GOTHAM CITY

NOVEMBER 18TH 2010 07:47 EST

The Thursday dawned bright and cheery, the golden sunlight streaming through the window of Betty's room. She ignored the beautiful sunlight, instead choosing to roll over in her bed, bringing her soft purple blanket over her head. Aunt Melody had not bothered to even ask Betty if she was attending school today. Today was the day after all.

Today marked exactly one year since her mother died. One year of absence, one year of loneliness, one year of hell. One year she would give anything to have never lived.

Betty snuggled deeper into her pillow, trying to completely bury her head away from the world. It was better here in the pillow, where there was nothing to remind her of the reality she found herself in. In the pillow, she could imagine it was her mother in the other room instead of Aunt Melody, that they had just returned from patrol and she was sleeping off another night of protecting Gotham City.

She could hear Aunt Melody pitter-pattering around the kitchen, haphazardly attempting to make breakfast, but Betty was willing to bet that Aunt Melody wouldn't be around the apartment much longer. When she got upset, she threw herself into her work, and so the anniversary of her sister's death would most likely be spent in the diner, where trivial matters could distract her.

Betty was the exact opposite. Betty just wanted to be alone, left to her thoughts to stew and think things over. Normally some baking would be involved, but today she had an energy balance of zero. There was simply just nothing in her. There was no will to do anything.

Betty rolled over in bed and sighed. Maybe a good spar would do her some good. Aunt Melody was out of the question, she would ask far too many questions about how she was doing. Besides, she was busy. The rest of the Team was at school for the day, and it's not like she could ask them to skip school to spar her. Although she was sure Wally would. Kaldur was the only exception to the school rule, but he was so compassionate and kind, he was bound to ask her questions and check on her.

And she didn't need to be checked on. She wasn't doing fine, no need to be reminded.

So that meant a spar was officially off the table, at least until after school hours. Then Conner would be out of school and ready to spar. Or maybe Dick. It didn't matter who, just as long as it was someone.

Betty's phone buzzed on her bedside table and she reached for it lazily, not really wanting to check it. She opened the text message and squinted in the faint light beneath her blanket.

From: K-Dude

R told me what day it was

I'm sorry about what happened, I know that probably doesn't mean much since I wasn't there or, uh, alive

but like i'm here if you wanna talk or something

or whatever

love you lots

Betty stared at the message for a long moment before smiling. Conner's message was comforting in its own Conner-y way. At a loss for what to say, but still with loyalty and kindness about it that revealed how deeply Conner really cared for the people he loved.

Betty thought briefly about if she wanted to take Conner up on his offer to talk. Conner had become one of her closest friends in the brief time that she had known him, but this was something else entirely. Her mom's death was still a harsh topic, one she didn't want to talk about with anyone. Conner included.

To: K-Dude

Thanks, Supe, but I'm good. Really.:)

Love you too

It was brief, but it would do Hopefully it would help get across that she really was okay, even if she didn't want to talk to anyone about it. Well, okay as she could be. She still could hardly pick her head off the pillow and had no plans to leave her room, even for Honeybee or other missions. Batman could kiss her –

She shook her head and sat up, leaning against the headboard, and began to scroll through her phone. She knew someone who wasn't at school that she wanted to talk to: Jason. Jason was to be enrolled in Gotham Academy once he was officially made into the ward of Bruce Wayne, which was a work process. It was going much quicker due to what Betty guessed where some quickly timed donations to the Department of Human Services (and to Jason's aunt, who was mysteriously quiet about all this), but it still took several days to get to the papers in.

But until then, Jason was being kept at Wayne Manor. Something about safety something or over, as he was now connected to the richest man in Gotham, which Betty could understand if only a little bit. Seemed a little paranoid, but then again, this was Batman they were talking about.

Betty found Jason's new phone number and called it, bringing her phone to her ear. After a few rings, a tired voice answered the phone.

"'Ello?"

"Hey Jason, it's me, Betty," Betty greeted. Jason yawned on the other end of the line. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No," Jason said between yawns, a surefire tell that he was lying. "I've been up for a while."

"Really, Jason, if –"

"Is something wrong?" Jason cut her off. Betty shook her head without thinking.

