"You know," Warren said as he helped Mary clean up the dishes from dinner. "I don't think I've ever had such an odd year of high school."

"Crazy supervillains terrorizing homecoming, sudden sickness that changes powers, rumors spreading about us, and possible conspiracy theories," Mary said, ticking the list off her fingers. "Yup. Sounds like high school. And the year's not even over yet."

"True." Warren watched her load up the dishwasher. "What did you expect when you started Sky High?"

Mary shrugged, closing the door. "Teenage hormones, cliché cliques, drama everywhere, the usual things you'd think when you mention high school but with super powers thrown in." She leaned her hip against the counter. "The looks, the rumors and nasty words…I expected to be left behind or vilified by everyone. A bit of that's happened, I supposed." She smiled when she looked up at him. "But I met you and we grew close. The others remained my friends. I found my motivation again and discovered a new path to follow. It hasn't been perfect, but it's had it's moments."

Warren smiled softly. "Yeah. It has." His eyes softened and he stepped closer. His body heat warmed her skin as his proximity made her heart clench. She tilted her head up as he drew closer. His eyes darted to her lips for a split second but Mary was sure it had happened. "Mary." She bit back a shiver at his low voice. "I–"

The front door opened and slammed just then, making Mary jump. She looked over Warren's shoulder and frowned when her father appeared in the kitchen doorway. His work jacket was draped over his arm and his shirt was wrinkled but his gaze was hard as he took in the scene before him.

"I wasn't expecting you home," Mary said.

Nathan hummed, eyes focused on Warren still standing close to her. "I can see that."

She gave a hard glare but gestured with her hand. "Dad, this is Warren Peace. Warren, my Dad."

Warren stepped away from Mary and extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Lamb."

Nathan looked at the hand and then at the boy. His gaze was anything but friendly. His attention turned to Mary and her own hard look. Silently, she told him to play nice. Nathan put his bag and jacket down on the kitchen counter, paused as he stared at Warren's hand again, and grasped it, maybe squeezing a bit too hard, as he met Warren's gaze.

"A friend of Mary's?" he asked. At least it sounded civil.

Warren nodded. "Yes, sir."

"A little late for you to be out, isn't it?"

"Dad," Mary warned. "Warren's mom works nights sometimes, too, so we have dinner together."

"Mary is a great cook and I enjoy hanging out with the twins." Warren never looked away from Nathan and didn't flinch as Nathan's grip tightened on his hand. "I hope you don't mind my intrusion."

Mary glared at Nathan, seeing his opposition in his face. He released Warren's hand. "Forgive my rudeness but it's been a long day." He turned to Mary. There was a lot he wanted to say but he simply collected his things from the counter. "Goodnight, Mary."

"Goodnight." Yeah, their previous conversation wasn't over by a long shot and this hadn't helped Nathan Lamb's mood in the matter.

Nathan turned and left. That could have been much worse and Mary had a feeling that it would be once Warren left. Thank god the others had gone home a while ago and the twins were already in bed; she didn't need more of an audience to this scene.

Warren turned to her, concern in his eyes. "Do you need me to grab the twins? You can stay at my house."

Mary blinked. "What?"

"If you need a safe place to stay, I–"

"Oh! No, Warren," Mary said quickly, reaching out and touching his tense arms. "No. It's nothing like that. Dad's not…he doesn't abuse us, I promise." She rubbed his arms, trying to calm him down. She sighed and her voice softened. "I was hoping you wouldn't get caught up in our family issues. But your mom knows, or at least suspects." She smiled slightly. "She made me a similar offer, too." Mary focused on a wrinkle on Warren's sleeve, smoothing it out with her fingers to keep from looking up into his eyes. She didn't think she could handle what she might see in them right now. "Dad…has a complicated relationship with the fact that his wife is a villain and his kids have powers, which, in his mind, raises the chances of us becoming villains. He stays busy with work, taking on long term assignments or ones that require a lot of time. I don't know much other than that; we barely see him. But he pays for the house and the bills and leaves us money for food and things."

Warren's hands came up, cupping her elbows. She took a little comfort in his heat. "How long?"

She spread the wrinkle out of the fabric, biting her lip when it reformed. "Since France."

