Disclaimer: I don't own Sky High.

Read on. oh faithful ones...

...

Chapter Thirty

...

"All right, Warren, we're completely alone now. Will you tell me what's wrong?" Layla asked Warren at lunch.

He'd been silent and stoic all day - even to her - and had barely said more than five words, despite her efforts.

"Nothing. It doesn't concern you," Warren muttered, his eyes trained on his book.

His wrist flared up in pain a moment later, phantom thorns digging into his skin.

"It doesn't concern me?" Layla echoed, somewhere between hurt and pissed off. "You had better have a good explanation later, Warren," she said as the bell rang to signify the end of their lunch period.

She left without waiting for him - the first time in the five weeks since she'd joined the Hero track - and Warren didn't let himself look up until she'd gone inside and was no longer in sight.

...

Layla got off the bus in a foul mood. Warren had barely acknowledged her despite sitting next to her, and she knew his behaviour was going to eat at her until she was thinking about nothing else during her work. With the way he was acting, Layla wasn't even sure if he was going to come to pick her up after work or not. She sighed and tried to keep the scowl off her face as she headed into the building.

"Layla, oh thank goodness. You didn't break up with Warren, did you?" Nina asked, pulling her aside as she came into the office.

"No, why would I?" Layla asked, though she was thinking of his behaviour.

"His attitude this week is never good," Nina muttered. "Mind you, mine is hardly better some years."

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, Nina," Layla admitted with a slight frown.

"It's Barron's birthday this week. Friday, this year, in fact. Part of our divorce included visitation rights once a year until Warren's 18th birthday, and Barron chose the date as his own birthday. Warren will be going to Maxville Super Penitentiary all day on Friday. He's even got the weekend off to get over seeing his father again."

"Oh. Well that explains his behaviour then."

Nina nodded slightly. "Just cut him a bit of slack this week, okay? I'll talk to him."

"No, it's all right. I understand, and it's really all right. Thank you for letting me know, Nina, I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Nina said with a smile.

"Are you all right this week?" Layla asked.

"Oh, I'll be fine. It's one day out of the year. Barron's just egotistical enough to make sure we never forget him by making this day his birthday. After this one, there'll only be one more visit and Warren will never have to deal with his father unless he wants to."

The Mayor looked out of his office with a frown. "There you are, Layla. I need your help to rehearse tomorrow's TV interview questions."

"Of course," Layla said with a nod.

She gave Nina a smile and headed into the Mayor's office to help him practice.

...

Warren waited outside of the Mayor's building impatiently, not willing to go inside today despite the cooler temperature. He glanced at his watch and saw that Layla would be leaving soon. When fifteen minutes passed and she still hadn't appeared, Warren frowned and headed to the entrance. Dave saw him and gave a wave, opening the door.

"I was wondering where you were, Warren. Layla's still upstairs, would you like me to give her a call?" Dave offered.

"It's all right, I'll just wait," Warren said, moving to sit on one of the foyer chairs.

Another fifteen minutes passed and Layla still hadn't arrived. Dave offered to ring her again, and this time Warren gave a reluctant nod. Dave had a quick conversation that didn't provide any insight to Warren listening in and hung up a moment later.

"Layla's coming down now. The Mayor kept her back to rehearse for his TV interview tomorrow, apparently. I doubt it's helped much, he's not known for his coherency on television. He always thinks there's something wrong with his hair," Dave said with a chuckle.

Warren gave a brief nod, and gave a small sigh of relief when the elevator doors opened. Layla seemed surprised to see him, but he simply stood and waited for her to join him. She said goodbye to Dave on the way out and he gave a nod to the security guard as he followed her.

"What are you doing, hippie? Your bus home stops on the other side," Warren said when she stopped on the wrong side of the road.

"When were you going to tell me about your father, Warren?" Layla asked, looking at him.

"I wasn't planning on it, actually," he muttered, bristling at the fact that his mother had told Layla without consulting him first.

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Because, if you haven't noticed, I don't like talking about my father. This constitutes as talking about him, and he's not worth the time or effort. In fact, I don't even like to talk to him when I'm forced to see him once a year."

"You still could have told me instead of acting like a bastard to me all day," Layla said.

