Chapter 12.

I stumbled into the Stronghold kitchen that morning with a headache pounding out a drumline against my skull. Making some intelligible noise, I made my way to the stove, hoping that Layla's insistence that tea was better than coffee would not ruin my day.

"Rough night?" a voice asked from behind me.

With wary reaction slowed by tired muscles, I could only manage to turn around slowly to see Ethan sitting at the kitchen table, smirking at me.

"I thought you were in India," I replied. It was too early for sarcasm.

"I was, but since everyone's getting together at Shyla's I thought I'd come back. Will said Malati and I could stay here a couple days."

I soon found out that 'everyone' meant all the old gang…except me. I shouldn't have been surprised that Lydia hadn't said anything about the get together. Besides, as Will mentioned after overhearing the conversation, it'd be better to stay away from Taylor for the time being. Being away for years probably hadn't deadened the grudge he held against me. After the incident, he'd been the first to lay the blame in my hands and even the new memories I'd shared with Lydia wouldn't guarantee we'd ever be buddies.

Things were also awkward with everyone else anyway. It seemed it'd be a long, difficult road to get my friends back. Funny that the boy who'd never even wanted another person to eat lunch with was suddenly sad over the people he'd lost. I wasn't an angst-ridden teenager anymore; that was certain.

"Well," I offered after breakfast was over, "I should get going. Got to corner Medulla again."

Will, too absorbed in feeding Laura, just nodded. The baby glanced up at me and I imagined her toothless grin was some kind of sign of triumph.

"See you later," I offered, wondering why things always seemed so awkward when I was around. No doubt Ethan and Will would be chatting about something if I hadn't deadened the breakfast mood.

"Hey, wait up Warren. I'll come along with you. We can take my car," Ethan said, standing up.

"Why?" I asked, dumbfounded at the offer. I watched him clean off his breakfast plate and then dry his dark hands on a nearby towel.

"Because I'm your friend," he answered, sounding amused.

I just stared. It was a different feeling to have someone to want to hang with me. Even so, I doubted his back-up would help much with Medulla. The big-headed maniac was unlikely to be impressed into telling me anything.

000000000

"I believe I've said no already, but perhaps you're slightly hard of hearing?" Medulla intoned with an annoyed look.

Ethan stepped forward, sending a pacifying glance my way, "I think Warren's just concerned Prof- uh-"

"Professor is still fine Ethan," Medulla offered, "You're making quite a name for yourself, though why you'd want to hang out with an emotionally-retarded convict is beyond me."

Chuckling nervously, Ethan pulled a chair over to Medulla's desk and sat down. I turned my back to them and tried to resist setting fire to the room the traditional way- I did have a lighter in my pocket after all.

"I think you're misunderstanding our concern. See- I have good reason to believe that villain support members have been tracking Lydia's movements." I looked over at him after the statement was made, glad he'd decided to at least skirt around protocol to get the information, "I know Warren can come off as a little…volatile, but he has good intentions. Besides, you yourself have seen how Lydia's memories have been tampered with."

"Just because I recognize that there is a threat does not mean I'll give in and suddenly start working with this-"

"You know what," I suddenly interrupted, whirling around, "This isn't worth the time. I'm going. Sorry Ethan."

"Mortis Angelus," Medulla said as my hand closed over the door handle, "I looked into it like you asked."

I waited for him to continue but didn't move.

"It's been classified simply as ray of death in the official records. Unfortunately, your claims don't seem to have much merit. I went to the institute myself after seeing Lydia's brain scans. The Mortis Angelus is still under lock and key and very heavily protected. If a villain has any plans for it then they'll spend months more planning to no avail. It's not moving anytime soon."

"But that has to be it," I began again, turning to face the two of them. I pulled a chair over in defeat and sat with a heavy sigh. "Fiona's messages are sent because of Fintan in the future…wouldn't he know what to warn us about?"

Medulla rolled his eyes, "I've told Lydia this several times. There is no guarantee that those messages haven't been polluted by future circumstances. By sending the messages Fintan's might have already changed current events. That might have been his intention all along."

