HAPPY HARBOR
AUGUST 8TH 22:13 EST
Everything went to hell in a handbasket pretty quickly. Honeybee's memories of events immedailty after Robin and Superboy left were hazy at best, she got distracted by Kid Flash racing off to check out a shadow when someone got the drop on her and she was passed out. The next thing she remembered was Miss Martian standing over her, brows pinched in concern.
"Honeybee, are you okay?" she asked. Honeybee groaned and rubbed at the pounding from where her head and the blunt object met. She blinked wildly and could just make out the form of Kid Flash behind the Martian girl, soaking wet and water dripping off of him in quick, quiet droplets.
"Yeah, I think so," Honeybee said. Her vision returned to normal and she looked up at Miss Martian, the other girl holding out a hand to help up Honeybee. Honeybee took it and stood. "What happened?"
"The Shadows found us," Miss Martian said seriously. "Dr. Roquette is under attack, Aqualad and Artemis have engaged the assassin. Come on, they need our help."
Honeybee nodded and took off after Miss Martian, Kid Flash on her heels. He was forced to run at normal speed as they followed the floating form of Miss Martian since he had no way of knowing which direction to go. Honeybee drew a stinger out of her utility belt as they rounded a corner in preparation for when they arrived.
Miss Martian lead them to a computer lab, and she pushed open the doors telepathically, causing the doors to slam into the stone walls of the school. Honeybee looked in and saw chaos unleashed. Dr. Roquette was cowered in a corner, watching the fight in the center of the room. The fight in question was between Artemis who was knocking arrows as quick as she could shoot them, and a girl just the slightest bit taller than her with dark black hair and a mask resembling a smiling cat.
The masked eyes of the assassin landed on the three new players, and she tilted her head to the side just the slightest inch.
"Maybe a little too interesting," she said. She transitioned her sword to one hand and released a smoke bomb, clouding the room in musky smoke. Honeybee coughed and Kid Flash took off into the smoke in a vain attempt to reach her before she left but was unsuccessful. As the smoke cleared, he found himself knocked into Artemis, who he recoiled back from like she was venom.
"Gone," he said, eyeing the spot where their enemy once stood. Honeybee returned her stinger to her utility belt for the moment. Miss Martian walked forward towards where Aqualad was returning to stand.
"She's getting away! You're letting her getaway!" Dr. Roquette said, voice a mix between a whine and a tone of fear. Kid Flash rounds back on Artemis.
"This is your fault! You were on the perimeter! How'd that Shadow get in?!" Kid Flash demanded. Artemis narrowed her eyes, frighteningly bold.
"That's not fair," Miss Martian said, coming to the blonde's defense. "I was on the perimeter too."
Kid Flash waved her off.
"Outside being distracted by her!" Normal flirtation returned to his form. "Besides, I can never be mad at you! You gave me mouth-to-mouth."
Miss Martian's eyes widened, most likely in shock at his brazenness, and Honeybee rubbed her temple. The class from Kid Flash tonight was truly astounding.
"We heard that!" Artemis snapped, and Kid Flash's face turned to horror. Honeybee would have laughed if they weren't on a mission.
"Once again, real classy KF," Honeybee said, sharing an annoyed look with Aqualad. She walked over to where Miss Martian, Artemis, and Kid Flash stood, and Kid Flash turned on his heel to walk away.
"Dang it!" he said. Miss Martian put a gentle hand on Artemis's shoulder and smiled.
"I didn't do half as well in my first battle," Miss Martian said comfortingly. "And I know you can't have been Green Arrow's sidekick for very long." Honeybee put her hands akimbo and followed Miss Martian's lead.
"Remind me to tell you the story of mine and Robin's first team-up sometime," Honeybee said. "We nearly got ourselves blown up. Twice."
Artemis looked a bit intrigued at that last part but didn't say anything.'
"Focus everyone," Aqualad counseled. "The Shadows will be back."
"Robin to Aqualad," Robin cut in from the comns. "We're over Philadelphia. We've located the Fog's next target: STAR Labs." A beat of silence, and then the defeated voice of Robin returned. "We're too late. It's destroyed. Totally destroyed."
