Happy Saturday, guys! So I'm going on Winter Trips for my school this week, so I won't be able to post anything this whole week! But I'll make it up to you! I'll try to post a little more. This is the last chapter that I have on hand right now. So I'm going to need you guys to be patient from now on!
Bethany POV
Training today was horrible. I skipped doing the warm up with the Team and hopped right into learning a fighting technique with Black Canary. It was about street combat: Aka, fighting dirty. She said that we should always fight with honor, but when you get desperate, we needed to know how to fight without mercy and to cheat. I noticed that Batman was there as well, but he was just typing away at a computer built into his wrist. He basically just blended in with the shadows in the corner. Later, Black Canary paired us together to spar. Aqualad fighting M'gann, Superboy fighting Kid Flash, me versus Artemis, and Robin sat out. I ended up pulling a muscle and getting scolded by Black Canary for not stretching beforehand and skipping the warm up. Robin had to take my place against Artemis. By the end of training, everyone was groaning about the homework that they all had to go do.
"Okay, guys. Go hit the showers, you're free now," Black Canary said. Batman approached me as everyone left.
"Hold on, I need to talk to you," He said without emotion. Eventually, even Black Canary left and it was just Batman and I in the middle of the glowing training circle.
"Now," Batman wheeled on me, "Tell me about your father." Can you stop being straight forward? It's annoying.
I took a surprised step back. No one every approached me about my father. The Team knew about my family problems (Robin somehow figured it out himself, Superboy overheard me talking to Artemis and M'gann that night, and I told Wally and Aqualad during a Team building exercise). They all knew how I got choked up talking about it, and they never pressed it. They especially knew how much of a touchy subject my real dad was.
"I really don't think that... umm... I don't like talking about him," I said looking at the floor.
"I don't think that you understand. Information about your father is extremely important."
"I'm sorry, but you have no right to be demanding information about my private life!" I yelled.
"Bethany," Batman said calmly, "I know a lot about your father. And... it may be that he is still alive."
That struck home. It felt like the wind was knocked out of me. I was confused all over again, and questions started piling up. But there was one that stood out.
"How do you know things about my father?" I demanded.
"This device that you brought," Batman said, holding up the remote-control thingy, "is a Motherbox. It has data from the universe. It has information for anything. I found information on your father from this Motherbox."
"Why do you want to know things about my dad?"
"Bethany, did you know that your father was part of a secret organization of the government?" Great, answer a question with another question.
I couldn't speak. My dad? What?
"Guessing from your expression, you probably didn't," Batman sighed, "Let me show you something," He turned back to start typing again, but I swiftly placed a hand on his forearm, stopping him from doing anything else.
"No! Stop!" I cried out, "I don't want you to show me anything!"
He stared at me.
"I don't want to be given false hope for something that I've finally gotten past! It took me years to get over my father's death. Don't you understand?! I've finally healed from that, and now you want to rip the wound back open and start prodding around?!" I shouted at him angrily. I was confused, angry, and upset, "I don't want to know anything more about my dad. I don't want to prod through his information and figure out the past! I've finally gotten through Hell. I don't want to be sucked back into it!" I stormed off to my room. How dare he intrude in my personal life? How dare he bring up such a subject and expect me to tell him anything he wants to know? How dare he?
Robin's POV
I was sitting in the living room with the rest of the Team, headphones in and listening to a very interesting conversation. When I heard Batman ask Bethany to stay back, I left one of my listening devices stuck to the wall. After I heard Bethany stomp away, there was a 10 second pause. And then there was loud muffling noises on my listening device. And then complete and utter silence.
The door slid open and Batman appeared, "Robin, come with me." Reluctantly, I got up and followed him all the way to a conference room that had sound proof walls and took a seat across from Batman
He pulled out my hearing device and sighed, "Robin, really? Can you not do that? Obviously, when I want to talk to someone alone, it's because I don't want anyone listening."
"Well, obviously, if someone wants to talk alone to someone, it could be really important information," I crossed my arms, "Also, you have no right to be prodding her past like that! Of all the people to understand, Bruce! In fact, she's like us. We didn't really have a family either," I danced around saying that neither of us had parents. That could probably tick him off if I said that.
"Robin, there's something off about the H.U.S.H. organization. Don't you find it weird that their world is the exact same as our world, just without superheroes or superpowers? Her father was involved in it, so he was my first step to tracking them down," Batman sighed. I thought about it, and eventually agreed. Ugh, I hate it when he's right.
