Disclaimer: I don't own Sky High.

Summary: The simplest of events can change a person deeply. Other not-so-simple events can change a person irrevocably; even if they become someone they had never imagined. These are the events that lead to the creation of Poison and Fire, and their reign of Chaos.

Author note: The Tales of Chaos that are currently uploaded (Heartless, Nature and fire, and this one, Mother nature) are essentially unrelated. They all follow a similar story line: Will dumps/cheats on Layla, Layla turns evil with Warren, and they become the villainous duo Chaos. However, you do not have to read them all as a set in order to understand them, as they are all different stories.

Warning: Just a quick reminder that this is rated M for a reason. There will be graphic scenes later on, of both torture and a sexual nature, and quite a lot of the chapters involve swearing. Please do not read if you're not comfortable with these things. I will put a warning for torture scenes.

Read on, oh faithful ones...

...

Chapter Four

...

Will knocked on the door, trying to calm his nerves. He was visiting his girlfriend, that was completely normal. Flying over to her Great Aunt's house after finding out her address from the school records? Not so much. Layla wasn't answering her phone, and he'd accidentally broken his by throwing it through the floor. He'd done the same action before, back when he didn't have powers, and it had simply bounced off the carpet. Now, it had put a hole through a layer of carpet, wood, and whatever else the floor was made out of.

He'd have to take better care of things... Will mused, remembering his mother saying similar things to his father after he broke yet another one of the TV remotes when his favourite team lost a game.

Besides, it was completely reasonable that he should see her. Layla was his girlfriend, and since she wasn't answering her phone, he was worried about her. Maybe he could find out why she hadn't talked to him all day.

The door opened, but it wasn't Layla. He smiled briefly, realising that he had no idea what her Great Aunt's name actually was.

"Hello, Will. How are you?" she asked, smiling at him.

"Good, thanks. How are you?" he asked, racking his brain to remember her name. He still came up blank, but she was already replying and didn't seem to notice.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking. Layla isn't home yet, and I don't think she'll be back for a while. She's over at your friend's house. The one with the streaks?" she said, unable to think of the young man's name.

"Oh, right. Of course. I completely spaced on that. Sorry to bother you," he said, leaving before she could say anything else. It was way too uncomfortable having a conversation with someone whose name you'd forgotten.

Will made sure no one was around, running for a few metres before jumping and flying into the air. At least he already knew where Magenta lived.

...

Warren sighed, hanging up the phone from a conversation with his mother. She was running late, and the Mayor had just called an emergency meeting with all of his staff members, so she probably wouldn't be home for another hour or two yet. He explained this to Layla, but she didn't seem to mind at the delay.

"I'm happy to wait. If you don't mind, that is?" she added, watching him.

He did mind. A hell of a lot, in fact. He'd spent most of the afternoon trying not to think about Layla in her Homecoming dress. One green strap fallen over her shoulder as he held the material up around her hips, her legs wrapped around him as he... Realising that Layla was waiting for an answer, Warren hurried to stop thinking those types of thoughts.

"No, I don't mind," he said, thankful that his voice hadn't gone up a pitch.

"Great. Thanks, Warren," she said, smiling at him brightly.

He managed a small smile in return, immediately wanting to chastise himself. Or go have a very cold shower.

Layla didn't seem to notice, taking out her homework and resting her notebook on her knees. She looked up at him, frowning slightly when she saw he hadn't moved. "Are you all right?" she asked, concerned.

Warren nodded silently, taking a seat beside her and grabbing his own homework from the coffee table.

They worked together in silence for an hour. Warren had only looked up once, and on seeing Layla sucking on her pen, the plastic length sliding between her lips, he had immediately looked back to his own work and refused to look up again.

"You know what's really weird?" Layla asked eventually.

"What?" he asked tersely, still not looking up.

"Heroes and sidekicks. They never seem to work together to do anything. They work alongside each other, but they always seem to split up at one crucial point in order to do something or find someone. Of course, that's usually the point that one of them gets caught by the villains and the other one has to rescue them."

