GOTHAM CITY
OCTOBER 8TH 2010 14: 14 EST
"Huh!"
Betty swung her leg in a kick at Aunt Melody's face which she dodged just barely. Aunt Melody sent a punch flying at Betty, which Betty dodged by flipped backwards on the mat, landing on her feet just barely at the edge. The heels of her feet tittered on the edge and touched the cold of the wood floor.
Jason watched from the edge of the couch; his brows furrowed as he sat with his legs crossed. Their new apartment had much more room that let them spar inside, and the mat had been laid out in the space between their couch and their old TV. The old-busted mat had pieces of plastic sticking up out of it and the blue color had dark swatches from where the feet would hit it.
Betty crouched down to avoid a punch sent her way and she blocked the second hit that went flying once she popped back up to full height. Aunt Melody in turn blocked the punch that Betty sent and stepped back to steady herself, and Betty pretended to send a punch that Aunt Melody blocked. Using the moment as a distraction, Betty grabbed the arm her aunt used to block and pulled her aunt forward. She landed a swift kick to her aunt's stomach, which made her let out a huff of air and she fell back onto the mat.
"That was totally not fair," Aunt Melody said from her spot on the ground.
"It was cool though," Jason offered from his place on the couch. Betty smiled and put her hands on her hips, Aunt Melody already getting to her feet.
"Fights aren't fair," Betty said cheekily. Betty wiped at the sweat on the back of her neck and checked the time on the clock on the far wall. They had been at this for at least an hour and a half, and Betty was ready for a break. She had some homework she needed to finish, and Black Canary had scheduled training sessions at the Cave over the next two days. It seemed like a good stopping point. Besides, the diner was in full swing downstairs, and Aunt Melody had been gone her whole lunch break.
"Do you gotta head back downstairs soon?" Betty asked. Aunt Melody nodded and took a large sip of water from her bottle.
"Yeah," she said. Jason stood from his spot on the couch and came to stand on the edge of the matt.
"Does that make it my turn?" Jason wondered, and Betty grit her teeth. Jason was desperate to get a turn to spar with her, had been ever since he found out her secret. Betty at first had thought it was just genuine kid curiosity, but with his such intense pushing, she could tell he wanted to know for other reasons. To follow her lead as a hero or something else, she wasn't sure. Whatever it was, it put a sickly feeling in her to train Jason outside of a few self-defense moves. She had shortened her own childhood by going out on the streets. She wanted to salvage what was left of his by not letting him follow her.
"Not today Jason," Betty answered. Jason's face fell into a stubborn pout and he crossed his arms in frustration.
"When?" Jason said.
"When you're older," Betty said. Aunt Melody looked between the two of them, took another sip of her water, and then stepped forward.
"He needs to know how to defend himself," Aunt Melody cut in. Betty turned to her, scandalized, and put her arms akimbo. Aunt Melody shrugged. "I'm just saying."
"Miss Melody is right," Jason said. "As long as I'm here, you might as well teach me."
Betty shook her head. They had a point, and Betty did plan on teaching Jason some moves. Once he'd been here awhile longer and proven he was not about to run off again. But Jason was clearly asking her to learn how to start fights. How to go toe-to-toe with people bigger than you and still win, or at least survive. And Jason was not ready for that.
"I'm gonna teach you how to defend yourself," Betty conceded. "But not right now. And nothing more than that."
Jason crossed his arms and plopped back down on the couch.
"That's a bunch of bullshit," Jason mumbled. Betty sighed and set down to next to him. Aunt Melody gave them a careful onceover and then gave Betty a reassuring nod and left the room to go back downstairs, certain that Betty could figure this out on her own.
