GOTHAM CITY

FEBURARY 15TH 2016 20:45 EST

The popcorn in the microwave was slowing it's pops, an alert to Betty that it was almost ready. She hopped over the side of the couch and hurried to the microwave, Conner letting out a chuckle from where he sat on the green sofa.

"You don't have to run," Conner said. "The popcorn will still be there."

"I don't want it to burn!" Betty called back to him. The smell of burnt popcorn was impossible to get out of anything. Betty was not looking to light candles all night trying to block out the smell of burnt corn. Even though the package said to put it in the microwave for two minutes, Betty knew it was more a suggestion of than a hard and fast rule. Every bowl of popcorn was different. She opened the microwave and poured the contents into a bowl.

"It's the extra butter kind!" Betty said, walking back over to him and popping a piece in her mouth. "This kind you give me grief about, but I know you enjoy too." Conner rolled his eyes and reached to take some out of the bowl.

"Can we watch the movie now?" Conner asked. Betty beamed and pointed to the three DVD cases on the coffee table.

"Well, our choices are The Truman Show, Mean Girls, and my personal favorite, Lilo and Stitch."

Conner raised a single brow in question.

"I thought you said we were watching trashy movies," Conner said. "Two of those happen to have like, won, prestigious awards."

"I changed my mind," Betty said easily. She had considered pulling out something like Shakrnado, but decided against it, since she realized, she really didn't want to watch it. She was much more in the mood for a feel-good movie rather than some kind of trashy b-film.

"Alright then," Conner accepted easily. "Well, my vote's for Lilo and Stitch then."

"Lilo and Stitch it is!" Betty stood again and took the selected DVD into her hands. She popped into the player hurriedly before rejoining Conner on the couch. The familiar sound of music poured out of the speaker as the starting credits began to roll, Pudge the Fish swimming into frame.

The beach on the screen came into full view, and she smiled as she remembered all those times she spent on the beach at Mount Justice. Their first time there in early August the first year of the Team had been just the beginning of times spent lounging away on the sand and playing in the ocean. And as the Team got bigger, so did the amount of fun they had.

Thin reflections began to play in her mind. Zatanna laughing with sunglasses, Raquelle playing volleyball with Dick and Tula.

Betty's heart clenched. Tula. She had been so young when she died, before she sacrificed themselves. Tula had been so kind, so selfless. Betty could see what Kaldur saw in her.

Kaldur.

She shut her eyes.

What in the world were they going to do about Kaldur? Their once fearless leader betrayed them for their biological father. Became one of their worse enemies. And if their last battle with him was anything to go by, he was more than capable of beating and outsmarting them. How easily had he immobilized Conner? Took him down without a second thought and then managed to distract them with a bomb so he and his comrades would get away.

How long would it be before he used his inner knowledge of the Team and the League to take them down? He knew their secrets, their weakness, and their faults. If he really had turned to his father, then it was only a matter of time after all.

Betty simply could not fathom this. Kaldur making the decision to leave them all behind for a biological connection. Yes, it had been hidden from him, but…. but he was Kaldur. He had seemed so infallible. Like nothing could shake his faith in the greater good, in helping others. How could he have fallen so far? Simply for his biological father?

A dark thought crept into the back of her mind, Ivo's mental picture appearing in her mind.

Could she one day leave them all behind for Ivo?

Her stomach turned at the thought.

Dimly, she was aware of the movie pausing.

"Betty? Y-you're crying," Conner said. Was she? She became aware of the hot, salty stains on her cheeks. "We're not even at the sad part yet and –"

Betty turned to Conner, cutting him off.

"Could I end up like Kaldur?" Betty asked simply. Conner's eyes widened and he reached to take her hands in his.

"Betty, what are you—what do you mean?" Conner said. Betty looked down at the conjoined hands, focusing on the way his calloused fingers felt against her similarly rough hands.

"Kaldur left us for his father," Betty explained her reasoning, voice soft and afraid. "Do you think—Could I – I'm worried –"

"That you'll leave us for Ivo," Conner finished for her, dumbstruck. He let go of one of her hands and reached down to lightly grasp her chin, his fingers softly touching her jaw and lifting her head to meet his eye level. When she met them, she found kindness in his blue eyes, an empathy and understanding of her worry.

"Betty, we are more than our genetics. I'm living proof of that," Conner told her. "You are more than your connection to Ivo. He may be your father, but you are so much more that. You're….you. Strong, compassionate, and loyal you. There is no doubt in my mind that you will never betray us."

Betty knew that life was complicated. Relationships were complicated. For how angry she was at Ivo for all that he done not only to her but to the world, she did not hate him. She wanted to distance herself from him, but she knew that Ivo would forever be attached to her. Ivo was her father, but not her dad.

