A/N: Soooooo sorry it took so long to update this! My head has been reeling with new ideas for this story and others and it's been really hard trying to concentrate on just one! But anyway, here's the next chapter.
Chapter 1/A New Year
Warren Peace awoke with a start. He sat up slowly and ran a hand agitatedly through his hair. Looking down, he noticed he had fallen off of the bed in his sleep. He frowned, but then shrugged it off, preferring not to think of his dream. Yawning, he stood and made his way out of his room and down the stairs to the kitchen.
"Mom?" he grunted, wondering where she was. Figuring she was either in bed or the bathroom, he simply moved to the fridge to get some orange juice. Opening the carton, he tipped his head back and began to drink.
"Um," a soft noise from his right made him freeze.
"Dang, Warren; do you work out?"
Warren whirled around and locked gazes with a smirking Magenta. Standing next to her was Layla, blushing furiously. He scowled at Zach, who had laughed out loud at Magenta's comment.
"What are you doing here?" he asked irritably, catching a sweatshirt that Will tossed to him. He pulled it over his bare chest, glad he was wearing pajama bottoms instead of his boxers.
"Warren, don't you remember? Principal Powers wanted us to be at the school early so we could be the ones to greet the international exchange students." Ethan pushed his glasses up his nose.
"Alex and Akira are already there," Layla offered, keeping her eyes carefully fixed someplace above Warren's shoulder, despite the fact he was no longer half-naked. He rolled his eyes (mentally of course) before turning to Will.
"Remind me again why I need to be there when I've already graduated?" he asked, raising his eyebrows questioningly.
"You helped bring down Royal Pain three years ago, and you're already an amazing hero. I mean, come on, Torch already has two websites dedicated to him." Will grinned encouragingly.
"Of course that might have something to do with that time his clothes burned off before they fixed that glitch in his costume," Magenta said with a barely disguised smirk.
Layla's cheeks grew even redder, while Warren's frown deepened. "Watch it Purple," he growled.
He remembered Principal Power's request now. Although it had only been a few months since he had graduated from Sky High, his popularity with the public had grown rapidly. Of course it did have something to do with the fact that almost all the girls thought he was "hot", and almost all the boys thought his power was "awesome," but in any case he was a good superhero, and the ones that knew that were the ones that counted.
Principal Powers wanted him to be there to greet the new students as an alumni and already well known hero.
"I still have to work today," he reminded the others as he turned to put away the orange juice. He still worked at the Paper Lantern, although now he was assistant manager. He need to show up to check on progress and make sure everything ran smoothly, but if he got a call on his red cell phone, he could be gone without raising suspicion.
"You'll be back before you have to go in, we promise," Ethan said.
"Yeah, dude, besides it's not like they're gonna fire you for being a couple minutes late anyway," Zach pointed out unnecessarily. Warren gave him a pointed look.
"Go out to the car, I'll meet you guys there," he said, turning and leaving the room to jog up the stairs.
The others glanced at each other and Will shrugged. They headed out to Warren's car.
"Dude, how are we even going to all fit in this thing?" Zach asked, rapping the top of Warren's BMW.
"It's specially designed to be bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside," Ethan explained. "They had it made for him when he became Torch."
"The Bureau made him a car?" Magenta asked, skeptical as she ran her fingers over the shiny navy blue hood. "Will we get cars too?"
"I don't know. I think it's different for each hero," Will said carefully.
"Dude, that's not fair. We should like, have all our own cars."
Magenta rolled her eyes. She grabbed a piece of her hair and twirled it absently, moving slightly away from Zach and closer to Layla. If the tall boy noticed, he did not comment on it. Layla reached over and gave Magenta's arm a light squeeze. She knew how tense the girl was nowadays. With her parents recently divorced and still processing things, Magenta's days were rough and mostly full of anxiety.
Zach did his best to encourage her, but his idea of encouragement was cheering her up with lame jokes and hesitant compliments. He really was in over his head, and Magenta knew that. It just made her all the more eager for things to move on.
"Man. I still don't believe Principal Powers let Warren refuse a sidekick," Ethan said, peering inside the windows of the car.
"I think it means a step in the right direction," Layla said with a satisfied smile. "Perhaps Principal Powers has seen the light."
Warren came outside in his normal jeans, shirt, and leather jacket. He shut the door behind him and jogged down the front steps.
"Let's go," he said, fishing his keys out of his pocket and opening the car.
"Where's your costume?" Zach asked curiously as the gang piled into the car. Warren just gave the boy a withering look before backing out of the driveway and driving for the unfinished overpass. The car had been specially designed to fly as well as fit more than five people. Warren smoothly shifted from driver to pilot as they drove off the overpass and into the air.
