Disclaimer: I don't own Sky High.
Title: Burn the world
Sequel to Paranoid
Read on, oh faithful ones...
...
"C'mon, kiddo. Time to go shopping with Uncle Cee."
"Unca," Max said proudly, looking up at Craig with a gummy smile.
"That's right. You're so smart!" Craig cooed, lifting Max and cuddling him close, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "We're heading out for groceries; back in about an hour," he called out to the Hive at large.
He had a reply from Zach and Ethan in the kitchen, and somewhere in the Hive beneath his feet, Craig heard Wendy reply as well. Leaving the Hive, Craig headed to the minivan and put Max in his baby seat, clicking him in securely. Getting in the driver's seat, Craig turned on the ignition and pressed the big red button in the console, the van lifting up into the air.
"Hold on, Max," Craig called as he pressed his foot on the accelerator, heading from the Hive and towards the shopping centre.
Max giggled and laughed, waving his fists to grab at rays of sunshine and the mist from clouds as they passed by. Craig settled the minivan in the parking lot slowly so he wouldn't jostle Max. Checking that Max was all right before getting out of the car, Craig grabbed a shopping cart with a baby seat and clicked him in, tickling Max under his chin to make him giggle as he pushed the cart into the store.
"Hmm, what'd'ya think, kid? Pumpkin seed or chia seed bread? Which one made you poop green?" Craig added with a wince.
"He's a cute child. Is he yours?" an elderly woman asked, smiling down at Max.
"We're waiting on the paternity tests," Craig said seriously, hardly a twitch of a smile on his lips.
The woman looked confused for a moment, peering at Craig, then she realised who she was talking to. "I... I'm sorry, Mr. Copy, I didn't..."
"It's all right. He is cute, huh?" Craig said, grinning.
Relieved that she wasn't going to be hurt for talking to one of Chaos' inner circle, the woman nodded quickly. "Very. Uh, what's his name? I'm sure I heard it on the news," she added, frowning.
"I doubt that," Craig said, rolling his eyes.
He wondered if Channel Five had put the old woman up to this - they'd been trying to find out Max's parentage and name ever since they'd first seen him. Of course, since Max was always with different people and three of Chaos' inner circle were redheads, the speculations drove them wild.
Was he the son of Chaos themselves, Hourglass, or Carbon Copy? Even though Carbon Copy hadn't been on a date in almost four years, Channel Five speculated that he could have someone within the Hive that they'd never seen. Or perhaps Acidic had adopted a child? Or, more scandalously, had Tempest had an affair with Carbon Copy less than a year after her marriage to Merge?
It was never ending and spiralled from one rumour to another guess to another, most of them wrong. Fortunately for the Channel Five reporters, it was a source of amusement for Chaos.
"Maybe that was the royal baby," the woman said hurriedly. "I... I should get on with my shopping. It was nice talking to you, Mr. Copy," she added with a smile, nodding to Craig and continuing down the aisle.
Craig looked after her for a moment, then added both the pumpkin and chia seed breads to the cart. He tickled Max under the chin, grinning when he giggled happily.
Craig finished shopping and headed out to the parking lot, pulling faces to keep Max entertained. It was getting close to his nap time and if Max wasn't home sooner rather than later, he'd probably have a small meltdown. Craig hoped the car ride would help settle Max until that time.
Putting the groceries in the minivan, Craig unclipped Max from the cart seat and settled him into the minivan's baby seat. "We'll be home soon, kid," he promised.
Closing the minivan sliding door, Craig turned to go to the driver's seat, only to come face-to-face with himself. He blinked and had time for a single thought before he was knocked unconscious:
So this is what everyone feels like when I shift into them.
Craig's copy opened the minivan door and smiled at Max. "Hello there."
Max smiled and waved at his Uncle Craig with chubby fists.
...
"Shouldn't Craig be back by now?" Zach asked Ethan, frowning at him in the ensuite.
Ethan set his razor down, half of his face still covered in shaving cream. "How long's he been gone?"
"About an hour and a half. You don't think he stopped for ice cream again, do you?" Zach asked.
