Teresa commented.

"Maybe he developed some lightning gun?" Mike came up with a plausible solution.

"A lightning gun?" Jakeem asks. "Is that even possible?"

"I carry around a backpack with wings, I tend to forget the term 'impossible'," Teresa told him.

"We should check," Mike tells them.

"I'm not going down there." Jakeem proclaimed.

"Come on, man." Mike tried to convince him. "This is our chance to finally solve this mystery before school gets out and before Courtney and the others do."

"Since when has this been a competition?" Jakeem asks.

"Since no one takes us seriously, Jakeem." Mike proclaimed. "I say we ditch P.E. and we go get S.T.R.I.P.E."

"I thought your dad hid the keys," Jakeem said.

"Yeah, but you can wish for them," Mike said.

"Wait!"

That was exactly what they did before Teresa could wise them against it. The entire bathroom was filled with various keys, causing them to be flung out of the bathroom as the door was blown off its hinges with a wave of keys coming out.

"I wonder which key it is," Jakeem said.

"Get up," Teresa said as she pushed them up and walked off. "Keep walking. Deny everything."

As Lady Death meandered through the quiet streets of Blue Valley, a world vibrant with life unfolded around her. Despite her true nature, she donned an unassuming human guise, blending seamlessly with the throngs of people who were entirely unaware of the ethereal presence among them. Her dark hair framed a face that was both striking and innocuous, allowing her to pass unnoticed as she searched for the elusive soul that had escaped the grasp of judgment.

Determined to locate the boy who had slipped through her fingers, she scanned her surroundings, her keen senses attuned to any sign that may reveal his whereabouts. The town offered few clues, its familiar sights falling flat in their inability to guide her. She knew that sooner or later, he would make his presence known—escaping Death was never permanent.

Her gaze fell upon the flickering neon signage of a local diner, its warm, inviting glow standing out against the cool evening air. She felt a pull toward the establishment, intuitively aware that those in need of sustenance would flock there. With purposeful strides, she entered the diner, the bell above the door jingling softly as she stepped inside. The comforting aroma of coffee and frying bacon enveloped her, a stark contrast to her otherworldly essence.

As she walked toward the counter, she caught sight of Yolanda, her hands busy as she expertly served plates of food to hungry patrons. Lady Death observed the scene: laughter and chatter echoed throughout the small diner, a tapestry of human emotion unfolding in every corner. On this ordinary night, amidst the mundane lives of the diners, she continued her search, ever hopeful that the boy would reveal himself.

"Hi, what can I get you?" Maria Carmen Saravia asks.

"Hi, I am not here for food, I am here for some information," Lady Death said. "You see... a patient of mine escaped."

"Wait, is this about the boy?" Maria asks.

Lady Death was surprised to hear this. "Getting warm."

"The other day, there was someone digging through the garbage," Maria told him, getting overheard by Yolanda. "He was a young boy, and when I found him, he scurried up the side of the wall."

Lady Death smiled. "Show me."

Yolanda took in the information and was shocked to hear that there was an incident. That was the same night they found Peter's grave empty. He was here...