Disclaimer: I don't own Sky High.
Read on, oh faithful ones...
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Chapter Thirty Eight
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"I'm just saying that Warren and an oxygen tank would be the ultimate weapon! It's light enough for him to carry like a backpack, and as soon as his flames connect with the pure oxygen, he'll have an even more destructive force than a flamethrower," Ethan said.
"What about teaming up with Wendy? She could create a gust of wind and once he's lit it up, she could move it exactly where it's needed," Zach pointed out, Wendy listening to their conversation curiously.
"That could work," Ethan agreed, pushing his glasses up his nose. "But I can't see Warren carrying Wendy around like a backpack," he added with a grin when Donny spluttered on his drink.
Wendy shook her head at them all. "You honestly think they'd let two Heroes team up? The only reason the Commander and Jetstream are together is because they're the public faces of the super world. If All-American Boy was still active - "
"You mean not forced into early retirement," Zach muttered.
Wendy nodded briefly in agreement and continued, "If he was still with the Commander, then Jetstream never would've been allowed to team up with the Commander. They'd never let two Heroes team up again if they could help it; citizens don't like being reminded that they're not as powerful as they think they are. Laws and rules can only get them so far, and it's only gotten them this far because we've chosen to follow those laws and rules."
Layla grinned. "How about next lunch time, we'll get a neon sign and arrow so everyone knows what you're planning?"
"I'm not planning anything," Wendy said quickly, looking around to make sure that she hadn't been overheard.
"No, you're not," Donny said, taking her hand in a reassuring gesture, knowing that the rest of the school hadn't heard a thing. "They are," he said confidently, looking across the table to Layla, Warren, Ethan, and Zach.
Wendy looked between them all, eyes wide. "You're... you're actually being serious, aren't you?"
"As serious as you were a minute ago," Warren replied, his fingers threading with Layla's.
The vines and flames whirled around their wrists painfully, and they both smiled at Wendy's scrutinising look.
"We'll need to talk about this more. Outside of school," Wendy added, standing when the bell ringing a moment later.
"Of course. Sit with us again on Thursday, we'll organise something then," Layla replied.
Wendy nodded and left with Donny. Zach looked at Layla, grinning broadly.
"We're really doing this, aren't we?" he asked excitedly.
"Did you ever doubt it, glow stick?" Warren replied, raising his eyebrow at him.
"Never. Just... a little surreal, y'know?"
"Calm down, or Mr. Boy will wonder why you're glowing during English for Hero Support," Ethan said, taking Zach's hand and leading him out of the cafeteria.
"I'll be sitting with the others tomorrow. Why don't you join us?" Layla asked Warren as they headed out of the cafeteria to their own classes.
"You sure they'll be okay with that? The last time I looked at Larry wrong, he almost fainted."
Layla laughed. "Well, if he does that again, at least it'll provide some entertainment during lunch."
Warren pressed a hot kiss to her mouth, pulling away and licking his lips. "See you at the bus later."
"See you later," Layla echoed, watching for a moment as he walked away. She licked her tingling lips and grinned.
...
Larry didn't faint, but he did go paler than normal when he saw Warren sitting at their usual table next to Layla. He looked to Craig and Adam, but neither one seemed worried at the son of a villain sitting at their table. They'd all gone to the movies together, but Larry still wasn't comfortable about being too friendly with Warren. If he sat at the same table as him now, that would have repercussions all throughout high school; even if they weren't on the Loser track, Ethan and Zach would have been socially condemned for spending so much time with a would-be villain. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time before Warren followed in his father's footsteps, after all, and saving the school once made no difference.
Larry hesitated at the edge of the table, looking to where his friends were already sitting across from Layla and Warren. "Uh, I'm going to sit over there today," he said quickly, heading off before anyone could stop him.
Of course, being high school meant that nearly every table was already filled by their own cliques and groups. He didn't really have anywhere else to sit, and Larry stood in the cafeteria, desperately searching for an empty spot. He ignored the table that Ethan, Zach, and Donny were sitting at, ignored the way Donny seemed to be staring right at him and reading his every thought, and almost sagged in relief when he saw an empty spot. Larry hurried over, trying not to run and lose his tray of food, and almost hesitated a split second when he realised that the table was empty for a reason: it belonged to Will Stronghold and Magenta Yolanda.
Well, they were both Heroes, and to be honest, he didn't see what the fuss about Will and Magenta even was. They were still together, despite everything that had been said about them, and though they were old news now that the crystal girl was dating the laser eyed guy, Larry felt better about sitting with them than Warren Peace.
"Hi guys, mind if I sit with you?" Larry asked, already starting to lower his tray to the table.
Will and Magenta both looked surprised, but nodded. Larry set his tray down properly, sat next to Will, and chose his side.
"Huh. I can't say I'm surprised," Craig muttered, shaking his head.
