Mary didn't bother tuning into the rest of the world until she slid into her seat for French class. Warren was already in his seat, leaning back and legs stretched out in front of him. He glared at a few people looking their way. They turned away quickly. His face softened as he turned to her, his hand coming out to brush her elbow. She smiled and relaxed into her seat. His hand didn't move for the rest of the class. They decided to listen to the lecture instead of chatting, which earned them a few odd looks. Everyone had gotten used to their soft conversations, even if they couldn't understand a majority of what was said.

"Miss Lamb, Mister Peace," Monsieur Gérard said as the class was dismissed. The two stopped in front of his desk. "Is something wrong? You two are usually my most enthusiastic students."

Mary shifted her bag's strap on her shoulder. "Just some bad news, monsieur. I'll be fine soon."

"If there's anything I can do for you, Miss Lamb, you need only ask."

She gave a weak smile. "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind." Warren wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her out into the hallway.

It was Save the Citizen again. Mary stayed close to Warren as they settled into the bleachers. His arm was around her middle, not too tight but enough of a presence to keep her grounded. She'd floated through the classes she had without him or her friends but now was able to wrangle herself back to the present. Matches continued in the arena, but her mind was working hard to sort through her options. They passed and were either discarded or put aside to be evaluated later. But the more she thought, the more agitated she became. Why did things have to be so jumbled and chaotic? Why couldn't the universe just let her have her own damn happiness and normalcy?

She was pulled from her thoughts when Warren's arms tightened around her. She looked up and spotted Emma Whitaker staring at her, standing in the middle of the ring.

"You've been challenged," Warren said in a low voice. "One–on–one Save the Citizen. She's acting as the Hero."

"And I'm the Villain," Mary finished. "How original." The rest of the school watched as Mary stepped down the bleachers and into the ring.

"Pads, Lamb," Coach Boomer called. Mary didn't move. A few moments passed and the murmurings grew until Boomer sighed. "Ok. But don't whine to me when you get hurt. You have three minutes to save the citizen, Whitaker. Begin."

Emma drew her arm back. So the wind slice move, huh? Mary raised a barrier, easily blocking the move. Emma struck again and again, but Mary barely put forth an effort. It was obvious that Emma just wanted to go after Mary; she barely looked at the doll that descended toward the spinning blades.

Emma grew increasingly frustrated. "Fight back, you coward," she yelled over a small whirlwind she pointed at Mary, who stepped out of its path and raised a barrier to protect against stray wind. Emma threw another wind strike. Mary held up her hand and blocked it. By now, Emma had maneuvered herself so the falling citizen and the blades were directly between her and Mary. Mary waited for Emma to shift back and wind up for another strike. It took a few seconds to wind up, send, and follow through with that move; she'd have to time this right. She was starting to lose interest and patience with this exercise.

Mary raised a barrier just as Emma shifted, wrapping it around the girl's entire lower body and torso. She would have fallen if the forcefield wasn't holding her in place. Emma's eyes widened but she screamed in frustration as Mary created a forcefield inside the rope holding the doll, expanded it until the ropes broke, and Emma was forced to watch the doll fall into the rotating blades and be destroyed.

"Villain wins," Coach Boomer said, sounding surprised.

Mary lowered the field around Emma and walked away. She didn't have time for this. But there was a whoosh of air and Mary found herself stumbling as she was shoved from behind. She turned to face a red faced Emma.

"You cheated," she yelled. The rest of the school went quiet. "You can't purposefully kill the citizen."

"There's no rule against it," Mary said. She couldn't have been the first person to think about 'killing' the 'citizen' before the Hero could rescue it but it was more of an unspoken rule.

"You really are a villain," Emma spat back.

Mary raised an eyebrow. "Was that not the role I was to play in this exercise? And aren't you suppose to save the citizen? I was not the one who attacked first." In this or whatever feud Emma had concocted in her mind. Mary turned on her heel, ready to get out of the ring and back to Warren's side. Just meeting his eyes from his seat was enough to calm her a bit.