"I was silent, I wasn't a bastard," he muttered.

"You were silent to me without a reason, that means you were a bastard," she replied, folding her arms over her chest.

"I don't have to give you a reason when I want to be silent, hippie," Warren said incredulously.

Layla made a sound of frustration, muttering under her breath as she stalked over to him. She pulled him down to her roughly, her fingers gripping his shirt as she kissed him fiercely. He responded in kind, his hands burning against her as he backed her up against the bus stop sign. She gasped on hitting the metal pole, and he took the opportunity to plunder her open mouth with his tongue, pouring all of his anger and frustration into their kiss. The bus rolled over the hill a few minutes later, and they both pulled away with swollen lips and messed hair. They boarded the bus before it left without them, and when they were seated Layla finally realised that Warren had burned hand-shaped holes in her shirt. Her skin was free of burns though and she shivered as the fire brand on her wrist spun wildly, taking on the pain of the fire from her.

"So where are we going, my place or the Hive?" Warren asked when they were both settled enough to think properly.

"The Hive. I'll tell my Great Aunt I'm at yours, you tell your mum you're with me and we're not working through things so we don't break up. She was worried about us earlier," Layla said.

"Really? It's not like Mum to meddle in my relationships. She must really want you to stay with me, even if I'm being a bastard," Warren said with a snort.

"Please, your mother loves me," Layla said, grinning at him.

"Yeah, I know. Come on, we're about to miss our stop," Warren said, pressing the button to signal the bus driver to stop.

They were off the bus a moment later, Warren going silent as they made their way towards the Hive.

"Oh, look!" Layla said, smiling at him and pulling him through the trees.

She stopped suddenly, Warren looked around expectantly but didn't see anything special.

"Well? What am I meant to be looking at?"

"The trees! They're almost fully grown," Layla said, looking up to try and see the top of the tree before her.

Warren followed her gaze, moving up behind her and kissing her neck. "Want to finish what we started, hippie? I reckon I could burn the rest of your clothes without a problem," he said, grinning against her skin.

"Take me with you."

"What? Where?" he asked, frowning as she turned in his embrace to face him.

"Friday, Maxville Super Penitentiary. Take me with you," Layla said.

He moved away abruptly, shaking his head. "No, not even an option, hippie."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want him to ruin you. He does that, even without his power; he'll say or do something and it will destroy you."

"How?" Layla asked, frowning in confusion.

"I don't know, it's just what he does! Every year, I have to sit there and listen to him talk, and every year, all I want to do is smash his face with my fist," Warren growled.

Layla drew him in for a soft kiss, her fingertips trailing down his sides as her lips moved against his. "Please, take me with you, Warren."

He shook his head again, but didn't move away from her this time. Warren kissed her, trying to make her forget all about visiting his father. Layla kissed him in return, but didn't forget.

...

Warren sat across from his father, listening to the clock ticking outside of the room and trying not to listen to anything Barron was saying, wishing that the hours could pass by in silence. Barron simply kept talking, aware of his son's wish and ignoring it completely. He had Warren for an entire day, and he didn't care if he didn't listen to him, so long as in the end something of his would be passed on besides his physical image.

The hours passed, Barron's throat becoming raw as he continued talking, and Warren's anger growing with every word he was forced to hear. The clock no longer seemed to be ticking, and he could hear his father's words clearly.

"To rule the world, you can't trust anybody. You can't let your emotions rule you, they will be your downfall."

"What do you know about ruling the world? You're sitting in a prison cell for your next three lives!" Warren snapped.

Barron seemed surprised at his outburst, but his surprise faded quickly and he began to laugh. "I see you're finally able to speak. I was beginning to wonder if you were mute or just stupid, boy," he sneered. "Now, what's her name? Or his?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The person you're fucking. There's got to be a reason you've finally said something to me, and it's obviously not because of your mother," Barron sneered. "Now, who is it? And if you tell me that they're a civilian or male, then I will find some way to kill you," he growled.

Warren suddenly wished that he was in love with a male civilian, just to make his father writhe, but he couldn't do that to Layla. Not that he would be telling Barron her name either way. He went silent, ignoring Barron's knowing laughter.