"How are you going to continue the investigation?"
"She just needs time."
"But you heard her, Batman! She won't cooperate!"
"No she won't right now. But she'll come around, I'm depending on it. The only reason she won't listen is because she used to look up to her father. He was her role model. To have secrets uncovered about him would ruin this image that she has managed to created of him. To have that perfect image of Jackson stripped away because she was exposed to the secrets he was hiding… Well that would be devastating for her. She just doesn't want to know anything about her father so that her perception of him won't change."
He paused.
"She's too stubborn and set on admiring her father, that she refuses to be shown anything that might ruin that image of him."
"But how do you know that she'll come around?" I was slightly amazed at his psychology skills.
"I told her that her father may still be alive and that there were things about him that she doesn't know. She may deny it now, but she's the type of girl that needs to find answers when given a hint. I'm depending on her instincts to kick in and make her want to investigate her father."
"So, basically you placed ideas of her father in her head, and now you're just waiting for them to take root," I summed up, "That's so wrong! You're letting guilt eat away at her brain! She'll feel guilty for not wanting to know more about her father."
"No. I'm letting curiosity eat away at her conscience. I'm depending on her to eventually come back and help me find out what H.U.S.H really is. Finding out about her father is just another bonus in the investigation," Batman finished. I got up to leave, sensing an end to the conversation.
Wow. Harsh words by the Bat.
Bethany's POV
The days went on like this: I would go to school on time, sit with my friends in class and lunch, watch Artemis get in trouble for the smallest things, come back and train with the Team, and then finish my homework late at night. Eventually, I caught up on all my makeup homework and I was actually able to get to bed around 10:30 pm every night. Life was actually starting to look up. I was even starting to get used to Barbara.
A week after the conversation with Batman, my wounds were all healed, and the bruises were even fading. The scabs were gone, leaving light scars everywhere. Zatara and Martian Manhunter said that the scars would go away because of all the unnatural healing that had been applied.
The next week, I had woken up earlier than usual. I had had a dream about my father's death. But now, the dream seemed unreal and hazy. Like I had just imagined it all along. I shook my head. No, my father died in that explosion. There is no doubt about it. Was there?
I got ready for school and decided to head out early, even though it was still about 7:15. I didn't really want to stick around and wait for M'gann to start pestering me about her cooking. I didn't have the heart to tell her it was… revolting. If anyone was going to tell her it was bad, it would be Superboy. Superboy and M'gann have been getting visibly closer. Artemis and I were making bets on when they would actually start to date, much to Wally's dismay.
When I got to school, I picked a more secluded spot than the fountain. I walked to the corner of the wide stairs in front of the doors to the building. It was quiet and peaceful. I was probably sitting there for 15 minutes, just basking in the perfect weather and thinking that life was good, when I felt someone sit down next to me. I opened my eyes and looked over to see Dick. He was simling at me, eyes shining.
"Well, you looked like you were having fun," He said.
I sighed in content, "Right now, my life seems to finally be working out," I leaned back to continue relaxing.
He leaned back next to me. I tried not to notice that our elbows were centimeters apart.
"So, where's Barbara?" I said casually, trying not to sound jealous.
"I wouldn't know," He replied. For some reason, I found myself smiling at that answer. He sounded like he didn't really care about her whereabouts, and guiltily, I felt happy about that.
I shifted around a bit, trying to rest my head on the step above me, but wherever I sat, it hurt my neck. I sat up, uncomfortable.
Dick looked over at me, "You can lean on my shoulder if you want. Laying on stone steps isn't the most comfortable thing."
I stared at his shoulder, wondering if I should do it or not. Well why the hell not? I scooted closer to him and leaned my head on his strong shoulder. But Dick gently moved my head from his shoulder to his chest. And then he slowly leaned back, so that I was basically laying on his chest on the wide stairs. I let a little laugh escape my lips and I could feel the rumble through Dick's chest as he laughed, too. I silently thanked the great architects that decided to make the steps this wide so that this could happen.
It definitely felt more comfortable, and his body warmth was starting to envelope me, along with the shining of the sun above us. There was a cool breeze that picked up, making sure that I wouldn't be too hot. Surprisingly for a nerd like Dick, his chest was hard, and I could feel the muscles underneath his dress shirt. I caught the sound of his heartbeat. Interestingly enough, Dick's heart was beating a little faster than normal. I realized that our heartbeats were almost beating in sync. It lulled me into a daze.