"After the dressing down Chaos gave him last time?" Zach shuddered at the reminder. Ethan picked his razor up again and continued to shave. "Give him a call, check he's all right."
"Yeah, okay. Do you want anything if he's at the ice cream store?"
Ethan rolled his eyes and didn't respond.
"Fine. I'm getting mint choc-chip," Zach muttered under his breath, heading up to the Hive's library to call Craig. The phone went to voicemail, a lead feeling settling in Zach's stomach. He tried again, then another time, and by this time, Ethan had come up to the library to put in his ice cream order.
On seeing the expression on Zach's face, Ethan felt his blood run cold. He melted down, slid down into the lower Hive and raced through the hallways to Warren and Layla.
...
Layla was enjoying a sleep in for the first time in weeks. They'd gone on several heists in Canada, and while it was easier to defeat Nice Guy than some other heroes they'd fought over the years, the cold had affected them more than they'd expected. Warren had become irritable and Layla had been... uncomfortable, able to feel the roots of plants underground but the life cold and distant. They'd left early, letting Simon and Honey stay in Toronto so they could come home early and spend time with Max.
Warren had cuddled Max close for almost a full hour and Layla had worried that he'd revert to the same emotional state he'd been in when Max had been born. Then Warren had pulled Layla down onto his lap, Max curled up against both of them. Layla pressed a kiss to Warren's jaw, pulling away to play with Max and spend time with their son.
After another hour, they'd realised that it was getting late. Warren and Layla had bathed Max, Layla teasing Warren with the rubber duck and a laugh. Warren had muttered about setting the duck on fire, but it was Max's favourite bath toy, so they both knew he was lying. As Layla searched for Max's duck pyjamas, Warren changed Max's diaper, blowing raspberries on his stomach and grinning when Max giggled wildly.
Max yawned widely, his eyes starting to close even before his parents had set him down in his crib. Layla let a small vine curl around top of the crib to both keep Max secure and to alert her if he started crying in the middle of the night. He was almost a year old now and already sleeping through the night, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Layla and Warren both kissed Max goodnight, covering him with his favourite soft pink blanket and Mr. Bun Bun tucked in beside him. In the corner of the room, Warren had a small fireball glowing to act as a nightlight. They left the room quietly, the door opened a crack and dimming the hallway light so the others would know that Max had been put to bed.
Craig had let them know he planned on going grocery shopping with Max in the morning. Knowing that someone in the Hive would wake up early enough to feed Max breakfast, Warren and Layla stayed up later than normal, their bodies entwined, heat unfurling and flowers blooming.
Layla felt warmth spreading through her body at the memory, and she turned in Warren's embrace to kiss him awake. She felt Warren smiling against her lips, his fingers squeezing against her thigh, and Layla moved quickly so that she was straddling him. Warren's smile turned to a broad grin, a challenge dancing in his eyes. She grinned and kissed him, her fingers curling against his bare shoulders.
"Layla! Warren! Something's happened to Craig," Ethan said at their door.
Craig, who had taken Max out to go grocery shopping.
"Max," Layla said, getting off Warren and changing into the first shirt and skirt she touched, Warren dressing just as fast beside her.
"Which shopping centre did he go to?" Warren asked, hands already alight and making it difficult to get his shirt on.
"The one on Green Avenue, I think," Ethan said, stepping back as the vine door parted and Chaos emerged from their bedroom.
"Someone call Honey; see if she knows what's going on. Craig might've gone for ice cream again," Layla said, though she doubted it.
"I'll call," Donny said, coming out of his room further down the hall with Wendy beside him.
"I'll get Adam to check the security footage. Green Avenue, right?" Wendy asked Ethan, who nodded and followed her up into the Hive and to Adam's room.
They all made their way up into the Hive, Donny talking with Honey rapidly to try to determine what had happened and what was going on. Adam had the security footage projected onto the kitchen wall in a matter of seconds, Donny relaying to Honey what had happened to Craig.
"Honey hasn't had a vision about this at all," Donny said with a frown. "She had no idea this was going to happen. Simon's already trying to organise a flight back. Or he's planning on running, I'm not sure."