"Oh, well I guess you haven't fucked her yet. Just wait until you do, boy, you'll find out what you can really do with your powers then," Barron said with a final chuckle, reminiscing on his own experiences.

Warren wished that the power suppressors would suddenly stop working - just for a second - so he could could roast his father alive. He would watch coldly as Barron screamed and pleaded for mercy, and the Mayor would probably give him a fucking medal. The moment passed suddenly, and Warren could hear the clock ticking again. It chimed suddenly, letting him know that this torture was almost over. Only one hour left.

Barron waited until the fifth chime ended and then started talking once more.

...

The clock struck six and Layla stood up, waiting for Warren to leave Maxville Super Penitentiary. It didn't take long; before a full minute had passed he was already descending the steps and heading towards her. Layla didn't mind that he continued walking down the street without stopping for her, and hurried to catch up to him. She only took hold of his hand once they could no longer see the prison. Warren finally looked at her then, coming to a stop and pulling her into a tight hug.

"Thank you for coming with me, hippie."

She nodded and pressed a brief kiss against his shoulder.

"I've got the weekend off work, let's go to the Hive," he murmured against her cheek. "I don't want to see anybody else for the next two days."

"Sounds good to me," Layla said, smiling up at him.

Warren let her lead him to the bus stop quietly, and within half an hour they were walking through the forest and into the Hive. Layla made a bed out of soft plants and petals, pulling him down beside her and holding him. Normally, Warren would have protested going to bed before seven, but he found that he was emotionally exhausted after his day, and soon fell asleep in her embrace. Layla pressed a kiss to his lips gently and closed her eyes, moving closer to his body as she fell asleep too. As her mind slipped into darkness, Layla promised herself that she would meet Barron Battle one day, whether Warren wanted her to or not.

...

Warren was quiet for the rest of the weekend. He wasn't completely silent as he had been during the week, but Layla still noticed that he was quieter than normal. She didn't push him to talk to her this time, but she did drag him through the Hive to the training arena. It consisted of a maze of obstacles with citizens, heroes, and villains. If the contractors had done what she'd specified, then the place should be fireproof as well.

He surprised her by picking hero to begin with and started through the obstacles, throwing balls of fire at the villains and rescuing any citizens. Layla was sure that he was picturing his father's face on the villain's targets. Warren completed the obstacles in twenty minutes, and then started again as a villain. This time he burnt heroes and citizens alive, stopped the heroes from injuring the villains, and Layla grinned when she saw his time of eighteen minutes.

He came back to the start and nodded for her to try, taking the stopwatch to time her. Layla chose hero first, taking twenty-nine minutes to finish the obstacle (saving the citizen had taken her longer than anticipated since the damn thing wouldn't shut up, and she had time added on for trying to stuff a vine down its mouth). She finished the villain course in eighteen minutes as well, laughing when she was able to kill that damn talking citizen with a well-aimed cactus. (It had longer spikes than a normal cactus, but Warren wouldn't be the one to point that out.)

Warren and Layla went through the next one together, working as a team to scout ahead for civilians that needed rescuing. There was some shouting and arguing when one did something wrong but they made it through with a time of thirty-two minutes. The villain obstacle only took twenty-nine minutes, and there was less shouting as they started to work out a system of hand signals.

They continued working through the obstacles both together and alone, challenging themselves each time to better their personal best. After a few hours, Layla noticed that their times were slipping due to exhaustion, and pulled Warren away before he trained himself to death. They went upstairs to make something to eat, Layla growing small plants for vegetables and herbs as Warren requested them, cooking it all together in the lone saucepan that they owned.

"We have to buy more cooking utensils if we're going to eat properly," Warren muttered as he sat down to eat with her. "But I'm not going plate shopping with you."

"I don't know if I'll be able to survive picking out patterns on my own," Layla said with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't come back with any of that cheap varnished crap. Ceramic's all right, but clay's better."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Layla said, looking at him with confusion.

"Fine, I'll come. Might as well since you'll probably buy the wrong pots and pans."

"You realise that you just invited yourself along to something that you said you didn't want to do in the first place?"

"Yeah, well I also said that I wasn't going to rent a tux."

"You didn't rent it," she pointed out.

"Do you want me to come or not?" Warren growled.

