Disclaimer: I don't own Sky High.

Read on, oh faithful ones...

...

Chapter Forty-Three

...

Ever since receiving Warren's message, Layla hadn't been able to stop smiling. Dave seemed surprised at her expression, especially considering she usually came downstairs looking tired, not chirpy.

"Hi Dave! How's your evening going?" Layla asked.

"Quiet, as per usual. Why are you looking so happy?" Dave asked curiously, looking away from the security screens.

Layla blinked at the unexpected question. "Uh... It's my anniversary with Warren. We're going out for dinner."

"Oh, that's nice. Where are you going?" Dave asked.

"It's a surprise," Layla said.

Behind her, Warren opened the door and walked in, giving Dave a brief wave. Layla smiled and kissed Warren firmly, stilling any conversation he might've made with the security guard.

"We'd better go so we don't miss our reservation. Have a nice night, Dave. See you on Monday," Layla said, practically pulling Warren back outside.

"Happy anniversary!" Dave called after them.

"We have an anniversary? Is it actually our anniversary?" Warren asked, frowning.

"It is now. I couldn't stop smiling, so I told Dave we're going out for an anniversary dinner."

"Good thinking. Where are we heading?"

"Frieda has very kindly agreed to let me stay with you tonight. I think she's working with Ms. Martin on the adoption stuff tonight and wanted to protect me from the memory of Greta."

"Huh. I think I can help with that," Warren said with a broad grin, pressing a hot kiss to her lips.

The bus pulled up even though neither of them had waved it down. Layla made herself pull away from Warren's addicting mouth and stepped into the bus, tugging Warren along with her.

"Thanks for stopping," Warren said as he and Layla went to their usual seat at the back.

The driver nodded and drove out onto the road once more.

"Can I see the video now?" Layla asked eagerly.

"Really, hippie? You can't be patient for another fifteen minutes until we're off public transport with witnesses and the bus camera?" Warren asked, his voice low as he pressed a kiss to her neck.

"Damn."

"Mmhm," Warren murmured distractedly, his lips burning against her skin.

"You can be patient too, Warren," Layla said, tugging his hand away from her shoulder.

"Distracting you."

Layla snorted a disbelieving laugh and pushed Warren away. "Behave or I'll tie you there."

"Promises, promises," Warren teased, grinning.

Layla bit her lip, eyes darkening, and even without the pulse of desire from his wrist, Warren knew exactly what she was thinking. Warren returned his own rush of desire back to Layla, feeling something in his chest uncoil in pleasure at the soft gasp she gave, the blush high on her cheeks. Warren was amazed that someone as brilliant as Layla was with him, that he could make her look lustful and desired and cherished, and he wanted to keep that look for himself, greedy and awed at the same time.

"Later. We are definitely doing that later," Layla murmured breathlessly, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips.

Warren grinned and took Layla's hand in his own, threading their fingers together as he watched for their upcoming stop.

...

Warren made sure his mother was asleep before presenting the camera to Layla. He wanted to stay with Layla to watch her reaction, but he needed a shower more. Besides, the sound of the water would cover any noises Layla might make.

"I'm going to have a shower. Back soon," Warren said, kissing Layla's cheek on the way to the bathroom.

Waiting until the bedroom door was closed behind him, Layla tugged her shoes off and sat on Warren's bed, her legs curled up beneath her. She looked at the video screen, the play button sitting there so innocently, and wondered if this was a pivotal moment in her life. After everything they'd started, was this the moment, the point of no return?

Fuck, I hope so, Layla thought, grinning as she pressed play.

She watched the video with some amazement and disgust - amazement for Warren's foresight in focusing on both the Mayor and his mistress' face, and disgust because that was her boss naked - and then watched it another two times before Warren returned from his shower.

"What did you think?" Warren asked once the door was closed.

Layla took a moment to watch as the damp patches on Warren's shirt disappeared, his higher body temperature making the water dissipate easily.

"My eyes are up here, hippie," Warren said, rolling his eyes.

Layla grinned and practically launched herself off the bed to kiss him. "You. Are. Amazing," she said between kisses. "Have you emailed it yet?"

