April 9, 2016. 13:36.
Star City, Queen Mansion.
~~Willow~~
You should have told her, you should have told her.
I should have told her.
I slammed the front door shut, only wanting to go be alone in my room.
"Why didn't you tell her?"
Dinah stood on the stairs, waiting for me.
I rolled my eyes, already on the verge of exploding.
"Alright, I should have told her!" I growled. "Nightwing made me promise that I wouldn't tell!"
"Why didn't you tell us?" She asked. She sounded hurt. Deeply hurt. She had trusted me, and she was wondering why I didn't entrust her, in return, with this secret.
For a moment, my vision flashed red, but I barely caught it.
"What? You don't think I'm suffering from this too? I don't have to tell you everything that goes on in my life!"
"You should, Willow," Dinah begged, "I'm your mother!"
I glared at her, and she took a step back. "You are not my mother. You're just the woman who trained me and smothered me. My real mother is dead, and I am tired of you, and everyone else who thinks I need help!"
I ran up the rest of the stairs, leaving her slack-jawed at my outburst.
Alone in my room, with only Scarlett for comfort, I leaned against the door and cried.
-------
May 26, 2016. 21:21.
Blüdhaven.
I was flipping through channels on the TV. Home was too awkward a place to be, and this was the first time in days that Connor, Emma, and Richard were all not there. I couldn't face any of them right now.
"Hey, Will." I looked up, then scooted over on the couch to make room for Mal. He was Karen-less, as usual. It's strange, when we were in high school, the two were inseparable. But now...it seems the only time I ever saw the two of them together was at mission briefings.
"Hey." I replied quietly. "How are things going being the new Guardian?"
During the little incident where we lost the Hall of Justice, Mal found the suit that Roy's cousin used to wear, and used it to fool the alien attacking everyone. Nightwing and Captain Atom both thought that earned him an official spot on the team, fighting besides all of us.
"Well, good, I guess. I haven't really been on a mission yet, just been practicing the standard training that your mom taught me." I flinched, but he missed it.
"So, I-uh, wanted to ask you. How are things goin' with you and Connor, lately?"
There was the slightest pause in my channel-surfing, and I hoped Mal didn't catch it. "Why do you ask?"
Mal shrugged, "Well, I asked him where you've been these past few days and he said "I don't know," like he usually does, but in a slightly grumpier tone."
I sighed, stopping on the latest episode of "My Little Pony," the only thing I had the barest interest in that was playing at the moment. "I don't wanna talk about it."
Mal chuckled, and I elbowed him.
"I could ask the same about you and Karen. Where has she been, lately?"
It was Mal's turn to be quiet. "I don't wanna talk about it."
I laughed long and loud. It felt good to laugh. He shoved my shoulder and I shoved him back.
"Ahh..." He leaned back on the couch, watching the ceiling.
"You ever wish you could turn back the clock? Make things the way they used to?" He asked.
I leaned back with him, and closed my eyes, remembering.
I'd give anything right now to have Royston sit beside me instead of Mal, and have a simple meal prepared by my own mother instead of Dinah waiting when I got home.
"Come on, Willow!"
"Willow! You did it!"
"You doin' okay, Willow?"
My eyes opened as real memories replaced the one I'd made up for myself.
Training with Emma. Talking with Connor. Doctor Who and chicken whizzies with Artemis and Wally. Learning to play video games with a younger, more childish Richard. Burning cookies with M'gann. Kaldur's undying trust in me. Oliver and Dinah's kindness. Roy's proud grin as we brought down another gang together. Olivia's hugs every time I came home.
I stood up and placed a hand on Mal's shoulder. "You know what, Mal. I've made mistakes. And sometimes, I do wish things could be different. Sometimes I wish things were the way the used to be." I looked around the warehouse, and I could almost see cave walls instead of metal and wood. I looked at Holly, who looked so much like kitten Justice I couldn't help but smile.
"But you know what, things might not have turned out as amazingly as they have."
Leaving Mal to think about that, I ran downstairs, going to apologize to my mother, when I heard a quiet sobbing noise.
Under the stairs was a curtain. I didn't remember that being there when I first saw the fixed-up place.
I heard the sobbing noise again, but there were other noises too. More voices.
"Hey, hey, it's gonna be okay."
"We're gonna find her."
"I promise."
I pulled aside the curtain to reveal a group of very surprised looking girls.
"Please don't tell Nightingale I stole from her candy drawer!"
Finch, dressed in shades and a yellow hoodie with Batman's symbol over her heart, hugged a plastic bag filled with smaller bags of M&M's to her chest.
I sighed, examining the other girls. Terra had chocolate on her hands and mouth, wearing a gray crop-top over a gray shirt with brown shorts. Tammy was wearing blue everything, trying to hide her bag of chocolate and look as innocent as possible.
Bridget wore her usual running jacket, sleeves rolled up to her elbows, with her hair in its typical pigtails, running shorts and sneakers. She was staring at the floor guiltily, but didn't even bother to hide her M&M's
Cassie wore a gray hoodie over her Wonder Girl Outfit. She didn't even have M&M's.
Sarah shoved another handful of M&M's in her mouth as she watched me. She wore a green TMNT shirt with a black hoodie tied around her waist.
All the girls were gathered around Beast Girl, curled up in a sobbing ball. She just wore her regular old red-and-white uniform, and had no M&M's.
"Alright, I won't turn you guys in if you tell me what's going on."
Sarah and Cassie each had an arm around Rachel, rubbing her shoulders and rocking her back and forth as she continued to cry.
"We're just talking, really." Terra told me. Tammy and I woke up this morning, and Rachel was crying."
Until we could rescue M'gann, Tammy, Terra, and Rachel had to join the boys in living at the cave.
Tammy nodded, "We're talking about our feelings."
"Can I join you?" I asked.
"Sure," Bridget snagged a bag from Mara and tossed it to me. I caught it and pulled down on the hem of my t-shirt as I sat between Cassie and Tammy.
"Rachel was just going." Cassie said.
Rachel rubbed her nose and swallowed her tears. "Well, I miss M'gann. I wish she were here. I wish she'd be happy again."
Well, I knew why our bouncy M'gann wasn't so bouncy very much anymore, but I wasn't sure if Nightwing wanted me to tell everyone yet.
Rachel sniffed again, and patted Sarah's knee. "Okay, Sarah, you go."
It was Sarah's turn to take a deep breath. "Well, Jaime says Green Beetle helped him silence his scarab. You know how we've been worried about the thing with the Reach Apocalypse." She snuck a glance at Bridget.
"He says it could help me too, but...I don't really know."
"Well, why not?" Bridget asked anxiously, if you do do it, then you won't have to worry about helping the Reach!"
Sarah shook her head. "I...I don't know. I kind of like having my scarab talk to me, and Jaime...he's been acting a little weird, lately. I don't know if it's part of the Sarah being quiet or just...Jaime being Jaime."
She shrugged. "Okay, Bridget, your turn."
"Oh." The girl speedster turned red, twirling the end of her pigtail around her finger. "Um, well..."
There was a small beeping in my ear and everyone turned to me. I put my untouched bag of M&M's on the floor and walked out of the curtain.
"Wildfire."
"Willow, sorry, it's Nightwing. We need you at S.T.A.R. Labs, now."
"What is it?"
"There's something headed for Earth. And it's big."