Disclaimer: I own nothing. When it says MacDuff quotes, he's quoting Ben Franklin.
Warren watched amused as Emilie excitedly opened the door and let another group of guests into the house. He watched as the neighbors, huddled and broken from fighting off something far more bitter than the cold, blinked for a few seconds as they took in the scenery around them. Gone was the bleak reality of the outside world, instead, they found themselves in a warm sparkling winter wonderland, and the candles and holly and twinkling lights seemed to awaken something deep within them. Warren couldn't take his eyes away as group after group appeared on the doorstep dispirited but after a minute inside shed their defeat, revealing their old selves underneath.
Emilie wandered over to Warren, who had positioned himself away from the masses as usual. She smiled as she noticed the decoration hung above the doorway he was leaning on and pointed to it. Emilie watched as a grin spread over his features when he spotted the mistletoe. Pulling her in, he kissed her softly on the lips and wrapped his arms tightly around her.
"Ahem," Carson interrupted the two, and looked at Warren when they pulled apart. "What did we talk about this morning?" Warren nodded at him but smirked.
Carson turned to Emilie, "This party was a good idea. I haven't even been able to talk to some of these people for weeks, but look what you did: everyone is here and laughing. I think we should start some carols though, don't you?"
Emilie smiled and agreed whole-heartedly, grabbing Warren's hand she headed for the action. Snaking her way through the crowd, Emilie introduced Warren to her neighbors, friends from school, and tried not to squish Eric and his friends who were running around underfoot. The two reached the stereo and found Will, Layla, Magenta, Zach, and Ethan chatting in a small group; Warren defected for them while Emilie set up some Christmas music to play. She waltzed over to them when she'd gotten the stereo to play.
"Thanks again, Magenta and Layla, for the cookies. I can't imagine I could have ever made enough for all of these people!" Emilie laughed, reveling in the happy normalcy of the setting.
Magenta and Layla waved her thanks away, and the group settled into lively conversation, occasionally interrupted by trips to the kitchen for more of the sweet Christmas pastries. Emilie withdrew from the chatter to bask in the scene she'd created. People who'd closed themselves and their families off for safety were laughing gaily with new aquaintances, kids were inhaling cookies as they played cards next to the windows, and a few people were even singing along with the Christmas carols.
She felt Warren pull her closer against him and lean down to whisper in her ear, "Merry Christmas."
Emilie's response was cut off by Eric and his friends' shouts of delight. "It's snowing! It's snowing outside! Come on!"
The already cheerful atmosphere grew at the news of the first snowfall, and soon everyone in the room was heading for their coats. Emilie and Warren joined the rest in a mass exodus for the door, and once they'd buttoned-up, found themselves standing on her front yard with dozens of others watching as the neighborhood was covered in a serene blanket of white.
In a matter of minutes there were people of all ages in every yard, throwing snowballs, building snowmen, and making snow angels. And those who weren't rolling in the snow had begun caroling animatedly; it was as though the snow had broken some dam and all of the severity and fear that had been building the last few months fell down before the child-like delight the snow and Christmas Eve had evoked.
Warren found himself unable to take his eyes off Emilie as she let go of his hand to twirl and dance in the snow. He laughed outright, though, when he saw Zach nail her in the back with a snowball. Grinning himself, he ran towards the growing snow fight and placed himself next to her, ready to do battle. Together, the two began flinging snowballs in earnest at the rest of the couples and the multitudes who'd joined them. Emilie laughed when she turned to Warren and saw her partner struggling to keep the snowballs from melting completely before launching them. In retaliation for her teasing him, Warren tackled Emilie to the ground, cushioning her weight with his arms. Her joy gaining momentum, Emilie wriggled, trapped between Warren's warm body and the frozen ground until she could reach up to wrap her arms around him.
"Merry Christmas," she whispered and leaned in for a kiss, but was grossly interrupted as a pile of snow came tumbling down from Zach, Will, and Ethan standing above them. Exchanging a quick glance with each other, Warren and Emilie sprang into action, trying to stand while furiously flinging more snow at the guilty party.
Their playful banter ceased immediately when all of the lights on the street and in the distance abruptly shut off, leaving the stunned people in a dark eerie silence. Instinctively, Emilie shifted towards Warren and reached for his hand. The entire crowd gasped when three figures flew down the street and stopped in front of the group outside of Emilie's home.
Finding himself a mere ten feet away from the some of the same Supervillains he'd seen that afternoon in September, Warren stepped in front of Emilie, protecting her and simultaneously keeping her from doing something stupid again.
Everyone watched with bated breath as the leader of the three Villains, who they'd all seen splashed weekly across the front page of the Maxville Star in his ominous silver and black, sauntered down the street until he'd reached the sidewalk that lead to the house.