"They decimated it," Superboy continued, voice filled with fearful awe.
"This is bad," Robin said. "STAR Labs is cutting-edge science, and now their secrets are in the hands of the enemy." Another beat of silence passed, as everyone took in this news. "What's our next move?"
Aqualad turned to where Dr. Roquette stood, watching all of them with scrutinizing looks.
"Rescan for the Fog. Find it," Aqualad ordered. "We're moving the Doctor."
Honeybee nodded and began looking for something to use to help cover the doctor's identity. In the corner, Honeybee found an old jacket that must have been left from the previous school year. It was a soft pink, but it had a hood, which was at least something. She held it out to the doctor, who looked at it in disgust.
"I am not wearing that," Dr. Roquette said. Honeybee narrowed her eyes as Aqualad began organizing how they were going to go about this.
"You wanna die?" Honeybee said back, and Dr. Roquette paled. She took the jacket and zipped it up, popping the hood so that you could barely see her face.
"Where are we headed?" Artemis asked, the arrow still strung just in case.
"Local library, backroom," Aqualad said. "Red Arrow sent it to me as a possible back-up location. We'll set up a decoy – Miss Martian will pretend to be me, and you all will go there. Meanwhile, I and the real Dr. Roquette will be at a different location."
Aqualad trailed behind them when they set off, acting as their flank in case of trouble. Kid Flash sped ahead to make sure that everything was safe, while the trio of girls created a barrier shield around the doctor, weapons and telepathy poised at the ready should danger present itself. They managed to make it to the library with little incident, keeping to the back alleys and shadowy areas full of trees to keep from being spotted.
Dr. Roquette and Aqualad set off again to where ever it was they were headed (they didn't tell them, in fear of there being another telepath at play), and the others got into position. Miss Martian shifted into Aqualad and settled into the bushes with Honeybee, while Kid Flash and Artemis guarded a non-existent Dr. Roquette in the library.
"Stop it, both of you!" 'Aqualad' said suddenly, and Honeybee blinked.
"What?" Artemis and Kid Flash chorused.
"I can hear you glaring," 'Aqualad' said, and Honeybee had to put extra effort into not laughing. How can you hear someone glaring? "Miss Martian, stay in camouflage mode and make a wide perimeter sweep."
No sooner had 'Miss Martian' disappeared than 'Aqualad' and Honeybee was met with a flurry of activity. Red vines shot out and grabbed Aqualad, dragging him up into the tree. A hook swiped at Honeybee's foot, sending her to the ground.
Honeybee flipped onto her back and saw Hook – an aptly named assassin with a hook for a hand – sanding over her. She growled and kicked her foot forward, hitting him square in the shin. He recoiled back slightly, enough to get Honeybee back to standing height in the opening.
She attempted to roundhouse kick his face, but he grabbed her leg and swung her around so she hit the side of a parked blue van. She groaned and fell to the ground, creating a large thud. Honeybee tried to stand, but before she could, she felt pressure on the back of her head.
Then everything went black.
Showed you all of my hiding spots
I was dancing when the music stopped
And in the disbelief, I can't face reinvention
I haven't met the new me yet
MOUNT JUSTICE
AUGUST 9TH 2010 13:37 EST
"I'm telling you SB," Honeybee said on the other end of the phone line. "It's embarrassing!"
Superboy rolled his eyes and looked through the shelves of the Cave library. The League had finally gotten him set up with the needed materials to prepare for school, including the list of books he had to choose from to read. He had already finished the math packet in days (advanced intelligence, after all), and now it was time to start doing the reading.
"It's not the end of the world, B," Superboy commented. He pulled off a copy of The Scarlet Letter off the shelf and weighed it against reading Their Eyes Were Watching God. Neither was too long, maybe he could just read both.
"I was knocked out. TWICE! On our first mission with Artemis too! I'm sure she thinks I'm a total wimp!"
Superboy scoffed.
