The next morning, Randy was over his power induced fever. Thankfully, he hadn't set the bed on fire, but Mary had put the fire extinguisher next to his room for future use. Suzy had cried for a while. Mary held her until she, too, fell asleep, and then put her to bed. She stayed up a while, doing homework, looking over the schedule the school had emailed her, and downloading the pictures from her camera onto her computer. Dad needed to know what had happened, but he didn't show up. She'd fallen asleep on the couch waiting for him.

Mary didn't have time to completely change from yesterday's outfit when she woke up, so she just grabbed a dark blue top, brushed her hair out, and refreshed her make up before sliding her jacket on. That gave her enough extra minutes to make a quick breakfast for the twins and prepare their lunches. When they came down, they were still rubbing the sleep from their eyes. Mary managed to get them out just in time to catch on the bus. As she leaned against a nearby light post to catch her breath, she hoped Randy wouldn't set anything on fire.

"You okay," Will asked, walking up with Layla.

"Yeah. Just tired." She gave them a smile. "Hey, how did your parents take the news that their son was a sidekick?"

"He chickened out," Layla said.

"How was I supposed to tell him when he showed me the Secret Sanctum?" Will asked.

Mary shook her head. "That's rough. But they'll eventually know."

"What did your dad say when he found out you got Hero?" Will asked, trying to change the subject.

She was saved from answering by the bus showing up. The doors opened and she climbed on board. Unlike yesterday when everyone didn't look up when they got on, they all stared as Mary walked to an open seat. A few people shied away from her.

School wasn't much better. She walked down the hallway to her locker and people stopped to stare and whisper. Will and Layla tried to brush it off, and it worked for a while, but then they walked into their sidekick classroom and she was off to the Hero classes. Because of her grades from her last school, she'd been allowed to jump to the sophomore class instead of starting with the freshmen. So she was even more out of place being a grade ahead as well as a villain's kid.

The bell rang and Mary walked into her first class, which was Mad Science with Mr. Medulla. She walked to the back of the room, keeping her head high but wishing that the looks getting would stop. The news of who her mother was had really hit the school. As more students started filing in and taking their seats and Medulla started the class, Mary turned her attention to her notebook, ignoring the empty seat beside her. The rest of her morning classes went the same way. The seat beside her would remain empty and she would focus on her notes. When the bell rang for lunch, Mary couldn't get there fast enough.

She grabbed the first empty table she could see and quickly spread out her packed lunch to show she had claimed it. No one contested her. She munched on a carrot and scanned the crowd for her new friends. After a morning of looks ranging from scorn to fear, a smiling face would be welcomed. She spotted them and waved. It took them a moment to see her and they waved back. In that moment, though, she'd seen their laughter and carefree attitude. Would she get to have that when they weren't around? Would there be anyone else who saw past the label of 'villain kid' and saw Mary Lamb? Mary quickly threw those thoughts aside as the others set their trays down.

"Hey," she said cheerfully. "How's it going? Classes good?"

"They would be so much better if you were there with us," Layla said.

"I'd rather be in your classes than mine."

"Is someone giving you trouble?" Zach frowned. "If they are, you point me in their direction. I'll set them straight."

Mary smiled. She knew perfectly well that Zach didn't have the skills to set anyone straight. But it helped to know he would do it anyway for her. "Thanks, but I don't think they deserve that just yet."

Zach nodded. "True. I could get carried away. But you let me know if I need to bust a few heads."

"Will do, Glow Man."

Conversation moved on to other things, but Layla leaned closer to Mary. "Are you ok?"

Mary nodded slightly. "The morning was a bit rough, but I'll be fine. I'm glad to see you all doing well."

Layla rested her hand on her shoulder. "Things will get better. Just wait and see." Mary gave her friend an encouraging smile and nodded, though she doubted things would change anytime soon.

The rest of lunch passed and it was too soon that Mary had to part ways with her friends. She gave them a cheerful send off and continued to her next class. The pattern of the empty chairs and avoidance continued until her language class. There was an option of having a free study period or taking a language class. Mary had chosen French to keep her skills sharp. More students came in, avoiding her place in the back. She opened her notebook, ready to take notes, and purposefully put on the air that the empty seat next to her didn't bother her. The bell rang and the teacher turned to the class.

