Ok, I would really like to thank each and every one who has reviewed my story. Every day I get an encouraging remark and a plea to continue, and I've finally kicked myself in the pants and updated. It's not about me, I realized... it's about all of you. So thank you very much everyone. I continue now with a new enthusiasm and pledge to finish this to the best of my ability. So anyways, enough of that, let's see what happened to Fatima (though you already figured it out you smarties).

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Warm... Fatima's mind stuttered back to life slowly. She heard people talking, but it was like she was underwater, nothing but distortion filling her head. Each system in her body seemed to be rebooting one at a time, keeping her in a literal darkness. But because of her connection with air she was soon able to determine where she was. Laying down on a bed, the room was smallish, and the door was open a crack. There were several figures in the room, the closest being Nurse Spex, the over-sized pair of spectacles being a dead giveaway. Ah, the infirmary. But what had happened? Fatima couldn't quite pull up that memory file so she decided to try to unclog her hearing first. It was going frustratingly slow, but she was making progress none the less.

"-don't understand what happened," a voice that sounded like Will's. At last, some headway! Now she just had to open her eyes. Ugh. She decided to content herself with listening for the time being.

"Now, you said that she has asthma, correct?" now that was a new voice. It was like Will's only deeper and more commanding. His father perhaps? But what was the Commander doing here? The figures continued their conversation, oblivious to their eavesdropper.

"Then why didn't she simply use an inhaler or something of the sort, since she's had the condition since childhood according to you," the voice said again. There was a pause in which Fatima felt the figures change positions in the room. She distinctly heard the flutter of two capes and concluded that Will's parents were in fact there.

"From my understanding, because of her powers to control air, she was able to treat herself and keep her condition a secret." There was the click of a pointer against what sounded like a poster.

"When having an asthma attack, she could simply force the airway open again to regulate her breathing until it passed. But over the years, continual use of this little trick began taking a toll. Because the inflammation was never treated, only stretched wider, scar tissue has accumulated around her throat, causing each attack to be worse than the last. And because of the Detention room's ability to suppress powers, she was not able to force her airway open like usual." There was another pause.

"Wouldn't she have been able to tell that she was only sabotaging herself?" Mrs. Stronghold asked.

"I can only assume so, but I suppose by the time she figured it out it was just easier to keep going than to seek proper treatment," Nurse Spex replied, shaking her head a bit. "If Principle Powers had come back just a little later, I don't think she would have made it." Fatima felt heat tingling her feet a little. Was Warren in the room? She couldn't tell, but she thought she felt a figure hunched against the far wall.

"Mr. Peace! Extinguish yourself at once!" Nurse Spex commanded frantically. Fatima smiled inwardly, seeing as she didn't have control of her facial muscles quite yet, but was getting there. A while later everyone filed out of the room, but Warren, who was last, paused in the doorway.

"I suppose you heard all of that," he said. Eep! How had he known that she was awake? Fatima peeked an eye open. He was glaring at her. She opened her eyes as much a she could (which wasn't much) and tried to speak.

"Cheater," she managed to half whisper, half rasp. She smiled a lopsided grin at him, trying to lighten the I-almost-just-died-in-your-arms mood.

"How could you be so stupid!" he yelled, surprising her. Soft words, comforting maybe, that was what she would have expected. But then again, this was Warren Peace after all.

"Why, even though you knew it was doing more harm than good... why would you still do it?" he demanded. "What were you thinking?"

"Do you think..." she started breathily, "that any of my foster homes... would have paid for it? Any of it? No. I had my treatment, and I'd use it as long as I could." He started to turn away.

"Hey," she said, getting his attention. She wiggled her hand, trying to move it, and finally succeeded in turning it over, palm up. She tried her best to motion for him to come over. She had to close her eyes for a second to rest, but they snapped open when she felt the warm calloused hand of a certain pyro slip into hers. She turned towards him and found him sitting in a chair next to her bed. His face was determined, but sad.

"Don't you even think of doing anything that stupid again. You're not allowed to," he said in a gentler tone. His gaze drifted away from hers to their intertwined hands. "I almost lost you..." he said, barely above a whisper. "Besides, who would tease Stronghold with me if you were gone?" he asked louder, almost hoping that she hadn't heard his previous comment. Fatima just smiled. She did rather like poking fun at their super strong friend. She sighed. Another day, another secret revealed. It's just as well, she supposed. But Warren... where had this side of him come from? She had always had a inkling that it existed, and she was a little flustered that he had seen fit to show her. But besides that, one thing tugged at the back of her mind that she tried to ignore. The fact that she really did like him... a lot.

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Hmm... man, it's been so long that I hope my style is the same. I've been writting alot on my novels lately so I hope this chap wasn't too different from my other ones. Well, I got the urge to write this chapter when I was at work today. We were making room on our shelves for the new releases (Movie Gallery) and I found myself staring at the Sky High cover box (mainly Stephen Strait) and purring. That was when I knew that I must go on!