"No, no, I just – I just wanted to talk to you," Betty answered. Jason was a balm to the scar that was her life. Even just hearing his voice was enough to remind her that the world wasn't all bad. That there were things to have hope about, things to love and protect. And Betty needed that reminder today. "I wanted to know if they were treating you okay, or if I had to come prison break you."

Jason laughed on his end.

"No, I'm okay," Jason said. "I doubt you could get me out though. Their butler, Alfred, is the real shit."

Alfred was Agent A, the Wayne's butler and most trusted confidante. Betty had heard tale of him from Dick, about how he was some kind of badass in sheep's clothing. Apparently, he knew everything that went on in the Manor's occupants' heads. Betty was willing to bet he was making sure Jason didn't take off into the night.

Betty also didn't fail to notice the 'their', as in 'not his'. Jason still didn't see himself as a part of that family. Not that Betty could blame him, it had been days. But It caused Betty to wonder when the rift would appear, the great line that separated her brother into a different family. When his family wasn't her but Dick and Bruce.

Betty shook her head. No. Jason would always be her family. She would not even let herself entertain the possibility of him not being a part of it. Especially not today.

"Language," Betty chastised, if only half-heartedly. She wasn't sure how, but she was sure she could hear Jason pout on his end of the line. Betty chuckled to herself.

"Not even in the same house and you're getting onto me," Jason grumbled. Betty laughed again, this time more loudly.

"That's what big sisters are for," Betty laughed, "to get onto you."

"I think you're making this big sister stuff up as you go along."

"How'd you figure that one out?" Betty said, and this time Jason laughed. Betty grinned at the sound of Jason's laugh. It was great to hear him laughing so much, it meant he was capable of something other than sorrow and despair over his mother's death. It really hadn't been that long ago, just barely under three weeks, and Jason's situation had changed so much in that time that Betty wouldn't have blamed him for being a bundle of emotions.

"Well sucks for you," Jason said, "because that means I get to be little brother annoying, which is a lot worse than regular annoying."

"I'm quaking in my boots," Betty replied.

"You should be my dear Beatrice –"

"My name is Elizabeth –"

"Never mind that," Jason continued without missing a beat, "just know you haven't seen really annoying yet."

Betty laughed, not just under her breath or to herself, but an actual real loud laugh. One she didn't think she would be capable of making today of all days. But it was real, and she had done it because it was Jason, and Jason was capable of getting a lot of things out of Bettys she didn't expect.

After a beat of silence, Jason talked again.

"I'm sorry about Waspia," Jason said after a moment. "They had a memorial on the TV this morning."

The air sucked out of Betty's breath just like that. So that world hadn't forgotten. It was unlikely that Honeybee would be able to go out tonight without being hounded by well-wishers and the media waiting to get to her. It seemed tonight was going to be an involuntary night-off for Betty.

"Thanks, Jason," Betty said quietly. "And I'm okay. Really. How are you holding up?"

This question wasn't about the house or the new living situation. It was about his mom, and Betty knew that Jason understood that. It took one to know one, after all.

"I'm…I'm okay," Jason answered after a long, tedious moment. "I just – I just still can't believe she's gone."

"I know buddy," Betty said. It was a whole year, and sometimes Betty was just suddenly struck with the realization that her mom was really gone. That she was never going to be here anymore, she was never going to hear her laugh again. She was never going to feel her embrace or was never going to feel her presence beside her in battle again. It was terrifying at times, to realize it all over again.

"Does it ever get better?"

Betty hesitated. Did it? Here she was, a year later, unable and unwilling to get out of bed because she felt the soul-crushing reminder her mother was gone. She often still felt lonely because of her mother's absence, and a part of her was jealous of her team because of the fact that so many of them still had their mentors when they woke up.

But she was also able to smile at the memory of her mother again. Able to remember her without dissolving into tears, without breaking apart at the seams. How her mother would sing to her after particularly difficult missions or how she would help her with her math work when it got particularly hard. All of that made was able to be recalled without the worry of breaking down.

The wound of her mother being gone wasn't healed, not by a long shot. She doubts it ever would. But it had scabbed over, made the pain more bearable.

