DISCLAIMER: Sky High is not mine. Duh.
I wanted to get the others involved in the story as hardly anybody ever writes about Maj, Ethan, and Zach.
"It figures. He was always one to think with his--"
"Shh!" Layla shushed Magenta before she could get out all of her spicy-talk. "But, yeah, I know. It kinda hurt."
Magenta took a bite of her salad, rolling her eyes at Layla. "You've got to decide whether you're with him or not. I mean, yes, he was being an ass from what you've told me, but since you're not his girl anymore…" She trailed off with a shrug. Layla just sighed.
"Why aren't there any male groupies for superheroes?" She whined.
"I dunno about that." Magenta took a sip of her Coke. "Warren had that one guy chasing after him for a while. Man," She laughed. "What I would have given to see those two in action…"
"You know what I mean!" Layla laughed a little, secretly agreeing that Warren hooking up with said groupie would have been hot. "Straight guys." Her smile turned into a slight pout. "Is that so much to ask?"
"Guys aren't all they're cracked up to be." Magenta said, matter-of-factly. "Actually, girls aren't that great either…" She shrugged.
"Speaking of guys," Layla swallowed a bite of salad. "How are things going with Zach?" Magenta responded with an immediate eye-roll.
"He's like a puppy, Layla. Everywhere I go Zach follows." She set down her fork, leaning in closer. "That martial arts class I just joined? He joined, too!" Layla laughed a little. "Oh, but it's not funny!"
"He's been doing that for four years, Maj, and you never complained before."
"I have!" She protested with a tiny smile on her face. "Just… not out loud and not to you."
"So why don't you tell him to leave you alone?" Layla folded her hands on the table.
"Because," Magenta smiled to herself in a way that Layla hardly ever saw anyone smile. "I don't know. I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment."
"Oh my God!" The two girls looked up hearing the shout of some random woman. She looked like she had seen a ghost or a celebrity or… "Botanika? Are you Botanika?" She asked the question in a soft voice, stooping by Layla and Magenta's table with a big smile on her face.
"Is that your super-name?" Magenta raised an eyebrow, unimpressed with Layla's creativity or lack thereof.
"I guess that's me." Layla shrugged, looking confused, then quickly realized that she'd given her identity away. "Or not."
"Well, that's what Powerman said your name was on the news." The woman seemed a bit shy but stared up at Layla as if she was some sort of rare gem.
"Powerman?" Magenta burst out laughing. "Ohh and here I thought Zach-Attack was as bad as it got…"
"You, Powerman, and The Torch! You saved me the other day." Layla's eyes went wide. Powerman had to have been Will and The Torch was obviously Warren. She silently thanked her lucky stars that Will hadn't given her a completely tasteless and tacky superhero name.
"I… I'm Angela Grey." The woman thrust out her hand to Layla with a big grin on her face. "You're a real inspiration to women everywhere, Botanika."
"Well, um…" Layla shook Angela's hand. "Thank you. I think…" She scrunched up her eyebrows, glancing to see Magenta's reaction but she only shrugged.
"Way to go, Botanika." Maj snickered as she said the super-name.
"Seriously!" The woman smiled, shaking her head at Magenta. She then reached into her purse and pulled out a business card. "I work at Modern Woman magazine which has its offices right here in Maxville. Would you be so kind as to lend your likeness to the cover?"
Layla nearly spit out her soda in shock. She looked from Angela to Magenta and back to Angela again with shock on her face.
"I, uh…" She found herself practically speechless. "I can't reveal my identity." She whispered to the woman who seemed to be her biggest fan.
"Oh, no problem at all! We can work around that just fine. What do you say about a totally anonymous interview? I mean, you're certainly the beauty of your super-trio and people would love to see your face on Modern Woman."
"Well," Layla laughed, blushing a bright rosy color. "I guess that I could do a brief interview. Just as long as you don't give away my identity."
"Perfect!" Angela shouted, beaming like crazy with her bright white smile. "Just call me, Angela Grey, at the number on the card. Perfect." She walked away from the table, seemingly in seventh heaven from meeting Layla.
"Speaking of random women kissing superhero ass…" Magenta trailed off with a smirk.
"Oh, shush." Layla was still smiling from the encounter. "She seemed… nice."
