FIC: "Backlash" 1/1
Disclaimers: Not mine at all. I'd be fairer. Mary Elizabeth is mine but Rebecca, technically, has elements that is
not. I consider her the canonical Supergirl with...a few upgrades for the 21st century.
Feedback: Yes please! :-)
Rating: PG
Keywords: Pete, Clark, Rebecca, post-episode for Duplicity.
Spoilers: Duplicity.
Unbeta'd.
Summary: When Clark told Pete the truth, he forgot about Rebecca...
Note: Part of the As yet untitled Rebecca AU. The other stories can be found at my Smallville fanfiction page.
Thus far, they include Family Secrets the intro - still a WIP.
Just To Try (a Tempest Missing Scene),
One Breath (a crossover with The Dead Zone),
and Victory (a 100 word fic).
"Backlash"
by M.
----
"Martha?" Walking into the kitchen, Mary Elizabeth looked about for a sign of her sister or her brother-in-law but there
was none. "Jonathan? Martha? Clark?" She wandered further into the house but no one answered her.
Emerging onto the front porch, she heard the faint sound of voices on the breeze and moved down the steps and around the
house. There, she found Martha and Jonathan standing just outside the storm cellar, talking.
They were joined a few moments later by Clark...and Pete Ross.
Mary's brow furrowed as she took in the scene. Jonathan and Martha kept *the* ship in the storm cellar. What on earth was
the Ross boy doing anywhere near it? Her consternation grew when she distinctly heard the word 'ship' cross his lips
followed closely by 'super speed' which left no doubt as to what they were discussing.
Her mouth went dry and blood roared in her ears.
Pete knew.
He knew about Clark...
And Rebecca?
"Martha, Jonathan...just what is going on here?!" Regaining her equilibrium, she strode forward, instincts honed over 13
years of protecting her child screaming within her.
The couple looked over and Martha paled at the expression on her sister's face. "Mare..."
"Don't Mare me!" The elder woman snapped. Stopping, she closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, steadying herself. "I'm
sorry...just...what is going on here?"
"Mrs. Lee..." Pete stepped forward. "I...Clark..."
"The ship..." Clark interjected before his parents could say anything. "You know it got loose during the tornado, right
Aunt Mary?" At his aunt's curt nod, he continued. "Pete found it."
"How much do you know, Mr. Ross?" Mary demanded, aware of her sister's growing discomfort. She'd apologize later but at
the moment, she had the growing impression that when Becky returned from her visit to Gotham, she was going to find an
unpleasant surprise awaiting her.
"Everything." Pete revealed nervously. "About Clark..and..."
"Becky." Martha finished.
"And just how did we go from Pete finding the ship to him knowing everything about Clark and Rebecca?" Turning to face
her sister, Mary took another deep breath, trying very hard to keep her temper under control. If there was one thing the
Clark sisters shared, it was a deep protective instinct and, when necessary,a rather considerable temper. "Martha?"
"I told him." Her nephew put in, cutting off his mother's answer. "I have a choice, Aunt Martha." Quietly, he recounted
the situation and what had happened. "I didn't have a choice." He insisted again.
"Hmm..." She nodded. "Thank you, Clark." Her gaze went to her sister and her brother-in-law's faces. "I think, Martha,
Jonathan...we need to talk."
"You're right, Mary." Jonathan responded gravely. "We most certainly do."
---
A while later, he looked at his sister-in-law as she cupped her hands around a steaming mug of tea, closing her eyes.
"Before you get upset, Mary..."
"Before I get upset, Jonathan?" She sighed wearily. "Too late. I'm already upset. Your son just let my daughter's biggest
secret slip and didn't bother to consult either her or me first." With a smile not unlike his wife's, she added. "Compared
to how she'll react, I'm the picture of calm."
"If we'd known the situation," Martha insisted, sitting down beside her husband and resting her hand in his. "We wouldn't
have let him do this - not without discussing it beforehand. But by the time we found out, it was already done. We've
talked it over with Pete...he understands the severity of the situation"
"He had a firsthand introduction to the worst case scenario." Jonathan reminded. "Thanks to this Dr. Hamilton. One thing
he isn't going to do is take any risks with Clark or Becky's safety."
"From what I know of him, Mr. Ross is a trustworthy young man. Rebecca speaks very highly of him. But how trustworthy he
can be isn't the issue." Mary countered quietly. "When did you find out that Clark had told him the truth?" Both Kents
shifted uncomfortably and Martha dropped her gaze, not wanting to meet her sister's eyes. "I thought so." She noted sadly.
