Somebody screamed out for Tidal, and then June was sighing and putting out the flames, throwing water around carelessly, getting Willow wet in the process. She ran to help whoever had called, and Willow just watched her go, feeling the water run down her hair and soak her shirt.
She had no eyes for anything happening around her except June, who somehow looked beautiful while getting punched. She wasn't getting hit as hard as she used to, not since Willow told the other villains that they were secretly friends. Everyone was still putting up the front, but she could tell June was confused at how easily Flux was letting her win.
Movement from her left caught her eye, and she turned to find one of the heroes, the mind reader, Mind Mania, staring at her. Willow couldn't care less about a hero knowing her thoughts, but she knew June would, especially when those thoughts were about her, so she clenched her teeth and shot a ball of fire at the invasive hero, then she started to leave. She had done everything she came to do, and now June was too occupied to chat.
**
Willow knew there was a lesson to be learned from this, and she was pretty sure it was something to do with never getting close to anybody. Even though she didn't see her parents anymore, they got dragged into her shit just because they knew her. She was worried anybody she'd ever been friends with would somehow get targeted next, though she didn't know how.
With the public thinking she was on the hunt for her parents, there were a lot more police and superheroes patrolling the streets, so she stayed inside. June was probably out there too, pretending to be protecting the civilians from Willow's wrath. She felt weaker than ever before. She didn't want to leave her house, so she just watched her cameras, but that stressed her out and she had to stop doing that, too.
Eventually, she found herself sitting on her bed, leaning against the wall. Her blanket was draped around her like a cape, and all the lights were off. She was staring into the darkness for what could have been minutes or hours, feelings numb.
The clock in the kitchen ticked, and she thought about counting the seconds as they passed, but didn't have the energy to start, and then decided the ticking was annoying, so she shot a stream of fire at the clock until she heard it drop to the ground and shatter.
The smell of melted plastic gave her a headache, but she didn't care enough to open a window. She switched to laying down, and it felt like the opposite of progress. With the blanket pulled over her head, she could almost pretend she didn't even exist; like she was just floating in a void somewhere and didn't have to deal with any of her issues. It was nice.
In some area of her brain, she recognised the sound of her door opening and closing, but she didn't even care. She wasn't worried or curious at all, just numb.
"Willow?"
It was Crystal. She had probably knocked first. Willow couldn't imagine Crystal to be the type of person to just walk in to someone's house.
"Hello?"
She couldn't find the voice to respond, or the energy to crawl out of bed and greet her guest. She felt her bed dip down as Crystal sat on the edge, her hand coming to rest on Willow's shoulder. She sighed and pulled the blanket down, but she didn't sit up.
"Hi." Willow said blankly, not meeting Crystal's eyes.
It was quiet for a moment, but Crystal kept her hand on Willow's shoulder, and she wondered if she was trying to heal her.
"How'd you know?" Willow asked.
Crystal barely smiled, looking toward the door, "I have a knack for knowing when people are in pain, so I thought I'd just stop by. Tidal's standing outside. She told me those people are your parents."
The fact that June was outside shouldn't have been surprising, but it was. She pushed herself up, leaning against the wall again, suddenly feeling strange. "She is?"
Crystal nodded, "She looked like she was fighting herself on whether to come in or not. It was cute."
Willow looked at her, reading her face for a moment. "She's still there?"
"I think she's been out there for a while, now." She said, her tone clearly implying something that Willow wasn't sure she understood.
Crystal sighed, removing her hand. The air suddenly felt tense. Willow braced herself. "Look," She started, remaining gentle while still evoking a seriousness that stilled Willow, "It's going to get tough. People will be looking at you for a long time, wondering what's going to happen. But, if nothing does happen, maybe they'll start to look away. And when that happens...maybe you can switch."
"Switch?" She asked, confused.
"Nobody here wants to be evil, Willow. Least of all you. Maybe you can show them you're not."
For a moment, she was confused. Crystal seemed to be talking nonsense. If they didn't want to be evil, they wouldn't be villains. Right? For Willow, it just seemed like the only option once she got her power. Fire could only ever destroy things. Nothing grew from ashes, therefore she could never be a hero. But she always thought the other villains just wanted to be bad. Like, they started out as class clowns, but then they were always the ones picking fights and spreading rumours and then...being a villain just came naturally. Crystal seemed to think they were all forced into their roles, or backed into a corner.
It kind of made sense. None of the villains were ever mean to each other. They all got along well, and sometimes even planned group hangouts. Willow attended them the least, always feeling like she was invited as a courtesy. Of course there were rogue villains, random people causing mischief or killing people, but even Willow's group didn't associate with them. But if no one in their team wanted to be evil, it posed a good question.
"Why are you on our side?" Willow asked, watching as Crystal offered a small smile.
"Because everyone else is on the other side. The heroes always win...because the police are on their side. And if they get injured, their private hospital room or their personal nurse is paid for with taxpayers money. When a villain gets knocked down, the whole world cheers. And if they don't get back up...Well that's just another win for the heroes. And, I don't know...That just doesn't seem right to me."
______
This is the second last of my pre-written chapters to updates may take a bit longer now jsyk. Also I have to go to jury selection tomorrow kill me
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Hopelessly Heroic (Rewritten)
Teen Fiction"Then do it." June challenged, watching Flame's eyebrows shoot up. "I don't think you're as tough as you want everyone to think. You want to hurt me? Do it." The fire in her hand grew, and June watched it with bated breath. She was inviting the town...
