Broken Chapter 2: Save the Citizen, a sky high fanfic

A new school year, a new student, a new villain; just another ordinary day for the students of Sky High.

So, yes, very tragic thing had happened. My mother and I were fixing part of the laptop that had popped up. Something happened, laptop in hibernate mode, I lost my master copy except for what I'd saved…which was right after I finished chapter 1. I'd started on later plot pieces and chapter two. I was not very happy. My mother had this whole rant about saving and I told her that I thought I'd saved it. So, this is the new version…wish it was the old one…stupid auto recover. This also explains her powers in a bit more depth and gives us another glimpse into Claire's home life. Eventually, it'll get explained too, if it's confusing. Also, if you'd like to see what Claire looks like, go to my profile. It's near the top. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I may have watched it six times in five days, but I only own Claire and her screwy aunt.

Broken – Chapter 2

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The second day of school was over. Students gathered in their groups, talking about their classes that day. Warren, Will, Layla, Zach, Magenta, and Ethan stood in their group; everyone but Warren rambled on about what torturous things had happened in their classes. Warren was deep in thought. He occasionally glanced at the buses. He needed sleep bad…and he had homework…and a shift. It's going to be a lot harder this year, was Warren's last thought.

"Dude, what is with you today?" Zach asked. Warren looked at him.

"Yeah, you do seem a little out of it," Ethan agreed.

"I'm heading for the buses," Warren picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"That's a little sudden," Zach commented.

"I've got a shift later and I'm tired, got it?" Warren gave him an are-you-happy-now look.

Zach threw up his hands in defeat. Warren went for the buses and took his seat. He could finally return to thinking without interruptions. Since the day before, he'd been wondering how he could balance out homework, working at the Paper Lantern, and sleeping. Over the summer, when not working, he was still doing a lot of thinking; most of the time, he wouldn't figure out an answer or something to solve what he'd been thinking about. One of the few things he'd figured out is that he wasn't meant for relationships…other than friendships. Girls didn't click with him, even after he had been deemed a good guy after the homecoming incident. Warren had accepted this pretty well; after all, the last time he'd hung out or been around that ice girl was…homecoming. Shaking off his thoughts about romance and how much it sucked, he returned to plotting how to deal with everything this year.

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Everyone on the bus still stared at Claire as if she was some sort of freak or freshman. It didn't bother her at all; it might as well have been normal school for her. She took her usual place on the bus and watched out the window. At least, if she wasn't paying attention to the inside of the bus, people would start to ignore her. Where could she go today to avoid her home? Claire began to ponder this as the bus began its descent into Maxville.

Day 3 of school at Sky High meant Save the Citizen for gym class. Originally, it was the second day, but they'd moved it to the third day to make the freshmen feel "more comfortable"; really, it was just to give the upperclassmen a chance to plot how they were going to torture them. Everyone sat in the stands as Will and Warren defeated yet another pair of students. It had gone this way since Lash and Speed had challenged them last year…except each time was easier than the first. Layla, Magenta, Ethan, and Zach all cheered as loud as they could for their friends.

"Stronghold, Peace, who do you want to be?" Coach Boomer…well, boomed over the roar of the gymnasium.

"Heroes," they replied, as if it should be the most obvious thing in the world.

"Figures," he commented as he wrote on his clipboard. "Your opponents?"

"Josh Martin," Will said, looking as an African-American boy with a large afro stood up and headed to put his gear on.

"Peace?" Coach Boomer asked.

Warren looked around the stands. Well, no better time than the future to see what she's capable of. He couldn't help being curious. "Her," Warren gestured to Claire.

"Mitchell, get down there!" Coach Boomer shouted.

Claire looked up from the ground at Boomer. He jerked his hands towards where the gear was. Claire let out a frustrated sigh, went down the stairs, and began to pull on her gear. She hated Save the Citizen; no matter who she was paired with, no matter who they were against, no matter what, she could never win. She'd spent a whole semester the previous year studying hero history to prove that there had never been a case like Save the Citizen and that it was a stupid game. The administration didn't care how much she'd researched and written; this game was a tradition and it would stay. She took her place next to her partner, Josh, facing Will and Warren. Was it his goal to annoy her or get her out of her shell or something? Really, Claire didn't care; as long as she got out with little or no bones broken, she was fine with the stupid game. Her ego really didn't get hurt too much.

"Ready…set…BATTLE!" Boomer cried.

"I'll take Stronghold!" Josh shouted to her without so much as a glance and went running after him.

"Great," Claire rolled her eyes. The last thing she needed was to battle a tall, tough guy who could kick her ass within a minute. She could feel the floor rattle a little and hear lightning bolts forming. Warren stepped up, closing the distance to ten feet away, and powered up.Wonderful…a pyro, she thought cynically. Opening her palms, she began to focus on drawing upon her power; the gym lights flickered a little as white balls of energy filled up in her palms. Warren threw his hand forward, fire flying towards her. Claire dropped to the ground and it flew over her head. "Oh shit." She began to run as Warren flung more small fire balls at her. Claire ducked behind a bench. "What to do, what to do, what to do…" she whispered to herself. The loud roar of fire came from behind her; she whipped around. The top of the bench was burning where the fire had come in contact and Warren faced her. Claire stood up and went in front of the bench. "So don't wanna do this…" she muttered as she refocused her mind and tried to power up again. This time, the lights didn't flicker or white orbs appear in her hands; this time, her hands began to glow orange and burst into flame. Will and Josh both stopped and looked.

