BELLE REVE
OCTOBER 10TH 2010 18:12 EST
Betty did not hate her dad. Betty had long since stopped considering him family, wished some other man was her father. But for all that pain and anger from when he abandoned her, there were lingering memories of the times he had put bows in her hair and took her to the fair. There was no love to be lost, but she could not bring herself to completely hate him. Even if she thought he was an untrustworthy, evil, worthless, excuse for human life, she would never be able to be completely consumed by hate for him.
Nerves swam in her stomach like fishes chasing each other in circles. She walked down the brightly lit hallway, her arms crossed, and lips pressed into a thin line. Betty kept close to the back of the assembled Team, hoping that if she hid herself amongst them then maybe Ivo would not get a good look at her. Betty doubted that Ivo had made a connection between Honeybee and Betty being related, or else he would have said something during the fight at Gotham Academy, but she still did not want to risk being singled out by him.
Warden Strange led them to the room that Ivo had been relegated to, two guards stood waiting with hands knitted behind their back and guns at their side. Miss Martian and Superboy had been able to pull a quick string, having been responsible for stopping a prison break-out on their solo mission the month before. As such, the two flanked Aqualad. The others were following in a loosely assembled group, the only one walking farther back than Betty being the costume less Zatanna, still dressed in her purple tank top and gray sweats.
Strange nodded at the two guards, and one reached forward to open the door.
"Ivo will be cuffed, and his feet chained to the ground," Strange informed them. "When you're finished, just press the button by the door, and the guards will let you out."
Aqualad nodded. "Thank you, Warden, for allowing us this opportunity to speak with Professor Ivo."
Strange smiled, well, strangely at Superboy and Miss Martian.
"Anything for the heroes who stopped a mass breakout," Strange said. The guard opened the door, and Betty shuffled in behind the others. Betty instinctively positioned herself behind Superboy, making her harder to see behind her more-brawny friend. She peeked a look over his shoulder and frowned as he got a good look of her father outside of battle for the first time in years.
Her father had always been older, Ivo had been significantly more aged than her mom when they were together and had been in his late forties by time Betty had been born. But now, he seemed…. more worn, like the old man he was. His reddish-brown hair was littered with salty gray and his face sagged with wrinkles. His eyes were set in his face and though he was mostly sitting up straight, his shoulders were starting to droop in on themselves.
The door shut behind them with a metallic thud and Betty shook her head, trying to channel her inner Honeybee. This was a mission. Not a social call, she had bigger fish to fry that facing her father.
Ivo gave them a bored smile.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Ivo drawled. "I assume you're not here for a social call."
"Strange owes us for stopping the prison break a while ago," Miss Martian said, crossing her arms and eyes stern. "So, he's given us five minutes with you."
"Spill, Ivo!" Superboy cut in. "How do we find T.O. Morrow and his Reds?"
Ivo's smile turned from bored to wicked, and he leaned back in his chair.
"Now why in the world would I know how to find Morrow?" Ivo prattled. Betty narrowed her eyes beneath her mask, her eyebrows furrowing together. Ivo scanned them all with an inquisitive look, and his eyes met her mask. Ivo's lips curled into a smirk, and Betty felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.
"Well, and here's a truly dumb idea," Kid Flash bit out, "Morrow is your biggest rival in the evil android game. No way you would just let him wonder around without a way to find him."
"Ah," Ivo said calmly. "I see your point. So, let me rephrase: Why in the world would I tell you where Morrow is?"
"Because you're in a sharing mood for once?" Betty said. Ivo's gaze returned to Betty, and Betty's blood rushed through her system in warm waves. Ivo still had that wicked look on his face, and his eyes were alit with hidden knowledge. Betty shivered and turned away from him.
"He knows," Aqualad said before Ivo could answer Betty. He turned to Miss Martian with a nod. "Do what you must."
Miss Martian stepped forward, her eyes glowing green as she attempted to enter Ivo's mind. It would be of no use – Ivo had paranoia to spare, he had most likely long since trained himself to be resistant to telepathic attacks. If Betty were a supervillain, that would be the first thing on her list to figure out how to do.
