Without hesitation, Lash instinctively lunged at his Sidekick, pressing her to the floor and shielding her body with his own. Rubble rained down on his back but with Astrid's healing hands placed on his chest, he didn't feel any pain and received no injury.

Once the smoke had cleared, the students began crawling out from under the tables and clambering off the floor to assess the damage. A huge hole had been blown into the main wall of the cafeteria in a deliberate attack but when the teachers searched for a culprit, no one was to be found. Jumping into action, Astrid flitted around the room hurting any cuts, bumps, bruises or gashes. Whilst she wanted to search for her cousin before anyone else, she saw that some people had head injuries and knew they needed to be dealt with before anything else.

Using her powers to guide her to the other injured students, she felt that there was only one broken limb and darted towards the poor girl that had been closest to the blast. Her wrist was broken from where she had landed on it and there were burn marks across her face and right side of her body. After she had healed as much as she could, she passed her to a teacher before moving on to the next injured student.

Unable to do anything but stare, Lash admired the strength and resilience of his Support. Not only had she also suffered through the event, shaking as Lash had pulled her to her feet but she had begun helping the other students without taking a moment to process what had happened herself. Lash wished he could be more like her. Using his powers to move rubble and dig out students, he passed any seriously injured ones to Speed who rushed them to the medics.

Once they were satisfied that they had done the best they could and the number of injured students had dwindled, Lash found his partner seated on one of the benches and chugging a bottle of water. Exhaustion made her eyes droop and she barely acknowledged his presence when he crouched before her. Smoke, blood and sweat covered her hands and face but she still looked beautiful to Lash.

"Come on, you. They're making us go home so they can figure out what happened. The buses are outside waiting." Lash soothed as he picked up his Sidekick.

As soon as she was in the safety of her Hero's arms, Astrid closed her eyes and fell asleep. Passing his father on the way out, he knew his dad would find the person responsible and beamed when his father smiled proudly at him. Jackson and Lash's relationship had been rocky since the night of Homecoming. His father was a keeper of the peace and Lash had become the one thing his father was responsible for imprisoning. Even after he had returned home, Jackson had found it difficult to be around his son but knowing that he had made his father proud with helping people gave Lash more determination to be better.

Carrying Astrid onto the bus caused the other students to try and decipher whether the evil Villain had hurt the sweet, lovely Astrid. Seeing the protectiveness on his facial features, they knew that she was safe in his arms. Lash was taking care of his Hero Support and as he glanced down at her sleeping face, he vowed to watch over her forever.

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ ⁂☆⁂ ☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰

Allison fretfully followed her daughter and her Hero as they made their way up the stairs. Regretfully, Lash knew he had to explain what had happened and why they were home early but he knew Astrid would detest her mother knowing. After all, it would only contribute to Allison's irrational fear of the Super world. Informing her that Astrid hadn't been hurt, she was just worn out from all the healing she had done, Lash saw the flickers of pride on Allison's face.

After carrying Astrid into the bathroom, he nodded when Allison promised that she would ensure Astrid was clean, dressed and tucked in. Leaving the two alone, Allison searched for a towel and her daughter's pyjamas.

"I promise to be your Hero and to protect you for as long as you'll let me. I won't let anyone hurt you or betray you. For as long as I love, I vow to put you before myself and be the good, kind-hearted person you deserve. I want to be your Hero. I want to be your Hero and be the one you turn to when you need a shoulder to lean on." Lash whispered, brushing the hair out of the sleeping girl's face.

Hovering near the door, Allison smiled at the words she heard. Someone was looking out for her little girl and whilst he was part of the world Allison was so desperate to keep her daughter away from, she knew he was good for her. Pressing a kiss to his still-sleeping partner's forehead, Lash waved off Allison's gratitude before asking if it would be okay for him to come over in the morning.

Assuring the nervous boy that she would cook breakfast for the both of them, Allison watched as he wrote a note explaining that he wished he could stay but his mother would be worrying about him. Promising that he would visit her in the morning, he signed the note with a kiss before walking out of the room of the girl he wished would be in his future.

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ ⁂☆⁂ ☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰

Cloaked and hidden, the dark figure listened to the speech in disgust. Lash promised that no one would hurt his precious, little Sidekick as long as he was around but that was about to be broken. Watching as Lash left the room, the figure grimaced as the stupid, happy smile on his face. For months, the figure had watched them skirt around their feelings for each other and parade around with their friendship. Gazing at each other and sharing loving smiles had been their routine for the past few months. It was sickening. And now, she was about to put an end to it.

Ensuring Lash was inside his own home, the figure waited until Allison had returned to the kitchen, making herself a margarita. As the blender switched on, the figure pried open the window and snuck inside. Ripping off a strip of paper, they scrawled a few harsh words onto it before placing it atop Lash's note.

Cloning themselves, one figure placed a hand over Astrid's mouth whilst four more grabbed an arm and a leg. The original led them downstairs, ensuring they didn't get caught as they walked out of the unlocked front door. All that was left behind was an empty bed and come the morning, a broken-hearted boy.