#( SORRY I KEEP DOING THIS RAMBLE-Y INTROS ALKSJDFKSJD )

[apaise]

❛ you shouldn’t be out here by yourself. ❜ steph @ willa

prior to meeting stephanie brown, willa didn’t have much interest in researching every day crime in the city. her attention was more focused on the movements of politically powerful people like lex luthor and norman osborn. but now, after realizing steph is undoubtedly the vigilante spoiler . . . willa has poured every effort into crime surveillance, trying to find the best way to support her, to look after her. 

with jamie and eric’s help, she managed to obtain a scanner that allows her to tune into the radio at the police station. she never believed such tactics were necessary for her own civic investigations, but for steph -- willa’s suddenly breaking the rules she once set for herself. 

tonight, there’s reports of the felon mr. freeze wreaking havoc in the science department at steph’s college -- and spoiler making an appearance. knowing mr. freeze’s penchant for kidnapping women, and remembering steph’s recent injuries . .  willa immediately worries for steph’s safety. it doesn’t help that the police seem to be arguing back and forth on the next course of action, wasting time while steph faces the villain alone.

willa knows how the story goes. someone untrained in stealth and combat would be an easy target for mr. freeze. if she rushes into the fray with no plan, she could end up being a liability for steph, putting her further at risk. she knows all this, yet she still can’t help worrying, grabbing the go-bag she assembled and heading out to campus.

mr. freeze quickly proves to be no match for spoiler. by the time willa reaches the science department, the police are already reporting that the villain’s been incapacitated, and spoiler is nowhere to be found. was she too late? she came to the university as fast as she could, but the metro had been shut down after one of the cars was frozen. she wanders from the police barricades, glancing up at the buildings in search of a flash of purple. it’s only when she’s drifted three blocks down that she hears a familiar voice chiming not from a balcony or fire escape, but from the stoop at the corner.

used to such cheekiness from her cousin damian, willa responds with an older-sister instinct.  ❝ you’re out here by yourself, ❞ she returns, arms crossed. she doesn’t realize it’s partially fueled by her desire to be someone who is capable of handling these situations . . .  someone who wouldn’t add to steph’s worries. but she does know that’s not how she wanted to greet steph at all, and willa quickly drops the tough act.

❝ i'm sorry, ❞ she apologizes, arms dropping to her sides. ❝ i was just worried about you. ❞ could that come off as her just assuming steph would be on campus? she hopes so. willa sets her bag aside, the various sundries for first aid and self-defense clunking together inside.

 ❝ . . . are you okay? ❞ she doesn’t mean just physically, too. after their talk not long ago, about one of the hostages ending up in the ICU . . . willa worries about the mental toll steph carries, too.