Author's note: This is my first Sky High story. It does have an OC. I would like reviews, even if it is just to say you liked it. However, longer reviews may make for a better story.

Blanket Disclaimer: This disclaimer applies to the entire story. I do not own Sky High or its affiliates, and am not making any money off this story. Anything you recognize is not mine, and I do not claim anything of the sort. Don't sue me.

Second Author's note: The power families included in the story do not belong to me. They are the property of Jeune Chat, and her wonderful story, War and Peace in Mind. I highly recommend you go read it.

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BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP!

My hand shot out from underneath the covers and I smacked the floor a few times before I found the snooze button.

I made my way down the hall into kitchen area and threw a Hot Pocket in the microwave. I took out the bread and meat, intent on making a sandwich to go along with it, when my dad called out to me from the bathroom.

"Hey boy, don't ya go forgetting today's your first day at that fancy new school!"

I chuckled to myself, my dad's Irish accent was always more pronounced when he was shouting or emotional, otherwise, you had to listen to find it. "I didn't forget, how could I? Not like I want to go anyway," I added under my breath.

It was true. I didn't want to go to Sky High. I was perfectly happy where I had been, but after the extensive amount of fights I had gotten in last year, my old school made it clear they didn't want me coming back. So Sky High it was.

The fights weren't really my fault, per se. And I never started any of them. Well, not unprovoked anyway. I was just easily offended, not bad tempered, but easily offended, loved to fight, and was good at it. And being how I hated seeing other people picked or beat on, I ended up in a lot of fights I didn't have to be in. Of course it didn't help that I wasn't the most sociable person in the world. Even the people I helped out I didn't talk with. They were either afraid I was going to beat them up too, or offended I fought their battle for them. I didn't understand it, but played it up. I didn't like people for the most part, and anything that kept them away from me I was fine with.

I was best around small groups of people, when I did have to interact. Especially those who weren't easily upset. Unfortunately, those types of people weren't in great supply in high school, so I was best as a loner. I wasn't particularly closed off about my personal life; I just like to be left alone. It worked so far; maybe I could keep it up at the new school.

"Get a move on, don't want to be late on your first day," my dad said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Don't be so sure of that," I muttered.

"I heard that. And let me rephrase that. You don't get to be late on the first day of school, and that's final."

People always said that my dad and I looked alike; I could see where they were coming from. We both had short black hair that stayed flat on our heads, no matter what anyone tried to do otherwise. We were about average height, with a broad build. We weren't fat, but we weren't muscular either. We were a strange mix of the two that looked weird on some people, but worked for us. Neither of us was particularly attractive, with hard lines, adding unwanted age to our faces. Even me, at sixteen, looked older than that. Of course, scars from the fights I had been in didn't help me any.

"Why do I have to get out to the bus so early again?"

"The bus only comes out here for you and another boy, the rest of the kids are on the other side of town apparently," my dad explained. "Now get your food and go, eat on the way."

I set out of the apartment, stuffing half the Hot Pocket in my mouth, knowing my dad was going to be off himself in the next few minutes, off to a day as a police detective.

I finished my breakfast long before the bus pulled up, annoying me to no end.

"How regular is the bus here?" I asked the slightly green glowing bus driver.

"Ron Wilson, bus driver will always be here right on time. And this is the time I'm supposed to be here."

Great, I groaned mentally. I trudged to the back of the bus, and took a seat, pulling out my book. Maybe if I were reading, people would leave me alone.

A few minutes later, the bus lurched to a stop. A boy wearing a leather jacket and red streaks in his hair got on the bus and took the seat across the aisle from me. "Hey," was all he said to me and a nod was all he got in return. Pulling out a book of his own, I figured I was in the clear for having to worry about conversation, at least until we hit the better part of town.

I periodically glanced out the window, just to keep a bearing on my surroundings. The houses started getting nicer and manicured lawns started to appear, and I grew uncomfortable. Call me strange, but I was much more at home on a dirty street with broken bottles than in a brightly lit suburb. It was just the way I grew up.