"Why didn't you call me? Were you even going to tell me what had happened? If I hadn't dropped by this afternoon, would I
have even known what had happened?"
"Of course we would have told you." Her brother-in-law answered defensively. "We weren't trying to hide anything from you,
or Rebecca. This just happened so fast it was hard to think about anything beyond the situation itself."
"This whole situation was mishandled from the get go." Martha agreed, reaching out to rest a hand on her sister's.
"Believe me, Mare, this isn't how we would have wanted this to go but...it's happened and now we just have to deal
with it."
"I know." Her sister responded gently. "And we will. I understand but Rebecca won't. And, quite frankly, I can't blame
her. It's been a difficult adjustment for all of us, I know. We hid this from each other for well over a decade and we
can't expect the instinct to deceive to go away overnight. We're used to dealing with these situations quietly, without
talking to anyone else." She sighed. "We have to work harder on changing that perception...Otherwise, situations like
this are going to keep on happening."
"And very well might get worse and more complicated." Martha nodded. "I know." She looked from her husband to her sister.
"I don't think I need to point out the fact our children's safety quite literally does depend on it."
----
From where she stood on the front steps of the house, Rebecca leaned against the railing and laughed as she watched Bruce
get out of the car and look down at the front yard in dismay. "What's the matter Brucie?" She teased, appropriating the
nickname he'd picked up from many a young Gotham socialite. "You look a little uncomfortable."
The young billionaire looked down at his feet and the muddy yard. "These shoes cost a fortune."
"Lucky for you, you can afford it." She tossed out flippantly. "This is farm country, Bruce. It gets muddy. The delicate
footwear should be left in the car."
He chuckled, scraping the shoe in question against the rim of the car, ignoring Alfred's expression of dismay. "Touche."
"Come on in you two, I'm starved and poor Alfred looks like he could use a good cup of tea." Turning, Rebecca lightly
raced up the steps and unlocked the front door. "Mom? We're here?!"
"In the kitchen!" Mary Elizabeth called back.
Sniffing the air, Becky grinned over her shoulder at her companions. "We have good timing - there's fresh pie to be had."
Both men returned the grin, Alfred's quite dignified of course, and followed her through the house. Bruce examining their
surroundings with interest.
"Alfred, Bruce!" Removing her apron, Mary crossed the room to embrace both men. "It's so good to see you both." She
offered a faintly admonishing look. "You don't visit nearly enough."
"Sorry." Bruce apologized with his best charming grin. "Taking over Wayne Enterprises has been a little challenging as of
late."
The tall redhead sighed and shook her head. "So I've heard. Lionel may have lost his sight but he's proving to be a holy
terror for you isn't he?"
"Seems to think that I'm 'a young, inexperienced pup' or something like that." Sitting down, Bruce relaxed. "Lucius and Ron
have been relating some rather funny stories."
Rebecca grinned, helping herself to a soda from the refrigerator. "Lionel's a legend in his own mind."
"I won't argue with that one." He responded, laughing.
Mary Elizabeth cut a slice of the warm pie and set it on a plate, passing it to Alfred. "He's an arrogant man. Intelligent
too. A scary combination."
On the surface, her words were very much exactly what her daughter had expected her to say but still, Rebecca was troubled.
There was something about her mother's manner that bothered her. Putting down her drink, she rested her hands on the
kitchen counter and stared into her mother's face. "What is it?" She asked softly. "Something's wrong...What is it?"
Her mother looked up at her then at their guests. There were no secrets about Rebecca that had been kept from Bruce and
Alfred. In truth, they knew more about her daughter's past than Martha and Jonathan did by sheer virtue of having been
present for all those events in her childhood. She inhaled slowly and lowered her head. "It's about Pete."
"Pete Ross?" The teenager's eyes widened in alarm. "Mom...did something happen? Is he ok? Is he hurt?! What?!"
"He's fine, Becky." Mary assured, cutting off further questions. "He's fine."
"Then what is it?"
"He found the ship...He knows."
Rebecca froze, her face paling. "How?" She asked hoarsely, feeling her knees go weak. "How did he..."
"He found the ship in a field...Clark and your uncle tried to get it away from him but..." Her mother hesitated then
finally blurted out. "It didn't work. Clark told him - everything."
