Just the Girl
Chapter I: Just Got Here
By: Shadowed Replica
Disclaimer: I don't own Sky High or any of it's original characters. So me no own, you no sue! (Piper is mine though!)
Full Summary: Warren has been having some trouble with his powers lately, they're out of control and now even he can feel their burn. She was being followed by the adversary of her heritage since birth; never a moment of peace. They'd both been attracted to dangerous, forbidden things. Perhaps that is why they were drawn to each other. He was her salvation and only light within the darkness; even if she refused to accept it. She was his only chance to find love and hope for some normality; thought he'd never admit it.
Regular Narration
"Speech."
'Thought.'
Dream/Song (You'll know the difference)
Flashback
Change in time, etc.
(Interruption)
To start off at the beginning would take a very, very long time. So maybe the best place to start off would be now. Many people in this world have unique talents that they are born with or aquire by some freak accident or occurence in nature that no average person does. These people, whether they are male or female doesn't matter, are what one might call special, or freak, or perhaps mutant; the preferred term is Super. But we are here to talk about one story of supers in particular. It may be hard to understand, but as the reader you aren't required to know the full story at the beginning. You'll know at the end so please be patient as I reinerate this story of love, betrayl, and adventure to you, the reader.
"Get her!" A man draped in black attire yelled as he bolted after a flash of platinum blonde hair. The weapon he carried only weighed him down but he needed it to take her down should he catch up with her..
A young woman clad in a black turtleneck shirt and black form-fitting pants with bright platinum blonde hair raced away from the men as fast as she could. Something struck the ground beside her forcing her to jump out of the way. She reappeared a few feet ahead of the men chasing her. She knew they were getting tired as she was herself. Her own breath came in harsh pants as she struggled to keep her distance. Something sliced through her side and sparks of electricity attacked her briefly. She ripped the claw out and threw it aside ignoring the searing pain that ripped through her side as well as the blood that spattered the ground.
"She's getting away!" Another voice cried. "Shoot her, shoot her!" A chorus of voices echoed behind her as she darted over a cement wall toward the ocean. She was so close now! She had to be careful on the rocky shoreline so she wouldn't step wrong and twist an ankle and let themc capture her; again. Just as she was nearing the edge something struck her hard in the back and she fell face first over the rocky edge and plunged towards a horrible death. She didn't scream as she fell; instead she opened her arms wide and allowed her body to descend into the darkness and vanished from sight.
Several men stopped atop the rocky chasm and panted heavily. One man alone stood straight and pulled out a cell phone. His fingers floated over the keys and typed in the number one speed dial. It rang once before a cold, cruel, and deadly voice answered the line calmly, "Report."
"She got away sir." The man replied. "I don't think that a few thousand volts harms her like the others though. Perhaps we should up the voltage." He murmured into the phone.
"Incompetents," The voice growled scathingly before the line went dead.
A young woman with platinum blonde hair stretched lightly in her bed and kicked the covers off of her as she did so. A small yawn showed pearly white teeth surrounded by plump pink lips. Two green eyes opened wearily as she gazed at the rising sun and stretched again. Her tanned skin contrasted sharply with her hair and eyes. She groaned and stood up before quickly dressing and pulling a brush through her straight, long, mid-back length hair.
Half an hour later she was ready to go and left the house in a hurry so she wouldn't have to talk to anyone or answer any questions about her first day at the new school. She looked at the little piece of paper she held clasped in her hand and followed the directions easily. She found her way to the street and leaned against a telephone pole that stood at the corner. She heard the tell-tale sounds of a bus approaching and leaned down to grab her bag which wasn't there. She looked around frantically before slapping a hand over her face. She thought about home and then turned around to see her bag lying in the middle of the hallway in her house. She rolled her eyes as her hand snatched the bag from the floor and she turned around to see the back end of the bus as it drove away. "Wait!" She shouted suddenly as she took off after the bus. The bus kept driving and she saw the inside of the bus before she was inside of the bus. She staggered slightly and ignored the gasps of surprise around her as she chose a seat that was already half occupied-seeing as all others were occupied as well.
