DISCLAIMER: Sky High is not mine. The idea of Layla packing 'seed bombs' comes from Gryphaena who is twice as cool as me.
"Look out!" Will flew directly into Layla, keeping her from being crushed by a chunk of asphalt that had been thrown in her direction. Warren wished that he could throw fire at the villainess, but she was using a Greyhound bus packed full of people as a shield. If he got fire near there the gasoline in the vehicle would create a dangerous display of pyrotechnics, killing or at least seriously injuring the innocents inside.
With Will's assistance, Layla got to her feet. She reached into her pocket and withdrew a tiny seedling redwood tree packed in a mix of fertilizer and potting soil. She caused what appeared to be a harmless chunk of dirt to grow into a very tall, very strong tree. Soon, with her influence, the branches reached out and twisted around, restraining the woman who had started this fight. The villainess struggled to be free, but her strength was no match for the redwood's branches. Layla smiled, feeling a little proud about what she'd done but also far from satisfied.
Both Warren and Will hurried over to the bus full of hostages. The villainess had twisted and warped the metal exterior of the bus so that even the Jaws of Life would have an extremely rough time freeing the innocents. Their muffled cries became louder and louder as they gradually became more and more panicked and concerned about their fate. Luckily for them, Will Stronghold had no trouble ripping off almost the entire left side of the bus.
The freed citizens fled their metal prison, some stopping to thank Will and Warren with tears of joy in their eyes and others just running as fast as they could away from the insane villainess who was still stuck in Layla's tree.
The three heroes, though, were so focused on other things that by the time they noticed an evil sidekick freeing the villainess it was too late. The branches that had restrained the woman were now crushed and broken into mere splinters thanks to some gadget the sidekick toted. Layla scowled, causing the undamaged branches to swoop down. She'd tripped the sidekick but the villainess withdrew a gun. Before she could yell for assistance, she was hit by a powerful blast of energy. Although she wasn't killed, Layla was sent flying fast into one of the marble columns in front of the Maxville Train Station. She was knocked unconscious.
Both Will and Warren, being typical protective friends, practically growled with anger. Since the bus and all of the gasoline pumping through it was no longer nearby, Warren was able to send one hell of a fireball directly at the villainess, scorching and immobilizing her.
Will picked up the remnants of what had been a Greyhound bus and twisted the metal around both the villainess and her sidekick, imprisoning them for sure.
Those who'd been watching safely from the sidelines now flooded the streets, clapping for the trio. Will soaked it all up, grinning and flashing his million dollar smile, while Warren hurried over to the front of the train station, picking up and cradling the unconscious Layla in his arms.
Layla's eyes opened slowly and as she woke up her hand immediately went to what would most likely develop into a giant welt of a bruise. She rubbed her side gently, frowning at the pain that came from touching her injury.
"Hey, you're awake." Warren leaned over, sipping coffee from a Styrofoam cup. "How you feeling?"
"Kinda like crap." She scrunched her nose, looking around the bed she was lying on. She was in Triage, she'd decided. There were sick and injured people all around, only separated from her by white curtains. The only thing missing? Will Stronghold.
"Where's Will…?" Layla sat up groggily.
"He was going to get us a pizza." Warren nodded.
"Pizza…?" She raised a brow.
"He wanted to celebrate our first victory with greasy, cheesy food." He smirked slightly. "I should probably get the doctor. He'll want to make sure you're not mentally stunted from that blow to your head." Layla returned his smirk, rolling her eyes a little. Warren stood from his seat, walking over to the nurse's station. Only a minute or so later, he returned with a doctor.
"Good morning! Sleep well?" The doctor laughed at his own joke, then stopping the moment he realized that he was laughing alone. He pulled a flashlight from his pocket, shining it into Layla's eyes to check the dilation of her pupils.
"You sure got banged up pretty good, but it appears that nothing's broken. I imagine you'll have lots of bruises, but you'll be alright." He smiled with a nod, disappearing to take care of other patients. Layla groggily got to her feet, leaning on Warren for support.
"I'm thinking pizza would be real nice right about now." She looked up at her human crutch with that signature smile of hers. Warren returned the smile and nodded.
"Yeah, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want any. I'd prefer oriental cuisine, actually, but pizza is almost as good." He shrugged.
"It's good celebration food. I mean, other than landing me in the ER, we really kicked butt today." Warren stifled a laugh at her statement. Laughing for him was a rarity.
"I thought we were taking a pizza home." Warren complained, looking all around him. This wasn't your average pizza parlor, but rather a haven for little children who liked to climb, swing, jump, fling lightweight plastic balls at each other and scream at the top of their lungs because they needed their mothers. They didn't call it the Pizza Playground for nothing. It was enough to make him swear that he would never have children.
