Little Boy Lost
Chapter 2
The two huge doors of the courtroom suddenly shuddered, then unlocked themselves. Before anyone could react a strange paralysis struck, holding everyone in place as the doors swung open to admit what looked like a parade from the depths of the underworld.
Dressed in his finest black suit and walking with a black cane topped with a silver skull, in walked Dr. Barnabas Mandragore, and on his left arm was his wife Lucretia, known to everyone in the courtroom as Shadowitch, dressed as if she were going to a ball instead of a courtroom. Both had been long time enemies of Baron Battle and Angelica Peace, even though they had dropped out of sight at the same time Baron and Angelica had gotten married.
Behind them came several men and women that all the assembled heroes recognized only because they had unmasked them themselves after many battles. Each had abandoned their costume for a suit or dress, but their presence was hardly any more comforting. Amongst them was Black Ice, the Harpy, Dr. Skull, Blowhard, Anubis, the Demolisher, Mr. Richtor, Rockabilly, a funny looking little bald man with glasses and, bringing up the rear as he had to stoop and squeeze through the tall doors, the reptilian hulk known as Tyrannosaur.
"Your honor," said Dr. Mandragore as he and his wife approached the bench, "we have come here for…" he turned his eyes to the little boy all of this had been about.
Warren looked so scared and lonely. Despite being clean and dressed in nice clothes, the little boy had not really eaten the entire time and only slept when he fell exhausted from crying for his parents. The people at the facility where he was at had urged that matters be settled soon or the boy might not survive.
Now this horde of villains had entered the courtroom, held everyone helpless, and who knew what they were going to do. Most of them had been foes of the child's parents, but they could not be so low as to take out their revenge on a helpless little boy who had already gone through hell.
All of the heroes struggled harder to move. The Commander used every bit of power in his mighty body to try to fight off the paralysis, to break free so he could leap and put his hands around Dr. Mandragore's throat before he got closer to Warren, but it was useless.
"We have come here for…" repeated Dr. Mandragore, turning his attention back to the judge, "any support we may give in the way of testimony on behalf of Steven and Josie Stronghold that they may have custody of young Warren Peace."
This was a thunderbolt of a revelation.
"I know that the people's representatives," said Dr. Mandragore, indicating the government's attorneys, "or should I say the government's pack of lackeys, will doubtlessly object to our testifying due to our criminal backgrounds.
"But I and the others ascertain that it is precisely BECAUSE of those backgrounds that we are the BEST qualified to testify in favor of the Strongholds. By our very antagonistic viewpoints and the fact that some of us have had actual encounters with them, we know them to be decent, upstanding people who can take in this boy and raise him in a way so that one day he will also be a great hero as his parents were and, God willing, will be again."
Shadowitch raised a finger, and the paralysis disappeared, but no one moved for a moment except Warren, who shivered as if he were cold.
"I…" the judge coughed to clear his throat as he thought about what he had just heard and experienced, "I understand that the government may object to this, but this is a very unusual situation, and as such ALL relevant testimony for both sides must be given. We have heard from the experts and the military about young Warren's potential and what they can offer him. On behalf of the Strongholds I can do no less than to allow the further testimonies of these…citizens, regardless of their current legal standings. The facts they have entered freely of their own will into a possibly hostile environment, endangering their health and freedom with nothing to possibly gain so as to give support that this boy may have a home qualifies them."
What followed was a moment of history. One by one each of the villains gave their testimony about what they knew of both the Stronghold and Battle families. Even Tyrannosaur was composed and orderly as he told of his meetings with the Commander who, he admitted, he still didn't like but did respect.
The Mandragores gave glowing reports of their encounters with the Battles, and Lucretia Mandragore, a witch known and feared throughout the magical world, had to regain her composure several times when she told her stories.
When they had finished the villains simply stood off to one side of the courtroom, awaiting the judge's verdict as anxiously as anyone else.
"This entire situation is one of great delicacy," began the judge, "not only because the very welfare and life of a child is on the line.
"Now while I realize that my finding against the Strongholds may result in an instantaneous act of retribution on the behalf of…certain parties," he looked over at the gathered villains, "I cannot let that sway me in any way. Still I cannot overlook the sheer weight of the argument given by these men and women who have saved this city, this nation, even this planet time and again at the risk of their own lives. Even the Battles, despite their present state and situation, have earned the right for their child to be given the best chance for a way of life in keeping with that he was born into.
"Custody of Warren Peace shall hereby be granted to Steven and Josephine Stronghold on the contingency that the boy accepts this arrangement."
The court erupted into cheers. Tyrannosaur reared his head back and bellowed in triumph with a roar that had not been heard since the Jurassic age. All of the other villains were ecstatic as well, and why not? They were on the winning side for a change.
Steven accepted a few handshakes, but he really wanted to get over to Warren. He paused a moment and caught sight of Dr. Mandragore standing to one side, smiling his approval. He mouthed a simple "thank you" to the villain, who only smiled wider and bowed his head slightly in reply.
Steven approached where Warren sat, smiling gently at the little boy.
"Warren," said Steven as he knelt down next to him, "you know who I am, right?"
Warren simply nodded his head without looking up.
"You know that we want to help you. Would you like to come home with us? We have a little boy who could really use a big brother. What do you say?"
Silence hung in the air.
