CHAPTER TWO
The room Diana directed me to is pretty large, with two beds, two desks, and two closets. It's empty right now and I wonder who my roommate will be. Her side of the room is filled with brightly colored clothing and pink desktop accessories.
Megan walks into the room levitating a tray with two mugs on it. "Hi, Roomie," she says nervously. "I thought you might like some hot cocoa after the day you've had... Cocoa fixes everything."
I smile at her. "Thanks, Megan," I say. "I love cocoa."
She passes me extra marshmallows, which I happily take. Sugar is good. We sit sipping our drinks for a minute before she says, "I hope you don't mind rooming with me... I've been hoping for a new roommate since Lydda left."
"Lydda?" I ask.
"Lydda Jath... Night Girl. She was here for a while... She's great, but she had a bit of a complex because her powers only work at night. She finally got over that and left."
"So she wasn't here because trauma broke her spirit?"
"She was repeatedly rejected by other heroes. They wouldn't let her into the Legion... In a way, that traumatized her, but then..."
"Then what?"
"She was attacked. It was during the day, when the sun was at its strongest, and Lydda couldn't access her super strength. The bad guys knew that about her. She was beaten, tortured, and... Well, you can imagine what evil men will do to a woman who can't fight back. Especially one who'd humiliated them in the past."
"My Gods..."
"Yeah. She believed she was worthless when she first got here. Diana made her realize that wasn't true."
"Can I ask why you're here? You don't have to tell me if it's too personal," I say.
"I came here because I wanted to learn to control my abilities better... I hate that I can't fit in here on Earth. I make a lot of mistakes... I really want to help others, but Diana says I need to embrace who I am first... And that's hard for me. I hate who I am."
"Because you're a white Martian?"
She looks like I struck her. "You know?"
"It's in the comics... Megan, being born into a race doesn't automatically mean you're just like them. Your people may have been genocidal monsters, but that's not who you are." I pause. "We all have the potential for darkness, but it's our choices that make us who we are."
"How are you so understanding?"
"I've met a lot of people who were supposed to be evil that were good, and I've met ones who were supposed to be good who turned evil." Like Faith, I add silently.
"Faith's changed," Megan tells me. "When Diana found her, she was broken and terrified. Her mind was very close to completely shattering, but Diana helped her find her strength again, and she believed in her... Her love transformed Faith and made her believe she could still be saved from the darkness."
"Diana really cares about everyone that much?"
Megan giggles. "She does care for all of us, yes, but she cares about Faith differently... They fell in love."
I'm stunned. "Faith's straight," I say.
"Oh, no, she's very much a bisexual... But none of you ever asked. That's why Faith never left here, even after she was stronger. She lives with Diana and helps her run the Sanctuary."
"Wow... That's the last thing I expected."
"I find people can and often do surprise you." Megan paused. "So, what do you like to do for fun? Any hobbies?"
"I read. It's my favorite thing to do other than magick."
Megan's face lights up. "Today's your lucky day! Come with me." She's excited and she practically drags me out of the room and down the hall. We reach a set of wooden doors. "Welcome to Heaven!" She declares as she opens the doors.
It's the biggest library I've ever seen. This room makes Sunnydale High's library look like a bargain book rack. I'm stunned into silence by its beauty.
A woman in a wheelchair comes toward us. "Hey, Megan," she says pleasantly.
"Willow, this is our genius librarian, Barbara Gordon," Megan says.
My eyes go even wider. "Batgirl!" I say.
She offers up a sad smile. "I go by Oracle now," she says. "If you ever need anything, my office is right over there." She points to a large office inside of the library. It must have twenty or more computers inside, and all of them look like they're doing some serious work. "My door is always open."
A phone rings and she goes to answer it. I look at Megan. "I haven't kept up with the comics... What happened to her?" I ask.
"She doesn't talk about it, but the short version is that her spine was severed. She still fights the bad guys, but she has to do it by tracking them on computers and letting other people go after them."
"That's awful..."
"She avoids Harley like the plague, but she gets on pretty well with everyone else. We all love Babs."
"Why does she avoid Harley?"
Megan looks around nervously. In a low voice she says, "Because Harley's boyfriend was the one who put Barbara in the chair."
I shake my head. "I should have guessed it was the Joker."
"Harley feels awful about it, so she avoids the library. That pretty much keeps her away from Barbara."
"That's probably for the best."
Barbara comes back. She's smiling. "Nightwing called, huh?" Megan asks knowingly.
Barbara laughs. "Yes, Megan, that was him."
"Is he coming by anytime soon?"
"Men can visit here?" I ask.
"Only if Diana approves," Barbara says. "She knows Nightwing looks out for me, so she lets him visit whenever he wants to. But no, Megan, he's not coming by right now. He's on an assignment."
The door opens and a very pissed-off woman bursts in. "Unbelievable!" She declares. "I swear to Goddess, I'm going to put an arrow through her forehead! Maybe then she'll figure out how to hit a target!"
"Problems, Artemis?" Barbara asks.