"What exactly does Principal Powers want us to do with these new students?" Magenta asked, looking out the window.
"Show them around, make sure they make the transition well, and well, help train them." Layla had been the only one, besides Ethan, to really read the pamphlet of information that their principal had given them when they accepted the job of welcome committee to the new exchange students.
"They come from all over the globe. China, Mexico, France, Switzerland . . . it's going to be a learning experience for all of us," Layla said, smiling in anticipation. Other than a thumbs up from Ethan and a smile from Will, her words received no reaction.
The rest of the ride was spent in silence.
0000000
"They're late," Akira said flatly, her arms crossed, a scowl on her delicate looking face.
"Only by a few minutes," the boy standing next to her said. He glanced down at her and grinned slightly at her fierce expression through the fringe of hair that hung over his dark eyes. "Calm down Akira; you're scary when you get angry." He reached over and tenderly tugged on a strand of her black hair.
Akira waved his hand away. "Stop it Alex, this is serious. I don't want to have to go over everything with these students myself." Everyone knew that Akira Nakamura was not one for public speaking.
"They'll be here," said Alex confidently, although he was no public speaker himself and secretly urged the others to get there sooner rather than later.
"Don't look now, but here's the bus now," Akira muttered under her breath as a bright yellow school bus came in for a landing. It landed neatly, obvious the work of a skilled flier. Therefore, it was not one of Sky High's bus drivers.
A group of very diverse students filed out of the bus. Alex had already read the files on each of them so he knew each one's name, nationality, and power.
The first one off the bus was Carlos Mendez, from Mexico. His dark eyes were all over the place, his lips slightly parted as he took in the scenery. His black hair flopped on his forehead as he jogged up the steps to the front doors of the school. His power was telekinesis, which was evident as his backpack floated a couple inches from his side.
Next was Lei Wong, from China. She was tall, lithe, and beautiful. Flipping her long, silky black hair over her shoulder, she made her way up the steps of the school with calm grace. She gave Alex and Akira a tiny smile before taking her place beside Carlos. Her power was power mimicry.
Switzerland's Jessen Holzstein was next, his ice blue eyes striking and direct as they scoped the place from under brooding eyebrows. His hair was completely white and messy, as though he had just gotten out of bed. He practically stalked up the steps and kept his frown even at Lei's smile. His power was phasing.
Alex could hardly keep his eyes off the girl who came off the bus next. Camille Bouchard was from France and was absolutely flawless. Her short brown hair was spiky and her clothes dark and dramatic. She carried herself confidently, yet she wore no makeup, her beauty spoke for itself. Lei Wong's beauty paled in comparison. She carried the gaze of every boy she passed. Akira had to elbow Alex hard in the gut before he remembered his wits and tore his gaze away. Camille's hazel eyes flashed over to Akira and looked amused. Her power was rapid cellular regeneration.
Abbie Shaw, a Brit, was next. She practically skipped off the bus and up the stairs to the group that was gathering; her shoulder-length blonde hair bobbed up and down as she did. Her light green eyes flashed with laughter as she noticed Akira's somewhat annoyed expression. Her power was producing a sonic scream.
Next off the bus was Massimo Ruggiero, from Italy. Alex heard several Sky High girls sigh as he strode up the steps. Dark curls hung around his tan face and his light brown eyes looked intensely over the group. His t-shirt was tight and showed off his swimmers body, which made sense, since his power was the ability to breath underwater.
The last two came off the bus together. The Russian, Anya Grigorovich, and the African, Davu Conde. They were speaking in hushed tones to each other. Anya's light brown hair fell over her face as she leaned toward Davu, her dark eyes hidden. Davu was nodding seriously to whatever it was Anya was saying. The girl had the power of pathfinding; the boy, earthbending.
Soon they were all standing in a group in front of Alex and Akira. Akira nudged Alex sharply. He stepped forward hesitantly.
"Um, I'd like to thank you all for coming . . ." he started, feeling awkward and rather silly. Especially when they said nothing, but simply stared at him.
He shot an anxious look at Akira who shook her head, indicating that she was not going to help him. He scowled at her and then turned back to the group.
"Uh . . ."
At that moment, Warren's BMW landed in the bus parking lot. Alex and Akira breathed a sigh of relief as Will Stronghold and company got out and made their way up the steps.
"Good morning everyone," Layla said with a bright smile. "Welcome to Sky High. If you would follow me, I'll take you in to the gym where you will meet our principal and learn about what you're going to be doing here this year."
The kids glanced at each other and then followed Layla and Will into the school.
