Chapter One Hundred and Eight

...

Medulla didn't choose freshmen as teaching assistants as a rule, mostly because freshmen were unpredictable and had little to no control over their powers. Or body odours. But he was seriously considering firing Wendy as his TA and hiring Fantasia as a replacement. She was different to the other freshman, though he couldn't quite work out why, and that's what made him hesitate.

Wendy was helping Fantasia - it was distracting her from getting Mr. Medulla to make her the TA instead of Wendy, dammit - when there was a knock at the classroom door.

"I'm here for Fantasia, Mr. Medulla," Warren said.

"Do you have a reason?" Medulla asked, frowning.

"Private study session."

"We're in class - "

"Please, Mr. Medulla? It would make me so happy," Fantasia interjected quickly, looking up at him with bright blue eyes.

Medulla found that he couldn't say no to her. Everyone watched in disbelief as Fantasia stood up to leave the classroom. She looped her arm through Warren's in a very obvious display before they left down the hallway.

"So, did you break up with your girlfriend?" Fantasia asked Warren with a giggle.

"Yes. I only want to make you happy."

"Oh, I know you do. Let's go make out where everyone can see."

"The bell's about to ring for recess, we can stand right here," Warren said, stopping abruptly.

"Hmm, okay," Fantasia said with a shrug, rising on her toes to press her mouth to Warren's. She pulled back with a pout when he didn't respond. "You're not very good at kissing, are you? You'll have to practice. Watch a tutorial on YouTube or something."

"Right now?" Warren asked.

"No, that would ruin my fun. You want me to be happy, don't you?"

"Yes. I'm better at kissing when I'm powered up," Warren admitted.

Fantasia rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever. Power up and kiss me, then. Oh, and hold me close, I want this to look believable," she said, grinning.

"Of course. I only want to make you happy," Warren said.

He pulled her close and powered up, flames licking against Fantasia's skin and clothes. Her screams were muffled against Warren's mouth as he kissed her, his lips burning. She felt her skin blistering and smelled her hair burning. Fantasia tried to pull away, but Warren held her close, just as she had instructed. Her eyes widened with fear as she saw his eyes changing from their original warm brown to a fierce burning blue. His palms burned through her clothes and her skin, continuing until she felt his hand prints on her bones. Warren would never stop until she was happy and Fantasia knew that he would burn her until nothing remained.

A scream echoed loudly, jolting Fantasia out of the nightmare. She went red when she realised she was the one who had screamed. She was still in Mr. Medulla's class and her classmates were looking at her in varying degrees of concern and annoyance. Wendy was standing beside her, looking at her with concern but with those same blue burning eyes that Warren had had. Fantasia paled at the sight and felt her stomach churn.

"Is there a problem here?" Medulla asked, coming to stand beside them.

Fantasia looked from Mr. Medulla back to Wendy, whose eyes were no longer burning with blue flames, and shook her head mutely.

"This is the third time you've disrupted my class; go see the principal, Fantasia," Medulla said sternly.

Too shocked about the vision of being burnt alive, Fantasia ran out of the Mad Science laboratory. The principal would probably give her detention, but she could get out of that easily enough. Not being in the same room as that awful Wendy and the memory of Warren burning her was far more important right then.

The bell sounded loudly just as Fantasia made it to Principal Powers' office. She knocked on the door, hoping she wouldn't be heard, but the door opened a moment later, and Principal Powers called her in. Fantasia brushed her dress off and walked in with an air of confidence; she knew that she wouldn't be punished for something that wasn't even her fault, especially since it would make her unhappy.

...

Ryuu forced himself to start reading A Hero's Courage so he could pretend he couldn't feel Will's gaze on him. He wondered if he could transfer to the Hero Support track instead; no one there would stare at him for ten minutes straight. Breathing a sigh of relief when the bell rang for recess, Ry grabbed his things and left, continuing to read the book as he passed by Will's seat, though he could still feel him looking.

"Hi! You're Ryuu, right?" a girl asked, smiling at him brightly as Ry shoved his stuff in his locker.

"Uh, yeah. Hi."

"My friends and I were wondering if you wanted to sit with us?" the girl asked, indicating over to a group of girls standing nearby. "We won't take no for an answer," she added with a laugh of someone secure enough to get away with that sort of statement.

