Hiram Lodge stared at the computer screen before him, eyes flickering across the screen, absorbing the words he was reading with such intensity, Jughead Jones was surprised the older man wasn't cross-eyed at this point. Jughead, to be honest, wasn't quite sure what the older man was looking at – what he was reading – but he knew he had been summoned for a reason. As had Sweet Pea, Joaquin, Archie, Veronica, and Cheryl. In the back of his mind, a voice piped up almost unbiddenly. You know exactly why you're here, Jughead. Question is, what are you going to do about it?

Eventually, a pleased smile formed itself on Hiram's lips. "Found you, dear."

Jughead saw Veronica shift out of his peripheral; saw the way she uncrossed and recrossed her ankles before speaking. "Who, dad?"

Sweet Pea tutted, voice void of emotion. "Come on, Ronnie, don't play dumb. We all know why we're here. Betty, correct?" This part of the tallers' question was directed to Hiram himself who was studying Sweet Pea with a curious look on his face before he eventually replied.

"Whatever the hell any of you think you know about what's going on and why she left, let me make it abundantly clear that you do not. Not one of you," he said, turning to look at Jughead as the last sentence was added as an afterthought.

"What's there to know, Hiram?" Jughead laughed bitterly. "Betty ditched in the night without a goodbye and echoing silence ever since. As far as I'm concerned, she doesn't exist to any of us."

"You know, Jughead," Hiram began as he stood up out of his chair and faced him. "You have been a pain in my ass since the day I met you. Still are. But, Betty was happy with you – somehow – and that was good enough for me. What I won't tolerate, however, is you talking about things you know nothing about. I understand that you all tried to find her, I do. None of you knew where to look, though. Didn't know the people I did." He paused her, tapping his knuckles on the desk before continuing. "And, they found her. And, they found the woman who's been helping her."

"Is she in trouble?" This was Archie, always worried about those he cared about.

"And then some, yes," Hiram replied. "The woman who's been helping her – the one I've been waiting to find – is named Antoinette Topaz. Currently living in London. With Betty as her roommate."

Jughead felt as if he had the air knocked out of him. He exchanged a look with Sweet Pea, registering the look of confusion on his face before the other man spoke up. "The hell is she doing in a different country? Scratch that, what the hell is going on, Hiram?"

Jughead watched Hiram intensely; watched the way the man's eyes narrowed in contemplation and Jughead knew he was deciding how much to divulge. He spoke up quickly. "Everything you know would be vital information to share with us or I won't go on whatever trip you want me to take, Hiram." On the outside, Jughead was calm and collected; ever the leader of the Serpents he had always been. On the inside, however, was a vastly different story. The one woman he loved more than himself was gone. Had disappeared two years ago without so much as a goodbye and no one had heard from her since.

Alice and Hal Cooper had died shortly after Betty was a born, a drunk driver taking her parents away from her at much too young of an age. She had, thankfully, been entrusted into the care of Hiram Lodge should anything ever happen to Alice and Hal and Hiram took her in, raising her as if she was another daughter to him.

"Jughead and all of you, really, you need to listen and listen well," Hiram began. "Betty Cooper is tough as nails. I mean, she ran the gauntlet over doing a strip-tease to join the Serpents. Something all the men is this room were adamantly against. She was equally adamant about not showing off her body to a bunch of men. So, take a minute to think about what may have happened that would have caused her to run if she had stuck around after running through a gauntlet and living to tell the tale."

Jughead, despite his best wishes, felt his stomach muscles clench as a slow sense of fear crept in. "What do you know, Hiram?" His voice was cracked and he swallowed to force himself to remain collected. He glanced up at Sweet Pea, Joaquin, and Archie, all who had looks of apprehension on their faces as well.

Hiram sighed. "I wasn't a hundred percent sure about what had happened – I just had a feeling something did. I had Andre pull some of my best men to start digging into the night before she left two years ago and what had happened. I am still not sure of all of what happened, just that something did. Something enough to scare her and cause her to flee the country. I found her in England last week and, before bringing everyone in this room into this plan, I wanted to make sure I knew I had my facts straight. I found out she's living with that woman – Antoinette – and they've been roommates the past year and a half."

"You research Antoinette?" Cheryl asked, eyes steadfast on Hiram. Betty was her cousin and greatest ally in her coming out. This was personal to her as much as it was to the rest of them.

"I did, Cheryl, naturally," Hiram nodded. "The woman didn't have a good upbringing. Was raised in a gang much like a lot of you in this room. The difference, however, was she had to watch her father be shot execution style from a rival gang that wanted to send a message. She's been on her own since. Then, found Betty somehow. And, the answer to that question is what I'm hoping to pertain when I go to London on the next flight."

"When we go, Hiram," Sweet Pea corrected him, and Hiram nodded once.

"That's what I was hoping for. Wheels up in half an hour. Pack the essentials and meet me on the rooftop," he said, dismissing the meeting of sorts, and leaving Jughead and the rest to hurry and pack.

XXX

London, England: Betty and Toni's apartment.

"Betty, I swear to God, if you do not get your ass out here right this minute, I'll kick it!" Toni Topaz screamed, and Betty laughed before grabbing her cane and maneuvering her way into their kitchen where she spotted Toni swatting at their smoke detector with a broom. "Ah, shit!" Toni's voice was nothing more than a screech and Betty rolled her eyes, limping towards her friend and nudging her out of the way before throwing the pot of congealed noodles into the sink and dousing them in water. Then, she turned and dismantled their smoke detector.

"Hell you doing, Toni?" Betty asked.

"I was trying to cook as it's my night for dinner," Toni sighed, glaring at the pot in the sink, before looking at Betty with a sheepish expression. "Take-out?"

"I'll get the menus," Betty agreed with a smirk, before going and ordering from their favorite place down the street. As she did so, she caught sight of the scar that ran along her face, going from her ear down the side of her cheek and ending at her chin. A soft sigh fell from her lips as memories of her time stateside came to her mind, unbidden and sure as shit unwanted. She managed to push the thoughts away as Toni came up to her and hugged her.

"Just a scar," she reminded her, and Betty nodded, knowing her friend was right.

"Food will be here in twenty at most," she said. "You can pay since it is your night for dinner."

Toni hummed her agreement and walked back to their kitchen, pulling down a bottle of wine and pouring both of them a glass right as there was a knock on the door. Betty frowned, glancing at her watch as she made her way toward the door, knowing it wasn't the delivery man yet. Opening the door, she found herself facing people she thought she'd never see again. She could see all of them staring at her, eyes trailing over her scar on her face, down to her cane.

"Betty, what the hell?" Jughead Jones gasped and she sighed, before calling over her shoulder.

"Toni? Get the whiskey. We're going to need the hard stuff tonight."