Author's Note: Hey guys. So, what you're about to read is a multi-chapter fanfic that I'll be writing to pass the time while I wait for breakthroughs on my original fiction. This is set in the universe of Disney's Sky High and uses mostly already established characters with a few originals thrown in as well. This is something like a Teen Titans cross-over as well, but you won't be finding any TT characters in here, directly.
Disclaimer: Walt Disney owns all rights to Sky High and all related settings, characters, etc. I own everything that wasn't featured in the movie.
Synopsis: Erin Nyes is a new transfer into the sophomore class at Sky High. Her mother says she has a great gift, but why is she so reluctant to use it? And when an evil against whom only her power has a chance threatens the world, will she be able to find the courage to step up and face it?
"One"
Erin Nyes stood on the curb, leaning slightly against the metal pole supporting the bus stop sign. She twirled a lock of hair, the one that she'd dyed a dark purple two months ago, around a finger and tapped a beat out with her other hand on the thigh of her black jeans. It was morning; and even more, it was Monday. Either one of those two things alone would have been enough to make Erin simply roll over in her bed and give up on the day all together; but put the two together, and she was ready to take a few more drastic measures.
"But Mom," Erin had pleaded with her mother earlier over breakfast, "why can't I just go to a normal school?"
Her mother had simply shaken her head and said, "Because you have a very special gift, Erin, and going to this school will help you learn to appreciate that." She'd begun to smooth back Erin's purple lock with her manicured fingers, but Erin had pushed the hand aside.
"What kind of cheesy name is 'Sky High,' anyway?" she'd said, slinging her bag over her shoulders and starting out the door. Her opinion hadn't changed much in the past fifteen minutes.
Just as she was about to give up on the bus and start back home, she heard the steady hum and chug of an engine. Sure enough, we she looked down the street to see what was coming, it was the yellow school bus. Just in time, she thought to herself. The bus pulled up to the curb and the door opened. Erin stepped up to have an open hand and an eager smile thrust in her face. She took the hand and shook it lightly, and managed to crack a small smile.
"Welcome aboard, little missy!" the bus driver said enthusiastically. "My name's Ron Wilson, Bus Driver, and I'll be escorting you to Sky High this beautiful morning!"
"Umm, thanks?" Erin said, scanning the cabin to find an empty seat. She saw one in the back and hurried down the aisle to it, just as eager to get away from the perky bus driver as he was to drive his bus. Happy? On a Monday? Erin thought to herself. I can't believe it.
She noticed when she got closer that the seat wasn't entirely empty, there being a leather-jacket-clad guy sitting at the window. She considered finding a more completely open seat, but found that all of the rest of the seats were rather a bit more completely full. He doesn't look so bad, she thought to herself. As she reached the seat, she took her bag off her shoulders and let herself fall down onto the empty half of the seat.
The boy with the leather jacket cleared his throat a bit as Erin got comfortable. When she showed no signs of noticing, he cleared his throat again, this time slightly louder. He did it a third time, before turning to face her and saying, "Excuse me," in what he must have thought was a menacing tone. Menacing tones had stopped working on Erin several years ago.
"Consider it done," she said, nodding slightly in his direction.
"What I mean is—" the boy began again, annoyance rising in his voice.
"What he means is that he'd be glad to share his seat with a new student because he's the nice kind of guy to do that," a pleasant voice chimed in from across the aisle. Erin looked to see the owner of the voice: a cheery girl with her red hair done up in two pig-tails. She waved and then extended her hand. "My name's Layla," she said.
"Erin Nyes," Erin said.
"It's nice to meet you. Don't let Warren give you a bad impression of us," she said, nodding at the brooding boy Erin sat next to. Layla leaned back in her seat and pointed to a brown-haired, blue-eyed boy sitting next to her. "This is Will Stronghold. You may have heard of him."
"Sorry, can't say I have," Erin said, shaking her head.
"Well that's a first," Will said, smiling brightly.
"Hey, hey, hey. You can't forget us!" Erin turned around to see a blond kid sitting in the seat behind Will and Layla. He wore a white track suit with fluorescent yellow highlights and a white visor, turned sideways and slightly down. "The name's Zack."
He gestured to his right where two other kids were sitting. "That's Ethan," he said, indicating the boy sitting next to him. Ethan wore thick-rimmed glasses and a plaid, Oxford shirt.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Ethan said.
"And that over there is—" Zack began, pointing to a girl sitting at the opposite window dressed in purples and blacks with two-tone, purple and black hair.
"I'm Magenta," the girl said, cutting Zack off. "I like your hair."
"Thanks," Erin replied, running her fingers along the single purple lock. "I dyed it on impulse a couple of months back."
The bus was passing over some kind of bridge or unfinished overpass now, as Erin looked out the window for the first time. Orange safety cones were lining the road and there were several orange safety signs reading ROAD CLOSED spread along the side. A larger one stood ahead, right in the middle of the road.
"Alright, kids, hold on!" Ron Wilson said, flipping a switch to reveal an elaborate panel of flashing buttons and shiny knobs. A stainless-steel restraint bar lowered itself across Erin's lap while a pair of shoulder straps crossed themselves across her chest and buckled themselves up down near her hips.
Erin looked around, a little confused, only to see everyone else on board sitting calmly, some even with eager faces on. "What's going on?" she asked Layla across the aisle.
"Don't worry," Layla reassured her. "This is the fun part."
A loud buzzer sounded as the bus picked up speed, racing straight towards the large caution sign in the middle of the road. The sign lowered itself out of the way of the charging bus and Erin screamed as the bus shot off over the edge of the pavement, only to be drowned out by cheers from everyone else in the bus.
"Here we go!" Ron Wilson punched a large flashing button on his console and Erin felt a short jolt as the bus ceased its free-fall, followed immediately by a much larger jolt as the bus sped forward, having sprouted what appeared to be a pair of wings and five jet engines.
A few minutes later Erin saw the shape of large hovering platform materialize in the clouds ahead. Layla pointed.
"That's the school," she said, indicating the low, beige colored building resting on the platform.
"Pretty awesome, yeah?" Zach said from behind.
Erin nodded. "Yeah, it is."
Ron circled the school a few times, while "waiting for clearance to land" he said. Erin couldn't help but think that he just liked to drive the fancy bus around. He landed soon enough though, and let his passengers off just on the edge of the big lawn in front of the school.
Erin filed out with the rest of the gang from the back of the bus. Layla pointed out a few pieces of interest, but she didn't have time to get very far before Principal Powers appeared on the lawn.
"Ms. Nyes," she said, beckoning to Erin, "if you would come with me, please."
"We'll see you at lunch?" Layla said as Erin walked over to Principal Powers.
"Ah... sure," Erin said back. She stopped at Principal Powers' side. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, dear," Principal Powers said, placing her arm over Erin's shoulder. "You're a new student, so you'll need to go through Power Placement and get yourself an assignment."