"You've got the license plate number, Ace?" Poison asked.
"Got it and following it through street cameras," he confirmed. "It's not live, but it's as close as I can get."
"Send us coordinates along the way. We're leaving," Fire said.
Fire and Poison headed to the small room that had once been their super wardrobe and was now filled with jetpacks. Fire grabbed the one with fire-resistant straps and pulled it on.
"We're coming with you," Blaze said, glowing a defiant yellow. Molten was beside him and looked just as determined.
"Hurry up," Poison said, already heading to the door. Turning on their communication app, Poison slipped the ear device over the curve of her ear, tucking the pod into her ear and checking that she could hear Acidic's voice.
"All right, they're heading down Old Box Road."
Poison put on a pair of glasses that projected a map over whatever roads she saw, then left the Hive and flew up into the air with Fire beside her. She tried not to think about what would happen if they never found Max or if he was hurt by the people who'd kidnapped him. She could feel the same worries and emotions from Fire's branding tattoo on her wrist. Poison pushed her emotions away, burying them inside of her deeper than a seed. She needed to stay clear-headed and find Max. Beside her Fire burned his emotions down as well, knowing that they wouldn't help.
Flying above Maxville, Chaos were cold and ruthless with only one goal in mind: find their son and destroy whoever had taken him.
Less than five minutes later, Frieda and Nina arrived at the Hive to find everyone gone except for Adam. Seeing the footage still being projected onto the kitchen wall, both women realised that their grandson had been kidnapped. Frieda looked at Craig's double intently for a second, then grabbed Nina's hand, leading her back out through the forest and to the car.
"Where are we going?" Nina asked, surprised that they were leaving when they could probably help Adam.
"We're going to get our grandson back," Frieda replied firmly, sliding into the driver's seat and clipping her belt on.
"Someone's clearing the footage," Acidic said in frustration.
"Then get us there faster," Poison snapped.
Beside her, Fire was completely aflame and had destroyed the jetpack. It seemed that he was staying aloft by pure anger alone, though Blaze and Molten were hovering as close to him as possible in case he fell anyway.
"Shit, they're working backwards. I might not get you the last few streets," Acidic said, typing as fast as humanly possible, trying to circumvent the issue and get as close to Max's whereabouts as he could.
"Then we'll burn it all," Fire said, his voice oddly calm despite his exterior.
Following the last of the app's directions to a neighbourhood, Chaos hovered in the air for the moment, as though they were trying to see through the houses themselves. Unable to do so, they were forced to descend and hope that they would find Max sooner rather than later.
...
"How did it go?" the woman asked as soon as the door opened, eager and anxious.
"Can I get inside before the whole neighbourhood hears and finds out what we've done?" he hissed softly, the redheaded baby cradled in his arms.
Eyes narrowing at the tone he was using, the woman stepped back anyway and let him inside. She looked at the baby curiously. "Did you find out who his parents are?"
"No. I couldn't find out his name either," he muttered in frustration.
"Great work, Jake," another man sneered as he entered the room.
"Screw you, Josh," Jake said with a glare.
Josh gave his brother the finger, then looked at the baby, his sneer falling away as his face shifted to look like Craig. "Hey, big guy. What's your name?"
"Unca!"
"Unca? That's a weird name," Jake muttered, frowning. He handed the kid to Josh and headed over to the dining table where his computer was set up.
"He's saying 'uncle'," the woman corrected.
"Oh, right."
"Change back, Josh. You know how much I hate seeing that face," the woman said, turning away.
"Sorry, Ma," Josh said, Craig's features slipping away to his own once more.
"Change to a few of the others; see if the kid responds," Jake said, sliding into his computer chair to start deleting the security footage.
Figuring it was better than nothing, Josh did as suggested and turned into Acidic. "Hey, d'you reckon I could beat you on the computer like this?"
"Acidic's computer skills were something he learned, not his superpower," Jake said, rolling his eyes.
"Josh, stop distracting your brother; he needs to delete the footage sooner rather than later. Work backwards, Jake."
"Huh?"