"And your friends there?"

"They never said anything, though they might have known. I was pretty good at directing their attention away from that." Her lips twitched slightly. "Of course, none of them are as observant and persistent as you."

Warren was silent for a while, letting her smooth out the stubborn wrinkle. "I figured something was off. Just a feeling, I guess. It became more clear when he didn't come home for the week I was here looking after you. He doesn't call, either, does he?" Mary shook her head. "Does anyone else know?"

She shook her head again. "They think he's just working really hard to support us. I guess he is, in his own way." Her fingers stopped working on the wrinkle. "Please don't tell them. The system works for now; we have a routine, Suzy and Randy have structure, and we're all together. I don't know what would happen if someone found out. I can't risk the chance that we'd be separated."

"That wouldn't–"

"I can't risk it!" Mary's grip tighten on his arms. "They're all I have, Warren. And who's to stop someone from doing it? They'll say it's for the best and then abuse them because they're villain's kids. You saw how the vice principle treated them today; it could be worse in the system."

Warren pulled her so she was pressed against his chest. "If it ever comes to that, I'll find a way to help. I promise."

Mary bit her lip and tightly embraced him. "I know you will," she said with a smile. "You're like our own personal super hero."

His arms tightened around her and she felt him press a kiss to the top of her head. "Always, Pics," he murmured.

Her fingers curled into the back of his shirt. Beyond her feelings for him and a few other things, he knew most of her secrets, now. No one had ever gotten this close to her before. She took a deep breath in; one part to take in Warren's calming scent and the other to cement the feeling of being safe and cared for.

A beeping came from Warren's pocket. He pulled away slightly, keeping one arm around Mary as the other one pulled his phone from his pocket. He flipped it open and scanned the screen. "My mom's nightly check in," he said.

Mary nodded, slowly pulling away and letting her arms drop. "It is getting late. You should be heading home soon." As loath as she was to let him go.

He turned to her, searching her eyes. "Are you sure you're going to be all right here?"

She put on a small smile. "I'll be fine. Text me when you get home so I know you made it there safe?"

He nodded. She walked him to the front door where he picked up his backpack, swinging a strap onto his shoulder. He turned to face her and pulled her into another warm hug. "See you tomorrow, Pics."

Mary stole one last breath of his scent and nodded. "On the front steps like always."

With one last smile, Warren was gone and the front door was closed. Mary stared at the wood for a few more seconds before turning around. Nathan sat on the fourth step, arm resting on his knees and fingers loosely laced together. It seemed she wasn't going to get out of this confrontation that easily.

She squared her shoulders and raised her chin. "I'm not going to stop seeing him."

"He's a villain."

"He is not his father."

"You don't know that."

"I do know it."

"Your emotions are clouding your judgement."

"My judgement is just fine."

"Really?" Nathan frowned. "Because I know all too well what happens when your judgement gets warped by emotion. You get caught up in the thrill of it all and the things that should be red flags don't look like them anymore. Then you start thinking they'll change but they never do. This face Warren puts forth won't last."

"I know what kind of person Warren is. And I'm not blind to his faults, either. He's hot headed, gruff and short with those he doesn't care for, and he sometimes acts before thinking. But I also know that he's caring, funny, loyal, and has been one of the best friends the twins and I could ever ask for."

"Just because he shows you that side doesn't mean that it's true."

"It is true because I know who Warren is. Why are you so bothered by this? You've never had this reaction to any of the other people I've associated with."

"None of your other friends were villains."

"Warren is not a villain!" Mary snapped. "You don't know a thing about him. Everything you think he is is based on his father and I'm tired of it."

"I am looking after you. You are my daughter–"

"You have ignored me since Mom was put away." Mary was too tired care anymore; he was going to hear what she had to say. "You stopped reading to me, tucking me in at night, doing everything a father is supposed to do. And I made enough peace with that because I knew it wasn't going to change and you were at least loving the twins. But then Suzy got her powers and you turned against them, too. I am more a parent to them than you are. I look after them, feed them, and encourage them when you purposefully do whatever you can to be away from us." Her fingernails dug into her palm as she tried not to cry. "I get that Mom going to prison hurt you but it hurt us, too. It still does. And we would like to have our father to be a part of our lives, but you can't just decide to pop in one day and start making demands after years of ignoring us. You don't get that right. We're not problem children who suddenly need to be taken in hand." She met his gaze, tears starting to burn at the corner of her eyes and the inside of her nose. "I've been doing just fine without you and I will continue to make my own decision. Warren remains my friend and I'm not going to stop seeing him."

