(A/N: YAY! Chapter Six! Enjoy =D)

Disclaimer: Sky High belongs to it's legal owners

Chapter Six: Their Parents

Serenity flicked on the lights to the basement stairs as she led Warren to the place she called home. Warren was the first to speak, "This place was always empty, I just assumed it was haunted and that's why no one wanted to buy it. I mean there were times I thought I saw something in the windows but I guess I know that answer now."

"My aunt, I mean Lynda, didn't want to sell it. There are far too many memories here for it to be sold." She opened the door to the section of the basement where the last remaining essence of her mother remained.

The lights inside of the room turned on automatically and he let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. "What is this place?" He looked at the newspaper clippings that hung on the wall, the colored letters hung over the clippings separating them into different topics, or in this case different heroes and villains.

"My mother liked doing collages; I guess she used it as way of getting rid of stress." Serenity shrugged and pulled a book off of the pile then sat down on the couch. She opened the book and curled up.

He looked at her, "What are you reading?"

"My mother's diary entries, she took a daily log of interesting things that happened since her days at Sky High. There are a lot of strange things in here, like how often Steve Stronghold and your dad fought at school."

He raised an eyebrow then sat down beside her, "What are you currently reading about?"

"Well, I think in the last chapter Helen had just told her she was pregnant…" He looked at her, a clear sign that he wanted her to continue she flipped the pages back then started reading.

"Today, Helen told me she was pregnant. I began to wonder how Barron would react, he doesn't know yet. Things have yet to settle down between him and the Commander; Barron is trying his best not to snap. Even though he'd never admit it but Helen and I can see that he's jealous of the amount attention that Steve's getting, but Steve has yet to settle down; he has less to lose then Barron and I. Even Kyle is taking it easy from the missions; finally ready to get married at least I hope he is. But that's not important; Helen's worried about how she'll continue her Hero work while worrying about keeping the baby safe. I told her I'd baby-sit if she needed it. She simply laughed and asked me what I knew about babies. I swear she enjoys picking on me." Serenity laughed, "My mother was such a space case, it goes on to say about how my father came home and dinner wasn't made. Ooh, this seems like an interesting recipe, I might have to copy that down."

"All of that was written on a couple of pages?" Warren asked he watched her turn the page.

"You've clearly never seen her handwriting. It's sloppy and a complete and utter mess. There are far too many words scribbled out, and plus writing recipes takes space." She sighed, "Do you want me to continue?"

"Alright."

"Today, Barron came to see me. He told me that Helen finally confessed to her being pregnant. He told me that he was worried about what his child would think about him being second best to Steve Stronghold. I worry about what he's planning, Barron always over thinks things. I told him that no matter what he did or who he was that his child would love him no matter what. I remember seeing a glint in his eyes when I told him; I fear that he might be planning something. I tried to ask Helen to talk to him about this but she was off in her own little world, as she usually got when Barron…" Serenity coughed as her face turned bright red, "Right skipping on ahead…" Her eyes skimmed the pages for semblance of something remotely safe to read in the company of Warren. "I spent most of the day worrying about what Barron was thinking; did I just set something that isn't meant to be unleashed upon this world?"

"Keep going." Warren told her, he wanted-needed to hear the rest.

"Are you sure about this? You may find out something that you don't want to hear." Serenity asked and he quickly nodded. "Helen told me that Barron came home last night bleeding pretty badly. He told her that he got into another spat with the Commander and that it came to blows. But I fear that it is more than that…has Barron Battle finally done what we all feared? Has he become the villain we all feared he'd become? I fear for him. I want to tell Helen, to tell her what might happen, but I don't want to upset her…If what I think is actually happening, then I must protect her and her child. If anything happens with Barron then I'll protect her, from him, from Steve, from everyone…"

"Don't stop." Warren grabbed Serenity's hand and she let go of the book to give his a little squeeze.

She nodded, "Barron came to me in the middle of the night, I hate when he does that." The two reading looked at each other. "How are we supposed to respond to that?"

"How should I know? Keep going."

