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.

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 Six

...

"I've made a decision about the job," Layla said, smiling as Warren sat beside her on the bus.

"Good morning to you too," he muttered sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at her.

She was wearing a black and green shirt today with a green skirt, and black stockings. Still in mourning, but if the return of colours was anything to go by, it seemed that Layla was beginning to heal.

"Sorry. Good morning, how are you?" Layla asked, waiting somewhat impatiently for an answer so she could continue with her decision.

"Fine. So, what are you doing about the job?" Warren asked.

"I'm going to change to the Hero track."

"Good for you. You don't happen to have any coffee on you?" he muttered, yawning.

"No, I keep the espresso machine in my other bag," Layla said sarcastically, put out that he wasn't as excited over her decision as she was.

"Bring that bag tomorrow then," Warren said, closing his eyes and leaning back on the seat.

Layla glowered at him for a few minutes before realising that he wasn't paying her any attention, and relented out of boredom. She'd been hesitant about leaving the house this morning, but was glad when she'd discovered that the nondescript van with it's ridiculous satellite dish wasn't there anymore.

Opening her bag, Layla took a book out and tried to read. The driver seemed to be learning where the potholes and bumps on the road were, and started to avoid them. Now, some of the braver (or desperate) students tried to study on the bus ride to Sky High. It was a much smoother ride when they were airborne, as this driver didn't go as fast as Ron Wilson (bus driver and giant robot fighter).

"Warren? We're here," she said, shaking him gently after they'd landed and he still hadn't moved.

"Go'way," Warren groaned, trying to turn away from her.

He smacked into the window, and pulled away sharply, muttering under his breath.

"Come on, you two!" the driver called.

"Yeah, we're coming," Warren replied, glaring.

Layla grabbed his bag when he walked down the aisle without it. "Forgetting something?" she said with a grin, holding the bag out to him.

"Thanks," he muttered briefly, slinging it over his shoulder, waiting for her to step off the bus before following her down. The bus pulled away with a screech of tires, heading to the bus shed. "I'll see you at lunch when I'm awake," Warren added.

Without really thinking and his brain still half asleep, he kissed her. Layla's eyes widened at the unexpected act, and when he realised what he was doing a second or two later, Warren quickly pulled away from her. He left without a word, his cheeks tinged red. She looked after him, positive that she saw a wisp of smoke curling from where his hand was clutching his bag strap.

As she heard the first bell ring for homeroom, Layla hurried to Mr. Boy's class. Along the way, she touched her lips briefly, wondering if it was a good or bad thing that she was enjoying the fact that her mouth felt like it was burning. It was a pleasant burn though, too hot for a tingle, and just a shade cooler than a fiery kiss.

Layla hurried to school her expression before entering the classroom, giving Mr. Boy an apologetic smile and nod. He nodded in return, marking her off the attendance sheet.

"Has anyone heard from Zach this morning?" Mr. Boy asked, looking at the students before him.

Magenta paled slightly, finding the peeling cover of her notebook the most interesting the thing in the world.

"He's home sick today, sir," Ethan said. "He burned out yesterday."

Mr. Boy looked worried at Ethan's choice of words. "Well, I'm sure he'll be fine, and back with us in no time," he said optimistically.

Layla made a mental note to call Zach later and see how he was going. He might have been Will's friend first, but she doubted he'd still consider Will a friend after what he and Magenta had done.

The bell rang to indicate the end of the homeroom session, and Mr. Boy smiled at all of them brightly. "Go on, learn something new and I'll see you later at English for Hero Support!" he called as everyone filed out of the room quickly.

Layla left without waiting for anyone for the first time in almost two years. Magenta looked hurt for a moment, but stayed an appropriate distance away, and was soon looking indifferent once more. Ethan walked between the two, glancing ahead to Layla and then behind to Magenta, wondering who he should side with. In the end, he stayed exactly where he was and silently hoped that Zach would get better soon. He could walk with him then.

...

"Excuse me, Principal Powers?" Layla called, knocking on her door.

"Yes? Oh, Layla, hello," she said pleasantly, recognising her from her deeds the year before. "How can I help you?"

Layla stood before her, feeling nervous suddenly. The last time this particular conversation had occurred, Layla had been very adamant and vehement about her decision to stay a sidekick.

"I'd like to apply to join the Hero track, Principal Powers," she said, her voice surprisingly steady.