Honeybee had managed to come to in enough time to help the others during the final confrontation with Hook and Black Spider, but beyond that Superboy did not know the specifics of what happened. He had been with Robin after all. And there was no way anyone thought Honeybee was a wimp – she was one of the original sidekicks, and had been at this for literal years.
"Artemis does not think you're a wimp," Superboy said.
"You don't know that!"
"Well, you don't know she does either!"
Honeybee hummed on the other end of the line, considering his words.
"You're like, what, three months old?" Honeybee said. "How do you have so much common sense?"
Superboy laughed under his breath and turned on his heel to find the second book. Might as well read them both, he had the time. It's not like he had a job outside of covert vigilante activities.
"It just seems like that because you have no common sense," Superboy said. Honeybee sighed and Superboy heard a whooshing sound and a soft plop. Honeybee had most likely just thrown herself on a couch or a bed.
"How dare you have common sense?" Honeybee said. "I can not have people in my life with common sense, makes me look bad."
Superboy balanced the phone between his ear and shoulder blade while he reached for the other book.
"You don't need me to make you look bad," Superboy said. Honeybee made a mock offended noise, and Superboy heard her flip so she was sitting up.
"Did you just make a burn?" Honeybee said. "I am impressed, my dear Superboy."
Superboy laughed and made his way back to the lounge to read. He would never admit it to M'gann, but it was nice to do things in the open where she was around. It was rough doing stuff by himself all the time. When he tried toughing it up the first few days here (before he forgave M'gann), it had felt like a boring endeavor in isolation. Even if he didn't talk to her, her being there was a soothing balm on that loneliness.
"Wait, hold on, I'm getting another call." Honeybee made a sharp intake of breath. "Look, I gotta take this, I'll see you later." Honeybee did not wait for goodbye, and the next thing Superboy heard was the clicking of the phone call ending.
Superboy rolled his eyes and slipped his phone back into his pocket. He entered the lounge area to find M'gann sprawled out on one of the couches, paper, markers, and glitter littered around her. He sat down on the opposite couch, opening his book to read.
"Hey, Superboy!" M'gann said. Superboy's eyes looked up from beneath the lids of his eyes.
"Hey M'gann," Superboy said and returned to his book.
"Are you reading? That's fun!" M'gann said. "I'm making binder covers for school! Do you want me to make some for you?"
Superboy thought of walking into school with a glitter-covered notebook and decided that he did not want one.
"I'm good," Superboy said. He returned to his book, and M'gann hummed thoughtfully. A beat passed, and Superboy remembered. "Thank you."
"Uh?" M'gann said, purple glitter pen in one hand and surprise on her face.
"Thank you," Superboy said, "for the offering. It was…nice."
M'gann smiled sweetly, and it caused a funny feeling in Superboy's stomach.
"You're welcome," she said. She returned to her project, and Superboy hesitated to let the funny feeling in his stomach go away. What the heck was that about anyway?
There'll be happiness after you
But there was happiness because of you
Both of these things can be true
There is happiness
GOTHAM CITY
AUGUST 9TH 2010 13:42 EST
"Catherine?" Betty asked desperately into the phone. Catherine had finally called after what felt like an eternity. Betty stood amongst the boxes in her room, having shot straight up like a shot once she saw the caller ID. She felt kinda bad for hanging up on Superboy, but…. this was Jason. A chance to talk to Jason.
"No, it's me, Betty," a voice said, and it was Jason. Jason was on the phone.
"Jason!" Betty said. "Oh goodness gracious, it's you. How are you? Where are you? Wha—"
"Can I come stay with you?" Jason asked. Betty blinked.
"What?"
"Can I come stay with you?" Jason repeated. Betty sat back down on her bed and breathed in a deep breath.
"Wh-why do you want to come stay with me?" Betty said. Jason moved on the other end of the phone, and she heard the sound of a door closing somewhere near him.
"I don't like it here," Jason said. "Mom's never here, and her friend is a total shitbag. I wanna stay with you."
Betty sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
"Jason…I'm moving," Betty said. "I'm not sure you staying here would be good, it's a total mess around here. Besides, won't your mom miss you?"