There was a long, protracted silence as everyone tried to deal with the shock of the revelation. Bruce stared intently at
the floor, fighting to keep his temper under control. He'd always been protective of what family he had left. Rebecca and
her mother had filled a large part of that family after his parents..had gone. Discovering the truth about her had only
served to increase that protectiveness a thousandfold and everything in him at that moment was all but screaming for him
to track down Becky's cousin and teach the boy a lesson he wouldn't soon forget. Superpowers be damned, he would find a
way.
Regaining some of her control, Rebecca looked helplessly at him as if he could give her the answer, a way to fix this, to
turn back time and snatch the information from Pete's mind. If he could, if he had the way, he'd spend every penny he had
to see it happen but he couldn't so he settled for standing and hugging her. "It'll be all right."
She pulled away from him abruptly with a muttered, "It will be."
Before anyone could ask what she meant, she raced out of the kitchen at full speed, little more than a blur of color.
Watching the kitchen door swing back into place, Bruce sighed, "I hate when she does that."
"Do you think she's..." Alfred looked to Mary Elizabeth.
"Gone to confront Clark?" She finished wearily. "I'm sure of it."
----
Pete was going in for the perfect layout when there was a whoosh of air and the ball literally disappeared from his hands.
"What the..."
"Hell?" Rebecca's angry voice supplied the oath and he and Clark both turned to see her standing behind them, the ball
resting on the flat of one hand. "Took the words right out of my mouth, Pete." She glared at her cousin. "I think we need
to talk, Clark. In fact, I'm sure of it."
"Beck..." He began only to have the ball connect with his midsection courtesy of his cousin.
"I misphrased myself." She explained unapologetically. "I meant *I* would talk, you would listen and frantically try and
come up with a good justification." She looked at Pete. "I think you might want to give us a moment, Pete."
"No thanks, Beck." He responded evenly. "I think I'd better stick around."
"Fine." She bit out, her anger bubbling to the surface again before rounding on her cousin. "What the hell were you
thinking?!!!!!!! You *told* him!" She pointed back at Pete. "Did you even stop to think for a damn second about me?! About
how it would affect my life? You didn't even stop for a second to give me a heads up? A warning?"
"We didn't have time." Clark argued, his face pained. "I would have called you but there just wasn't any time, I had to
react, I had to find a way to convince Pete, to stop Dr. Hamilton...I didn't have time..."
"No time to pick up the phone and say, 'Becky, get back here? We have a *problem*?!" She glared at him. "Right. I get the
fact it's too sensitive an issue to discuss over the phone but believe me, two little sentences in the *right* tone of
voice would have gotten me back here in an hour or less - depending on what method of travel."
Pacing away from them both, she laughed bitterly. "And you know what the funny part is? I wanted to tell Chloe. I wanted
to finally have a friend - my best friend -who knew, who I could talk to about this stuff. About the stuff I can't tell
you or Mom...and what happens?" She inhaled slowly but it didn't take the edge off the hurt. "I let Uncle Jonathan talk
me out of it. 'It wouldn't be safe. You can't be sure Chloe would protect you...you can't be sure she wouldn't figure out
Clark's secret too...' I let him convince me and what happens?" She looked back at them both with a scathing expression.
"I don't even factor into the decision."
"Becky..." Not knowing what to say, or how to say it, Clark just stood there, with confusion, hurt, and guilt warring for
control of his face. "I..."
She hugged her middle and turned to face them with a brittle smile and eyes that threatened with tears. "And since I don't
factor into your decisions when it comes to our little 'secret', I've made a decision." Nearly spitting the word secret,
she took a moment to compose herself before adding. "As far as I'm concerned, you no longer factor into mine. I will live
my life the way I grew up. With my secrets as my own, sharing them with who I chose and without asking permission of anyone
but myself."
"C'mon, Beck," Pete cajoled, reaching out to touch her shoulder. "It's just me...I mean, I'm ok with it now. It's kinda
cool even."
The redhead mustered up a faint smile for him. "I know you wouldn't do anything to risk our lives, Pete. I *know* that
but...It's not even you I'm upset about...it's...It's how everything was handled. And for that, I can't let go." She
looked over at Clark. "Or trust." She smiled faintly at Pete. "I'm sorry."
A rush of air and the extremely odd feeling of her shirt brushing free from beneath his hand at superspeed was the only
warning he had of Rebecca's departure. When she was gone, he looked into his friend's face.
"I'd say this is bad but...it'd be a major understatement."
"Major." Clark agreed, looking in the direction his cousin had gone. "Mom and Dad're gonna hit the roof."