Ry felt immense relief when he heard Craig calling for him, even though it was far too loudly considering Craig was standing less than a metre away.

"Hey, get away! He's my buddy!" Craig said, draping himself around Ry's shoulders and shooing the girl away. She looked outraged at the way Craig was talking to her, turned on her heel, and went back to her friends with a huff.

"Thanks for the save."

"No problem, dude. C'mon, let's get to the cafeteria before a freshman steals our table," Craig said. "Oh, and a word of advice for lunch: avoid the pizza, calzone, or whatever other pizza-themed meal they have there," he said seriously.

"It's this way, Ry," Adam said, actually leading him to the cafeteria.

"Oh, right. Forgot that bit," Craig said sheepishly. "Hey, did you want to hang out with those girls? Your future girlfriend could be in that group," he added, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I'd rather hang out with my friends, but thanks for offering," Ry said, shaking his head as he followed Adam, Craig's arm still draped around his shoulders. "Are you trying to make me carry you?"

"Kinda. All the education is exhausting."

"You suck, dude," Ry said, but didn't bother trying to dislodge Craig.

"The bathroom's here," Adam said, nodding to the boys' bathroom. "Cafeteria's down the hall. Do you need to go?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah, kinda. You'll wait?" Ry asked, trying not to show his nerves.

"Sure," Adam said.

"Want us to go in with you?" Craig offered.

"Only if you've gotta go," Ry said, going into the bathroom and far too relieved to admit it when Adam and Craig followed him in.

"Oh, hey. Ry, what do girls talk about when they go to the bathroom together?"

"You can shift into a girl, Craig," Adam pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's creepy. Even though their toilets always smell cleaner than ours," Craig groused.

"That's your own fault. Girls can pee in the bowl. The smell is stale urine, Cee," Ry said, rolling his eyes.

"Eww."

"I don't know how people can have sex in bathrooms; it's the second-most disgusting place," Adam said with a shudder.

"Okay, one, totally gross, and two, what's the first?" Craig asked, grinning.

"Worm farm."

"Wo- worm farm? What the actual fuck? Where do you think people have sex, Adam?" Craig asked in horror.

"I never said they had to have sex there; it's just the most disgusting place."

"Still, I'm just seriously concerned about your mind. It's the lack of food, isn't it?" Craig asked, shaking his head.

Adam shrugged.

The toilet flushed and Ry walked out to wash his hands, drying them off with a paper towel and wiping the excess dampness off on his jeans. "You're wrong, anyway. The grossest place would be one of those hot springs; y'know, the ones with the hot mud that bubbles and smells like rotten eggs?" Ry added, grinning when both Adam and Craig looked disgusted.

"I'm booking both of you in with the school counsellor, that's seriously wrong," Craig said, shuddering.

"Okay, what about - "

"No, no, no. Stop it, or you're not getting my pudding at lunch and I'm getting Eth to destroy all of his spares," Craig threatened Adam. "I don't know what I'll do to you, Ry, but it'll be bad," he muttered.

"What kind of puddings are there?" Ry asked as he followed Adam and Craig over to the table where their friends were sitting.

"Chocolate, banana, vanilla, and something called rainbow, but I refuse to eat it on principle," Adam replied, scrunching his nose in distaste.

Ethan handed out muesli bars and small bottles of water to them, having arrived early and collecting them in advance for his friends. Ry thanked him and drank a bottle of water in a long gulp.

"This bottle can be recycled, right?" he asked, looking around for a recycling bin.

"Yeah, the bins are by the door," Craig said, nodding to the green and blue bins by the cafeteria doorway. "Green's for recycling; blue's for other crap."

Looking over to the indicated bins, Ry let out a groan of annoyance when he saw Will land and fix his hair in the reflection of the doors.

"Let me know when you get sick of him; I'll spit on him," Adam said.

"I'm already sick of him," Ry muttered.

"Oh, I've got a better idea," Craig said, grinning. "Oh, my god! It's Airborne!" he called out in a super high pitched tone.

Not many people cared, but those that did immediately ran for Will and started to demand his attention. Magenta was already at her table, surrounded by people demanding her attention, her food untouched.