Her gaze drifted lazily over her seat companion. She could tell he was tall from the way his legs bunched at the edge of the seat. He wore a black leather jacket even though it was hot out and dark jeans that had holes in them. His long dark brown hair hung loosely about his shoulders with a single red highlight streaked down the left side. He was quite tanned and she could feel heat radiating from his body even from the distance between them. Suddenly his head turned towards her and he raised a well sculpted eyebrow at her. Her insides felt like they would melt into a puddle of goo at the smirk that crossed his handsome face; until he opened his mouth anyway. "See something you like?"
Her lip curled up at him and she rolled her eyes, "I don't know, I'm still trying to discern what I'm looking at." She sneered before sitting back and crossing her arms over her chest and closing her eyes. She could feel his eyes on her and resisted the urge to smirk and give him a scathing remark. She felt his eyes roam over her body startin gat her white and blue Nike shocks up her light blue jean-clad legs, past her hips, and over the bit of skin that showed her belly from where her gray soccer shirt had ridden up. She felt his eyes continue up over her small waist and over her small chest and finally rest on her face. She felt heat rushing to her face but didn't move for fear of losing what little dignity she had after he caught her oogling him. A small chuckle shredded that little bit she had left and she snapped her eyes open to glare at him. But, alas, his gorgeous chocolate brown eyes were back to staring at the pages of his book he'd been reading.
She closed her eyes once more and sat stock still as she let her mind empty itself completely and she called forth a great calm to overcome her nerves and irritation. She had been so engrossed in her meditation that when the bus landed with an almighty shake she very nearly jumped out of her seat in alarm. She looked around and then turned back to the guy from earlier when she heard him chuckle. She flipped him the bird and appeared on the outside of the bus. With a smirk to the guy she appeared on the top of the steps and smashed right into a door that opened at the last second. She fell backwards and landed on the cement in a heap. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" A feminine voice cried. "Are you all right? I didn't see you there!" The voice said.
Platinum blonde obscurred her vision slightly as she looked up at the medium-height, auburn haired, brown-eyed girl wearing far too much green for her taste. She saw the hand outstretched to help her up and vanished from the ground. She appeared inside and brushed herself off before pulling out her phone and sliding it open; she recieved a text message. No funny business today. Be normal for once. "Che, normal my ass." She hissed as she replied with a 'whatever' when the phone was suddenly snatched out of her hands. Her head snapped up and her angry glare fell on an older woman with dark brown hair and kind yet stern eyes. She held the phone in her hand, "The no cell phone rule applies in this high school as well Miss Wells." The older woman said softly before pressing the phone back into her hand. "Come with me."
She is lead into an office of sorts and sits down in a chair mentally preparing herself for the speech that comes with every new school, every time she is forced to run for her life. At age 17, she has moved more than thirty times in the past ten years. She is used to being alone, running away, fighting for her life, doing anything to get by, using her mind and body to ignore the pain and helplessness that threatens to overwhelm her at times. She watched the woman suspiciously as she sat perfectly still while giving a contemptuous glare to her. "As you may know now, I am Principle Powers. I have been well informed of your situation Miss Wells and I-"
"Piper."
"I beg your pardon?"
"My name is Piper not Miss Wells." Piper growled lowly.
Powers nodded at her and continued to speak. "Now, Piper, you have been given an apartment to live in and there is a job opening at the Paper Lanturn that has been aquired for you. Rent will be payed for as well as school tuition. The money you earn at the Paper Lanturn will be for any needs such as food, clothing, and essentials. You know the procedure and the dangers. Just please be careful and know that if you have any problem at any time, I am here to help." Powers handed Piper a few papers. The first included all her classes and transcripts as well as a paper with a few numbers on it. "My number along with Josie and Steve Stronghold's numbers are there for your disposal. If you ever get into any trouble please call us right away and we'll be there to help. The staff has been informed of your situation and will try to help you keep a low profile. I encourage you to make friends here Piper, it would be for the best." Powers seemed to be finished for the moment before adding, "Oh, the senior class president is waiting outside of the office to show you around. You've been placed with the senior class and will not need to show off your powers to everyone. Please, have fun and enjoy your classes."
Piper scoffed at Powers and chuckled, "What no threats?"
"Threats...?"
"You know, 'listen here freak, if you cause so much as an ounce of trouble you'll be sorry,' or 'I know what you are mutant, you're not normal and you don't need to be infecting anyone here. Just keep your unnaturalness to yourself got it?' You know, stuff like that?" She said idly.