"Sorry, I'd rather not take a chance and have my dead wife to show for it," I answered sarcastically.

"The other possibility," Medulla continued with a glare, "Is that Fintan has manipulated everything so that his existence is not put into peril. Though- since he doesn't have his powers already the chances of that are slim," he seemed to lapse into thought and I half-expected him to go off into a lecture about chronokinesis and its complications.

"So the Mortis Angelus isn't a threat, in your opinion," Ethan inserted while glancing cautiously at me.

"No. Though it was an interesting work of weaponry to examine. The last villains to possess it did not make it. In fact, the technology is so advanced that I'd almost think my evil twin had created it."

"You have an evil twin?" Ethan asked.

"No- but if I did, I'd imagine he'd be inventing weapons as advanced as that."

"Well that's extremely helpful," I grumbled. I stretched my legs out and looked up at the ceiling while Medulla and Ethan exchanged some technical mumbo-jumbo about how the Mortis Angelus might work. "Look," I interrupted suddenly, straightening, "The only chance we have right now is to investigate the people who could be working for Secondhand. You said the memory-manipulator had to be someone close."

"I know what you're going to say, but it's just not possible. I checked Leopard myself."

"The same way you checked Royal Pain when she managed to almost destroy the school and turn you into a baby?" I asked with a scowl.

Gritting his jaw, Medulla turned a glare on me before slowly answering, "We don't screen teenagers, though you, Mr. Peace, are proof that we probably should start to do that as well."

"Who's Leopard?" Ethan intervened. His dark eyes glanced between us, unsure of whom to land on.

"Native Hercules," I replied, "Big, blonde, always smiling with annoyingly white teeth."

"He's our physical education teacher, replaced Boomer this year after an unfortunate incident sent the loudmouth to emergency care. He was muttering something about roosters and peanut butter all the way there." Medulla didn't look very concerned or sorry as he explained. "Well, since it looks like I won't get rid of you just by insisting, I'll let you look at the man's records. Keep in mind these were not only investigated by the school admissions board, but also by the governing superhero council."

I rolled my eyes and waited until he handed me the papers.

"Come on Warren," Ethan said, jogging after me as we left minutes later, "Medulla just has a soft spot for Lydia that's all. I don't think he actually means half of the stuff he says."

I growled, slowly curling and uncurling my fists. Ethan was mistaken in thinking I was mad over some choice comments from Medulla.

"A relief to know that Leopard guy isn't a threat though, right?" Ethan added, dodging a lounging pair of teens, probably ditching old melon-head's lectures. "I mean he's got a stellar record. I couldn't believe those pictures of him saving those orphans all by himself."

"But he came from a villain family," I insisted, knowing the argument was paper-thin.

Ethan gave me a pointed look and I held up a hand. It was obvious that there was severe irony when I said something like that. As much as I hated to admit it, it seemed that Leopard was clean. I supposed I'd have to come up with some other way to get him out of Lydia's life, the quicker the better.

"I'm just going to go say hi to Powers," Ethan offered after a minute or so. "Meet you by the car!"

I stopped mid-stalk and stood in the middle of the hall feeling abandoned. It was amazing how quickly I could adapt to having friends. Sighing, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Lydia's number, the one I'd managed to pry out of Layla.

"Hello?" she said, picking up after a couple rings.

"Hey."

Silence.

"Warren…how'd you get this number?"

"Layla."

"Ah."

"Heard everyone's getting together at Shyla's," I said after a moment, wondering if I sounded as needy as I felt.

"Yeah."

"So…" I said awkwardly, hoping Lydia would pick up on my reticence.

"So- just come over," she stated shortly. I winced at her tone of voice.

"Are you sure that's ok?"

"Shyla wants to see you anyway. I'm sure she'll be glad if you come."

"How about you?" it was the closest I could come to a sincere question.

There was silence on the other end and I was holding my breath without knowing it. With all the things to worry about, including Secondhand, I don't know why our little quarrels seemed more important. But at the moment I'd have traded almost anything for the right answer from her.