"Delete the footage backwards. They'll know that something's wrong by now and they'll start at the shopping centre. I don't want Chaos turning up on our doorstep, do you?"
"Right. No, of course not. Good idea, Ma," Jake said quickly.
Getting another 'unca' from the baby, Josh turned back to his own self. He had to take a few moments before attempting Merge and received another 'unca' for his efforts. After taking a moment to breathe, he tried Molten, with the baby calling 'unca' happily. Waiting for a long moment so his head would stop spinning, Josh shifted to Speed this time, only to get another 'unca'. "How many uncles does this kid have?" he muttered to himself, changing back to his own self once more.
"We have no idea how many people are being held in the Hive, so he could consider all of them to be his uncle. Try one of the women," his mother instructed.
Josh winced. "But..."
"No buts, Josh. Change your face if you're that worried about having a vagina and breasts," she snapped.
Josh flushed bright red in a mix of anger and embarrassment. His mother knew that he could only change his whole body, not just one feature. It was a sore spot with both himself and Jake, despite all of the training they'd both had since they were old enough to shift, neither of them could master what Carbon Copy seemed to do so easily.
Not looking at Jake or his mother, Josh changed to Poison.
The kid brightened up and clapped his hands eagerly. "Mama!"
"Oh. Well, that was easy. So, I guess Fire's your papa then?" Josh asked, shifting back to his own body.
"Check," his mother said tersely.
"What? Why? Poison's obviously his mother, so Fire has to be the father."
"You don't know that. The Hive is a one-bedroom house, who knows what goes on in there?" his mother said with a raised eyebrow and pointed expression.
Josh wrinkled his nose at the idea, but couldn't think of a retort. Instead, he shifted to Fire's form instead and looked to the kid.
Over at the computer, Jake swore loudly and heatedly. Josh covered the kid's ears quickly, grinning a little when the baby laughed at the new game.
"What's going on, Jake?" his mother asked, looking at the computer screen but not understanding what was happening.
"Someone's trying to find us; I'm presuming it's Acidic," Jake muttered, almost absent-mindedly as his fingers raced across the keyboard, trying to block Acidic and hide their trail at the same time.
"Dada!" the baby burst out with a bright giggle.
"Told you Fire's the father," Josh muttered under his breath.
His mother was so focused on Jake and the computer that she didn't catch the muttered words, but she glared over at Josh anyway. He shifted back to his own body and picked the baby up, waving a stuffed bear at him. The baby's face fell at the sight of the bear and he started wailing loudly.
"Josh, what did you do?" his mother snapped, glaring at him again.
"Nothing! I just showed him the bear," he said, holding it up as proof.
"Give him to me," she said, stalking across the room to take the baby from his arms. She jiggled him and patted him on the back gently, saying soothing words, but to no avail. The baby continued to wail and scream - far too loud for someone so tiny in Jake's opinion. "Change to Poison or Fire; it might settle him."
Josh was fairly tired after changing no less than eight times in less than two hours - from the old woman to Fire himself - and it took him almost two full minutes before he could change to Fire again. The baby hiccuped at the sight of him, making grabbing motions towards him. Josh took the baby from his mother and rocked him gently, grateful that it had worked and the kid had stopped screaming.
A few minutes of tense silence passed - Jake still frantically working on the computer and Josh trying to lull the baby to sleep - and there was a firm knock on the door.
"Is it Chaos?" Josh asked.
"Do you think they'd really knock?" his mother said, rolling her eyes. "It's probably just a concerned neighbour. Keep working, I'll deal with this," she said, heading to the door.
"Good morning, Cara. We've come for our grandson," Frieda said, her expression pleasant and her voice like steel.
Nina pushed the door open completely, grabbed Cara's forearm and dragged her into the house. Frieda stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
...
"Uh, guys? Frieda and Nina are in the neighbourhood," Acidic said.
"Location?" Fire asked, already rising into the air.
"Three streets down. Pinpointing it on the map now," he said.
Poison turned the jetpack on and flew upwards, barely stopping to readjust before flying towards the bright red marker that she could see through her glasses. Fire propelled himself so he was beside her. Molten and Blaze were on their heels, not caring about the heat from the jetpack and Fire.