"Yeah, Izzy can't shoot for shit!"
"She's nine, Artemis."
"So? When I was nine, I could shoot an arrow through three targets at once. Her mom's a slayer, for crying out loud!"
I raise an eyebrow. "A slayer? Faith's not the only one here?" I ask.
"No, she is," Megan says. "Izzy's her daughter."
"Faith has a kid?" I can't wrap my head around a tiny Faith.
"Who are you?" Artemis asks.
"Oh, um... I'm Willow," I say awkwardly. I try to place Artemis, but there have been several in the comic books. One become Wonder Woman for a while, one was from a family of supervillains, and there were countless others. This girl is too young and too human-like to be the Artemis who briefly took up Diana's mantle. She's certainly intimidating enough to be her, though. Most characters named Artemis are excessively tough.
"Willow's my new roommate," Megan says excitedly.
Artemis turns slightly gentler as she speaks to her. "That's cool, M'gann," she says.
"Artemis is our combat trainer," Barbara explains. "Both of them."
"Both of them?" I ask.
"Artemis of Themyscira is the senior combat trainer," Megan says. "This Artemis also goes by Tigress and is her right-hand."
"Tigress..." I repeat. I know which one she is now. Tigress comes from the family of bad guys. She's a villain. I remember what Diana said and decide to give her a chance. She's being nice to Megan, and that should count for something.
"What's your deal, Willow?" Artemis asks me. "Super strength? Flying? Telekinesis?"
"Sometimes... I'm a witch," I explain.
"Nice. Can you fight?"
"A bit..." I think of all the battles Buffy and I fought in, side-by-side. I try not to get depressed.
"She's from Faith's world," Megan says. It's weird to keep hearing it called that.
"Not a slayer?" Artemis asks.
"No. Just the slayer's witchy sidekick," I say.
"Okay. And how are your reflexes?"
Before I can answer, Artemis takes out her bow and shoots an arrow at me. It should hit, but I react quickly and wave it away telekinetically. It falls harmlessly to the floor.
"Artemis!" Megan says in horror.
"Not bad," Artemis says with approval, ignoring Megan's protests. "Just testing. Nothing personal."
"Sure," I say, not sure if I should be concerned that she just fired a weapon at me.
A tiny ball of energy runs into the library. She's got dark, wavy hair and even darker eyes. They're surprisingly wise for a child. "Artemis, look!" She declares. "I did it! I did it!" She shows her a target with an arrow at the center that she is carrying with her.
"No way. I saw you shoot, kid. You didn't hit that mark," Artemis insists.
"Yes I did! Look!" She picks up her bow.
"Duck and cover, ladies!" Artemis declares, moving behind a stack of books. She peaks her head out slightly to watch.
Before our eyes, the bow begins levitating. An arrow knocks itself. It launches with impressive force considering no one is physically pulling back the drawstring. It hits the direct center of the target.
Barbara laughs. "Is that considered cheating?" She asks.
"Hey, she hit the target and didn't impale anyone. I'm cool with it," Artemis says.
"She has powers," I say to Megan as Artemis and Barbara talk to Izzy about her new technique. "How?"
"We don't really know," Megan says. "Faith won't tell us who her father is, but I assume she gets them from him."
I can't help but be curious. Watching the kid laugh and try her trick again, I can hardly believe she's Faith's, but she looks almost exactly like her... Just smaller and cuter.
Faith comes in and smiles from the doorway. "I see you've met my daughter," she says to me.
"Yeah," I say. "She's adorable." I am surprised by the love in Faith's eyes as she watches her.
"Izabella Buffy Lehane... My entire world."
I pause. "You named her after Buffy?"
"She's my kid, and her dad's no prize either, and I guess I was just hoping if she had enough of Buffy's influence in her, even just by name, that she might turn out alright."
I realize how much Faith has changed. "Can I ask who he was?"
"No one who mattered. Izzy has two parents and always has... Me and Diana."
"Diana's helping you raise her?"
"Diana delivered her. She rescued me when I was scared, pregnant, and alone, and she's been here for every moment ever since. She's Izzy's mom as much as I am."
"I heard you two are a couple."
"We are. We got married in a private ceremony here three years ago."
"That's beautiful. I'm happy for you."
"Thanks."
Izzy runs over to us. "Mommy, I did it! I hit the target!" She says.
Faith's face lights up. "Show me, Baby Girl," she says.
Izzy does it again. Faith bursts out laughing. "Good for you, Iz!" She says, hugging her. "Way to beat the system!"
"Hi, Willow," Izzy says to me. "It's nice to meet you."
"You know who I am?" I ask.
"I saw you in my dreams. I'm glad you're here." She hugs me. I'm a bit shocked, but I hug her back. The kid gives very warm hugs. I feel better as soon as she gets her arms around me.
I suddenly realize how exhausted I am. I haven't slept since yesterday, and it's almost noon. "Come on, Willow," Megan says, clearly reading my mind. "You should get some rest." She guides me back to our room, where I drift off to sleep much quicker than I expected to.