"I asked him what he was planning. Even as I did, the nauseating feeling that had nearly overwhelmed me over the past two days came back. He wouldn't tell me what he was thinking; just that it'd all be over as soon Steve was gone. I swore I saw a shadow of something darker in his eyes and it scared me. For the first time in years I was afraid of him, so I told him the truth that if he ever hurt Helen I would never forgive him and possibly curse him until the end of his life. He swore that he would never hurt her, not intentionally and if he ever did it was my job to take her away from him because he could no longer be trusted…Today I read an article, about a villain calling out the Commander telling him to come out and fight. Somewhere inside the very deepest parts of my mind and heart I knew that the villain in the article was Barron. I tried to tell Helen but she already knew and that it didn't matter, because even though if they never officially got married she made a vow to stick with him no matter what…"

Serenity and Warren looked at each other, unsure of what to say until they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He got up and pulled her behind him with a fireball waiting in his hand. "Don't shoot!" Helen called from the other side of the door.

"Mom?" He asked as the door opened and she smiled.

"Mrs. Peace? How did you get down here?" Serenity asked.

Helen pulled something out of her pocket and twirled it around her finger, "I was your mother's best friend so of course I have a spare key to the house. Anyways I've gotten permission to take you under my wing for the night." The grin on her face made Warren very uneasy. "You're ours for the night."

"Um…right, where's she going to sleep? Our guest room is filled with boxes, remember?" He asked.

"She'll sleep with me, like the old days." Her smile got bigger, "That is if you're okay with it, Serenity."

"Sure, I'm never one to pass up a free meal and a warm bed." She shrugged.

"Yay!" Helen grabbed her hand and dragged her up the stairs.

Warren watched them go up the stairs, "Tonight's going to be long, and dangerous."

"Warren hurry up!" Helen called from the top of the stairwell.

The three of them still sat at the dinner table, talking about everything and anything important that had happened in the past ten years. "So tell me, Serenity, do have any plans for homecoming?" Helen asked.

"You mean besides avoiding it like the plague?" Serenity internally cringed; she hated the idea of having to go to some dance.

Helen frowned and Warren looked at her, "You mean you're not going?" Helen asked.

"I probably have no choice in the matter, Layla wants to go, which means Will's going and if I'm correct he already has a date." She gestured to Warren. "So I'm probably going to be forced into going, even though I have nothing to wear and no date. I might just end up going stag with Ethan…"

"What do you mean you don't have anything to wear? Don't you own any dresses at all?" Serenity shook her head. "Now that just won't do, Warren when's your next day off?"

"I have Sunday off, why?" He raised an eyebrow, worried about what she could be thinking.

"Then we're going shopping! We'll invite Layla and Magenta, and you're coming too." The excitement in Helen's eyes worried him.

"Why am I going?" His eyebrows shot up.

She grinned, "To keep us safe of course and to make sure no guys try to hit on us while we try to find Serenity a dress."

"Then ask Will to go along!" He shot a glare at Serenity who seemed to be close to breaking out in laughter.

"You don't want to come…?" Helen's bottom lip jutted out.

He groaned, "Fine I'll go just stop looking like a kicked puppy."

Helen glanced at the clock, "Oh my, look at the time. We should get to bed. Come on Serenity, I'll show you to our room." She grabbed Serenity's hand and began leading her up the stairs.

"But I don't have anything to wear for tonight or tomorrow."

"Did I forget to tell you? Layla and I packed some clothes for you. They're in a duffle bag on the bed." Helen opened the door to her bedroom and then led her inside, "Bathrooms right there."

"Thank you." Serenity walked into the bathroom.

When Serenity walked back out Helen seemed to already be ready for bed, though she quickly rushed into the bathroom to finish up. Serenity sat on the bed then flicked the lamp on; she sat in the glow of it and waited for Helen to come out. She began thinking about everything that had happened in the past few days. She looked at the bathroom door and wondered why Helen was being so nice. She wondered why everything seemed to be changing over such a short period of time.

"Serenity?" Helen waved a hand in front of her unseeing eyes causing her to jump. "Are you alright?" There was a stirring behind Helen's eyes, 'She looks so much like her mother when she does that…'

"Sorry what?" Serenity snapped out of reverie. "Were you saying something?"

Helen smiled, "Are you ready?" Serenity nodded and turned to turn off the lamp. Helen's hand grabbed her wrist, "Don't turn it off." The confusion on her face was apparent causing Helen to smile sadly. "Just as the darkness took your mother, it took my best friend."

"Are you scared?" Serenity asked her voice was a whisper.