"Nice try," Ivo taunted. "Do you really think you're the first telepath I've dealt with? My brain has been trained to be resistant to telepathic attacks."
Miss Martian's eyes stopped glowing and she frowned. It was not often her telepathic abilities were rendered moot. Betty wondered where Ivo had picked up this skill, there was no way it was jest because of sheer force of will.
Betty growled under her breath and stepped forward and out from behind Superboy. Ivo eyed her with that same annoyingly evil smirk of his, and Betty frowned at him.
"Come on Ivo, is it so hard to be helpful once in your life?" Betty questioned. "Or are you just genetically deposed to be a hinderance?"
Ivo feigned offense, bringing one of his cuffed hands to his heart in a show of dramaticism.
"You wound me, Honeybee," Ivo breathed. Hearing him say her hero alias caused goosebumps to rise on her arms. "Is that anyway to talk to someone you want information from?"
Betty grit her teeth and clutched her forearms from where she had crossed them.
Zatanna appeared at Ivo's side, clutching the chair and table as she leaned closer to Ivo.
"Turlb tuo S'worrom eurt noitacol!" Zatanna commanded. Ivo's posture sat up, rim-rod straight, his eyes open wide and glossed over.
"Morrow's in a secret underground base beneath Yellowstone National Park, one hundred meters south of Old Faithful," Ivo intoned, voice near expressionless. Ivo blinked, confused, and looked between all of them. "Wait. What just happened?"
Betty looked over at Zatanna, and smile curling at the edge of her lips. Betty went ahead and made the decision she liked Zatanna. She had only known her a few hours and Zatanna had already shown herself to be mischievous and resourceful, the kind of person that was always fun to have around.
Betty put her hands on her hips and smiled to herself. At last, this visit to see her father could be over.
"Thank you for your help, Professor," Aqualad said. If you didn't know Aqualad, you would not have caught the sarcasm that was present in the underlining of his voice. Betty however did know Aqualad and could make out the playful undertone that was hidden behind his usual polite professionalism.
The other began to file out of the room once they hit the button to leave, but Betty hesitated, looking over her father one final time. She felt like she should say something, that there were words that needed to be spoken, but she was also aware of where she was and who she was with. What she was wearing and who she was. These words were one that she needed to say as Betty, not Honeybee.
So, Betty turned away from her father, and Honeybee walked out of the door.
But that was when I got to know Mr. "Change of heart"
Mr. "Leaves me all alone," I fall apart
It takes everything in me just to get up each day
But it's wonderful to see that you're okay
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
OCTOBER 10TH 19:45 EST
"Block out all external communications," Aqualad ordered. "Soon, Canary and Zatara – Batman too – I imagine, will know of our visit with Professor Ivo. We haven't much time."
Honeybee reached and turned off her comns connected to the Cave and by extension the League. Honeybee looked up to see Miss Martian with her eyes shut, focusing on turning off any of the direct communications Bioship had as well.
"Look, I'm trying to be non-chalant here." Robin's voice caught Honeybee's attention, and she turned her gaze to where Robin was looking over at Zatanna.
"Why?" Zatanna smirked, gaze littered with mischief. "Be as chalant as you like."
Robin smiled, looking at Zatanna with a look akin to that of a puppy-dog smile. It seemed that Robin had finally found someone who shared his penchant for editing words.
"I think we're all just trying to get a handle on your powers," Artemis cut in before Robin could say anything else. "Could you teleport us to Tornado, or Morrow to a cell, or force his bots to surrender?
"Or create peace on Earth for all time?" Zatanna laughs. "Zatara couldn't even do all of that and I'm nowhere near my dad's level. I need to know a spell cold or else have time to prep it. Plus, all magic requires energy which usually has to come from within. I just can't make the impossible happen at will."
Superboy scoffed, looking over to Aqualad and Miss Martian.
"What's our ETA on Yellowstone?" Superboy interrupted. He was angry as ever, arms crossed, and nose scrunched. "I'm way past ready to stuff Tornado into a trash compactor."
