"That's great Will." Layla said earnestly. "I'm so proud of you."

"Yeah." Will said. "The rabid panther won't be bothering anyone else for a long time now."

"You really are a hero." Layla said, grinning.

"Rena wasn't even hurt either." Will added.

"Rena?" Layla asked, her brow furrowing.

"Yeah, Rena." Will said. "The rabid panther kidnapped her to get me to come and fight him. But don't worry, she's fine."

"Oh." Layla said, nodding. "That's good." She was silent for a minute. Will was as well, basking in his own glory. "So, why did the rabid panther kidnap Rena?" Layla asked. I thought she was just, you know, normal."

"Oh yeah, she is." Will responded immediately. "But, the rabid panther took her so that I would come and fight him."

"Oh. I see." Layla said. She walked slowly next to Will, biting her lip as she turned over this new information. "I didn't realize you two were such good friends." Layla commented slowly.

"Yeah. We're friends. Of course we are. We hang out together." Will said.

"You do?" Layla asked.

"Well, like once. But we're friends. Definitely."

"It's just, I don't know, they've only hung out once, but a villain captured her to get to Will. Don't you think that's a little strange?" Layla asked, slamming her locker door closed. "I'm not overreacting, am I? I just think it's a little weird, that's all. I didn't know they were that close. I don't think they are even that close. So why would a villain kidnap her?"

"Maybe he just wasn't a very smart villain." Abby suggested. "Maybe he just found the first person he saw Will hanging out with."

"Yeah. That could be it." Layla conceded, but she was still frowning.

"Or maybe they thought it would be easier to just kidnap Rena. I mean, any villain would have a tough time trying to kidnap you."

"True," Layla conceded. She walked next to Abby, making their way down to the cafeteria. "It's just that," she started up again. "The villain usually captures the girlfriend, you know? And, I'm his girlfriend, not this Rena."

"Wow, Layla, I'd never thought I'd hear you encouraging such a sexist practice."

"I'm not encouraging it!" Layla quickly protested. "It goes both ways! Like, if someone were to threaten me, you'd expect them to kidnap Will, not some random guy, like my mad science lab partner."

Abby shrugged. "I really don't think you have anything to worry about though Layla. Will's not cheating on you. He's Will, completely honest and completely in love with you."

Layla smiled. "Yeah, you're right."

"Of course I am." Abby replied.

Carol Peace stood in the kitchen, starting to make spaghetti for dinner. She set the water to start boiling on the stove and pulled out a box of noodles. She broke open the top – and spilled them all over the floor. She winced and started cleaning it up with a sigh. She seemed to be dropping things a lot lately, ever since she had heard the news. Her husband – ex husband – had escaped from prison. Ever since then, she had been on edge. She knew her son, Warren, was worried about her, but shaky hands were the least of her worries at the moment. She was too busy worrying about what Barren would do now that he had escaped. Last time she had given up her powers to put him behind bars. What would it take to save the world, to save her son, this time?

The lights in the house started flickering wildly, on and off, on and off, as if they were in the middle of a thunderstorm. Except it was a clear night. She straightened up slowly, her body tense. She could remember all too well the last time the lights had acted this way.

"Hello Carol." A voice said from behind her.

"Hello Barren." She said, fighting to keep her voice even. She didn't turn around. She didn't have to.

"Ah, making spaghetti I see." He said, striding over to the stove, as if this were a perfectly normal visit, an old friend dropping by.

"Yes." She answered, setting down the box and turning to face him. Jail didn't seem to have changed him much.

"You used to make that quite a bit, as I recall." Carol nearly smiled at the memory. It was back when their house had been a happy place. Nearly a home. "The kitchen looked a lot different back then whenever you were cooking though." It certainly had. There was no need for hands back then, she used to have vegetables chopping themselves and tossing themselves into the pot, dishes flying around the room, all with merely a thought. Barren had always joked that one of these days she was going to accidentally impale someone with all the knives she sent whizzing through the air. But those days were gone now.

"Was I really that bad Carol?" He asked softly. "Was it worth it?" If only she herself knew the answers to those questions, God knows she had asked them often enough.

"You had to be stopped. What are you doing here Barren?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Just stopping by." He said breezily, walking through into the living room, his long black coat whirling around him like a cape.

Carol followed him, knowing all too well that he couldn't be left unattended for a moment. "I see I've missed Warren." He observed, looking around the empty room.

"Yes." She answered, leaning against the doorframe. There wasn't any point in calling the police, or the Strongholds, he would disappear long before they got here. Besides, she knew that she at least wasn't in any danger from him. She never had been. It was the rest of the world she was worried about.

"Pity." He said, crossing over to the mantel and looking at the pictures, featuring Warren as he progressed from an infant, to elementary school, up to the present. "I've been trying to get in touch with him."

She shook her head. "Don't." She warned.

"Why not?" He asked, picking up a frame. "He's just as much my son as yours."

"You weren't here. For anything. You've missed his entire life. Don't try to pull him into your plans now."

"It's his choice Carol." Battle said lightly, examining the picture. She just shook her head, her face dark. "I haven't seen my son in sixteen years." He said, turning around, now deadly serious. "That's a long time. I intend to find him now." He turned back to the pictures, tapping his fingers along the back of a chair. "But, he seems to have neglected my first invitations."

He walked over to her, setting the picture down on a table. "Tell him to find me." He said, tapping the glass. "Or I find her."

Mrs. Peace looked down and saw a picture taken over the summer, of Warren standing with his friends. In the photo, he had his arms wrapped around Abby, smiling down at her.

She looked back up, but Battle was done talking. He had already turned around and was headed out the door.