"Yeah, the camera has a share option; I sent it to Ethan and Honey on my break," Warren murmured, his lips against hers.

"Not me?"

"While you're in the same building as the Mayor?" he replied pointedly.

"Right," Layla said, realising the issue with a wince.

Nina had told her that the IT department had access to everyone's emails (including personal ones, if people accessed them at their workstations or even when using the WiFi), so she had no doubt that they'd do regular checks for something against the Mayor. Dave would probably have work to do then, namely escorting her out of the building.

"You going to bed, hippie?" Warren asked, heading over to his bed.

"Just going to get changed first," Layla replied, grabbing her bag to go to the bathroom.

"Stay."

Layla looked at Warren in confusion.

"You don't have to leave to get changed. I'm not going to attack you or something."

"I was planning on brushing my teeth, actually."

Warren shook his head and moved to lie down on the mattress. Layla grinned and unzipped her bag, the sound loud in the room. Warren looked over at her, watching intently as Layla stripped off her shirt and undid her bra, pulling it off with a small groan of relief. She pulled her pyjama shirt on, then took off her skirt and pulled on a pair of small shorts. Anything more and she'd overheat with Warren beside her.

"Hurry back, hippie," Warren said, voice rough.

Layla was tempted to cross the room to kiss him, but she doubted she'd ever get to the bathroom that night if she did that. Grabbing her toothbrush, she headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth as fast as humanly and hygienically possible.

As soon as she was on the bed, Warren pulled her close, tucking his arm under her breasts and spooning up against her.

"G'night Warren," Layla murmured, turning her head to kiss him.

Warren returned her kiss heatedly, the pleasure starting to turn painful as he didn't pull away and his lips and hands burned. Layla felt the swirl of emotion, heat coiling in her stomach, a gasp leaving her lips as Warren pulled away. She felt like she was sunburnt, her cheeks red and stinging, but for once, it was a sensation she didn't mind.

"Night, hippie."

...

"So, what are you guys doing?" Zach asked, grinning at them.

"For what?" Layla asked distractedly, finally looking away from her textbook. She had a quiz that afternoon and was worried that she hadn't studied enough to pass.

"Valentine's Day. Did you not hear anything I just said?" Zach asked.

"No, I was too focused on this. Have to work on that," Layla muttered.

"Zach and I are going to the movies and dinner. Do you have any plans for Valentine's Day?" Ethan asked.

"I don't think so. What day is it this year?" Layla asked.

"Friday," Ethan replied.

"We're both working that night, so I doubt we'll do anything," Layla said, shrugging.

"But it's Valentine's Day."

"Valentine's Day started with Valentine's execution after he performed marriages for soldiers. Chaucer encouraged the tradition of exchanging sentiments between lovers, which has since devolved into nothing but a commercialised holiday designed to sell ridiculously overpriced cards and expensive chocolate, which is probably encouraging the country's obesity and diabetes levels."

"Aw, Eth, some guy got killed just so we can make out at the movies," Zach said, snickering when Layla rolled her eyes at them.

"What are you guys going on about?" Warren asked, irritable about his class running late and his lunch being delayed.

"We're discussing Valentine's Day. Zach detailed our plans, Layla went on a rant about Valentine and Chaucer. Anything to add to the conversation?" Ethan asked brightly, grinning.

"It's a stupid holiday and it shouldn't have any extra significance in a relationship than any other day of the year," Warren said.

"Aw, come on. Not even for candy hearts with the messages on them?" Zach said.

"Hell no."

"I think you're both just being sour about this because you're both working and can't go on a date," Zach said. "Donny, what are you and Wendy doing for Valentine's Day?"

Donny choked on his drink, spluttering. "Uh..."

"I'd like to know that too. What are we doing, Donny?" Wendy asked pointedly, the air around them dropping a few degrees.

"Did I say something wrong?" Zach asked Ethan, frowning.

"Either Donny hasn't asked Wendy out, or Wendy's pissed at whatever idea he did think of. Which is weird, since he's a mind reader. Why can't he just do whatever Wendy's thinking?"