"Wow. I never knew Layla could be such a good tour guide," Akira said, smirking.
Magenta snickered.
"We should follow. We don't want to miss anything," Ethan said, nodding to where the last of the kids were entering the school. The group nodded and followed, Warren taking up the rear.
Magenta was studying the new kids. She curled her lip slightly at the drop-dead gorgeous Camille, thinking that was the last thing this high school needed: beautiful, cheerleader-material airheads. One of them, the Swiss, must have felt her eyes on the group, for he turned and glared at her. She scowled back.
While she was scowling, she was not looking where she was going. Suddenly she ran into something. Stepping back, startled, she looked up into a pair of amused blue eyes.
"Daydreaming?" a tall man asked, smirking. He was wearing a janitor's suit and pushing a janitor's cart. He leaned against this now, looking over at Magenta and pushing dark brown hair out of his eyes.
"No," Magenta snapped, embarrassed that she had run into him. Especially when she noticed how good-looking he was. She growled at herself under her breath.
"Well, you should watch where you're going in the future. You could have knocked over all this junk and then we'd have a real mess on our hands."
"Er, right. Sorry! Um, bye!" Magenta hurried away. She heard the man chuckling behind her and her face grew red. She reached the group and made her way to Akira's side.
"Thought you'd acquaint yourself with the new janitor?" Akira asked, smirking.
"Ha, ha," Magenta muttered, her face still red.
"Well I don't blame you. He's hot. If I wasn't already taken . . ." Akira stumbled forward slightly as she was nudged roughly from behind. She glanced over her shoulder at Alex.
"Don't get all jealous, Newton. I was just kidding."
Alex snorted. "Sure you were," he said, but he did not look upset. Magenta noticed the new kids had stopped walking and came to a halt, realizing they were now in the gym.
Principal Powers's comet flew in and she landed on a platform that had been set up in the middle of the gym, just like in power-placement. She looked down at the new students with a warm smile.
"Good morning everyone. My name is Principal Powers. Welcome to Sky High! Before I give you all your class schedules I would like to introduce to you one of our alumni. He graduated with honors and has already become a well known superhero. Please welcome Torch!"
Warren jumped onto the platform, nodding at the group. Will noticed with surprise that he had changed into his costume. The black suit alternated with red and gold as flames were depicted around his wrists, ankles and his chest. The mask was black and covered half his face, flames there as well, shooting up towards his dark eyes.
The new students clapped politely and Will wondered if they recognized that he was one of the kids who had been in Layla's welcoming committee. If any of them did, they did not show it.
"Torch will be assisting in the training of you all," Principal Powers explained. "As you read in the brochures, you will all complete different scenarios, honing your skills and powers until the competition at the end of the school year. At that time, a large scenario will be set up, taking up the entirety of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada." A few murmurings broke out among the students. "You will be split up into villains and heroes, and each team will have a specific objective. I must remind you that while you train you must not mistake this competition as a game. It is dangerous and I'm sorry to say that quite a few students have been seriously injured."
The murmurings ceased and a dead silence filled the room. Principal Powers smiled slightly.
"Keeping that in mind, however, should help you train well so that there will be no need for fear. Training will begin tomorrow during first period and will take up several periods a day. Good luck." She smiled wider and nodded at the group. "Comets away!" she cried, transforming into her comet state and flying away.
There was a moment's pause before the kids began speaking again.
"I for one, think this is a rare opportunity." Magenta heard the Brit, Abbie, say offhandedly to Jessen, the Swiss. "I'll be able to use my powers in a way that will help me learn how to help others."
"Unless you're picked as one of the villains," Jessen pointed out with a scowl. Magenta rolled her eyes.
"I don't see how one like me could be picked as a villain," Abbie said with a bright smile. "My personality doesn't fit the profile." She looked Jessen up and down briefly. "Unlike yours," she added with a small giggle, turning away.
Magenta had to hold back a laugh. If Jessen was a cartoon character, she was sure she would be seeing smoke coming out of his ears. She turned to Layla.
"This'll be interesting," she muttered. Layla quickly shushed her.
"Warren's saying something," she said, nodding to the platform.
Sure enough, Warren had stepped forward and was answering a question put to him by the African kid, Davu.
"I can't say what the objectives will be," he was saying. "All I can tell you is that you'd all better get into shape fast." He glanced around at the group who had fallen silent. "It's not going to be pretty."
I had some trouble finding a place to stop, so it ends kind of abruptly, but the next chapter should not take so long to get up. Again sorry for the wait. In the meantime, why don't you review this chapter and tell me what you think? :-D
