Betty Brant

The ride to New Jersey was a very long one. It wasn't just because of the distance. David was quiet for most of it. I wanted to say something, but I just kept quiet. It was lot for him to agree to this errand in the first place. I understood that to a point.

I doubt I'd ever fully understand.

After Midtown was invaded and the AcaDeca Team got held hostage by The Friends of Humanity, I wanted to know more about the group. I didn't want any part of them, but as Sun Tzu quote goes, "know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles". So, I made burner accounts to lurk their forums, as well as the forums and social media groups of those who are for them and support them. I lurked the groups for a period of few days. Each day, I was only able to do that for about an hour before I walked away. I felt so dirty that, at the end of it all, I took the longest shower of my life. It really upset me to know that there are people like that who exist in the world. I could imagine how David felt.

I say that to say this – I didn't blame David for being rather upset about doing this errand.

My phone vibrated, taking me out of my thoughts. I reached into my pocket and pulled it out. I saw the screen. MJ's name was on it.

"It's Michelle," I said as I looked at David. David didn't say anything, keeping his eye on the road. He nodded slightly. I answered the call and put the phone to my ear. "Hey."

"Hey Betty," MJ replied from the other end of the line. "…I need a favor."

"What kind of favor?" I asked.

"I need help with a school project. A friend of mine told me that you're doing a similar project of your own for Ms. Jones, so I figured we could meet up tomorrow during lunch and compare notes."

I was a bit confused at first. Then I started reading in-between the lines. "…Yeah, I don't think lunchtime will work for me. I tell you what, though. Let's talk over dinner instead."

"Sounds good, but let's not go to our usual spots. I'm feeling something with an underground vibe."

"I know a place. I'll send you the details later."

"I'd like that. Have a good one."

"You too, MJ."

I hung up the phone. I then leaned back in my seat.

"Everything okay?" David asked. I was a bit surprised to hear his voice.

"I'm just peachy," I replied. "How about you? Are you okay?"

"I'll be okay once we bring Josh back to New York."

I nodded. "I get that."

I heard him sigh. "I'm sorry about earlier."

I scoffed. "Why?"

"I don't like losing my composure, but these past several days have been ranking very high on a scale of one to 'Screw This'. And me having anything to do with Josh… The thought of it just makes my blood boil."

"I told you, I get it." I looked out the window. "If Scott had told me I had to do an interview with Andrew Tate for the sake of saving my friends, I'd pretty heated." That actually got a laugh out of David. I looked at him and smiled briefly. "Besides, I got my personal issues with The Friends of Humanity myself."

"Midtown Incident?"

"Midtown Incident."

After a while, we arrived in Teterboro. We drove through the city until we pulled up to an apartment complex. I looked at the brick and mortar buildings. They weren't spectacular looking. They looked like the kind of buildings you'd see in a TV show or movie to show that a character didn't exactly have the best living arrangements.

"So this is where he's at?" I asked.

"It is," David said as he put the car in park and turned off the car. I looked at him as he unbuckled his seatbelt and reached over to the backseat for the Taser Shotgun he took with him. I raised an eyebrow.

"Is that going to be necessary?"

"I don't know. But associate with Scott long enough, it's hard not to live life without even at least giving a thought to the worst case scenario." He stepped out of the car, prompting me to do the same. As I closed the door, I looked across at David as he put the rifle on the roof of the car. He took a moment to remove his trench coat and toss it on the car's hood. He then grabbed the rifle and hung it from his shoulder by the shoulder strap before he grabbed his trench coat and put it back on, concealing the weapon. "You're ready to go?"

I took a moment to check if the Taser was properly in place in my jacket. "Yeah, I am."

I followed David as we walked through the complex. He led me to one of the complex's buildings. After we walked in through the door, we approached the elevator of the lobby. After pressing the button, the doors opened. After we stepped inside David pressed the button corresponding to what I assumed was the floor we needed to be on. I looked ahead as the door closed. As the elevator ascended, I cracked my neck, mostly out of nerves.

"So you really infiltrated Hammer Industries," David stated.

