Chapter 4.

The letter was short. It seemed strange that when I carried it around it seemed so heavy but it actually didn't contain much. Somehow I'd made up some desperate plea in my mind- her last attempt to win me back. That's why I never read it, because I knew I might give in. But none of that mattered now because it wasn't what I thought. So I leaned back against the headboard of the bed and read it over again.

Warren,

I know you didn't want to see me again- but I had to let you know how important this letter is. I hope you're actually reading it.

I wanted to write all the things I've written before. I wanted to tell you that I really don't blame you for everything that happened and assure you one more time that I don't think he'd blame you either. I know there's more to this- it was just an accident. Life is made of those tragic things we can't control.

I still think you're trying to protect me, but I guess I'll never know. The only person who could tell the truth for sure is gone now and the Agency have all but disappeared. I think I know why Fintan hasn't visited lately- maybe…

This is the long, rambling way of telling you something important.

I'm pregnant.

So don't run away from me anymore alright? If you haven't changed, if this is a change of heart after all, then just don't respond. I'll get the message.

Lydia

I glanced at the clock, illuminated by the bedside lamp. It was only an hour before sunrise. I'd spent the night sitting and trying not to think. The things that were coming into my mind were memories I'd tried very hard not to remember. The only other thing to do was try to figure out the cryptic comments in the letter- I had no luck figuring out what she meant by mentioning Fintan or why the Agency had disappeared. With a groan, I put the letter on the bedside table.

The idea of me, Warren Peace, ex-convict and hothead extraordinaire, being a father was too much to handle. The idea of me, a dad, missing the first four and a half years of my kid's life was even more disheartening. Even with all this dread and guilt there were some pleasant thoughts too. I'd always wondered what our kid would look like. Now I knew. Fiona seemed to have turned out alright- probably better than she would have if I'd been around.

There was a soft knock on the door and Layla came in with Laura in her arms. "She was having trouble sleeping," she explained as she stroked the back of the baby's head.

"Was it hard?" I asked suddenly, watching as Layla sat down in a chair across from me. "I mean…are babies hard to take care of?"

She looked curious at the question, "I suppose. Well it's better now, but Laura was a terrible sleeper when she was younger. All babies are like that normally though. Waking you up every couple hours to eat or to be held," she laughed softly, "There was a week that Will was gone on a business trip and Laura was still really little. It was terrible not having any help."

I grimaced and rested my head back against the wall. "What happened after I left?" I asked, hardly wanting to know the answer.

"With Lydia?" Layla asked, her voice slightly strained. I could tell that she probably thought me a terrible person for trying to send divorce papers to my pregnant wife.

I nodded.

"Well…she quit Maiden Force and started helping Mr. Medulla and working at the bookstore to keep up with the bills. She also started working as a temp partner for some loner heroes who needed her abilities. Her dad wanted her to move in with them- but they were going through their own problems you know…with all that had happened."

I looked over at Layla as she lapsed into silence. She met my gaze evenly with a sad expression.

"Nobody blames you for it you know…even then. Nobody blamed you."

"Except the superhero courts you mean," I answered gruffly.

Layla dropped her eyes and didn't speak. Both of us knew that the subject was too painful to be broached.

"What else?" I prodded when the silence was long unbroken by anything but Laura's baby noises.

"I think you should talk to Lydia about it. I don't want to say anything that I'm not supposed to. To be honest Lydia hasn't been on very good terms with me and Will since we took you in. It's not your fault- I just mean…I'm not sure I can say anything more without making the situation worse. It's just something the two of you have to discuss."

I nodded again. "Do you know how long Mr. Leopard's been living there?"

"Mmm, a couple months I think. Nurse Spex was letting him stay with her since he couldn't find a place but she had to move to an apartment so Lydia volunteered to let him rent a room. That's just what I heard when Nurse Spex was fixing up his lip- like I said, we haven't talked to each other a lot lately…" she trailed off sadly.

"I'm sorry Layla," I volunteered in a low tone. She and Will had always supported me and I didn't always appreciate simply having them as friends.

"That's what friends are for," she answered with a genuine smile and stood up slowly. Laura seemed to be sound asleep. "I better put her back down and see if I can get a few more hours myself," she said and left the room. A minute later she poked her head back in.

"You really should visit your mom. I think she's pretty worried about you," and then she was gone.

"Layla," I called, a bit louder than necessary.

"What?" she whispered from the hall.

"Ethan still working with the henchmen tracking company?"

There was a pause and I wondered if she looked surprised.

"Last I heard he was working with the branch in India since he moved there. Why?"

I was silent, knowing that she'd take the hint and leave eventually.

000000000

"Isn't this breaking parole or something?" Stronghold's voice barely reached my ears with the wind whipping around us.

