"Hey, Warren. You're home earlier than I expected."
Warren looked over at his mother, who was sitting at the table, as he strode to the refridgerator. "Yeah, I told you I wouldn't be too long."
"Yes, but…Well, I thought you'd be a little longer, that's all. Did something happen?"
Warren rolled his eyes. His mother always seemed to be convinced that 'something happened'. "No, mom."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, mom."
Angelina Peace sighed. "Sweetie, honestly. I know you got the shortest end of the stick in all this. I don't want you to pay for my decisions."
"Mom," Warren turned to face her fully, soft drink in hand. "We've been over this. If I need help, I'll let you know." As he turned around he asked, "So, how many ends does this stick have?"
Angelina laughed. "All right, fine. I just know that Steve Stronghold can be a little stiff-necked sometimes, and I don't want you to be bullied."
"I'm not." A little truth-stretching never hurt anyone, right? It wasn't bullying, Stronghold Sr. was just a jerk. Besides, he had other questions to discuss.
"Good." She watched her son suspiciously another moment before turning back to the novel before her.
"Mom?"
"Yes?"
"If you were attacked by someone larger, what would you do?"
Ms. Peace's eyes were on her son in less than an instant. "I thought you said everything was all right!"
"It is," he turned and grinned at her. "I'm asking because some friends of mine are having trouble at school."
"Uh-huh." She gave him an incredulous look.
Warren sighed as he sat down. "No, really. This guy's been bothering them. I can stop him, no sweat, but they can't, and until they do, I don't think he's going to be inclined to leave them alone."
Angelina gazed pensively into the middle distance. "I take it their powers won't be particularly useful?"
Warren thought about that for a moment. True Ethan and Magenta might be able to use their powers to get away, but that wasn't really a possibility for Zach. "Better not to count on them," he said.
"Hmmmm…Have you considered asking Josie?"
"Josie Stronghold?"
"Well, I'm a little out of practice, you know. Librarians don't often need to physically confront anyone. That's what security's for," she smiled at him. "Besides, Josie is an expert, and even back when I was fighting evil and monsters and robots I relied pretty heavily on my powers to get me out of any tight spots."
"I'll think about it."
"Good."
---
Josie Stronghold took off her glasses and set them carefully on the desk. She scrubbed fiercely at her eyes and sighed, leaning her elbows on the desktop. As a super hero, she knew how to cope with life getting a little difficult. A stunning array of coping techniques didn't seem to be making life any easier at the moment, though. And it wasn't even that there were villains or miscreants or even misguided kids getting out of hand. Heck, if that were the case at least she could go out and punch something. Physical expression of her impatience seemed like a bad idea just now though. After all, who would she hit first?
Mrs. Krug, who simply was not quite happy enough to buy any house that Josie showed her?
Or perhaps her husband, who seemed to throw maturity and manners out the window every time her son brought his friends over.
Josie sighed again. What on Earth was she going to do?
"Mom, can I come in for a second?"
Her head jerked up at the light tapping on the study door . Will. And he looked uncharacteristically solemn. "You bet," she replied, giving him a tired smile as she put her glasses back on. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, I was going to talk to you earlier, but, well, Dad was around, and, well, I thought it might not be the best time."
Josie's internal alarms were going off. What could Will want to talk about that he didn't want to discuss with Steve around? The two had always been close. Even when they had thought Will was going to be powerless. "Is something wrong, Will?" she asked carefully.
"Umm…sort of, yes. You know how Dad always gets all…psychotic around Warren?"
"Sweetie, I would have to be blind and deaf not to notice that your father is uncomfortable around Warren."
That earned her a smile. "Uncomfortable seems like kind of an understatement."
Josie shrugged with a weary smile.
"Well," Will began and took a deep breath, looking carefully at her. "Actually, Layla recruited the others, and I'm not quite sure how she did it, so, here goes. We have a plan to try and make Dad see the good in Warren. The only problem is, is not working so well. So Layla and I thought that maybe, if you helped us, we could come up with something that worked better." Will crossed his fingers.
Josie sat silently for a few minutes. I'm assuming your father isn't supposed to know about this, but what about Warren?"
"He doesn't know either."
"Oh?"
"Well, actually, he kinda, told us not to do anything." Will said the last part in a rush.
"Uh-huh. Well, Warren may have had the best idea. You can't force someone into liking someone else and trying to trick them into it doesn't usually work out in the end."
"C'mon, Mom! We're not trying to make Dad think Warren is the greatest hero in the world, we're just trying to make him see Warren's good qualities!"
Josie nodded. "Be that as it may, Will, I cannot plot against your father." Will's face fell almost immediately. "However," she said, "I can talk to him and try to help you out a little."
Will sighed. "All right. Thanks, Mom."
"Don't worry too much, sweetie. Warren seems like a nice young man. Sooner or later your father will realize that he hasn't set fire to the couch or planned an evil take-over and then everything will work out."
"But Warren shouldn't have to wait for 'sooner or later' to feel welcome in my home. He's my best friend, Mom."
Josie smiled ruefully at her son. He was growing up so quickly. "You're right, he shouldn't. I'll have another chat with your father. Maybe on the mat, this time," she winked.
Will smiled again. "Curiously, beat him into submission was something we considered, but I wasn't sure I could take Dad. If you're going to do it, though…" he trailed off with a grin.
That made Josie laugh. It was surprising how much better that made her feel, almost like she was ready to tackle finding a house for Mrs. Krug again. "I am not going to 'beat him into submission'!" she cried in a falsely scandalized tone. "Just into thinking a little." She winked. "Now go plot some more, I have work to do," she said with a last smile at her son.
"Bye, Mom."
"Bye, Sweetie."
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A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry about the long delay. Hope no one is disappointed. Thanks agian to everyone who has taken the time to review! MQW