'Layla? Ethan?' called a voice into the room.

'Will?' called back Layla cautiously from her hiding place into which she had flung herself. Ethan's puddle quivered next to her under the filing cabinet.

'Yes it's me and I brought everyone else. Now where are you?' he said a little impatiently.

She crawled out from behind the cabinet and Ethan reformed once he'd wiggled his way out. Will caught her in a rib-crushing embrace while Ethan was clapped on the back by Warren and hugged by Crystal and Dara. They were so busy in their celebrations that it took Layla a minute or two to remember that she'd been on the phone prior to Will's entry.

'Hello? Hello? What the hell is going on?' came the tinny voice of Will's grandfather down the phone line.

Layla gasped and rushed back to the phone.

'Hello?' she said meekly.

'What the devil is going on child? What just happened?' barked James Stronghold.

'Um, Will just pulled the door off its hinges to get into the room so I got slightly distracted,' she said blushing.

'Will is there? Put him on the phone. I want to talk to that young man,' he snapped.

Layla gladly held the phone out to Will who tried to placate his grandfather while Layla caught up with what had happened after she'd left the battle.

'And they're still there? What if they've broken out? I don't think we can take them again!' she panicked.

'Relax,' said Warren. There was an authority and assured tone in his voice that none of them yet carried. It was reminiscent of the Commander when he arrived on the scene of an incident. 'They were all unconscious when we left and you said help was on the way right? Well they'll be here soon so just calm down.'

Layla released the tension in her shoulders and leaned into Will who had returned from his interrogation and had passed the phone over to Dara whose mother could be heard by them all.

Suddenly they all became aware of the quiet sound of sobbing coming from the corner of the room. They turned and saw Crystal in the corner; her head on her knees and her hair hung about her face. She was clutching her mother's necklace in her hand as suppressed sobs made her body tremble.

'Crystal?' said Layla and went to comfort her but Warren stopped her.

'I'll go,' he said and sat down next to the wreck of a girl. He put his arm around her and she relaxed into his body.

'Why the tears Blondie?'

'I guess it just hit me that my Dad's a bad guy now. Completely, one hundred percent bad. I mean, he was trying to kill me. It was like he didn't even register it was me, I just some hero kid he had to stop. I guess I always thought he would come back. You know, look after me now that – that Mom's gone. But I was wrong.'

'Now you know how I felt aged five. I would sit up at night looking out at the sky wondering if he would ever come back. Then he got busted for his quadruple life sentence and I realised he wasn't coming back so I toughened up. He wasn't going to be there for me, so I had to be.'

'I never knew,' she said looking up at him.

'No one does. Well, did. But don't you go thinking you can spread this around cos if you do…' he trailed off but didn't need to say any more. He knew Crystal wouldn't tell anyone any more than he would tell anyone about what she had just said.

'Um, Warren?' said Will.

'Yeah?' he replied, looking up.

'Your mom wants a word.'

Silently he took the phone and watched as Dara and Layla gathered around Crystal in an attempt to comfort her.

'Hi Mom,' he said wearily.

'Thank God you're ok. You are ok aren't you? Not bleeding profusely from anywhere? And Crystal's ok too?'

He gave a rare smile that no one saw. 'I'm fine Mom, really. No one is bleeding and Crystal's doing fine. A bit shook up; the revelation into who her father really is has kinda freaked her out but we'll be ok.'

'Thank God,' she said again, the relief evident in her voice. She had always feared that a battle between her son and her ex-husband would end in death for her boy. 'The Support Team is arriving in the main hall now so you need to go and meet them. They'll bring you home ok?' she said tearfully, the emotion of the day finally getting to her.

'On my way as I speak. I'll see you soon Mom,' he said and hung up the phone. He gathered his friends and they walked tentatively back to the main hall where they had left the villains entwined in Layla's vines.

Not sure of what to expect they approached the doors tentatively and peeped round. To their immense relief they saw large white power dampening bracelets around the wrists of Barron, Black, Thorn, Creon and Kass as they were marched into a large white van which hovered outside the window.

Men in black combat gear with HCC stamped on their backs in white were inspecting the room as Warren, Layla, Will, Ethan, Crystal and Dara walked in. One of the men looked up.

'Hey! You're the kids we're looking for!' he said with surprise in his voice.

'Clearly you weren't doing a very good job – we've been standing there for the past few minutes,' Warren said scornfully as he walked to the man who seemed to be in charge. 'We'd like to get back to ground now if that's alright with you,' he said.

The group were directed onto the nearest transport and flown back to the HCC where they were almost crushed by the hugs from their parents or in Will's case, grandparents. When the greetings were done, James addressed the assembled parents and children.

'While I appreciate you want to take your children home and I'm sure the children are desperate for some sleep, we need their statements now before the events of the past day dim in their mind.'

'I don't think there's any danger of that,' muttered Warren to no one in particular but Crystal overheard and smiled.

'There will of course be a ceremony to mark your bravery and your vital role in the capture of five extremely dangerous supervillains but right now we need those statements. You will be all pleased to know that the villains themselves are in custody as we speak being interrogated about the whereabouts of the one thousand missing superheroes,' James continued.

'Excuse me sir,' said Ethan.

'Yes?'

'Did you find the bodies as well?'

'Bodies? What bodies?' blustered James.

'When I was watching the main hall after the initial fight, there was a giant pile of bodies pushed into a corner.'

'What? Why didn't you say something?' said Will, grabbing at Ethan roughly.

'I didn't want to because I didn't know who was in the pile and who wasn't. It could have been anyone and I didn't think it was a good idea to freak everyone out in case we had to fight,' he said simply.

'That wasn't your call to make!' shouted Will and launched himself at Ethan who promptly turned into a puddle through which Will fell into the arms of his grandfather.

James held his grandson tightly to stop him crushing the strangely orange child into a million pieces. For a while Will fought to get away but his grandfather was much stronger and restrained him as much as possible without actually hurting the boy.

'What Ethan did was right boy, even if it does hurt,' he said quietly.

'But it's Mom and Dad! Don't you care at all?' he protested.

'How dare you question whether I care or not!' James thundered. 'They're my son and daughter-in-law in case you had forgotten!'

By this time everyone else had turned away so the two of them had at least a little bit of privacy. Exhausted employees of the HCC turned up to usher the children into interview rooms while maintaining at least a five foot radius from James Stronghold at all times.

'We will find your parents Will,' he said gruffly. 'Wherever they are, whatever state they're in, I promise you we will find them.'