"Dudes, there is no way that I'm eating pepperoni!" the sandy-haired teen exclaimed to his friends, tossing his hands over his head as they were walking towards the parking lot of Jump City Central Park.

Vic rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? Veggies don't belong on pizza!"

"So, we'll get one of each. Big deal," Rachel said, growing weary of the bantering that had been going on since they first arrived at the park that afternoon.

Throwing her the football he had lodged under his arm, Vic responded, "Doesn't make his broccoli and parsnip pizza any less of a crime against humanity. If Nightwing wasn't busy dealing with Dr. Light's sorry ass, I'd probably just have to call him to set Grass Stain over here straight!" As he said that, he gave Gar a friendly thump on the back with his hand, then turned to find Bee was distracted, her eyes fixed on something on the far end of the park. "Yo, Bee. You coming?"

"You go on. I'll catch up with you later," she replied. As she walked in the other direction, she could hear Gar and Vic still arguing in the distance.

"Okay, but have you ever even tried the Veggie Supreme?"

"Have you ever tried being a normal person?"

"Dude, I think the normalcy ship sailed for all of us a long time ago…."

Bee kept her eyes peeled as she walked across the grass. She knew she had seen a strange streak of green light coming from this side of the park, but she had no idea where it had come from or how she was going to track it down. Nightwing was still out taking care of the damage that Dr. Light had caused at the power plant attempting to redirect the flow of the entire city's electricity to fuel his luminosity magnifier, so she would have to handle this one on her own. Not that she minded. She actually liked getting to play the hero every once in a while. It was about time that this city started to realize that there was room for more than one defender, and that it really wasn't crazy to think that such a defender could indeed be a woman.

As Bee continued her approach, she did not see the green light return. But what she did notice was a girl about her age lying on the park bench with her cherry red hair covering her face, sobbing. Was she hurt? Had whatever that produced that green light attacked her? "Hey girl. Is everything okay?"

Kori lifted her head, tucking her hair behind her hair. Sniffling, she said, "Everything is not okay. I am new to the Jump City and I met a boy who was kind at first, but then he got angry with me when I asked to stop touching me, and I don't know anyone else here, and I have no place to stay nor any of my belongings and I am most scared and I do no-"

"Woah, there. Deep breath. One thing at a time," Bee said, taking a seat next to Kori, who had lifted herself up into a seated position during her rant. "Why don't you start by telling me your name?"

Taking a deep breath and slowing herself down, Kori replied, "My name is Kori. And how should I call you?"

"The name is Karen Beecher, but please call me Bee," she said, not pausing for a response as she addressed her next concern. "Now who was this boy who wouldn't take no for an answer? Maybe I could show him a thing or two." She balled her fists in front of her chest and threw a couple of fake punches for emphasis.

Kori cracked a small smile. "That is quite thoughtful of you, but I do not wish for any harm to be brought to Xavier."

Bee's eyes went wide. "Xavier? You mean as in Xavier Red? M-mhm. Girl, you gotta stay away from him. He's bad news," she protested, shaking her head, the two buns on top jiggling slightly from the motion. "He's known around school for breaking girls' hearts. He'll take one home one night, tell her she's his world, then the next morning he'll dump her and move on to the next."

"Oh. I did not realize he was the breaker of hearts," Kori sighed, hanging her head. "I really did think that he liked me."

"Don't worry, girl. You're not alone there. Half of the girls at school thought that at one point, too." Bee placed a reassuring hand on Kori's shoulder, and gave her a sympathetic smile. "Now, did I also hear you say that you have nowhere to stay?"

Nodding her head, Kori answered, "I have only just arrived here in the Jump City this afternoon. I do not know anyone here."

"Well, I've got a guest room that you are welcome to stay in for a while! And you can also raid my closet and borrow any clothes you like until we have the opportunity to take you to the mall."

Kori smiled at her. "I thank you! Does this mean that we are friends?"

"Umm… sure?" Bee said, uncertain. She had only just met the girl. It was dangerous enough that she was already inviting her into her home, but she seemed harmless enough.

"Glorious!" Kori exclaimed, throwing her arms around Bee in a bone-crushing hug.

Bee gasped for air, barely getting out the words, "Can't… breathe."

"My apologies." Releasing her new friend, Kori said, "I am just so excited to have met someone here that is so kind."

Bee smiled at her. "Well, my friends are expecting me at Mikey's Pizzaria. You're welcome to come with me," she said, standing and starting in the direction from which she had came. Jumping up, Kori gladly followed.

Mikey's was a pretty empty, given it was already 9 o'clock at night. Kori noticed that only two tables were occupied: one containing a young couple who was staring deeply into each other's eyes, engaged in a meaningless conversation. Across the room at a round table with five chairs sat three of the teenagers she had seen playing with the ball at the park earlier that day. "Bee, you made it!" the largest teen exclaimed upon seeing them approach. "We just put in the order. Got you a pop." He pushed a glass of Dr. Pib towards the empty chair next to the smaller boy. Then gesturing to Kori, he asked, "Who's this little lady?"