"What…the…hell?" Warren asked. He was the only pyro at Sky High this year…well, apparently not. He swung a fireball at her; Claire put her hands out, catching it and throwing it back it him. This would be a little more difficult than he thought, yet the two of them stood, staring at each other, arms glowing. Will and Josh had returned to fighting, unsuccessfully.

"Hey, switch with me!" Josh shouted at Claire.

"You have got to be kidding me," she remarked, running as fast as she could to face down Will. Claire shot a fireball at him. Josh couldn't handle Warren any better than she could, which amused her slightly. Will glanced at his partner, and then did his signature move of pounding the floor. As it rippled through the floor, all but Will fell on the floor.

"Stronghold!" Warren shouted. He hated it when Will did that; no one could avoid the stupid wave of the floorboards. He shoved himself up again.

Josh stayed on the floor, moaning in pain. Claire began to push herself up to continue fighting, but Will was nowhere to be seen.

"Heroes win!" Boomer cried over the cheers of the crowd. What else was new? Josh moaned in pain; Claire shook her head and got up slowly, heading to take her gear off. As she peeled off yet another piece, Josh hobbled in, taking off pieces of his gear.

"You did a good job out there," he told her. Claire glanced at him. "No one's gotten Peace to stop in this game…ever. You powered up and he didn't know what to think." She shrugged, taking off another piece of gear.

At the end of the day, Warren boarded and glanced around the bus for an empty seat. Since when does she ride this bus? Warren thought. He shrugged and headed for the back of the bus and sat down. Claire looked away from the window and at Warren.

"Hey," he said nonchalantly.

"Uh…hi," she said softly. Claire glanced around and looked back at him. "Why are you sitting here?"

"Shouldn't everyone have someone to sit with?" Warren's voice was very unconcerned, almost making it sound like he was mocking her.

Claire shrugged. "It doesn't really matter…"

They looked away from each other. The bus took off, heading through the air. Warren looked back at her. Slowly, Claire's gaze returned to Warren.

"What?" she looked very confused.

"What exactly is your power?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Curiosity."

Claire looked back out the window, as if trying to ignore him. "I control energy…light, electricity, that sort of thing…"

"And the fire? That a part of energy?"

"No."

"Then what about that?"

"Look, I'm not proud of it and I wish I didn't have it," Claire informed him, turning back. "The only reason I used it today was to avoid getting seriously injured." Warren nodded a little. "What about you? Do you use your power to light all the candles in the Paper Lantern?"

"Funny."

"Isn't it?" she asked with a dead serious face, then looked out the window again. "Why did you come back here?"

"Maybe I wanted to get to know you better, maybe I was curious about your powers…" Warren stood up. "Who knows? See you around." Warren got off the bus and went in to the Paper Lantern. Claire watched as he went in, glaring slightly. Things like that annoyed her, when people would mess with her. She slumped back in the seat as the bus took off down the street, frowning a little. He was doing this to get to her…she thought. Soon, the bus pulled up to her neighborhood. If she hurried, made herself something to eat, and went to her room, she had a chance of avoiding her aunt all together. Quietly, she shut the front door behind her and went to the kitchen; with a plate carrying a sandwich, a glass of water, and bag of chips in hand, Claire began up the staircase. The front door slammed shut.

"What do you think you're doing?" Abigail hissed, dropping her bag by an end table.

"Going to my room for the night," Claire turned around slowly, staying on the stairs. "Why? Got a date?"

"Don't use that tone. I've got a man in the car right now. Either you get up to your room right now or you leave for the night." Claire rolled her eyes slightly. "And use those powers once…any way in the slightest…and you'll never see that school again and you'll be in London in a boarding school."

"Whatever," Claire told her, starting back up again. Abigail grabbed her wrists, yanking her back down the stairs, her eyes burning.

"Got it?" her voice was harsh. Her hands glowed orange, bursting into flame around Claire's wrists.

"I get it, okay?" Claire pulled her wrists from Abigail's reach, picked up her messenger bag, plate, glass, and chips, going straight to her room. She locked the door behind her, sat the food on a bedside stand and her bag on the floor, grabbed the remote, flipped on the T.V. and sat on her bed, holding her wrists. They were bright red and swollen and aching. Claire went into the bathroom attached to her room and pulled out the bandages, carefully and lightly wrapping them around her wrists. Settling back on her bed, she proceeded to do her homework and eat, making herself as scarce and invisible as possible.

So, I hope you enjoyed! Please review. Now, I've got a challenge for you readers: while it will be a couple chapters before homecoming in the story, I have no idea what to do for Claire's dress. So, if you're interested, there are a few requirements: floor length, not red, preferably with straps. Let the challenge begin! (Even if you attempt, you will be one of my favorite people in the world. I can't imagine or design dresses for crap.)