"With time," Betty eventually decided on. "With time."

Jason was silent. Then he hummed and said, "Okay."

Because really, what else was there to say?

Hey mom, dead mom
I need a little help here
I'm probably talking to myself here
But dead mom, I gotta ask
Are you really in the ground?
'Cause I feel you all around me
Are you here, dead mom?
Dead mom

GOTHAM CITY

NOVEMBER 24TH 2010 13:57 EST

The Cookie Cutter Diner was a nice diner, Conner decided. It was only slightly full, the lunch rush having disappeared for the day and only a few stragglers coming in for miscellaneous things like pies and fries. Conner stood in the doorway awkwardly, trying to figure out which of the workers was Betty's aunt so he could ask permission to meet the girl upstairs.

A blonde woman appeared before him, her hair up in a messy bun and a smile plastered across her face, just a bit of weariness in her face. Conner stuck his hands in his pockets and nodded at the woman in acknowledgment.

"Can I help you sir?" the woman asked sweetly, and Conner shuffled his feet.

"I, uh, I'm – I'm looking for Melody Bryons?" Conner said. The woman's smile became much more genuine, and she crinkled her nose excitedly.

"That would be me," the woman said. She stuck out her hand to shake and Conner took it hesitantly. "You must be Conner, Betty's friend. She's told me a lot about you."

Conner's eyes widened in response. "She has?"

For some reason, Conner had always thought she had kept her superhero life and her personal life completely separate. No overlap. She still refused to tell the rest of the Team her identity, and she only gave them inconsequential bits of her life – she babysits, she likes to bake, small things that could never incriminate her. The only thing of consequence was Jason, and she had been hush about him to everyone except him.

She had thought she would be that way with her aunt as well. Only telling her the smallest bits of her life on the Team, funny stories with the names left out, or particularly traumatizing things that just had to be said, most certainly not details about her and Conner's friendship. A part of him felt…. happy that Betty considered him so close to her that she told her family about him. Like he was too important to be left out in the story of her life.

"Of course," Melody answered. "She's told me all about your…. club." She tilted her head towards the kitchen. "She's upstairs, the stairs are just past those doors, on the right." A customer in the back called out to Melody, and she turned back and waved to them to let them know she heard them. "It was nice meeting you, Conner."

"It was nice meeting you too," Conner returned. Melody gave him one final smile and then disappeared to go help the customer. Conner walked towards the kitchen doors and stepped through. There was a short hallway that lead to the kitchen area, which was blasting some kind of pop song and full of laughing workers that were preparing the food. On the side of the hallway was a thing of stairs that lead up to what Conner assumed was the apartment of Betty and Melody.

He made his way up to the top step and then knocked on the door, which was quickly answered after the crashing sound of some kind of metal. And then there stood Betty, with a smile and flour smeared over a blue dress covered in a butterfly pattern.

"Hey, Conner!" Betty greeted, waving him inside. Conner stepped inside and looked around the modest apartment, and found that it was full of the kind of homey things that the Cave just wasn't. Hooks for jackets and shoe racks, pictures on the wall, and mismatched pillows on the couch. It was a nice home if Conner had said so himself.

"Hey Betty," Conner said. Betty shut the door behind her and returned to the kitchen area connected to the living area, where a cookie pan sat half full of dough while a scoop sat haphazardly on the other side.

"I'm so glad you wanted to come over today," Betty said. "I've been over to your house like, hundreds, of times, so it seems only fair you should come over."

"Yeah, I guess," Conner replied. Betty returned to where she was scooping cookies onto the pan and looked up at Conner upon his lackluster reply.

"Something's wrong," Betty decided. Conner shook his head and crossed his arms, walking up to the other side of the kitchen island.

"No, I'm fine," Conner defended, and Betty narrowed her eyes, pointing the scooper at his chest accusingly.

"No, you're not," Betty said. "I can tell with my best friend powers."

Conner scoffed. Best friend powers? What kind of reason was that?

"Also, you're doing that thing where you scrunch your brows up really tight when you're upset."

Okay, so there was that too. Conner leaned against the counter and tried to think of a way to circumvent the conversation. He was in no mood to talk about what was making him upset – he just wanted it to go away, and the best way that was going to happen was not talking about it.