She knew in her heart that she would never leave the Team for her estranged father. But her head could not stop the mental image from entering her head. Her, at her Ivo's side, as they attempted to conquer the world.

She shook her head.

"I'm talking crazy, I know," Betty said. She sighed, never once turning away from his eyes. "I don't know what's got these thoughts in my head, I guess…..I guess I just miss Kaldur."

Conner squeezed the hand he was still holding.

"I miss him too Betts," Conner told her. "I wish we could…"

The rest went unsaid. They both wished for Kaldur to return to their side. To become a hero again, or at least have him retire from his father's side. She did not want to face him in battle ever again, let alone have to be one of the ones to have to take him down. Not just because they were once close friends, but also because she doubted, she could take down a Kaldur who didn't hold back. She wasn't sure if anyone could.

"But," Conner interjected into their soft silence after a moment, "I know this, Betty. You will never betray us. Unlike Kaldur, you understand family is what we choose, not who we're born to."

Blood is thicker than seawater. That is what Kaldur had said back on Malina Island. But Betty knew better. After all, as another saying went, the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. Her family was not just the people she was genetically related to.

It was Mom and Aunt Melody, of course. But it was also Dick, Artemis and Wally, Roy, Zatanna, and Raquel. It was the late Jason, who had been more of a family to her than her father had ever been. Even Bruce, even if years ago she had rather died than let him back into her life as Batman. And….

Conner. Conner was her family too. One of her bedrocks of her life, one of the people she counted on. In many ways, she supposed he was the most important person in her life right now.

That admission sent a spiral down her throat. Conner had been her best friend for almost as long as he had been alive. But there was a difference between being a best friend and being the most important person in someone's life. And why did that admission feel….so right. Like it was an inevitable truth, something that was meant to come true eventually.

Betty's eyes were still locked on Conner's, and once again that feeling of safety flooded her system. But as she became hypnotized by the soft blue in his eyes, she realized something else was underlying that. A feeling of belonging, that she and Conner belonged here, together, a team against the world.

And that didn't sound so bad.

Conner and Betty sat in silence for a long moment, and it was not a cold silence but a warm one. It was not uncomfortable or awkward, but one that kept them both from breaking this moment with words. Words that could be lost or misunderstood, even if there were very few misunderstandings between them. But this was the kind of silence where words were not needed, because that was the kind of friendship they had. They understood each other. It was as simple as that.

Betty smiled at him and eventually was the one to break the silence.

"I'm sorry, here I am, ruining S.A.D. and –"

"You didn't ruin anything," Conner insisted. The edge of his lips twisted into a grin. "I just enjoy spending time with you, doesn't matter if we watch movies or have hear-to-hearts. You could never ruin spending time with you."

This made Betty's grin grow.

"Thank you, Conner. I love you."

"I love you too."

Betty reached and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down into a hug. Conner returned it, pulling his own arms around her waist. Betty rested her head on his shoulder as she remained wrapped in his embrace, and she shut her eyes as she felt the warm presence of him. The smell of leather he had from the jacket he wore while he was out as civilian and the smell of sweat from their training early day mixing to become the ever-familiar smell of one Conner Kent. It wasn't a scent that was off-putting by any means, the mix of sweat and leather almost sweet.

Betty pulled back from the hug, her arms still wrapped around his neck and his arms placed snugly around her waist. Betty's eyes returned to meet Conner's, and his eyes met hers as well. All at once that warm touch of safety and belonging popped, filling her up with an electric shock that made her feel not only alive but loved. Conner continued to smile at her, and for a second Betty's gaze dropped to his lips before returning to his eyes, snapping herself out of it before some dangerous thought could come to her mind.

Conner furrowed his brow and dropped his own gaze to her lips, but his did not return immediately to her eyes as hers had. Betty's breath caught in her throat as he continued to stare, and Betty wondered what his gaze on her lips could possibly mean, why his gaze didn't return immediately like hers had.

"Conner -"

Betty wasn't sure what she was going to say, and she was rescued from having to complete her thought by her phone ringing. This startled them both and Betty turned her gaze to where her cell phone sat on the coffee table, softly playing out a melodic tune to let her know that someone was attempting to reach her.

"Let me just – I better get that. Might be Dick."

Conner nodded once and Betty stood, his arms finally loosening completely from her waist and her arms slipped out from around his neck. Betty tried to ignore how she immedailty missed the warmth of holding him close.

Betty picked up her phone from the table, it was not Dick, but actually Alex attempting to reach her. She slid the screen to answer the phone.