A grim smile lit Powers' face and she folded her hands together, "I see that the normal world has taken its toll on you. But rest assured Miss Wells, Piper, that we are all freaks here and are quite content to be 'freaks' with our friends. So I'm sure that you'll fit in quite easily." She said softly before gesturing to the door, "Now, I have a lot of work to do and you don't want to be late. Ms. Williams will take you to your classes." She ushered Piper out the door and closed it.
With a quick roll of her eyes, Piper scanned the surrounding area and almost shrieked when someone tapped her on her shoulder. "Hi there, I don't believe we got to introduce ourselves, I'm Layla Williams." The green girl from earlier held out her hand which Piper took awkwardly. "Now," Layla grabbed the schedule and smiled, "Oh! Let's get going. Mad Science with Mr. Medula it is!" She said happily before tugging Piper along by the arm.
By the time they reached the class Piper had the feeling this girl was going to be a pest the entire time she was here. She was tugged into the middle of a class and sighed as everything went silent. Mr. Medulla had a large head that contained a brain, obviously, meaning he was probably a smartass. "Ah, how nice of you to join us Ms. Wells. You may sit in the back since that is the only seat left. Please do try to pay attention as I won't repeat anything that is said." Oh yeah, definately a smart ass; they were going to get along great this year!
"Bye, see you after class!" Layla whispered as she waved goodbye. Piper swiftly made her way to the back and all but threw her stuff on the table and sat down. Some kids had already turned their attention back to Medula and were hastily scratching their pens on paper, taking notes no doubt. She sighed and put her head down on the table and let her eyes close sleepily. She was out instantly and slept through the whole of class and only woke to the sound of the bell and shuffling chairs. She stood up and copied the work assignment before looking at her lab partner; Warren Peace. She shrugged and hoped that his name wasn't decieving; she couldn't handle anyone not peacable. She managed to dodge Layla all day until it came to lunch and the girl mysteriously appeared behind her and hooked arms with her. "There you are Piper! I looked all over for you after each class!"
"Heh heh, yeah, about that I-" Piper started to say.
"Oh don't worry, I'm used to it by now. But you've got to eat lunch with us okay?" She asked as she tugged Piper along with her into the lunch line. Piper sighed futilely and grabbed a hero sandwhich and some chocolate milk. She was then tugged to the line to pay for her food when she realized she didn't have any money yet. She turned to put her food back when Layla handed over a couple bills. When Piper opened her mouth to protest, "Don't worry, as your new friend I'd love to help you out. Besides, you can always pay me back some other time." She said with a wink before pulling Piper to a table filled with people; perfect!
"Hey guys," Layla said cheerily as she sat down and tugged Piper down beside her. "This is Piper Wells. Piper, this is Zack," Starting at the far end of the table, a boy with unusually blonde hair smiled and wrapped his arm around a girl with purple streaked hair and had the whole punk-rock kid thing going on, "And this is Magenta." She then pointed to a nerdy-looking black kid with glasses, "This is Ethan." She then pointed to the sandy haired guy sitting next to her with his arm draped casually over her shoulder, "This is my boyfriend Will." She gave him a happy smile and kissed him quickly on the lips before turning to Piper once more. Piper was now sitting cross-legged in the seat and had one hand propped underneath her chin as she looked to all the people. "And last, but not least," Piper's gaze rested on the guy from the bus ride earlier and she fought to keep her mouth from dropping open, "This is Warren." This was the guy sitting there reading his book and ignoring her completely.
Her eye twitched slightly as she glared at him. The others had already turned back to what they were doing and she finally decided he'd been glared at enough and picked up her sandwhich and bit into it. She felt someone staring at her and her gaze snapped up to see chocolate brown eyes staring at her intensely. Piper's eye twitched once again and she slowly chewed her bite before swallowing and addressing him, "Do you have a problem or are you just dumb?"
His eyes widened and then narrowed at her and he growled at her darkly. She raised a delicate eyebrow at him and smirked before taking another bite of her sandwhich. "Do you have a death wish?" The small, nerdy boy, Ethan, whispered in fear which caused Piper to roll her eyes and Warren to smirk evilly.