Honeybee had to agree with her enraged friend. The Reds had nearly killed her and every one of her teammates. Their seemed to have been no logic to their actions, they just decided to arrive, and Red Tornado joined them at the drop of a hat. Honeybee wanted to be a bigger person and not want revenge for them hurting her and her friends, but being a bigger person was harder than Honeybee would like to admit.
"Are you so certain he betrayed us?" Aqualad pondered aloud. Superboy raised a brow.
"Aren't you?"
"I am not convinced," Aqualad answered honestly. "And even so, that makes him but the victim of his creator's programming. Certainly, he deserves a chance to prove he's more than the weapon others designed him to be."
Superboy was shocked into silence, and he turned away in a huff. Honeybee supposed she could give Aqualad a but of leeway in his thinking, but Honeybee was not so much convinced. If Tornado was a victim, then he deserved a chance of redemption. But if not, Honeybee was not above crack a robot's head in.
"What happened with Red Tornado anyway?" Zatanna asked. Robin jumped to answer.
"Tornado, turns out, has siblings," Robin said. "They attacked the Cave a while back, but after we subdued them, Tornado arrived and turned on us. Nearly got us all killed."
"Whoa." Zatanna blinked. "Intense."
"We're approaching Yellowstone now," Miss Martian said. Honeybee looked out of the window to see the scenery of Yellowstone – the forest and fields. Honeybee had to admit it was quite pretty, beautiful even. She could only imagine what it must be like during the sunlight hours. Honeybee wished she could come back when they weren't on a mission.
Miss Martian landed the ship a little way down from Old Faithful. Honeybee stood from her seat and watched as the ramp morphed in the back of the ship. Zatanna walked forward and stood in the center of the hold, hands on her hips.
"I recommend you stay behind," Aqualad cautioned. Zatanna jutted out her hip, a question in her stance.
"Is that an order?" Zatanna asked. Aqualad shook his head. N
"No, you must do as you see fit."
Honeybee thought that was a mistake. Zatanna's powers were impressive, and she had nothing against the girl, but she was untrained. Maybe if it was a smaller mission, but against the Reds? Who almost took all of them down? This could turn ugly really fast.
"Good. Emit ot yrt eht wen kool!" In a swirl of smoke, Zatanna's casual clothes disappeared, replaced by a new one. It was similar to that of a magician, with dark shorts and women's suit jacket with tails. She had a buttoned shirt with a bowtie and a yellow sash around her middle. It was once again an impressive display, but Honeybee still had doubts that they girl was ready for something like this.
Honeybee walked past her, giving her a nod of encouragement but saying nothing of her doubts. She was not leader; she could not make her stay.
They had landed in a small clearing in the forest just large enough for the ship, and so they had to traverse through to get closer to where Ivo had told them Morrow's base would be. Robin had pulled up his holocomputer to scan the area for places of activity below the ground or where it was hollowed out.
They had just entered into a dirt plain that Old Faithful sat on, the geyser just barely on the edge of their fields of vision. Honeybee stepped out on the gravely ground and the group traveled in a loose pack, when the wind around them began to swirl in a harsher gusts.
Honeybee looked up to see Red Tornado above them, in the center of a red circle of wind. He creates several tornados that entrapped them, a blockade of wind that spun gravel and dirt towards them. Honeybee raised a hand to her eyes to block it, as even though her mask helped it did prevent everything from getting in.
"Why Tornado?" Miss Martian called. "Why are you doing this?"
Honeybee looked down at the ground and saw something written in the dirt, resembling words. Miss Martian levitated just a bit and could make out what it said, and the Martian nodded.
"Message received," Miss Martian said, both verbally and in everyone's head. Honeybee furrowed her brow. What message?
"Who cares why? Nail him!" Superboy rushed forward.
"What's the plan?!" Honeybee asked mentally.
"Play dead!" Miss Martian answered. Honeybee nodded in understanding. Diversion was the name of the game then. Honeybee pulled out two stingers and hurried forward.
"Superboy!" Aqualad called. "Maneuver seven!"