Layla just laughed and kissed him. "Of course I do."

"Then be quiet," he muttered, kissing her again to make sure she would stay quiet.

Layla's phone rang and she pulled away to check who was ringing. She frowned on seeing the caller but still answered by the next ring. "Hey, Ethan, what's up?"

Warren put his fork down when she sat up straighter and her face blanched slightly.

"He did what? - No, don't worry, we'll be right there. - Stay there, and just try not to kill him yet."

"What's going on, hippie?"

"Ethan's in the process of thanking Zach's dad. He walked in on them kissing and apparently is the world's biggest homophobic bastard. Ethan's got him down for the count, but it might not be for long."

Warren was already standing before she finished explaining and headed into the library to get down into the Hive. "Next bus won't get us there in time. I've got my own thanking to do," he muttered, opening the trap door and heading down.

Layla hurried after him, eager to see what they were going to do.

...

Zach grinned at Ethan across the table, his foot sliding against his leg. Ethan stumbled over his words as he read from the textbook, his cheeks burning as he hurried to adjust his glasses. All the while, Zach continued to stroke his leg with his foot and watch him as if he knew what he was thinking.

"Zach, stop. We've got to study," Ethan protested weakly.

"We've been studying for three hours, I think we deserve a break," Zach said with a grin.

He stood up and pulled his shirt down over his tented pants quickly, blushing himself. Ethan stared up at him, licking his lips, and Zach couldn't stop himself from leaning down to kiss him eagerly, his hands resting against Ethan's shoulders. Ethan kissed him back eagerly, his hands resting on Zach's hips gently.

The front door opened suddenly and Zach hurried to pull away. He turned around to see his father standing in the doorway, his face as angry as hell. He tried to think of some explanation, something to say to make that expression leave his father's face, but came up blank.

"Dad, this is Ethan, my boyfriend," Zach said, knowing that it was the wrong thing to say the moment the words left his mouth.

His father advanced on him, and if Ethan hadn't been there, Zach would have run for the hills already. He had a fist to his ribs before he even knew what happened, and he was too slow to react anyway. Zach let out a cry of pain and desperately wished that Ethan wasn't here to see this. Wishes don't come true, and Ethan made some sort of noise between shock and anger, standing up suddenly. His father was angry enough to turn on Ethan too and Zach tried to get between them, but then Ethan was lunging at his father, his body stretching as he melted them both down. Ethan reformed ten full seconds later, a clear puddle of water still left on the floor.

"What... Eth? What the... Fuck, what did you do?" Zach asked in a strangled gasp, staring at the water in shock.

"I'm calling Layla and Warren. Don't touch the water," Ethan added, taking his phone out to call them.

He hung up after a very brief explanation and looked back to see Zach still staring down at the liquid. Ethan moved over and touched Zach lightly, all too aware that he'd be hurting from the blows his father had landed.

"Let's get some ice for your ribs, okay? They'll be here soon."

Zach finally looked up from the pool of liquid on the floor. He gave a slight nod and let Ethan lead him to the kitchen without looking back.

...

Layla and Warren both stared down at the water, the slightest of frowns on their faces. Layla looked up first and tried to stop from grinning as she turned to Ethan.

"You really did this?"

"I wasn't going to let him beat Zach up," Ethan said, slightly defensive even though he knew that Layla wasn't reprimanding him.

He glanced over to where Zach was lying on the couch, an ice pack on his ribs (and some of those ground up flowers Layla had given him), and his eyes squeezed shut as if it was a dream he was trying to wake up from. Ethan went over to him and put a hand on Zach's shoulder, trying to give him a smile when he opened his eyes to look up at him.

"You okay?"

"I dunno. I mean, I'm glad you stopped him, but I know that when he reforms he's going to be so pissed. My dad's not the forget and forgive kind," Zach said with a hollow laugh.

"Who said I was planning on reforming him? He's not getting out of that on his own," Ethan pointed out.

Zach sighed heavily. "I appreciate it, Eth, you know I do, but he can't stay that way. He's made it very clear over the years that mum can't survive on her own with us kids - she'd have to be working four jobs and never sleep to earn the amount he gets. The tuition at Sky High is ... well, sky high," he said with a slight grimace at his pun, "and my both of my parents' wages barely cover each semester."

