A/N: I know, I know! I'm sorry it's been so long but school was really busy as we finished for the Christmas holidays. But now I am on holiday hopefully I'll be writing more! Enjoy the chapter!

It wasn't long after Warren killed Arctic Wind that Principal Powers arrived to check everything was in place for the start of the Showcase.

Instead she found several dead bodies, an incapacitated Coach (he'd knocked himself unconscious when he fell to the gym floor trying to disentangle himself), a constricted superhero, many frightened students including one that was nearly dead and…Warren.

He stood there, staring at the body of the man he'd just killed. His father's arch nemesis dead on the floor.

And he didn't feel a thing. No pain, guilt or remorse. No sadness, shock or disgust. Nothing.

Nothing that is until his mother came rushing over. Her helmet had been removed and she ran across the gym floor, tears streaming down her face as she clasped him in such a tight embrace his breath was taken away – he had, after all, almost died and wasn't exactly well at that point.

'Mom, I can't breathe,' he croaked.

'I'm sorry darling,' she sobbed letting go and looking up at his face, pushing the hair back out of his eyes. 'I just…' Overcome with the pure emotion of it all she collapsed against him. 'I thought I'd never see you again. They kidnapped me, right out of my own room! That man wanted me to see…to see your – ' She broke down again.

'Mom, Mom it's ok. I'm fine, you're fine. Everything will be alright. He's dead; I made pretty sure of that. He won't be able to hurt us again.'

'Warren,' said someone, touching his arm. He turned and saw it was Principal Powers. 'I hate to take you from your mother but the Governor would like to speak with you.'

'Who's the Governor?' asked Warren in a guarded tone.

'He oversees and checks all superhero activities. I'd say what you achieved tonight is definitely worthy of his attention,' she said with a smile.

'What does he want?' he asked as they walked across the gym to Principal Powers' office opposite, leaving his mother in the care of some students.

'All he'll want is your account of what happened. He just needs to 'sign it off' as it were. Make sure all the deaths were justified. And find out what happened to Raven…'

'Who cares what happened to her!' Warren exploded. 'She's the reason all of this happened – why my mom was kidnapped, why there are at least a dozen kids in there with injuries and goodness knows how many more will suffer from shock. She's the reason I almost died! Have you thought about that?' he shouted but it turned into racking coughs and then he bent over wheezing, trying to catch his breath.

'Warren?' his principal asked concernedly. 'Warren?'

He collapsed on the floor, clawing for air. His lungs were burning as he clamoured for oxygen.

'Warren!' she exclaimed, crouching over him. 'Help! We need a medic in here!' she cried.

Mrs. Peace and Nurse Spex ran in from the gym to Warren and Principal Powers. The nurse scanned his body.

'Ice is forming around his lungs. A delayed attack.' She said looking up at the principal and Warren's mother. 'More and more villains are using them these days.'

'My boy, my beautiful boy! Don't go, fight it! You're so strong!' Mrs Peace cried, trying to reach him as he lay crumpled on the floor.

'Mrs. Peace!' Nurse Spex asserted trying to fend the anxious mother off. 'I appreciate this is difficult for you but I'm going to have to ask you to stand back.'

'Lydia,' she said, addressing Principal Powers, 'you need to get him to the medical ward and see if you can get Medulla there too – he may be able to help.'

The principal levitated Warren's body several feet off the ground and along the corridors accompanied by Nurse Spex and a distraught Mrs. Peace.

A week later.

Warren woke up, soaked in sweat. What's going on? It must be 100 degrees in here! he thought. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed to open the window but found that they collapsed under him. Disgruntled he managed to climb awkwardly back into his sodden bed.

'I thought I heard you moving around,' smiled Nurse Spex as she pottered across the ward. 'I'm glad you're feeling better.'

'What the hell's going on?' Warren demanded growing steadily more uncomfortable in his hospital bed.

'You had quite a nasty accident when you took on Arctic Wind. Well, I say accident. It was actually a delayed attack that almost cost you your life. But you've recovered remarkably well,' she said cheerfully.

'Huh?'

'Arctic Wind hit you with some sort of ice blast that encased your lungs and almost reached your heart. We've had to keep you really hot to help melt it. The fact that you've woken up seems to suggest the ice has melted.'

'Right…' he said slowly trying to digest all this information not entirely sure how he was going to deal with this. 'But now that I'm better can we turn the heat down? Or at least crack a window?' he asked.

'Before we move you somewhere else I'll just need to do a quick scan,' she said removing her glasses.

She began scanning Warren's upper body but before she could finish her scan she was interrupted.

'Hey! Hey, what do you think you're doing?' he cried crossing his arms over his chest self-consciously.

'It's a scan Warren – I just need to see what's going on in there. You've had countless others.'

'Wait, I've had these before? When I was unconscious? Isn't that some sort of violation?' he accused, getting slightly angry.

'Mr. Peace please calm down, you'll do yourself no good getting all worked up. Your mother said we had to do whatever was necessary to cure you – that includes scans! So if you'll just let me finish - ' she said gesturing towards him.

'My mom! Is she ok? I want to see her, where is she?'