"Jason, I started learning how to fight when I was younger than you," Betty started. Before Honeybee, and even before Betty figured out who her mom was at age eight, Mom had been insistent on teaching her. And not just self-defense either, actual knock-down, drag-out fighting. It was one of the few things she wished her mom had never done, that she had waited until she was older and understood more of what fighting really was to become a skilled combatant. Betty liked being Honeybee, but she often wondered if she would have been so determined to end her childhood so soon if she hadn't known all those skills. "And it made me more frightened of what was around every street corner, if someone was going to attack me. You're only ten, Jason. I want you to be a kid just a little longer."
Jason turned to look at her, fiery frustration and annoyance littered across his youthful features.
"I'm not a little kid," Jason insisted. "And I remember Honeybee started years ago, back when you were my age."
"And honestly, Jason, I should have waited," Betty said. Seeing how young Jason was had made her realize months ago how foolish she was to be a hero at age 11. She had been just barely out of elementary school and putting on a spandex suit every night to stop crime. She had been dragged across the globe to save the world, come toe-to-toe with the League of Shadows once or twice, and all of that before age 14. She didn't even have a drivers license yet. Legally, she couldn't hold a job. When her mom tried to stop her, she should have let her. "I wasn't ready. I'll help you learn how to defend yourself, but nothing more."
"But I want to help," Jason pleaded. "Let me help you."
"You… you want to be a hero?" Betty said, flabbergasted. Jason nodded and Betty's heart broke. She had feared this. After finding out her secret, Jason would want to become like her, take on an identity and fight crime. Betty shook her head and put a hand on his shoulder. "Jason, I –"
"There are lots of kid heroes!" Jason cut her off. "You and Robin and Kid Flash and Aqualad! And Speedy, too!"
Red Arrow, Betty corrected mentally.
"But they're not ten years old," Betty argued. "You are."
"But you need someone to watch your back," Jason countered. "You're all alone. You need help."
An image of the Team conjured her mind, and she had to bite her tongue to keep from saying she wasn't alone. Jason may know about Honeybee, but she knew if he had the ammo of their being a team of teen vigilantes, he would never let it go. It would become another point he could use as to why he should be able to join her.
"I have Robin," Betty eventually settled on. "He's always there when I need him."
Jason was not going to let this point go, Betty could see that now. Even if she managed to drop the conversation, he would just bring it up again and again, eventually trying to annoy his way into heroics. And Betty knew firsthand that worked, that's how she finally got her mother to agree all those years ago.
"But he's Batman's partner," Jason pointed out. "Not yours. You need someone for when shit hits the fan."
"Language," Betty reflexively chastised. "Jason, I'm doing fine by myself. I don't want to bring you into this world."
"What if I want to be brought into it?" Jason said. Betty sighed and ran a hand through her short curls.
"I'm not going to be the one to do it," Betty said. Jason's face changed from annoyance to hurt, his lips parting in a small 'o' and his eyes widening. "I want better for you, Jason. I want you to hold on to what innocence you have left."
"My dad's in jail, my mom doesn't love me, and I am forced to live with my friends," Jason seethed. "I don't have any innocence left."
Oh, but you do, Betty wanted to say. Betty thought she had none left when she first put on the costume. She had just found out her dad was a supervillain genius and had chosen robots over her. She had lived in the Narrows and thought she had seen all the worst humanity had to offer on the streets of Gotham. It wasn't the same as Jason's traumas, but it was hers and it made her feel like she was prepared. But it was a whole other thing to know there is evil in the world and being the one to face it up close and personal. To be the one people count on to stop it. It takes away the very last of your childhood to do so.
"This isn't a never Jason," Betty said. "Just not right now."
"But I'm ready now."
"No, you're not," Betty said. "No one is ever ready." She put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll teach you how to defend yourself, I promise. But I'm not letting you be like me. Not yet." There was a finality to her tone that said that this conversation was over, and she hoped Jason picked up on it.
Jason stood angrily and faced her head on, blue eyes cutting her with a stern look.
"Why did you even tell me then?" Jason demanded. "Why did you tell me this big secret? If you're not going to let me help you."
"I told you because you're like my family Jason," Betty said calmly. "And I didn't want to keep this secret from you anymore. You deserved to know."