We layed in silence together for about 5 minutes. Something about his chest felt familiar, but before I could decipher what it was, a bunch of shadows blocked our sun.
We both looked up to see Kelli and her gang. Reluctantly, I sat up and Dick sat up slow
"Hi, Bethany! We were just, like, thinking of you! So, I guess you couldn't make it to my little party last night," She looked down at me. I saw a glimmer of amusement? Or was that anger?
"Oh, yeah. I was busy. I was at the gym with my sister again. We go every week," I replied lamely. I glanced at Dick, who had his eyebrows furrowed and was studying Kelli very carefully. I noticed how Kelli and her gang didn't even so much as glance in Dick's direction. They acted like Dick wasn't even there.
"Well, you, like, didn't come shopping with me the first three times I invited you, then you didn't, like, want to hang out the other two times I asked. Then you didn't show up to the party last night. Even in school, you always hang out with those losers instead of, like, with us," She jabbed a finger in Dick's direction, "If I didn't know any better, I would say that you're, like, avoiding us." But that's exactly what I was trying to do. Every time she asked me to hang out, I got that same bad feeling.
Think, Bethany, think! Think of an excuse, quick!
"Well, you know," I was surprised at how even my voice was. I stared at my nails to give a casual and nonchalant effect, "Moving to a new school two weeks into the semester is kind of stressful," I decided to add in a couple "like"'s, "Like, you know how the teachers can be, like, so annoying and, like, assign all this homework."
"You're totally right! Sorry," She said. I inwardly sighed in relief, "You know, I'm hosting an even bigger party tonight. You have to come. I'll send Grant to come pick you up. What's your address?"
I froze. What do I say? I couldn't just say, "Yeah! I live in Mount Justice in Happy Harbour! See you at 7!" Gotham wasn't even anywhere near Happy Harbour! Did I make up an address? Before the silence could stretch too long, Dick jumped in.
"I'll drive her! She lives near me, anywase," How did Dick always know when I was stuck?
Kelli squinted her eyes at him, "You'd better bring her. No tricks or games. My address is here," She pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to me, "If she doesn't show up, it's on you. I'm going to come after you, you loser," She directed at Dick. Then she stalked away, her clan trailing at her feet.
Right when she was gone, Dick whirled on me.
"You can't go."
"What? Why not?" I was shocked at his immediate reaction.
"I could tell you didn't want to go. You don't have to if you don't want to."
"But you offered to drive me there!"
"That was only because I didn't like the idea of Grant driving you."
I blushed at that comment.
"I don't want to, but I have to. She said that she would come after you if I didn't show up," I said glumly.
"I don't think she meant it. And if she did, I could take care of myself!" Dick said with a serious face.
"No, I think she did mean it. With Kelli, anything is possible. She gets what she wants, even if she has to force someone."
"I don't like this."
"You don't have to. I'll basically just show up and… I don't know, eat junk food and sit in the corner…?" I said, trailing off. Come to think of it, I'd never actually been to a party before. I was never allowed to go to Homecoming, Winter Formal, or a house party. Ash and Cain always went and then I was stuck being grounded by Grace or Peter for doing something so miniscule.
Dick sighed and face palmed, "You've never been to a party before, have you? Oh, God. You know nothing about the real world."
I blushed and got defensive, "What? Are you saying I'm naive?"
"No, I'm saying you're innocent. You really don't know what goes on at a party, do you?"
I shook my head no.
"First of all, there is no such thing as 'just sitting in the corner.' Especially for you, because you are involved with Kelli, there's no way everyone's just going to leave you alone. Second of all, the food at parties are probably threaded with drugs. And as for drinks, there's probably only going to be alcohol."
"So like in the movies and on tv," I summed.
"Yeah, except worse."
Great, "Well, I'm still going to go. I don't want you to get hurt or humiliated because I was too scared to go to a stupid party."
"But she wouldn't dare hurt me. My father is Bru-"
"RRRIIINNNGGG"
His lips moved, but I couldn't hear what he was saying because we were sitting right underneath the obnoxiously loud bell signaling first period.
"What did you say?" I asked when it finished.
"Nothing, forget it." He grabbed my hand, like he always did nowadays, and together, we maneuvered our way around the crowded hallways.
Don't worry, the next chapter will be about the very… eventful… party! Stay traught this week for me! Don't worry, I'll be back!