It was a normal night at the Stronghold household. Will Stronghold was already in bed, worn out from all the homework his teachers had assigned. He didn't think his sophomore year would be hard the year before, but now he was regretting skipping his schoolwork for video games and hanging out with friends. His grades weren't terrible, but they weren't great either. Will sighed before turning his bedside lamp off and drifting off to sleep.
As for the two adults in the house, Steve and Josie Stronghold decided to spend a little more time cleaning before going to bed. Josie placed leftover spaghetti in the refrigerator and Steve opted for cleaning the plates and cups from the dining table.
"All I'm saying is that it would be a great bonding technique with Will." Steve said while washing a plate.
"We are not buying an air hockey table for the sanctum just so you can beat our son at it and rub it in his face." Josie sighed.
Steve spluttered, "Rub it in his face? No, no, no, Josie! I would never!"
Josie glanced at her husband, an eyebrow raised in disbelief. Before she could reply, there was a knock on the door. It was quiet, weak, but Josie still heard it and so did Steve. And just like that they were no longer Steve and Josie Stronghold, parents of a teenage boy. They were the Commander and Jetstream, the world's most famous superheroes.
There was another knock as the superheroes made their way to the door. Jetstream stayed a few feet behind the Commander. They were cautious. Who would be knocking on their door at almost 10 o'clock at night?
The Commander looked through the peep hole of the door, frowning when he saw nothing but a boy, but he wasn't easily fooled. This could be a trick.
"It's a boy." He said offhandedly to Jetstream. He then opened the door, keeping his expression calm as he looked the boy. The boy's head was down and the superheroes could see the streaks of white in his neatly cut short, inky black hair. He was tall, almost as tall as the Commander, with goosebumps littering his tan skin. His arms were crossed tightly, tattoos of faded flames on his bruised wrists. The superheroes took notice of the black cuff on his left wrist, as well as the all white shirt, pants, and socks he donned. And then the boy glanced up and The Commander and Jetstream were now Steve and Josie Stronghold, parents of a teenage boy who was just about the same age as the boy standing in front of him.
The young boy's eyes, fringed with long lashes, were amber, solid, coppery, and last, but not least, frightened. His face, albeit free of acne, was covered in bruises and wounds. His lips were chapped and split, he chewed on them viciously.
"Mom? Dad?" Came the voice of Will as he walked down the stairs slowly. He turned down the hallway towards his parents and caught sight of the boy that greatly confused, yet worried his parents.
"Warren Peace?!"
Will was shocked. The pyrokinetic went missing the night of last year's homecoming. The Commander and Jetstream already had Royal Pain in cuffs, ready to be arrested along with Stitches when Will had finally noticed how long it had been since Warren told him he wanted to be alone.
"Hey, Layla, have you seen Warren? He told me he wanted some time alone and left like an hour ago." Warren asked worriedly. He held a cup of punch in his left hand and a plate of cheese cubes in the other. In fact, almost everyone could be seen with a cup of punch, dancing, talking, and having a good time. No one seemed to be worrying about a quiet boy with fire powers.
"No. Sorry, Will." She said with a frown. He opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off when Magenta grabbed Layla by the arm and dragged her away. Layla looked over her shoulder, mouthing apologies, leaving Will standing alone.
He looked around hopelessly. He knew Warren could protect himself perfectly fine. Hell, he could've roasted Will in the cafeteria if he wanted to! But this didn't make Will feel any better. Warren shouldn't have to fight alone. Will desperately wanted to be his friend, to show him that he didn't care that Warren was the son of a villain.
"Will, come here! The school needs a picture of the Stronghold Three." His dad thundered from across the room with his mom in his arms. Will took one last look around the room before making his way to his parents.
And yeah, maybe he should have been more worried. And yes, he probably should've done a little more in trying to find Warren. Will blames himself for not caring a little more. He feels even more guilty when he realized that nobody else cared either. They didn't even bother to look for him, check if he was okay. Will reported that Warren was missing to Principle Powers who in turn promised to search for him. That was it. No "I'll file a missing person report," or "A student's missing! We have to find him!" She didn't looked bothered at all by the fact that one of her students was missing. Who would tell Warren's mother? Did Warren even have a mother?
In the end, they found out that Warren did in fact have a mother. But, she was dead. Murdered in cold blood. Principle Powers sent a staff member to report the news that Warren was missing to his mother, but instead ended up screaming, panicked and frightened at the sight that greeted her. Warren's mother, Genevieve Peace, swung from the ceiling upside down, her feet tied together leaving her hands and hair to swing uselessly in the stale air. She was naked, they said. Her body was clean of wounds, the only thing left to see was a large symbol carved on her stomach. The symbol turned out to be Chinese for evil.
This certainly made Principle Powers worry, including everyone else in the DOSA (Department of Superhero Affairs), which also meant that his parents were right on the case, getting every known fact about it, which lead to Will snooping around, and resulted in him telling his friends everything. Looking at Warren now, it seems that more people were going to be involved with this case and not just because Warren's house was a crime scene.
Warren was frightened. Out of all the things he gained from months of abuse, he knew memory loss was not one of them because he clearly remembered the three people in front of him. He started to think that coming here was a bad idea. Awkwardness did not fit well with him. Warren shook his head. He could deal with a little awkwardness. It's surely better than pain and he's certainly had enough of that. His thoughts of this being a bad idea came crashing back into his head. What if they found him? What if he didn't break the band all of the way? Warren didn't have time to think of more what if's before Will came rushing towards him.
"I can't believe you're here!" He exclaimed, reaching out to touch Warren. He flinched back, stumbling on his feet. He had never been so happy to see Will, but he couldn't help but feel threatened when he saw the hand reaching towards him. It was an impulse to flinch.
"I'm sorry." Will stuttered. He must have just noticed the bruises on his face because Will's eyes suddenly drifted from his own to his lips, then to his cheeks, and forehead. "What happened to you?" Will murmured.
"Will, could you get a glass of water for, um, Mr. Peace?" Josie ordered rather than asked. Will hesitated before rushing to complete the task. If Steve wasn't so shocked, he would have made a joke about how he had just washed the dishes. He decided not to. Jokes wouldn't help any of them and it certainly wouldn't make the bruised and dirty boy laugh.
"Come in, sweetie. We won't hurt you." Josie said softly. Steve was glad Josie decided to take the lead because he had no idea how to deal with the son of his worst enemy, not even when said boy was hurt.
Josie grabbed Warren's hand, ignoring the flinch the boy gave. She ran her hand over the rough skin of his as he warily stepped into the house. The warmth greeted him like a slap in the face. It was so foreign now. It's hard to believe that it was all he used to depend on. And it was everywhere too. He could feel it radiating off of Jetstream's hand, the Commander's body as he walked past his still form, and the couch when Jestream made him sit down. And then the warmth was replaced by the cold when Will slid a glass of cool water into his hand. A wave of shock washed over Warren's body. He didn't expect them to treat him like this. He didn't expect to be warm. He expected hostility. He prepared himself for having the door slammed in his face. Warren decided that he preferred this instead as he took a large gulp of water. When he finished drinking the water, the warmth greeted him again. He let it run over him and allowed a shadow of a smile to grace his face. He may not be completely safe, but if he was going to stay here, he could get used to being warm.