"Bonjour! My name is Monsieur Gérard. Welcome to French 3. Today-"

The door opened and Warren Peace walked in. He didn't give a reason to his tardiness, he just glanced around the room and made for the seat next to Mary. She would have been happier about his choice if it wasn't the last seat available. He slouched in his chair and flipped his notebook open. Monsieur Grérard continued with the lesson, covering what the assignments and tests would be like and how things would be graded.

"Now, I want you to turn to the person next to you. Get to know them because you'll be working a lot with them through the year. Think of it as a good chance to brush up on your French after the summer break."

Mary turned to Warren. "Bonjour. Je m'appelle Mary Lamb. Comment vouz appelez-vous?"

He rested his chin on his palm and stared at her. "Bonjour. Je m'appelle Warren Peace."

Mary blinked and continued in French. "Your accent is wonderful. Do you practice French often?"

He paused. Maybe he didn't want to talk about himself? Mary was ready to retract her question but he answered, also in French, "My dad is half French. My mom insists I know the language for prison visits to make him happy."

Mary smiled. "I'm sure he appreciates it." She knew that her mom loved her kids' presents when they came to visit. Mary would do anything to make her mother smile if she could. Straightening in her seat, she asked, "Do you speak any other languages?"

"Chinese."

"Wow. That's pretty awesome." Warren stared at her, his eyes narrowing slightly. Mary shifted in her seat. Had she said something wrong?

"This is a level 3 class. How do you speak French so well?"

She relax a bit, glad that she hadn't offended him. "My dad had a job in France, so we lived there for a year. I picked it up pretty quickly after a while and managed to test up to this class. Randy's practically fluent, too."

Warren nodded. His eyes darted around the classroom, checking on the other groups who were stumbling their way through their conversations. He turned back to Mary and she was surprised to see his gaze had softened slightly. "How is he?" His voice was lower, as if unsure he should be talking about Randy's sudden power development.

Mary matched his tone level, following his lead and keeping the conversation in French. "He's good. His fever broke early this morning and he was well enough to go to school. Suzy was a little upset. I think she'll be watching him closely today. Probably get on his nerves a lot." She paused and shifted in her seat before meeting his gaze head on. "Thank you for helping him. I don't really know what I would have done if you hadn't stepped in. His power's way different than mine or my sister's."

Warren slowly nodded. "Pyros get a bad reputation. If he can control his temper, he should be fine, but it'll get away from him at times." He pushed a bit of hair out of his eyes. "Just be patient while he learns." His gaze was intense; reaching out to her and hoping she would be open to taking his advice.

Mary nodded. "I will." Warren only nodded.

The bell rang, dismissing them. Monsieur Gérard called out the homework of reading the next chapter as the students left. Warren shoved his things into his bag and left. Mary made a stop at her locker before heading to the gym. The last period would either be power training or Save the Citizen. Since the game usually only happened twice a week, it was power training today. Either way, it would mean the Hero and Hero Support classes of all grades would be having class together. She would be able to see her friends.

A breeze brushed some of her hair over her shoulder and Speed smiled at her from his sudden appearance in front of her. Mary tried to step around him, but Lash smiled as he stretched into the spot.

"Hey," he said. "Wanna walk to gym with us?"

"I'm good, thanks." She tried to step around him, but he put his arm out, blocking her path.

"Now, see, if I didn't have such thick skin, I might think you didn't want to hang with us."

"Our kind need to stick together, you know," Speed added.

Mary narrowed her eyes at them. "What do you mean 'our kind'?"

"Villains," Lash said, leaning into her personal space. "You come from quality villain stock. We could be unstoppable together."

Her fingers curled around the edge of her textbooks. "No thanks." She shoved his arm out of her way and continued on. But Lash stretched out his arm, wrapping it around her waist and pulling her back to them.

