You know what Arthur C. Clarke said about technology and magic, right? Any sufficiently advanced technology… — Lev Grossman

Maybe this was one of those times when being a hero didn’t involve looking particularly brave. It was just doing what you should.

This was bad behavior, and she knew it. She did it because she was angry and because she disliked herself. The more she disliked herself, the more she took it out on other people, and the more she took it out on other people the more she disliked herself.

Everybody wanted to be the hero of their own story. Nobody wanted to be comic relief.