"Ah, what's the matter? Don't like the ambiance?" Will grinned at his friend, taking an enormous bite of his cheese pizza. Both he and Warren had wanted pepperoni, but Miss Eco-Conscious America had objected to the consumption of meat.
"I can remember when we used to come here all the time!" Layla smiled brightly. "I liked the twisty slides best and, as I remember it, Will liked the ball pit." She nodded, looking at the ocean of smiling toddlers.
"Well, don't let me interrupt your trip down memory lane…" Warren stood up from their table. "I'm going to get another soda." He eagerly escaped the reminiscence, chewing on a bite of pizza as he walked over to the soda fountain with his near-empty paper cup.
"It seems like it was yesterday we were right here. Much shorter than we are now, but… It's just nice to remember." Layla smiled and nudged Will only to find him staring at a beautiful young girl. The girl returned his gaze, smiling suggestively and walking over to their table.
"Excuse me, but do I know you guys from…" She lowered her voice and leaned in close between Layla and Will. "Sky High?"
Will nodded, setting down his pizza and holding out his hand. "Sure do! Will Stronghold. And, uh, this is Layla." He nodded in her direction. Although it wasn't totally sincere, Layla smiled and waved a bit.
"Agnes Gordon." She nodded to Layla and shook Will's hand.
"Hey," Warren eyed the newcomer to their table, sipping his Coke.
"And this is Warren." Will added, pointing to the pyrokinetic who gave a silent wave.
"Wow, it's so cool to see you guys outside of school. But I guess I won't be seeing you there anymore. You just graduated, right?" The three of them nodded together.
"So, that was you in the news, today?" Agnes smiled flirtatiously at Will who returned the smile albeit in an awkward almost-goofy sort of way.
"Yep. That was me." He grinned wider, getting a little full of himself. "Us, I mean. Me, Warren, and Layla."
"Wow, that was amazing. They showed how you totally ripped off piece of that truck or bus or whatever." Layla had to hold back from rolling her eyes at Agnes' display of ass-kissery. Warren smirked slightly, mildly amused at how even Will Stronghold could be struck dumb by a pretty girl.
"You're so strong!" Agnes giggled, squeezing Will's bicep a bit. He laughed back, even though the girl was talking like she was some dumb blonde from a 1950's movie and Will was Elvis. That left Warren and Layla sitting very awkwardly and totally silent. Maybe it was for the best - If Warren had spoken it would have been a cutting remark and if Layla had spoken it would have shown just how jealous she was that Will was moving on.
True, they were no longer a couple, but Layla had expected Will to have to get over her. She wasn't cocky and she certainly didn't think she was the greatest girl around, but shouldn't it have hurt just a little bit to have to let go of her? She'd certainly hurt when she'd let go of Will. In fact, it was becoming clear to her as he flirted with Agnes that she wasn't entirely over him quite yet.
"Well, it's getting late. I'm going to head home." She smiled faintly, taking one last bite of pizza before standing up.
"It was nice meeting you, Laura." Agnes smiled brightly and waved.
"Layla," Warren corrected her in a surprisingly firm voice. Agnes feigned embarrassment and laughed to herself.
"Sorry. Layla, then. Nice meeting you." Layla nodded.
"Nice to meet you, too, Agnes." She turned with a slight huff and made her way out of the restaurant/playground. If ever there was a time for Will to chase after his ex-girlfriend it was then, but Will was blissfully blind to the situation and too busy with Agnes to really notice that tears had begun to well up in Layla's eyes before she'd left the pizza place. She didn't blame him. He was being praised by a gorgeous young woman after his first battle. She managed to convince herself that it wasn't because he didn't care, just that he was distracted.
For a few seconds, Layla was too focused on her self-depreciating inner monologue to even notice the people passing by who gave the sniffling girl looks of pity, but once she'd gotten herself together the world came into view. Crescent moon, clear sky, lots of sparkling stars and… Footsteps…? Slowly, Layla became aware that somebody was walking after her.
Wary and on edge, especially after getting beaten up earlier that day, Layla whipped herself around to face whoever was stalking her. She reached into her pocket and was ready to wrap whoever it was in a gigantic golden pothos vine but blushed, putting the seedling back into her pocket when she saw that it was, in fact…
"Warren?" She smiled a bit in disbelief. "I almost… I, uh… Did you need something?"
"I was just worried about you." Warren shrugged, speaking the truth. "You okay…?" He looked at her, concern showing in his eyes.
"Oh, I'm doing alright. A little soreness in the back, but alright…" She smiled, failing to assure Warren that nothing other than her physical injuries was hurting her.
"I saw you back there. You were tearing up." Warren stepped closer to her. "And you hardly touched your pizza."
"I'm not much of a pizza person." Layla sighed, avoiding eye contact with Warren.
"How about Chinese, then? My treat." She looked him in the eyes with a tiny smile on her face.
"Sure thing."