"Listen, Lamb. High school can be a pretty rough place. Especially with a mom like yours. People are going to reject you; avoid you. But we'll accept you. We know how great you can be." Lash draped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side. "We could be great friends."

His touch made her skin crawl and she shoved his arm off her. "Not interested," she said, stepping away.

Speed appeared in front of her. "You sure you want to turn your back on us?"

She glared. "Positive." He shifted and she prepared herself. If he wanted to fight, she would give him a fight.

Lash gripped his friend's shoulder. "Leave her. Not worth the trouble." Speed stepped back. Lash met Mary's gaze. "You'll come to regret that decision, Lamb."

"Doubt it." She watched them until they turned the corner in the hall. Her shoulders dropped as she exhaled, leaning against the lockers. Would she have to keep her defenses up from now on? They could come after her for defying them. But she wasn't going to give into them. She would never be a villain. But she would be late for gym if she didn't move now. Gathering herself, she pushed herself away from the wall and hurried to class. When she arrived at the gym, she found herself quickly assigned to Warren Peace while her friends were placed on the other side of the room with other classmen.

Once Coach Boomer explained that the day would be simply getting used to their new training partners who would be helping with basic stretches, Mary turned to Warren. "I guess we'll be paired until the end of the year in this class, too?"

"Until the end of the month," Warren said, stretching his arms. "We'll rotate with other Heroes and sidekicks each month throughout the years unless we request a certain partner. It's to help determine who we work with after graduation."

"But aren't we in a different class than some of the sidekicks? We'll graduate before a few of them, won't we?" Mary mimicked his stretching.

Warren sighed. He obviously didn't want to explain everything. "We rotate with those in our own grade. But for the first month, freshmen are assigned to an upperclassman to learn how things go. Even though you're in a sophomore class, you're still a bit of a freshman. Boomer can't be bothered to teach us, so we teach ourselves."

Mary frowned. "That doesn't seem productive."

"Yeah, well that's how it goes." Warren moved on to stretching his legs and Mary followed. The stretches felt good and she started to lose the pent up energy from the Lash and Speed run in. The two villains were moving their arms and legs to look like they were stretching, but she knew they were watching her from their other side of the gym. Mary kept them in the corner of her eye. If they were going to pull something, she wanted to see it coming.

The bell rang for the end of school and Warren left without another word. Mary collected her bag and joined her friends as they headed to the school bus. Tonight, she was going to get the kids to bed, read the next chapters for her class, and sink into a hot bubble bath before crawling into bed. Oh, bed. What she wouldn't give to be there now, with the sheets pulled over her head to shut the world out.

The bus came to a stop, letting her, Will, and Layla out before driving away.

"Would you like to come over?" Will asked. "Mom and Dad would like to see you all again."

"Maybe another time. We're still unpacking from the move."

"Ok, but it should be soon."

Mary waved to her friends as they retreated down the street. Once they were out of sight, she sat down on the sidewalk and leaned against the light post, her eyes closing as she tilted her face up to face the sun. High school was infamously dramatic for all teenagers, but one full of supers was worse. She could still hear the whispers of 'Nightmare's kid' and 'sure to follow in her footsteps' that had followed her in the hallways. Whatever happened to the sins of the parent not being the sins of the kids? Did no one think of that?

"Mary, are you ok?"

She opened her eyes and smiled at the twins, two of the best things in her life. If she didn't have them, she was sure she would go mad.

They stared at her in confusion. Mary dramatically sighed, raising her shoulders up and down with the motion. "Oh, I'm just out of energy. I've been away from my favorite people too long. I must recharge."

"Mary," Randy groaned, rolling his eyes while Suzy giggled and dropped into her sister's lap. Her small arms wrapped around Mary's neck and she gave a little squeeze.

"Oh, my energy is returning!" Mary hugged her sister and grinned. "The power of love! I can move again! I need more energy. Quick! Help me recharge." She held out an arm to her brother.

The other kids at the bus stop laughed. Randy's face turned red and he groaned again. "Mary. Stop it."