"A horse-drawn carriage ride is not possible in Maxville, okay?!" Donny said.

"I never said it had to be in Maxville," Wendy snapped.

"You mean in Westville?"

"On Valentine's Day? Do you want to be mugged?" Zach asked, paling and going quiet when Wendy glared at him.

"I'll know if someone's going to try to mug us," Donny said, sighing.

"Good luck," Zach muttered from the side of his mouth, trying not to draw Wendy's glare again.

Wendy looked ready to say something, but then Donny straightened up, his head turning as he watched Will and Magenta walk out of the cafeteria.

"Donny? What's wrong?" Wendy asked, frowning.

"It seems Will has a super suit."

"What? But... We're not meant to get them until senior year!" Zach spluttered, staring in surprise.

"School ones, yeah, but if they're gifted by parents or relatives, then you're allowed to use those instead," Wendy replied.

"Will's birthday isn't until next month, and I'm positive he's not fighting alongside his parents, so why does he have a super suit now?" Layla murmured.

Donny rolled his eyes. "Apparently, he got a B- in Mad Science and the suit was a gift."

This time it was Ethan's turn to splutter and stare. He muttered something obscene under his breath and under his hands, his tray melted into a puddle of water.

...

Now that they had the video of the Mayor and his mistress, it would be easy enough to blackmail him by sending the video from an untraceable account Adam had set up. They planned on threatening for him for a set amount of money or else the video would be released to all major news stations in Maxville... And maybe Westville too.

The group had spent their Sunday morning at the Hive, arguing over how much to ask for and then arguing over what to actually spend the money on.

Warren had eventually snapped. "We're meant to be doing this properly, not be like the other villains who get caught because they can't make a fucking decision! If you don't agree on something in the next thirty seconds, I'm going to set you all the fuck alight!"

His arms had lit up and his shirt had gone up in flames instead, Warren cursing and reducing the flames, but it was too late to salvage his shirt.

"Suits," Ethan said, looking to the others.

"What are you going on about, Popsicle?" Warren muttered, picking off pieces of charred material from his arms.

"Our super suits. We can spend the money on that," Ethan said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "There's a site that will deliver fabric anonymously for a certain price." He saw the expressions the others gave him. "Zach was talking about the fabrics and I sort of... stumbled onto the site."

"You stumbled onto a fabric black market site?" Adam asked.

"I'm more concerned that there's actually a black market for fabric," Craig said, sounding both amused and concerned.

"Ever since the Spinner Sisters were arrested, fabrics for supers have been restricted to wholesale for companies and school institutions only, and not even black markets will sell them to individuals. It means we'd have to create a business to buy the material, but we'd have enough surplus for spares," Ethan said.

"That's actually a really good idea, my own bias aside," Zach said, grinning and winking at Ethan. "I'd like to get surplus of the material to see how the fabrics can be used; Kevlar's stiffer than some materials, so I want to create an outfit with that on the breastplate and arm sections instead of the full outfit. I need to test which fabrics will still allow me to do my thing."

"So we're agreed on fabrics for our suits?" Adam asked, looking between them and receiving nods in return. "All right, Warren: that's your answer. What the hell are you wearing?"

"I don't have a spare shirt, fuck off," Warren said, glowering and folding his arms over Layla's spare gym shirt.

"I didn't mind," Wendy said, smirking.

Layla rolled her eyes. "All right, we're agreed to blackmail the Mayor for money for our super suits. How much will it cost, Ethan?"

"The cost of delivery, the rolls of the three fabrics, as well as the anonymous transaction fee amounts to... $51,000," Ethan worked out, thinking back over the site and prices he'd seen.

"What the fuck?"

"Seriously, Ethan? Is that right?" Layla asked, echoing Wendy's outburst.

Ethan shrugged. "These fibres don't grow on trees, and they're the kinds used in military and aviation. Besides all that, the fee isn't exactly cheap."

"Fuck," Warren breathed.

"Well, I get why the school fees are sky high now," Craig said, shaking his head.