Landing in front of the marked house, Poison heard screaming. She ran forward, Fire a step behind her. She singed the back of her heels with the jetpack exhausts, though she hardly noticed, more intent on getting inside the house. Fire destroyed the door with a burst of flames and they both ran inside, stopping short as they saw what was happening.
Three adults were on the floor, screaming in pain, their bodies contorted into awkward positions that human bodies were simply not designed to be in. Frieda was holding Max, smiling at him and distracting him from the hoarse screams.
Relief flooded Poison and Fire at the sight of Max alive, whole, and unharmed. Poison gripped Fire's hand tightly, letting the last hour's worth of emotion flood her body, trembling in response. Fire was shaking as well and he gripped her hand just as firmly. They both needed a moment to compose themselves before they accidentally hurt their son, vines slipping away and the flames disappearing with a shimmer.
Frieda pressed a kiss to Max's hair gently. "There's your mama and papa," she cooed, waving Max's fist at Poison and Fire as they approached.
"Mama! Dada!" Max agreed eagerly.
Poison stopped short on realising what her son had said. "He just called me mama! Oh, Fire, did you hear that? He called you dada too!"
Fire grinned broad and bright, squeezing Max's hand. "You can say mama and dada as many times as you like, okay? I'll never get sick of hearing that," he murmured, kissing Max's cheek and then kissing Poison as well. "We'll have to celebrate later. I want to deal with them first."
Poison looked from Max to Fire to the three adults still under Nina's thrall. "Frieda, can you take him home, please? Merge and Tempest should have found Cee by now."
"Of course, dear. Before you do anything rash, you should know that this is Cara and her twin boys, Josh and Jake; Carbon's family," Frieda said, her words stilling even Blaze and Molten who were just as relieved to see Max alive as Chaos were.
"What? I thought they were in witness protection?" Poison asked, surprised to see them now after so long.
Cara looked far older than she remembered, though that could be the pain she was in. Elijah and Elliot were young adults now, identical in every way that only a few people had ever been able to tell them apart. She wasn't entirely surprised to learn that they had the same powers as their Uncle Craig.
"They were," Frieda said.
"How did you find them before us?" Blaze asked curiously.
"Acidic left the security footage from the grocery store running. I saw who had taken Max and was... lucky."
"Of course. Thank you, Frieda," Fire said, kissing her cheek.
"You think I'd let someone take my grandson?" she scoffed, patting Fire's cheek. "Come on then, Nina. We've got a baby to take care of," Frieda called over her shoulder, leaving the house.
Poison had Cara and the twins wrapped up in vines before Nina could argue. "We'll take it from here. Thank you, Nina."
She nodded, looking a little pale after using her power for so long after so many years. "Cara was planning on raising him to fight and defeat you both. Josh found out he's yours by shifting into both of you."
Poison and Fire frowned at Nina's words, not comprehending.
"He called Josh mama and dada," she explained.
Fire was covered in flames in a heartbeat. Beside him, Poison's vines had returned and thorny strands covered her hair.
"Yield and join us, or die," Chaos said. They were reluctant to offer the first option but it was the deal they offered to all heroes.
"N-never," Cara croaked, eyes watering and her body slowing unwinding from the torturous position she'd been stuck in, Nina's compulsions overriding her own brain to make her suffer and hurt.
"Josh, Jake? Do you yield?"
Josh looked from his mother's pained face to his twin. Jake gulped, his eyes wide. They'd been trained to answer this question since they were eight years old, though death had never seemed so imminent or real when they were simply answering their mother.
...
Craig only half-listened to Donny's explanations. The other half of him was intent on watching the trees, waiting for Chaos to return with or without Max. The thought of them returning without Max made him feel nauseous, but he couldn't move or look away from the window.
"... witness protection blocked Honey's sight against Cara - "
His sister's name caught Craig's full attention and he finally looked over to Donny. "What's Cara got to do with it?"
"Frieda and Nina found Max; they're bringing him back now," Donny repeated. "Cara and her sons stole him; apparently they were going to raise him to defeat Chaos."