"Hello?" Betty asked.

"Betty!" Alex said, excited. "I was hoping you'd pick up." Betty could make out the sound of yelling and the honking of a car horn.

"Is everything alright?" Betty said.

"Oh, uh…no, actually," Alex answered. "Look, I'm in downtown Gotham and I just got a wreck. I'm fine!" Alex tacked that last part on when Betty sucked in a breath of worry.

"Look, my tía and tío are out of town," Alex continued, "and my car just got took by a tow-truck to the shop. Any chance you can come pick me up? I know you're busy –"

"No, no, don't worry about it," Betty said, already standing to get her coat and keys. "Text me your address. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Thank you, Betty! You're the best. Bye!"

Alex hung up the phone, and Betty turned to Conner with a sigh and a frown. With his super hearing, he had most likely heard Alex and Betty's full exchange, so she didn't bother explaining to him why she was getting ready to leave, immediately jumping into fervent apologies.

"I'm so sorry to cut S.A.D. short," Betty told him, buttoning her coat with a wince. "I was really looking forward to spending time together and –"

Conner waved her off, reaching for the leather jacket he had thrown over the arm rest of the couch.

"Look, Betts, I get it," Conner assured her. "Things happen." He smiled sheepishly at her. "See ya tomorrow?"

"See ya tomorrow," Betty said, smiling. Betty's phone pinged with Alex's text and began to fish around for her keys in her pocket to make sure they were still there. She didn't drive often and in fact had not gotten a car until fairly recently, when she picked up an old, used car if only for emergencies.

Conner was the first to leave, and Betty watched him leave, the door shutting behind him. Betty stared at the door for only a moment, before she shook her head and proceeded to head to find Alex.

MOUNT JUSTICE

FEBURARY 16TH 2016 02:37 EST

Conner turned over in his bed, pulling his blankets over his head to try and block out any and all noise. It wasn't working – he could still make out the sounds of the video game Gar was certainly not supposed to be playing at this time of night, the beeps of Mal's phone as Karon finally texted him back, even the gentle sound of M'gann's snores as she rested. Normally, all of those sounds would not have bothered him. It would have been normal, relaxing even. Nothing more than background noise.

But tonight….tonight it was grating on his nerves, as he begged his mind to turn off, but it would not. As one singular thought kept circling over and over again in his mind.

He had wanted to kiss Betty.

It had been for one fleeting moment, barely even long enough to be called a moment but not short enough that Conner had failed to notice it. Betty had quickly, fleetingly glanced at his lips after they broke from their embrace. So quickly, that Conner wondered if she had even been aware she had done it.

But that had caused him to glance at her own lips, and before he could stop himself he had been wondering what it would be like to reach across the short distance between them and…. kiss her. And it hadn't been a random thought, one that could quickly be dismissed as nonsense and banished from his mind. Just some bizarre thought, like what freeze-dried cheese tasted like or if dogs could understand spoken language.

No, it had been a dangerous thought. As Conner hadn't just thought it for a second and then dismissed it. He had wondered, truly, what kissing her might feel like. If her lips would taste like the popcorn they were eating at the time, if her lips were soft or if they were hard. Conner was unsure when or how it had become acceptable to him, if even for a moment, to wonder what Betty's lips would taste like. What they would feel like.

But in that moment, it had become an overwhelming thought. One he couldn't push away or ignore. He had wanted to know. Wanted to understand how it would feel to have the space between them reduced to nothing, and feel her body pressed against his.

Conner sighed and flipped onto his back, draping his arm over eyes in order to black out the last vestiges of light in the room. One thing about super eyesight was that no matter how dark a room was, how deeply buried it was, he could still find some light in it. Especially as he got older and his senses and strength grew. Which on missions was a blessing. But for now, when he wanted to escape into a dreamworld to escape reality, it was almost a curse.

Oh, how he wanted to sleep. Maybe it would push the thought of Betty and the fact he had wanted to kiss her out of his mind. Because he could not be thinking of or wondering about kissing his best friend. Because thinking of her in that way…

It betrayed everything they were. They were as partners and friends, family even. He had family in the Kents and Clark, even in Lois Lane. But even before the Kents and Clark and Lois, there had been the Team. Kaldur and Wally and Dick and Artemis….and Betty and M'gann.

Betty and M'gann had been his whole world during the first few months of his life. His best friend Betty and girlfriend M'gann. His teammates Honeybee and Miss Martian. He had been close to his other teammates, yes, valued them as friends and comrades, but his relationships with Betty and M'gann had always been the strongest. With the two of them by his side, he could accomplish anything.