"He's got life insurance, doesn't he?" Layla asked.

"Yeah, but who the hell's going to believe he's dead when he's really a puddle of water? The insurance company would probably think he's just run off and won't pay up. He'd either really have to die or make it look like he's dead for them to believe it without question."

"That can be arranged," Warren said, his first words since arriving.

They all turned to look at him, Layla trying to communicate wordlessly with Warren if her expression was anything to go by.

"Bring the bastard back to human form and I'll beat him to a pulp, then I can set his car on fire while he's in it."

"He beats me up, you beat him up, and how does that make you any better than he is?" Zach asked scornfully.

"Because I don't beat up my kids! Besides, this isn't about me being better than him, it's about him not hurting you again," Warren growled.

"Hey, it's Zach's decision. It's his dad," Ethan said, standing between them and not looking at all afraid of the fact that Warren was ready to set everything ablaze.

Layla blinked in surprise as a whisper of vines turned into a scream and it felt as though the vines were trying to tear through the layers of her skin. Ethan was more than ready to become a permanent marker.

Zach looked at her oddly, his head turned at an odd angle on the couch. "What was that all about, Lay?"

"I'll tell you later... We need to make a decision here, and Ethan's right: it is ultimately your decision," she said.

Warren was pissed off to say the least, but he took a deep breath and held back from burning everything in sight. He'd go back to the Hive and take it out on the obstacle course until he was calm again.

Zach sighed heavily, sitting up properly and putting his head in his hands. "I just wish there was some way to control him. I don't think I'm ready for patricide just yet."

"There might be," Layla said softly, looking down at the puddle of liquid with an odd expression on her face.

"What're you talking about?" Zach asked, frowning at her.

"I might be able to control him," she said, looking up at Zach now. "My vines might be enough to control him."

"Might be? You're not risking yourself over a might be, hippie," Warren said with a glare.

"I have to try. Zach's right: we can't kill him yet. There'll be too many questions," Layla said, shaking her head.

"Fine, but I'm still thanking him," Warren snarled. "I don't care what any of you say, it seems like it's the very least I can do."

"Fine," Ethan said quickly.

"When you reform him, jump out of the way. I'm going to create a ring of fire so he can't escape," Warren said.

Ethan gave a brief nod and with a look of determination, he melted. Zach watched as the two puddles joined. It looked like there was a bit of a struggle, the liquid actually bubbling, but no one had any idea who was winning. A moment later, Ethan reformed, jumping out of the way as a burst of flames encircled the man he left on the floor.

"You little shits. Let me the fuck out of here!" the man yelled, standing up shakily despite his words.

The flames barely reached his torso, and it looked as though he might actually risk jumping through them to get out of the ring of fire. Warren stepped forward through the fire harmlessly, and the flames rose higher until they were completely gone from sight. It burned so hot that Ethan actually stepped back in worry. He took Zach's hand and they waited, the noise of the fire burning not enough to cover the pained sounds coming from his father.

The flames started to die and Layla moved closer, curious to see what had happened between the two men. Warren was standing over Zach's father, the man on the floor unconscious and singe marks littering his body. There were also a smattering of fist-shaped burns and bruises appearing on his body that Layla could see. He must have fought back, because Warren's eye was slightly red. Layla wasn't surprised to see that the punch actually wasn't swollen or bruised, since she'd seen Warren take a super-powered hit from Will last year with barely a scratch, other than what he'd received from going through the walls themselves.

Warren kissed her briefly and she sighed into his mouth as she felt how hot his hands were on her skin. She licked her lips on pulling away, grinning up at him. Her eyes turned green and vines slithered out of her skin and towards Zach's father, curving around Warren entirely.

"Take his shoes off for me?" Layla asked Warren.

He nodded, turned and threw two fireballs at the unconscious man, his shoes disappearing in a brief burst of flames. The fire died before his feet were damaged, leaving them slightly red from the intense heat nonetheless. The moment his feet were revealed, the vines pushed through his skin. He woke up with the pain of it, a scream wrenching from his throat and his back arching as lines of green made their way up his legs. A leaf wrapped around his mouth, muffling his screams.

