Betty's voice carried an unusual excitement over the phone as she spoke to Hanna, fully absorbed in her own thoughts.
"Hanna, I have a fantastic idea for my novel," Betty said, her tone growing more animated. "Do you remember that terrifying experience I had before, the one involving the female corpse hidden inside a wall? I have decided to use that as the foundation for a new story, written in Adrian's style, and I will insert myself as the investigator."
She paused only briefly, as if unwilling to lose momentum.
Hanna listened in silence, already used to Betty drifting into her writing obsession without warning.
Betty continued, unable to stop herself, "You remember the room I used to live in, right?"
Without waiting for a response, she pressed on.
"The landlord of that place was a man named Usher. So I am going to name this novel The Fall of the House of Usher. How does that sound? It fits perfectly, doesn't it?"
A small cough escaped her as she shifted into reading mode.
Then she began reciting her draft aloud.
"Beyond the emptiness that follows a midnight awakening when sleep refuses to come, beyond the bitterness of ordinary struggles in life, and the sudden terror that comes when illusions fall away, I cannot compare the heaviness in my heart to any emotion found in the world."
"My heart feels cold, sinking, constantly turning over itself. A sorrow that cannot be escaped grips my soul, and no imagined comfort can twist it into something beautiful."
"What is the reason," Betty read with growing intensity, "what is the reason that I feel such dread when I look at this wall? Why does this apartment building feel so unbearably terrifying?"
She finished and immediately asked, "So, what do you think, Hanna? Isn't this even more unsettling than what Adrian usually writes? I think these are the best words I have produced so far, at least for now."
On the other end of the call, Hanna hesitated.
"I think it is… okay," she said carefully, clearly unsure how to respond.
A pause followed before her voice shifted, heavier this time.
"I think I did something stupid."
She then began explaining everything without restraint, as though finally releasing a burden. She described how she had brought Adrian a small cake, how their conversation had escalated, and how she had reacted when he leaned in. Her voice grew more frustrated as she recounted her quick retreat from his space, her embarrassment, and the lingering regret she now felt.
By the time she finished, she sounded exhausted.
Betty listened in silence for a moment, processing everything.
"So let me get this straight," Betty finally said. "You think you made a mistake. You believe you should not have pulled away. Instead, you should have either kissed him boldly or just told him directly that you like him and want to go on a date."
Hanna immediately responded, her voice conflicted.
"I do not know. Maybe I was not ready. But I really do not want Adrian to misunderstand. It would be terrible if he thought I was rejecting him. I do not dislike him. If I did, I would never have joined his support group or stayed by his side all this time."
Betty adjusted her position on the sofa, shifting the phone from one ear to the other as she listened.
"Then Adrian was right," Betty said casually. "You are not ready. Or more accurately, you have not matured yet."
She added without hesitation, "Although I should say, I am different from you. I am more mature."
"But," Hanna tried to interject.
Betty cut her off immediately.
"Speaking of Adrian," Betty said, changing the subject smoothly, "I found something interesting about him. Do you want to hear it?"
Hanna's hesitation vanished instantly.
"What is it?"
Betty's tone lowered slightly, as if revealing a secret.
"His birthday is February nineteenth."
"I already know that," Hanna replied quickly.
"That is not the interesting part," Betty continued. "Clark Kent's birthday is also February nineteenth."
Hanna went silent for a moment.
Betty did not stop there.
"I also checked records from the Smallville Children's Welfare Foundation. The Kent family was registered there, but there is no clear record of the children they adopted."
Hanna thought about it briefly before responding.
"That is normal, right? Adrian was not adopted through standard procedures."
She had done her own reading on the situation after everything that had happened in Metropolis. It was widely known now that both Adrian and Clark were connected to extraterrestrial origins, even if the full truth was still not publicly understood.
Betty, however, was not satisfied.
"Of course Adrian is not ordinary," she said. "But it is not possible for him to simply appear without explanation. How did he and Superman both end up being connected to the Kent family? Why did Martha Kent go through adoption channels? Who helped cover the records? General Zod himself believed only one capsule arrived on Earth carrying a single infant. So how did a second child arrive?"
Hanna exhaled softly.
"I do not know," she admitted. "Everything about this is complicated. Maybe we should not dig too deeply into Adrian's private history."
Betty gave a small, satisfied sound.
"This is the result of my investigation into Adrian," she said proudly. "And there is more. Since both Adrian and Superman share the same birthday, February nineteenth, that date is clearly significant to him."
She leaned into her theory.
"Think about it. His so-called rival, Superman, shares the same birthday. That alone would make anyone complicated emotionally. Hanna, you should be able to understand that."
"That is also why he does not like celebrating his birthday," Betty concluded. "And why he was not particularly moved by the cake you brought. Your timing was off."
Hanna fell silent again, then slowly accepted the reasoning.
She felt a mix of admiration and embarrassment. Betty, despite being considered a "forced" member of Adrian's support group, seemed far more observant than she was.
At the same time, elsewhere in Metropolis, Kara Zor El was finally emerging into focus again.
In a university study room, she sat with a knitted cardigan over her frame, her long dark hair tied back neatly. Black framed glasses rested on her face, giving her a more subdued appearance, though her presence was still striking.
At roughly one hundred and seventy centimeters tall, she shifted her long legs slightly under the desk as she stared at her laptop.
Years had passed since her first encounter with Adrian and Clark at the Kent farm. The once uncertain girl had grown into a university student trying to maintain a normal life.
On her screen was the school's internal forum, filled with heated discussions about recent events in Metropolis.
Although the alien invasion had ended quickly, the impact it left on the public was lasting. Videos and reports of the battle were still being analyzed and debated.
Kara frowned as she scrolled through the posts.
One video in particular caught her attention, footage showing Adrian overwhelming Kalibak during the chaos in front of LexCorp. The scene of Adrian striking down the alien commander and the destruction that followed had been captured by reporters, including Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane, and distributed widely.
Kara clicked on the news report, her expression tightening slightly as she watched.
She had not appeared during the incident, but she had been following everything closely. Her adoptive parents still hoped she would complete her studies, graduate, and eventually settle into a normal life, a job, and a traditional future.
That expectation was something she had respected, but never fully embraced.
Her eyes remained fixed on the screen as she watched Adrian's actions being broadcast again.
There was something unsettling about how decisively he operated, something that drew her attention despite herself.
Her thoughts lingered, especially on how far he had come, and how different he had become compared to the people she once knew at Smallville.
She stared at the footage a little longer, her curiosity deepening as the scene replayed in front of her.
I've been dealing with exams lately, so updates have been a bit slower than usual.