Principal Powers looked surprised for a brief moment, but then her expression changed to a pleased one. "I'm very glad for that, Layla. You have to understand that when I offered it to you last year, it was in order to see you succeed. I only have my student's best interests at heart," she added. Picking up her phone, she called Coach Boomer to her office.

He arrived in a few moments, crumbs from his hero sandwich on his jacket. Unlike Principal Powers, Coach Boomer didn't seem as pleased at Layla's decision to change tracks. He remembered her refusal to power up at Power Placement all too well, and wasn't fond of being told what to do by students.

"Well, hurry it up," he muttered sourly.

She nodded briefly, spying a seed on his jacket. With barely a thought, the seed began to grow, unbeknownst to Coach Boomer. Principal Powers could see though, and she was both amused and worried about the girl's choice.

"Is that your power then? Staring intently? Really, there's a bunch of kids down the mall that could do that if you place a five dollar bill in front of them. Come on, Princ..." his complaint cut off with a girlish shriek as the seed grew at a faster rate, wrapping around his torso tightly. "Get it off! Get it off!" he said, unable to move his arms to brush the large vine off his body. "Get. It. OFF!" Boomer bellowed, attempting to displace it with his sonic voice.

On her desk, Principal Powers' glass shattered and she frowned at the mess of glass scattered over her paperwork. Around his shoulders, the vine shuddered slightly, but stayed wrapped around Boomer tightly. It burst into bloom, bright red flowers surrounding him.

"All right, I think that's enough now, Layla," Principal Powers said, her mouth twitching between a frown and a smile.

The flowers wilted, the petals dying and disappearing as they fell to the ground. The vine slithered off of his body, fading down into a seed once more. After a quick nod to Principal Powers, Coach Boomer refused to look at Layla as he left, heading to his own office to throw his sandwich in the bin and order something without any seeds.

"May I ask why you've changed your mind about becoming a Hero?" Principal Powers asked curiously before Layla could leave.

Layla almost went to tell her about the job, but decided that it really wasn't any of her business. She had decided to change to the Hero track, and she'd passed Boomer's inspection. "It's a personal decision, Principal Powers. Thank you for your time," she replied, leaving a moment later.

Sinking onto her seat, Principal Powers sighed softly. The look on Layla's face as she created the vine that wrapped around Boomer's chest, a thick rope that had the potential to crush the very life out of him, had been so cold. As she sent the memo to Mr. Boy for Layla to switch classes that afternoon, Principal Powers hoped that by keeping Layla surrounded by her friends in the Hero track, it would help her realise that there was more to life than death.

...

Warren was worried that his impromptu kiss that morning had driven Layla to jump off the edge of the school. He couldn't find her anywhere; she wasn't in the cafeteria, outside on the wall, at the small garden behind the bus shed, nor in detention.

Just as he gave up his search and decided to call her phone, he rounded the corner to find Layla sitting on the wall calmly eating her lunch.

"Where the hell have you been?" he demanded, striding over to her.

"I went to see Principal Powers about changing to the Hero track," she replied, looking up at him with a slight frown. "I told you I was changing tracks this morning, Warren... You really need a stronger supply of coffee," she added when he frowned at her in confusion.

Warren groaned, suddenly thinking that hitting his head against the wall sounded like a fantastic idea. "I forgot about that."

He'd been thinking about kissing her all morning instead.

"Have you already eaten?" Layla asked.

"Not yet. Was looking for you," he said, sitting beside her and opening his crushed paper bag.

"Why didn't you just call?"

"Because that would have been desperate... And a ringing phone would have given away your position if you were following someone," he added, trying to make his worry over her into something lighthearted instead.

"Oh, I hate that! If you're going to stalk someone, at least put your phone on silent," Layla muttered.

"Maybe heroes and sidekicks could use phones when they're separated at the entrance of an evil lair."

"I can see the slogan now... Phones: helping people not be lowered into vats of toxic waste since 1980," Layla said with a laugh. "But the last I saw, spandex pants don't have pockets to carry phones in."

"You have a pair of spandex pants lying around to check for pockets?"

"They were my mum's. She doesn't have much use for them six feet under."

Warren was silent for a moment, finding it difficult to swallow the lump that his sandwich had become. So this was how Layla had felt when he mentioned his father being in solitary.

"Breathe, Peace. You're not allowed to die choking on a sandwich," Layla said, frowning at him.

He swallowed, taking a drink of water. "So how did you demonstrate your powers to Coach Boomer?" he asked, changing the subject.

Layla didn't seem to mind at the change in the conversation, and grinned at the memory of Boomer's shrieks. She explained what she'd done, and Warren couldn't help but feel impressed by her.