"I'm fine Betts," Conner assured. "Really."

Betty raised a brow at him before turning to put the cookies in the preheated oven. Conner uncrunched his brow to try and make himself appear less frustrated and upset.

"New nicknames aren't going to work on me," Betty said, turning back to face him. "What's going on Conner?"

"Nothing," Conner tried again, but Betty seemed unlikely to let this go. Betty was not the kind to easily let something like this go. She cared about the people she loved very deeply, that much was evident by how quickly she fell apart when something bad happened to Jason. Conner was of a mind to think that she would go to hell and back for him if Jason asked. What else could he imagine that Betty would do for the people she cared for?

"I'm not a mind reader, but I can tell that you're upset Conner," Betty continued. She reached across and put a hand on top of his where it sat on the counter. She squeezed it and smiled at him. "You're always there for me. Let me there for you."

Conner hesitated. Should he tell Betty? This was between him and M'gann, or, it should be if Conner could ever tell her how he felt. But how could he? With how vulnerable M'gann had been, did he really have a right to be upset over something so small in comparison?

Conner sighed and shut his eyes.

"It's M'gann," Conner said eventually. Betty titled her head to the side.

"Is she okay?" Betty asked. Conner nodded his head quickly.

"No, no, she's okay," Conner assured. "It's just – ugh, how do I explain this?"

Conner tried his best to explain the situation to Betty, who hadn't been there on the mission to Bialyia and Qaurac. She hadn't seen the Hello, Megan! videotape hadn't seen all the things that M'gann had based her life on here on Earth. But he tried to explain what it is. That M'gann had based her life around that of a teenager off an old T.V. show, down to the way she looked…. and even the way she suggested his name.

Maybe it was an overreaction to be upset that M'gann had suggested to him the name Conner off of her favorite show, where the boyfriend of her favorite character was named Conner. Bringing fantasy to life, or maybe it was just that she liked the name. But something didn't feel right. A sinking feeling was in his stomach and made him feel slightly sick.

When Conner finished the story, Betty stared at him in wonder, trying to process the story that she just heard.

"Wow," Betty said, "that—that's a lot."

"Yeah." Conner shifted uncomfortably, and Betty bit her lip unsurely.

"And-and she got your name from the show?" Betty asked. "As in, Megan's boyfriend's name is now M'gann's boyfriend's name?"

Conner nodded and swallowed thickly. So, it wasn't just him that found this to be a little strange. Okay, so, more than a little strange. A lot strange.

"I guess," Conner said. Betty put her hands akimbo and stared at Conner for a long moment, and then cleared her throat.

"So, what are you gonna do about it?" Betty wondered to him. "Are you wanting to change your name?"

Did he want to change his name? No, no, he didn't he decided quickly. No matter how he got it, it was still his name, something no one could take away. The first thing he had that separated him from just being a clone of Superman, made him a person and not just a clone. He was Conner now, and nothing and no one could convince him otherwise.

"No," Conner decided. "I-I'm Conner. That's my name." Betty nodded in understanding.

"Okay," Betty said. "You're Conner." She cocked her head to the side and crossed her arms. "But you're still upset."

"Yeah."

If he wasn't going to change his name, did he really have a reason to be though? He had no plans to break up with M'gann or change his name, so what business did he have being upset with her over this? He wasn't going to change it, so why was he mad?

"Or at least, I think I am," Conner corrected. Betty narrowed her eyes at him.

"Do you mean you think you are?" Betty prodded. There was no judgement in her voice, however. Just a want to understand and know how he was feeling.

"It's just—it's complicated," Conner explained. "I-I love her, but a part of me is so angry with her for making me a part of her fantasy. For giving me this name without telling me what it means to her, for-for using me like this."

Using him. That was what this felt like. His name was a way for her to use him to fulfill a fantasy. But with how lonely her childhood was, could he blame her for it?

"You're allowed to love her and be upset with her," Betty said softly. She walked around the island and put a hand on his shoulder, smiling up at him sweetly. "Those aren't mutually exclusive concepts. But if you're upset with her, you should tell her, otherwise, this resentment is just going to grow."