Truthfully, in the moment Betty was not sure what possessed her in that moment to tell him the truth. It had seemed so right, to finally let this secret out, to pull her into her life so he wouldn't feel like a burden anymore. That she loved and trusted him enough to tell him the thing that could ruin her if anyone find out, and that him being here was not the job he thought it was.
Jason opened his mouth to say something, shut it, and then opened it again before he decided against speaking. Betty wanted him to say something, to keep talking so he could see just how dangerous this was. That being out on the streets as a hero was not something you could just decide to go do, that ten years old was far too young.
But he didn't speak, instead, all he did was turn on his heel and leave the room.
Friends break up, friends get married
Strangers get born, strangers get buried
Trends change, rumors fly through new skies
But I'm right where you left me
Matches burn after the other
Pages turn and stick to each other
Wages earned and lessons learned
But I, I'm right where you left me
MOUNT JUSTICE
OCTOBER 10TH 2010 16: 54 EST
Honeybee landed on her back, the Cave's training floor having no mercy on her muscles and bones. She knew she would have a bruise there coming morning. Conner stood over her on the training circle, other pairs going at sparring matches. Save Wally, that is, who had broken his arm in the fight with the Injustice League, so he currently lounged in a beach chair as he watched all of them lazily as Captain Marvel waited on him eagerly.
Honeybee had to say she was a little jealous of Wally right now. She would much rather be watching than having her can kicked in a sparring match with Conner. Normally Honeybee was able to find an equal footing with the clone due to cleverness and experience, but today it seemed Conner had the upper hand.
Conner outreached a hand to her, brow cocked curiously as Honeybee took the offered hand.
"You okay?" Conner asked. "You seem off your game today."
So, it seemed Conner had noticed she wasn't with it. She looked around at the others who were still sparing under the watchful eye of Black Canary and she sighed, crossing her arms.
"Personal stuff," Betty said quietly. "I'll tell you later."
Jason had not let the whole hero business go. Every chance he could get he was leveraging a comment or barter to get himself trained. And Betty was just as adamantly not letting it happen, and the best two days had been a raging battle of silence and cut words. Aunt Melody had decidedly stayed out of it, but Betty kept thinking back to her fight with Aunt Melody weeks ago about needing help. Aunt Melody could not really be on Jason's side, could she?
Conner seemed nullified by this answer and nodded.
"Good work everyone," Black Canary spoke up. Honeybee turned to see the older blonde walking towards the Team, who had all stopped sparring at her voice. Black Canary smiled warmly. "In fact, it's been a very productive week."
Artemis scoffed and cut a glance at Wally.
"Yeah, for everyone except Kid Malingerer," Artemis said. Wally made an offended noise and waved around his broken arm for good measure.
"Hey, arm broken in combat with the Injustice League here!"
Black Canary laughed at the exchange. Honeybee smiled. She liked having Black Canary here, though she was hard on them in combat training she was compassionate and warm in other areas. She gave them freedom to be kids and banter, play pranks and laugh. In many ways she was acting something like a big sister to the Team. The kind that let you do fun stuff behind your parents back.
"I've, uh, really enjoyed being your den mother this week," Black Canary admitted.
"Recognized: Zatara, 11."
A bright light came from the Zeta tubes, and left standing was the magician. He stepped forward wordlessly, cane tucked under his arm, and pulled up the holocomputer next to the Zeta ports.
"Access Granted. Zatanna Zatara, A03. Authorization: Zatara, 11."
The ports lit up again, and now standing was a girl. She was petite, her dark hair long and loose around her shoulders. She seemed to be wearing some kind of school uniform, a white button up shirt with a navy sweater and dark knee-length skirt. She smiled shyly at them all, hugging one arm close to herself.
"Zatanna, this is the Team," Zatara said. "Team, this is my daughter Zatanna."
