He guessed that all kids thought their parents were invincible. But he really had. His parents had been Commander and Jetstream. Other kids dressed up as them for Halloween. Other kids thought their dads were strong cause they could pick them up? Well his dad was really strong, strong enough to pick up buildings. His parents had scrapbooks for all the times they had saved the world. They had never lost a battle. Ever. They always saved the world, and they had been up against some pretty stiff competition sometimes.
But all kids eventually realized that their parents weren't really invincible. And so had Will. Freshman year, he had been the one saving his parents. That was a first. For once, he had been the powerful one. But it wasn't a first he cared to repeat. He had seen his parents nearly killed. Although they had come out alright, it had been a close shave. It made him start to think about how many other close shaves his parents may have had, how many times it hadn't been a fantastic victory, but escaping by the skins of their noses with a healthy dose of luck. And now they were getting older, past their prime . . . and with their enemies, there was real danger.
Danger that Warren had just escalated.
He had trusted Warren implicitly, and now it looked like he was going to have to pay for it. And not just him; his parents. In going to Battle, Warren may as well have signed his parents' death warrants. With the things he knew – well, from what he had gathered from the scattered recounts of past glory days, the last battle with Battle had been no piece of cake. With Warren's knowledge – well, it might be the edge Battle needed.
He'd have thought his friends would have understood this. He'd have thought they would have been shocked and horrified at Warren's betrayal as well. But apparently they weren't.
But no matter what he or they thought, he had already lost one good friend today, and he didn't care to lose another. Will really didn't want to fight with Layla anymore, so he ran to catch up with her, his mind made up to make peace.
"Hey." He said.
"Hey Will." She said, glancing over at him.
"Look, Layla." He started. "About what happened,"
"It's okay Will." She cut him off. "I know, things are pretty tense for you right now, and it must be hard losing your best friend. I know you didn't mean it."
"Uh, no." Will said, frowning. "No, I meant exactly what I said."
"What?" Layla asked, her voice lowering dangerously.
"Warren's a villain now." Will protested. "I'm not trying to be mean, it's just a fact."
"He's not a villain, he's your friend!" Layla said. "I cannot believe we're having this same conversation again –"
"Look, Layla, I know he was your friend too," Will said, trying to reason with her. "But you have to accept it. He switched sides. I know it must hurt, it hurts all of us, but denying it won't change it."
"I'm not the one in denial Will, you are." Layla argued. "You're mad at Warren for not telling you any of this, for going to a villain. You think you're losing a friend, so you're trying to deny it by saying that it's all Warren's fault.
"Well, it kind of is all his fault." Will pointed out.
"But Will, it's not like Warren just joined a villain. He went to his father. Battle's his dad Will. Can't you see how hard this must be for Warren? Can you really blame him?"
"Uh, yeah I can!" Will said frankly. "Because he chose to go to his dad, even though he knows full well that he's a murdering psychopath! He's going to sell all of us out!"
"You don't know that he's going to do that!"
"Well, I doubt he's trading cooking recipes with him!"
"Will, have you ever thought that maybe he just wants to know his dad? It's not as easy for him as it is for you!"
"And have you ever thought that maybe everyone isn't a good person! Warren's a villain. He told us himself. He never was a hero."
Layla took a step backwards as though he had hit her. "He's more of a hero than you are Will." She said scathingly. "Because he actually cared for his friends and family. He always stood by them."
She turned around and walked off, feet sloshing through the rain.
"If he always stands by you, where is he now then?" Will called out after her. He went ignored. "Where is anyone now?" He muttered to himself, angrily turning around and kicking his foot through a puddle.
"He's being an arrogant butthead!" Layla seethed.
"Layla!" Abby said, her mouth quirking at Layla's choice of insult.
"It's true though!" Layla said, arresting her pacing about the room to sit on her bed and face Abby. "He's just completely abandoning all of his friends! It's like his whole friendship with Warren meant absolutely nothing! Just gone, one wrong move and he's forgotten every good thing Warren's ever done!"
"He was pretty harsh." Abby agreed. "But are you sure this is really about Warren?"
"Yes!" Layla insisted instantaneously. "Well," she amended a moment afterwards as Abby simply looked at her. "Maybe not entirely. It's just – I don't know, I guess I just maybe feel like he's been doing the same thing to me." She sighed, hugging a pillow to her. "He's pushing me away . . . it's like Rena is the only one he cares about."