Warren looked up at that, wondering how this conversation reminded him of their one earlier that day. "Splitting up covers more distance," he said, shrugging. Come on, that was the basics of hero training.

"No," Layla said vehemently, shaking her head. "All it does is just create vulnerability. Together, you're more of a threat. Individually, you're just a person... I mean, Sky High encourages heroes to choose sidekicks that will complement their own powers, and they'll eventually come to rely on that person and their skills. By splitting them up, both the hero and sidekick can be overwhelmed by whatever they can't handle on their own... That's why there should be two corridors at any evil lair's entrance. It's fairly simple, really."

"Sounds simple," Warren replied with a nod, frowning slightly. "Too simple, though. I mean, not all heroes have sidekicks," he said, trying to think of an example. "Jetstream didn't have a partner until the Commander."

"Actually, that's not true," a familiar voice said.

Warren looked up at his mum and tried to repress the sudden feeling of guilt at the topic of conversation. He wondered how much she'd heard, wondering if she was looking at him and seeing his father instead. However, his mother simply continued talking and didn't seem fazed, so he doubted that she'd heard anything other than his last sentence.

"Jetstream did have a sidekick after attending Sky High. Poor girl was killed after being caught by the Spinner Sisters. Those two were as bad as bad could be. I think your father looked up to them at one point in his career," she added, shaking her head.

"What did they do?" Layla asked curiously.

"Besides kill Jetstream's sidekick?" she asked, frowning briefly. "Well, they tried to take over the city. They spun huge webs across the roads and buildings. No one could go anywhere. Luckily, most superheroes secret sanctum's have different exits from their houses... Turns out that the Spinner Sisters were vulnerable to bug spray," she mused, shaking her head at the memory. "So, Warren, are you going to introduce me to your friend, or do I have to continue down Memory Lane for the rest of the night?" she asked, grinning.

"Sorry, mum. This is Layla Williams. Layla, this is my mum," Warren introduced quickly.

"Hello, Ms. Peace, it's nice to meet you," Layla said, standing to shake her hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Layla," she replied warmly. "You're the one who wants the apprenticeship at the Mayor's office, right?"

"Yes, Ms. Peace, that's me."

"Why do you want the job?"

Warren watched as his mother sat across from Layla. There was an itching feeling at his head, making him want to leave the room as soon as possible. He stood up, both women oblivious to him. Going into the kitchen, the feeling disappeared immediately. Warren's hands erupted in an bright flash of flames. He hated it when his mother used her power on him like that. She could have just asked him to leave, and he would have done it, but to be pushed out and betrayed by his own feelings was something he loathed.

It was one of the reasons that his parents had argued so much whenever they were together; his father screaming that she had forced him to feel something, her mother denying it and then in the next breath, threatening to make him feel those very feelings if he didn't stop screaming, to which he responded to with more screams. It was a never-ending cycle of screaming, fire-fuelled emotions and broken rooms.

Taking a deep breath to calm down, Warren waited until the flames disappeared before getting things out to cook dinner. He hoped Layla was going well at her first test to get the job.

...

Will landed down the street from Magenta's house and walked up the path to her house. He could hear laughter coming from the front yard, and grinned slightly when he saw Magenta running after her brother, spraying him with water from a long purple hose.

"Hey, Maj," he called, waving a hand to her.

Magenta paled slightly, the hose limp in her hand. "Will! What are you doing here?"

"I came to see Layla. Is she around?"

"No," she replied with a frown. "I haven't seen her since this afternoon at school."

"Oh," Will said dejectedly. Maybe Layla's Great Aunt had been lying, and she just hadn't wanted to see him after all.

"Come play!" Magenta's brother called, grinning up at Will.

He grinned back at him, opening the gate and stepping inside. "What are you playing?"

"Water dragons!" he replied excitedly, tugging on Will's hand, happy that he had another person to play with.

"So, do the dragons fly?" Will asked, dropping his bag by the gate.

"No! They're water dragons, silly! They swim!"