Superboy stopped in his tracks, spinning around to cup his hands to allow Aqualad to jump on for the iconic move of flipping their teammate over their shoulder. Aqualad stepped in and jumped, raising a punch to the face of the robot. But they are flipped away with a punch from Red Tornado, and he is sent back flying into Superboy. The duo fell back onto the dirt in a pile of limbs, and Honeybee cringed at the sight of her two friends. Her heart twinged at the sight of Superboy in pain and she grit her teeth. Even if it was a bit of play acting for 'play dead', it must have hurt some.
Honeybee stepped up with Artemis and Robin, aiming her stingers at the robot's head. Artemis knocked her arrows and shot at the same time that Robin and Honeybee let loose their stingers and birdarangs. It is a futile action, as Red Tornado raised a hand and sent a gust of wind that sent them flying back towards them.
"Look out!" Robin warned. The three of them jumped back just in time to avoid the explosives hitting them directly, but they are still blown back by the impact. Honeybee landed on her back next to Robin, the impact of the dirt surely leaving a bruise on her back. That would be fun in the morning.
To keep up the ploy, Honeybee did not try and stand, but watched as her other teammates started to pretend to fall one by one. Kid Flash made some kind of quip about spin doctors before he was taken out, and Miss Martian and Zatanna dropped easily.
The earth began to rumble, and Honeybee looked up to see a new robot arrive. They stood on a pile of rocks, yellow lines draping their front, reminiscent of the shapes of lava falling down a mountain.
"That was an impressive performance, brother," the android said. "But be both know that's all it was."
Honeybee finally took this to stand, realizing the new player in the game knew that Red Tornado was trying to help them.
"I have all of your memories Tornado. Plus, a max gen processor. I know your next move before you do!"
The robot raised his hand and a message that Miss Martian must have seen, Play Dead, written in sand.
"Blowing a message into the sand?" the android said. "Pathetic."
The android threw the rock forward, aiming it at the newly standing team. Superboy and Aqualad used their enhanced strength to push themselves forward in a large jump, aiming punches that hit and destroyed the piece of rock before it could hit any of them. Miss Martian held out her hands and used her abilities to keep the rocks and debris from hitting them.
Dust still managed to make it's way through, and Honeybee grit her teeth as it hit her in the face.
"Zatanna?" Robin asked in the mind link.
"I'm good," Zatanna assured. Zatanna pointed up to where Red Tornado was, who was now retreating away from their battle wordlessly. "But Red Tornado's getting away!"
"I can't believe it!" Artemis thought. "Is he abandoning us?"
"Why would he help us and then leave us to die?" Honeybee argued.
"I don't believe he is deserting us," Aqualad said calmly. "But for right now, we have more important matters to attend to."
Kid Flash slipped on his goggles and rushed forward to the robot, running up the rocky tower the android had constructed for themselves. Kid Flash couldn't get a word or attack in edgewise, as the robot immedailty greeted him with a punch that sent him tumbling back onto the ground.
"You stand no chance against me, humans!"
"We're not humans!" Superboy and Miss Martian chorused. Each of them made their way towards the robot in the air but were stopped by the death grip of rocks that encased the both of them before they could reach the robots.
"My apologies. A properly inclusive term is meatbags." The robot clapped his arms together, Miss Martian and Superboy's rock encasing slammed together roughly.
Artemis and Aqualad were nearly swallowed whole by a chasm that appeared at the robot's doing, but barely managed to escape by quick thinking on Artemis's part to send an arrow up before he could close the hole and trap them.
Honeybee wordlessly took off, Robin right at her heels. They used a rock as a launch pad, sending their preferred weapon projectiles at the robot. Both managed to land a few on the robot, and they went off with a puff of smoke. Honeybee landed in a crouch, while Robin rolled to a stop a few feet away from her. The smoke cleared, and Honeybee lost her smile as she realized that the two had done nothing to the robot.
"That was pitiful," the android said. Honeybee returned back to full standing, shared annoyance flooding off both Robin and Honeybee. "Tornado's memory files and my superior processing speed allow me to anticipate your every move!"