Nathan hadn't moved from his seat on the steps during her speech. But now he did. Slowly, he stood and took the last few steps. He picked up his work bag and jacket resting against the wall before turning to her. She tightened her jaw, keeping her chin up and refusing to show weakness.

Nathan drew closer to the door and Mary moved so he could open it. He paused, turning to meet her gaze. "I've accepted a new job," he said, voice low and steady. "It pays better, has better working hours, and will give us a chance to try and fix things. I start in the new year so that gives us three months to pack up the house and get things ready."

"What?" The word barely rose above a whisper, but Mary didn't understand what she was hearing.

"We leave December 4 for France. It will give us enough time to get settled before I start work and you go back to school."

"You can't be serious. We just moved to Maxville and now we're going back? Is this because of Warren?" Mary swallowed a hard lump in her throat that threatened to choke her. "Because of Mom?"

Nathan's face became even more stone like. "I think this would be best for everyone. A clean start for the four of us." He looked as if he wanted to say more but he only gave a sharp nod. "We'll have a family meeting this weekend." Then he was gone, leaving Mary standing in the hallway.

She was too stunned to move. He was moving them? To France? They were just getting settled; she'd just figured out what she wanted to do with her future. And he was just going to move them back without a care to what they wanted? He wasn't even going to give them a say in it? Mary tried to take a breath in to calm herself, but choked on the knot in her throat. Things were just starting to turn out right for her. She was going to lose everything and start over again. She could have managed to hold it all together but not when she remembered she'd be leaving behind the closest friends she'd ever had. Her throat constricted and the tears escaped as she slid to the floor. It was almost impossible to keep the sobs quiet; burying her face into her knees helped.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed there but she looked up at the buzzing in her pocket. She pulled out her phone and flipped it open, wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve. 'Home. C U 2morow.' Warren. She wasn't even gone yet and his loss already sat heavy in her heart. Her thumb was pushing the call button before she could stop it.

"Pics?"

Mary licked her lips and swallowed. "Warren."

A pause on the other end of the phone. "I'm coming back."

She sniffed. "Please."

"Stay on the line for me."

She tried to speak but stopped when the lump in her throat was too hard to work around. A few minutes passed with her listening to Warren's assurances on the phone and trying to calm her breathing. The front door opened and Warren knelt next to her.

"Pics." He looked her over, brushing a few tears from her cheeks. "Are you hurt anywhere?" Mary shook her head. "Okay, breathe with me. In. Hold. Out. Good. Okay, let's get you to the living room." He helped her to her feet and to the couch.

Mary leaned against him, his fingers stroking her hair. "We're moving back to France."

His hand stopped. "What?"

Mary took a breath. "My dad took a job in France. He's moving us in three months. I…I don't know what to do. Everything feels like it's crashing down."

"Can we change his mind? Or find a different way?"

She shook her head, thoughts becoming a bit clearer now that the initial panicked emotions were fading. "I don't think we can. He holds all the cards in this. I don't have anything I can leverage." Mary straightened, pulling her feelings back behind a wall. She used her sleeve to wipe away the tears in her eyes and on her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have broken down. It's stupid of me to get so–"

"No." She blinked at Warren's tone and looked up. His eyes were hard and angry but not at her. "You shouldn't have to bottle things up until they explode. I helped you through your panic attack when you were worried about your siblings, I'll help you through this. You're allowed to cry and be angry. You're only human." He cupped her cheek. "Be emotional, be sad, be angry; I'm not going anywhere, Pics. We'll think of something later."

Mary wrapped her arms around his middle and buried her face into his shoulder. Most of her emotions had passed, but a few silent tears fell and she just wanted to be held a while longer. Warren leaned back into the couch, making them more comfortable while his hand played with her hair. It was such a normal thing but eased the tension in her shoulders and back.

