Fire and Lightning (Book One) [Young Justice fanfic]

Chapter Twenty-Five- Therapy

October 23, 2010. 01:16.

Mount Justice

~~Willow~~

Two hours later, we were back at the cave. Connor left, saying he had to finish talking with Black Canary, and only then did I remember the mission.

I hugged Sphere momentarily, glad that we were able to keep her. Vykin and the others wanted to take her back to New Genesis because they thought we didn't treat her like the sentient being she was. But Connor had apparently formed a bond with Sphere, sort of like I did with Wolf. I was glad she was staying, Sphere seemed to like it here.

It was late, dark outside, so I made my way to my bedroom. Instead of getting my pajamas on, I found myself staring at Dragonfire's bedroom door. How would I apologize to her for my outburst? She was only trying to help me. 

Then the rest of the team came to mind. How was I going to apologize for nearly incinerating all of them in the simulation?

"You know, the door won't knock on itself."

I looked over my shoulder and saw Dragonfire standing behind me, hands on her hips. Her dark hair was down, swishing to one side with a tilt of her head. And although she had dark bags under her eyes, there was a certain cheer and happiness sparkling inside.

"Pardon?" I asked.

"What are you waiting out here for?" She rephrased. dropping her hands. Why was she smiling at me? The last time I'd seen her, we both ended up snapping and yelling at each other.

"Um...I was...waiting for you, actually. Where have you been?"

She made a face. "I had to finish therapy with Black Canary. She wants to see you once she's done with Superboy."

"What did you talk about with her?"

Dragonfire winched slightly and the spark in her eye vanished. At once I knew I'd gone too far.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Dragonfire pushed past me and pressed a button on the wall that opened her door. I couldn't let it end the same way twice.

"I'm sorry," I said, grabbing her wrist, "I didn't mean to pry. The whole reason I came here was to say, well...I'm sorry."

She stared at me with a quizzical look before nodding to continue.

"For yelling at you. For losing control during the simulation. For being a bad friend, I just-"

Dragonfire held up a hand to tell me to stop, "One, I understand that you want to be left alone. I should say sorry because I've seen people close to me die before, and I know I didn't want to be alone after that. I didn't want anyone else to feel the same way. I should have stopped when you told me to, but I was being stubborn. Two, no one blames you for the outburst. Not even M'gann, and she's the one you hurt. Heck, even Batman doesn't blame you!" Her friendly smile prompts me to smile as well.

"Three, you are NOT a bad friend. You've had some tough times, we all have. Trust me, when you watch MLP as much as I have, you know what all kinds of friendship look like. You're a good friend, Willow Dinah," This time Dragonfire's smile hid something. Something that she knew and I didn't.

"And four; I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have pushed you."

I held out my hand to her in a feeble attempt to make amends. 

"Friends?"

Dragonfire eagerly accepted my handshake. "Friends!"

"Willow?" She definitely would have hugged me if Canary hadn't appeared.

 "Willow, is it okay if I talk to you for a moment?"

Dragonfire had already closed her door, ready to go to sleep, and seeing as I wasn't quite tired yet, I saw no point in avoiding my own little "talk" with Black Canary.

"Willow," She said once we were alone in the therapy room, "Would you like to talk to me about your sudden outburst during the simulation?"

Like to tell her? Probably not. Should tell her? Probably yes.

"Well, when Artemis died, I was upset. Naturally. Artemis has been...really nice to me. She and Dragonfire and M'gann and Wally are always looking out for me, always trying to help me. Sometimes, it drives me insane and makes me want to set something on fire, and at other times...I don't know what I'd do without them.

"When she died, something just...broke inside me. Like this sort of thing had happened to me before. Me just standing there and watching someone I cared about die. I was trying to think about who that person was, and the next thing I knew, everything was on fire. If it weren't for Superboy, I probably would have killed everyone. Then again, that might have made things a whole lot simpler." I looked up at Canary, and she nodded for me to continue.

"Next, in DC, I was determined that none of my friends would die anymore. So I stood and fought. I tried to get them to escape, and then I died. I died in vain...." I repeated in a whisper.

Canary reached forward and put a hand on my knee, and I looked to the side, not wanting to make eye contact. The idea of that made me feel slightly squeamish.

"Willow, you didn't die in vain. You made a very brave sacrifice for your teammates, for your friends."

"Do you really think they'll still be my friends after I almost killed them?" I blurted out.

Canary looked appalled at the mere suggestion of such a thing. "Of course they will! They all love you, and you fit right into the team like a puzzle piece. I know Dragonfire likes to hang out with you, obviously, both Robin and Wally are impressed with your skills in science, when we train I can tell that Artemis is always eager to spar with you, and Connor looks out for  you like two big brothers. Not to mention you seem to have quite a bond with Wolf."

It was quiet for a moment, and I could hear Wolf scratching at the door, trying to get to me. I looked into Canary's eyes to see if she was telling the truth. She was.

"You're an amazing person, Willow. A good person. I hope you not only know that, but you believe it too."

I didn't know if I could completely believe that, but in that moment, I did.

-------

That night, I fell asleep cuddling with Wolf. And when I woke up, there was a big piece of paper taped to the wall underneath all the handprints.

"WE LOVE YOU WILLOW!" It said in big box letters above a picture of everyone on the team, minus me and Connor. They must have taken it when we were gone last night. Each team member has signed their name, and even Justice and Wolf each added a paw print.

I smiled, hurrying out of my room to join Dragonfire and the others for breakfast.

Dragonfire was the only one there when I arrived, making a bit of bacon on the stove.

"Did you like the card?" She asked, sounding like she had a huge secret to hide.

In an instant I dashed across the room and hugged her.

"Thank you," I whispered, "Thank you