Wind wrapped around her, starting at her feet and swiftly moving up. Mary remembered this move; Emma was going to try and suffocate her. But she was ready this time. She raised a force field around her and pushed the wind away with enough force it disrupted the flow. She turned on her heel, sending a stronger field to hit Emma in the chest. It pushed the girl off her feet and slammed her into the wooden floorboards. She gasped for air, kicking her feet in an effort to free herself from the weight pressing down on her. Mary had been willing to let things lie but now her irritation was rising.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" she growled, slowly stalking closer. "I have no fight with you, Whitaker. Whatever feud you've concocted in your mind, I have nothing to do with it." She stopped next to the girl, staring down at her struggling form. "But you've become an irritant. You and your brother."

"You leave my brother out of this?" Emma snapped.

"Gladly. As soon as he leaves my brother and sister alone. Oh, yes. I know about his unprovoked bullying. He's a real terror, that one. Don't think he'll do very well when he grows up if he doesn't change." Her eyes narrowed. "He just might turn into a copy of his big sister."

"You're nothing but a–"

"Can you honestly think of no other insult besides Villain?" Mary leaned forward, making Emma squirm once more. "And how am I a villain when you're the one who attacked me when the fight was over and my back was turned?" Murmurs started up around them and Mary took more than a little satisfaction in watching Emma realize that she'd basically ruined her entire image with her last actions. There wasn't anything else to do to the girl; it would take some time for her to recover from this.

Mary stepped away and removed the force field holding Emma down. The girl jumped to her feet and ran from the ring, vanishing into the girl's locker room. Mary looked up at Coach Boomer. "You can call the next participants. I'm sitting this out."

Boomer nodded and called two other names from his clipboard as Mary headed out of the ring and back to her seat next to Warren. She was aware the school was watching her and people moved aside as she passed. Let them think what they wanted, she was tired of fighting them right now. Warren held his arm open. Mary sat down next to him, pulled his arm around her shoulders, and leaned against his side.

"Very dramatic." He lowered his voice. "You good?"

She tilted her head up to smile at him. "Best I've felt all day." She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek, a little closer to the corner of his mouth than would be expected. His skin grew warm under her lingering lips but she settled into his side with a content smile. Screw the school if they wanted to start rumors again. Warren's arm tightened around her shoulders and they watched as the next group went in to fight.

People were more cautious about the citizen. Now that they were reminded that there was nothing stopping the Villains from ending the doll's 'life', the Heroes were working harder and faster to subdue their opponents. The Villains didn't go so far as to try and 'kill' their citizen, but they were more wary of the temptation. Most kids here wanted to be Heroes and none wanted to step down the villain path by breaking even the unspoken rules.

"Good," Warren mumbled when Mary pointed this out to him in a low voice. "Too many of them haven't really grasped the concept that this is a dangerous job. They forget that people can get seriously hurt in this line of work. And not just those with powers."

Melanie finished her match with Will, having successfully saved the Citizen, and they both stepped out of the ring. Once they handed their protective padding to the next competitors, they joined the group on the bleaches. More people had shuffled away from them, leaving their little island area clear of eavesdroppers.

"So I heard about your moving," Melanie said softly. "Ethan told me. I'm sorry."

Mary nodded. "Thanks. I'll see what can be done, but I'm not holding my breath."

"We haven't known each other long, but I know I'll miss you if you do go."

Mary smiled a little softer. It was nice to know she'd be missed even by someone so new as Melanie.

"Hey, now," Zach said. "No bringing down the mood. We've still got three months left. We're gonna pack so much fun into them that Mary will be grateful for the break from us."

"I think she's grateful for any break from you," Warren said.

The group paused and turned to the pyro. He shifted slightly in his seat at the attention.

"Did you just make a joke?" Zach asked.

"What? No."

"You did. That was totally a joke." Zach grinned. "Warren Peace can be funny."

"It wasn't a joke."

"You've outed yourself, Warren," Mary said, bringing his attention to her. "Now they know you have a sense of humor."

Warren sighed. "Dammit." But his lips turned up slightly.

Save the Citizen was over a few moments later and they all retired to the lockers to change. Mary was aware of the stares she was receiving. These were different than the ones of contempt or wariness; no, these were ones of new evaluation and curiosity. Emma was noticeably absent in the locker room and Mary really couldn't bring herself to care. She pulled her bag onto her shoulder and left the lockers, smiling when she saw Warren waiting for her. He raised an arm and she slid under it, leaning into his side as he settled some of his weight onto her.