It had been bad enough when his sister had disowned Craig and left with his nephews. It had felt like a hole in his heart, still painful and raw after all of these years, though he tried to hide it. Cara had hidden herself and her sons with the help of witness protection and Craig had had no way of knowing if his family were all right. For Cara to actively try to hurt him - and his family within Chaos - was even worse than her leaving in the first place. Craig doubted that Chaos could ever forgive him, nor what he could do to make it up to them. Craig didn't realise he was trembling until Donny put a blanket around his shoulders.
"They're not upset with you, Cee. It could've happened to anyone - even Chaos themselves," Donny added. "Look, there's Frieda and Nina with Max."
Craig looked out the window and saw them arriving. Choking back a sob of relief, Craig rushed out of the Hive, only to stop abruptly on the porch. What if Max didn't like him anymore? He'd been kidnapped by someone with his face. Craig crossed his arms over his stomach, trying not to retch at the horrible thought.
"Unca!" Max called out brightly.
Frieda smiled at Craig as they approached, her smile faltering when she saw how pale the young man was. "Are you all right, dear?"
"I... I'm so sorry!" he said, bursting into tears.
"What for?" Nina asked, confused.
"He's blaming himself for Max being kidnapped," Donny explained from the doorway.
Craig buried his face in the crook of his arm, hoping to stop the tears sooner rather than later.
Nina moved to tug his arm away, pulling him into a firm hug. "It wasn't your fault, sweetheart. Come on, help us bring Max in. He wants attention from his uncle now," she said.
Craig pulled away sniffling and Frieda held Max out for him. His hands were trembling when he uncrossed his arms from his stomach, and Craig shook his head, stepping back. "I-I can't."
"You will take Max right now, or so help me, I will make you."
Craig gulped at Nina's threat. He shook his hands out and then reached out to take Max from Frieda, glad that his hands seemed steadier now. Max immediately started to babble at Craig, happy and carefree.
Relieved that Max didn't hate him on sight, Craig carefully carried him inside and to the library. Molten and Blaze arrived a few minutes later, soot covering their faces. Molten was holding a red-haired baby, a result of the Pacifier that he still carried around as a water droplet under his skin.
"Only one of your nephews yielded. Sorry, Cee," Blaze said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Craig looked down at his nephew in Molten's arms, feeling the same sense of awe he'd felt when he'd first seen the tiny babies after Cara giving birth, and again after Layla had given birth to Max.
"He's yours, if you want him," Poison offered from the library doorway.
She and Fire were just as sooty as Molten and Blaze, which meant that not only had they killed Cara and her son, but they'd stayed while the fire raged to ensure that they had truly died. Chaos had only made that mistake once.
"What if... What if he hates me? He'll find out about Cara and his brother eventually."
"He'll know it was his decision to yield and that they didn't," Warren said, gently taking Max from Craig, cuddling his son close.
Max sighed contently, closing his eyes against his father's warm chest. Ethan carefully handed Craig the newly Pacified baby, stepping back and waiting for Craig to make his decision.
Craig smiled down at his nephew, stroking his cheek gently. "Hey Elliot," he murmured, the blue-eyed baby looking up at him solemnly. "You'll be safe and looked after, I promise. When you're older, I'll teach you how to shift, how about that?"
In response Elliot blinked, yawned, and fell asleep in Craig's arms.
...
"This just in: Carbon Copy has been seen around Maxville with a red-haired baby at the same time as Chaos have been seen with another red-haired baby. Is the Hive full of babies?! Who are the parents? Did Carbon Copy duplicate one of the babies? Is that even possible?! Tune in later for our special report," Brian Anderson said with a broad smile.
Adam snorted and switched the channel to the Saturday morning cartoons. "Don't give me that look; they'll get a better education from cartoons than anything Channel Five produces," he said when Craig looked over at him.
Shrugging in agreement, Craig continued to feed Elliot, feeling the hole in his heart starting to mend.
...
The end.
Thanks for reading; I hope you liked it!
Author's note: there's going to be one more Max story. Hoping to post early in the new year :)