"I'm…" she began tentatively, "I'm not sure Warren. You've been gone a long time," there was a loud noise in the background, "Fin- Fintan no, not the- Warren just come over if you want to, I have to go."

I listened to the beeping that had replaced Lydia's voice. It wasn't the answer I'd wanted but then again, at least she hadn't just said 'no'. There was a sudden thump and I looked over towards the doorway of the nearest room. Alejandro stood there panting heavily, a sheen of sweat on his dark brow. His hands were twitching as he stared at me with wide, panicked looking eyes.

"What's up?" I finally asked.

"Mr. Leopard, he- he's lying about it all. I don't know how he did it. He's lying about all of it."

"Lying about what?" I dropped the trash bags and stepped towards the tubby boy.

"Everything! Aren't you listening?! I didn't remember at all, I didn't know his power. He changed it so I couldn't remember it."

"Remember what?" I asked with frustration.

"His power is manipulating memories. We'd all thought he was one of those super strength, agility dudes but it's because he'd manipulated our memories about it…and he did that to me too. I was with him one day, touched his hand and he told me the truth, but he erased that memory- I'd forgotten until now," Alejandro's fast-paced speech was making me confused but he didn't seem to notice, "See I was messing around with the equipment, the mind-reading equipment we use for mental battles you know? It triggered the memory. Hurt too, but somehow-"

I held up a hand with a frown, "Let's skip to the part where you tell me what the hell this means."

"He. Manipulates. Memories. Don't you get it?" Alejandro answered, looking at me like I was a gorilla. "You were checking up on his background with Medulla right?"

"Right- he was clean," I said, "They're able to detect memory manipulations too. But why would he lie?" Alejandro looked annoyingly pleased with himself but I didn't have time to worry about it. "Did he leave already?"

"Huh?"

"Leopard, did he leave?"

"Yeah, he's already gone for the da-"

I didn't wait to hear the rest. Ethan officially ditched, I ran out into the hall and down towards the main entrance with Alejandro trailing behind, still trying to talk.

"Wait, don't you- you want to h-hear the rest? I think this is bad. I mean w-why would h-he want to live with h-her? Don't you think it's weird?"

I was already long past the conclusion Alejandro was coming to, but leaving Sky High seemed more important at the moment than telling a teenager to scram. I vaguely heard the explanation end as we reached the doors. My cell phone began ringing. I flipped it open, recognizing Lydia's number.

"Lydia?"

"Warren?" Leopard's voice seemed suddenly less exuberant and much more sinister. I wrenched on the door handle and slid inside while a panting Alejandro watched.

"Leopard, if you've done-"

"It's too late for that," he responded, cutting me off calmly.

I started up the car and drove the wrong way down the landing pavement before taking off through the clouds at breakneck speed. "What, what do you mean?" I asked, not really wanting to know.

"It's done."

I was silent.

"I wish they'd stayed at home- then I wouldn't have had to take care of Shyla and the little girl too. It was hard with Lydia trying to pause time and Shyla's force fields thrown at me…but I did it. I didn't think I could actually do it."

"Do what DAMN IT?!" the car swerved past a flock of geese and plummeted down towards the highway landing.

"I made it painless, took away the memories," his voice cracked, "Secondhand wouldn't have liked it but it wasn't Lydia who killed her. It was you- you took her away, and now it's my turn Warren…Goodbye."

The phone rang as soon as he hung up and I answered angrily.

"Warren, where'd you go?" Ethan's voice came from the other line.

"Ethan," I put the phone on speaker and grabbed the steering wheel with both hands as the entrance to the highway came up. The 'closed' sign was ripped off by the front tires of the car as I skidded onto the ramp, the landing jarring through every nerve ending in my body.

"Warren- listen, you might have a lead. Medulla just talked to me, said he needed to tell you something. It seems-"

"Screw it," I growled half-heartedly and blinked rapidly. Tears were impeding my vision before I even knew I was crying.

"What? Listen, Leopard's sister is Lightning Strike, the one you killed. It might be a clue."

"Ethan," I intoned, taking a deep breath.

"What?"

"It's too late," a sob ripped out of my throat, "Too damn late."