The group made their way to the front of the school but that was were they parted. There were rehearsals that day and Layla had a student council meeting to attend.

"Sorry we can't ride back with you," Layla said.

"No worries."

Warren tilted his head down to look at her. "You good?"

Mary patted his hand on her shoulder. "I'm good. Guess I just needed to blow off some steam."

He nodded. "Call me if you need me."

Mary nodded and regrettably left his warmth to climb onto the bus. Ron gave her a welcoming smile as she passed. Once she was seated, she pulled her bag onto her lap and watched the group return to the school for their activities.

"So," someone said, dropping into the spot next to her. "How's it going, beautiful?"

Mary turned and raised an eyebrow at Larry, the curly haired boy who could turn into a rock monster. He usually sat at the front of the bus. "Did you need something," she asked as the bus took off.

He smiled in a way he probably thought was charming and flirtatious. "I saw your moves in Save the Citizen. Very hot."

Mary stared at him as the bus continued on and landed on the road. She didn't say anything and watched as Larry's smile started to fade the longer she remained silent.

"A-anyway," the boy finally stammered out. "I was wondering if you'd like to go for a movie or–"

"Sorry but no." She didn't need someone asking her out because they now thought she was strong. Especially not Larry, who she knew power up into his rock creature form to attracted the popular kids' attention. She didn't find it distasteful, but it seemed to her that he was trying to make it his entire identity and she wasn't going to be a part of his plans to get popular. She also didn't know anything about this boy, nor did she feel any interest.

Larry slowly nodded, hanging his head slightly in dejection. "I understand," he said as they came into view of her bus stop. "I should have known better, what with you and Warren Peace dating."

Mary didn't correct him, though she did let her lips curl slightly. Let them think what they wanted. Even she was going to take a little pleasure in the falsehood for now.

The bus stopped and Mary stood, the action forcing Larry to stand, as well. She slipped past him, nodded to Ron, and made her way home. The twins had hockey today, giving her the house to herself for a few hours. She'd have a chance to do some chores and get dinner started; maybe even organize a counter offer to Nathan's news.

Mary collected the mail and unlocked the house, kicking the front door behind her as she walked through. She turned into the kitchen, sorting the envelopes and dumping the junk mail into the trashcan.

"Is this the time you usually get home?"

Mary jumped, turning on her heel and raising a force field in front of her. Nathan sat at the kitchen counter, sipping his coffee. If she didn't know what to look for, Mary would have thought that Nathan hadn't reacted to her reflexes. But that tick in his jaw was a give away. She lowered the field and set her things down on the counter.

"You're back," she said. "Early."

"I thought it would be a good idea to try and be here when you kids came home." He looked around. "Where are Suzy and Randy?"

"They have after school activities during the weekday. Today is hockey."

Nathan raised an eyebrow. "They're into hockey?"

"Suzy is. She wanted her brother to do something with her. She also has band when Randy has dance."

"No activities for you, then? Spending time with friends?"

There wasn't an accusation in his tone, but Mary could still hear it. And the implication of her spending time with Warren. "Most of them are in the school play or student government. I use this time to take care of errands and housework."

Nathan nodded. Mary waited for a moment to see if he would continue talking, but when he remained quiet, she set the mail down and made her way to the fridge. With Nathan there, she'd need to make something they all could enjoy. There were a few things that were going to turn bad soon; she could make a casserole. So she focused on that and not the close watch Nathan was keeping on her. It wasn't until she'd slid the pan into the oven and was cleaning up her mess that he spoke.

"I didn't realize you cooked so well."

She wiped off the knife she'd cleaned and slid it back into the wooden stand holding the rest of the matching set. "I've picked up a lot of things."

"I remember when you used to help me in the kitchen when you were younger. I'd have to pull a chair up to the counter so you could stand on it and see what as going on." Mary turned and saw Nathan looking into his mug, a small bittersweet and nostalgic smile on his lips. He looked up and met her gaze. "I miss that. I'd like to have it again."