"I am. What the hell just happened?" Adam asked, looking to the other three.
"Larry doesn't want to fraternise with the son of Baron Battle," Warren replied, shrugging.
"But..." Adam trailed off, looking over to Larry in confusion.
Larry very pointedly didn't look back, though he could tell that Adam and Craig were both watching him.
Adam shook his head. "I really didn't expect him to be that shallow."
"Oh, he's not shallow; he's... hmm, how do I put it?" Layla asked Warren.
"Hero and plain," Warren replied.
"That works," Layla said, grinning.
Craig laughed and shook his head. "If that's your idea of subtle, you need to work on it."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Adam asked, still caught up in Larry's betrayal.
"Dude, take a minute and think about it," Craig said, clapping him on the shoulder. Then he turned his attention back to Layla and Warren. "I'm in. My folks are going off a barbecue that we've all been invited to at the end of the month?" he added pointedly. "My sister's coming too, she's bringing the twins, and somehow I've been roped into bringing a salad. I don't even like salad."
Adam stopped trying to analyse their earlier conversation and nodded. "Same with mine, and my uncle said he's going to bring brandy schnapps. Word of warning: don't eat the brandy schnapps."
"Who else have you invited?" Craig asked, looking around the cafeteria suspiciously.
"Ethan, Zach, Donny, Wendy, Lisa," Layla ticked off, trying to think of anyone else. "Larry and his parents were invited, but I'm not sure they'll be coming."
"I think Ethan's mum wants him to invite whoever else is on the school paper with him, so Ben might be there as well," Warren said, shrugging.
"Actually, with the way she's talking about it, she practically wants me to invite the rest of the school," Ethan said, standing at the edge of the table with Zach, Donny, and Wendy behind him.
"Take a seat," Layla said, indicating to the rest of the empty table. "You already know each other, this just makes it easier to talk. Do you want to get Lisa and Ben, Ethan?"
Ethan nodded and looked around to see where they were sitting, standing and leaving the table a moment later.
"You don't mind, do you, Adam?" Layla asked, seeing an odd expression on his face.
"Nah, it's fine. Lisa's been so busy with the school paper, I didn't even think she was in here."
"We're having a study group at Ethan's on the weekend, if you want to come too," Layla offered Wendy and Donny.
"Yeah, all right. Are Craig and Adam invited too?" Wendy asked, realising just what Layla meant with her offer.
"Maybe next time, I don't think there'll be enough room for all of us at Ethan's," Layla replied.
"So what're you bringing to the barbecue, Zach?" Wendy asked, ignoring Craig and Adam's curious looks.
"Oh, I was just thinking cheese and dips, y'know, something simple. Heidi will probably eat all of it on the way there if I let her," he said with a grin.
Warren felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and checked to see if it was a call or text message. "Honey says she'll be bringing cake. Also, Sarah, Jared, and Toby are bringing bread rolls."
"You're inviting the characters from Labyrinth?" Craig asked, frowning.
"What's Labyrinth?" Adam asked.
"Dude, you don't know the movie Labyrinth?"
"Uh, no. What's it about?"
"Sarah's younger brother Toby gets kidnapped by a Goblin King named Jareth; she has to save Toby by going through a labyrinth to face the Goblin King. There's also muppets. What? That's the simplest explanation," Wendy said defensively when the others all looked to her.
"And how do you know about that movie? Dude, it sounds like a chick flick," Adam said, looking at Craig pointedly.
"It's a movie, Adam. Watching it isn't going to make your genitals crawl back into your body," Donny said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
"So basically, everyone here except me has seen it?" Adam asked.
"Pretty much," Zach confirmed with a grin and nod.
"How've you seen it? You hate those kinds of movies," Adam said to Craig.
"My older sister went through a David Bowie phase when we were younger. I've seen that movie so many times I could probably repeat it word for word. A one-man play," Craig added, grinning as his features slipped from his own towards the higher cheekbones and lighter hair of David Bowie's as the Goblin King.
"Oh, are we talking about Labyrinth? I loved Sarah's dress in the fantasy scene," Lisa said with a grin, sitting beside Adam.
"You've seen it, too? What about you, Ben? C'mon, man, back me up here," Adam said.
"Sorry, Adam; saw it at the 80's film festival last year," Ben said with a chuckle.
"Wait, you haven't seen Labyrinth? Ooh, I know what we're doing this weekend," Lisa said, grinning.
"Fine, if only to see what you're all going on about," Adam muttered.
"We could just get Craig to perform it for us now," Layla said, seeing he was still in the Goblin King's guise.
"Yeah, c'mon, Craig. I thought you said you can repeat it word for word?" Wendy said with a broad grin.
Craig's features slipped back to his normal freckles and red hair, but then he changed to Sarah so abruptly that even Warren was surprised at the smooth transition.