TBC in the sequel "A Matter of Trust"
Disclaimers: Not mine at all. I'd be fairer. Mary Elizabeth is mine but Rebecca, technically, has elements that is
not. I consider her the canonical Supergirl with...a few upgrades for the 21st century.
Feedback: Yes please! :-)
Rating: PG
Keywords: Pete, Clark, Rebecca, post-episode for Duplicity.
Spoilers: Duplicity.
Unbeta'd.
Summary: When Clark told Pete the truth, he forgot about Rebecca...
Note: Part of the As yet untitled Rebecca AU. The other stories can be found at my Smallville fanfiction page.
Thus far, they include Family Secrets the intro - still a WIP.
Just To Try (a Tempest Missing Scene),
One Breath (a crossover with The Dead Zone),
and Victory (a 100 word fic).
"Backlash"
by M.
----
"Martha?" Walking into the kitchen, Mary Elizabeth looked about for a sign of her sister or her brother-in-law but there
was none. "Jonathan? Martha? Clark?" She wandered further into the house but no one answered her.
Emerging onto the front porch, she heard the faint sound of voices on the breeze and moved down the steps and around the
house. There, she found Martha and Jonathan standing just outside the storm cellar, talking.
They were joined a few moments later by Clark...and Pete Ross.
Mary's brow furrowed as she took in the scene. Jonathan and Martha kept *the* ship in the storm cellar. What on earth was
the Ross boy doing anywhere near it? Her consternation grew when she distinctly heard the word 'ship' cross his lips
followed closely by 'super speed' which left no doubt as to what they were discussing.
Her mouth went dry and blood roared in her ears.
Pete knew.
He knew about Clark...
And Rebecca?
"Martha, Jonathan...just what is going on here?!" Regaining her equilibrium, she strode forward, instincts honed over 13
years of protecting her child screaming within her.
The couple looked over and Martha paled at the expression on her sister's face. "Mare..."
"Don't Mare me!" The elder woman snapped. Stopping, she closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, steadying herself. "I'm
sorry...just...what is going on here?"
"Mrs. Lee..." Pete stepped forward. "I...Clark..."
"The ship..." Clark interjected before his parents could say anything. "You know it got loose during the tornado, right
Aunt Mary?" At his aunt's curt nod, he continued. "Pete found it."
"How much do you know, Mr. Ross?" Mary demanded, aware of her sister's growing discomfort. She'd apologize later but at
the moment, she had the growing impression that when Becky returned from her visit to Gotham, she was going to find an
unpleasant surprise awaiting her.
"Everything." Pete revealed nervously. "About Clark..and..."
"Becky." Martha finished.
"And just how did we go from Pete finding the ship to him knowing everything about Clark and Rebecca?" Turning to face
her sister, Mary took another deep breath, trying very hard to keep her temper under control. If there was one thing the
Clark sisters shared, it was a deep protective instinct and, when necessary,a rather considerable temper. "Martha?"
"I told him." Her nephew put in, cutting off his mother's answer. "I have a choice, Aunt Martha." Quietly, he recounted
the situation and what had happened. "I didn't have a choice." He insisted again.
"Hmm..." She nodded. "Thank you, Clark." Her gaze went to her sister and her brother-in-law's faces. "I think, Martha,
Jonathan...we need to talk."
"You're right, Mary." Jonathan responded gravely. "We most certainly do."
---
A while later, he looked at his sister-in-law as she cupped her hands around a steaming mug of tea, closing her eyes.
"Before you get upset, Mary..."
"Before I get upset, Jonathan?" She sighed wearily. "Too late. I'm already upset. Your son just let my daughter's biggest
secret slip and didn't bother to consult either her or me first." With a smile not unlike his wife's, she added. "Compared
to how she'll react, I'm the picture of calm."
"If we'd known the situation," Martha insisted, sitting down beside her husband and resting her hand in his. "We wouldn't
have let him do this - not without discussing it beforehand. But by the time we found out, it was already done. We've
talked it over with Pete...he understands the severity of the situation"
"He had a firsthand introduction to the worst case scenario." Jonathan reminded. "Thanks to this Dr. Hamilton. One thing
he isn't going to do is take any risks with Clark or Becky's safety."
"From what I know of him, Mr. Ross is a trustworthy young man. Rebecca speaks very highly of him. But how trustworthy he
can be isn't the issue." Mary countered quietly. "When did you find out that Clark had told him the truth?" Both Kents
shifted uncomfortably and Martha dropped her gaze, not wanting to meet her sister's eyes. "I thought so." She noted sadly.