And now it was all backwards and mixed up. Him and M'gann were not even on speaking terms anymore beyond missions. M'gann had betrayed his trust and used her abilities in a way that had hurt him, shaken him down to his very core. It had taken him weeks to even look at her again. The person he had loved most in this world…. he could not even speak to them without dissolving into a screaming match of some kind.

Here it was now, him wondering what it would be like to kiss his best friend. A thought that one year ago would not have crossed his mind. A thought that would have been so-far out of left field that he would thought he was going crazy.

And now….

This was a problem, plain and simple. A big problem.

He couldn't kiss Betty. He couldn't want to kiss Betty.

For all his anger at M'gann, hidden deep within was lingering feelings for her. Warmth and happiness at the good memories and moments they had shared before he had hurt her. No, he did not love her anymore. The moment he had figured what she had done, his love for her had snapped in half like a twig. His trust in her, his love for her, she had shattered it with one selfish action.

How could he want to kiss Betty, even for a moment, and then also still have feelings for M'gann?

Oh goodness, why was one moment causing him so much worry? He had had one thought, one quick moment of thought and here he was, up all hours of the night trying to make sense of it. When had being friends with Betty become so complicated? It's not like he had feelings for her or –

He nearly sat up in bed.

Feelings for Betty.

He loved her, truly, he did. They were the closest of friends. He turned to her when the whole world was against him, he turned to her even when the whole world wasn't against him. She was his friend. And Conner loved his friends.

But having any kind of feelings for Betty beyond friendship was a thought that had never crossed his mind. Never been a consideration in his life. Never been something worth considering. After all, he had been with M'gann for so long, and he had been so in love with M'gann. He had never had any time or place to consider someone else that way. Wally, Dick, Kaldur, all of them had been with multiple people, even if Wally had been with Artemis almost as long as M'gann and Conner had been together before….

He must be…lonely, he supposed. Yeah, that was it. This was his first time away from M'gann, his first time out of a relationship. He had to get used to life as a single person, he supposed. And his feelings had to go somewhere, had to be expressed somehow. He had these problem thoughts because they simply could not go anywhere else.

So, maybe his brief moment of wanting to kiss Betty had been nothing after all. A fleeting moment. Nothing, a blip in their relationship. Something Conner could finally dismiss now.

It's not like he had a crush on Betty or anything. (Right?)

Maybe now he could get some sleep.

(He did not sleep.)

QURAC

FEBURARY 19 19:06 UTC +2

M'gann had not meant to hurt Conner, she wanted that to be clear. She had…. done something incredibly, incredibly stupid. Something that she regretted terribly, something she could never truly make up for. She loved Conner, or had, and the last thing she wanted to do was be the source of his pain. But she had done it anyway. Gone into his mind and tried to erase memories of their fights over the use of her powers.

M'gann had no excuse. No reason that would make it okay. She had known Conner's history and without thinking she had gone into his mind. She had thought….

No, it didn't matter what she thought, she knew that. She had been the one to strike a mental blow against Conner, and that was not okay. No apologizing in the world could make up for it, and a part of her did not blame Conner for ending it with her. She would simply just have to spend her whole life trying to make up for her mistake, even if she knew deep inside that was not possible.

She had known she would lose what was possibly the great love of her life when she had made that stupid choice. What she had not known, however, was that she was going to lose one of her best friends as well. Betty and Conner had always been close, but she had underestimated how close. It was apparent that Conner had told Betty everything, and Betty had understandably taken Conner's side.

M'gann did not blame her. If she had been in Betty's shoes, she would have been on Conner's side.

Still, she missed both of them. Missed the way things were before she had made the choice. Missed the nights in the Cave with Conner, when it was just the two of them and they could spend time together studying and working and just enjoying the others company. She missed the trips to Gotham to visit Betty and Artemis, the times they helped the other get ready for dates and parties, watched cheesy movies, and all the over stuff that best friends did.

But…she supposed she would have to get used to it. She had made her bed, now she had to lie in it. Besides, she was with La'gann now. And he was great, really. He was a little obnoxious at times, even she would admit, but he was also brave and loyal and compassionate. She was happy with him. Really, she was. But she knew that things would never be like they once were.

Miss Martian stared at Mariposa from across the Bioship, Mariposa sitting next to Batgirl as the awaited the mission briefing from Nightwing. Alpha Squad this time consisted of her, Mariposa, Bumblebee, Wonder Girl, and Batgirl. They had been sent to make their way to Bialyia, with little information other that that they were headed there with briefing on the way.