Mary frowned and turned away, hanging the drying rag up to dry. She left the kitchen with her bag over her shoulder not a second later. Homework. That would keep her from snapping at Nathan. She'd seen the want in his eyes for the old days, but did he actually believe he was going to get them back after what he'd pulled last night? Just suddenly announcing he was moving them away from their new home because he wanted to try and make amends? He could try to do that here. But it seemed he didn't want to be here. Why move back if they were just leaving not a few months later?

Mary forced herself to finish her Sky High homework and even dug into the assignments and workbooks from M.A.T.S. It was more challenging and required much more focus; a perfect distraction from Nathan's presence in the house. It also gave her a chance to return to her more serious study habits. She would need them regardless of if she stayed and attended M.A.T.S. or if she returned to France and had to catch up on her school work.

A beeping from the kitchen caught her attention. She normally would't have heard it if a part of her hearing was always tracking Nathan's movements throughout the house. Mary marked her progress with a sticky note and headed down to save the casserole from the oven. She set it on the counter to cool and was pulling out the glasses for drinks when the door opened and the twins hurried in. She smiled as they rambled about their first day on the ice as they dropped their things on the kitchen counter. Apparently, Suzy had fallen a few times but gotten back up. Randy was fairly steady on his skates and had managed to do a full circle without holding onto the side walls.

"Well, just you wait," Suzy said. "I'll get way better and then I'll skate circles around you."

Mary smiled and handed over the glasses of milk. "Would you mind setting the table?"

Suzy looked at the milk. "There's four glasses." Her smile widened. "Is Warren coming to dinner?"

"Hey, kids."

Suzy turned, her smile slipping as she spotted Nathan standing in the kitchen doorway. Randy paused in reaching for the milk. Mary's shoulders stiffened, hating to see the caution in her siblings, and forced her voice to be a bit lighter than she felt, though it wasn't by much.

"He's joining us for dinner tonight. Warren has play practice." She set the glasses of milk more firmly in Randy's hands, making him look at her and take them before they could slip through his loose grip. "Could you take those to the table, please?"

He turned and hurried out of the room but didn't return. Suzy frowned at Nathan and carried her glasses out, as well.

Nathan stared after his youngests and turned to look at Mary. "Did you tell them?"

She frowned at the accusation in his tone. "They heard you last night." She picked up the casserole dish and joined her siblings at the table. They were slouched in their seats, staring at one another. Ah, their twin speak.

"So," Mary said as she set the casserole down. "What have you discussed?"

"I don't want to talk to him," Randy said in a small voice.

Mary gently stroked his hair, brushing some strands away from his pouting face. "I know it's hard, but we need to talk about this as a family."

"What's there to talk about?" Suzy said. "We're moving back to France six months after moving here. Why did we even leave if we were just going back again?"

"Could we stay here and Dad could go back to France?" Randy asked. He looked so hopeful at the idea.

Mary took her seat and sighed. "I know it's not the best, but we really should stay together as a family. He's still our father even if we're not happy with him right now."

The twins frowned, crossed their arms, and sank lower in their seats. They were far too young to be loosing hope and love for their father. Mary had tried so hard to keep their image of him as positive as possible, but she feared that they'd never have the love for him they once had. Nathan Lamb may have been trying to save what was left of his family, but he was only turning them against him.

Mary looked up and spotted Nathan in the doorway. She nodded her head to the last seat, the one across from her. He slowly sat down, looking between the twins who turned their backs to him as much as possible in their chairs.

"So dinner first or are we having the family meeting now?" Mary asked.

Nathan looked up at her. "I thought–"

"Yeah, well, you decided to try and have a family meal with people who aren't happy with you right now. The family meeting got moved up." Mary served up the casserole on the twins' plates before putting someone her own. No one touched their food. "Meeting first, then."

Mary straightened up in her seat. "Now, as it stands, Dad has accepted a job in France. His reasoning is that it pays better and will let him spend more time with us. I assume he hopes we'll be able to go back to being a happy family once more." Nathan nodded. "The problem with that, of course, is that we've been uprooted from our home twice already– once to France and once back to Maxville. I can logically see how it is necessary to move where the job is, but you have a job here that provides for us, do you not?"

"The overtime has kept me away from you three."

