GOTHAM CITY
FEBRUARY 2ND 2016 00:07 EST
Mariposa dodged the throwing star sent her way by rolling to the ground. She stood up just as she heard the throwing star make purchase on the edge of the roof. Honeybee narrowed his eyes and stepped forward, sending a punch aimed at Mariposa. Mariposa blocked this hit with a raise of her arm, the flesh of his wrist hitting the hard Kevlar of her purple gloves. She dropped to the ground at the same time that he reached to level another punch to her head, narrowly missing the hit. She swiped her leg out and hit Honeybee's legs, and he fell on his back.
He growled in frustration, and Mariposa returned to standing, steadying herself to continue the battle once he stood as well.
"You're angry," Mariposa told him. "Good, use that anger. Channel it."
Black Canary's instruction to Superboy all those years ago rang in her head, and she couldn't help the nostalgic smile that snuck up on her face. Had their first training session with Black Canary been over five years ago? It felt like yesterday in so many ways.
Honeybee made another grumbling sound, and then hopped to his feet. He frowned at Mariposa and rushed her. He managed to get a punch in on her stomach, but she was quick to recover, kicking her leg out to hit his side. He blocked it with his arm, and she grinned to himself. A week ago, he would have let her hit him, not having the instinct to block it. But she didn't let that stop her from continuing the fight, as she retracted her leg and managed to avoid a swipe at her head.
She smirked as she an opening: his left side was open. She made a move like she was going to hit him from the right, and then swinged her leg out to kick him from the left. This caught him off guard, and he was sent falling to the ground front first, having lost his balance. She grinned and stuck her boot in the center of his back to keep him from getting back up again.
"I win," she said.
He grumbled and shut his eyes, and Mariposa grinned down at him. She removed her boot and came to stand in front of him, outreaching a hand to help him stand. Honeybee stared at for a moment, brow furrowed, and then eventually took it with a sigh, rising back to stand.
"It seems like the only thing you've done since agreeing to train me is kick my butt," Honeybee mumbled. Mariposa folded her arms and stepped closer to him on the rooftop. She had thought briefly about taking him to Mount Justice after agreeing to train him but had decided that he wasn't ready. The Team was a well-oiled machine, and until Mariposa knew he could handle the intense covert missions they ran, then he wasn't ready to know about or be involved with it.
And she didn't exactly have a training spot besides her apartment, so she had been training him on various rooftops nightly, always changing location to make sure that there wasn't a pattern that was detectable.
Mariposa smiled at him.
"That's part of learning. You'll get better. Waspia beat me for three months straight before I won a round. And then I didn't win again for another month," Mariposa admitted. Honeybee didn't seem to be consoled by this, instead putting his arms akimbo and frowning at her.
Mariposa sighed and put a hand on his shoulder.
"It's been less than a week, Honeybee," Mariposa calmly said. "And it's not that your bad fighter. I've just been at this longer than you."
This didn't have the complete calming effect that Mariposa hoped, but it did seem to calm Honeybee down somewhat. He sighed and looked down at his feet.
"I just want to be on the street again. Helping people. It doesn't feel like I'm doing anything," Honeybee said glumly.
Mariposa knew what that felt like. In the time she spent training, she had been itching to get herself on the street. To help other people, she hadn't seen the point of training when she could learn from experience. She knew better now, what with years of distance and watching the training of (and helping to train some) several young heroes.
She thought back to Jason and the years he spent in training to be Robin. How these years had been innumerable to him during his time as Robin. How he had complained as well at times, about being ready.
About how he wasn't, in the end.
She shook her head.
"Listen, Honeybee, I know you feel useless," Mariposa told him. "And I understand. I'm not doing this to be mean, I'm doing this because the more you train, the better you'll be, and the more people you can help."
Honeybee once again didn't seem put at ease by this, and Mariposa supposed that maybe she wasn't the best at this comforting thing. Or maybe it was just Honeybee didn't want to hear it. It seemed the second one, given his scowl.
"You said that we would do this your way," Honeybee said. "And I'm following your rules, trusting you to put me on right path. But you don't trust me enough to tell me anything. About whom you are, about this mysterious third condition, about anything!"