"You're very good at this," she mumbled after a few minutes of silence. "Do you have practice comforting crying girls?"

Warren chuckled slightly. "You've got nothing on my mom when she's binging Hallmark movies. Doesn't matter if the plot's the same, once they have the sparkling moment, there's waterworks everywhere. Happens all the time."

Mary curled further into his warmth. "Your voice is nice," she mumbled, the fatigue of emotional outbursts finally catching up to her. "Can you keep talking?"

"What would you like me to say?" His voice was an octave lower and sounded smoother than usual. He'd used it when he'd performed Athos for her not too long ago.

"Tell me about rehearsals or what you're up to. Anything."

He nodded, securing her more closely against his chest while continuing to stroke her hair. "We're working hard on everything. I've got almost all of my lines memorized but Zach keeps going off script when he forgets his lines. It's actually a bit funny, but don't tell him I said that."

Mary smiled. "Can't let them know you're soft."

"Yeah. Anyway, Magenta's working the lights and picking things up pretty quickly but she'll yell down from the light room for him to knock it off if he gets too out of hand. He's really whipped." Mary hummed noncommittally, picturing the scene as Warren continued. "Ethan's not the most coordinated with the dances but does well enough with background singing. I think he's mostly there because they needed more extras on stage. Melanie, though, is doing great. I don't know why she didn't get the lead, but she says she's fine with understudy. Apparently they'll pull her out for one or two shows, so there's that. She's not sure if she wants to do acting full time but she says it gives her an outlet and she'll keep doing it until she's not happy anymore."

Warren continued on, talking about anything and nothing. It was the most she'd ever heard him speak in one go but the rumbling in his chest and the smoothness of his voice was too calming for Mary to comment on his ramblings. She didn't even realize she'd fallen asleep. One minute, she was listening to Warren's thoughts on the latest Hero Law assignment and the next she was waking to the smell of hot coffee. She rolled over and nearly fell off the couch.

"Easy," Warren said, catching her and helping her into a sitting position. He handed over some aspirin and water. She downed them quickly and Warren put a mug of hot coffee in her hands. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit cried out and slightly depressed." She met his gaze and her lips curled up a bit. "But I'm better than I was." She raised the mug. "Thanks for this."

"Thought you could use it."

Mary took a slow sip, focusing on the bitter taste on her tongue as it slipped down her throat. It settled in her chest and she sighed in contentment. "What time is it?"

"About 5:30. The twins aren't up yet." He pushed a strand of hair away from her face. "You should take a shower. It'll help."

Mary nodded, took another sip of coffee, and hauled herself to her feet. She made it to the bathroom with minimal stumbling in her groggy state but felt much better after a hot shower. Thirty minutes later, she was ready for school and walked into the kitchen with her school bag. Warren finished plating some eggs onto a plate and pushed one toward her.

"Thanks," she said, biting into a piece of toast. She chewed for a few moments, watching as Warren refilled her mug and took his own seat next to her. "I don't have a plan."

He chewed on some eggs before looking over at her. "That's ok. We'll get the others together and figure something out."

"And if we can't?"

Warren paused and swallowed some coffee. "Then we'll figure that out, too."

Mary nodded and turned back to her breakfast. They ate in silence. Mary finished hers and was washing it in the sink when the twins came in. They weren't their rambunctious selves even when they spotted Warren. Mary sighed as they climbed into their seats and started in on their food.

"You heard last night?"

Suzy and Randy nodded, keeping their eyes on their breakfast.

"We don't want to go back to France," Suzy said.

"We want to stay here," Randy added.

Mary put the plate in the drying rack and turned to her siblings. "I'm gonna be straight with you." They looked up. "I'm sorry you had to hear all of that last night. I don't like losing my temper and you shouldn't have to see it, either. I don't know what's going to happen but whatever we figure out, we'll do it together, okay? I will always be here for you."

The twins nodded. Their worries weren't completely eased but at least they knew they had support. Something that was enough to keep them going.

Mary finished cleaning up breakfast and the four of them left the house. The twins held her hand on the way to the bus stop, neither jumping or skipping ahead like they usually did. Taylor spotted them first and hurried over.