"We'll need $60,000," Donny said abruptly, but refused to say more.

"We're not going to blackmail the Mayor for $60,000. His sports car cost more than that," Adam pointed out. "How about $100,000? He can get that from his sponsors, right?"

"He's got the Commander and Jetstream on his side; people would pay to keep them in his pocket," Ethan agreed.

"All right, so how are we going to actually play this out?" Wendy asked, looking between them.

...

Layla had her speech memorised, an innocent and confused expression ready, and now that the office was practically empty, she was going to put their plan into action. She smoothed out her outfit and then knocked on the Mayor's office door. It had been closed ever since she arrived at work, which was slightly odd, but she hadn't thought much of it. No one had said that the Mayor had gone home, and she'd heard his voice from her desk, so she figured he was taking some time to answer the emails she'd sent him the week before and talking to himself. It was a regular occurrence.

"What is it?"

Figuring that was invitation enough, Layla opened the door. In that instant she discovered that the Mayor was not alone and he was definitely not talking to himself. All thoughts of the plan fled from her mind and she smiled awkwardly at the agents from the Super Bureau.

"I have some paperwork for you to sign, Mr. Mayor," Layla said, grabbing a random file off the edge of her desk to hold it out.

"It can wait," he replied impatiently. "We're dealing with something more important than paperwork. Someone's trying to blackmail me, and these gentlemen - uh, gentlepeople - are going to find them."

"Blackmail you, sir?" she asked, surprised.

Had they accidentally sent the video to the Mayor instead of her?

"They called Dave this afternoon at 4pm, stating they had an appointment with me," the Mayor scoffed.

Layla remembered the blackmailer that had called almost two weeks ago and wanted to laugh hysterically.

"Don't worry, we'll get them, Miss," one of the agents said, nodding firmly. They'd obviously mistaken her expression for a vague sort of horror on behalf of her boss.

"Great. Uh, I'll leave you to it," Layla said, backing out and closing the door behind her firmly.

Layla was on her break when the agents from the Super Bureau left with the Mayor a step in front of them. From the staff kitchen, she watched as they left, and tried not to glare at them on the way out, knowing that Dave would probably be watching the cameras. This was his moment of shining glory, and he wouldn't miss a second of it.

Fuck.

...

Warren arrived early to hear Dave's account of the whole thing, and was surprised to hear about the call at 4pm and arrival of the Super Bureau agents. Dave was so proud about having made the call to the Super Bureau himself that he didn't even notice Warren's expression, and he continued talking about the whole affair excitedly.

"Hi Dave, mind if I steal Warren so we can go? Our bus will be arriving soon," Layla said, giving him an apologetic smile.

"Oh, right, of course. Have a good night," Dave said with a nod.

Warren nodded back at him and left with Layla beside him. "The others are at the Hive waiting for the news. We've arranged to go to Frieda's afterwards," Warren said, his voice wooden.

"I couldn't believe it when I saw them sitting there. Remember that idiot I told you about a while ago, he emailed a video from his personal address?"

"What about him?"

"He was the one who sent the email this afternoon," Layla said, a tree behind them losing its leaves in a burst of anger.

"Fuck."

The bus slowed to a stop beside them, the driver blinking in confusion when he saw heat waves shimmering off Warren. "Are you all right, kid?"

"Fine," Warren said, forcing himself to calm down slowly. He didn't dare hold onto any of the poles or rails on the bus, knowing he'd break or melt them completely.

As his passengers took their usual seat, the driver looked out to the tree by the bus stop, the poor thing completely bare of leaves. Winter was sure coming early this year.

...

"You couldn't have told us this was going to happen?" Layla asked Honey, close to snapping and losing her own temper over the whole thing.

"You have to make your own mistakes; I can't tell you every little thing," Honey replied, calm and annoyingly certain. "Besides, there was still a high chance that the man wouldn't have sent the video anyway. Yours would have arrived and been investigated in its place. Adam is quite good with computers; the IP address wouldn't have been found for at least two weeks. On the other hand, this man has already been discovered."