"Of course they do," he said. "Oof!" he called out in surprise as Magenta's brother squealed and ran away, still pulling on Will's hand.

After the initial surprise, Will let himself be pulled along, laughing as he gently picked the boy up to run away from a water-wielding Magenta faster.

It wasn't until Magenta's mother called out for them to come in for dinner that Will realised he'd stayed longer than he meant to. As he went inside, he bumped into Magenta. He apologised quickly, suddenly noticing just how wet they both were. He could see every curve of her body, and oh, no. That was a very bad thought.

Magenta was Zach's girlfriend (or maybe it was wishful thinking on Zach's part. Will wasn't entirely sure what their relationship was, and somehow doubted that Zach knew either), and it was extremely bad to be noticing things like curves, even if her clothes were clinging to her. He looked away quickly, and was subsequently hit in the head with a purple towel.

"Come on, Will. You're going to freeze to death if you don't get warm. Dinner's getting cold," Magenta called, turning and heading back inside.

She chewed on her lip anxiously, the urge to become a guinea pig almost overwhelming her, as it hadn't done since she was too young to handle her emotions. In those days, she'd run around as a small unnoticeable creature for hours on end the moment something made her too emotional. She'd learnt how to control herself better since then, and now separated her emotions so she could live normally. But now... Now, she'd noticed the look on Will's face - the boy had his emotions on his sleeve, honestly! - and she'd immediately felt overwhelmingly guilty about Zach. While they weren't girlfriend-boyfriend per se, they were still something... And despite not wanting to admit it, Magenta had been looking at Will just like he'd been looking at her.

When Will was as dry as he figured he was going to get, he went out to the front to get his bag and text his parents that he was at a friend's for dinner. He didn't specify which friend, pushing away his guilt as he headed to the back garden to enter Magenta's house for dinner. Will found that he'd been more comfortable hanging out with Magenta for the past few hours than he'd been with Layla for months, even before her mother's death. He'd actually been leading up to breaking up with her during one of the awkward and uncomfortable silences they'd been having, but had stopped himself. Will enjoyed having someone to kiss and walk hand-in-hand with. As with taking years to admit that he didn't have powers to his parents, Will wasn't big on confrontation. Besides, Layla had just had a huge loss in her life, and probably couldn't handle another one.

"All right there, Will?" Magenta asked, grinning up at him.

The purple streaks in her hair really looked nice, Will thought to himself, nodding in response quickly. He took the seat beside her, trying to ignore the warmth of her leg against his. He accepted the plate of meat, a small relief to be able to eat it without Layla's disapproving look across from him.

Will pushed away all thoughts of Layla, of Zach, and enjoyed himself for the first time in too long.

...

Layla smiled at Ms. Peace, trying to ignore the prickling feeling in her head that made her want to spill her deepest and darkest secrets.

This was Warren's mum, and why on earth was she more nervous about meeting this woman compared to her first meeting with Jetstream? Was it because she'd been too young to understand the severity of meeting another super? Layla wondered, immediately dismissing the thought. She'd always known exactly what it meant to meet Jetstream, Will's mother. This was something different.

The prickling sensation became worse, and Layla noticed the intense look of concentration on Ms. Peace's face. She was using her power on her! she thought, the realisation accompanied with many emotions, but she wasn't shocked or indignant at the intrusion. In fact, there was a kernel of intrigue mixed along with other emotions, making her wonder if Ms. Peace did this to every person she met, and how interesting it would be to see how far her powers could be pushed against a person to make them reveal every single thing about themselves. If she was a super villain, then one of the first people she'd recruit would be this woman.

"What are you thinking about?" Ms. Peace asked casually.

The sensation in her head became worse, and Layla almost doubled over in pain. Her hands shook and she tried to repress the trembling. She immediately knew that she couldn't tell the truth. She'd never get a job working for the Mayor with those sort of thoughts. "I was thinking about my mother."

She almost sighed in relief when the pressure disappeared, and Layla frowned slightly when she saw Ms. Peace's expression. It was a mix of horror, pity and an ounce of regret. She wondered if she'd ever regretted using her power before.

