CHAPTER 2 'A Grand Entrance'
A/N: beware some major and rather boring power and character description. This is a necessary chapter, I am sorry. Perhaps it's about time I add another warning: characters in this story will be slightly out of character (I'll leave how much 'slightly' means to your own judgement).
Also, as I was warned I should do: I don't own Sky High OR X-Men.
Third Person POV (this is a one time thing, promise)
"So, man! What do you think?" Will said, a little too cheerfully for the pyro, on a Monday morning.
They had both been running late that morning, and, not wanting to be late to their first day as seniors, they had agreed to fly to school. Will had even had to call Ron to make sure he wouldn't make anybody else late.
"It's been a month, William, and since you haven't heard me complaining, then it must be going fine!"
Will shook his head, still smiling widely at his best friend. Sure, Warren had softened up a fair bit since the post-Royal Pain Homecoming. But, as he usually said when at school, he had an image to maintain (which wasn't really true. Everybody knew that Warren was friends with Will, Layla, Magenta, Zach and Ethan. But they still found him scary. So the gang didn't really know why he bothered...). Not to mention he just wasn't a true morning person. Sure he got up and all, but he was a bit cranky. Regardless of the fact that he had moved in with the Strongholds during the summer holidays, (because his mom was almost always gone to help with the fight against the Registration Act and Mrs. Stronghold didn't like the idea of leaving him alone in his house, he was now living in the Strongholds' new, spacious attic. His choice.) and despite being best friends for the past three years (man, it felt longer) Warren still wasn't used to Will's morning cheerfulness.
"Well, I don't know, you're a quiet person! And besides, it's our senior year! Anything can happen!" Warren sighed.
"William, we haven't even started our senior year. That bell still hasn't rung yet! And why would you think anything can happen? It's just school..." he grumbled, trailing off.
"HA! Oh please! This is Sky High remember?! Anything can happen here!"
The words hadn't even left Will's mouth when Layla, Magenta, Zach and Ethan joined them, having just stepped off the bus.
"Hi, Will! Hey Warren!" Layla said, ever the cheerful one of the lot.
"Hey Hippie." Warren said, while Will kissed his girlfriend. The nickname had stuck, fitting as it was.
"Yo, guys how's it going? Senior year man, I can't believe it. We are going to kick ass this year man!" Zach was already bouncing up and down. Magenta shrugged with a small smile. She had already gotten used to her boyfriend's antics.
"I can't believe we're graduating this year!" Ethan added in.
Ah! They had arrived at the hot topic of the moment. Graduation. None of them, not even Warren, could believe it was time to graduate. They had all grown so much, mentally, physically, and in regards to their powers.
Out of the whole gang, Warren was the one who had changed the most. Warren's powers had greatly increased over the past few years. For, as his control over his fiery temper had grown exponentially, so had his ability to control, not just his fire but any other as well. He could now manipulate fire into what ever shape he wanted. One of his personal favourites was his new means of transportation, which consisted in a disc of fire on which he could step and fly. Will had once nicknamed him the "Fire Surfer". He could now also control temperature, granted on the high end. He could heat air up enough to lift himself and others off the ground without needing to light up even the smallest flame. His body's resistance to low temperatures had also improved, and he had developed a healing factor of sorts: whenever he got a cut, a small flame would appear over the wound, closing it immediately, and if ever he got a bruise, the area would heat up and heal. And perhaps one of his favourite tricks now, was that he could create fire without needing to touch, or, as he himself put it, he could order things to combust. At first, only he and the gang had known, and it had been cause for several jokes, but then, Principal Powers had gotten wind of it and had given them all detentions. Regardless of this he was now one of the most powerful supers in the whole of Sky High, and one of the few who could take Will down thanks to his martial arts training, courtesy of Mrs. Stronghold. Between the healing factor and the natural strength he had built over the years, he could now withstand Will's punches without much complication.
After the deal with Royal Pain, the Strongholds had welcomed Warren into the family warmly(no pun intended), something he certainly hadn't expected but he wasn't complaining either. It was ironic how The Commander was now a father figure he could actually look up to, even if he had his ... incoherent moments.
Also because of Royal Pain, and his new found friends he had consciously failed his sophomore year and had joined the gang for the rest of their school time. And, even though he would never admit it, he was fiercely protective of his friends. The rest of the school was wise enough to stay out of his way, but freshmen were always trouble. And whenever a freshman tried to bother anyone of the gang (the usual targets being Zach and Ethan) the whole school would be reminded of why they once were so afraid of Warren Peace. But that didn't happen very often.
What did happen daily were the 'fan girl attacks', as the gang jokingly called them. After it had been cleared that Warren was NOT a villain, every single girl in the school, except for Layla and Maj, had confessed their undying love for him. And nobody could blame them. Because of his training in hand-to-hand combat and his natural physiology, Warren was now 6'2" of pure muscle, gorgeously encased in tanned skin. His chocolate brown eyes were deep, thoughtful, and, on occasions, lethal and the occasional fully fledged smile was deadly to any female in the surrounding area. Thankfully, the attacks weren't normally planned in secret so either Maj or Layla could always warn him before he was flocked by girls from any year. Warren hated it, but the rest of the gang simply laughed their heads off.
Will hadn't changed too much. Physically. He had grown, he had filled in a bit as was expected, but he was still lanky compared to Warren. He had definitely matured, and wasn't as air-headed as before, well in the way of becoming the hero every one expected him to be. His powers had doubled and he was now stronger than the Commander himself. He had also broken his mother's record at flying speeds, though she could still kick his ass at fighting. His skin was now tough enough to withstand Warren's flames, though the pyro still managed a couple of attacks that were strong enough to make Will squirm. Apart from that, he still had problems with Mad Science, he was as in love with Layla as always, and he still smiled nearly as often as she did.
Layla was still Layla. The tree hugger, the cheerful, the supporting Layla every one knew. Her control over her powers was as good as ever, though she had become a lot stronger. She could now re-grow entire hectares of deforested areas at once, she had gotten the hold of how to make lemons, and she, like Warren, could now mentally command her element, so to speak. She didn't need her hands to signal for the plant to do something, which was very useful for going undetected. But most importantly, she could now grow plants out of thin air. She could even make a massive tree grow out of her hand!
Magenta was still the silent Goth they had all met, but she had cheered up considerably thanks to Zach. Now, instead of just becoming a guinea pig, she could also command most rodents around, and become most of them, for which she had been sent to hero class.
Zach was... well Zach. Hyperactive, neon bright Zach, he could now, not just glow at will but also levitate balls of light, and actually through them at his attackers, something that had earned him a place in hero class as well. He had grown up, though thankfully not in height anymore. He was more centred, he had more focus, and he could be called upon to have a decently deep conversation. But he still had absolutely no idea as to how to dance.
Ethan had changed a fair bit. He had grown, he had matured and his powers had developed enough to go on to hero class with the rest of them. He could now stretch himself so thin that he almost became invisible, and he could stick to any surface, becoming the best of the group at infiltration. Also, he had learned to melt things along with him, making it really easy for him to join in the many practical jokes they had done over the years. He was still the smart one, and their only salvation whenever exams came by. Except, perhaps for Warren. Who, like Ethan, always managed to be responsible and have a laugh. But then again, he was still the bookworm they had all met in their freshman year.
All of a sudden, that sense of peace that normally accompanied these meetings was disrupted by the arrival of a huge, black jet that, apparently, was about to land on Sky High.
A/N: again, sorry if it was too boring, but I deemed it necessary for coherence sake. You can R&R chapter 3 though... which is also up!