Zach and Ethan just stared as the vine continued to feed into him, Layla's eyes glowing an eerie green and Warren watching calmly as if he expected nothing less.

A car pulled up into the driveway, Layla cursing under her breath.

"I haven't finished yet. I won't be able to get it done before they come in," she said, glancing to Zach and Ethan.

"I don't think we'll be able to distract them. Zach looks pretty out of it at the moment," Ethan admitted, waving a hand in front of Zach's face.

He was still staring at his father and not blinking.

"Take it out of him, hippie. Popsicle, melt him down. Quick," Warren said, stepping over the man and heading into the kitchen.

Layla did as he said, and Ethan leapt forward, melting Zach's father down in a second. He reformed as Warren returned with a sponge, a jar and a small bottle of food colouring.

"Get the liquid in here," Warren said, handing the sponge and jar to Ethan.

He nodded, setting to work and squeezing the last drops out as the key was turned in the door. Warren dropped in a few drops of food colouring and screwed the lid on the jar just as Heidi and her mother walked inside.

"Oh, hello. Zach, you didn't tell me your friends were coming over," Mrs. Brighton said. "Have you seen your father? His car's in the driveway."

"He's not here," Zach replied woodenly, staring at the small jar, the drops of red food colouring swirling through it.

"What's that?" Heidi asked, seeing the jar in Warren's hands.

"Take a look," he replied, handing it to her.

Heidi frowned slightly as she turned the jar around, the swirls of red becoming longer. She grinned and shook the jar, laughing in delight at the bubbles that formed.

"Are you all right, Zach? You've gone pale," his mother said, setting the shopping bags down to feel his forehead.

"I think I need to lie down," he murmured, wincing when Heidi giggled at the bubbles that were still floating through the water.

"I'll take you upstairs," Ethan offered quickly, leading Zach away before anyone could protest.

"Can I help you with the shopping, Mrs. Brighton?" Warren asked.

"Oh, yes. Thank you."

He grabbed the bags she'd set down and headed into the kitchen without another word.

"I'm going to go check on Zach," Layla said.

Heidi gave an absent-minded nod, still shaking the jar and watching the red-swirled bubbles go through the liquid.

"How is he?" Layla asked Ethan quietly as she came into the room.

"I think he's getting a bit hysterical. What are we going to do, Layla? We can't keep him in that jar forever," he said with a frown.

Zach made a sound of laughter mixed with a sob and Ethan sat next to him, stroking his hair.

"I don't know. I thought we'd have enough time to get him under control," she admitted.

Zach sat up, his breathing laboured. "We need to do three things: one, get the jar back from Heidi; two, get my dad back into his human form; three, get the hell out of town before he kills us all. There's nothing else to do."

"I think I might have something to say about that plan, glow stick," Warren said from the doorway, throwing the small jar to him.

Zach fumbled but managed to keep hold of it. "Fuck, Warren, what're you trying to do, piss him off even more?"

"I'm trying to see if he can get injured by being shaken up in liquid form. It's research being done on behalf of Popsicle," he said, smirking slightly.

Ethan was going to say that he couldn't get injured because he was technically a liquid, but decided to keep his mouth shut. Maybe he could get really dizzy.

"So what's your idea then?" Layla asked.

"Take him to the Hive and deal with him there, to start off with. When we get there, we might have a better idea of what to actually do."

"What's the Hive?" Ethan asked with a frown, looking between Layla and Warren expectantly.

"I suppose it's better than waiting here and making Mrs. Brighton suspicious. You two coming, or you want to claim plausible deniability?" Layla asked.

Ethan looked to Zach, not willing to make a decision without hearing his answer first.

"It's my dad, I'm coming with you," Zach said, his expression firmer than his voice.

"Then I'm coming too," Ethan said, taking hold of Zach's hand.

"Then let's get the hell out of here," Warren muttered, heading to leave.

The others were all surprised when he stopped short after opening the door, and Layla looked over his shoulder to see Heidi standing in the hallway, a fierce expression on her face. She was holding a baby monitor device in her hands, and Zach blanched on realising that his own device was in his room and still switched on. It was their way of talking to each other when their father was in one of his moods and had sent them to their rooms.

"I heard everything."

...

End of the thirtieth chapter.

Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it!