I'd persuaded Will to take me on a 'quick' trip to visit Ethan in India. Since he had some work nearby helping with some natural disaster it wasn't that big of a deal, but Stronghold was still worrying about legal ramifications. It was becoming obvious that Layla had rubbed off on my friend quite a bit. Of course, after finding I had a family of my own to take care of, I could sympathize a bit with worrying about getting into trouble- not that I'd let it affect me…much.

"Warren?" Will said, a bit louder.

"I heard you!" I yelled, hoping no bugs would fly in as I spoke. "It's fine, don't worry Stronghold, they won't jail the Aviator."

That seemed to subdue him because he didn't try to say anything more until we arrived.

I'd never been to India before. My short stint as a superhero- the year before being imprisoned, had been primarily served in and around Maxville. Lydia and I had gone for a honeymoon (turned disaster) in Japan and I'd been on a mission with Will in Spain…but the atmosphere I found myself in now was completely different than either of those experiences. Besides the change in my personal circumstances, India was extremely different from the other two countries.

As we landed on an abandoned rooftop, with the sun risen a few hours ago, I could smell a pungent mix of sewage, exhaust fumes and some spiced scent that I assumed was from whatever they were cooking for breakfast. The sounds of street vendors and clogged traffic were all around us. Apparently, everyone was already busy with the tasks for the day. I tried to remember anything I'd learned about India in the past and failed miserably besides recalling a vague outline of the old caste system. Was that still around?

Will walked past me, unfazed by the foreign environment. I had to remind myself that he'd probably visited many unfamiliar places before. It was just one more reminder of how long I'd been gone and how many things must have changed in that time.

"Ethan lives on the second floor of this building, his name's on the door," Will said, twitching his head even though there was no hair to get out of his face. I smirked at the familiar motion. Some things didn't change after all. "I have to go check out that mudslide, but I'll be back by the end of the day at the latest, k?"

I shrugged, trying to squelch the rising sensation of being abandoned. "I'll be fine Stronghold."

He grinned, "Aviator," he corrected with a slight wink and launched into the air. Off to save the world again.

I stood staring until the unexplainable weight of the letter in my pocket reminded me exactly why I'd come halfway round the world. I needed information and Ethan was just about the only person I knew who might be willing to share with an ex-convict.

Ethan peered out of his door after looking through the eyehole in his grimy door.

"Warren Peace," he stated with a dorky grin. He pushed his glasses up and opened the door more widely. "What are you doing here?" he asked and pulled some kind of scanner out of the pocket of his green, plaid pants. "Sorry, just have to make sure you're you," he explained vaguely.

I watched as the scanner glided up and down in front of me. "Oh-um I stopped by for a favor actually."

Ethan looked at the screen of the scanner when he was done. "Oh, right, right," he said, almost to himself, "You wouldn't have your powers back yet." His head snapped back up and he turned to go back in the apartment.

I followed and shut the door behind us. As I looked around, I wondered why Ethan didn't transfer back to the states- or at least to a position that paid better. The whole place seemed barely large enough (or sanitary enough) for all of his supplies, computers etc. Of course, Layla had said that he'd come after Malati had moved. He must have been still carrying a torch for the Indian chick.

"What's the favor?" Ethan asked and didn't seem too put out that I'd come only for that.

"I heard from Layla that you're still working with that database operation…keeping track of villains and henchmen."

Ethan nodded and sat down in a rolling desk chair. I looked around and couldn't find anywhere to sit but the edge of the bed. He was staring at me intently when I looked back at him.

"The database is very interesting," he began, "We track henchmen and by doing that we often inadvertently stumble over other villains that they work with. We're also able to see which heroes might be in some kind of danger. Henchmen are the ones who usually follow the heroes or track would-be victims of the villains. It's a very good system kept up to date by the latest technology and by hundreds of workers who track down the information."

I had forgotten that Ethan was a little long-winded when it came to something he was passionate about- but this was different from his high school babblings. It seemed, as he looked at me, that there was a very important point to every word.

"This information is available to everyone entered in the Super-powered beings registry."

I sat a little straighter.

"Unfortunately you can only check out which henchmen may be watching you. If a hero is married to a non-super, he or she can also check out who might be watching their spouse, but if your spouse is a super, they have to check for themselves."

"So I can't find out if someone's been watching my family?"

"No," Ethan stated with a slight frown, "I'm sorry Warren, but that's one favor I can't really help you with. If you want to talk to Lydia about it may-"

I shook my head and stood up restlessly. "I can't tell her about this."

So that was it…if I wanted to find out if Secondhand was really carrying through with his threats, then I'd have to investigate somehow myself.

AN: I've gone back and edited to change Lauren's name to Fiona. I wasn't really thinking about how many 'L' names I had already, so thanks everyone for pointing that out ;)