Mariposa rolled her eyes good-naturedly. She had expected this, some pushback from this make-shift student of hers. How many times had she pushed Waspia (both of them), Batman, heck, even Black Canary and Red Tornado?
"It's maybe what, half a week?" Mariposa argued. "I'm not asking you to tell me your name or who this mysterious help you have is. I'm asking you to let me help train you. We're just not there yet. And that's okay. We will, I promise. But we just need some time to get there."
Mariposa was not sure what her future relationship with Honeybee would be. She had no delusions of him becoming her best friend or them becoming an inseparable duo. Perhaps that would happen, perhaps they wouldn't. But if Honeybee proved himself trustworthy, than she knew eventually she would eventually reveal her identity to this hero. If he revealed his that is. Mariposa was not in the habit of willy-nilly revealing her secret identity. The entire first edition of the Team could attest to that.
"Now, we gonna go again?" Mariposa asked. "Or we gonna mope all night?"
At this, Honeybee finally smiled again.
"No, no, I suppose we won't."
IVY TOWN COLLEGE
FEBURARY 4TH 2016 15:34 EST
"Seeing as this is the first time you're gonna be single for Valentine's Day," Betty said, "I think we should celebrate S.A.D."
Conner raised an eyebrow as they walked towards the campus coffee shop. Conner adjusted the bag on his shoulder and looked down at his friend in confusion.
"S.A.D.?"
"Single Appreciation Day," Betty said as it was obvious, rolling her eyes. Conner scoffed and opened the door to the coffee shop. The coffee shop was warm, a nice reprieve from the cold winter day they were walking in. The shop smelled like coffee and bread, a hold-over from the croissants in the case by the cash register. Betty and Conner quickly got into line, but that didn't disrupt their conversation, given that they were currently third.
"How does one even celebrate this….S.A.D.?" Conner asked. Conner was unsure about this so-called S.A.D., it sounded like a holiday that Betty had made up to make him feel better about this being his first Valentine's Day since he and M'gann…..He shook his head.
In truth, he hadn't really thought much about Valentine's Day. He had, of course, celebrated it with M'gann. He hadn't phoned it, it was something that was special to M'gann, so it was special to him for that reason alone. But as a holiday by itself, he didn't put much stock in it. If he loved someone, he wanted show it every day, not just on certain days of the year like Valentines.
So, no, he had not been dwelling on the upcoming Day of Hearts.
"Simple, you get together with your single friends and eat all the junk food you can find, watching trash movies and the like," Betty explained. Conner and Betty stepped forward in line.
"And you do this on Valentine's Day?" Conner prodded. Betty shook her head, her long black pigtails shaking behind her.
"No, on the 15th," Betty replied. She squinted at him and stuck a finger in the middle of his chest. "I know you think I'm making this up, but you can google it, it's real. At least, Single Appreciation Day is. The celebrating part is all a Betty Bryons original."
Conner chuckled to himself, and the duo stepped forward to the front of the line. Conner turned to the cashier at the front, who gave them a kind if a little forced smile.
"What can I get for you today?" they asked. Betty opened her mouth to speak, but Conner beat her to it.
"Large caramel macchiato with extra caramel and a medium black coffee," Conner said without missing a beat, sliding the cashier a ten-dollar bill. Betty blinked as the man made the change for them.
"You know my coffee order?" Betty asked, seemingly dumbstruck. Conner chuckled under his breath and took the change, leading the two of them to a table in the corner.
"I've only known you for going on six years, Betts," Conner said, sitting down. Betty took the seat across from him, dropping her canvas bag full of schoolbooks onto the floor with a soft plop. "And it's not hard to figure out – just take the sugariest thing on the menu and add even more sugar."
At this Betty laughed. She reached into her bag for her wallet, and Conner waved her off with a flick of his hand.
"Don't worry about it," he said. His eyes gleamed mischievously. "'Asides, you'll be the one providing junk food for S.A.D., consider it even."
Betty raised a brow. "So, we are celebrating S.A.D.? Apparently at my apartment?"
"Well, we can't exactly celebrate at Mount Justice, can we?" Conner said. Betty thought about this for a moment, and then accepted it with a shrug. Conner supposed maybe they could celebrate it at Mount Justice, if they really wanted. But then that begged the idea of having some of the younger members of the Team being involved, and as much as he liked them, he kind of just wanted some alone time to chill with Betty. It was relaxing, just hanging out with her, not with missions or invasions hanging over their head.