"She's never here Betty. I doubt she'll notice."
Betty's heart screamed to say yes, but she knew she couldn't. Not yet. With all the packing, they just didn't have space or the means. It was one thing to have a neighbor stay, but Jason could be halfway across the city. She couldn't keep Jason here, with them, not without their mom knowing.
"Look, Jason –"
"Do you not want me to stay with you?" Jason said. The defeat in his voice made her want to cry.
"No! Of course, I want you to," Betty rushed to say. "I would love to have you here, but….I can't not right now."
Jason humphed on the other end, and Betty's eyes collected with salty tears. She wished the world was simple enough that Jason could just come to stay with her forever. But her life…. her life was crazy. Having him stay with her for that long could put him in danger, a danger he didn't earn or deserve. And they just couldn't, not with their stuff spread across the apartment and beginning to be packed away in boxes.
"Aunt Melody got a new job," Betty said. "And we're moving. Once we move in, I promise you can come stay with us for a few days."
Silence, and then a sigh.
"Are you shitting me right now?"
"Language."
"You promise? You really promise?" Jason said. Betty nodded vigorously even though he couldn't see.
"Yes, yes, I promise," Betty said.
"Good. Because it sucks here." Betty hiccupped with a salty laugh at the blunt way Jason spoke. "Mom's friend – he's awful. He yells a lot, and all he does is watch TV and get onto me. He doesn't have a job or anything."
Betty shot up like a shot, her back pin straight.
"He-he doesn't hit you, does he?"
If he did, that changed everything.
"No," Jason said, and Betty heaved a sigh of relief. "But he's still a dirtbag. Mom's never here either. She says she's working, but I've only seen her once this week."
Betty sighed. Jason's life sounded like it sucked right now, and here Betty was with things finally starting to pick up. Her aunt had a new job and a new apartment, she was apart of a team, she even had a new close friend in Superboy. How was she to fix this for him? There had to be a way for her to fix this.
"I'm so sorry Jason," Betty said. "I wish I could—I'm sorry."
"Not your fault," Jason said.
"Do you know your new address, maybe I could come visit?" Betty asked. Jason made an unintelligible sound on the other end of the phone, and the door she heard earlier now slammed.
"Who are you on the phone with sweetie?" A female voice – Catherine. It seemed Catherine was finally back, and Betty could tell she was none too pleased with something.
"Betty," Jason said, then he stepped away from the phone, and Betty could not make out what the two were saying. Betty's stomach twisted and turned, and she tried to will Jason back to the phone. But it didn't happen, and the next thing Betty knew she was hearing Catherine.
"Hey Betty," the woman said. "Look, Jason is fine. He just misses you."
He didn't sound fine. The words were on the tip of Betty's tongue, burning the buds like acid as it threatened to spill out into the air.
"I'll call you later with our address, so you can come to visit."
"Wait, let me talk to –"
"Bye Betty."
And the line went dead. Betty stared at the phone with wide, surprised eyes for a long moment; as if looking at it would cause it to ring, bringing back Jason or even Catherine.
Betty's stomach twisted restlessly. Something was wrong with her friend. Something very wrong, and she couldn't do anything to fix it. Betty still didn't even know where they lived. Betty eyed the Honeybee costume currently in a crumbled pile by the closet. Maybe Honeybee could make a quick patrol? See if they could find Jason? No, what good would that do? It was probable she wouldn't find them; she didn't even know where to look.
One day. Catherine got one more day to give her the address, and then Honeybee got involved. Betty put down her phone and growled, still half-prepared to put on her suit and fly away into the Gotham skyline. At least she could help someone. On her next patrol, her eyes would be peeled for Jason, but would not look until tomorrow.
Betty rubbed the back of her neck, where a ball of stress had collected. There was a good League crisis when she needed it? She could do with some punching right about now.
Betty stepped into the living room. Aunt Melody was labeling the few DVDs and VHS tapes they had, humming along to the headphones in her ears. Betty coughed to get her attention, and the blonde perked up with a smile. She pulled out an earbud.