"No!" Conner reacted quickly, head shooting up. "I can't tell her!"

Betty blinked in surprise.

"Why not?"

"Be-because," Conner sighed, "she's been so vulnerable with me. She revealed to us how lonely she was, how her appearance she shifts because she doesn't feel at home in her skin, how she based herself on Megan because she felt alone. Ho-how can I still be upset with her after that?"

Betty pursed her lips and stared up at him, and he could see her measuring her words in her eyes. Trying to figure out what to say.

"I'm so sorry that M'gann feels that way," Betty said slowly. "But that doesn't mean you can't be upset with her about this."

"I-I just can't tell her," Conner said, shutting his eyes. Betty was silent and then sighed, dropping her hand from his shoulder.

"As your best friend, I think you're making a mistake," Betty posited. "But also, as your best friend, I can't make you tell her." Conner opened her eyes and looked down at her, who was still staring up at him with a smile. "But I will be here to listen if you need it."

"Thank you," Conner said. Betty nodded and kept her gaze on him for another moment, and then shook her head, turning away from him and going back to the oven, where the cookies were almost about to go off.

"Now come on," Betty said, "help me frost these sugar cookies, it'll make you feel better."

And it did. If only for a few minutes.

You're my home
My destination
And I'm your clone
Your strange creation
You held my hand
And life came easy
Now jokes don't land
And no one sees me
Nothing seems to fit
Mamma, is this it?
Are you receiving?
I want something to believe in or I'm done

GOTHAM CITY

NOVEMBER 25TH 2010 18:45 EST

Thanksgiving was a quiet affair at the Bryons household. Last year it has only been a few days after Mom's funeral, so Betty and Aunt Melody had resigned themselves to not celebrating. They had simply ordered pizza and then watched an old Peanuts box set of DVDs they found in the back of the closest. This year, however, seemed to be the marking of a new tradition, as it was their Thanksgiving plans once again.

Betty bit into the cheesy crust just as Peppermint Patty arrived at Charlie Brown's house, Aunt Melody sitting beside her on the couch. The Cookie Cutter diner was closed for the day due to the holiday, so they had the whole day together. It had been rather enjoyable; they had played board games and watched the parade together on morning television. It felt…normal, in a way.

"All I'm saying is, this could have been avoided if Charlie Brown had better communication skills," Aunt Melody insisted, taking a bite of her own pizza. Betty rolled her eyes and put her plate back down in her lap.

"You're criticizing a ten-year-old's communications skills?" Betty said.

"I'm just saying," Aunt Melody continued, and Betty laughed. Betty leaned back against the back of the couch and shut her eyes, just taking at the moment. No major villains to fight, no missions to go on, just her and Aunt Melody relaxing and enjoying each other's company. All in all, it was not a bad way to spend the day.

"You going out as Honeybee tonight?" Aunt Melody asked. Betty nodded as she took another bite of cheese pizza.

"Yeah," Betty answered. She already took Halloween off, and Lord knew that Gotham crime did not wait for the holiday weekend to be over. And Batman had already told her and Robin that he was going to be off-world for the next few days for some kind of League scouting mission, which meant that protecting Gotham was going to have to be up to them. And with Black Friday madness coming up, tonight was going to be a big night for robberies and all other kinds of petty crimes.

"Going solo or with Robin and Batman?" Aunt Melody said, teetering on the edge of conversational. Betty frozen, feeling the tension in her words.

"Is this about me being alone again?" Betty wondered, looking at her aunt with narrowed eyes. "Because I'm not having this fight with you again."

It had been two months since their last fight about Honeybee and Betty's future, and it had ignored in the light of all that happened with Jason. It just didn't take precedent when one of their own was struggling. Was now that Jason was taken care of Aunt Melody was going to try and restart this argument?

"I'm not going to fight with you," Aunt Melody said simply. "I have…I have a proposition."

"A proposition?" Betty repeated and Aunt Melody nodded. Betty furrowed her brow curiously. What kind of proposition could she possibly have?

Aunt Melody hesitated for a moment, biting her lip and putting her paper plate onto the coffee table. Betty tilted her head to the side in confusion and blinked at her aunt, trying to will her to say something.

