AN: Despite positive feedback from, "Let's Get Crazy", I as a writer was dissatisfied. Believe it or not, I am on Fanfiction to become a better writer on an informal scale. If I am writing something for school, it comes out perfectly. Yet, I know I need to work better with my consistency in creative writing. So, here we go again. I only own Kerrigan. I do not own Sky High, Jane Eyre, or anything else that obviously belongs to someone else. Also, this story is still dedicated to my friend Ama who is ultra-supportive. My freezegirl is named after someone I know.
Jane Eyre had to have been Kerrigan's favorite book. She was not by any means a literary snob despite having indulged in classics such as The Picture of Dorian Gray and just about anything by Shakespeare that was not Romeo and Juliet. In fact, her favorite author was a renowned novelist in the young adult genre. The woman catered specifically to teen aged girls. However, her characters were all likeable and normal. They had flaws and real issues that Kerrigan could at least relate to. Their male counterparts were the same…normal.
But on the bus to Sky High, she was reading about Jane. The book itself was worn from overuse. As much as she loved her novels, she just did not have the capacity to keep them intact all the time. It was a sad, but true fact.
The bus had yet to take off yet, as Ron still had a few more stops to make. Because Kerrigan's house was one of the furthest in his route, she was always at the first stop. She noted the others filing the bus and smiled at a few of the people getting on. Sky High was not too big of a school so it was not really that hard to get to know some of her classmates. There were several others in the world. Maxville just happened to have a purposely concentrated amount of heroes and villains that decided to procreate and have special higher education for their children.
Kerrigan sat alone as per usual. It was not that she was anti-social as evident by her interaction. She was just…cold. The cryokinetic did not really bother to control her temperature in the mornings as she was still typically suffering from the effects of waking up early. It required focus to maintain a temperature and carry on various activities. So, unless it was an uncharacteristically hot morning, she was alone.
The bus was relatively full by the time they got to their final stop, and much to her surprise. Someone sat next to her. With the pure amount of heat coming off of her new companion, she could discern exactly who he was. "Good morning Peace. Someone took your normal seat?" She asked not even looking up from her book. He grunted in response and she felt his eyes for only a second. "Jane Eyre? At least it isn't that other teeny –bopper shit you ingest," He muttered low.
Kerrigan frowned and actually looked at him this time. "Shouldn't you be brooding around this time of day? Everyone has their guilty pleasures. At least I'm not reading about masochistic girls and species confused woodland fairies," She countered defensively.
"You have to at least respect the woman for the sheer amount of bucks she's made! She can buy at least a kagillion cars," A new voice added in. It was the glowing kid, Zach. Naturally. He had a hard time not listening in on other conversations it seemed.
"That may be so. However, she did not prior research of the creatures she based an entire book off of. That, I do not respect," Kerrigan replied and the typically emphatic boy seemed mollified only needing to re-emphasize his point about cars.
The bus took off after this and no one felt the particular need to speak any longer. The duo just continued to carry on normally.
The occurrence that morning threw the manipulator of ice for quite the loop. Ever since their dance, in which she was sure she stepped on his feet at least once, she and Peace had fallen into the acquaintance category. Rumors would state the contrary as people jumped at the idea of the combination of fire and ice being well… steamy.
No matter how much she insisted, no one's mind was changed. So, she let the imaginations run wild. It was not as though they would not have anyway.
As she got off the bus, a blur of blue, white, red, and green zoomed past her. "I guess young Stronghold has taken to flying his girlfriend to school," She thought out loud. Figuring that they would be too enamored, the girl attempted to walk past them, but found herself soon ensnared in the arms of the Williams girl.
"Kerrigan! How are you?" Layla asked not noticing that the other girl was cold and practically twitching. "I'm fine dear. It's just Tuesday," The older girl responded kindly. Unbeknownst to the plant manipulator, she was slowly lowering her temperature to entice her to let go. Layla moved on to Warren seconds later giving the pyro a warm smile. Apparently, he was more open about using his power to sway people away from unwanted affection. Kerrigan gave Will a smile which he returned while clasping hands with Warren.
"Well, I'm going to go to my locker. I have to get mentally prepared for Advanced Power Analysis," Kerrigan said and smiled at them. Layla gave her a confused look. "It's a new program that they developed for juniors. After last year's incident with Gwen, they decided to teach students how to develop and apply their powers. It's just a new mandated program. Word got out about last year's homecoming, so the president mandated sugar coated advanced power placement."
Warren nodded as though what she stated needed to be validated. "While freshmen and sophomores get to do Save the Citizen, juniors get APA, and seniors pick their hero support and do APA in duos," He added. Kerrigan made a slow exit as Layla started to give the riot act to her boyfriend and his best friend about the new school development.