Teens began filling the bus more regularly now, and my nervousness grew. As I mentioned before, I don't do well in crowds, but I also have a touch of claustrophobia. Not so much that I'm incapacitated, but enough so that I'm more irritable and jumpy.

As the bus continued its route, a short black boy wearing a yellow shirt and orange jacket followed by a slightly Asian girl sat down in front of the boy across from me. I was surprised when they started talking with him, and even more surprised when he talked back. The other two seemed a great deal friendlier than the boy across from me, but he certainly didn't shun their conversation. I noticed the boy with glasses look over at me, and I turned my attention back to my book for the rest of the ride.

Well, until we went off the end of a bridge. Then I just tried to stay as stone-faced as possible.

I hate flying.

--

"Okay, what you need to do first is go down to see Coach Boomer for power placement. That will help determine your schedule for the year." The secretary looked at her watch. "If you hurry, you should be able to make it in time for regular placement with the other new students. The gym's marked on your map."

I nodded and made my way to the gym, snaking through the students cluttering the hallway; preferring that method to muscling my way through. I drew less attention that way.

I wanted to sneak into the gym unnoticed, and I knew that wasn't possible as I heard the heavy door slam behind me, echoing throughout the gymnasium. Everyone's eyes on me made me both nervous and annoyed.

"So we have a straggler, do we?" A man I could only assume was Coach Boomer, due to the fact that his voice filled the room and he dressed with a fashion sense that only a gym teacher had, stood atop a raised platform. "You're the last one. What's your name?"

"Keith Danes."

"Well Keith Danes, get up here and show me your power!"

I walked up the steps with my head level, even though this was one of the last things I wanted to do right now. Being able to hide fear and nervousness was one trait that I was immensely proud of, especially in these moments.

"Well, power up. We haven't got all day!"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Why not?"

"Car!" Boomer called and I heard something unlatch from above me.

flicker

An old graffiti covered beater slammed down on top of the spot where I had just been standing. "What the hell are ya doing, ya flaming loudmouth?" I yelled from spot by the bleachers, Irish accent bleeding into my speech.

"That's your power? Running away from trouble?" Boomer laughed, no one joining him.

flicker

I was suddenly on the opposite side of Boomer, speaking into his ear from behind his back. "I don't take kindly to people insulting me or my powers, and if you wanted to know, all you had to was ask. I'd be happy to tell you."

I saw Boomer visibly stiffen when he heard my voice behind him, Irish menace tinting my speech, although I was consciously doing it now, and heard a few people gasp. My spirits were lifted at that, knowing that I had already scared a few people away from talking to me.

"I'm a teleporter, three mile range with a flicker of light appearing at both exit and entry points. No known weight limit, although I haven't tested it too far. I know I can take at least two full-grown men with me, beyond that, I don't know. A part of the teleportation gives me a spatial sense, allowing me to 'feel' everything in a twenty-foot radius so I don't end up teleporting into a wall or something. And," I said, the menace leaving as I snaked the last thing that set me apart from normal people from my pants, "I have a prehensile tail."

Indeed, I had a tail. It's about six feet long, flesh colored and forking out into three four inch fingers or prongs, however you want to describe them. It was one of the major things that differed dad and I, other than me being thirty years younger and two inches shorter. Normally I kept it wrapped around my waist to avoid strange looks or frightening people, although I was much more balanced with it out.

"Oh, and one last thing," I said as I started to turn away. "It's not running away. I much prefer 'instantaneous transportation.' Now I believe you're supposed to tell me which group I'm in? Or was this power placement just for show?"

To his credit, the coach's voice didn't waver. "With your power, you'll be in the Permanent Transformation section."

"Thank you."

flicker

As soon as I reappeared in the hallway outside the gym, I lost my composure, sucked air, and my hands started shaking.

They didn't stop until I reached the office.

After getting lost twice.

--

I set my tray down at an empty lunch table, pulled out my book and started in on the first of my three sandwiches. A girl with long red hair and bright green clothes sat down across from me, a salad on her tray. "Hey there, I'm Layla Williams," she said as an introduction, much too cheerfully for my tastes and holding her hand out for me to shake.