"I've been thinking, with the recent anniversary of her death and everything….maybe, maybe it's time for someone else to take on Waspia," Aunt Melody drawled softly. Betty blinked again in surprise and blanched.

"Take on Waspia?" Betty asked. "As in…. become her?"

Betty had never imagined anyone else becoming Waspia after her mother's death, not even her. Her mother had created a legacy so powerful that she didn't want anything or anyone to possibly mess with that. Betty didn't want to be Waspia, she didn't want to take on that legacy so directly. But for someone else to be Waspia….it didn't sit right with her.

"Yes," Aunt Melody answered.

Betty put her plate on the table and crossed her arms, trying to scrunch in on herself and make herself disappear completely.

"Who?" Betty asked. "Who would be Waspia?"

Aunt Melody hesitated and then spoke in the quietest voice she could manage.

"Me."

Betty's brain must have malfunctioned. Because for some reason, she thought that Aunt Melody wanted to be Waspia. That she wanted to replace Betty's mother as one of the protectors of Gotham. And that couldn't be right.

Because Aunt Melody wasn't Waspia and had never expressed interest before in being a hero herself. This wasn't a decision that one made on the fly, this must have been something Aunt Melody had been thinking of for a while and just never told Betty. How could she try and be her? No one could be her.

"Why? Why would- why would you want to be Waspia?"

Betty had to know. Betty had to know why Aunt Melody thought she could take on the legacy of Waspia.

"Because you're a kid, Betty," Aunt Melody whispered, "and I can't let you do this alone anymore."

"I can do this alone," Betty returned, "I have been for a while."

Aunt Melody looked at Betty sadly, in a way that told Betty this was about so much more, things that Aunt Melody wouldn't say. Things that Betty could not understand. And Betty wanted to understand them if only Aunt Melody would give her the chance.

"She was my sister, Betty," Aunt Melody murmured. "I can't let her legacy die."

"Honeybee keeps her name alive," Betty insisted. Aunt Melody smiled weakly and caressed Betty's cheek.

"That's not what I meant."

Her legacy. Meaning Betty. Aunt Melody wanted to protect Betty, to keep her safe on the streets of Gotham when Betty was doing her best to protect everyone else.

"Be Waspia," Betty quietly agreed to her, "but please do it for the right reasons. To protect Gotham."

Aunt Melody reluctantly nodded her head and then bit her lip again, rubbing it between her teeth and she retracted her hand from Betty.

"I wanted to be a hero," Aunt Melody said. "Before. Back when your mother was alive. That's why I never bothered you about being Honeybee. But I never did it because I was afraid, but now-now I realize what I have to protect. My niece. My home. My life. Please, Betty. I don't want to do this without your blessing."

Betty hesitated. How could she really be sure of any of this? That Aunt Melody was doing this to protect all of Gotham and not just her?

Betty guessed she could never really be sure. All she had to go on was faith. And Betty supposed she should have some for once.

"Okay."

Mama, won't you send a sign?
I'm running out of hope and time
A plague of mice, a lightning strike
Or drop a nuclear bomb

Chapter Bible Verse:

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me." – John 14:1

So…I didn't send Betty on this mission because not every Team member went on every mission in the show, so it didn't feel right to send her on every one of them. I want Betty to be an organic part of this universe, so I don't want to force her on every mission and in every episode.

Also, can we please have Conner's emotional issues addressed in universe? Other than an eye-widening his reaction to being named after M'gann's favorite show is never addressed when they really needed to be. This was really the moment that I stopped shipping Supermatrtian, as it just felt really manipulative on M'gann's part.

Review Replies:

MsRosePetal: Well, they already knew her identity, but I agree that it is a great step for her trusting them with Jason. And Betty is finally starting to heal, we got a hiccup in this chapter as healing isn't always linear, but she's also getting better it makes me excited to see as a writer. Season 2 is going to be so much fun because she'll be in a better place and be able to express herself more openly. And it didn't feel right to have her be upset, because she keeps her identity such a secret she couldn't really blame Dick for hiding his. And thanks for leaving a review, have a blessed day!

Questions, comments, or concerns? Let me know!

-PrincessChess