When Will woke up he was pleased to see that the large, white flakes were still falling. They had predicted that the snow would start sometime during the night, and it had. It was nearly impossible to tell how much there was, since anything more than an inch or so and less than half a foot looked about the same, but it looked promising.

Fingers crossed, Will headed downstairs to greet his mother and see what the news anchor said. As he had hoped, school was cancelled, and the storm was expected to continue for several more hours. A couple of phone calls later, he ascended the stairs and collapsed into bed, secure in the knowledge that he had a couple of extra hours of sleep coming and his friends would be over later that afternoon if at all possible. Well, technically Warren had said he'd think about it, but that was nearly as good as a promise of attendance, and it was the best he was going to get, so there was no sense in worrying about it. Especially since he had some time to devote to his very first love: sleep.

---

It was much later when the roads were finally clear enough for safe travel. In all likelihood, Will considered, there would probably be school the next morning. It was disappointing, but he was resigned. In the meantime, his friends were over, and he was determined to have fun.

They had gone outside to wait for Warren, and somehow the waiting had been transformed into an all-out snow ball war. A little childish, perhaps, but still lots of fun. The moment Warren arrived Ethan co-opted him, and it was now a fairly evenly matched three-way battle.

Suddenly, there was raucous laughter. "Awww! Wook at the widdle baby heroes and wannabes! Are you having fun playing in the snow, babies?" Nickolas was standing on the sidewalk laughing.

"What's wrong, Larson? Jealous we didn't include you?" Zach asked. A moment later he seemed to think better of his remark, however, because he was trying to hide behind Magenta.

Nickolas didn't appreciate the joke, either. "You want to take a quick trip somewhere, sidekick? Maybe to my locker at school?"

"Oh, what an original threat! Assuming you didn't get lost on the way, of course." Magenta rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you'd like to join him, Pinky? That way you guys can finally get rid of that unresolved tension. Tell you what, I'll even let Brain here go along," he sneered as he nodded at Ethan.

"Why don't you just go away?" Layla said.

"Yeah," Will added. "You're not exactly welcome here."

Larson took a menacing step forward and Ethan melted. "Wow, I'm scared now!" Nickolas stopped to laugh. "Wait a minute while I get my sponge!"

Ethan reformed and took a step back. "Dude! A sponge is totally not cool!" he protested.

Nickolas laughed harder and took another step forward.

This time Warren stepped forward to meet him. "Get lost, Larson," he said.

"Or what?"

"Or you won't need to wear that coat to stay warm anymore." Warren flicked his fingers and they lit up in warning.

Larson swallowed and stepped back. "You babies are so boring," he said slightly too loudly. "I'm out of here."

Warren watched him walk away before turning around. He looked at Ethan and Zach and Magenta. "Why do you let him do that?" he asked.

"Let him do what?" Ethan asked, tilting his head to one side.

"Push you around like that."

"Hey!" Zach protested. "We don't exactly let him push us around!"

"In case you haven't noticed," Magenta said, "Nickolas Larson is huge. And he's a hero. It's not like we can do anything to stop him."

"Yes, it is," Warren said fiercely. "You were there at homecoming. You were just as crucial to stopping Royal Pain as the rest of us were. You guys were the ones who saved the school from crashing. And when you graduate, are you just going to say, 'You know, that villain was in the hero track at school. I can't do anything to stop him'?"

Layla lifted a finger and opened her mouth to say 'Or her,' but then just stood by silently. Warren had a point, and she wouldn't help him at all by distracting her friends from that fact.

"Well, we will be fully trained after graduation," Ethan pointed out as he adjusted his glasses.

"So you're just going to stand by until then? You're just going to let Larson and anyone else get away with harassing you?"

"What other choice do we have?" Magenta asked cynically.

"Larson isn't that strong, and he isn't that smart. If you wanted to, you could easily learn to take him out." Warren gave them a measuring look.

"You really think so?" Zach asked.

"No. I know so. But it won't matter what I know until you know it too." The shiver that shook Warren's shoulders detracted slightly from the seriousness of his statement, but the others seemed not to notice.

---

"Honey?" Josie looked into the front room and saw her husband peering out the window. "Are the kids still playing?" she asked with a smile.

"No. This other kid came up to them, and they've been just standing around talking since."

"It's getting colder. Do you want to ask them to come in for some hot cocoa?"

"Yeah, I can do that."

Josie smiled at her husband and he smiled back, but the pensive look never left his eyes. Moments later all six of the kids were in the hallway, stamping snow from their boots and peeling off hats and coats and sodden gloves. Steve just stood and watched them.

They seemed quieter than they had been earlier, and that didn't change when they moved into the den and drank hot chocolate, or when Zach and Will got out the marshmallows and they started toasting them in the fire place. It was no real surprise to him, therefore, that the Peace kid stayed long enough to warm up, but left soon after. And when Magenta, Ethan, and Zach left just a little later he didn't think much of it either. Layla stayed awhile longer than the others, and she and Will snuggled together in front of the fire, but her mother came not long after dark to collect her.

It was just Steve and Will cleaning up the den, after that. They picked up mugs with chocolate rings in the bottom and a few scattered, uncooked marshmallows. "You guys were quiet tonight," Steve said in an off-handed manner. It was obvious that something had happened outside. It had looked a little like an argument, but no one seemed to be angry at anyone else. If only he knew what had been said.

"Yeah."

"Did anything happen?"

Will darted a glance up at his father, but there was no accusation on Steve's face, just curiosity. "Well, there's this kid at school, Nickolas Larson. He teases us sometimes, and he came by today."

"He didn't give you kids a hard time, did he?" Had he missed something that important?

"Not really. He was all ready to, but Warren chased him away."

"Really?"

Will looked carefully at his father again. "Yeah," he replied. "Warren's pretty good about standing up for us whenever we need help."

"So, you kids were just upset about what he said?"

"Well, sort of, I guess. See," Will hesitated.

Steve looked at his son. "What?"

"Well, he had a point," Will began, but he stopped again.

"Who? What point?"

"Well, Warren asked why Zach and Maj and Ethan let Larson pick on them. They're usually the ones he bothers."

"And what did they say?" Steve asked in his most neutral tone of voice.

"They said that they don't. But Warren said that they do. He said that if they really wanted to stop him, they could."

"Just because people don't want something to happen doesn't mean that they can necessarily stop it on their own."

"That's true enough, I suppose. But they probably could stop Larson. He really isn't that bright. It's like they're just afraid of him, or they've just accepted it, or something."

"That could be."

"Well, it shouldn't be."

Steve shrugged. "You can't always change what people feel."

Will just snorted and carried his handful of mugs into the kitchen.

As he watched him go, Steve realized that that was the first calm conversation he'd had with his son in some time. He missed his boy, and he hadn't even realized that fact until just now. He wanted to believe that it was Peace's fault, for coming between them. But he knew that it was just as much his fault. Peace wouldn't have come between them if he hadn't let him.

Maybe it was time he did something about that. He didn't trust Peace, and he would still be keeping an eye on the kid, but maybe it was time he trusted his son to make the right decisions. His boy had never let him down before.

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A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this is late, I had a bunch of tests last week. Then I couldn't make the document manager upload this document. Sigh. But it's all fixed now (I think), so here is a new chapter. Extra special thanks to everyone who reviews. You guys really make my day. Cheers!