Hopelessly Heroic (Rewritten)

sixteen

Eventually, Crystal came back outside, and told June that Willow was waiting for her. June barely had time to thank her before she was rushing inside, concern overtaking everything else she felt. 

"Willow," She breathed, seeing her sitting at the table, a mug filled with tea in her hands. 

"Hi,"

June sat next to her, pushing the shirt off the seat of it before sitting. "How are you?" 

She just shrugged, eyes unfocused. 

"They, um...they found your parents." June said, unsure if she should bring it up or not. Willow finally looked at her, shocked. 

"What?"

"Yeah. They have them down at the station. The police want me to go in and reassure them that we're doing everything we can to track you down, and that I can protect them. So far they haven't said anything about knowing you, but...If they feel unsafe, it's only a matter of time until they do."

June could practically see Willow's heart drop. All at once, her face fell, her eyes dimmed, and she folded in on herself. 

"I'm really sorry, but it gets worse." June continued.

"How could it possibly get worse?" Willow scoffed, her frustration bubbling up to the surface.

"Apparently, Mind Mania told the police that she can identify you, but it would be breaking the rules because of how she got the information,"

Willow's eyes widened, and she slowly looked up at June, scared, "You."

"Yeah," June nodded, swallowing hard, "And the police said they'll allow it if your parents demand it. It would then be a public safety issue, and they wouldn't be able to ignore the chance to catch you. The only reason they haven't okayed it yet is because I convinced them to let me talk to your parents first."

Of course, June was terrified. If they allowed Mind Mania to spill the truth, she'd get thrown in jail. It's a criminal offence to protect a villain. She'd get judged extra harshly, too, because the public is supposed to be able to trust her. If they found out she was friends with a villain, they'd think she was secretly evil, and that she was trying to sabotage the police's work or something. If she ever got out of jail, she'd surely never be allowed to be a hero again. 

Still, if Willow didn't want June to say anything to her parents, she wouldn't. She'd take the prison sentence and the hate, and she'd just hope that Willow could run somewhere far enough away that they'd never find her. 

"Okay," Willow breathed, "Okay."

***

June walked into the police station, trying to calm her racing heart. She didn't even have to say anything before she was being directed down the hall to one of the interrogation rooms. It was doubling as a place to house Willow's parents for the time being. 

She knew she was close when she saw the sheriff and Mind Mania leaning against a wall. Mind Mania had her eyes closed and her arms crossed, but June knew she could tell she approached by hearing her thoughts. No doubt by now she knew the people in the room were Willow's parents. June wanted more than anything to be able to read minds just for a moment, to see what they were thinking. Were they scared? Did they think it was a real threat?

"Good luck." Mind Mania said, but it sounded anything but encouraging.

Fuck you, too, June thought, pushing the door open.

She had to be careful. They were on camera and there was a tape recorder on the table that June had been instructed to turn on immediately. She clicked the button, and then smiled at the two people sitting across from her.

"Hi, I'm Tide."

"Madeline," The woman said, not extending a hand.

"I'm John, nice to meet you." 

June smiled, choosing her words carefully. "I understand this can be a scary experience, but I need to know how worried you are? After all, there was never a real threat, just your pictures on a phone."

Madeline and John shared a look. "Look, Tidal, I'm sure you mean well, but you don't know how capable she is of-"

"Actually, I do." June said firmly, trying desperately to make them understand what she meant without being able to say it, "Flame and I have opposite powers, so we are often facing off against each other. I know her abilities very well, and I am aware of her...intentions in situations like these. As you may have noticed, she chooses to mainly focus on damaging property, not people. Some might even say it's childlike."

She wanted to scream at them that they were in no danger, that she was friends with Willow, but she couldn't.

"Madeline-" John started, but Madeline cut him off just by raising her hand.

"So you see each other often." Madeline said, squinting down her nose at June, who nodded. She seemed like she understood what June was trying to say.

"I assure you, you have nothing to worry about."

"And you're absolutely positive?" Madeline questioned, leaning back in her seat. 

"Like a pregnancy test," June said, trying not to cringe at the stupid joke.

Willow told her to say it. She said it had been a running joke in their family when she was younger. Apparently, her parents had told her the story of when they found out they were going to have a baby. Madeline took the test after being sick for a week, and then told John, who immediately asked if she was positive. She made the joke, and it had stuck since then.

They both seemed to register the connection, their eyes widening. John coughed, glancing at Madeline before speaking. 

"We believe you."

"So you won't be needing the extra security of our mind reader revealing Flame's identity?" June asked, needing an answer before she could leave the room.

"No," Madeline piped in, looking uncomfortable. "Look...we don't want any harm brought to her, but we don't want any contact with her."

June felt her chest squeeze. She wasn't sure how she'd be able to relay that message to Willow without hurting her. 

"By saying that, you're bringing harm to her."