I Promised Myself I Wouldn't Cry, But I Lied
Chapter 2Will was nearly frantic.
He raced down the hall to his parents' room, and pounded on the door harder than he intended.
His fist went through the door like it was paper.
He was confused what to do next. He was working on a purely emotional level, and he didn't stop to think of simply pulling his arm out of the hole.
He ripped the door off the hinges, and stood in the doorway as he dropped it to the floor with a dull thud.
Both Steven and Josie Stronghold, in their pajamas, had been awakened in an instant by the noise and were already in defensive positions when they noticed it was their son. They both relaxed, but were concerned.
"Will, what's wrong?" Josie asked.
"It…it's Warren," said Will, panting to catch his breath, "he doesn't remember what happened.
"You mean…" began Steven.
"Any of it!" Will said louder than he intended. "He doesn't remember the hearing, the testimonies, what happened…any of it."
"Will," Steven said as the color started to drain from his face, "how do you know?"
"Because he's in my room right now reading the whole thing."
Josie and Steven looked at each other knowing what they had to do.
"Will, get Warren and meet us downstairs…in my den."
Will turned and stepped into the hallway to find Warren there, his face almost ashen.
"What happened? I heard a crash and thought…"
"No…no it wasn't Dad," said Will, knowing how Warren still felt nervous around his father, "it was me. I guess I still don't know my own strength."
Warren was as edgy as a caged panther, moving back and forth in the den. He looked ready to bolt at any second. Will had tried to calm him down and told him his dad wanted him there, but Warren didn't seem to hear him or was still upset reading about a piece of his life he didn't remember.
Warren tried to quell his nervous energy, and stopped to look at some of the photos on one of the walls. There were the usual assortment of Christmas, birthday and vacation pictures showing the family in different activities, but one particular picture caught his eye.
It was a picture of Baron Battle and Steven Stronghold from back in their own high school days. The two were grinning like idiots as they flexed their impressive physiques for the camera, and it looked like they had been having fun lifting monstrous weights that could be glimpsed in the background.
"That was when we were getting ready for the big game with New Olympus Prep," said Steven behind him, and Warren almost dropped the picture he had absent mindedly taken off the wall to look at. Steven was dressed in a long sleeve shirt and jeans, with his slippers on.
"Commander," he said, "I mean Mr. Stronghold…I…"
"Easy Warren," smiled Steven as he fully entered the room, "I'm glad you're here. A little late in the night, but that's okay."
Warren seemed to calm a little, but he couldn't bring himself to look Steven directly in the eyes.
"I…read about…" he started.
"It's true, Warren," said Steven as he walked slowly over to the boy who seemed to be shrinking away from him with every step.
"We wanted so much to adopt you. Your dad was my best friend…your mother was another friend…neither of them was in any shape to help you. The only way to keep you safe from the government was to make you ours."
"And if the government hadn't wanted me…" said Warren, his deep voice strangely trembling.
"We WANTED you Warren," said Steven, who reached out and put his hand on Warren's shoulder, "even if the government hadn't been threatening to take you away, we wanted you."
"But you didn't take me," whispered Warren, " because I went crazy and attacked you. You didn't want me around because I was dangerous…crazy like Dad…might have hurt Will or Mrs. Stronghold…"
"No Warren," said Steven, his voice becoming stronger, "We wanted you even more after what happened. I know it was not your fault. It was ours. We all got so carried away trying to save you we forgot to ask you what you wanted."
"But I hurt you…you must hate me."
"No Warren, I have never hated you, and I never will."
"How…how can you say that?"
"Warren, Josie and I have always loved you. We couldn't have loved you more if you HAD been our son. Nothing has ever changed that. Nothing ever will."
Steven put both his hands on Warren's shoulders, forcing him to finally look him in the face.
"Warren, I look at you and I see the greatness of your mom and dad in you. You have more than just their powers…you have each of their souls as well. I look into your eyes and I see your dad's passion and humor…I see your mother's gentleness, caring and kindness. I loved both of them. How could I not love you?"
"But…" whispered Warren.
"No buts. I can understand why you don't remember any of it. After…what happened, you went into a coma…burning up with a horrible fever. You were put on life support. You were under for…for two months. God, those were the longest days of my life."
"Of OUR lives, dear," said Josie as she entered the room. She had changed out of her nightgown into a simple blouse and jeans and was carrying a tray of sandwiches and mugs of hot cocoa. She set them down and joined her husband to look Warren in the eye.
"You were so sick," she said, reaching up and caressing his face. At first he started to flinch, but then he accepted her touch. "We put nearly everything else in our lives on hold. We didn't go out and stop evil…not that there seemed to be that much. It was like the entire underworld vanished for a time."
"A lot of it did." said Steven. "Dr. Skull, Blowhard, and Black Ice all retired. Rockabilly reformed and now works out in Las Vegas, and Tyrannosaur…just disappeared. Harpy, Mr.Richtor and Demolisher remained criminals, but they moved out to the West Coast. Then there was Dr. Mandragore and his wife. I'll say this for him, he may have been a villain, but I couldn't think of a better person to cure you."
"We took leaves of absences from our work. We only saw each other and Will when one of us wasn't with you at your bedside."
"Wait," said Will, "was that when…when Grandpa came and stayed with us for a while? He was always around even when you two weren't?"
Both his parents nodded their heads.
"Dad insisted on it," said Steven, "he came right over from the hospital that first night and watched you while we stayed with Warren until he was stabilized."
"I remember," said Will, "in the middle of the night I heard him talking to someone, and snuck downstairs to see him sitting in the living room talking to some really creepy looking old guy in a black suit."
"Dr. Skull, Dad's old enemy," said Steven, "he testified on our behalf at the trial too."
"You touched a lot of lives that day Warren," said Josie as she continued to caress him, her hand becoming wet from the hot tears starting to trickle down his cheeks.
"I'm…I'm so sorry…" said Warren, his heart breaking.
"There's nothing to be sorry about," said Steven, "you are always welcome in my home, and I am proud you're Will's friend."
"Why? I'm crazy…a monster…"
"No Warren," said Josie, pleading with him, "You're not. What can we say to show you we love you?"
"I guess it's time I showed him," said Steven.
Steven Stronghold, in one quick motion, tore the long sleeved shirt he had been wearing off his body.
Both boys gaped at what they saw.
There, across Steven's broad chest and on the inside of his arms was what appeared to be the negative image of what looked like a small human form. The huddled figure was exactly where a child would have been if held in the Commander's mighty arms. On his left pectoral, directly over his heart, was the perfect profile of the face belonging to a boy…the eye was closed and every detail down to the hair was clear for all to see.
It was Warren's profile, from when he was eight.
His image had been burned into Steven's skin by his flames, like the outlines of people burned into the walls they had been standing in front of when the first atomic bombs were dropped.
"Would I be able to live with this for over eight years…still welcome you into my home and thank you for being my son's friend…if I didn't love you?"
To be continued