"Some party you've all got here," he said, his voice mocking. "And to think we didn't warrant an invitation." He nodded for his two companions, a man in dark bronze and a woman in solid blue, came to flank either side of him. His face contorted as he started to speak again, "Apparently, you citizens haven't quite gotten the message. We want your heroes, and since neither asking nicely nor causing floods has quite gotten your attention, we're going to try a little harder." He smiled coldly and looked around the crowd, who was frozen in terror. He walked slowly around the people closest to him, laying a hand on their shoulders in a deceptively friendly gesture or stroking their hair, as if he was trying to pick a prize horse.
Warren could feel Emilie inhale sharply as the Villain neared them. He felt the anger melt the snow beneath his feet as he dug his heels in ready for a fight. Emilie sensing the danger in Warren, laid a reassuring hand on his back, but kept her eyes trained on those of the Villain calmly walking towards them. The Villain cocked his head at her boldness and a corner of his mouth curved up in a cold smile. But he turned his gaze from her when a girl to his left let out a loud sob of fear.
His body angled towards her and with a quick flex of his arm snatched her towards him, causing her sobbing to near hysteria. Emilie recognized her as a neighbor's teenage daughter and flinched closer to Warren's back, scared for the girl.
The Villain pulled her back towards his companions and faced the shuddering crowd. "There's no way that some of you citizens don't know the true identities of your heroes. They're your neighbors, coworkers, and some of you even think they are your friends. They're not. Would your friends stop coming when there's a crisis because they're scared? Some heroes you've got. All we're asking is that you turn them in to us. Actually, we're not asking, we're demanding. The price of non-compliancy has just gone up." And with that last statement, he pulled out the arm of the young girl and snapped her arm in half. A chilling scream went up from her at the pain of her arm breaking. Small cries and horrified gasps followed from the crowds, but cruel chuckles could be heard from the three in the street.
Silence fell the moment the Villain opened his mouth again. "We're upping the ante. If we don't start getting the heroes soon, you're going to have a lot more to fear than a broken arm and a couple of burning buildings." With that he grabbed the two Villains next to him and lifted off of the ground, hovering a few feet in the air. Before taking off, the two on either side of their leader ambushed the people below them; the woman lifted her hands and turbulent winds came out of nowhere, making it hard for anyone to move let alone see due to the now frantic falling of snowflakes while the man shot lightning bolts at the bystanders, occasionally starting small fires when they hit something other than the ground. After a few minutes of the chaos, they took off leaving the citizens to the ruin.
Emilie was pushed into Warren as people ran past her, yelling and thrashing their way through people they'd just minutes ago been laughing with, running for the safety of their homes. Warren turned around to hold her to him, and tried to lead them back to her house when he ran into Carson, who was attempting to do the same. Carson gripped Warren on the shoulder in silent thanks and pulled Emilie toward him, but she clung to Warren's arm.
"What are you going to do? You can't walk home now! Come in and stay with me; you can call your mom and tell her what's going on." Emilie objected her father's continually tugging toward the door and pleaded with Warren.
Warren opened his mouth to answer when Will and the group ran up to them. "We've got to go. Everyone," Will stressed the word with hidden meaning as he quieted his voice to a whisper, "is meeting at my house. I just got a call from my dad, and they're meeting now to talk about what this," he nodded toward where the Villains had stood on the street, "is going to mean." Warren nodded and looked back to Emilie.
"I'll be fine. I'm going with them. I'll call you when I'm back at home." He cast a quick glance at Carson, who was searching the surroundings anxiously as if expecting another attack, and gave Emilie a quick kiss on the forehead. "Go with your dad. Don't do anything stupid." Warren paused despite the frenzied atmosphere encompassing him, something acutely clear in this moment. He leaned towards Emilie's ear though Layla tugged on the back of his jacket and whispered, "Love you." Not waiting for a response, Warren turned and took off with his friends, inaudibly sprinting in the direction of Will's home, and Emilie let herself be dragged into her house by her father.
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Warren tried in vain to pushing Emilie and her safety and the thing he'd said to her to the back of his mind as he entered Will's packed albeit somber house.
Steve Stronghold, noting the final arrival of his son and his friends began speaking to the Heroes gathered. "You all know why we're here. After the numerous attacks across Maxville tonight this meeting was necessary. Mr. MacDuff, also known as Highlander, the head of the Bureau, is here to tell us what we need to do." Steve stepped back next to his wife and a tall white-haired man moved forward to take the place in the middle of the room.
"I am sorry to say," he started, holding out his hands in a gesture of surrender, "that we are only marginally more knowledgeable about these villains than we were when they first began attacking Maxville. I am truly sorry to have failed you so, but please understand that we have spared no expense nor left any resource untapped in our attempts to impede and cease them. I fear that we must do something previously unheard of: we must temporarily disband the rescue sector of the Bureau in order to protect ourselves. From here on out, no rescues will be sanctified by us- you all go out at your own risk." The adults around the students broke into murmurs, seeming in the majority to agree with Mr. MacDuff. "I know," he started again, "this is shocking but we seem to have no choice. Every mission we risk losing one of you, and I believe it is in our best interest to, at least for now, live as citizens only. Everything else will go on as usual. The students must continue to go to Sky High since having them stay at home or enrolling them now at the public schools will be suspicious, besides they're safer in the air than we are in Maxville. And we will continue all other sectors of the Bureau until we compile enough information on these villains to go after them. And we will go after them." With that final note of hope and ambition, MacDuff stepped back, and the crowd began to disperse, small groups of people leaving the Stronghold house at a time until only the six teenagers, their parents, and MacDuff were left. They formed a tense circle.