"Why didn't you call me? Were you even going to tell me what had happened? If I hadn't dropped by this afternoon, would I
have even known what had happened?"
"Of course we would have told you." Her brother-in-law answered defensively. "We weren't trying to hide anything from you,
or Rebecca. This just happened so fast it was hard to think about anything beyond the situation itself."
"This whole situation was mishandled from the get go." Martha agreed, reaching out to rest a hand on her sister's.
"Believe me, Mare, this isn't how we would have wanted this to go but...it's happened and now we just have to deal
with it."
"I know." Her sister responded gently. "And we will. I understand but Rebecca won't. And, quite frankly, I can't blame
her. It's been a difficult adjustment for all of us, I know. We hid this from each other for well over a decade and we
can't expect the instinct to deceive to go away overnight. We're used to dealing with these situations quietly, without
talking to anyone else." She sighed. "We have to work harder on changing that perception...Otherwise, situations like
this are going to keep on happening."
"And very well might get worse and more complicated." Martha nodded. "I know." She looked from her husband to her sister.
"I don't think I need to point out the fact our children's safety quite literally does depend on it."
----
From where she stood on the front steps of the house, Rebecca leaned against the railing and laughed as she watched Bruce
get out of the car and look down at the front yard in dismay. "What's the matter Brucie?" She teased, appropriating the
nickname he'd picked up from many a young Gotham socialite. "You look a little uncomfortable."
The young billionaire looked down at his feet and the muddy yard. "These shoes cost a fortune."
"Lucky for you, you can afford it." She tossed out flippantly. "This is farm country, Bruce. It gets muddy. The delicate
footwear should be left in the car."
He chuckled, scraping the shoe in question against the rim of the car, ignoring Alfred's expression of dismay. "Touche."
"Come on in you two, I'm starved and poor Alfred looks like he could use a good cup of tea." Turning, Rebecca lightly
raced up the steps and unlocked the front door. "Mom? We're here?!"
"In the kitchen!" Mary Elizabeth called back.
Sniffing the air, Becky grinned over her shoulder at her companions. "We have good timing - there's fresh pie to be had."
Both men returned the grin, Alfred's quite dignified of course, and followed her through the house. Bruce examining their
surroundings with interest.
"Alfred, Bruce!" Removing her apron, Mary crossed the room to embrace both men. "It's so good to see you both." She
offered a faintly admonishing look. "You don't visit nearly enough."
"Sorry." Bruce apologized with his best charming grin. "Taking over Wayne Enterprises has been a little challenging as of
late."
The tall redhead sighed and shook her head. "So I've heard. Lionel may have lost his sight but he's proving to be a holy
terror for you isn't he?"
"Seems to think that I'm 'a young, inexperienced pup' or something like that." Sitting down, Bruce relaxed. "Lucius and Ron
have been relating some rather funny stories."
Rebecca grinned, helping herself to a soda from the refrigerator. "Lionel's a legend in his own mind."
"I won't argue with that one." He responded, laughing.
Mary Elizabeth cut a slice of the warm pie and set it on a plate, passing it to Alfred. "He's an arrogant man. Intelligent
too. A scary combination."
On the surface, her words were very much exactly what her daughter had expected her to say but still, Rebecca was troubled.
There was something about her mother's manner that bothered her. Putting down her drink, she rested her hands on the
kitchen counter and stared into her mother's face. "What is it?" She asked softly. "Something's wrong...What is it?"
Her mother looked up at her then at their guests. There were no secrets about Rebecca that had been kept from Bruce and
Alfred. In truth, they knew more about her daughter's past than Martha and Jonathan did by sheer virtue of having been
present for all those events in her childhood. She inhaled slowly and lowered her head. "It's about Pete."
"Pete Ross?" The teenager's eyes widened in alarm. "Mom...did something happen? Is he ok? Is he hurt?! What?!"
"He's fine, Becky." Mary assured, cutting off further questions. "He's fine."
"Then what is it?"
"He found the ship...He knows."
Rebecca froze, her face paling. "How?" She asked hoarsely, feeling her knees go weak. "How did he..."
"He found the ship in a field...Clark and your uncle tried to get it away from him but..." Her mother hesitated then
finally blurted out. "It didn't work. Clark told him - everything."