Mary raised an eyebrow. "We all know that's an excuse, Nathan. Your job does not require you to do that much overtime. Yes, journalists have odd hours, but it's not normal to always be away from your house and kids. So why don't you just cut back on the hours or request different stories to cover?"

"I needed the money to take care of you three. The new job pays me more with better hours and we'd be able to spend more time together."

"And why didn't you just bring this up to us and ask our opinion before accepting the job?"

"Because I'm the one that's taking care of this family and I'm doing it for you."

"Mary takes care of us," Suzy said, whirling around in her chair to face Nathan. "She makes us lunch and tells us to do our homework and pick us up from the bus and a million other things, too. You don't do anything."

"I'm busy–"

"Then don't be busy!"

"Suzy, it's not that simple."

"And moving us again is?" Randy asked, his face growing redder. "I just met my best friend and you want us to leave them all behind? That's not fair!"

Mary reached over, gently gripping his elbow. His skin was burning even through his sleeve. "Randy, I need you to take a deep breath, okay? Can you do that for me?"

He shook his head, frowning and turning a darker shade. "I don't want to leave!"

"Suzy, grab the extinguisher." The little girl dashed out of the room as Mary pulled Randy out of his seat and into her arms. Her skin began to grow uncomfortably hot but she continued to shush him and pet his hair. "It's going to be okay, Rand. We're going to all talk this through as a family, ok? We'll all have our say."

Randy started to cry, the tears sizzling away as they tracked down his cheeks. Suzy returned with the fire extinguisher, watching them closely. It took a while but Randy started to cool down. Eventually, he rubbed his eyes and climbed back into his chair. Mary stayed kneeling next to him, waiting for him to fully calm down. He gave a slight nod when he was done.

A light touch on Mary's shoulder had her looking around at Suzy. She looked worried but tapped Mary once more before taking her own seat. Mary stood, glad to feel her skin cooled and probably healed by Suzy's touch. She sat down, making sure the extinguisher was next to her chair but out of sight of Randy. Nathan was staring at everyone.

"Randy has gotten much better at controlling his ability," Mary said, folding her napkin in her lap. "But it's all still new to everyone."

"Warren's been helping me," Randy said pointedly, shooting a hard look at Nathan before looking down at his plate. Mary gave him a soft smile though he didn't see it. He was still self conscious about his temper and inability to calm himself without her.

"When we go back to France, we'll work on everything together," Nathan said. "We'll find a way to make everything as it once was."

"Didn't work so well the first time," Suzy mumbled.

Nathan turned to her. "What?"

She raised her eyes from her plate and gave her best glare. "You weren't around too much at the end. I noticed. If we're going back to that, then I'd rather stay here. At least then I have Warren and the others around."

Nathan frowned. "Honey, Warren isn't the kind of company I want you all to be keeping."

"Warren's the best!" Randy said. His face wasn't turning red, so that was good. But his voice rose to a higher pitch. "What's wrong with him? You don't even know him."

"Dad thinks he's a villain like his dad," Suzy said. "But he's not. He just looks scary."

"He's still associated with bad circles and I don't want you three exposed to that."

"If it hasn't escaped your attention," Mary said, "though it seems to be a recurring forgetfulness on your part, we are the children of villains. You married and lived with a villain for many years. We all have a connection to those 'bad circles'. I've even been approached by them and I've turned them down."

Suzy and Randy turned to her. "You never said anything."

Mary turned to them, smiling apologetically. "It was early in the school year and I didn't want to worry you two. I should have brought it up sooner and I'm sorry I kept it from you." They nodded in understanding. "But the point is," Mary said, turning back to Nathan, "that I can make my own decisions. Suzy and Randy, as well, when they've been given a chance. Now, I can see how you wouldn't know that, what with being away for so long. But you're here and listening to us now. I can't speak for the twins, but I don't want to move."

"Me, neither," the twins said.

Nathan was quiet for a few moments, looking between his children with a blank expression. Even Mary couldn't pick up on his thoughts. She thought she saw a twitch in his jaw, but couldn't be certain.

"It seems," he finally said, "that there's only one thing to be done." The twins brightened but Mary waited for the other shoe to drop. When it did, the twins couldn't escape the room fast enough. "The best place away from all of this mess is back in France. I expect everyone packed up by the end of November."