Sorry it's been a while... I've been super busy... Hopefully more will come soon!
Disclaimer: Ye owneth not Sky High.
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The next morning, Ivy decided not to worry about the glowing person. She went through her day without incident, and got tons of compliments on her new, slightly experimental haircut, no one mentioning the incident in gym the day before. For the next month and a half, she grew to love her friends even more than she did already, and everything seemed to be going just right in general. The glowing person hadn't returned to the rooftop since that one night, she had gotten a job at a local high-fashion boutique, more for fun than anything else, and she had finally gotten her wish of dunking Zach in the pool in her apartment building. Life was swell.
About two months after the night of glowing figure, she had woke up with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was the same feeling the chill in the wind had given her. It worried her, but she tried not to let it get too intense. That morning she ultimately chose to be a little less conservative than her normal slacks and plain white t-shirt. I worry too much. She smiled and pulled on low, tight, dark jeans and a black and white fitted striped cap-sleeved tee, that left the tiniest sliver of her midsection bare. She pulled on her black combat-esque boots, and tucked her jeans into them, then took up her black jacket. She had only used about half the serum supply, and wanted to save as much as she could until she got the new shipment from Karmichael, so she grabbed her long black gloves to go along with the outfit.
The day went by quickly, and since she had the day off work, she headed straight home to get rid of her homework as soon as possible. After finishing her nine page lab report for Medulla, she decided Chinese was a good plan. She still hadn't eaten at the Paper Lantern, regardless of all the times she and Will picked Warren up. It was a Wednesday, so she knew he was working as a waiter and not just a busboy. As good a time as ever to visit. She grabbed her jacket and car keys and went to the restaurant.
Ivy took a seat at a corner table and waited for Warren to come get her order. He dropped an order off at a table he'd been helping, then walked over to Ivy's table. It wasn't until he stopped and asked if she wanted anything to drink that he noticed it was her.
"Oh. You." And he sat down opposite her.
She laughed. "Yeah. Me. You look cute in your waiter outfit. Although, I like the busboy sweatiness a bit more." He turned a very bright red, and she chuckled at his wide eyed expression. Once her laughter stopped she opened the menu. "So, what's good here?"
Fighting back any retorts he would have normally come up with, he learned over to look at the menu. "I'm partial to Mongolian Beef and Sweet and Sour Pork. It's usually the freshest."
"Hm. I do like my meat fresh." She pondered the menu a bit more, suppressing a laugh at his re-reddened face. "Oh, relax." She put the menu down and looked at him. "You're too uptight."
He opened his mouth to respond when a yell came from the kitchen.
"Go. I'll be here for a bit. Besides, this cute waiter I know needs a ride home, and he doesn't get off work for another hour."
He smiled and left the table. He doesn't laugh as much anymore. I should ask him about that. He brought her some of his favorite dishes a few minutes later, and she sat and ate until closing. He came out of the back and met her with his leather jacket and backpack, and she stood ready to leave.
The ride home was awkward and uncomfortable as Warren said nothing, but simply stared out the window. Ivy parked outside his house like she had become accustomed to, she turned the car off, and locked the doors. He turned his head to her and raised an eyebrow.
"What's wrong." She demanded.
"Nothing?" He went to unlock the door, but she just locked it again.
"Don't make me ask you again. What's going on, tell me."
He looked into her saddening gray eyes, and his face hardened. "I'm fine. I have to go." He unlocked the door and slammed it shut.
She watched him walk up the path to his all too familiar front door, and she sighed.
Back at her apartment building she parked her car in the garage, and went straight to the rooftop, only pausing inside to put her jacket, boots, keys, and wallet down. She sat on the rooftop and noticed the gray glow again. She sat for a few minutes more, then made a show of rubbing her arms like it was cold out. She headed towards the edge so she could go back down, and a hand grabbed her left wrist and whipped her around.
"Miss me?" A thin, crazed smile was worn by the lips of the hooded man, as she now identified him. The shadow of the hood covered all of his face, but left his mouth and chin in the light. How cliché.
"Let go of me." She pulled her arm, but he didn't let go.
"Make me." He teased her threateningly, but she didn't see the humor in it that he did. She was suddenly grateful that she hadn't used her serum that morning. While his hands wore gloves, hers didn't so she reached up and slammed her hand square on his cheek, pushing his face back. He screamed in pain mumbling about the burn, and she kneed him in the chest as he was so distracted by his face that would probably be disfigured permanently. He curled over clutching at his stomach with his other hand, and she latched both her hands together, and brought the mega-fist down on his back, causing him to fall to the ground with an "oof".
She ran for the edge and knew she didn't have time to climb down it. She jumped off the edge and landed on her feet with an unnatural bounce and ease, and she ran. Where. Oh god, where. Quick. Think. Run. Warren. She headed straight for Warren's house never once slowing her pace. She rounded a corner and ran right into the hooded mans' grasp. His one hand closed around her neck, and was soon joined by the other, and she looked at the hand-shaped burn on his face.
She thrashed and hit at the man but he didn't let go.
"Silly. How simply silly. Did you really think you could hurt me? How could you?" She looked into his hood and saw his glimmering green eyes turn to a challenging dark black. Blake. Her face turned cold, and her mouth curled into a menacing smile that accepted his challenge. She knew he wanted her to change to her Absolute, and she didn't care what the consequences were. He deserved what he got. She continued to thrash at him, and he laughed maniacally. Slowly, her skin melted away, and her body unfolded itself, the way a bud unfolds into a flower. Her scared gray eyes unfolded into the panthers large, angry black ones, and her body followed their lead, slowly turning from pale white flesh to harsh white fur. Her clothes ripped and tore away from the body, and the panther more than twice Ivy's size replaced her small frame. Blake's hand didn't move from the throat of the panther, but instead it grew tighter, and his laugh ceased and turned to an amazed smile.
The panther snarled and continued to thrash, but no longer hitting the space between their bodies. Now it was paw and claw colliding with cloth and skin. Blood dripped in streaks from his sides but he took no notice and just continued to stare at the white panther he was choking. Finally, the panther moved its great paws to rest on Blake's' shoulders. The panther hooked it's claws into his flesh the way a fishhook was hooked inside a salmon. The panther saw Blake wince at the pain, and in one quick moment, it pushed off it's back paws it was standing on, and kicked Blake in his stomach, not only forcing him to go speeding back, but tearing the huge claws from his arms, shredding his skin as if it were as soft as butter. The rips ran from shoulder to wrist on both arms, and Blake hit the ground unconscious from the force. Meanwhile, the panther flipped sideways so it landed on its feet. Ivy cringed at the pain of her left paw hitting the ground with that amount of impact. Wait. My paw? No. No time. Later. Ivy forced her thoughts into the panther, and steered it until it took off running in the direction of Warrens house.
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