M'gann smiled widely and levitated over to the girl, landing in front of her, the girl a little surprised by the easy show of the Martian's powers.
"Hi!" M'gann greeted. "I'm –"
"Robin!" Robin cut off, jumping in front of M'gann. Robin coughed to clear his throat and Honeybee couldn't help but find his enthusiasm cute. It reminded her a little of a small puppy excited to meet someone new, which was not usually how Robin greeted new people. Honeybee could tell Robin thought Zatanna was cute. "I mean, I'm Robin. This is M'gann, uh, and that's Wally, Artemis, Kaldur, Conner, and Honeybee."
Kaldur grinned politely at Zatanna.
"Welcome to the Cave," Kadlur said.
"Uh…thanks?" Zatanna looked at her dad unsurely and then turned back to the Team.
"Are you, uh, joining the Team?" Robin managed to get out between stammers.
"Eh, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Zatara answered for her. He put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "This is strictly a visit. Though I am sorry we missed the training." He turned to Black Canary. "It's something from which Zatanna could benefit."
"Do the rest of you guys get the impression we're still on probation with Zatara?" M'gann spoke into the mindlink. Honeybee tilted her head and looked at the man, and she had to admit that she had a point. Zatara kept an aloof distance from them, not quite trusting them but not distrusting them either.
"Not just Zatara," Conner thought. "I mean, why is Marvel still hanging around?"
Wally popped rim-rod straight and crossed his arms.
"Hey, we like having him around."
Artemis rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips.
"No, you like having him around because he waits on you hand and foot," Artemis corrected.
"And your point is?"
"It almost makes one nostalgic for Red Tornado's tenure as our supervisor," Kaldur said.
"Yeah, at least he trusted us," Robin jutted in. Honeybee crossed her arms.
"As much as a robot can trust, that is," Honeybee said. Conner's pupil dilated with anger and sprung his arms open expressively.
"If you ignore the fact that we shouldn't have trusted him!" Conner nearly growled in their heads. "He nearly got M' – all of us killed!"
"Are you guys having a psychic conversation?" Honeybee turned abruptly with the Team to see Zatanna looking at them expectantly, one hand on her hip as she combed them over. "Because I can't decide if that's cool or really rude."
There was a moment of thick silence that a knife could cut, and then Conner finally broke it, turning to Zatara and Black Canary.
"Alright, fine." Conner crossed his arms in frustration. "We were talking about Tornado. It's been weeks since his attack and the League has told us nothing."
Black Canary and Zatara shared a meaningful look, and then the woman stepped forward.
"Batman has made finding Red Tornado and the other androids that invaded the Cave the League's top priority, along with their creator T.O. Morrow," Black Canary said sternly.
"But you've found none of the above," Robin objected.
"Not yet, but Tornado is Justice League. The Team is not to pursue this."
"With all due respect," Honeybee said, "it was us he tried to kill."
Black Canary frowned, but did not say anything, and Zatara shook his disapprovingly.
"Why don't you all take Zatanna on a…." Zatara looked around, realizing his daughter was gone from where she had been standing next to him, "….tour of the Cave?"
Wolf made a sniffling noise, and they looked to see Zatanna petting the sleeping animal. She was leaned against his white fur, almost like she was disappearing into the animal like a bed.
"You're giving a tour of the Cave? Cool!" Captain Marvel appeared from where he had disappeared into the kitchen, a plate of nachos in his hands.
"Uh, actually I was hoping you'd take Wolf outside," Conner said, stepping up the hero. "He could use the exercise. Uh, we'll join you in a few."
It was easy to read the lie in Conner's words. Honeybee knew for a fact Conner had taken Wolf on a walk around the mountain only an hour and a half ago, which was why the dog was so tired.
"Sure, sure," Captain Marvel said, excited. "I-I can do that!" Captain Marvel disappeared once again down the hallway to the Cave's exit. The man still had the plate of nachos as he left, and Wally's face fell almost comically.