"Maybe you guys needed a little break." Abby suggested.
Layla shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe. After our first fight, I thought we would just work through it, just a bump in the road, you know? But then, after what happened with Warren, I don't think I even want to try to patch it up." She trailed off, shaking her head. "He was his best friend. He was my best friend." She turned to Abby, as if just really seeing her. "And he was your boyfriend. How are you doing with all of it?"
Abby shrugged, pulling her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. "It was a shock." She admitted. "I wasn't expecting it all. So it kind of makes me wonder . . . did I really know him? I thought I did. But I never thought he'd do that . . ." She shook her head. "It's just so weird." Abby continued, twisting a strand of her hair around her finger and staring down at her feet. "Just a few weeks ago we were applying to be partners together, designing coordinating costumes, trying to come up with Super names. I mean, we were applying to be partners together! That's kind of a huge deal. You can't just go around changing partners whenever you want. It was a big step for us. We were making a commitment. I thought it meant something. I thought it meant we were something. I guess not." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Mr. Medulla even told me . . . he said that me and Warren were practically a shoo in to be partners, that we were perfectly matched, power-wise. We were going to graduate and start saving the world together. I thought we had it all planned out."
"I guess nothing can always go as planned." Layla said.
"I guess. But it would be nice if it did, for once."
Layla laughed. "That would be nice."
Abby shook her head. "We have awful taste in boyfriends."
"Hey, at least you guys have boyfriends." Magenta said, poking her head around the door.
"Hey," Layla and Abby said, scooting over on the bed to make room for her. She plopped down gloomily.
"What's wrong?" Layla asked. "Is it –"
"Zach." Magenta said. "I just spend two hours today talking with him. Two hours. And he still didn't manage to spit it out."
"I'm sorry." Layla said sympathetically.
"I am too." Magenta said wryly. "I'm starting to give up hope that he'll ever do it."
They gave a sigh in unison. Layla and Abby looked at one another over Magenta's sinking shoulders.
"Well, you can join our pity party." Layla said, patting her on the back.
"Great." Magenta said. "Will there be ice cream?"
"Wouldn't be complete without it."
Magenta nodded.
"Boys suck." She commented dully. They all nodded.
"They do."
Several minutes later, they settled back in Layla's room, bowls of ice cream in hand.
"So, still nothing from Zach?" Layla asked.
"Nothing." Magenta repeated glumly. She stared pensively at her bowl for a minute or two. "Okay, I have to ask." She said suddenly, looking up. "Am I crazy? Am I some stupid, lovesick girl? Am I just over-interpreting, making all this stuff up? Does Zach not really like me?"
"No!' Layla protested immediately. "Everyone can see he's totally into you."
"If he's so totally into me, then how come he hasn't made a move yet?"
"Maybe you need to make the first move." Abby suggested. "Zach can be kind of insecure."
"We don't need to make the first move," Magenta said. "We're both completely ready to move on from friendship. Or at least, I thought we both were. What I need is just for him to ask me out!"
"Maybe he just needs time." Layla said.
"I've given him two years, how much more does he need?" Magenta grumbled. "Enough about me. Let's hear your sob story Layla."
Layla obliged, and Magenta and Abby made all the right comments, even though they had heard this rant several times before. She could likely have gushed on for hours, but Magenta cut her short. This story was old news, she was running out of ice cream, and wanted to hear Abby's story before it all was melted.
"Well?" She prodded. "You? Warren?"
"He ditched me for his dad." Abby said, prodding her mushy ice cream with her spoon, staring at it moodily. "That's pretty much it."
"It must suck." Magenta said plainly. "Especially since it's now, just when you guys were getting pretty serious. I mean, you guys just decided you were a couple a few months ago."
"What are you talking about?" Layla asked. "They've been a couple for ages!"
"You've called them a couple for ages." Magenta pointed out. "They only started referring to themselves as a couple a while ago." Abby nodded as they looked at one another.
"Yeah. I mean, we've been . . . you know, we've been friends, friends who hang out, and well, sometimes. . . go out . . ."
" . . . and make out . . ." Layla continued with a slight smile, which Abby mirrored at her comment.
". . . yes . . ."
". . . and put out?" Magenta asked.
"Magenta!" Layla yelped.
Abby blushed slightly. "I'm not going there." She said flatly.
"Magenta!" Layla said again, and then very primly, "Maybe we should just stop talking about it."
"Yeah. After all, none of us is putting out now." Abby said.