"Hey Betty, wh—"
"Have you packed the mat yet?" Betty asked. They owned a mat, which Betty had taken with her after her mom died. Aunt Melody had been sparring with Betty on and off for the past few months to keep Betty in shape. Mom had made sure Aunt Melody could fight when Waspia first started, just in case the secret got out and Aunt Melody needed to protect herself. Aunt Melody was nowhere near the prowess of some of the villains that Betty faced on the daily, but it kept her in fighting shape.
Aunt Melody's eyes widened.
"No, but – is now really a good time? You just had a mission yesterday, I'm sure your body could use the rest."
Betty frowned and crossed her arms.
"What I need is to fight something. Seeing as I can't punch Jason's mom, I would like to spar." Betty narrowed her eyes. "I'll go to the Cave to do it if I have to."
Aunt Melody sighed and stood up. She placed a gentle hand on Betty's shoulder and frowned.
"Betty, wouldn't you rather talk ab—"
"No, I wouldn't." Betty broke out of her aunt's grasp and turned back to get her phone from her room. "I'll call SB. He's almost always up for a spar."
Aunt Melody grabbed Betty's arm before she could leave, and Betty turned back to face her, staring at her icily. Betty did not want to talk about it. Talking about it was not going to fix it. Why did everyone always want to talk? What good did talking do?
"No, no," Aunt Melody said. She shook her head with a sigh. "Look, let me finish packing up this stuff. Go set up the roof, I'll be there in a minute."
Their apartment was far too small to spar in, so they used the roof. Betty hoped that they passed off as just two people looking for self-defense practice. No one's mind would jump to vigilante training, right?
"Thank you," Betty said. Betty went to the hall closet and pulled out the folded mat from where it leaned against the wall. Betty carried up to the roof and slammed the door to the roof perhaps harder than she should have. She laid out the mat and began to stretch, grateful she had opted for athletic shorts when she got dressed instead of her usual dress or jeans.
She moved into a split and leaned her forehead so that it touched her knee, pushing herself down as close to the ground as possible. Her head pounded with thoughts as Jason she did so. Why was it so difficult to get the address out of Catherine? Why wouldn't she just tell her, so she could see her friend? Jason was only ten for goodness' sake, he didn't need people that just walked out of his life and never came back. No matter what, Betty was no going to let herself disappear out of his life.
"That's a pretty good split," a voice said, and Betty's heart stopped. Betty looked up to see Robin at the edge of the roof, perched on the edge like he just landed and staring at her. Betty's whole body felt on fire. Why was Robin here? How? Had he figured her out? Was it a coincidence? What was he even doing out in the day anyway?
Betty heaved an internal sigh and dropped out of the split, her legs sickling into bent shapes.
"Oh, uh, thanks," Betty said. "I guess."
"You on some kind of dance team or something?" Robin asked curiously, and Betty's brow cocked of its own accord.
"No, I'm not," Betty said. "And no offense, but why do you care?"
"You tell me. Honeybee."
Betty's heart stopped and she recoiled back. He knew. He knew. He knew. Ho-how did he know? Why –
Shit.
Betty rose to stand shakily, and Robin finally got done from his perch, hands akimbo as he stared at her with piqued interest.
"How do you know that?" Betty asked. Her brow furrowed and she took another step back from her friend. "Were yo-have you been following me?"
Robin shook his head and reached out a hand to her, but Betty did not take it, only giving him a stare of complete ice.
"No," Robin said. "I-"He sighed. "It was an accident. I just-just kind of saw you. At that diner? What was it –"
"Cookie Cutter Diner," Betty supplied without thinking. Robin nodded.
"Yeah, that's it," Robin said. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "After the last mission, I got curious. I looked up some information about Cookie Cutter, looked into the employees. Your aunt's name pinged since she's your legal guardian. It was pretty easy to figure it out from there."
Betty shook her head. She couldn't believe she was having this conversation. Betty never wanted anyone to know her identity. Not even Robin. What was next? Did Jason secretly know? Oh crap, what if Catherine knew and that's why she wasn't telling Betty where they were?