"I am so sorry, Layla... Do you think she would have liked you working for the Mayor?"

This time there was no desperate need to answer the question, and Layla relaxed slightly. "Well, he wasn't her favourite person, considering the amount of local deforestation that happened in order to put up a new skyscraper," Layla said, and kept her grin in check when Ms. Peace's eye twitched slightly. "However, I think that my mother would have liked that I was attempting to do something positive and helpful in my own way. If it was the wrong choice, then she would have let me discover that on my own, but she was always supportive of me and my choices."

Layla clenched her hands tightly, and she could feel something just beneath her skin, something waiting patiently and growing until the right time. She had no idea what it was, but she instinctively knew that it had something to do with those vines that had entered her when her mother died, as well as the thorns she'd hurt Will with, and the vines that had circled Warren earlier. Whatever was inside of her was special, and she had to keep it a secret. She would keep it safe and it would protect her...

"Your mother sounded like she was a wonderful woman. I'm sorry I never had a chance to meet her."

"She was a wonderful woman," Layla agreed quietly.

Warren knocked on the doorframe, looking hesitant for a moment. "I've finished dinner. Are you ready to eat?" he asked, looking to both of them.

"Yes, thank you, dear. We'll eat at the table," his mother replied, standing and indicating for Layla to go first.

Uncertain of where to go, Layla was grateful when Warren nodded his head towards a door, and went in the indicated direction.

To her credit, Ms. Peace didn't say a thing when her son served a simple bowl of mac-and-cheese to them. Layla's cheeks reddened slightly as she realised that he'd done it for her. Will had never done something like this; he'd always pulled faces at the salads and vegetarian meals she ate, scoffing his own meat-filled plate while judging her. She'd assumed it came from his parents, who had continued to offer her bacon, eggs, and the like despite knowing her mother's power all those years.

"I don't mind if people eat meat while I'm with them; you didn't have to do this, Warren," she said quietly.

"Just say thank you, hippie," he said, rolling his eyes as he sat down next to her.

"Thank you."

Ms. Peace grinned slightly, starting on her meal. It had been quite some time since she'd eaten mac-and-cheese, and while she was sure she'd go for a cheeseburger later, it was amusing to see her son taking someone else's feelings into consideration.

After dinner, Ms. Peace had insisted that it was too late for Layla to catch a bus home, and offered for her to stay over, adding that Warren could sleep on the couch. Despite her initial protests, Layla soon found herself calling her Great Aunt to let her know that she would be staying at Warren's home for the night. She felt slightly guilty when she was told that Will had come over looking for her, but the emotion was overcome by the opportunity to get a job. Deciding to text him to let him know that she'd see him at school tomorrow, Layla did so and then pocketed her phone. With that settled, she went to go argue on the sleeping arrangements.

"I don't want to kick Warren out of his own bed, Ms. Peace. I'd feel awful about doing that to him, and I'm sure that the lounge would be much more comfortable for me than him," she added, looking up slightly at Warren's taller stature.

"It's fine; I'll sleep on the couch," Warren said, scratching at his head briefly.

"Please, I insist. I'll be far more comfortable out here than in a strange bed. Really, Ms. Peace, I promise I'll be fine," she said, pleading with the woman one last time.

There was a very long moment of silence, and then, for the first time in years, Warren watched as his mother relented to another's request.

"Very well then. But Warren will make up the couch for you, so if you're not comfortable, then you'll have someone to blame," Ms. Peace said, her tone leaving no room for discussion.

Not wanting to push their luck, both Warren and Layla nodded in agreement. After her long day at work, Ms. Peace said that she was exhausted and went to bed, telling them not to stay up much longer so they could be refreshed for school in the morning. Warren grinned at Layla slightly, heading to the linen cupboard to get sheets and a blanket for her.

"Are you sure you'll be all right on the couch? I really don't care if I sleep on it," he said as he helped set up the bedding.