"Give me the child. Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child that you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great..." Craig said, trailing off as the bell rang loudly.
"You've done that before, haven't you?" Wendy asked, grinning at him.
"Yeah, a few times," Craig admitted, gathering his tray and getting his features back to normal again.
"You were good. Maybe you should do a play of Labyrinth; it'd be interesting, at the very least."
"With that many characters? No thanks!" Craig said with a laugh, heading to class with Adam, Lisa, and Ben.
"What are you bringing to the barbecue, hippie?" Warren asked as they filed out after the rest of the student population.
"I haven't decided. I might wait until I know what everyone else is bringing, then I'll see what's left over," Layla said, grinning.
"Sounds like a good idea," Warren admitted. "See you at Save the Citizen," he said, heading to his locker down the hallway.
Layla thought of just how huge this barbecue was becoming, at the amount of people she and Warren could potentially have on their side when their plans fell into place, and smiled.
...
"Mrs. Woo only gave me the morning off, so I won't be at the barbecue for the whole thing," Warren said.
"How long will you be there?" Layla asked.
"I have to be at work at 3pm, so whenever it starts until 2:30pm, I guess. Wait, we are still having it at that park, right?"
"As far as I know, it is; Frieda hasn't told me otherwise. The park's probably the biggest place to actually hold everyone."
"As well as other random citizens that just want to go to the park for the day," Warren pointed out.
"They'll be fine. We're eating food and meeting each other, not going to battle," she said, rolling her eyes as she headed downstairs.
"With the amount of people that will be there just for our barbecue, it might end up that way."
Layla laughed and held her phone to her ear with her shoulder as she grabbed another box from the front porch to take up to her room.
Frieda had picked her up from the bus stop that evening after work, and when they arrived back at her house, Layla's things had been sitting in boxes on the front porch, packed haphazardly and sitting beside every plant Layla had taken with her to Greta's house. Even the hydrangeas that Layla had restored were sitting on the porch, ripped out of the ground and dumped in a garbage bag. She'd hurried out of Frieda's car to take care of the poor plant, replanting it in the back garden as fast as she possibly could, Frieda offering trowels and gloves. Layla hadn't needed either, the hydrangeas responding to her power and the roots joining with the earth easily enough. Frieda had left and returned with potting mix, and Layla did accept that, taking handfuls to press down around the poor mistreated plant carefully.
"I cannot believe your Great Aunt would do this. Selfish old cow," Frieda muttered, helping Layla pat down the potting mix, ignoring the stains on her dress. "Now that the hydrangeas have been salvaged, would you like help to bring everything inside?" she offered, wiping the sweat from her forehead and smudging some dirt on herself instead.
"I'll carry the boxes, if you wouldn't mind bringing the plants back here, please? I know it's late, and you probably want to sleep instead of dealing with a few plants, but - "
"No apologies needed, dear. Well, not from you. Greta has a few to deliver," Frieda muttered. "You take your boxes upstairs; I'll deal with the plants."
Layla nodded and tugged her dirty shoes off before walking back through the house to get the boxes to take upstairs. She trusted that Frieda would be careful with her prized plants. Frieda had called out about half an hour that the plants were safe and she was going to bed, and for Layla to take care and finish up soon. That had been almost an hour ago, and it was nearing on 11pm now. Only one more box to bring upstairs, she realised with a tired sigh of relief.
Deciding to skip opening the last two boxes, she went back downstairs to grab the final box. She kept her footsteps quiet, not wanting to wake Frieda.
When Layla had called Warren to let him know what had happened, he'd threatened Greta with many varied things that made her heart flutter and fill with warmth. They'd spent the time since talking, Warren keeping her company as she unpacked her things and tried to discover if Greta had stolen any more of her possessions. Layla had found most of her clothes and jewellery dumped into a box together and had spent a good thirty minutes carefully taking her earrings out of her knitted scarf, the hooks caught in the twisted yarn.
"So, if it did come to that, who do you think would win out of the adults?" Layla asked with a grin as she placed the final box beside her bed.
"Depends what the battle would be over," Warren said, grinning himself.
"Either way, your mother would be one of the last ones standing," Layla said, pulling her jeans off and wincing at the dirt and dust that had gathered on the material.
"Probably her and Ethan's mother as a final face-off."
"Anita is a citizen," Layla said, surprised at his choice.
"Yeah, and just as terrifying as my mother without her power," Warren pointed out.
"Her driving is, definitely. But as a final face-off, I think it would be your mother and... hmm, Honey."
"Interesting choice. All right, what about our generation?"
Layla pulled her shirt off, unclipping her bra with a soft groan of pain, and took a moment to slip on a pyjama top before picking up the phone again.
"You 'kay?"
"Yeah, getting changed. Two more boxes to open; they can wait until tomorrow," Layla said with a wide yawn as she slipped into bed.
"You want to sleep?"