"When did you see me?" Betty asked.
"The 4th."
"The 4th?" That was almost a week ago. They had a mission at that time. They went to the beach in that time. Robin had sat next to her like nothing was different like he didn't know this intimate piece of her without her consent. "Wh-why didn't you-you tell me sooner?"
"All I knew was your first name, until this morning," Robin said. "After the last mission, I knew I couldn't keep lying to you about this. So I did some research, figured I would find you. Tell you the truth."
Betty held her hands to her chest and closed her eyes. He hadn't meant to find out. He just did, and then he looked her up. Why couldn't he just have left it in her name? Let the rest of her be a mystery? Robin was a curious boy, she knew that, but why couldn't he have let her have this?
"Why seek me out?" Betty said. "Why not leave it at my name? Di-did you have to know everything?"
Could that have not been her secret to tell? How much did he know? Did he learn about Ivo too?
Robin shook his head.
"I don't know everything. Just your name, and that you live here, in the Narrows, with your aunt," Robin said. "And that Waspia was your mom. Nothing else. Whatever else I know, it's because you tell me."
Robin said it like that wasn't a lot of information. Like that wasn't her whole life story, played before him like a movie. How was she to know he didn't know more and just wasn't telling her? How could she trust he was telling her the truth?
"I'm sorry about your mom, by the way," Robin said solemnly. "I always knew you and Waspia were close, but I never – I didn't know –" He sighed. "I'm sorry."
And he really did look sorry, Betty would give him that. His brow was furrowed and lips downturned sympathetically, empathy pouring off of him in thick waves. He had lost someone too, a parent probably, Betty could tell.
"Why are you telling me this?" Betty asked slowly. "Really, why?"
Robin hugged himself unsurely.
"I-you're one of my best friends," Robin said. "I couldn't – I don't know. You deserved better than me lying to your face."
At least that made him better than Batman. He had lied to her and Waspia, withheld information. At least Robin had come clean that he knew her secrets, unlike Batman who hid one that killed Waspia.
"I know you're probably upset with me," Robin said. "I would be too. But I'm – I'm here because I have an offer."
"An offer?"
"I know your identity," Robin said slowly, looking like he was unsure of what he was saying. "It's fair that you want to know mine. So, do you want to know?"
Betty's eyes widened. Batman and Robin's identities were the most heavily guarded in the superhero community. They were normal humans like her, it made them more vincible and vulnerable than most. Their identities being out would cause a downfall if people knew where to target them in civilian life. Not even fellow heroes were allowed to know. The League knew them, but that was it. No one else.
Did she want to know? A petty piece of hers wanted to. She wanted him to be as vulnerable as her, to have someone else know what and who they were. The kind of life they lived. The truth of who was behind that mask.
But it didn't feel right. Robin was backed into a corner, offering it up as an olive branch for the anger Betty felt at him for knowing. Not because he necessarily trusted her. This was the rash decision of a thirteen-year-old. Not a vigilante who had thought this through.
"No," Betty said. "I don't." She shook her head. "It isn't fair of me to make you reveal yours to me. No matter the reason." She hugged her arms around herself. "Look, I kinda still want to punch you right now." Robin and she both laughed weakly. "So, I would appreciate it if you –"
"Go? Consider me already gone."
Robin jumped down into the alley below, and Betty turned to go back inside, suddenly not feeling like she wanted to spar.
Tell me, when did your winning smile
Begin to look like a smirk?
When did all our lessons start to look like weapons
Pointed at my deepest hurt?
Notes:
How about that, huh? I didn't expect the part with Superboy, so that's why it might seem a little out of place, but I wanted to establish a little more about him because he's going to be very important, especially once we get into the bottom half of season 1.
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MsRosePetal: I'm glad you liked it! It makes me so glad to hear people are enjoying what I put out, especially when the chapters themselves took a lot of effort to right to try and get right. I hope you enjoyed this one too! Have a blessed day!
Any questions, comments, or concerns? Let me know! Have a blessed day!
-PrincessChess