"How long do you think that'll last?" Ry asked.

"Depends on how popular he wants to be and how hungry he is," Adam said, shrugging.

"Want to bet on it?" Craig asked.

"No. Shut up and eat your muesli bar."

"Hey, Ace? Who's that?" Ry asked Adam in a low voice.

Adam looked down the table and saw Justina talking with Robin; he waved to them both when they looked over at them. "That's Justina, she's Robin and Terrence's friend. She's a zoolingualist and was stuck at summer camp for the last few months," he replied.

"When did you get back from camp, Justina?" Ethan asked.

"Two days ago. I showered for so long my mother checked that I hadn't drowned, and then I slept for so long my father checked I was still alive. I'm still exhausted from that place," Justina groaned. "The only good thing that happened over the summer was that I had a growth spurt and I'm the tallest in class now."

"Did the animals end up talking to you?" Robin asked curiously.

"Yeah, but they were sarcastic little shits. Do you know how frustrating it is to want a conversation and all you hear is how your hair looks like a nest and it isn't healthy for your body to be leaking so much water?" Justina asked. "We had to do a ten kilometre hike; I was sweating like a proverbial pig," she added at their confused looks.

"How many hikes did you have to do?" Terrence asked.

"We hiked four times a week. Five times if we did something wrong."

"Super Jesus, how huge are your muscles after doing five ten kilometre walks a week?" Robin asked incredulously.

Justina laughed and shook her head. "They're huge and aching. I'm like the Incredible Hulk, but the version that skipped arm day. Besides, it wasn't ten kilometres. It was twenty; we had to get back!"

"All this talk of walking makes me want to go outdoors. Anyone want to go for a walk?" Layla offered.

Justina groaned good-naturedly. "Fine, but only 'cause my legs are probably hurting more from all the sitting I've done today."

"The human body wasn't designed to sit for extended periods of time. We really should walk more often," Ethan said.

"It increases cardio, right? We need to be able to out-walk the zombies," Zach said seriously.

"What if the zombies are fast?" Donny asked.

"Power walk," Zach replied, grinning when his friends laughed.

Once they were outside, Layla and Warren explained what Fantasia had done to him. Justina threatened to set fire ants on the little bitch, the others determining how to get revenge. Ry felt sickened about what the freshman had done to Warren, suddenly feeling that his own problems with Airborne weren't that bad. He still had control over his own mind and actions, at least. Adam started scouring the school's security cameras to find out where the freshman was, muttering under his breath and threatening a number of things that Ry was sure were exceptionally painful.

"Please tell me we have a plan for Will, too? I want to smack him out for the staring; it's totally creepy and I kinda wanna puke, so I don't know how Ry's handling it," Craig added, hugging Ry around the shoulders.

"I'm really not. I'm tempted to smash his face in with a book, honestly. I just know if I did that, I'd probably have to pay for his medical bills," Ry said, rolling his eyes.

"Will is super strong, there should be no medical bills," Ethan said. "You may actually dent your book; can we try something similar in Save the Citizen to see the results?"

"We've got Save the Citizen this afternoon; I guess it's the teachers' way of getting us to blow off steam after a semi-full day of studying after the summer break," Zach said.

"Hey, I get an hour where I don't have to do any work, I'm all for it," Justina said, grinning.

"I'll do it to him. For science, Ethan," Craig offered gallantly.

"We both will," Adam corrected.

"What's Save the Citizen?" Ry asked.

Everyone gave him a rundown on the game masquerading as Physical Education at Sky High. While Ry wasn't entirely sure whether it was legal for children to fight each other with powers that could potentially lead to their deaths if there was an accident or slip up, he couldn't help but anticipate that afternoon.

...

"I'm very surprised to see you here, Fantasia," Principal Powers said, sounding disappointed.

"I was just so excited to be here and I couldn't help myself. I think my enthusiasm was too voracious for the rest of the class," Fantasia said with a bright and charming smile that won adults over in a heartbeat.

Principal Powers didn't seem as entranced as she should be, and Fantasia's smile slipped.

"Be that as it may, you are not the only student here and disrupting the class so many times is unacceptable. This will mean detention for you so you can think about what you've done."