She stood, slipping Suzy onto her back where she clung to her tightly. "Must recharge!" Mary held her arms out and advanced toward her brother. He backed up, shaking his head. "You can't escape." She chased him around the light post a few times, much to the enjoyment of the other children and the few adults that had come to pick up their kids. Mary stopped and turned, catching Randy before he could change directions. She lifted him the air and then hugged him tightly to her chest. "Yes! Maximum charge! It's a win for the power of love!"

Randy struggled a bit and then sagged. "I hate you," he grumbled.

"No you don't. You love me. Just like I love you."

"You're the worst sister ever."

"Oh, poor Randy. Are you tired of too much love from your amazing big sister?" Mary planted a big kiss on his cheek. Suzy laughed as Randy squirmed. "Tough, little man." She set him down and watched him wipe his cheek with the back of his hand. Mary helped Suzy off her back and they grabbed their things. They said good-bye to the others at the bus stop and headed home.

"Why do you have to embarrass me," Randy whined.

"Because I'm your big sister."

"I like it," Suzy piped up. "My friends think you're funny."

"Glad to be of some amusement." Mary looked at her brother. She gave his hand a squeeze and he looked up at her. "Were you ok in school? Did you have a problem with your powers?"

He shook his head. "I got a bit overheated, but my teachers thought it was because I was playing out in the sun." He paused, as if thinking. "Mary, are there others like me? Fire people?"

"They're called pyros. I know one from school."

"Could…could they teach me? I mean, I don't know a lot about my powers. Maybe they could help me?"

Mary smiled down into her brother's big eyes. "I'll ask. What can he say besides no?" Randy smiled and turned his attention back to the sidewalk. She had no idea if Warren would be up to talking to her brother, but he seemed interested in him enough to ask after him. He might just be able to shed a bit of light on Randy's powers. Fire powers weren't that common in the super community.

When they got back to the house, Randy and Suzy ran inside while Mary got the mail before following them. She looked in at the kitchen to her left, wondering what she could make for dinner. There was a note left on the cooking island. Checking to see that the twins were turning on the TV to an afterschool program, Mary dropped the mail on the counter and picked up the note.

I'll be late. Lots of work. Dad.

Crumpling the note, she tossed it into the trashcan and pulled out a few veggies for dinner. How much longer did he think he could keep this up? The twins missed their dad. Did he think he could avoid them forever with the excuse of work? Eventually, he'll have to face the fact that his kids were supers.

Nathan Lamb was a reporter who specialized in Hero news for the newspaper. He'd met Trisha Grimes on an assignment and they'd married a year later. He'd had no problem with his super power family, but that had changed when Trisha had been labeled a villain and sent to prison. Nathan grew distant to his daughter, leaving her in the care of nannies and babysitters while he swamped himself in his work. When the twins had come along, he'd started acting like the old Nathan Lamb. He loved his twins and cared for them. Mary knew that he wouldn't be able to love her like he used to; her powers were too much a part of her that reminded him of his wife's betrayal. But he loved the twins and that was something. He was getting better. Then Suzy had found out about her powers and he'd slipped back into avoiding his family. Mary angrily chopped the celery. How could he be such a coward? There were obviously problems he was going through, but that was no excuse to ignore his kids. Why couldn't he get help and deal with them?

Mary stopped her chopping and purposefully put the knife to the side. She needed to calm down. Getting angry would do nothing but scare the twins. She was the closest thing they had to a parent and she couldn't lose her cool. Not when they needed her to be a steady rock in their sea of new powers, school, and lives. They'd been uprooted, moved, and returned to their home all in the span of a year. They were dealing with it fairly well, but she knew she had to be there to catch them if they fell. She ran a hand over her face and straightened. A 14 year old wasn't supposed to feel this old. It was times like these she wished she was old enough to drink. She'd have to settle for a hot shower and homemade veggie stir-fry.

As Mary stepped off the bus the next day, she scanned the area for a leather jacket. She spotted it heading toward the front doors and hurried to catch up.

"Warren," she called, drawing a head or two as she ran passed them.

The pyro stopped and turned. A scowl formed on his lips but he didn't turn away. Mary swallowed hard as she stopped next to him. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I have to ask you something."

