Periodically, the government ran commercials promoting the coming forward and immunity of non-registered Special’s. Regardless of a Special’s history, the government guaranteed their safety. One afternoon, as June cleaned around Inferno, who sat on the lounge watching the television, one of these government adverts came on.

“Do you ever consider taking up the offer?” June asked.

She paused, dust cloth in hand and spray cleaner in the other, watching the commercial.

“No. Power begets corruption. It doesn’t matter what side I’m on, there are those who will use my power for their own purposes.”

“But if you worked for the government, then you would no longer be a super-villain.

Inferno burst out laughing, frightening June. Not only did the laughter sound foreign but almost forced. The sound waned and Inferno fell silent. The entire moment shocked and frightened June.

“I didn’t think it funny,” June murmured, as she returned to cleaning.

Inferno return to her cool composure and said, “Never believe the government is here solely to protect you. Sometimes the protection comes from the illegal operators. What you perceive as good can be riddled with bad. The same goes the other way. There is some good in the bad. Without illegal operators, the government would be unaccountable for all the illegal activities in its own backyard. It’s never clear cut.”

Their discussion reminded June of the conversation with Ted and the stranger.

“But some of work you’ve been involved in. It doesn’t benefit anyone,” June bravely asked.

“Perhaps. You should keep in mind money is the greatest of all evils. For the right amount, anything is possible.”

“So you work illegally because they pay the most for the use of your power?”

“One as powerful as I am does not work for any side. I choose my own path. Make my own rules. I don’t do all jobs offered to me, I have morals I live by. If those morals are compromised, I decline the work.”

“Does that cause you problems?”

“No, there are very few who can stand against me.”

June had much to learn from Inferno that sometimes it made her head ache. She knew the government didn’t often work legally but surely they did what was necessary for the good of the people.

“What about you?” Inferno asked. “Would you take up the offer?”

June didn’t need to consider about her answer, “No. My power is almost non-existent. I wouldn’t be any good to anyone the way I am.

“As I’ve already said, if you want to regain your power, you would need to start using it again. But if your heart is not in it, it will never happen.”

“It would be better if I don’t. It only seems to get me into trouble.”

“Consider this June, if your power had not protected you for that short period, you would have been dead before I reached you. Maybe next time I will not be there to save you. Wouldn’t you want to be confident your power would save your life, if nothing else?”

June looked down at her hands, it wasn’t that she didn’t want to use her power but years of inbuilt fear fed by her parents had psychologically scarred her.

“The biggest mistake parents make is believing a Special will expose their powers unnecessarily. It’s not possible. We have to call our power out unless we are in danger, in which case our power will protect us. This is why parents are confused. They already harbour their own fears to exposure and couple this with their desire to protect themselves and government propaganda, they will torture or frighten their children into thinking this form of behaviour will help them to suppress their powers. However, this more than often triggers their powers. As children we don’t understand this. Unfortunately, although all this information is available, parents ignore it. The sigma of having a Special is crushing for non-Special’s. No one wants that responsibility.”

“I know,” June murmured, thinking back to her own upbringing.

“You should consider reacquainting yourself with your power. It’s not too late.”

“You seem to want me to use it?” June said off hand.

When no immediate reply came from Inferno, June turned to look at her.

Inferno’s gaze was on the television but June suspected she wasn’t watching it. When she spoke, Inferno didn’t look at June.

“Is there something wrong with wanting to be reassured you’ll be safe if I’m not around?”

June stared at Inferno, touched by her words.

“No,” June murmured. There were risks working with Inferno. But so far nothing out of the ordinary had happened, and whatever work Inferno did had not involved her in any way. Could that change? There were no guarantees June was safe, even if Inferno was the most powerful super villain. Of course, there were going to be other Special’s that would do what they could to stop her, even destroying her if they could.

“Inferno, am I a liability to you now?” June asked.

Inferno stood and coming to stand in front of June, replied, “Reacquaint yourself with your power. If anything does happen, either side will protect you. But only if you have something they want. A Special without the use of their power is never offered immunity. They want those that can be used to increase their own political power. As you stand at the moment, you would be hard pushed to find a better life if you were to be registered.”

Inferno walked past June and went to her bedroom. At the sound of the door closing June began to tremble. The thought of hiding her identity grew harder. She sat down on the lounge and wrapped her arms around her waist. No matter where she turned, life was always against her. The stigma of being a Special left June feeling she would always be alone.

June reflected on her parents and how they raised her. Did they have her best interests in mind? Could they have done more? June could not find in her heart a reason to hate them; they did what they considered best under the circumstances. Even now, June knew if she were still living at home, her parents would do anything to ensure she had a good life. But in the end, it wasn’t her being a Special that drove her from her family home but her transition. Although her parents tried to understand her, the fact she no longer wanted to be a boy, had finally brought the hidden tension between them to a head.

Now that June was responsible for her own life, she couldn’t rely on anyone protecting her but herself. The incident with Mick at Redback’s had shown June if an attack like that could happen once, it could happen again. She knew there were people who had issues with transgender people but there were many more who had issues with Special’s. This left June confused and wondering if learning to use her power would, in fact, be in her best interest.

June took a deep breath. Once she was close to having enough money for her operation and it was out of the way, only then would June consider mastering her power.