"Yeah, I did," I replied. "I' not so sure it was worth it."

"How come?"

"I basically twisted Mercury and MJ's arms to get them to help me. I hid in a dumpster. I was an accessory to a theft, I trespassed into a building, ended up assaulting a guard, and at the end of it all, had it not been for Spider-Man making the save, we all would've been screwed. And what did I get for my troubles? I found a supposedly active crime scene looking like it was wiped clean." I sneered. "I'm really doing a lot for Jessica, aren't I?"

"I mean, at least you know that Hammer apparently staged the whole thing."

I almost rolled my eyes. "It's Hammer we're talking about here. All I did was confirm the most likely scenario." I sighed. "I'm back to square one."

I didn't know if David was going to respond or not. If he was, he didn't say anything when the elevator car reached its destination. The doors opened up. David stepped out. I followed him. As we walked down the hall, I looked left and right.

"Stay close to me," David said.

"Okay," I whispered.

We kept walking until David reached a door. I heard him take a breath before he knocked on the door. We only got silence in response. David and I looked at each other for a moment. He then knocked on the door again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," a voice said from beyond the door. After some seconds, the door opened. I saw blonde-haired boy was looking at us. He looked only a little older than me – about David's age. I didn't see anything abnormal about his skin. Then I saw the watch on his wrist. It looked similar to Cess's.

"So Scott sends you of all people," the boy said.

"Yeah, he did," David said. I looked at him. The tone in which he said that… it sounded neutral, but it sounded it a bit forced. I bit the inside of my cheek as I fought the urge to sigh. Something told me that it was going to be a long evening. "Please let us in, Josh."

Josh scoffed. "Oh, now you want to be polite?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"I'm guessing you're Mr. Foley," I said with a gentle tone as I looked at him.

He looked at me. "Who are you?"

I smiled slightly. "I'm Betty. I'm a friend of Scott and company. We are really in need of your assistance."

He shook his head. "Of course." He stepped aside. I looked at David. David didn't look back at me. He walked in. After a couple of seconds, I walked in after him. I took a moment to look around the place. It was a bit modest. The living was room small with only one sofa in front of a television. The kitchen seemed like there was only room for one person. Come to think of it, this was place was definitely meant for one person. "So can I get you guys anything?"

"What we need from you is to come with us," David said. "We need your help."

"Of course you guys do." Josh walked over to the sofa and took a seat on the middle seat. "You guys barely call to see if I'm still alive. You guys give me the cold shoulder, for the most part. But when you need my powers, all of a sudden, you guys come get me."

"Yeah, pretty much, yes."

"David," I spoke up.

"No, Betty, let him speak." I looked at Josh, who put on a fake and exaggerated smile. "It's good for you to see how the X-Men treat you when you're just an asset to them."

"Better an asset than an abomination, am I right?" David deadpanned.

"David, please don't," I urged. David looked at me. "Remember what we're here for." I looked at Josh. "Must you antagonize him?"

"Yes, I do," Josh replied simply. "I'm getting tired of being judged by people who think they know me."

"Oh, I don't?" David shot back.

I shook my head as I turned to David. "David…"

David looked right at me. "No, Betty, since he wants to have this conversation, let's talk about it." I sighed, but I said nothing. He looked right back at Josh. "So, I'm wrong about you, huh? Is that what you're telling me? You're not some kind of bigot."

"I'm not a bigot," Josh said grimly. I closed my eyes and took in a breath. I just knew David struck a nerve.

David scoffed. "Of course you're not. You just happened to be acquainted and affiliated with bigots."

I shook my head and opened my eyes, just in time to see Josh stand up suddenly. "You know what? Fuck you, David. You can go to hell."

"It wouldn't be the first time people like you told me that."

"I'm not like those people!"

I wanted to keep my mouth shut, but I was just a bit confused. "Um… I don't mean to pile on," I cut in gently. Even as Josh shot me a look, I pressed forward. "I just want to understand where you are coming from. Prior to us even coming here, I was led to believe that you are a former member of The Friends of Humanity. Is that not correct?"

Josh nodded. "...It is."