"What?" he growled.

"Randy asked me if I knew any pyros he could ask about his powers. I thought of you and I was wondering if you could come talk to him?"

"What makes you think I'd do something for you?"

Mary frowned. "You don't have to be mean. I was just asking. You seemed concerned about him so I thought you could help."

"I'm not the helping type."

"What type are you, then?"

Warren stepped close so his face loomed over hers. She tipped her head back to stare at him, unfazed by his glower. It would have been more impressive if he put more power behind it. "I'm the type who keeps to themselves. I stopped your brother's powers before he could do anymore damage. I don't do coaching on powers, so don't bother."

"You won't even answer a few simple questions?" Mary lowered her voice as more people started to notice them. "Look, I know you're concerned about your reputation here, but he's a scared little boy who has no idea what his powers can do or how to control them. I'm not asking you to become his teacher. I'm asking if you'll just spend an hour or two answering his questions." His eyes started to soften so Mary continued. "I just want to help my brother, Warren. Please."

The pyro frowned and groaned slightly. "Fine," he said. "I'll be by on Monday after my shift. I'm working this weekend. He's got two hours of my time."

Mary's entire body relaxed as a thankful smile spread across her lips. "Thank you, Warren. I owe you."

"Yeah. You do." He turned and continued up the steps to the school.

"What was that about?" Layla asked, coming to stand next to her. "He wasn't giving you trouble, was he?"

"More like I was bothering him." Mary smiled at her friend and linked her arm with the green child. "You know, I'm so glad it's Friday."

Saturday morning found the Lamb siblings waiting in a bright white room holding a table and four chairs, all of which were bolted to the floor. Suzy and Randy were fidgeting in their seats, unhappy with the hard chairs and frequently looking at the door. Mary was just as anxious, but she kept her hands occupied with straightening the pictures she'd brought. The pile was bigger than usual, but it held a year's worth of events. Finally, the door opened and a guard led a cuffed woman to the chair on the other side of the table. After securing the cuffs to the table and floor, he stepped back and looked at Mary.

"You have 15 minutes."

Mary nodded. "Thanks, Joey."

He smiled softly and the closed the door behind him. Suzy and Randy instantly rounded the table and climbed into the woman's lap, hugging her tightly. She returned it, pulling them close and kissing their cheeks.

"You've grown up so much. Oh, you look so wonderful."

"We brought you some drawings," Suzy said, reaching out to the table. Mary handed over the crayon drawings the twins had made at school and smiled as the woman cooed over them.

Trisha Lamb née Grimes, aka Nightmare, looked older than the last time Mary had seen her. Though her face was still youthful, the greying streaks in her bun had grown within the last year. The wrinkles around her aging eyes were more pronounced, especially when she smiled. But her voice and laughter were still the same.

"And then Randy burst into flames," Suzy said.

"It was pretty scary but then some guy came up and put them out. I don't know how," Randy added.

"That must have been a shock. Are you ok?" Trisha asked, pulling her little boy closer.

"I'm fine. Mary said she's going to have a friend come over and talk with me about my powers."

Trisha looked up at her oldest daughter. "Who's this friend?"

"I think it's that boy who should be your boyfriend," Suzy said.

"Boyfriend?" Trisha smiled. "You've been back for two weeks and you've already got a boyfriend? France was good for you beyond your great new wardrobe."

Mary chuckled. "Suzy thinks that this boy from my school should be my boyfriend. He was the one who helped Randy and he's coming over on Monday to spend a few hours with him."

"Who is he?"

"Warren Peace. He's Barron Battle's son."

"Really? I haven't seen him since he was a baby. I wonder what he looks like."

"I have a picture, actually." Mary flipped through the photos, putting the ones from France off to the side. She found the shot of Will with Warren in the background and slid it over to her mom.

Trisha picked up the photo and smiled. "He's cute. I agree with Suzy. You should date him."

"Mom!"

"What? He's cute. I can admit that."
"I can't date Warren Peace."

"Why? Is he mean?"