"Yeah, if by 'nice' you mean 'insane', sure." She sipped at her Coke some more.
"Wow, I'm going to be a cover girl." Layla grinned at the thought while Magenta rolled her eyes.
"So I guess you'll be needing a costume to mask that happy lil' face of yours, eh Botanika?"
"I guess so…" Layla shrugged, finishing off her salad. "Probably something totally natural like leaves or petals… I wanna look good." She confessed with a tiny smile.
"Well, we'll just have to dress you up, then." Magenta smiled, counting out money to pay for her half of the bill. Layla followed suit and the two of them exited the restaurant, walking into the Maxville Shopping Mall.
"It's been forever since I've been shopping." Layla smiled, looking all around the mall concourse with wide eyes.
"We used to live at this place." Magenta smiled at her friend. "I still come here all of the time. It makes life seem a lot more normal than it actually is."
"I know what you mean." Layla looked at her friend empathetically.
"You really don't." Maj smirked. "You're lucky. You have a useful power and you fit neatly into the world of superheroes. I spent four years studying how to be a good sidekick only to find that no superhero wants a guinea pig backing them up."
Layla's mouth dropped slightly as she was overcome with a sudden loss for words.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna go all moody teenager on you, Layla. Just needed to get that out in the open." Layla nodded to Magenta, relieved that she was letting it go. She wasn't in the mood for drama, not after Angela Grey had made her so thrilled.
"Got an idea of what your costume is gonna look like?" Layla shook her head.
"I was thinking something green." She shrugged a little. "Other than that, I'm not really-- Ooh."
Layla stopped walking and grabbed Magenta by the arm so that she would stop as well. She found herself staring at a green sequined dress in the window of a store. It was absolutely stunning. The hem came to the mannequin's thigh and the neckline plunged fairly low without it looking slutty or tasteless.
"Think practically, Layla." Magenta elbowed her friend slightly, smirking just a bit.
"What's so bad about wearing a dress to fight in?" Layla cocked her head to the side, still staring at the dress.
"How about the wind blowing and showing off your little green panties?" She laughed lightly.
"True." Layla laughed with Magenta. "Hmm…"
"Leotards!" She blurted out, pointing in the direction of a dance supplies store. Magenta looked to where she pointed, shaking her head.
"Are you gonna wear a tutu to fight in? Layla, c'mon…" Magenta rolled her eyes but Layla dragged her by the arm into the dance supplies store. Maj wasn't too fond of ballet or those who practiced it. It had to do with the fact that she was made an outcast by her kindergarten tap/ballet combination class. That sort of thing can traumatize a person when they're small and impressionable.
"There!" Layla stared open-mouthed up at a stretchy green leotard. It was like a one-piece swimsuit with a tiny green skirt around the hips. "That's practical, isn't it?" She looked back to Magenta who just rolled her eyes in response.
"Excuse me!" She waved excitedly to the waif of a girl who stood behind the counter. "Would you please get me that leotard in a size 8?" The girl, less than thrilled to actually have to do work, walked over toting a sort of pole. She used it like an extension of her arm, picking up several leotards, and then picking out the one that was a size 8 for Layla.
"Ooh, I'm gonna try it on!" She bounced a little, excited to be picking out her new super heroine costume. Layla made her way into a changing room, hopping out of her jeans and right into the leotard.
"Maj, you out there?" Layla called from the room.
"Right here." As soon as she answered, a very green Layla hopped out of the changing room.
"Does this look botanical enough?" She tugged at the tiny skirt, wishing that it covered more than it actually did.
"I plead the fifth." Magenta smirked, looking over her best friend. Truthfully, she didn't look bad. Layla had never been one to show off her body so it was a bit of a shock to Magenta that she was actually sort of hot. "It suits you."
"I don't look like an enormous slut, do I?" Layla looked at her friend hoping that the answer was no.
"No, just a tiny one." Magenta laughed lightly. "Sorry, couldn't resist… No, you don't look like a slut."
While Magenta spoke Layla smiled and reached to see the price tag.
"Oh! It's only twenty bucks!" Her face lit up with a smile. Magenta just scrunched up her nose.
"That much for that tiny little thing?"
"Just enjoy the moment with me, Maj. I'm being frugal!"