"Wha-wha, my nachos!" Wally said. Conner sighed and grabbed the speedster, and Honeybee followed the rest of the Team as they lead Zatanna to where the kitchen area was. Honeybee walked alongside Conner and M'gann, and she was surprised when suddenly she looked up to see Zatanna standing in their midst in a new outfit, switching her school outfit for gray sweatpants and a purple tank top.
"When did you….how did you….?" Robin asked from his spot next to Zatanna. Zatanna didn't answer instead looking around the longue area they found themselves in.
"We're not really taking a tour, are we?" Zatanna asked, a little bit annoyed.
"No," Conner answered. "We're hunting down that robot."
The Team looked to Kaldur for approval, and he nodded.
"Yes, we are," Kaldur said. Honeybee smiled appreciatively. She had so much going on in her personal life with Jason, it would be nice to put something in her hero life to rest. Red Tornado had been on the fringes of her life for weeks, and she was ready to finally get a bit of closure on the robots that nearly killed her almost a month ago.
"Oooh," Zatanna said. "Out loud and everything."
"What about new girl?" Artemis asked aloud, and Honeybee gave Zatanna a quick glance-over. Zatanna did not seem like the kind to tattle on them, but you never knew.
"I'm sure she won't tell!" Robin was quick to defend. Zatanna stepped in front of Robin, her smile thick and coy, hands on her hips.
"I can't tell," Zatanna pointed out. "Not if you kidnap me."
Artemis smirked. "Oh, she's gonna fit in great."
Zatanna beamed at them, her earlier annoyance with them disappearing.
"So, how exactly am I being kidnapped?" Zatanna snarked. M'gann grinned and took Zatanna by the hand, levitating as she led the young girl to the hangar where the Bioship was waiting. Honeybee followed after them, walking alongside Conner and behind Kaldur.
"Meet Bioship!" M'gann said. The parked mode of Bioship rose to hover just a few feet above the ground, and Zatanna looked at it with all the curiosity they had had when they first saw it all those months ago. Zatanna looked between them all, obviously confused, and Honeybee crossed her arms behind her back.
"Oh, uh…nice," Zatanna drawled after a long moment. M'gann put her hands behind her back and grinned.
"She's at rest," M'gann said. "Watch." The parked sphere spread out to it's full form, appearing as the red spaceship it was, lowering it's ramp for them to be able to enter.
"Nice," Zatanna repeated, more sincere. She walked forward and the others followed after her, filing into the ship. They took their seats, an extra one conjured up for Zatanna to sit in. M'gann started the ship forward and through the hangar doors. She camouflaged the ship so that Captain Marvel would not see them, and Honeybee looked out the window to see the captain and Wolf, Marvel throwing something that Wolf promptly ignored. Honeybee scoffed.
"M'gann," Black Canary's voice ran through the Bioships's comn, "the Bioship wasn't authorized for departure."
"We're kidnapping Zatanna!" M'gann said perkily. The whole Team and Zatanna turned to her, various states of shock and annoyance spread through the ship. "To, uh, show her Happy Harbor! Be back soon!"
"Uh….," Black Canary hesitated for a long moment, but then relented. "Roger that. Have fun."
"Smooth M'gann," Honeybee joked, and M'gann rolled her eyes. At least her friendships here on the Team were running smoothly and not riddled with an on-going fight.
"Where are we going?" Robin turned to face the others, face pulled downward in a frown. "Batman is the world's greatest detective, and he searched for Morrow and the Reds in every logical place. If we're gonna do better, we need an illogical solution. A- a truly dumb idea."
Maybe it was involuntary, and it made Honeybee feel just a little bit guilty, but she turned to where Kid Flash was sitting, who was confused by the sudden influx of attention. It seemed the rest of the Team had had the same thought. He then put on some faux-confidence and smiled.
"As a matter of fact," Kid Flash said, "I happen to have a pretty brilliant idea myself."