"Emoks emoceb a dlofdnilb!" Zantanna chanted. The smoke around the android twirled up to the robot's face, creating a swirly circle around the robot's eyes that made it difficult for his processors to see what was happening. Zatanna smirked coyly. "Tornado never knew my moves!"
"And I bet you've got some good ones!" Robin said, appearing at the girl's flank. Robin cringed, apparently realizing how his sentence could be taken. "Whoa, sorry. That may have come off a little too Wally."
"I don't mind," Zatanna grinned. Honeybee smiled despite herself. For all his covert training, it seemed Robin had the inability to play it subtle when he needed it.
The ground began to shake violently, and Honeybee looked up to see that the robot had worked itself free of it's visual hinderance. The tremors became worse and worse, and Honeybee could do nothing but gape as she watched a volcano appear behind the robot. Lava began to spit forth from it, rolling down the side in unstoppable waves.
"He's activating a stage two eruption!" Kid Flash put into the mindlink. "If he hits stage three, kiss the hemisphere goodbye!"
Aqualad narrowed his eyes and turned to the speedster. "Hit him from all sides!"
Aqualad jumped forward for an attack but was hit by a giant boulder. Superboy followed suit but was met with the same fate. Miss Martian levitated up and attempted to dismember the robot telekinetically, but the robot was smart to her plan and raised a section of lava. Miss Martian cried out in pain from the heat, falling to the ground. Superboy rushed to her side, but the robot was once again two steps ahead of them.
The robot dropped down between them, flicking Superboy to the side in a harsh thud. The robot grabbed Miss Martian by the cape and threateningly held her close to the lava, causing her to cry out in agony as she slowly lost conciseness.
"Ekoms and srorrim…. Etaerc Dik Hsalf snosiulli!" Zatanna's voice echoed through the night, and in a flash, there were dozens of Kid Flash copies racing towards the robot. So caught up trying to fend off the fake ones, the robot did not notice when the Kid Flash managed to snag Miss Martian and get her far enough away from the lava to be safe.
Kid Flash stopped with Miss Martian by Aqualad, gently clutching her as she still clung limply to unconsciousness. The ground shook once again, and Honeybee struggled to stay upright, reaching out to grab Robin's arm for balance. Instead of their being more lava, a geyser nearby burst forth with water. The water traveled as if guided by an unseen force, hitting the android dead in the chest and sending him flying back into the lava.
"Aqualad?" Honeybee asked, turning to their leader.
"That is not me," Aqualad said, confused. Honeybee looked to the side and watched in astonishment as one of the robots from the attack on the Cave. It was the one who had used water to attack them, and Honeybee recalled one of the Leaguers using the term Red Torpedo to describe them.
Red Torpedo raised up their arms, water spinning around them in streams. Water lifted them up into the air, and they were transported forward, more streams of water appeared, pushing the first robot down deeper into the lava they had been controlling mere minutes before.
"Is he helping us?" Robin incredulously questioned. Honeybee did not want to believe what she was seeing – why would their attacker now try and help them?
"It would appear that way," Aqualad said.
The robot began to try and escape the lava, towering themselves on top of a lava encrusted rock. But they were not allowed to rise up too far, as Red Tornado appeared. He zoomed forward on his tornado, blasting into pieces the rock they were using to balance themselves.
Kid Flash gently set Miss Martian down onto the ground, and the girl let out a soft sound as she regained consciousness. Fire began to rain down from above them, but it was not for them, but rather for the robot currently drenched in lava. Honeybee turned to see the second robot from the Cave, Red Inferno she believed was their name, begin to attack the lava robot as well.
The two robots from the Cave began to pull the lava robot deeper and deeper into the lava, the third one barely managing to get out a "Sister, brother, stop!"
All three of them disappeared into the lava below, and Red Tornado appeared to join them, sinking his feet into the lava to hold down the lava robot. Honeybee watched in astonishment as this happened, unsure of what to make of the events enfolding in front of her. Why were the robots suddenly helping them and destroying the robot bent on nuclear destruction? What had happened to change their minds?
Red Tornado began to sink deeper and deeper into the lava, and Honeybee realized with a start that Red Tornado was not to going to pull himself out. He was prepared to go down with the ship.
