Skirmish at Bell's Market (Earth-2: Post-Crisis)

"That's enough! Fight's over. Walk away, Sylvester."

- Pat Dugan to Sylvester Pemberton

Skirmish at Bell's was Sylvester Pemberton's attempt to force Lawrence Crock and Paula Brooks to admit to the murder of The Gambler.

Background
After acquiring The Gambler's laptop, Cindy Burman sent the information to Beth Chapel and revealed that The Gambler had been blackmailing Lawrence Crock and Paula Brooks. Afterwards, Burman visited the Whitmore/Dugan Residence and intentionally let Sylvester Pemberton to hear that the Crocks may be the murderer. However, Pemberton declined her offer to work together, and instead summoned the Cosmic Staff with him. Unbeknownst to Pemberton, Mike Dugan overheard the conversation and informed Courtney Whitmore.

Conflict
Locating the Crocks at Bell's, Pemberton wielded the Cosmic Staff and warned them, though the duo refused to fight. Pemberton then fired an energy blast at them, attracting attention and forcing the costumers in the store to leave in a panic. During the battle, Pemberton was able to take the upper hand and injure both Crock and Brooks, though was unable to keep them down for an extended period of time.

The battle later extended to the store's parking lot, after Pemberton stabbed the staff in the ground and sent a concussive blast which sent the Crocks out the front windows. That blast also severely damaged the store, cutting off the electricity supply and destroying the products around him. Thankfully, Pat Dugan was able to arrive in time to put an end to the fight, telling Pemberton to walk away and getting the Crocks to safety.

Aftermath
At the Whitmore/Dugan Residence, the Crocks admit that they initially wanted to murder The Gambler, but did not act as they hoped to preserve the family they struggled to restore. Pemberton, on the other hand, remained aggressive after the skirmish, blaming Dugan for letting those that murdered their friends move next door. Dugan then explained that the aggression will give the wrong message, and thus allowed them to stay next door to let Courtney Whitmore's beliefs to come in effect. Dugan reminded that Pemberton should act more than a friend to Whitmore, and should also act as a father. Now with the right mind, Pemberton decided to revisit the crime scene, though was met with the mysterious force that murdered The Gambler.