"He's going to want to get revenge for that. You might want to skip the next Save the Citizen. Boomer will probably put you against me and Will."

"You think I won't beat you?" she asked, grinning.

"I don't hit girls. Unless they're trying to kill me," Warren added, thinking of Gwen and Penny - those two he would be more than willing to hit, though for very different reasons.

He hurried to cool his emotions at the thought of that bitch of a cheerleader slapping Layla before his hand burst into flames. Her face had been red for most of the night, and despite the makeup she'd borrowed from Magenta, he had seen the beginnings of a bruise on her cheek.

"How very gallant," Layla said, rolling her eyes. "So if I'm against you in the next Save the Citizen, you'll forfeit the game? Or fight and just avoid me entirely?"

Warren was surprised to notice that Layla sounded disappointed at the idea of not fighting him. "You want me to hit you?" he asked in disbelief.

"No. I want you to fight me. What's the point of learning how to fight if you refuse to hit someone because of their gender? That'd be like me learning martial arts and then not fighting a guy simply because I might kick him in the manhood."

"We have really weird conversations," Warren muttered briefly. "Fine, if you're in Save the Citizen against me, I'll fight you. Happy?"

Layla seemed to consider his question seriously, and a moment later, she nodded. "Fairly. You could sound a bit more enthusiastic about it; we've got Save the Citizen next," she said, standing as the bell rang a moment later.

"We've got Save the Citizen on Wednesday's. Today's Tuesday," he said, frowning.

"It's Wednesday today," she replied, shaking her head at him. "I'm going to buy you coffee and a calendar one day... Come on, let's see you try and fight me."

Warren shouldered his bag and followed after her, somewhat glad he had the same morning classes two days in a row.

...

As Warren had predicted, Boomer was still upset over Layla's display of power. The moment everyone was seated, he shouted for Williams to pair up with Larry and go against Will and Warren in the arena.

Layla usually believed in only using her powers when the situation demanded it (except when she couldn't control her emotions long enough to stop wilting a plant or two). Despite this being one of the times that Save the Citizen was the 'situation' and Boomer was 'demanding' it, Layla decided to bend her rule in order to really fight Warren. After Will's betrayal the day before, she had no qualms about using her power against him either.

In the stands, there were quiet murmurs, bets being exchanged by the students before the teachers could notice. Mr. Boy was chatting amiably with Mr. Medulla; everyone had heard what Will had done to Layla, even the teachers, and they were looking for a spectacular display of revenge. Since only Will had been transferred to the Hero track, most people believed that Layla's power was only worthy of it's sidekick status or, as Penny had thought the year before, that she didn't have a power at all.

On his seat, Ethan readied his phone to take a video of the fight to show to Zach. He'd probably enjoy watching Will getting beaten by Layla.

Boomer called for quiet, and by the time he pressed the buzzer for the game to start, a pin could have dropped in the gym and echoed in the silence.

The citizen started calling out to be saved, which was Will and Warren's job, as per usual. Before either one could move, Larry powered up into his large rock formation, stomping over loudly to stand in front of the citizen and block their attempts at saving the mannequin.

"I'll deal with him, you keep Layla busy," Will called. He wouldn't admit that he was terrified that Layla would simply pick him up with her vines and feed him into the metal monster along with the citizen.

Warren threw a few fireballs at Larry to keep him preoccupied as Will flew over to him. It didn't work well, only serving to irritate Larry and making him swing his arms around to stop the fireballs. He noticed Will flying around, plucking him out of the air and throwing him across the arena. Will braced himself for the impact but he still crashed into the large blocks, knocking him out for a moment. Larry returned to his post as guard of the citizen's demise, satisfied with his job.

"You sure you want to do this, Layla?" Warren asked as he came closer to her.

"You're not chickening out, are you?" she taunted, a vine wrapping around her wrist.

He threw a punch at her, a few gasps from the crowd as she dodged it quickly and made it look easy.

"Jetstream may have taught me a few things about unarmed combat," Layla admitted at his surprised look. "Now, hurry up and keep trying to defeat me so you can save the stupid citizen," she added, striking out at him.

Warren dodged her fist, but the vine shot out and clipped him on the chin. "Playing dirty there, hippie."

She just grinned at him, and Warren put his fists up once more, flames burning brightly. They began to fight in earnest, balls of fire flying out, large flowers forming to shield Layla, a large tree growing out of the floorboards to throw Warren high into the air. He came down in a blaze of flames, the tree burning to dust in a moment.