Superboy leapt into action, jumping forward and pulling Red Tornado out of the lava. Red Tornado was set down roughly onto the ground, and Honeybee noticed that his feet were gone, most of his legs melted by the fiery liquid. Honeybee was too astonished to feel anything else, a state of confusion entrapping her.
The ground shook violently once again, and Honeybee turned with the rest of the Team to see that the volcano was still preparing to erupt. Honeybee pulled at the collar of her suit, the heat starting to build and the smell of sulfur and smoke threatening to overtake them all. Miss Martian and Aqualad were getting the real brunt of it, however, as their physiology was less made for heat than the others.
Kid Flash took command, the only one with enough agency to remember how to stop the eruption before them.
"Tornado, list, we're on the very of a stage three super volcano eruption! There's no coming back from that! We need to vent pressure fast or the ash cloud will bring on a worldwide nuclear winter unless you divert it!" The android, seeming to be in his own daze, nodded and Kid Flash turned to Robin. "Rob, triangulate around the pressure locus."
"Right!" Robin pulled up his holo-computer and scanned the volcano. Three dots illuminated where the pressure locus would be. Robin moved to show it to Artemis who nodded and notched three arrows. The arrows were aimed then fired, exploding on impact with the three pressure points.
Red Tornado stared up at the sky, still in his robotic daze, before snapping out with a spark near his missing legs. A familiar tornado appeared around his torso, and he flew up into the sky, disappearing into the ash cloud above them. Honeybee watched silently, hands to her chest as she prayed that Red Tornado was able to get rid of the ash cloud and prevent the explosion.
The winds picked up speed, and Honeybee covered her face to prevent rocks and debris from hitting her in the face. But then suddenly the wind stopped, and Honeybee looked up to see that the ash was disappearing high above into the atmosphere and that it soon revealed the starry night sky. The lava on the side of the volcano cooled, turning into stone as the volcano became dormant.
Red Tornado returned to the ground, where he collapsed into a heap thanks to his lack of legs. Honeybee and the others rushed to his side, and Honeybee could not stop the wave of relief that overcame her. The crisis was averted, and they had their den mother back, more or less. All in all, not a bad unauthorized mission.
Hello Mr. "Perfectly fine"
How's your heart after breakin' mine?
Mr. "Always at the right place at the right time," baby
Hello Mr. "Casually cruel"
Mr. "Everything revolves around you"
I've been Miss "Misery" since your goodbye
And you're Mr. "Perfectly fine"
GOTHAM CITY
OCTOBER 11TH 2010 1:37 EST
Betty stepped into the living room, closing the door behind her. They had managed to procure new legs for Red Tornado and return him to the Cave, where they had received a royal chewing out from Black Canary and Zatara. Irresponsible, immature, and reckless were all words that had been tossed out liberally, but regardless none of them regretted what they did. Not even Zatanna, who had been grounded until Zatara was dead plus three days, young lady!
Black Canary had been stern with them but had neglected to mention any punishment that would be given to the Team. Perhaps it was because they had actually managed to be successful and got Red Tornado back, or maybe it was Batman who was going to bring the hammer down on them. Either way, Honeybee had managed to leave without too much hassle from the Leaguers.
It was late by time Honeybee returned home, and she knew that was going to bite her in the butt come when she needed to be up for school. She had half a mind to ask Aunt Melody if she could stay home, but she knew that would never fly.
Betty sighed and dropped her backpack onto the ground with a gentle thud, when she looked up and remembered the sleeping form of Jason in the living room. Their pull-out couch had only ever been used by Jason, and Betty made a mental note to try and find some space in the apartment just for him. This apartment was only slightly bigger than their old one, but she was sure she could find somewhere around here for him. Every kid needed just a bit of privacy.
The sound did not seem to wake him up, so Betty quietly returned to her room, leaving her mission suit in her backpack for now. She was much too tired to deal with it now. She changed into her nightgown and prepared for bed, but her mind wandered back the interaction she had with her father at Belle Reve.
