Silence

Chapter 12

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It's been two days since the fire incident, and I've hardly been left unattended since. I'm still at Mount Justice. Nightwing and M'gann keep me company, and the Team gets an alert when my temperature gets higher than 103 degrees. My fever went down to a normal level, though it's higher than usual. I haven't had another incident yet, but I'm still afraid it might happen again, and a fire extinguisher may not be enough.

My parents went home a few hours after Batman left. We had a long conversation. They told me everything that's happened in the four months I was missing. Surprisingly, I didn't miss as much as I thought. I missed a lot of school obviously, so when I get home I'll have to make up a lot. I missed my mom's birthday (I'll have to get her a present). Other than that, nothing much has changed at home.

But then I remember. Everything has changed for me. If I really have powers, nothing will be the same. I'll have to hide it from everyone. I have to learn to control it. The thought of heroism makes brief appearances in my mind, but I quickly shut them out. That'll just put me in more danger than I already am. Besides, I wouldn't know the first thing about being a hero.

Today is my first day out of the med bay, and my first day of training. Oddly enough, no one has checked on me this morning. I wonder what's keeping them.

My question is answered when Nightwing enters my room. His hand is behind his back, very obviously hiding something. I try to get a good look at it, but he makes sure I can't see it. I can see a hint of nervousness behind his grin, and I can't figure why.

"Hey, Willow," he greets. He sits in the chair next to my bed.

I sign "hello" back to him. I nod my head towards his hidden arm. He seems to understand.

"Oh, right, the surprise," he says. "We'll get to that. But first, how are you feeling?"

I roll my eyes at his answer write my answer to his question on the notepad that sits next to my bed.

Better. Haven't caught fire yet, so that's good.

"Well that's a good sign," he says with a laugh. "You ready to start training?"

I'm not good at P.E. Hate it, in fact.

He laughs when he reads the note.

"This'll be fun, then," he says. "But before we head to training, would you like a tour?"

I can tell he's hiding something. I don't know what it is, but I'm curious enough to nod my head. He stands up, and I get a glimpse of a box behind his back. When I lean my head to get a better look, he notices and moves it out of my line of sight.

"Not so fast, Will!" He grins. "Can I call you Will?"

I shrug my shoulders. Everyone else does.

"I was gonna wait until later, but I might as well give this to you now," he says with a shrug. He pulls his hand out from behind his back. In his hand is a small box wrapped in blue and white striped paper, with a blue bow on top.

I tilt my head in confusion. Is there a special occasion I'm missing?

"It's called a present," he says, noticing my confusion. "Call it a 'belated birthday and first day out of the med bay' present. It's not much, but it's something."