"Warren?"
"I…" started Warren.
"Yes?"
"I…" he started to lift his head and look at Steven.
"Come on, big guy," smiled Steven.
Warren looked Steven directly in the eye.
"I hate you."
This struck Steven harder than any physical blow he had ever felt. He looked into the boys' eyes, and saw they were literally red with anger.
"I hate you."
"Warren…" started Steven.
"You hurt my Dad."
"Warren…please,"
"You took my Dad away from Mom and me."
"Warren, I'm sorry…"
"You made my Mom sick."
"That's not true…"
"I hate you!"
"Please…"
"I HATE YOU!"
"Warren…your clothes are smoking…"
"I HAAATTTTEEEE YOOUUU!"
Warren literally exploded. His entire body burst into flames that consumed his clothes in an instant and the heat made everyone near him recoil in shock and horror.
Everyone except Steven Stronghold.
Warren leaped at Steven, his small fists beating on the man he felt had destroyed his entire family and left him all alone in the world. Now this man was going to take him away…to what? He had already hurt his parents, what more would he do to him?
Josie tried to intervene, but Steven shook his head "no" as he grabbed the boy and held him in his arms tightly, continuing to endure the physical punishment even though it could not really hurt him. Warren continued to lash out in a frenzy of hate and desperation, hitting, kicking and biting like a wild animal all the while covered in flames that threatened to spread in the room.
Finally Warren's flames died out, leaving him alone and naked as he collapsed in exhaustion in Steven's arms, his body shivering in near-shock from both his rage and his power manifesting itself from the stress. Steven only hugged him tighter in his arms, his tears now able to flow freely without being vaporized by the boy's flames.
"And that's what happened," said Steven setting back in his chair, his eyes misting over from the painful memory. He could still feel Warren's blows and the heat of the boy's pain manifested in his flames. He would until the day he died.
"What happened to Warren?"
"He was taken back to the facility he had been staying at. They were good people who took care of him. Once he…confronted me…that seemed to help him, at least to function better physically. Angelica made a swift recovery as well and Warren was returned to her without any problems. I sometimes think the Mandragores had something to do with that, or maybe your grandpa. Maybe both. A lot of relationships changed that day."
"That was the last time I saw Stitches until the Homecoming Dance," said Josie, "it had been so long I didn't recognize him until Royal Pain revealed herself as well. Actually, that makes me realize what he meant when I spoke to him after the hearing."
"What did he say?" asked Will.
"He said that he knew everyone needed a home, and he would do anything to help a child since he now had a little girl of his own."
The kitchen was quiet for a few minutes.
"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" Will asked.
"Honey," said Josie, putting her hand on her son's, "you were still very young when this happened. You didn't know we were super heroes until your tenth birthday, and we had all agreed that what happened didn't need to be known about until you were ready."
"I understand that," said Will, "but why didn't you ever tell me about Warren? About his parents…I didn't even know his mom's name until now, and Dad only referred to him as his archenemy. I should have at least had a warning the first day of school."
Both his parents looked at each other, knowing there was no way to justify that.
"We knew Warren was going to Sky High. We had kept an eye on him his whole life, known everything that happened to him…how could we not? We watched him struggle through his life, all the time our hearts were breaking because we couldn't help him. For all our power we couldn't save that one little boy."
"We didn't know how he would react to you. Didn't know if he'd forgiven me for what happened or if he would take it out on you."
"Well, the latter definitely happened," said Will, remembering vividly the battle in the cafeteria.
"But did Warren start it? Did he come after you right from the start?"
"No," said Will, "at first he just seemed to follow me around, staring at me like he was studying me or something. We didn't get into a fight until Lash tripped me and I spilled my lunch on Warren accidentally. The rest is history."
Will then realized what Warren had meant when he said; "You think you can do anything you want just because your name is Stronghold?"
"And now?"
"Now we're friends. He's my best friend, actually."
Both his parents smiled at this.
"So it's come full circle," said Steven, "now my son and my friend's son are friends. It's been a long, painful road for both families, but here's hoping that it can only get better from here."
"What do you want to do with these?" asked Will as he gathered up all the contents of the envelope and began refilling it.
"I think we should get rid of it," said Steven, "those are all ghosts that I hope we've laid to rest."
"Actually," said Will, "I'd like to keep it if I can."
"Sure tiger," said Josie as she helped her son gather up the last of the papers, "but why?"
"I think…they'll help me understand my friend more."
All Steven could do was sit back and slowly nod his head in agreement.
That night Will sat in his room, looking over the documents, which included a transcript of what had happened in the court room that he had read and re-read. He looked at a tabloid picture of little Warren, and totally understood why his parents had tried to do what they did for him. In the picture he had the same haunted look in his eyes that Will had seen the first time he turned around in the cafeteria and saw Warren staring at him; a mixture of anger and loneliness chiseled into his features.
He couldn't help but wonder what could have been. What if Warren had come home with his parents? What if they had become brothers growing up together, going to school, making friends with Layla and Zach, all of it?
He smiled at the thought, and realized that they would probably be in the same exact situation they were now, only Warren would be occupying the room across the hall that Mom and Dad had never used for some reason, a reason he now knew. Will got up, walked across the hall and put his hand gently on the door to the empty room.
"Good night brother," he whispered.
The End