Miss Martian's gaze kept drawing back to her former friend, wondering if there was anything she could say that might make things better. Maybe she could get her alone? Convince her that she regretted deeply what she had done to Conner? This was the closest that M'gann had ever gotten to being alone with Betty in the months since her and Conner's relationship died. Maybe…maybe when they left the Bioship, she could?

M'gann had considered a telepathic communication, but she knew Betty well enough to know that she would not keep it in their heads, and soon everyone on Bioship would know the details of why M'gann, Betty, and Conner were fighting. Best to wait until they were alone.

M'gann had just about convinced herself she might be able to pull Betty to the side when Nightwing popped up on the front window of the Bioship.

"Alpha," Nightwing greeted solemnly. Mariposa nodded, immediately in mission mode.

"Nightwing," Miss Martian replied. Miss Martian was no fool as to why she had been chosen as leader. Nightwing had been second-in-command for Aqualad, and now that he was in charge, he needed one to. He was testing all senior members of the Team and Robin as well. Robin had been running Gamma consistently since January, and Conner had been mission leader for their bout with Clayface at the start of the year. Mariposa had been chosen to meet Zeta when they returned from Rann with Nightwing during the briefing, and Miss Martian was willing to bet she would be chosen for leader in whatever mission she went on next.

He needed a second-in-command. And he had not made a decision yet. Miss Martian was stuck been wanting it to be her and fretting at that level of responsibility.

Nightwing immedailty jumped into the mission briefing, a photo of Malina Island and a map of Qurac and Bialyia appearing over his shoulder.

"Investigating the origin of the alien bomb that destroyed the Krolotean base on Malina Island is of top priority," Nightwing said, voice slightly crinkly from the video connection. "We suspect the bomb may have been smuggled to Earth via Boom tube. Watchtower scans indicate that Bialyia has had an uptick in Boom tube activity. Alpha Squad, your mission is to –"

"Sneak behind enemy lines, recon known Boom tube hotspots, and find any alien tech like the bomb!" Wonder Girl cut in excitedly. She touched the middle of the gold logo on her suit, and the red and gold disappeared into silver and black. "Oh, and don't get caught and cause an international incident!"

"That about covers it," Nightwing agreed, a jovial pitch to his voice. Miss Martian furrowed her brow at Nightwing.

"Psimon?" Miss Martian asked. It had been just over five years since she saw him last, and the anger she felt at the telepath had not dissipated. She had been almost forced into revealing herself, showing the parts of herself she wasn't ready to, and her anger at him did not fade as she revealed those pieces of her. They were not his to give away.

"We have confirmation that Bialyia's top telepathic enforcer is still catatonic and in a Quaraci hospital after his last encounter with you," Nightwing told her, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably. "But Bialyia's dictator, Queen Bee, is another story. Her ability to control the minds of men is well-documented, which is why Alpha is an all-female squad."

Batgirl raised a brow from her seat. "Oh, really? And would you have felt the need to justify an all-male squad for a mission?"

Wonder Girl and Bumblebee frowned, glaring at Nightwing. Miss Martian knew Batgirl did not mean it, not really, and Mariposa seemed to catch on to that as well, as she rolled her eyes beneath her mask.

"Uh…there is no good way to answer that. Nightwing out."

Nightwing disappeared and Batgirl smiled to herself as she watched her kind-of-sort-of boyfriend disappear. Everyone knew there was something more going on between Nightwing and Batgirl, but no one dared question it.

"Queen Bee isn't the only woman who can mess with a man's mind," Batgirl joked. They all laughed, but Miss Martian could feel the tension in Mariposa's shoulders. It was obvious what Batgirl's words had reminded Mariposa of.

Of the mistake. Of the stupid decision.

Miss Martian sighed internally. Even if she did get Betty alone, what would she say? That she was sorry? Betty had to know she was. And who was to say Betty would magically just start talking to her because of it?

Miss Martian shook her head. Time to focus on the mission, her personal life could wait.

Even if she missed her friend.

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." - 1 Corinthians 13:13

I am in tears. We are at FIFTY chapters. I had wanted fifty to be the one-year anniversary, but life got in the way. But I am just...so, so happy. This fic has come such a long way, this started as a RobinxOC story and simply that. Now, here we are, fifty chapters later into a ConnerxOC story with a character that means so much to me. I've loved writing Betty, and her relationships with Conner, Dick, Jason, and everyone else. I love all the feedback you've given me, especially the constructive criticism, which has helped this story become what it is, but I appreciate all of it! I appreciate all of you! I hope all of you are having blessed days and I am here if you need a prayer request. Each and everyone are loved, are special, and I can't wait to go through the next fifty with you. Here's to another year and another fifty chapters!

Questions, comments, or concerns? Let me know! Have a blessed day!

-PrincessChess