I looked at her hand for a moment before staring her in the eye again. She looked very familiar, but I couldn't place her face. "Why are you sitting here with me?" I shook her hand anyway; my dad having taught me it was incredibly impolite to not shake a person's hand.

"You were alone and this is my usual table," she explained just as cheerfully.

"How is this your usual table? It's the first freakin day," I asked, and already I knew that her upbeat attitude was going to grate on my nerves.

Another girl joined the table, I recognized her as the girl from the bus that morning. "He sitting with us today?"

"Wait a second, don't I get a say in this?" I protested, but Layla just nodded. The girl with purple streaks in her hair put her lunch down and sat next to Layla.

"Magenta," she introduced herself, "you?"

"Why should I introduce myself, I want to be left alone."

I'm not usually this crass, but I wasn't having a particularly good day. I had to wait for the bus much longer than necessary, forcing me to give up half my normal breakfast, I had to deal with an idiot gym teacher, I kept getting lost, and people wouldn't leave me the hell alone!

This wasn't my worst day by far, but I still wanted it to be over.

A tray clattered down beside me; bring me out of my thoughts again. It was the guy who got on the bus right after me. I forcibly stuck my nose in my book, blocking out everything but The Hound of the Baskervilles. Try as I might, I still managed to get their names stuck in my head.

The boy in the orange jacket and glasses, Ethan apparently, tapped me on the shoulder. "Um, are you the guy who snapped at Boomer earlier today? Cause I heard one of the freshmen say something about you being that guy and I—"

I snapped my book shut, effectively cutting him off and causing everyone else at the table to look at me. "Obviously, you all seem to want to talk to me. Why, I'm not sure. But apparently I won't be able to get rid of you, at least not without threatening you with physical injury, and since I promised not to get into a fight, at least not on the first day, that won't work. So I suppose I have no choice but to answer your questions. And don't suggest that I just move somewhere, because I was at this table before you, I shouldn't have to move. Now ask your questions, or leave me the hell alone."

The table just stared at me for a minute, all except Warren, who just went back to reading his book.

Layla was the first to speak. "What's your name?"

I laughed at that. "I guess I haven't introduced myself. Keith Danes. My turn. Where do I recognize you all from?"

They all looked at each other before Zack answered. "Well we did save the school at the last homecoming dance. Put Royal Pain behind bars. Did that thing."

"Hmm. I guess that's it. Your turn."

Ethan spoke this time. "Are you the one you yelled at Boomer?"

"Well, he insulted me, and it really wasn't that bad. Although I'm surprised nobody's called me down to talk with the principal. What are you reading?" I asked, directing my question to Warren.

"The Once and Future King. What's your power?" When the others looked at him, obviously not expecting him to ask any questions. "What? Someone was bound to ask, might as well be me."

I gave them the same rundown of my powers I gave Boomer, expect without the menace. I used my tail to tap Ethan on the shoulder, but quickly wrapped it around in my waist once more. "How in this entire school do I seem to be the only person with a physical mutation? I've been looking around, and I'm the only person who couldn't pass as normal, other than that science teacher with the big head."

Ethan took this question. "There are actually a fairly small number of heroes with physical mutations. The numbers run higher in villains, but I'm not sure of the actual statistics. Although, you would think there would be more in a school like this. And there is the kid with the six arms."

"He doesn't always have them," Magenta said. "He only has them out when he needs them. Other than that he sucks them back in his body. Looks freaky when he does it."

"Great. Next question."

They glanced among each other before letting Ethan take this one too. "Who are your parents? I can't think of anyone that matches your powers, at least no combination that's feasible."

"You probably won't. I'm a first generation. Dad's a cop, and Mom used to be a teacher. I heard the Commander and Jetstream's kid goes here. Any idea who they are?" I asked.

Will raised his hand. "That's me, actually. How'd you know their kid goes here, but you didn't know it was me?"

"I've heard some things, but it is my first day, so give me a break. Why's that blonde chick over there keep sending looks at you like she wants to rip your throat out?" The table followed my eyes, and collectively winced.

"Cold hearted bitch," I heard Warren mutter.