"Good point," Betty agreed.
"Macchiato and black coffee?" a barista called, and Betty stood before Conner could.
"No way," Betty told him. "You paid and ordered, least I can do is go get it. I need the exercise anyway." Betty said that as if she didn't have a strict work-out regime designed for her by the League.
Betty disappeared to go get the coffee, and Conner smiled to himself. There was something refreshing about spending some alone time with Betty, even if it was as simple as getting coffee together before descending upon homework. With all the busy things they had to do, all the missions they ran, it was not often they got quiet moments like this just to talk with each other. No talking shop, just making plans to hang out with each other.
It was his own kind of bliss, one he didn't feel often anymore. He watched Betty retrieve their drinks, and his smile deepened.
Maybe this S.A.D. thing would be fun.
WASHINGTON D.C.
FEBURARY 13TH 2016 22:34 EST
Mariposa didn't want to do this. Mariposa hated that things had come to this, but she supposed their really was no choice.
Green Arrow had finally found Roy in Star City, and tonight they were planning an intervention to try and get him back on the straight and narrow. Or at least, pull him back from the abyss he had been falling into for years. He had become obsessed with finding what he called the "real" Speedy, the boy he was cloned from. For a little while, Mariposa had even helped him with the search, until it had become apparent that most likely the original Speedy was most likely dead.
And as sad as that had made Mariposa, she also knew that it was something that had to be accepted. It was something that she did not want to be real, she wanted to believe that the "real" Speedy could still be found. But it just simply didn't seem possible at this point. But Roy didn't see it that way. Until he found a body, he was going to keep searching no matter what.
Which lead Mariposa to where she was today. Waiting on a rooftop for Roy, as she, Nightwing, Wally, Black Canary, Jim Harper, and Green Arrow prepared to have an intervention for him. Something she didn't want any part in, but she knew she had to. Because Roy was her friend, and she would do anything for her friends.
She waited on the D.C. roof, in between Wally and Nightwing. It was, however, nice to see Wally. Since he left the life, she didn't get to see him much.
"Hey Roy," Green Arrow greeted, and Mariposa heard him from where she was hidden behind the door shed to the roof. They hadn't wanted to spook Roy off by having them all be present and visible. "Need a hand?"
"No," Roy snarled.
"We think you do," Nightwing cut in, and all of them stepped out to meet Roy. Mariposa held back a gasp as she looked what bad shape her friend was in. Roy looked worse for wear, severely underweight with unkempt hair that went to his shoulders. He was no longer clean-shaven, having a very present five-o-clock shadow that covered his chin. He looked nothing like the man she remembered, seeming to be a shadow of that man.
Roy glared at all of them from beneath his Red Arrow mask.
"I have nothing to say to any of you," Roy said angrily. "Nothing to explain. Nothing to justify."
He turned to walk away, raising his boy to send an arrow across the street for his escape. That's when Mariposa saw it – a stack of cash was sticking out of the waistband of his pants. Green Arrow had told them that Roy had stolen from a man while keeping him from getting robbed. It was thing to be told about it, it was another to see it.
She frowned as Green Arrow plucked the money out of his waistband.
"Nothing?" Green Arrow prodded.
Roy turned, caught red-handed and immedailty defensive.
"It's not what it looks like!" Roy defended. "I mean, the storeowner won't miss it. He offered me a reward anyway. Besides, I deserve it."
Mariposa raised a brow. "And do you figure that, Roy?"
"He wouldn't have any of his money back if it wasn't for me!" Roy shot back.
Wally shook his head, rubbing his temple. "Dude, are you even listening to yourself?"
Roy switched gears at this, crossing his arms.
"Look, I need it!" Roy said. "To find Speedy, the real Roy Harper. A search like that is expensive! Especially when all the rest of you have given up!"
That stung, Mariposa would not lie. She hadn't wanted to give up, she hadn't wanted to believe that the first Speedy was dead. But…to her, there was no other reasonable explanation as to why they wouldn't have found him by now.