"Two weeks? Damn, I'll have to rework the code. I was hoping for three at a minimum," Adam muttered. "I would've bounced it when they came looking," he added when Warren scowled at him.

"Thanks to various energy drinks and threats of termination, they would have made three fit in two. Termination in the Super Bureau is very different to the rest of the world," Honey said. "Adam, I'll send you the name of someone who can help you. They owe me a favour, amongst other things."

"Ooh, who is it?"

"You'll find out when I send you the email, you can be patient until then. When you're certain you can send something without being discovered, then you can send the email."

"Damn, Honey. How long will that take?" Adam asked, groaning.

"If Ethan does your assignments, less than two months. Four months if you do them."

Adam immediately turned to Ethan, who thought about it intently for a moment. "Thirty bucks per assignment."

"What? C'mon, man! Help me out," Adam groaned.

"Fifteen."

"That's helping?"

"That's half-price."

"Shit. How many assignments do we have for the next two months?" Adam asked, looking over to Craig.

"Not including pop quizzes or exams, we're scheduled to have four assignments," Craig replied.

"Fine. I'll pay you per assignment."

"Good. I'll tutor you for free; you'll probably need it for the pop quizzes and exams. Honey, do you know when the pop quizzes will occur?" Ethan asked, looking at her.

"There's a reason they're called pop quizzes, y'know: teachers generally don't think of them ahead of time. They're done on a whim, and that can vary between emotions and hours, let alone over two months."

"Principal Powers doesn't actually like the teachers giving out pop quizzes; she thinks they cause too much stress. She'd stop them if she had enough evidence from different students," Donny pointed out.

Craig cackled and bowed with a mocking flourish. "Allow me to be of assistance."

...

"Wow, your mother really wasn't kidding about framing your articles," Zach said, though he wasn't exactly surprised.

"I think she's just framing the first ten; the rest are going in a scrapbook," Ethan said.

Pop quiz fizzle! Principal Powers says no more pop quizzes!

"How are you going with the extra assignments?"

"Not too bad; I've read over all of Adam's previous assignments, so I should be able to mimic his writing style while he does his extra curricular activity."

"Welcome home, boys. Have a good day at school?" Anita called from the kitchen.

"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Damsale. Ethan learnt all of the knots in Practical Skills for Hero Support, and I managed to untie two of them without assistance," Zach called back brightly as they headed to the kitchen.

"You untied your shoelaces, Zach. We're going to work on that later," Ethan said, rolling his eyes.

"Ooh, kinky."

Anita didn't know why her son was blushing, but on seeing Zach's expression, she found that didn't want to know why after all. "Do you have time to peel vegetables for dinner?" she asked, nodding to the carrots, halved pumpkin, and potatoes she had sitting on the kitchen bench.

Heidi was sitting across from her, watching everything curiously and reading the recipe book that was propped up beside her.

"I do, Mrs. Damsale. Ethan's got some studying to do. Heidi can help me," Zach said, signing to say hello to his sister.

"You don't have to study as well?" Anita asked, trying not to sound surprised.

"Well, I'm not on the newspaper, y'see, so... I should've said research, that would've made more sense! Huh, I guess I'm learning something from my Communications for Hero Support class, after all!" Zach said brightly.

"Better get to my research," Ethan said, pressing a kiss to his mother's cheek before darting upstairs to his room.

Zach got his sister's attention. "Want to see who can peel a potato fastest?" he asked, grinning and holding out a peeler.

Heidi snatched the peeler and a potato before Zach even had time to recover.

"Don't hurt yourselves; I don't want blood in my meal," Anita said sternly.

"Yes, Mrs. Damsale," Zach said, nudging his sister so she'd slow down.

"I'm sure I've told you to call me Anita."

Zach glowed, the light reflecting off the bench top. "All right, Anita."

Anita smiled and turned back to the stove.

...

"You know how I mentioned using Sky High's extra curricular program as a way to do training?" Ethan asked, looking between Wendy and Layla.

"What about it?" Layla asked, Wendy nodding beside her.

