Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High, nor any of the associated characters.
Summary: If everyone is constantly saying that it is only a matter of time before you turn Evil, how long until you believe them? If you are constantly put down by Bullies, how hard will you eventually strike back?
A/N: I am doing a re-write, fleshing out the characters and going into more detail. Don't worry, the story isn't abandoned.
Prologue
Warren Peace had been four when his father was exposed as a Super Villain.
Barron Battle had fooled everyone, up to and including his wife, Warren's mother, but no one was willing to give Firestar, noted as one of the finest Heroes in her generation, the benefit of the doubt.
Citizens gossiped about it, wondering if Firestar had known and kept it a secret for love of her husband - a drama worthy of any celebrities - or if Baron Battle had decieved even his own wife. Fellow Heroes were not even willing to conceed that possibility, but instantly withdrew their support from the grieving Irene Peace, and whispered about how long it would be before Battle's son followed in his father's footsteps.
None of them saw Warren as a four-year-old boy who had just lost his loving father, only as the spawn of a Villain who had managed to stay hidden for years, doomed to become a copy of his father. No one knew, or was willing to admit, who spilt the details to the public media, but it wasn't long until everyone, including Warren's teachers, found out.
When Irene discovered that Warren's teacher were considering 'preventive measures' (such as segregation from his peers and limiting his education) to stop Warren from possibly trying to take over the kindergarten, she barely managed to point out that anyone stupid enough to believe that was obviously not suited for teaching anyway, and withdrew him. Luckily, the Chinese family who owned the resteraunt two doors down were also having problems with discrimination and prejudice, and were happy to split the cost of home-schooling, making it affordable for Warren and their own two children.
By the time things calmed down (read: the Commander finally stopped bragging about his role in the whole mess to anyone who would listen) three years later, Irene had exactly two friends left in the entire Super-Hero community.
One was the Pied Piper, a sidekick turned Villainess turned lawyer. Her power of being able to communicate with and command horses and rodents, while near-invaluable for spying, had seen her as the object of ridicule, and she finally quit.
Leaving her Hero dangling over a vat of acid was apparently enough to see her classed as a Villainess, but she had no taste for the widespread destruction characteristic of that class, and currently earned her living as a defense lawyer for Villains, and prosecution when someone made a complaint about how their property/physical wellbeing had been damaged in a Super Hero battle.
In short, earning an income while cheerfully enjoying her own brand of petty revenge by making life difficult for the Heroes who had once mistreated her.
The Pied Piper was the one who managed to reduce Baron Battle's sentence from 'Death Row' to four life sentences, with parole after seventy-five years (his third 'life') and visitation rights to his son until then.
The other friend was The Cryptographer, a mostly-minor Hero who worked mainly in espionage, the Pied Piper's husband, and father of their twin children.
They were the ones who, upon Firestar's death when Warren was fifteen (The villain responsible, Extinguisher, didn't survive his encounter with Baron Battle in prison, and the Pied Piper had somehow managed to get his sentence reduced by a further ten years for the action) offered to Foster him, and, failing that, get him emancipated and help him onto his feet.
For a few weeks, Warren was the object of sympathy, until he started Sky High and got on the wrong side of the school's top bitches. Penny Johnson, Cloner and one-person Cheerleading Squad, did not appreciate being told that no, Warren had no intention of being another notch for her, and went running to her best friend Gwen Grayson, Technopath and Teacher's Pet, and both went running to the School Administration, decrying him as a foul-mouthed bully.
Not a week into High School, and, despite being sorted into the Hero class (Sonic Boom was an old friend of Baron Battle, and one of the few who counted old friends as more important than current popularity) Warren was already back to being the School Outcast, Bad-boy, and Villain-in-the-making.
Things did not improve much over the year, and would only get worse when Will Stronghold started the year after that, the entire school having them pegged as Arch-Enemies before they had so much as spoken to each other. Alright, so Warren didn't have high hopes either, if Will turned out to be even a little like his father, but still!
Not that they would have had reason or inclination to speak to each other in the first place, but it was the principle of the thing.
The Pied Piper and the Cryptographer's twin girls, Roisin and Alara, would be starting the same year as Stronghold, which was a mixed blessing. It was nice to have someone willing to spend time with you, but they wouldn't have anything except lunch together, and three 'half-Villain' children hanging around together would do none of them any favours.
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A/N: OK, I'm fairly new to writing Sky High fanfiction, so constructive criticism is very welcome. It is also my first attempt at a 'Dark' fic.
Basically, this is exploring the ramifications of people acting as if Warren was already a Villain, or what often happens to people who suffer excessive bullying during their school years. Look up 'Self-fulfilling prophecies'.
For all non-law people, when applying for parole with a Life Sentence, parole can be granted after twenty five years. Since Baron Battle is eligible for parole after his 'third Life', that means seventy-five years.
Thanks, Nat.