Piper snorted and took another bite of her sandwhich, "I don't fear death," She chewed and swallowed before letting her eyes stare at her food, "I certainly don't fear some pathetic, bad-ass wannabe." Her eyes snapped up to stare into Warren's glare.
Heat blossomed around the two and one could cut the tension with a knife. "I think you both just need to cool down a little." Will said suddenly as he leaned over Layla and looked between the two of them.
Another twitch occured in Piper's eye as she stood and walked over to the garbage can to dump the last half of her sandwhich. She stopped just as she was throwing her chocolate milk away as Warren's silkly voice slid over her ears, "That's right, walk away and you won't get hurt." She plastered a forced smile on her face and turned on her heel as she opened the carton of milk and walked beside Warren; all eyes were on her and the cafeteria was deathly quiet.
"I think Will was right," She said as she put a hand to her hip and held the carton up. The questioningly look on Warren and Will's faces made her smile evilly, "You need to cool off, so why don't I help you?" She said sweetly before dumping the milk over Warren's head and turning on her heel once more. She tossed the carton over her head making it right into the garbage can as she walked past. A satisfied, triumphant smirk settled over her features until a searing pain shot through her shoulder and she was sent sprawling on the ground with a yelp of pain as she crashed into another person.
"What do you think you're doing Warren?" Will shouted as he vaulted over the table and forced Warren back. "Are you crazy? You could have fried her!"
Layla was at Piper's side in an instant but she pushed her away and stood angrily ignoring the stabbing pain shooting through her body. She appeared beside Warren and kicked him back; just barely missing Will's face as she pushed him out of the way. She appeared beside Warren again but he tugged her foot out from underneath her before she could do anything and she fell into a table, hitting her head off the seat. Stars swam before her eyes as her head then connected with the floor and she groaned in pain. She saw his foot coming down at her and rolled out of the way. She didn't stop rolling because she didn't want to be fried by the continuous onslaught of fireballs raining down in the exact spot she had been a moment ago.
"Warren, Piper, stop!" Layla yelled as she watched Piper hit a pole, stopping her roll. Another fireball struck her in the arm before she vanished and Warren went flying. Piper stood behind him with her foot raised before she charged after him and appeared behind him as he staggered and kicked his legs out from under him so that he fell to the floor with a thump. With a simple flick of her wrists his side suddenly exploded and blood poured over the ground and soaked Piper's light blue jeans and white shoes with crimson.
She gave him a cruel smirk, "Blood for blood, your debt is paid." She sneered before turning and walking straight into Principle Powers. With a sigh Piper crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.
"I see you're already making friends Ms. Wells." Her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Mr. Peace, last year it was Mr. Stronghold, will it take a whole year before you make nice with her?" She questioned before sighing and gesturing for both of them to follow her. When Warren stood up he brought his fist back and Piper prepared another attack when Powers' voice interrupted them, "Don't even think about it you two." Piper turned her nose up at him and followed after Powers with her head held high trying to keep what little dignity she had left. She felt a twinge of pain in her heart as she passed by Layla and saw how distraught she was. Then, the pain came shooting back with a vengeance but she ignored it even as the blood began to soak her shirt in the back and she clutched her arm to stop the crimson blood from spilling all over the floor. Warren had his hands clamped to his side and he was wincing in pain as he applied pressure to the wound.
The first stop was the nurse's office to bandage both combatants up and then they were off to the principle's office. They sat next to each other and glared daggers into the other's eyes. Only when Principle Powers slammed her fists onto her desk did the two look to her angry face. "You are seniors and look at you two!" They didn't dare look away from her, "You're acting like toddlers fighting over a toy. It's sad really and I won't have you bloodying up the school because you two can't get along. So I'm suspending you both for one week starting right now!"
Piper's mouth dropped open, "But I just got here, you-"
"Be quiet Ms. Wells, go home and get some rest and think about what you're going to do from now on to control that temper of yours. Mr. Peace, you're mother is under enough strain as it is, please, please, try to cool yourself down next time you get angry instead of spouting fireballs everywhere and endangering other students." She took a deep breath and rounded once more on Piper, "Don't you dare attack another student like that ever again! I don't care if he started it or you did. Save it for Save the Citizen!" She growled before dismissing them out of the office and to the bus that would take them home.