Layla glanced over to the citizen and the time. Only fifteen seconds remained before the citizen would be destroyed, and Warren hadn't landed one punch to knock her back or unconscious in order to save it from it's untimely demise. She returned to distracting him with her punches, a kick knocking Warren back to the ground. He was up in a second, his arms alight now, and a growl on his lips. He attacked her again, trying to throw ball after ball of fire at every plant she grew to shield herself, just waiting for one to weaken her enough and get through.

With everyone's attention on Warren and Layla's dance around the arena, no one noticed as Will stirred and stood up from the destroyed blocks. He flew straight at Larry, pushing him back so that he flew straight over the metal teeth, knocking into the citizen, and landing on the other side with a thud. Before he could regain his footing, Will punched Larry so hard that he became nothing more than a pile of rocks for a long moment before turning back into his normal frail self.

At the crash Larry made, both Warren and Layla turned to where Will was hovering above the teeth, trying to rip the rope apart to save the citizen. Layla's eyes flashed with anger and she threw a vine at him, the longest one she'd made yet. Will was too distracted with the rope and irritating citizen to notice her attack, and soon found himself tied up, five metres above the ground and directly above the metal teeth.

Layla watched as he started to drop, and she contemplated letting him continue to fall. A second later, she pulled the vine back sharply, pulling Will out of harm's way while the citizen was ripped to shreds.

The students all erupted with applause when Layla and Larry were declared the winners.

"You could have let him get torn up a bit," Warren muttered softly, grinning ever so slightly.

"What do you think my vine's made out of, feathers?" she replied, grinning back and ignoring the applause around them.

"Nurse Spex!"

Mr. Boy's shout was shrill and urgent enough for the applause to die down almost immediately. Larry was still lying on the ground motionless. Beside him, Will was sitting up and trying to pull out the thorns that were embedded in his arms and legs. He looked horrified at what he might have done to Larry.

He hadn't hit him that hard, had he? Larry had been in his rock form, a punch couldn't have killed him! Could it?

Nurse Spex was ushered into the arena quickly. She scanned Larry's body for damage, and she knelt beside him to check his pulse.

"He was just knocked unconscious. Where's that young Stronghold then? Oh, there you are!" she said, blinking at him behind her thick glasses. "You look like you need some medical attention too. Come on, you can carry him to the medical station. Be careful with him, or you won't get a lollipop," Nurse Spex added sternly.

The silence only lasted until Will, Larry and Nurse Spex had left the room, with everyone immediately talking about what would happen now that one of the winners had been knocked out. Looking relieved, Mr. Boy started bouncing on the balls of his feet gently. In a few moments, he had enough spring in his step to jump up to the teacher's gallery, where he took his usual place beside Mr. Medulla. Boomer pressed a button on the remote beside him, the destroyed citizen slowly being pulled over to where he was sitting. He sonicked it into a mess of limbs and shredded clothes, then replaced the citizen and looked down at Layla and Warren in the arena.

"You two will fight together for now. Choose your opponents and which side you'll fight," he said, changing the scoreboard.

"Heroes," Layla said before Warren could say anything. "I choose Freeze Girl," she added.

"Are you insane? She'll cancel me out and freeze any plants you can make," he hissed at her. Layla just grinned, as if challenging him. "Fine, I choose Magenta."

"What?" Magenta echoed with wide eyes, surprised that she'd been chosen.

"No arguing, purple kid. Get your protection on and get in the arena! You too, Freeze Girl!" Coach Boomer called. "You've got a minute to discuss your strategies," he said when they were finally ready and waiting.

"Talk, hippie," Warren hissed.

"It's easier to get warm in winter than it is to get cool in summer. Fire against ice, fire always wins. You've never seen a frozen fireball, have you?" she added, grinning. "You just need to use more energy than her. It's only for five minutes until I can save the citizen. Do you think you can do it?"

Warren looked dubious but gave a brief nod. "I'll try. And Magenta?"

"I know how to deal with her," Layla muttered.

"Hey, why'd you choose hero?" he added when they realised there were still thirty seconds left before the game began.

"To meet everyone's expectations. We can be bad later," she replied, grinning at him.

Warren's hands almost started flaming at her words. 'We can be bad later.' For fuck's sakes, did she have a list of things to say that were designed to drive him insane from horniness? He'd probably spontaneously combust soon!

"You okay?" Layla whispered when she saw him starting to grin.