Black Canary stepped forward at this, putting a hand on Roy's shoulder.
"Roy, I know you feel lost," Black Canary tried. "But that doesn't mean your alone."
Roy narrowed his eyes. "I'm not the one who's lost."
Black Canary raised a brow at him. "When was the last time you slept? You trained?"
"I'm in the best shape of my life," Roy snarled. Black Canary put her hands on her hips.
"Oh, really?"
And then the attack started. She started sending kicks and punches at Roy, who at first managed to block them, but surely started to miss them. He was sent flying back, almost over the edge of the roof before Black Canary pulled him back by the lapels of his shirt.
"That was me holding back," Black Canary said. "Way back." Black Canary sighed and let go of Roy. "Roy, you used to treat your body like a temple. And now…."
Her sentence went unfinished, everyone knowing what she meant. This Roy …. this Roy was so different from the one they all knew.
"My body's no temple….." Roy murmured. "It's a cheap knockoff, a clone."
There was a moment of silence, and Mariposa was not sure how it was best to approach this. The closest experience to being a clone was Conner, and she had watched how hard it was for him to understand his life outside of Superman. But she had no way of knowing how it felt, not really. She wasn't a clone herself. All she could do was listen and try to be there.
"Roy, come back to Star City," Green Arrow gently said. "It'll be like old times. Just the two of us, fighting crime, hanging out, shooting the –"
"You're probably thinking of the other guy!" Roy shot back. "The original, the one you stopped looking for! Me, I'm just –"
"We get it!" Jim cut in, stepping forward. Jim was another clone of Speedy, one force-grown to be older and used as a back-up plan to make sure Cadmus was staying on schedule. "You're a clone. But you're not the only clone on this rooftop." Jim sighed and put a hand on Roy's shoulder. "And I know from personal experience how hard it was to come to grips with being a clone. That's why I gave up being Guardian, so I could figure out who it was that Jim Harper was supposed to be."
"That's not the only thing you gave up!" Roy snarked.
"You and I both know that we spent years looking for the original Speedy," Jim consoled. "And everyone else here did the same. We never found him, because the Light didn't keep him alive. It was Cadmus policy to delete the source material. He's dead, brother... which is all the more reason you have to live. To honor the Roy that was."
Roy looked down, sullen and sorrowful. But then he looked up again, angry and frustrated.
"I'm whelmed by all this attention," Roy shot out. "But what are you even doing here, West? I thought you were ditching the hero game."
"Ditching the hero game doesn't mean ditching my friends," Wally said. "And before you round back to the original Roy argument again. We've done the math. You're the only you we know."
"The first Roy was abducted before any of us met," Nightwing tacked on. "You're the guy we trained besides, fought beside."
"You're the one that's our friend," Mariposa continued for them. "And we care about you, Roy. Just because you're a clone with anger management issues doesn't change that." She smiled. "I mean, you've met my best friend, right?"
This didn't seem to sway Roy, and he seemed to finally have enough with them.
"All done?" he asked, looking between all of them. "Because if you wanna save someone's soul? Go see Kaldur. He's the one in need in course correcting." Roy shot an arrow across the way to the nearest building, a string flying out to help him slide across. "But leave me out of it. Write me off. Or don't. I really don't care."
And then, he was gone.
"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord."
Y'all, I'm a few weeks late, but we are officially one year into a haunted hive. This fic is very close to my heart, and I'm so thankful and glad for all the support you all have given me on this fic. I love each and every one of you, and I wish you all nothing but the best. I hope you all stick around for year 2, because I've got some fun plans.
And next chapter is S.A.D. for Conner and Betty. I thought about sending Betty with Conner and Blue Beetle, but she also cares about Roy and it didn't feel right for her not to be here for Roy. So I made up for it by adding in some Betty and Conner coffee-shop bonding.
Accepting any and all prayer requests.
Review Replies:
Coco Baldwin: Aw, thank you so much! I'm glad you like this fic, and I'm sorry to keep you waiting almost a whole month! But I'm getting back into the swing of things with some of my other fics, so my time is being split between more fics than before. But thank you so much for leaving a review! Have a blessed day!
Questions, comments, or concerns? Let me know! Have a blessed day!
-PrincessChess