"I've thought about it, honestly, I have! I don't really need to be given detention, do I, Principal Powers?" Fantasia asked prettily.

Principal Powers raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. Students often asked for her to reconsider their detention, but they rarely did so while looking quite so smug, as though she had no choice but to accept. "It is not negotiable, Fantasia. You are to serve detention this afternoon; I will call your parents to let them know where the late bus drop off is and why you are serving detention. You may go to recess now."

Fantasia's jaw dropped at Principal Powers' response. "But... But... It would make me unhappy, Principal Powers. You want me to be happy, don't you?" she asked desperately, not understanding why her power wasn't working like it should, feeling sick when she tried to pull on her power only to find it not there.

The rumours she'd heard about Principal Powers' office having power suppressing beams must have been true. Fantasia swallowed and hoped to leave the office sooner rather than later; she'd never been without her power before. The expression on Principal Powers' face made Fantasia feel infinitesimally small, and she wished she'd just shut up and left the office when given the chance.

"All students should be happy, Fantasia, and part of ensuring that happiness means not allowing other students to disturb them while they are attempting to learn and be taught important life skills in class. I am disappointed in you, Fantasia; I expected better from someone with such high praise from their previous school," Principal Powers said sternly.

Fantasia burst into tears. She had never had detention before and never had anyone talk to her like this before. She was always loved and adored by people and no one had said a bad word to or about her since she first smiled at the doctors and nurses mere days after her birth.

Fantasia ran out of the office and turned down a corridor without looking where she was going, ignoring Principal Power's call behind her. Running as far and as fast as possible, Fantasia stopped and sobbed into her hands, all the while trying to tell herself to get under control. Fantasia wiped the tears away quickly when she heard footsteps and looked up. Her eyes widened when she saw Layla standing in front of her, gulping when she felt the heat emanating from Warren behind her.

"What are you going to do to me?" Fantasia asked, her voice trembling in fear.

Layla smiled, her eyes glowing a bright and eerie green. A vine slithered out of her hands as Warren's hot hand landed on Fantasia's shoulder to keep her in place. The vine was pushing its way into her mouth before she had a chance to cry out, and Fantasia's eyes watered and her lungs burned and her mouth became a scraped and bloodied mess from the sharp thorns that protruded from the stem. When she thought the pain would be too much and she would die from a lack of oxygen, the vine stopped and the green light faded from Layla's eyes.

"What... What did you do to me?" Fantasia rasped, her throat raw. She touched her wet mouth gingerly and her eyes widened at the sight of the blood on her fingers. "You can't... you can't do this! You made me bleed!"

"Oh, no, we've done so much more than that," Layla said, her voice sweet like poison.

"I'd tell you to never use your power on me again, but that won't be a problem," Warren said, his voice like a crack of flames.

She trembled when Warren's words registered fully, reaching for her power. Similar to Principal Powers' office, the powers weren't there, but this time, Fantasia knew it wasn't temporary. "Take it out! Right now!" she said, her voice thick with fear when she realised that the... thing inside of her was blocking her power somehow.

"No."

"There you are, Fantasia. You shouldn't run off like that, especially when we're at such a high altitude. You could have seriously injured yourself - " Principal Powers said, stopping short when she saw the blood on Fantasia's mouth. "What happened?"

Fantasia tried to tell her what Layla had done to her, but the words refused to come out. She opened and closed her mouth several times, but was unable to speak.

"It's my fault, Principal Powers," Layla said, Fantasia turning to look at her in surprise. "I was leaving the bathroom and Fantasia ran into the door," she said, nodding to the girls' bathroom door nearby.

"And Warren just so happened to be in the corridor at the same time?" Principal Powers asked in disbelief, her eyebrows raised.

"Recess is almost over; I was waiting to walk Layla to her locker, Principal Powers; we've got a study hall together next," Warren said.

Layla laughed. "Honestly, Warren was probably going to try to convince me to make out with him."

"Really, hippie? Principal Powers didn't need to know that," Warren groaned.

She smiled and moved to kiss his cheek, threading their fingers together. "It's the truth. Would you like us to take Fantasia to Nurse Spex, Principal Powers?" Layla asked, looking concerned for her fellow student's well being.

