Autumn didn't have to wait very long to see what Heidi meant. As she sat looking at the news on her phone while she waited for her mom to get home, some of the details that televised news would never report on began to appear online. Dozens of students reported seeing Heidi stand up in class and shout HYPNOS loud enough to crack glass right before everyone passed out. Apparently, Hypnos was Greek for sleep. The fact that neither Autumn nor Heidi were present when everyone else awoke only confirmed their suspicions that Heidi was responsible for the blackout.
Some of the police had even leaked the fact that military vehicles had whisked Heidi and Autumn away before anyone could question them, spawning a host of government conspiracies. Heidi's father was even in some of the pictures, as reporters mobbed the base to try and find out what the military was hiding.
His answer had been simple. He had been there to pick up his daughter after learning that there was an active shooter at the school, which any father could understand.
A whole subreddit had opened up as well, listing all of the oddities that had been witnessed at the school regarding Heidi. From her comment on pyramids to the loud boom in the auditorium, every slightly odd or supernatural incident that had occurred was listed. There were no pictures of Heidi or Autumn though. Apparently, all of the electronics at the school had gotten fried, including the surveillance system.
Electronics getting cooked seemed to be a sign that Heidi was present. Several reporters who had shown up at her house to try and interview her had left with broken electronics and no explanation on how they had stopped working. Several media outlets were offering obscene sums of money for anyone that could produce a picture of Heidi. By the time Autumn's mother arrived home, nobody had been able to produce a picture.
"Okay, what's going on?" her mother asked in a no-nonsense tone as soon as she finished hugging her.
Obviously, her mother had been reading the news on the internet during her flight. Autumn let out a heavy sigh. "I didn't want to freak you out before, so I kind of didn't tell you that Heidi has some supernatural abilities."
"Well guess what?" her mother asked archly. "I'm freaked out. When did this all start?"
"The day I met her," Autumn replied with another sigh. She told her mother about that first day, and how everything had become so clear after Heidi had done her magic on her. She told her everything, including the easily acquired equilibrium, and Heidi's knowledge on physics and history that seemed light years ahead of her contemporaries.
"Since the day I met her, my life has gone from pathetic, to fantastically amazing," Autumn told her mother pointedly. "I've never been so happy, and I've certainly never felt as safe. She is a good person. I hope you don't try to forbid me from being friends with her, because that won't happen."
Her mother smiled sardonically, shaking her head. "I wasn't going to forbid you from being friends with her. From everything you have told me, you are right—she is a good person. That's what is important to me. If you were friends with someone who has this kind of extraordinary power that wasn't good, I would do everything in my power to prevent you from seeing them."
"Thanks mom," Autumn let out a relieved breath. "I wanted to tell you about her, but I was worried you would get all overprotective."
"You think I've got it tough," her mother suddenly laughed. "I can't even imagine the crap storm Colonel Rockwell is dealing with right now. He probably has no idea what is going on either. I can't even imagine how rough this must be for him."
Autumn nodded her agreement. "Yeah, I saw some of the stuff they were saying on the internet. The thing everyone seems to be ignoring is that if she hadn't done something, there would be a lot of dead people right now. I'm sure she didn't want to make her dad's life harder, but that's a pretty tough decision to make. If you have the power to stop something bad from happening and do nothing, are you culpable?"
"My, you have grown wise," her mother smiled, looking impressed. "So are you going to bring Heidi over here so I can finally meet her tomorrow?"
"If I can," Autumn said slowly. "Who knows if she'll even be able to get out of the house tomorrow, with all of the reporters mobbing her house."
"That shouldn't be a problem," her mother said with an amused grin. "I heard through the grapevine that Colonel Clegg sent a platoon of plain clothes soldiers to bully the reporters out of the area."
"Good for him," Autumn said with a grin of her own.