"Sometimes. I think he's doing it to keep his reputation, though. But, yeah. He's a bit mean. And he doesn't like Will."

"That's a given after what the Commander did to his dad. You know, Barron was the same way as Warren when he was in high school. It took me beating him in Save the Citizen three times in a row before he would respect me enough to try being friends. He was incredibly stubborn. I honestly don't know how Zoey Peace could deal with him enough to get married and have a kid." Trisha smiled at the picture. "Do you mind if I give this to Barron? He'd love a picture of his son and his visiting times are only once a month."

"Of course," Mary said. She patted the pile of photos. "These span the first day of school in France all through Suzy powering up, school, fashion shoots, outing with friends, and up to moving back and the first day of school here."

Trisha reached out as far as she could in the cuffs and squeezed Mary's hand. "I always love your pictures. The guards are sick of my showing them, but I really love it when you bring them." Her smile faded slightly. "I'm sorry I can't be there, honey. I miss all of you."

Mary squeezed her hand as the twins hugged their mom. "We miss you but we're back, now. We can visit more often."

"I'd like that." Trisha cleared her throat and turned serious for a moment. "Where's your father?"

Mary slumped back in her chair, sliding her hands into her lap. "Dad's working a lot of long hours. He has to get back into the swing at work." She met her Mom's gaze. They both knew what Nathan Lamb was doing and neither approved. But they didn't need to say it out loud. Not in front of the twins.

The guard opened the door. "Visitations' over, guys."

The twins squeezed Trisha in one last hug before climbing down from her lap. Mary circled the table and hugged her, too. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too, sweetie. You all take care of yourselves." Trisha smiled as Mary led the twins out of the room and they went back through security to the exit.

When they were outside, Randy kicked a stone as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I hate Mom being locked up. She's not evil."

Mary sighed. "I know. But she did something bad and she has to serve her time."

"But a lifetime sentence? Come on! She's our mom!"

Mary knelt down. "Randy, regardless of her reasons, she did something bad and she has to pay for that. If she didn't, it wouldn't be fair."

"It's not fair that we don't get to have our mom." He stomped his foot.

"No, it's not." He was trying so hard not to cry but she understood. "I wish Mom could be able to come home and we could live as a family. That's not possible, though, as much as we wish it were. But they're allowing us to visit whenever we want and I think Mom really enjoys it when we come by with such great energy to boost her spirits." Mary smoothed a piece of hair away from his forehead. "So, what do you say? Think we can try and bring as much positivity to her when we can?" Randy rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and nodded. Mary smiled and kissed his forehead. "That's my little man. How about we go home, get into our PJs, order some pizza, and dig into some ice cream while we watch a few movies? Sound good."

Suzy took her brother's hand and nodded. They really were great troopers. The three turned down the road and headed to the bus stop for the long journey home.

Monday came faster than Mary thought it would. Warren was expected in a few minutes. He'd given her his expected arrival time during French and she was making sure Randy knew exactly what he wanted to ask.

"Remember, Randy. Warren said he could give you two hours. Try to keep your questions and answers within that time limit. Ok?"

Randy nodded and they looked up when they heard a knock. Mary opened the front door and smiled as Warren dominated the doorway. "Hi." She stepped back, allowing him to enter. She closed the door and turned. "Randy, this is Warren Peace. He's the pyro I was telling you about. Why don't you two go into the living room and chat?" She turned to Warren. "Would you like something to eat or drink? We have almost everything."

He shook his head, his hair falling into his face. "I'm good, thanks."

Randy took Warren's sleeve and pulled him into the other room. "This way, Warren."

Mary watched her brother start his rambling for a moment before turning and heading into the kitchen. Suzy was finishing something and put her pencil down. "I'm done with my homework. Can I go play in the backyard?"

"Did you double check your work?"

"Yes."

"Go ahead, then. Just put your homework back in your bag before you go outside."