"Care to share with the rest of the class?" Artemis prodded. Kid Flash leaned onto his non-broken arm, looking enthusiastic at the thought of being the one to come up with the plan.
"You know the old saying, keep your friends close and enemies closer?" Kid Flash asked. "We need to go to Morrow's enemies."
"Aren't we his enemies?" Conner countered. Kid Flash nodded and snapped his finger in the clone's direction.
"Right you are Supey my old boy," Kid Flash said. "But! What's Morrow's biggest competition in the take-over-the-world robot game?"
"I don't know, who?" Conner asked after a beat of silence. Kid Flash smiled wickedly and crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair.
"Professor Ivo," Kid Flash replied. Honeybee's stomach turned and she shot up from her seat. No, no, no, no, there was no way they were running to her dad for help. Everyone looked at her in confusion, and she felt their eyes boring into her.
"We can't go to Ivo," Honeybee said sternly. "We don't even know where he is anyway!"
"Actually," M'gann cut in with a drawl, "me and Conner saw him when we were undercover at Belle Reve. The Justice League must have picked him up at some point."
Honeybee's chest tightened.
"Look," Kid Flash explained, "Ivo is Morrow's biggest competitor. He's likely to keep taps on the guy and might know where Morrow is."
Honeybee supposed that the idea made some measure of sense, but she still did not like it. Ivo could never be trusted. He was selfish and cruel, he liked to play mind games and was more liable to send them on a wild goose chase than he was to tell them where Morrow was. Ivo was not a reliable source of information no matter how you cut it.
"The man is insane," Honeybee said loudly. "He can't be trusted!"
Artemis swiveled her chair so that she was facing Honeybee dead on, clearing her throat to get Honeybee's attention.
"Honeybee, as much as I hate to admit it," Artemis reluctantly started, "Kid Flash is right. Ivo is our best lead right now."
Honeybee's fists clenched at her sides. The last thing Honeybee wanted to do was coming crawling to her dad, ask for him to help them. She already knew he wouldn't, not without something in return, and Honeybee knew the Team was much smarter than that. Trusting Ivo was not a good idea.
"Honeybee." Kaldur's voice cut through her thoughts, and she looked up to see the Atlantean looking at her with a sympathetic but stern expression. "The idea of trusting someone like Professor Ivo is troubling to me as well, but I fear we have no other leads as to where Morrow might be."
No, it was not as troubling for Aqualad as it was for Honeybee. Aqualad did not know what it was like to have your father be an enemy, to not be able to trust them and meet them in a prison cell. For Honeybee, this was a sick family reunion, not just a piece of a mission or a lead to be followed.
Honeybee closed her eyes tight, racking her brain for something else they could do. But there was no other idea that came to her. Batman had already tracked down every possible other lead, leaving them this illogical clue as their last resort. There was simply nothing else to be done and in her head she knew that, but her heart was not ready to see Ivo again, so soon after fighting him and his robot Amazzo.
Eventually, she sighed and sat back down slowly, ignoring the way everyone still kept their eyes on her.
"I guess we're going to Belle Reve then."
Right where you left me
You left me no, you left me no
You left me no choice but to stay here forever
You left me, you left me no, oh, you left me no
You left me no choice but to stay here forever
Chapter Bible Verse:
"But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds." - Isaiah 53:5
Review Replies:
MsRosePetal: Her identity will come out in time, but it's just not the right time for the whole Team to know quite yet. Honeybee is a person who struggles with very close connection, so I felt her sharing her identity would be the ultimate form of her saying 'I love and trust you'. And Honeybee deep inside knows they were trying to help her, but she was just so focused she couldn't see it in the moment. I included that scene has an example of how far she's willing to go for Jason so when she revealed her identity it felt natural. Jason is with Betty for the time being, but with the friction we'll see how long that lasts! Thank you so much for leaving a review! Have a blessed day!
Questions, comments, or concerns? Let me know! Have a blessed day!
-PrincessChess