"No, but thank you for offering. Fantasia, please come back with me to my office. We'll talk there. Layla, Warren, go to study hall and only study, please."

"Yes, Principal Powers."

Fantasia wiped the blood off her mouth and followed Principal Powers dutifully. She wondered what it would feel like having two power suppressors and doubted it would be a pleasant experience. Glancing behind her, she saw Layla and Warren watching her with green and blue glowing eyes. Fantasia swallowed nervously, wincing when her throat felt like razor blades, and hurried after Principal Powers. As she left the hallway, Fantasia noticed the camera, but held her tongue so she wouldn't ask Principal Powers about it while Layla and Warren could still hear.

...

Will's plan for recess had been well and truly destroyed by his own popularity. He hadn't even seen Ryuu because he'd spent the whole time talking to people and answering their questions. Will wondered if there was some way he could provide a list of answers to the common questions he'd been forced to answer over and over to each student.

His mother had helped him organise a list of responses to common questions, making sure Will knew the answers off by heart by randomly calling out questions in the middle of conversations, during dinner, while he was showering. He had hated it at the time, but was grateful for her help now, because it felt like those answers were all that he could say for the rest of the day.

What's it like to fight a real villain?

"Fighting a real villain is scary at first, but I overcame that when I saw how terrified the citizens were. They needed someone to save them, and I needed to be brave for their sake."

Why did you throw Death Row out the window?

"Death Row threatened to destroy Westville and Maxville along with it; I threw him out of the window so both towns would be saved from his villainous treachery."

What power did Death Row have?

"Death Row could create smoke that would cover the town and make it dangerous for citizens to leave their homes, since other villains would capture them in the confusion; Getim used variations of that smoke to stall and blind us."

What was the best part?

"The best part was saving the citizens and Westville."

Even Magenta had been hounded by people eager to hear what had happened from a sidekick's point of view. Will had managed to steer his questioning group over to the table so he could at least sit next to his girlfriend - he didn't look for Ryuu in the crowd, of course he didn't - and was glad his mother had done the same questioning with Magenta over the weekend. Magenta didn't know that Death Row hadn't shown any powers or that Will had thrown him out of the window after he'd surrendered; she simply thought that they were providing a united front by ensuring everyone received the same answers from both Airborne and Shifter.

"How long do you think he rehearsed that bullshit?" Craig asked.

"Busy, dude. Give me a minute," Adam said, fingers flying over his phone screen in a blur.

"You have to study if you're going to beat your score from last year," Zach reminded Craig, who groaned in response.

"I wish I hadn't agreed to that," he muttered, but eventually pulled out his Mad Science textbook to start reading and taking notes.

Ry was getting involved in Lionheart's story and tried not to pay any attention to the people around him, especially since he could feel Will staring at him again.

Adam flicked a ball of paper at Warren and glowered at Layla as they sat across from him. "A bit more notice next time, yeah?"

"Sorry, Adam. I couldn't have that little bitch running around screwing things up for us," Layla said, turning the paper into a delicate yellow rose and handing it to him.

Adam put the flower behind his ear, grinning. "Wendy's pissed you used her, by the way."

"We used her and Donny," Warren said.

Adam shrugged. "Wendy's the one that's pissed, not Donny."

"I'll talk to her. Do you know when she finishes with Mad Science?" Layla asked.

"Eth'll know," Adam said, nudging the boy next to him to get his attention.

"Wendy should have finished at eleven for recess, but had to meet with Mr. Medulla to get feedback as his TA. You would be better off texting Wendy an apology instead or waiting until lunch," Ethan said, looking up and adjusting his glasses.

"How'd you hear what we were talking about? You were reading," Layla said.

Ethan shrugged. "I'm always aware of my surroundings."

"Is it something that can be taught?" Warren asked, thinking of how Layla was rarely aware of her own surroundings when focused on something.

"Maybe? I'll see what I can do," Ethan said, returning his attention to his textbook.

Adam listened to his app, ensuring that Fantasia wouldn't be a problem for them again.