Suzy grabbed her things, slid off her tall chair, and left Mary to clean up the counter from the little one's snack of graham crackers and milk. She then turned her attention to tomorrow's lunch. She made sure that the crust was cut off of Suzy's sandwich and that Randy had extra cookies so he could trade with his friends. Mary added an extra apple and granola bar to her own lunch. She was usually hungry after power training and the extra boost helped her afterward. With a final touch of water bottles and juice boxes in each lunch, she put them in the fridge and thought about dinner. There was a ton of things in the fridge, but they just had to be made up. But they hadn't had a casserole in a while. Ah! Chicken mushroom casserole. Perfect. It took little time to whip up and she put it in the oven to bake.

She set the table and then went to check on Warren and Randy. They were sitting on the couch and she was surprised to see Warren patiently listening to Randy's concerns about setting things on fire. He was focused and seemed engaged with the conversation. Mary smiled at how relaxed and natural he was. Her camera sat on the side table next to the doorway. She lifted it to her eye and silently shot a few side pics of the boys. Mom would like to see Randy getting along with others and she was sure Barron Battle would enjoy a copy, too. Mary backed away from the scene, staring at the pictures she'd taken. The best pictures were taken when no one noticed. A moment captured in its pure nature; those were the best kind. Mr. Battle would really enjoy these.

The buzzer on the oven went off. Mary set her camera down and pulled the casserole out of the oven, setting in on a heat pad on the counter to cool. She just needed to get Suzy and Randy to wash up and they could eat. Walking through the house, Mary opened the back door and stepped out onto the patio. "Suzy, it's time to come in."

"I don't wanna."

"It's time for dinner. You can swing later."

"Nope." Suzy continued to swing.

Mary stepped down to the grass and approached the swing set. "I'll just carry you in."

"Not if you can't catch me." Suzy jumped off the set and started to run away from her big sister.

Mary chuckled and gave chase. Suzy wove between the swings and around the teen, laughing as Mary started to add commentary.

"What's this? Ladies and gentlemen, Speed Devil Suzy has doubled back. I haven't seen footwork like this since the summer of '99. Such style, such power- Oh, no! It looks like Speed Devil has been caught!" She lifted Suzy into the air, spinning in a small circle. "Could this be the end? Speed Devil's long run has come to a stop-" She watched Randy jump down from the patio and race towards them. "What's this? It's the Randy Terror! Folks, I haven't seen this tag team in ages. Oh, this is a sight to see. He's going for the low tackle." Randy wrapped his arms around her waist and Mary gently fell back, making sure that Suzy could roll over on the grass. Both of the twins crawled on top of Mary, lying as flat as they could on her stomach. "And now Speed Devil Suzy and the Randy Terror are coming back! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the end of the Evil Sister! The Terrible Twins have once again won the day! The crowd goes wild." Mary grinned as the twins jumped to their feet and ran victory laps around her. She sat up and grabbed the nearest twin, lifting him onto her shoulder. "Alright, you two. Wash up for dinnertime. No complaining."

"Warren, are you staying for dinner?" Randy asked.

Mary looked up and spotted Warren standing on the patio. She blushed slightly. She did the announcer voice for her siblings because it made them laugh. She hadn't expected him to standing there watching. The corners of his lips were curled up in amusement but he schooled his features into a neutral expression. "I better get going, bud."

"But you could stay," Suzy said, grabbing his hand and flashing her big eyes up at him. "Mary always makes extra and you're already here. Please?"

Mary had to give props to her little sister. When she pulled out the puppy dog eyes, she went all out. No one could resist them. Not even Warren Peace.

"I…guess I could stay."

"Yay!" Suzy pulled him back into the house. He gave Mary a confused look, but she only shrugged. It took years of building up a tolerance to withstand that look. Even Mary wasn't completely immune.

While the twins washed up, Mary set another place at the table, put out glasses of milk for everyone, and moved the casserole to the center of the table. Suzy and Randy took their seats, leaving Warren to sit at the other end across from Mary. "I hope you like casseroles, Warren. It's chicken mushroom," she said as she set her napkin her lap. Warren nodded and waited for Mary to serve her siblings before holding her hand out for his plate. She put a serving on it and handed it back. Once she served herself, he took a bite.

He swallowed and nodded. "It's good."