Helen nodded, "Warren doesn't even know…it'll be our little secret." She crawled into the other side of the bed.

Serenity lay down and started staring at the ceiling; the smell of the bed was nostalgic. It was like she had been here before. "Mrs. Peace?" She whispered into the partially lit room.

"What's wrong?"

"What was my mom like?" Serenity rolled over to look at Helen.

The older woman laughed softly, "Well…do you know why we called her a ray of hope?"

"Because of her power and because her name was Hope?"

"Her power, I'll admit it, was part of it, but she shined. She came out of nowhere and took Sky High by surprise; everyone's powers went haywire for a week. We became fast friends and shortly all the Heroes at the school knew her name, and then when Barron and Steve would start fighting, she'd insist on breaking it up dragging me along with her. However, she had her sensible side to her too; she always only chose battles she could win. My best memory of her is when Barron was just taken into custody, Warren was just two back then. I snapped, there's honestly no other way to describe it, the first couple of days were and still are a blur. I don't remember if we ate, or if Hope even knew what was happening, all I remember is this raging anger inside of me, so one night I left, and went to Steve's place…"

Helen's telekinesis broke the door down, and she walked inside of the house. "Come out now Steve!" She called into the darkness.

"What is it Helen?" Steve asked from the stairwell.

Her hand moved and he was flung into the living room crashing into the fireplace. "How could you?"

He tried to stand up but was slammed back against the fireplace with just a flick of her wrist. "It was either me or him, Helen!"

She didn't notice the tears flowing from her eyes, "He has a family! A son!"

"Then he shouldn't have become a villain!"

"Helen don't do this!" Josie told her from the doorway.

With a quick glance at her Helen sent chills up her spine, "Don't interfere, I don't want to hurt you." Helen's gaze quickly turned back to Steve, who was still pinned to the fireplace.

The next thing they all knew was that Helen was being turned around and then they heard a loud smack against the silence between them. "What do you think you're doing?" Hope demanded.

"Hope!" Steve called, relieved that pressure on his chest was removed.

"Shut up Steve." She forced Helen to look at her. "What are you doing? What about Warren?"

"It doesn't matter! If Barron's not there! It's not worth it!" Helen screamed.

Hope slapped her again, "GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF RIGHT NOW HELEN PEACE!" She watched as Helen blinked and saw the acknowledgement in her eyes. "You still have something worth protecting; his name is Warren Michael Peace. He is Barron's and your son, he is two and his birthday is coming up soon. Do you remember that? Do you remember that your son is turning three in August? Even if Barron is gone, he's still there and he needs you."

Helen blinked again, this time there was recognition in her eyes and a fresh set of tears came pouring from them. "Oh God, what have I done? What happened? Where's Warren, oh God is he okay?"

"That's my girl. He's safe, he's with Kyle." Hope looked at Steve and Josie, "Tell no one and that can be your compensation for separating a father and son. Come on." She took Helen's hand and led her out the door.

Helen looked at Serenity who was now fast asleep, "Sleep well."

Just after Helen closed her eyes, the look on Serenity's face became pained and confused. The dream was something she hadn't even thought about since she was just a girl.

A young Serenity looked up from where she played with a young Warren. Something felt wrong, her heart squeezed and tears filled her eyes. 'Mommy?' She got up and ran to the front door, she pulled the door handle until it finally budged enough for her to open it. "Serenity?" Warren called after her as she ran out to the door, when he noticed that the door was open and she was already across the street he called out for his mother.

Serenity pulled out her chain necklace and stuck the key that hung on it into the keyhole. She nearly fell over while she tried to unlock it, even on her tiptoes she could barely reach it. She heard the click and she pulled the door open. She ran to the end of the hallway and pulled the basement door open. She slowly took the stairs one at a time, careful not to fall, just as her mother had taught her. She pushed the door to her mother's special room open.

The room lit up automatically and she frantically looked around, "Mommy?" She called into the empty room, "Mommy? Where are you?"

"Serenity? There you are! I was worried about you!" Helen walked into the room and knelt beside her. "Serenity? What's wrong?"

"Mommy's gone…" Serenity looked at her, tears streaming down her face.

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" Helen asked, worried that her intuition was right when Hope walked out of her door a few days ago.

"I can't feel her anymore, her presence is gone." The look in Serenity's eyes was much older than it should have been.