"Are you guys, okay? Did you get into trouble because of the fight?"

Mary had forgotten the confrontation with the vice principle yesterday; it seemed so long ago.

"We don't know what's gonna happen," Suzy said. "Mary came to get us and chewed Mr. Kluck out for putting the blame on us. But we left before he could say anything else."

"If he gives you anymore trouble, just have somone call me," Mary said. "I'll come get you and sort things out."

Taylor smiled. "You two are so lucky to have a big sister. My brother just tells me not to bother him and his friends."

"I'm pretty sure Mary's friends like us better than her," Suzy said.

"Hey," Mary said, giving her a playful glare.

Suzy dramatically rolled her eyes. "Well, obviously not Warren. He's her boyfriend. He has to like her more." She pointed to the pyro.

Taylor looked up at Warren, eyes wide. "Wow. You're tall."

"Um…thank you?"

Taylor stared for a few moments, making Warren look at Mary with a bit of confusion. "Are you Warren Peace?" she finally asked.

"Yeah."

"My brother doesn't like you."

"Ok?"

"Yeah. He says you're moody and trying to steal his spotlight."

Warren raised an eyebrow. "Your brother wouldn't happen to be Timothy Smith, would it?"

Taylor nodded. "He's my half brother."

"Ah."

"But I don't think you're moody. Do you want to be my friend?"

Warren met Mary's gaze. She shrugged, lips turned up in a smile she wasn't bothering to try and hide. "Um, sure?"

Taylor grinned. "Great." The bus pulled up and she waved goodbye to him as she took Randy's hand. "See ya, Warren." She hurried onto the bus, pulling Randy with her. Suzy followed after them.

Once the bus was gone and the parents left, Mary leaned against the light post, holding her side as she laughed. Warren stared after the bus but turned to her as she continued to laugh even when Will and Layla joined them.

"You okay?" Layla asked. Mary nodded, slowly calming herself to giggles.

Will looked to Warren. "I have a new friend, apparently," the pyro said.

"And she's laughing because…" Will asked.

"It's a friend of Randy and Suzy. Taylor Kowalski. Apparently she's Timothy Smith's little half sister."

"Okay. Still don't see what's so funny."

"It's funny that he gets new friends so easily from children than kids his own age. And he doesn't even want friends," Mary said, finally calming herself. She took a few deep breaths and cleared her throat. "Sorry. It's been a few strange 24 hours."

Will and Layla shared a look. "Ok," Will said. "Oh, I asked my folks about The Dreamer. There's not much about him. He's an average Hero but super showy. Dad says he takes every chance he can to get attention. Mom said she worked with him a few times before joining up with Dad and wasn't impressed."

"My mom says the same," Layla said. "Well, she also added that he's super condescending to anyone he works with, especially women."

"So he's a sexist jerk," Warren said. "Anything else?"

Layla shook her head. "Maybe Zach's got news?"

The bus pulled up and they climbed on. Warren's presence started a few people talking, especially when he took the spot next to Mary as they sat down.

"Yo, my main Lamb," Zach said, leaning forward and lowering his voice a bit. "Asked my dad about The Dreamer. He's a total tool, yo. Disrespects women, more worried about his image, and he's said some pretty uncool things about villains and their families. On record, too."

Mary sighed. "So his kids are just picking up on that." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "At least we have a simple answer for that."

Zach tapped her shoulder. "You good? You look a little down."

Mary looked around at her friends. They all wore worried expressions. "Can I tell you at lunch? It's pretty important."

They nodded but had to face forward as the seatbelts latched them into place. Mary gripped the bar in front of her. Warren placed his hand over hers as the bus took off and held onto it as they traveled to school. When they landed, her friends gathered around her as they walked up to the school.

"Are you ok?" Zach asked. "Like, if you're not feeling great, we could cover for you."

"It's nothing like that." Mary shifted her backpack strap. "It's…I'll tell you at lunch. I just need to get to class."

"Whenever you're ready," Layla said. "We're here for you."

Mary smiled at the redhead. "Thanks."