"I know how to defeat Freeze Girl. You just concentrate on saving the citizen."

She nodded, choosing not to point out that had been her plan from the beginning.

The buzzer went off loudly, people in the stands shouting a mix of ideas and insults across the arena.

Warren started forward, sliding briefly on the sheet of ice that Freeze Girl was creating on the floor. His feet burst into flame, melting large puddles where he walked. Freeze Girl paled slightly, looking worried all of a sudden.

Layla made her way to the citizen, trying not to slip over on the ice. A brief burst of power had thorns growing out of her shoes, crunching holes into the ice so she could walk without falling.

Magenta had changed into a guinea pig the moment the buzzer went off. Freeze Girl had created a block of ice for her to stand on, and it was raised above the metal teeth precariously so that Magenta could chew through the rope that held the citizen up. It was a smart move, and the moment the citizen dropped and was shredded up, Warren and Layla would lose.

A vine slid down Layla's right arm, slithering it's way along the ice and up the tower of ice that was holding Magenta up. Magenta screamed as the vine came towards her, trying to gnaw on the rope faster. She was caught moments later, and started to chew on the vine to get out of her temporary prison.

While Magenta was preoccupied with the first vine, a second one slid out, this one from Layla's left arm. She shot it out like Spiderman's web to wrap around the citizen to save it from it's impending doom. A small branch of the vine wrapped around the citizen's mouth to keep it quiet. Despite being a guinea pig, even Magenta looked relieved.

Tugging on the vine, Layla began to carefully pull the citizen away. Magenta was still gnawing on the other vine, but Layla began to pull on it as well, pulling her even further away from the citizen's rope.

Across the arena, Warren was still battling Freeze Girl. She was starting to get extremely warm, making it difficult to create ice or even keep up the now-melting floor she'd started with. Warren was beginning to get exhausted. His initial fireballs had been large and hotter than normal due to his Layla-inspired thoughts, but these ones were much smaller and not as intense. By the time this was over, he doubted he'd be able to light a candle. He glanced up at the clock, thankful that there were only three seconds left.

Layla finally pulled the citizen to safety, but didn't remove the vine yet. After being pulled off the block of ice, Magenta had shed her guinea pig form, but she was still struggling to get away from the vine around her.

The buzzer went off and cheers erupted from around the gym. Layla smiled over at Warren, and he grinned back, his last fireball fizzling out. What was left of Freeze Girl's icy floor disappeared and a moment later, Layla's vines disappeared as well.

"Good game, Peace," Freeze Girl said, smiling at him.

He nodded at her, but didn't reply verbally, and left to where Layla was waiting.

...

When Layla arrived at her Great Aunt's house that afternoon (she still couldn't call it home, couldn't bring herself to unpack, couldn't feel like anything other than a guest in her relative's house), she called Ms. Peace to let her know that she was now a Hero rather than Hero Support.

Warren's mother sounded pleased that she'd decided to accept that particular provision of the job, and within the hour, she had sent her information regarding an interview with the Mayor on Friday afternoon.

Pleased with the outcome, Layla remembered her earlier idea and called Zach to see how he was doing. He sounded much quieter on the phone, but thanked her for calling. He congratulated Layla on winning the Save the Citizen games, telling her how Ethan had called and sent the video. They talked for a while, Layla explaining about changing to the Hero track, and why. Zach had sounded much happier about the job and her decision than she'd expected him to be. Their conversation ended with Zach inviting her over for study group the next night. She was a Hero now, but that didn't mean they couldn't still study together. Ethan had already agreed earlier in the afternoon, planning on taking Zach his homework since he would be absent from school tomorrow as well. Layla agreed to study with them, asking if she could invite Warren. Zach had sounded happy again, mentioning something about badasses and bro's that Layla hadn't really understood, but he had said he'd see them both tomorrow afternoon and they'd hung up from the call.

Her Great Aunt had been surprised at Layla's mentioning of a job interview. She wasn't a super herself, but she'd had a job at a supermarket when she was Layla's age, and understood how important the independence was to young people. While Layla wasn't entirely sure how a supermarket job compared to being a super-powered teen, she still smiled and nodded in all the right places, reassuring her Great Aunt that she would keep up with her studies. She informed her that she would be attending a study group the next day, which seemed to appease her, although her expression darkened on hearing that Warren would be there as well.

That night, Layla went to sleep with a smile, looking forward to what the next day could bring for the first time in a very long time.

...

End of the sixth chapter.

Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it!