It had felt so…. impersonal. She had known her father had no clue she was Honeybee, but she had expected something. Some outpouring of emotion, but it felt so much like an average interrogation. Her father had said her hero name, not even knowing it was his daughter beneath that mask. Would he have cared either way?
Well, of course he would have. Just not in the way a father should care. He would find some way to use it to his advantage, some way to blackmail her or her team. Would he know about Waspia then? About whom she had been? Would he be sad that his ex-wife was dead? Or would he not care at all?
"Betty?" a soft voice asked at her door, and Betty turned to see Jason standing in her doorway.
"Jason," Betty breathed. "Did I wake you up when I came in?"
Jason shook his head. "I couldn't sleep anyway. Wasn't you."
Betty could tell Jason was lying. Betty always knew when Jason was lying. His bottom lip scrunched up, and the very tips of his ears colored just the softest shade of pink. Betty had taught very early in her Honeybee career how to pick out someone's tell. It's pretty much mandatory for every hero.
"Did you just get back?" Jason wondered. Jason pulled at his nightshirt sleepily and yawned.
"Yeah, I did," Betty said. Betty sat down on her bed and motioned for Jason to join her. He did, sitting lithely on the edge, like he was ready to take off in a second.
"Are you still angry with me?" Betty asked. Jason hesitated for a moment and then shook his head.
"No-no," Jason answered. Betty could tell he wasn't lying. "I-I just don't understand. Wh-why won't you train me?"
Betty sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
"Because I'm a hypocrite," Betty said, "but that doesn't mean I'm not right." Betty knew that she sounded like a hypocrite. She had done exactly what Jason wanted to do, and she had become one of the two infamous kid heroes of Gotham. She also had a target put on her back.
"And also…" Betty continued, "….I'm just n-not good enough to train you." Betty was fourteen. She had no business training someone to be a combatant. Self-defense, yes, maybe, but anything more than that was out of her range. She wanted Jason to be the best at everything he did, and if he wanted to be a hero, he deserved to be trained by someone that was better equipped. An adult, or someone who had been in the game longer than her.
Jason was silent for a long moment, but then he spoke softly.
"I just want to help you."
Betty smiled and wrapped one arm around him in a side-hug.
"Jason, you already help me," Betty said. "Yo-you give me someone to fight for. You give me hope. You're—you're my little brother, Jason. And-and just having you here is enough to help me."
Jason was like a balm to her otherwise shamble of a life. He was a family member that appeared when she needed him most, a person she could love with no other reason than he deserved it. Jason was…Jason. He did not fix her problems but knowing there was still something worth protecting reminded her that not every person was like her dad or the villains she faced. Some were good.
"Now come on, it's time for you to get some shut eye."
"I'm not tired!"
"Well, I am, so go to bed."
Goodbye Mr. "Perfectly fine"
How's your heart after breakin' mine?
Mr. "Always at the right place at the right time," baby
Goodbye Mr. "Casually cruel"
Mr. "Everything revolves around you"
I've been Miss "Misery" for the last time
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
Sorry for not updating for a little bit - it was finals week AND I got a new job, so my writing time was cut in half. But I hope y'all enjoy!
Review Replies:
MsRosePetal: Betty is unsure if Ivo knows anything about her or not, and for right now that status quo is not going to change. This relationship is always fun to write, but since Ivo is not really a large player for the rest of the season this relationship will have to take a backseat. But it's not the end, that's for sure. Thank you so much for leaving a review and have a blessed day!
AlphaGodzilla19: Yes, this is meant to be a version of Jason Todd. I'm playing a little fast and loose with his origins, but Young Justice has never been the best with sticking to canon, so I'm doing that with my version of Jason. Thanks for leaving a review and have a blessed day!
Arianne le Fay: No, that's completely okay! Jason is a polarizing character, not everyone has to like him. Although, it is just my version you dislike or the character in general? And Honeybee can never catch a break! It's one thing after another for this poor girl. Eventually she'll get to relax, I promise! Thanks for leaving a review and have a blessed day!
Questions, comments, or concerns? Let me know! Have a blessed day!
-PrincessChess