There was a long, protracted silence as everyone tried to deal with the shock of the revelation. Bruce stared intently at
the floor, fighting to keep his temper under control. He'd always been protective of what family he had left. Rebecca and
her mother had filled a large part of that family after his parents..had gone. Discovering the truth about her had only
served to increase that protectiveness a thousandfold and everything in him at that moment was all but screaming for him
to track down Becky's cousin and teach the boy a lesson he wouldn't soon forget. Superpowers be damned, he would find a
way.
Regaining some of her control, Rebecca looked helplessly at him as if he could give her the answer, a way to fix this, to
turn back time and snatch the information from Pete's mind. If he could, if he had the way, he'd spend every penny he had
to see it happen but he couldn't so he settled for standing and hugging her. "It'll be all right."
She pulled away from him abruptly with a muttered, "It will be."
Before anyone could ask what she meant, she raced out of the kitchen at full speed, little more than a blur of color.
Watching the kitchen door swing back into place, Bruce sighed, "I hate when she does that."
"Do you think she's..." Alfred looked to Mary Elizabeth.
"Gone to confront Clark?" She finished wearily. "I'm sure of it."
----
Pete was going in for the perfect layout when there was a whoosh of air and the ball literally disappeared from his hands.
"What the..."
"Hell?" Rebecca's angry voice supplied the oath and he and Clark both turned to see her standing behind them, the ball
resting on the flat of one hand. "Took the words right out of my mouth, Pete." She glared at her cousin. "I think we need
to talk, Clark. In fact, I'm sure of it."
"Beck..." He began only to have the ball connect with his midsection courtesy of his cousin.
"I misphrased myself." She explained unapologetically. "I meant *I* would talk, you would listen and frantically try and
come up with a good justification." She looked at Pete. "I think you might want to give us a moment, Pete."
"No thanks, Beck." He responded evenly. "I think I'd better stick around."
"Fine." She bit out, her anger bubbling to the surface again before rounding on her cousin. "What the hell were you
thinking?!!!!!!! You *told* him!" She pointed back at Pete. "Did you even stop to think for a damn second about me?! About
how it would affect my life? You didn't even stop for a second to give me a heads up? A warning?"
"We didn't have time." Clark argued, his face pained. "I would have called you but there just wasn't any time, I had to
react, I had to find a way to convince Pete, to stop Dr. Hamilton...I didn't have time..."
"No time to pick up the phone and say, 'Becky, get back here? We have a *problem*?!" She glared at him. "Right. I get the
fact it's too sensitive an issue to discuss over the phone but believe me, two little sentences in the *right* tone of
voice would have gotten me back here in an hour or less - depending on what method of travel."
Pacing away from them both, she laughed bitterly. "And you know what the funny part is? I wanted to tell Chloe. I wanted
to finally have a friend - my best friend -who knew, who I could talk to about this stuff. About the stuff I can't tell
you or Mom...and what happens?" She inhaled slowly but it didn't take the edge off the hurt. "I let Uncle Jonathan talk
me out of it. 'It wouldn't be safe. You can't be sure Chloe would protect you...you can't be sure she wouldn't figure out
Clark's secret too...' I let him convince me and what happens?" She looked back at them both with a scathing expression.
"I don't even factor into the decision."
"Becky..." Not knowing what to say, or how to say it, Clark just stood there, with confusion, hurt, and guilt warring for
control of his face. "I..."
She hugged her middle and turned to face them with a brittle smile and eyes that threatened with tears. "And since I don't
factor into your decisions when it comes to our little 'secret', I've made a decision." Nearly spitting the word secret,
she took a moment to compose herself before adding. "As far as I'm concerned, you no longer factor into mine. I will live
my life the way I grew up. With my secrets as my own, sharing them with who I chose and without asking permission of anyone
but myself."
"C'mon, Beck," Pete cajoled, reaching out to touch her shoulder. "It's just me...I mean, I'm ok with it now. It's kinda
cool even."
The redhead mustered up a faint smile for him. "I know you wouldn't do anything to risk our lives, Pete. I *know* that
but...It's not even you I'm upset about...it's...It's how everything was handled. And for that, I can't let go." She
looked over at Clark. "Or trust." She smiled faintly at Pete. "I'm sorry."
A rush of air and the extremely odd feeling of her shirt brushing free from beneath his hand at superspeed was the only
warning he had of Rebecca's departure. When she was gone, he looked into his friend's face.
"I'd say this is bad but...it'd be a major understatement."
"Major." Clark agreed, looking in the direction his cousin had gone. "Mom and Dad're gonna hit the roof."
TBC in the sequel "A Matter of Trust"