"Well, an application form was sent to the school paper to be included since they haven't had many organisations or clubs since Royal Pain and... I applied," Ethan said.

"What was in the application?" Layla asked.

"I've requested use of the gym, Nurse Spex as a teacher, and stated it was to practice for Save the Citizen to encourage Heroes and Hero Support to work together."

"It's probably good that it's coming from you instead of us; Principal Powers knows I was friends with Gwen, and I still don't think she trusts Layla," Wendy said, taking a drink of water.

"Why wouldn't she trust me?" Layla asked innocently, batting her eyelashes.

Wendy laughed, almost choking on her water.

"Ethan Damsale to the Principal's office."

"What else did you write on that application, Ethan?" Layla asked as he stood up, several people looking in his direction.

"Nothing," Ethan said with a frown.

"I'll come with you for emotional support," Zach said, standing and grabbing the last of his lunch to shove in his mouth.

"Thanks."

"What's going on with Ethan?" Craig asked, squeezing in to sit between Adam and Donny.

Donny elbowed him in the ribs. "We'll find out later."

"You can't read Principal Powers' mind?" Craig asked, biting into an apple and grinning at him with a mouth full of food.

"She had her wall rebuilt with power suppressor beams. I could do it if her door was open, or if I was standing next to her, but not from here."

"Power suppressor beams, really?" Warren asked curiously, looking over to the cafeteria wall as if he could see through to Principal Powers' office.

...

"I'm pleased that you've submitted an application, Ethan," Principal Powers said, smiling at him.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"I'm just curious as to why you've made it an open application; surely you would want something like this for only certain people?" she asked.

Ethan desperately wished he could melt. He'd already tried twice, but nothing had happened. The feeling settled like rocks in his stomach. "Oh no, not at all, ma'am. I'm trying to meet as many people as possible, as my mother says you never know where they might end up in life, and this club is a great way to meet new people. If enough Heroes join, then I might be lucky and they'll request me as their Hero Support."

"You're not planning on being the side- excuse me, Hero Support, for one of your friends? Layla, for instance?"

"She hasn't asked me to be her Hero Support," Ethan said truthfully.

Principal Powers looked at Ethan for a long moment, and eventually dropped her gaze from the terrified young man's face. "Very well. You have your approval to use the gym after school hours. However, Nurse Spex has already been requested by another group, so she will only be available two days a week. The other three you can have either Mr. Boy or Mr. Medulla," she said, pen poised above Ethan's application.

Ethan thought about it for a quick moment; Mr. Boy was far too good and would probably try to help, whereas Mr. Medulla might be convinced to work in his lab instead of watching them. "Mr. Medulla, please. Thank you, Principal Powers," Ethan said as she signed the form and approved the extra curricular club.

"You're a bright young man, Ethan, and I look forward to seeing where you end up in life," she said, handing over the freshly-signed form.

"Thank you, ma'am," he chirped, leaving her office as soon as possible.

Zach sat up in the chairs outside Principal Power's office, eyes wide as he looked at Ethan who was trembling a little. "You all right, Eth?"

Ethan nodded, then handed Zach the form and promptly melted. He reformed a second later, hands pressing to his body to make sure he was still all there, sighing in relief. Zach tilted his head curiously but didn't ask. Ethan grabbed Zach's hand and they headed down the corridor together. "It was awful; I couldn't melt," he said with a shudder.

"That's weird; I could glow outside of her office," Zach mused. "But nothing's wrong, right? Powers signed off on the club?"

"Yes. We've got access to the gym five days a week; Nurse Spex for two of those days, and Mr. Medulla for the other three."

"Medulla?"

"It was either him or Mr. Boy! Good afternoon, how are you?" Ethan said, smiling as their teacher passed by, drinking from his oversized cup and straw.

Mr. Boy nodded in response, mouth full, and they all continued along their way.

"So we've got the form, got the gym, does that mean we can start this afternoon?"

"You can, I've got the school paper tonight. If I can get out of there early, I'll go straight to the gym."

"Sounds like a plan," Zach said, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Let's go tell the others."

...

End of the forty-third chapter.