'When we've done this and put you in a cooler room you can see her.'

'Why do I have to move? Why can't I just stay here?' he asked petulantly.

'You weren't the only one to get hit with that blast Warren,' said Nurse Spex drawing back the curtains next to Warren's bed revealing Raven lying out cold on the other side of the ward surrounded by fan heaters.

'But if I'm better, why isn't she?' he questioned.

'From what we can gather it would appear yours was a gradual accumulation of ice whereas Raven got a direct hit. She's very weak and many of her internal organs are still covered in ice. On the bright side,' she said cheerily, ' the ice is thinning in places but her heart is still very cold though beating.'

Warren looked over at the lifeless figure and felt none of the hate he had done when he first saw her. If she hadn't been there to save him, it would have been him lying in that hospital bed. It would have destroyed his mother.

'Right,' said the nurse having completed her scan, 'there's still a thin layer of ice on some parts of your intestines but your internal heat will take care of that – it's probably why you're awake earlier than Raven as well. Your internal body temperature is 38 degrees Celsius. You should be able to go home in a couple of days. You've had quite a few visitors as well you know,' she added as Warren gathered together what little stuff he had and they walked down the ward to a much cooler room.

'Who'd come to visit me?' he asked.

'Will and Layla came with Zach, Ethan and Magenta and of course your mother.'

'Why did they come? I've never even spoken to them,' he said surprised.

'You don't say,' Nurse Spex said dryly as she checked the thermostat. 'They wanted to visit the person who saved their lives. They told me they were about to give up fighting when you killed those guys in black.'

'I did that?' he asked astounded.

'Sure, you're the first freshman to ever be made an honorary superhero. There's going to be a ceremony in the gym when it's fixed up and of course, only when you're well,' she added with a stern look in her eye.

Warren started to smile but it turned into a huge yawn.

'You need your rest Warren. I'll tell your mother you've woken up.'

Nurse Spex?' he said as he slid under the cool sheets of the bed.

'Yes?'

'If Will and his friends stop by again, I wouldn't mind letting them in,' he said gruffly.

'I'll let them know,' she said with a smile as she turned out the lights and closed the door behind her.

'Shhh! You'll wake him!' someone whispered as someone else banged into Warren's bedside table.

'I can't help it,' replied that someone, 'it's too dark in here.'

'Let me help,' growled Warren as he lit up one hand.

'Warren, I'm sorry we didn't mean to wake you. We just wanted to bring you these,' said a female voice accompanied by a hand thrusting some flowers towards his face. 'I'm - '

'Layla, yeah I know, the girl with the plants. And you're Will Stronghold,' he said, his eyes darkening.

'Yeah, sorry about waking you, we can go if you'd rather.'

'Nah, it's ok,' he said sitting up, 'I've been asleep for about a week, a few hours awake won't kill me. You guys would make terrible burglars you realise that?'

Layla smiled but the rest of them laughed nervously. They hadn't minded visiting Warren when he was unconscious even though it was a bit weird but now that he was awake with full fireball capability it was somewhat different.

Warren flicked on the bedside light as he let his hand go out.

'So how have you guys been since…?' he asked.

'Shouldn't we be the ones enquiring after your health?' joked Layla. Unlike the others Warren Peace didn't intimidate her. After seeing him at his most vulnerable, lying practically dead and then coming back from the brink of death to save all their lives she didn't see how anyone could be frightened of him. He was, in a way, her hero.

'I think we're alright but we definitely wouldn't have been if it hadn't been for you,' replied Zach.

'Yeah, thanks, if you ever need anything…' said Will awkwardly, offering his hand.

Warren took it but added a little heat – he was still the son of the man who'd imprisoned his father and old habits die hard. There had been a time when he would have gladly torched the guy standing next to his bed but, then again, times change. Maybe this marked a change in the Peace-Stronghold relations.

'What happened after they brought me here?' asked Warren.

'Well the bodies were taken away by some guys in suits and the students who got hurt were fixed up,' piped up Ethan.

'Yeah, and right now they're rebuilding the gym,' added Magenta. 'It got pretty trashed after what happened but all the students and parents are pitching in to get it done. It's quite cool really.'

'And Coach Boomer?' he asked dryly.

'Well once he regained consciousness he started shooting off about Arctic Wind and how he'd pay but then of course he found out what you did and he was quieter after that,' said Will.

'Warren?' Nurse Spex poked her head around the door. 'Your mother is here – she's pretty anxious to see you.'

'Yeah, ok, do you guys mind…' he said gesturing towards the door.

'No,'… 'Course not,'… 'Get well soon!' came the replies as they made their way out.

'I should be home in a couple of days. I don't think my mom would mind if you visited,' he said gruffly. 'That is, if you want to,' he added as an afterthought.

Suddenly he felt a bond to these people with whom, before today, he'd never even held a conversation. I suppose that's what near death experiences will do for you, he thought.

'Sure, we'd love to,' said Layla. 'No-one's going back to school for at least another week. Of course we'll visit.'

Just then his mother arrived and they all hurried out of the room.

'Oh Warren,' she said tearfully as she walked into the room with her arms wide open.