Layla leaned close and spoke so she hoped Warren wouldn't hear. "They used to date. He's still bitter."

"Why do you want to be left alone?" Magenta asked.

I had to think of the best way to phrase my answer so I wouldn't offend them too bad. "I'm not a social creature by nature. I tend to run more on the offensive most of the time, even though I don't always mean it, but I'm a nice enough guy once you spend enough time to get used to me. I speak my mind, especially when I shouldn't. Like Warren, I think you need to get over it yourself, and then go over to the girl over there, tell her to get over it and leave you alone. That probably wasn't the best thing to say right now, but I wanted to say, so I did. I was also picked on as a kid, least until dad put me in karate. Still got in fights, but I didn't lose near as many of them. People normally avoid me, and I don't have the best social skills. Good enough answer for ya?"

"Yeah." The raised eyebrows and the quick look away told me that was definitely more than she expected.

They all looked at me for a second before I realized what they were waiting for. "It's not my question, it's yours." The crinkled brow look told me they didn't know what I was talking about. "I asked if it was a good enough answer for you. It was a question. Your turn."

Zach asked this time. "Yo man, you said your mom used to be a teacher. What's up with the used to be?"

"She's dead. Hard to be a teacher if you aren't alive anymore."

Layla gasped. "Oh I'm so sorry. How'd it happen?"

"Convenience store robbery when I was seven. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. And I get two questions now. Which teacher do you all hate the most?"

They looked at each other for a second before saying together, "Boomer."

"For some reason, I'm not surprised. Will, just how pressured do you feel to live up to your parents reputation?"

I never got my answer, because the bell rang, signaling the next class. "Guess that gives you some time to think on it. See you all later."

--

I only got lost a few times that afternoon, and missed aggravating anybody else. And after I started to look around to see who was in my classes, I figured out Will was in most of them.

But halfway through my last class, the thing I was anticipating all day finally happened. And so I that was how I came to be where I was currently.

"You see Mr. Danes, we have rules here for a reason. We have students here who have extraordinary gifts, and they need a certain amount of control in order to learn best."

I was sitting in Principal Powers' office, listening to her explain to me what I had done wrong that morning.

"The teachers at this school need to be treated with respect, in order to keep control."

I held up my hand to cut Powers off. Not the best idea in the world, but I did it. "Can I ask you a question before you get too involved in your little speech? I'm sure it's very good, but I need to know something."

The look on the principal's face told me she wasn't used to being interrupted. But she nodded for me to ask my question anyway. "Why wasn't I called down here earlier today instead of now? I would have thought you would have been all over me, what with your need for your teachers to be respected."

Powers had a strange look on her face for a second before she forced it away. "Well you're certainly more perceptive than most of the other students here," she muttered under her breath, and I knew I wasn't supposed to hear that.

"Comes from being raised by a homicide detective," I reasoned with a shrug. I knew I wasn't supposed to hear her comment, but I just couldn't resist. I really needed to stop. "But now that you know I don't fool as easily as most of the student body, give it to me straight. Why did you leave me alone for most of the day?"

Powers sighed, and I realized this wasn't something she was used to. I figured whenever a student usually talked back to her, it wasn't to get more information out of her; they just wanted to insult her.

"One of the main reasons you weren't called down immediately was because while you were not particularly tactful, you didn't attack anyone, cause any damage, or do anything that could get you sent down here. The only thing that would merit disciplinary action was calling Coach Boomer a quote 'flaming loudmouth.' Which, for future reference, is a bad idea. He is rather sensitive when it comes to his power."

"I figured that after I got done talking to him. He also doesn't like people standing behind him either."

"Yes, well, that's another thing. The Silencer once attacked him from behind and put him on the inactive list for two weeks. He's been wary of being in that situation ever since."

I nodded. "Makes sense. And I remember reading about that actually. His power comes from his mouth, so he can't really do anything to someone behind him."

"Correct. I have a feeling you're too smart for your own good. So why are you sixteen and in tenth grade? You should be a junior, at least."

"Failed sixth grade. Too many suspension days makes Keith fail a grade. That's the problem with hating bullies with a passion and liking to fight."