The others went to their class while Mary headed to her locker. She pulled out her Mad Science book and slid it into her bag. Warren put an arm around her shoulders as she closed her locker door. "You'll be good till lunch?" he asked softly, walking with her to her first class.

She nodded. "I'll try."

They came to a stop outside the Mad Science classroom. "Find me if you need me." He pressed a kiss to her temple. "I'll see you at lunch."

Morning classes passed, though Mary couldn't really tell you a thing of what they'd covered, and she was soon settled into her usual seat in the lunch room. Warren slid into the spot next to her, squeezing her hand. She leaned against his shoulder.

"So," Will said, the others settling in at their table. "What's wrong?"

Mary looked at each of them. "I'm moving back to France."

"What?!"

"He's accepted a new job with better pay and hours. He starts in January, so we're leaving in December so we'll have time to get settled. He just told me last night."

"Dude," Zach said. "You just got here and he's sending you back? Not cool."

"Yeah."

"Any chance of convincing him to stay?" Layla asked.

"It's doubtful."

"What about M.A.T.S.? Wouldn't he want you to go there?" Ethan asked. "It's a good program for your future, right?"

"He doesn't know about that yet. He's been away on assignment for a while and I haven't been able to tell him."

"Then maybe use that angle to let you stay," Will said. "I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind putting you up for a few years."

"But I doubt they'd have room for me and the twins." Mary absentmindedly tapped her nail against the table. "Leaving them behind is not an option."

"What about my place?" Warren asked. The table turned to him. "There's room and I don't think Mom would mind having a few extra people around." He gave Mary a pointed look; 'she's already offered you a place and it's there if you want it.'

Mary wanted to say yes, to jump on the offer in a heartbeat. But she knew what her father would do; call the police, throw out accusations, and have Warren thrown in jail and his reputation ruined. She wouldn't put anything past her father at this point when it came to Warren.

"I think," she said sadly, "that it would only cause more trouble than help." She turned her hand over and linked their fingers, squeezing them gently. "But I appreciate the offer." His eyes softened slightly and she had to look away before she made a fool of herself. She turned to her other friends. "I appreciate all of your offers."

"So we only have three months left?" Ethan said, deflating slightly.

Mary nodded.

Zach straightened and smacked the table. "Then we're gonna make it the best three months ever! We'll pack so much fun into them that you won't miss us too much. And we'll send you letters and emails and stuff when you do move." He reached across the table and patted her shoulder. "Like I said before; I've invested too much coolness into you. I'm not giving up on you now."

Mary laughed as Magenta pulled her boyfriend back into his seat. Layla pulled out a notebook and started jotting down ideas for what they could do together. The rest of their lunch period was throwing out ideas to be either approved or shot down. Warren kept her hand in his, his thumb moving once or twice against hers. It had the same affect as playing with her hair; she leaned into his side while giving her input on her friends' ideas.

The bell to end lunch rang and Layla closed her notebook. "I'll organized around our schedules and see how it turns out. Should be done by the time we get on the busses." She picked up her tray and she and Will left the table.

"She's sometimes scary organized," Zach said, following them.

Magenta smiled at Mary. "It's gonna be ok." Mary smiled back but playful glared when the goth girl gave a pointed look between Mary and Warren. They were still holding hands. Magenta and Ethan left, Magenta even taking Warren's lunch tray with her.

Mary packed up her bag with one hand. Maybe it was a part of her that just wanted to have this a little while longer, but she wasn't going to pull away from his touch until she had to. Warren slid his bag onto his other shoulder and helped her up.

"If we can't convince your dad to let you stay, I'll try to free up more time," he said, walking her to her next class. "The play–"

"No." Mary looked up at him as they stopped in front of her classroom. "The play is something you really want to do and you earned your spot. I don't want to take that away from you." She smiled softly. "Besides, I'd really like to see you perform on an actual stage before I go. When is the first show?"

"December 3."

Mary sighed. "The night before we leave." She forced a smiled. "Then it'll be a great send off." She looked into the classroom then back to him. "You better get to class. I don't want you to be late."

Warren nodded and pulled her into a quick one armed hug before heading down the hallway. Mary made her way to her seat, ignoring the looks and whispers. She just didn't have the energy to care.