She visited her locker and put away her books and back pack. While Boomer performed Power Placement for freshmen, the juniors got the opportunity to relax before their analysis. Well, at least they were supposed to. Kerrigan sat amongst a group of her friends who spent their time goofing off. She sat there focusing her energy on what was to come. She was able to comprehend most of the situation at hand. This would be a determinate factor in her junior and senior year.
Boomer finished filtering out the last freshmen, a young boy who could animate objects. Seeing someone turn the car into a literal transformer was quite impressionable.
"ALRIGHT! I want everyone's undivided attention," A voice echoed through the hall. Her head snapped forward to see Boomer standing on stage. "You all may think you're tough stuff since you got placed in hero class, but this right here is the real deal. You will be pushed to the limits of your power. Think of this as extreme power placement." Most of the students looked rather fearful of the man and sat up straighter at his announcement.
"I will begin with simply attesting the level at which you are. The more you can manipulate your power, the further up you will be placed. The less skill you have, the lower you will be placed. Those who have attained a high skill level will work a little more independently. Those who have not will get to work personally with me," He finished while pacing around the room. Several groans and murmurs filtered through the audience of budding heroes, but before anyone could say something to Boomer, a familiar power orb burst through the doors of the gym. Boomer grunted at the grand entrance. "Principal Powers will be helping me assess you," He added as the woman emerged with a smile plastered onto her face. A few teachers dropped by with various props to for the students to work with.
Principal Powers and Boomer decided to proceed in alphabetical order, and considering her friends' last names seemed to belong on the higher end of the alphabetic spectrum, Kerrigan O'Connor was soon alone. She watched as the current two students showcased their abilities. One, a jock, who was telekinetic managed to at least attract every paperclip in the school. "Had you done that at power placement you would have been a side kick!" Boomer roared at the student. The other, who requested a bucket of water, not only expanded with water with the particles in the air, but made small controlled tidal waves. The girl seemed utterly calm as she did this. "I could do more, but I don't want to cause water damage," She said and shrugged. Powers smiled. "You are rather advanced my dear. Join the others." She brought the number up to a whopping fifteen.
"O'Connor and Peace. You're up!" Boomer boomed (A/N: Teehee) and the two stood. "O'Connor you're with Powers. Get over here hothead." Warren sent the coach a scathing glare, but Boomer looked nonplussed. "Alright kid, show me what you got." Kerrigan stopped in front of Powers and gave her a polite smile. "I would like to wait for Warren to finish so that we don't cancel each other out and turn the gym into a sauna," She suggested. Powers raised her eyebrows and replied, "Good idea."
The room was silent as Warren began to progressively power up. He went from emitting smoke, to dropping small cinders unto the floor. Eventually, a fierce flame was building from his wrists and up his arms. "Yeah, yeah we've seen that before. You can do better than that can't you?" Boomer taunted sneering at the young man. Warren frowned and his eyes closed. When they snapped open, they were completely coal black, and the flames crept up past his shoulders and reached his chest. It seemed like his torso was incased in a flaming case. Fire slowly swirled down his legs until he was just a walking torch. He pressed his hands together and began to slowly pull them apart. Between them, a fiery orb, larger than his typical fireballs, began to grow until it was about the size of a basketball. Just as it seemed he would release it, Warren completely powered down as if he'd never started.
Kerrigan fanned herself and gave him a glare. "It's a little hot don't you agree?" She said and immediately began to power up. She closed her eyes and reached out with her hands focusing intently. Ice trailed across the gym floor, frosting over half the room. One side of the bleachers was frozen and icicles started to acquiesce on the same side of the ceiling. Her eyes opened and her arms moved towards one of the dummies. All the frost in the room moved towards it, encasing it in ice.
Kerrigan after all of this ungracefully fell onto her bottom. "To be honest, that's the furthest I can push myself at this point. It takes a lot of concentration and gives me brain freeze," She said standing with a wince.
Powers nodded and patted the girl on her back. "That was still an impressive display from the both of you. You are both in the advanced group," The older woman said with a smile. Boomer, who obviously disagreed practically snarled. "Don't be too happy about it. Any slip up can result in you being placed in the basic group," He said firmly and started barking orders. Powers shook her head and walked away.
"And people say I have a permanent stick up my ass," Warren stated, his face deadpanned. Kerrigan could not help but laugh. "Rather uncharacteristic of you. Don't worry, I won't let people know you have a sense of humor," She promised.
With that, Warren's face reverted back to its customary scowl.
A/N: So, better or no? Share your thoughts by reviewing! Please… :{