"From what I've personally witnessed and what I have researched about them, they are very extreme in their beliefs. You say you're not a bigot, and I want to give you the benefit of the doubt. But I think believing or being open to the possibly of that would be hard for anyone, given the circumstances. Were you forced to join?"

"…Well…" Josh paused for a moment. He then shook his head. "No, not really."

"Was there a monetary incentive?"

"No."

"So how does one who's not a bigot end up as a part of a hate group whose members also tend to hold membership with other hate groups?"

"It's… it's complicated."

I smiled gently. "I like to think I'm good at understanding."

Josh stared at me for some seconds. He then sat down. "I just wanted my dad's approval."

"…I'm sorry, what?" David interjected.

"David," I admonished gently as I looked at him. "Please let him speak." David held his hands up before he took a step back. I gave him a small smile before I looked back at Josh. "Please, continue."

"Like I said, I was just trying to get my dad's approval," Josh resumed. "He and I never really had the best relationship. For the most part, he looked at me as if I was some kind of disappointment because I didn't meet his expectations. Meanwhile, he was well respected in The Friends of Humanity. I didn't even want to join them at first. But the one friend I had in the group convinced me to give it a go. He told me I had it all wrong. He told me that the group was really about 'preserving humanity's future'. I went to one of the group's meetings. When I told my dad I did, that was the first time in a long while that he had any kind of praise for me. That urged me to keep going." He shook his head as he looked up at the ceiling. "Within weeks, I was a full-fledged member. I went to conventions and other events with my dad, and he talked me up like I was his pride and joy. All the while, I was getting deeper and deeper, doing more and more heinous stuff that I didn't agree with for the sake of my dad's love." Josh looked back at me. "It got so bad that we actually travelled all the way to Saint Louis to burn a cross on the front lawn of this one family's home because their son's powers became active. I felt guilty as hell, but I still went along with it.

"But then karma hit. I found out I was a mutant. My skin became golden. And when my mom had a bad fall at the house, I realized I had the ability to heal. My stupid ass thought my dad and FOH would still embrace me. I showed them I was down for the cause, after all. Well, that wasn't the case. I had to run."

"And that's when you went looking for Scott," I said.

"Yeah, it is." Josh turned his head slightly. I figured he was looking at David. "Like I told you, I'm not a bigot."

"Even if I was ready to believe your story, that just means you were complicit," David responded. "That's not better. One could even make an argument that that's worse. You were literally continued until that leopard ate your face."

Josh narrowed his eyes. "What does that even mean?"

"Look, let's just table this discussion for another time, okay?" I interjected. "Right now, we need your help. We're dealing with somebody who really has it out for us. He and the people he's working with managed to take down Spider-Man, and he's blackmailing somebody else to give up the X-Men's identities. Add in the fact that he allegedly has the government's backing and… well, we're in a huge bind. The reason we need you is because Spider-Man was beaten to the point that he had to be put in a medically induced coma. We need him back on his feet as soon as possible."

"So what's in it for me?" Josh demanded. "You're going to convince the others to actually cut me some slack?"

I frowned. "Even if I wanted to, I can't. Josh, while I understand where you're coming from, I also understand where they are coming. I can't ignore their feelings. I also can't ignore the fact that Scott has been doing a lot for you despite whatever negative feelings he and the others have towards you. None of that changes the fact that we really need your help to get Spider-Man up on his feet." A thought then occurred to me. "Adding to that, if the worst case scenario occurs, the X-Men and everybody connected to them in any way would be targeted by the U.S. Government. That includes you."

Josh stared at us for several seconds. I could see the gears turning in his head. I glanced over my shoulder at David, who raised his eyebrows briefly at me. I looked back at Josh, who looked like he was still thinking. He then sighed as he stood up.

"Just let me go shower and get dressed," he finally said.

I smiled. "Fine by us."

Josh got up and walked away, disappearing into the hallway. I made a sigh of relief. I then turned and looked at David.

"You're better at this than I am," David commented.

I shook my head. "No," I disagreed. "I'm just not the one with the justified grudge."