She rolled her eyes at him. "You're a whole foot taller than me, Warren. You wouldn't fit on here comfortably. Besides, I refuse to throw you out of your own room," Layla added. She frowned slightly. "Where is your room, anyway?"

"At the end of the hall."

"Can I see it?" she asked, grinning.

Warren was startled at her request, and tried to remember if his room was clean or not. He shrugged slightly, following her down the hall to his room.

Layla stopped in front of his door so suddenly that he walked into her, his hands on her waist as he steadied both of them. Warren's eyes closed for a brief moment as he breathed in her scent - honeysuckle and a heady grape-vine scent that he'd never smelled before, but immediately known - and he hurried to open his eyes and let go of her when he realised what he was doing. Layla flushed slightly, but she hadn't moved or pushed him away.

They were both silent as Layla opened his door, and Warren stayed back as she stepped inside. He liked the idea of her in his room far too much. Layla on his bed, or pressed up against a wall, his hands on her body, her hands on his body, kissing each other as the heat consumed them.

Layla looked at everything with interest, noticing that all of his furniture was black. She wasn't sure if they were burned that way, or originally that colour. He had no posters on his walls, but there were remnants of blu-tac and sticky tape, as if everything else paper-based had burned away. A small stack of books were in the corner, a bucket of water in front of them. Dark red sheets and a similarly coloured bedspread were on his bed, much neater than she had expected.

"What do you think, hippie?" he asked with a slight grin, leaning against the doorframe.

"I love it," she replied with a brilliant smile.

"Really?" Warren asked in surprise.

"Really," she replied, nodding. "It's so ... you," Layla said. "Which sounds really corny, so ignore that... What's the bucket of water for? To put out any fires?"

"No, I can put them out myself if I choose to. The water protects the books. If a blaze gets this close, then the water boils instead of the books catching on fire."

"That's a really smart idea," she said, impressed.

"Thanks. Found out by accident when I was doing the dishes at Paper Lantern early last year."

"Do you light fires accidentally often?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Not usually, but sometimes my emotions can get away from me."

"I know what you mean," Layla murmured with a nod.

"Your power doesn't seem very emotion-based," Warren said, choosing his words carefully.

"No, but my emotions affect my power, just as yours does. I mean, you saw what happened with Will just because he held my hand when I didn't want him to."

"Would you do the same thing now?"

"What?"

"If someone held your hand? Would you do that thing again?"

"I ... I don't know," Layla said, looking down at his hand for a moment. "I can try, see what happens."

Warren held both of his hands out, waiting patiently for her to take them. She did so hesitantly, wincing slightly as she expected to sting him with thorns. Nothing happened, and Layla opened her eyes, looking at their clasped hands in surprise.

"Do you trust me?" he asked after some silence, their hands still joined.

Layla nodded. Warren grinned at her apprehensive look and their hands lit up with flames. She stared, but didn't cry out. The fire wasn't burning her or painful in any way. In fact, it seemed to wash over her skin like stepping into a bath.

"Can I try something?" she asked hesitantly, looking up at him, the shadows of the flames dancing on their faces. "Do you trust me?"

This time, Warren nodded in response. Layla looked at their hands for a moment, thorny vines wrapping around their hands. The fire continued to burn, and before their eyes, tiny green buds began to grow. At Layla's insistence, Warren put more heat and energy into the flames, and the buds burst into bloom, brilliant red, black and green flowers encircling their hands. Slowly, they both let their powers fade and Warren inched closer to Layla, her eyes closing in anticipation.

"Good night, kids! Sleep well!"

They jumped apart, Layla's face red and Warren letting go of her hands as if he'd been scalded.

"Thank you, Ms. Peace! You too," Layla called back. She turned to Warren, her face still red. "I'd better go now. Good night, Warren," she said, smiling at him briefly before leaving.

"Good night," he said after her quietly.

The door shut with a gust of hot wind, and inside a fire raged. Sleeping on the couch that night, Layla used a few plants to keep her cocooned and comfortable, the black, red and green petals as soft as feathers.

...

End of the fourth chapter.

Hope you liked it!