"This is Kori. I just met her at the park. She's new here and has nowhere to stay, so I'm letting her use our guest bedroom, if that's alright with you, Rachel." Bee said, taking her seat.

Rachel just shrugged. "Was everything alright at the park?"

"I guess so. I think my eyes must've been playing tricks on me." Bee suggested. Then she noticed Kori was still standing behind her, looking as if she was unsure of what to do. "Um, would you like to sit with us?" she asked, patting the seat next to her.

"Yeah, you can take Dick's seat. He probably won't make it anyway," the sandy-haired boy said. "I'm Gar, by the way," he introduced himself with a flirty smile as Kori sat down between Bee and Rachel.

"Down boy," Bee reprimanded. "She already had to deal with Xavier getting a little too handsy tonight. She doesn't need to deal with you, too."

Vic coughed on his pop, then managed to choke out, "Xavier Red?" his eyes wide. "That good for nothing bastard."

"Scum bag," Rachel muttered. Behind her, Kori could see that the young lady at the other table was laughing at something the guy had said.

Gar just gave a sheepish grimace then changed the subject.

"Kori, you have got to try this pizza! It's veggie supreme, with broccoli and mushrooms and peppers and eggplant!" he said, plopping a piece on a plate for her and shoving it in her direction.

Kori just looked at it with a puzzled look on her face. "We also have pepperoni if you'd prefer something that normal people eat," Vic chided.

"Um…" Kori said. She had never had pizza, but she knew she was far from normal on this planet, so maybe the veggie supreme would be more to her liking. "Is there mustard?"

Everyone looked up at her like she had just sprouted a second head. "Um… Kori? You want mustard with your pizza?"

"Mhmm," she nodded. "I had it for the first time today on a dog that was hot, and it was most delightful!"

"Well, okay then," Vic said, standing and walking to the counter to request some mustard for his new friend and returning with several small packages. Kori happily squirted every last drop onto her slice of pizza.

"Glorious!" she exclaimed, swallowing her first bite, then messily chowing down on the rest of it, completely oblivious to the looks she was getting from her friends.

———————————————

"So, this will be your room," Bee said, opening the door to a small guest bedroom with a full-size bed and a nightstand on either side, topped with lamps that were casting a golden hue on the room. The sheets were a light blue with a white comforter on top, and the bed looked so comfortable. Kori hopped on it and flopped onto her back.

"This is so wonderful! Thank you so much, Friend Bee."

"Happy to help. If you need anything, my room is right across the hall." She gestured towards the open door just visible from the guest room. "Oh, and if you ever have a boy in here, please just put a sock on the doorknob."

Kori cocked her head. She wasn't sure why she would have a boy in her room or what socks and doorknobs had to do with it. "Are the doorknobs cold?" she asked innocently.

"No," Bee chuckled. "It just signals to me and Rachel that you need a little privacy." She wiggled her eyebrows.

Kori was still rather confused, but she noticed across the hall, there was a sock hanging from Bee's doorknob. "Do you require the privacy now?" Kori asked, nodding her head towards the door.

"Oh!" Bee exclaimed, her face flushing slightly. "No, that was from earlier today. I just forgot to take the sock off. Roy's gone now."

"Will he be returning?"

Bee shrugged. "Probably not. It was kinda just a one time thing. I don't really do 'relationships'."

"So, he is your friend?"

"Uh, not really. He really just a hook up." Bee scratched the back of her neck, not meeting Kori's eyes. "I've got my eyes on Isaiah Crockett. Might bring him home eventually. We'll see."

"So, this Isaiah is your friend? Does he enjoy fishing?" Kori inquired.

"Umm, what?" Bee shook her hair in confusion. "I don't think so."

Kori looked more puzzled. "If he doesn't like to do the fishing, are you sure he would want to do the hooking up? Unless there is something else you use the hooks for."

Bee was silent for a second then burst out laughing. "Girl, you had me going for a minute! Hooking up has nothing to do with fishing."

"Oh." Kori still wasn't sure what they were talking about, but she decided it wasn't important. "So, do you do the hooking up often?"

Bee thought for a second. "Probably no more than half the girls at school, but I totally get slut-shamed for it, though. It's so unfair. Guys like Dick and Xavier can take home a different girl every other day and no one ever bats an eye. But when I sleep with a few different guys throughout the semester, I'm a whore."

Kori looked down at her hands in her lap. "Are most people here so unkind?"

"Nah, most are alright. The mean ones just have a way of making themselves more noticeable. You should totally meet Dick. He's a sweetheart, even if he does like to get around.

"Anyway, I'm gonna turn in for the night. Gotta be at the school early if you want to get registered for classes."

Kori nodded. It seemed this school thing was rather normal on earth, so if she was going to blend in, she decided it would be best to go. With that, Bee left, closing the door behind her. Kori turned off the lamps and settled in for the first full night of sleep she had had in years.