"Soon. I think... Donny and you'd be the last two."
"Huh. I was thinking Popsicle and you."
"Ethan, really?"
"Yeah, he can melt down and avoid the fighting for the most part."
"Mmm, good point. I wonder what Donny and Honey will make of each other?"
"Telepathic and seer? It'll be interesting; hope I'm there to see it."
"Same. I'd better get to sleep. G'night Warren," Layla murmured.
"Study group at Ethan's tomorrow, don't forget."
"Mmkay," Layla mumbled, already falling asleep.
Warren shook his head and hung up the phone, sending a text message to remind Layla so she'd see it in the morning when she woke up.
...
"Hi Mrs. Damsale. You're going out with Heidi?" Layla asked, surprised to see Zach's sister in the Damsale's foyer.
Anita's face pinched slightly. "Someone has to get the girl some culture or she'll go insane. Not that I mean anything against Zach's parents, but... They're not the kind of parents I'd like to look after my son," she muttered.
"Did something happen?" Layla asked, eyes wide as she tried to see anything wrong with Heidi.
"No, nothing like that. Unless you consider neglect... There you are. Ready to go, Heidi?"
Heidi nodded with a bright smile and signed 'hello' to Layla. She signed back, smiling when Heidi grinned and gave her a thumbs up for her effort. Putting her hearing aid in properly, she looked to Anita and Layla.
"Are we still going?" Richard asked, coming up behind Heidi and placing a hand on her shoulder so she wouldn't be surprised at his presence.
"Where are you going?" Layla asked, looking between the three of them.
"There's an exhibit at the train museum; they've got motorised engines and a track with an electric train that runs through the whole museum," Richard said, sounding as excited as Heidi had been about the light exhibition a month ago.
Anita smiled at her husband fondly as he squeezed past to get to the car that much faster. "That's the man I married. I swear, he's going to be coming back with one of those train conductor hats and probably have more fun than Heidi," she said, laughing as she followed her husband down to the car.
"Heidi, you're not going to make a spectacle of yourself, are you?" Layla asked, bending so she and Heidi were face to face.
Heidi looked away, not able to meet her eyes. Layla waved to get her attention again and Heidi reluctantly looked at her.
"Remember what happened with Zach?" she asked, receiving a pale nod in return. "Keep that in mind when you practice. If anything major happens, the museum may need to shut down early. Don't draw too much attention to yourself. We want - need - you to come back unharmed, understand?"
Heidi nodded again, colour returning to her cheeks.
"Have fun," Layla added, winking as she stood up.
"Thank you," Heidi said, hugging her briefly before running down to where the Damsales were waiting.
"Where're they going?" Warren asked, coming up the garden path as the Damsales and Heidi drove off.
"Electric train exhibit at the train museum," Layla replied, shaking her head.
"Heidi's not going to fry the trains, is she?" Warren asked, following Layla inside.
"Hopefully not."
"Hey guys. Zach's already in the dining room; we've got a Mad Science test on Monday, and he's freaking out," Ethan said, heading past with a basketful of wet clothes from the laundry.
"No, I'm not!" Zach called back. "I just have a healthy concern for my academic future."
"What's with the laundry, Popsicle?"
"Promised Mum I'd hang the laundry out if she'd take Dad and Heidi out to the train exhibit," Ethan replied over his shoulder, heading out the back door.
"Have Wendy and Donny arrived yet?" Layla asked.
"Not yet; Wendy said they'd be by after lunch, so we have until then to study," Zach said, tapping his pen against his cheek as he tried to understand his Mad Science notes.
"What's the test focusing on?" Warren asked, sitting across from Zach.
"Rays. We've been learning about them for the past two weeks, and I'm still getting heat rays mixed up with freeze rays," he muttered.
"I brought my copy of the Supers Dictionary; it might help with giving you an easier definition of them?" Layla offered, looking in her bag.
"The one that was sponsored by The Commander and Jetstream and has their faces on the cover?" Zach asked, wincing when Layla pulled out that exact book. "Can I desecrate it first?"
"No, Zach. People will see it if it's on the front cover," Layla replied. "That's why I bought the hardcover copy with a book jacket," she added, taking the jacket off the book and handing it to Zach to do his worst.
He grinned and immediately started to draw on The Commander's face.
Ethan returned to find them all drawing on a book, The Commander sporting a moustache and Jetstream with a pair of horns and fangs.
"Nice to see you all taking this study session seriously," he deadpanned, sitting next to Zach and pulling his own notes over to study.
"We were waiting for you to come back," Zach said, waving Warren and Layla's pens away so he could look in the dictionary for the difference between heat and freeze rays.
Layla grinned at Warren and opened her own notebook to work on her essay for English for Heroes. Warren hid his own smile and found his textbook for Tactical Battle Strategies.
...
End of the thirty-eighth chapter.
Thanks for reading!