"Mary's good at cooking," Randy said as Suzy pushed the mushrooms to the edge of her plate. "She makes all of our lunches and she's really good at making pancakes."

"I can't do sweets, though." Mary scooped the mushrooms off her sister's plate and put them on her own. "That's more of Suzy's skill."

"Yeah. I could make you some cookies if you want, Warren." The little girl grinned at the pyro and Mary suspected he couldn't help the returned smile. "Hey, Warren. Have you ever taken cookie dough, rolled some into a ball, and used your fire to cook it?"

He blinked at the question, shooting Mary a curious glance. She shrugged. It wasn't one of Suzy's weirder questions. "Um…no."

"Have you ever cooked pizza with your fire?"

"No."

"Can you light a candle from the other side of a room?"

"Yes."

"Really? Could you teach me?" Randy asked, joining in.

"There will be no fire wielding in the house," Mary quickly interjected. "You can do it in the backyard but not in the house."

"I'm sure Warren has control of his powers."

"I don't doubt that, but you'll want to try and copy him and you don't have that kind of control yet."

"So if I master my powers, I can use fire in the house?"

Mary narrowed her eyes slightly. "Are you trying to find technicalities with me, young man?"

Randy shook his head with a smirk. "Just learning the limits of the rules."

"The rules are no fire powers in the house."

"What if Warren uses them?"

"No."

"So you don't believe he has control-"

"No fire powers from anyone in the house. Accidents happen and I don't want a charred mess to clean up."

"What if I cleaned it up?"

Mary laughed. "I've seen your room. You like cleaning as much as I like jalapeños." Randy frowned and sank into his seat, spearing a piece of chicken with his fork.

"Don't worry, Warren," Suzy said. "They're always like this."

Mary turned from her brother and noticed Warren watching the two of them with a mix of amusement, confusion, and curiosity. She quickly shoved a piece of casserole into her mouth and moved some of the food on her plate while Suzy grabbed Warren's attention with more questions. Mary hadn't expected Warren to join them for dinner and now that he was here, she was become aware of how strange the Lambs' usual dinnertime behavior was. With just the siblings around, dinner was a time to be funny and lovingly bicker with one another. It must look strange to an outsider. She looked up from under her lashes. Warren seemed to be handling everything all right. The constant questions might have been annoying, but he looked to be taking it all in stride, answering between bites of food.

"You know, I'm going to make you something," Suzy said. "Then you can see if Mary's better at cooking than me."

"That's not fair," Randy said. "You do sweets. Mary does actual food. How's he supposed to judge fairly?"

"Sweets are actual food. You're just jealous because you can't cook anything."

"I can make PB and J. It's the best. Right, Mary?" Randy turned to look at her.

She swallowed her mouthful of milk and smiled. "Some of the best I've ever had."

"See?" Randy smirked at his twin.

"Mary says that about all of your food. She doesn't want to hurt your feelings."

"Oh, yeah? Well-"

"Ok, you two," Mary said before they could go any farther. "Take a breath. Hold it. Let it out slowly. Good. Now, I like both of your cooking. But don't insult each other's skills. Each of you has a specialty, just like any other person, and I love eating what you make. Now, if you're done eating, please take your dishes to the sink."

The two looked at one another and then did what she asked. Once they left the room, Mary turned to Warren. "Sorry about them. They get their passion from their mother."

Warren shook his head. "No problem. I can tell they're related." He set his fork down and leaned on the table. "I think I answered all of Randy's questions. He seems to understand his powers a bit more."

Mary exhaled, nodding. "I'm so glad to hear that. He's been worrying about that a lot lately." She met his gaze. "Thank you, Warren. This means a lot to me. I really owe you one."

He shrugged. "I got dinner out of this. I say we're even." Warren looked at his watch and stood. "I better head home." He headed toward the door but stopped and turned. "Thanks for dinner."

Mary nodded. "Thanks for helping Randy."

Warren gently closed the door after him.

"Mary, Randy set the curtains on fire," Suzy called from the kitchen. Sighing, the teen stood up and headed in to take care of the problem.