Across the hall, Will was trying hard to read Lionheart's book as well because then it could give him something to talk to Ryuu about, but he kept getting distracted by Ryuu and looking over to him more often than he was reading his book. Eventually, Warren stood and changed seats, loudly claiming that the other seat was uncomfortable. He blocked Will's view, and Will couldn't use the same uncomfortable seat excuse to move, so he stayed where he was and tried to read Lionheart's boring book again.

Ry mouthed 'thank you' to Warren, who nodded in response.

...

"What reason do you have for me to check the cameras, Fantasia?" Principal Powers asked, surprised by her request.

"I... I'm embarrassed about running into the door, Principal Powers. If I see it from this perspective, I might find it funny instead," Fantasia said, thinking quickly and hoping that her explanation would be enough to get Principal Powers to see the truth.

As soon as Principal Powers saw what Layla and Warren had done to her, Fantasia knew that they'd be expelled. After Layla removed that horrible vine from inside her, of course. Unfortunately, she'd been right about how unpleasant it was with two power suppressors, and Fantasia felt like she was suffocating slowly in syrup.

After a long moment, Principal Powers nodded and accessed the camera feed on her computer. She turned the screen slightly so Fantasia could see as well. Fantasia saw herself running down the corridor, crying, and running straight into the bathroom door as it opened wide, Layla stepping out and hurrying to her side.

Fantasia wanted to protest, to say that that's not what happened at all, but as before, the words were stuck in her throat. Realising that Principal Powers was watching her, Fantasia laughed weakly. "It's not as funny as I thought," she admitted, looking away from the screen as Warren moved close to check on her in what looked to be a kind manner.

Principal Powers nodded in understanding and moved the screen back, closing the program.

...

"Were you serious about the pizza? It doesn't look that bad," Ry said, frowning over at Craig.

"Yeah, it looks fine. Some people even report that it tastes fine. But no one has made it through the day with their intestines intact after eating it. Mr. Bowie learned that the hard way last year," Craig added, wincing.

"Okay. Is the lasagne edible?" Ry asked, looking between Craig and Adam.

"Yeah, just get Warren to toast it for you first," Adam said, nodding to where Warren was powered up and heating Robin's lasagne.

"I can handle that," Ry said, serving the lasagne and watery greens, taking a moment to survey the available puddings before grabbing a chocolate one and adding it to his tray along with a small bottle of water.

"How's your day been so far, Ry?" Layla asked once they were seated at the table.

"Classes aren't too bad, if a little impractical for the real world. It's only the first day though," he replied with a shrug. "Warren, can you heat my lasagne, please?"

"Sure, pass it here," Warren said around his spoon.

"Thanks," Ry said, handing his tray over. "Does it say 'bitch' on the table?" he asked, frowning at the barely-visible scratches.

"Uh, yes. We'll explain that one later," Layla said.

"I thought you got rid of all of them last year?" Zach asked Craig.

"I left that one visible at a certain angle 'cause I liked the way the B turned out," he replied.

"Then this can be your seat," Ry said, standing and sliding Craig down to the seat. "I don't want to spend my lunch break looking at that."

"Are you calling me a bitch?" Craig asked in mock offence.

"Yes," most of the table chorused.

"Your lunch, Ry. I don't know what your cheese preference is, so it's only browned a little," Warren added.

Seeing Robin's cheese, Ry understood immediately. "Can you do a crème brûlée torch, too?" he asked, grinning.

"I probably could. I haven't made one before, so I haven't tried," Warren said with a shrug.

"Custard's gross," Justina said from further down the table, sitting between Terrence and Robin.

"Custard is amazing, and I'd fight you over it, but it just means more for me," Zach quipped.

"Are you sure you forgive us, Wendy?" Layla asked once the last student had left with their food heated.

"Not really. I'm trying to do a good job as Medulla's TA, and that could've totally fucked me over," Wendy muttered. "Besides, I was hungry, and both Warren and Donny fucking with my mind was painful on an empty stomach."

"We didn't time it that way on purpose," Warren said.

"I know, but I'm still annoyed. Give me a day or two; I'll be fine again and forgive you properly," Wendy muttered.

"Well, we won't have to do it again," Layla promised, smiling as she looked over to Fantasia, who was glaring at them so hard they all would have been six feet under if looks could kill.

...

End of the hundred and eighth chapter.

Thanks for reading; hope you liked it!