Helen pulled the small girl into her arms, "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry." Her grip tightened as Serenity's tiny hands clutched onto her shirt.

A distinct buzzing woke Serenity up; Helen was trying to stretch past Serenity without waking her up. Serenity looked at what her hands were clutching, and she noticed the fabric of Helen's pajama top. She gasped in surprise and pulled away instantly, "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry."

"Oh you're awake…" Helen sat up and turned off the alarm. "Good morning."

"Oh how embarrassing," Serenity's hands covered her face to hide the blush covering it. "I'm sorry, I was having a dream and it happened unconsciously."

"Don't worry about it; I'm glad to see something's don't change. So what were you dreaming about?" Helen sat up with her legs crossed.

"I…I don't remember…Strange, it had such a strong feeling to it too…it was sad." Serenity's Caribbean blue eyes darkened as she remembered the feeling of emptiness the dream left.

There was a knock on the door, "Mom, Serenity if you both don't get ready soon we're all going to be late." Warren told them.

"Warren you're such a buzz killer!" Serenity called.

Helen laughed, "He's right though, we should be getting ready. Go shower and I'll go make some breakfast." She slipped out of bed and walked out of the room.

Serenity walked into the kitchen, her duffle bag and backpack thrown over both of her shoulders. Her light green shirt covered the edge of her long white skirt which Helen knew that if she were to sit down it'd pool around her. "Is it alright?" Helen asked, "We couldn't decide what you'd look better in, white or green, so we had to compromise."

"Yeah, it's good." Her eyes met with Warren's, she noticed his hair was still damp. 'Don't look…don't look…why are your eyes drifting? I just told you not to look…oh hey he's not wearing a shirt yet.'

"Like what you see Serenity?" He grinned; he had caught her staring and completely called her on it too.

"Just enjoying the scenery, don't get too excited, Warren." She smiled as Helen sat her down.

"Who'd get excited over a little girl staring at them?" He rolled his eyes.

She glared and then looked at Helen as she tilted her head, "Why do I feel like I'm in the detention room?"

"It's her newly obtained power; Will called her a portable detention room. Serenity you know you're not supposed to use your power outside of school." He grinned.

"I wouldn't if I knew how to control it, but I don't. It's not my fault." She looked away from him and she crossed her arms.

"Weren't you two getting along last night? What happened?" Helen asked as she handed Serenity her breakfast.

"Don't you have to get ready for work?" He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Fine, fine. Play nicely you two." She kissed his head and then ruffled Serenity's hair.

The tension between them was thick, they barely heard Helen's call as she left. "You done?" Warren asked after he had run upstairs to finished getting dressed and grabbed his bag.

"Yeah." Serenity put her dishes in the sink, just as she had watched him do before.

"Then let's go the bus will be here shortly." He led her out of the door, locking it behind them.

"You know it's strange that one of the coolest guys in school doesn't have a car." She told him.

"Why would I need a car? I have a motorcycle." He looked at her as if it was obvious.

"Of course you do." She rolled her eyes. "So why don't you take it to school?"

"Because gas is expensive and it can't fly."

"Oh that makes sense. The parts for flying would be expensive too." She nodded understanding his problem.

The bus pulled up and Ron opened the door, "Morning. Hey what are you two doing at the same stop?"

"I passed out at my old house which, as it turns out, is right across the street from his." She shrugged. "It happens."

"Alright." Ron signaled for them to move back. He drove to the next stop where Will and Layla were waiting. "Morning…this is a strange morning schedule."

Serenity looked back at Warren and the two shared a grin, "So what happened last night without supervision there to keep things PG." She asked.

Layla face turned bright scarlet, "Nothing happened; why would anything have happened? He just stayed over in case of an emergency."

"There's only one emergency I can think of that would be important enough to keep Will Stronghold in the house alone. It normally involves no clothes, sweat stained sheets, and pleading moans into a darkened room. Or perhaps the lights were left on." Serenity told them. The blushes on their faces indicated that something she had said was right. "I was right wasn't I?" Her brow furrowed, "I hope you kept it in the guest bedroom and that nothing happened on the couch."

"Why do you have to be so vulgar first thing in the morning?" Layla asked as she sat down beside her.

"Because I read too many romance novels that's why. It's quite comedic actually."

"Serenity…you are absolutely prime evil." Will told her.

"Yeah I know." She grinned.