Picking Up the Pieces

Summary: Warren always cleans up Stevie's messes. Always.

After he'd passed out for what felt like hours, Warren slowly sat up and looked around, completely confused. What...happened? He wondered. Where did they go?

There was something on his head. He felt the visor, then remembered that he'd finally become a full wizard. Finally, after two months of being stuck in City Hall, wondering if the Council would ever be able to track Stevie down. He'd resented her so much for basically making him a prisoner, that he wasn't sure if the anger he'd felt toward his sister would ever go away. Before she'd run off, she'd been the ultimate thorn in his side, which only added to that frustration. She'd refused to listen to his arguments that she'd never be able to get away with her revolution, that she should just admit she should've worked harder to earn her powers, and get over it.

But at the same time...he'd worried about her. Sure, she was a rebel leading a wizard revolution, but she was still his little sister. It was in his nature to worry, to hope she was all right, to wish that she would give up her crazy idea and come back to give up her powers. When Alex said that she was a friend of Stevie's, he'd been eager to get his powers and be freed from City Hall, sure, but he was also relieved to hear that she was okay.

His brow wrinkled, Warren looked around the empty room. What did he miss? Stevie didn't run off again, did she?

Then a quick image came to mind. When the energy of full wizard powers had jolted him awake for a brief moment, he'd seen...Stevie, frozen. And Alex had been calmly standing by Justin and Harper, which probably meant Stevie had been betrayed by her so-called "friend." Though he felt a little guilty about it, he was filled with gratitude toward the other wizards for preventing his sister from making the biggest mistake of her life, one what would surely have landed her in wizard jail.

Wait, if Stevie had been frozen, what happened to her?

A sick feeling grew in his stomach when he noticed the pieces of ice scattered on the floor around him. He didn't want to believe it, but that had to be her.

"Oh no, Stevie!" Warren panicked. He finally jumped up from the floor as he tried to come up with a plan that would quickly reverse the damage. But...he didn't have the family wand, and he knew hand magic, even that of a full wizard, wouldn't be enough to undo this. He'd have to take her to the Wizard World General Hospital. Stevie would be okay, he was sure of it.

He waved his hand, and every last piece of his sister came together. With a snap of his fingers, a backpack appeared. Another snap, all the pieces were in the backpack, and the zipper closed.

The rush of full wizard energy made him pause. "Whoa," he whispered. Then he sighed - of course, the first spell he cast as a full wizard would be to help his sister. At least her problems would be a bit easier to solve since she wouldn't have her powers.

Who was he kidding? Stevie would always be difficult, with or without magic.

Though it took some effort, he managed to throw the heavy bag over his shoulder. Again he snapped his fingers, then breathed a sigh of relief when the spell actually worked - he was finally allowed to leave City Hall.

Six Weeks Later

Stevie was still in the hospital, her strength barely returning. Warren couldn't believe that the magic of experienced wizard doctors could be so slow. They'd needed some intense magic to put all the pieces back together, and then a powerful heating spell that took some time to melt her. The color was finally returning to Stevie's complexion.

For the tenth day in a row, Warren came for a visit, during which he sat in the wooden chair next to her bed. He'd been there so much, he was sure the outline of his butt was forever imprinted in the cushion. After everything she did to him, his conscience still wouldn't let him abandon her. "Hey Stevie," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"I was shattered into a million pieces. How do you think I'm feeling?" Stevie retorted, though her voice was weak. It was her standard reply to his question, which he asked at the start of every visit.

He ignored the comment, as usual. "Have you thought about the Wizard Council's offer?" he asked.

"I already told you! I'm not apologizing," she insisted. "I still believe in the revolution."

"I thought you might feel that way," Warren muttered. Once the Wizard Council found out what happened, they declared that Stevie would face punishment for her acts of rebellion. But all wizards knew that the Council tended to go easier on criminals who sincerely apologized. The Council often used those apologies as an example, to show that the government was always right.

"Look, I talked to some Council members," Warren began, which made Stevie look at him with interest. "Since you didn't hurt anybody, they're willing to let you off on probation if you apologize."

Stevie's eyes widened. "You mean...if I apologize, I'm off the hook?"

"No, not off the hook," Warren quickly answered, worried he'd given her the wrong idea. "They'll keep a very close eye on you. If you show signs of starting up the revolution again, they'll take action."

A familiar wicked grin appeared on her face, then Stevie pointed out, "But how can I possibly start up the revolution again when I've lost my powers? Surely they won't consider a mere mortal much of a threat." But he could see the wheels in her head already start to turn.

Warren gulped. If he knew his sister - and he did - she was probably forming a plan to get in touch with her old followers once the Council's attention on her was slacking. "Stevie, why can't you just give this up?" he pleaded. "Don't you understand? You've lost your powers. Even if you do manage to carry out this revolution, it's too late for you."

Stevie was silent, and Warren dared to hope his words had gotten to her. Unlikely though, as he'd never been able to convince her of anything before. Her expression blank, she finally said, "It does seem that way, doesn't it?"

Her twist on words made him suspicious, but he took the minor concession and ran with it. "And think about it, Stevie. Are your followers going to be behind you now that you don't even have your powers?" he insisted, his argument made up as he spoke. "They'll elect a new leader, and forget you ever existed. If the revolution even continues. Given that all your followers were wizards who weren't even strong enough to win their own wizard competitions, I doubt they can be that much of a threat to the Council. They probably never were."

The long silence continued. Could he actually be making an impact? "Stevie, you're better off just moving on with your life," he suggested. "You can start that music career you always wanted. Remember, your back up plan was to be a singer?"

"Maybe..." Stevie trailed off, a faraway look on her face. She suddenly snapped her attention back to him. "What about Alex?"

Warren wrinkled his brow. "What about her?"

"Is she going to pay for what she did to me?" Stevie demanded, anger in her voice.

Again, Warren gulped. He'd been hoping she wouldn't ask. "Well, uh..." he began. He briefly considered lying, but he couldn't, not when he was such a terrible liar. "The Council isn't pressing charges since Alex acted on their behalf."

As he'd expected, Stevie was outraged. "Typical Council," she spat. "As long as you're on their side, they don't care what you do." Then she asked, "And Max? He should be punished, shouldn't he? I was already powerless when he knocked me over."

"He's getting away with it because it was an accident," Warren quietly informed her, aware that his answer would only make her more furious.

Stevie's face hardened. "Of course," she seethed. "Never mind that I've been in the hospital ever since. As long as it was an accident."

Though he understood Alex not being punished for casting the freezing spell, Warren had to agree with Stevie on that point. The Council probably let Max slide because Stevie had been their enemy. But because it wouldn't be wise to fuel her temper, he said, "Look, I know this is hard to take in, but maybe you shouldn't be mad at Alex. She prevented you from doing a stupid thing that would have only gotten you arrested by the Council in the end. Now you have a chance to start over."

The only response he got from her was a cold glare. He couldn't be too disappointed, as he hadn't really thought she would forgive and forget so easily. But at least he'd put the idea out there. "At least think about it, okay?" Not only was she quiet again, but she'd turned away from him and closed her eyes. Their visit was over.

Her response didn't bother him. She'd speak to him again when he came back the next day. "I'll see you tomorrow, Stevie."

Edit: For the record...I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this. I do have a basic idea in mind of an epic story where Stevie comes back for revenge. It would be a sequel to both this and my story "The Good, the Bad, and the Well-Intentioned," since in the epic, Alex would also become involved with a wizard revolution that has the same belief of everyone keeping wizard powers, but they'll be more organized than Stevie's was. However I have both a script and two other stories to finish, so this would have to wait until those are done.