"That brings me to another point. Fighting is not tolerated."

"Unless sanctioned by the school."

"Sky High doesn't sanction fighting," Powers reinforced.

"I've been here a day, and I've already heard tell of something called, what was it, Save the Citizen?"

"That is not sanctioned fighting. Save the Citizen is a way for students to test their powers in a safe and controlled environment. We allow the students to test their powers against each other so that they have a better idea of how to face another super powered person in the real world."

"Okay, fine, I'll leave that alone for now. But why do you do Power Placement?"

Powers looked at me like I was missing the obvious. "Power Placement is set to allow the students to show their powers, so that we may put them in the proper classes. It used to be a way to divide the students into heroes and sidekicks, but after the events of last year, we have since done away with that system. It is now used to divide people into the power families of Energy Producers, Shape Shifters, Mental Abilities, and Permanent Transformation."

I shook my head. "That's a load of bull and you know it. There's no way that's what it is."

I thought shooting my mouth off and questioning school policies would have gotten me an even longer lecture than normal by now, so I was surprised by the way Principal Powers was talking to me like an adult rather than a student. It was something I wasn't used to, but it was good, and I was going to milk it for all it was worth. However, I also knew that I was starting to grate on her nerves.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, for one, on the medical forms that all students have to fill out, there's a section where you're required to fill out what powers you have. Power Placement may have been a way to separate sidekicks and heroes in the past, but now it's not necessary. You can get everyone's power from there and separate them into power families that way."

Powers raised an eyebrow. I noticed that while she had been stiff backed at the start of the meeting, she was much more relaxed now. "Are you suggesting that we abolish Power Placement?"

I shook my head. "Not at all. It doesn't make sense with the reasons you're using now. However, you shouldn't just do away with it. I can't speak for anyone else, but for me, before I came here, only two people had seen me use my power. I've practiced with it ever since I powered up, but I didn't show it off."

"That's a good idea. Now I don't have all your paperwork right here, so can you tell me when you first powered up?"

"I powered up early. Normal age is what, ten to twelve?" At her nod, I continued. "I powered up when I was seven. That makes for nine years of practice. So I'm experienced in using my powers, but like I said, only two people have seen me use them, and I'm related to both of them. So if other students are anything like me, they aren't used to performing their powers in public. This makes for difficult times when you're trying to do something, but you're too embarrassed to show your power to other people. The system you have in place is useless for what it's being used for, but since you make everyone show his or her power on the first day, you don't have to worry about people being shy about their powers. You eliminate the embarrassment factor straight out."

"Now I have a question for you."

"Go ahead, shoot."

"Just when did you come up with these philosophies on Sky High? You've only been here one day."

"You can't think I would come to a school like this without doing at least a little bit of research on it first. I'd be a bad detective that way." At this point, I had the grace to redden in shame. "And I have a tendency to space out and think on other things in class."

"Well that is something you'll have to work on if you want to succeed here. But from what I've seen, you'll do fine, as long as you don't make enemies of the entire student body."

"Thanks for not giving me detention, but I think the bell's about to ring, isn't it?" I pointed at a clock on the wall.

Principal Powers smiled, and waved me out of the room. The bell did ring before I made it back to class so I just started out to the bus.

It wasn't too strange that I was able to talk to Principal Powers so easily. As I reiterate, I was a loner at my last school. However, I was always able to talk with my dad's friends from work. Probably not the best people to talk to at times, but I got along with them. Although they always seemed to bring up the fact that the school bad boy was friends with cops, and that annoyed me to no end.

"Can I sit here?"

I had taken my seat at the back of the bus once again, and Ethan was standing in the aisle next to me.

"Yeah, sure, whatever, just don't talk to me."

"Still want to be left alone?"

"Very much so…but I also don't do flying well."

As the rest of the people from lunch sat in the seats around me, I had the feeling I had acquired some friends, whether I wanted them or not.

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Ending note: Please tell me what you think of the story, especially Keith, if he's too Gary-Stuish, or anything else that might make him work better. I'll definitely take it into consideration, and any suggestions for the story are appreciated as well.