Josie gave Will a squeeze, "Thank goodness you all are alright." She turned to MacDuff, "Do you really think they'll become more violent in their search for us?" At his solemn nod, she questioned again. "And you're sure that it's best for us all to hide out?"
MacDuff took a long look around the circle before quoting, "I fear that if we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately." The couples in the circle, parents and students alike, stepped closer to their significant others, and the parents glanced worriedly at their kids.
"What about citizens who know our identities? What are we supposed to do about that?" Ethan's father asked pragmatically.
"There is nothing we can do about that but to trust our friends." MacDuff answered, but all of the parents were unhappy with the answer.
Steve shot back, "I don't like that. They could be the end of us." He looked over the circle, his eyes landing on Warren. "What about your girlfriend?" he asked rhetorically, and turned to debate his point to the adults. "She knows all of the kids and Josie and I are Heroes. She probably knows all of you are too. What's to stop her from running to the Villains and snitching on all of us?"
The students let out a chorus of dissent, none louder than Warren. "Emilie," Warren declared, the certainty in his voice silencing everyone, "would never do that."
Steve shook his head at the youth's naiveté, "You don't know that."
Warren stepped into the middle of the circle until he was eye to eye with the Commander, "Yes. Yes, sir, I do." Will pulled him back and assured his father and the other adults, "Emilie wouldn't do that. She's our friend."
MacDuff cleared his throat, and every eye turned to him. "It seems, Steve, that so long as you all were as careful as your kids were in choosing who you revealed to, you've nothing to worry about. True friends would rather die than betray each other. And, I believe I need to be going, but call me, any of you, if you need something." With that, the head of the Bureau donned his coat and left the house.
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Warren held up a hand in silent thanks to Josie Stronghold for the ride home and shook the snow off of his leather jacket before letting himself into his house. Not two steps into the house, Warren was met with the naturally calming countenance of Felicity Peace.
Warren held out his arms to show his mom he was still in one piece and smiled for her, "I'm fine. Are you okay?"
Felicity Peace mentally shook her head at her son's relentless worry over her, but nodded at Warren in response. Warren felt the tension in his shoulders relax the slightest bit now that he could see for himself she was okay, and stepped in to give her a quick hug, his hand patting the top of her back where her dark brown hair met her wooly sweater.
"Okay then, I'm…uh…I'm going to make a quick call and go to bed." Warren started for the stairs, his mind now occupied with that thing he'd said earlier to Emilie. Felicity Peace watched her son run a hand through his hair, preoccupied with thoughts she knew to be about the redheaded girl he'd been seeing for a while. She smiled as she watched his retreat upstairs, reading the admiration, adoration, and worry for the girl that was rolling off of him in waves.
Unaware of the emotions his mother was gathering from him, Warren closed the door to his room and pulled out his phone, dialing Emilie's number. It only rang once before she picked up.
"Me too." Emilie said in way of salutation.
Warren stopped, confused. "What?"
"That thing you said before you left. You said, 'Love you,' and I'm saying, 'me too.'"
Warren smiled as his scattered mind caught up to what she was saying. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." Emilie smiled back into the phone for a moment before remembering reality. "So you made it back home safely? How did the meeting at Will's go?"
"Yeah, I'm home," he stopped there, unsure of what to tell her. "And the meeting was …fine, too. The Bureau just wanted to, you know, remind everyone to be extra careful." He couldn't tell her the truth; he couldn't tell her that the Heroes he'd always admired had agreed to stop saving citizens or that the entire Hero community was pretty much going to go underground and let the citizens face the Villains on their own. He wouldn't tell her that now.
"Okay… then…" Emilie stuttered awkwardly over the phone. She didn't know what to talk about: the heartless attack that happened just hours earlier this Christmas Eve, effectively putting everyone into a panic or the fact that she and Warren had just exchanged (kind of) those three little words.
Warren spared her the awkwardness, "Yeah…good night, I guess."
"'Night." Emilie answered, but didn't hang up. "Love you."
"Me too," Warren returned quietly.
Sorry this took so long to get up, but these hurricanes have really screwed things up. So today after the football game and life has calmed down a little, I came right home and finished this chapter. And please forgive me for this chapter not quite being up to par, I promise to be better and update faster. I also want to say thank you for the reviews. You all are, honestly, amazing. Every review means so much to me and I read them about a hundred times. Thanks, and please keep reviewing. I want to know what you think, if you liked the chapter, if I missed something, or if there's something you think should happen.
