SC: So… hey guys. Um, right, so, life's kinda been getting the way of the whole writing thing. I've been dealing with financial aid problems since school started, and they finally just got sorted out, just in time for me to need to start studying for finals- which I'm thankfully done with now. I've also been hunting for a job, which eats up a lot of free time, so my break has been kinda eaten up until now.

That being said, here's the next chapter of FA.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sky High or any of its characters, just the ones I made up. I also don't own Orianthi's 'According to You.'

Chapter 6

A Hypnotizing Tale

"I'm Keith. I think we should talk."

Warren stared for a moment, wondering if the boy in front of him was stupid, or just insane. Then, after a brief moment of contemplation, he realized he didn't actually care, and just wanted Keith to get out of his face. And obviously, it showed, because the blonde boy in front of him suddenly looked very nervous. It took Warren a moment to realize that he was glaring. "I think you should get the hell away from me." He growled.

"Look, you have every right to hate me. If I was in your shoes…" Keith chuckled lightly. "Actually, I probably wouldn't be half as offended. I never was very good at being a boyfriend. I just wanted to warn you."

Warren bristled, his thoughts turning toward Alexa. "Whoa, wait." Keith said, holding up his hands in peace. "I didn't mean, like, away from Alexa. I know better than anyone that I have no right t'be jealous." Suddenly, Keith looked scared, and not of Warren. "I came t' warn you… about Amanda."

"Amanda?" Warren asked, thrown off by the tone of the warning. It didn't seem to be protective or jealous. Just scared.

"I have no romantic feelings for that- that witch." Keith spat. "But I do not want Alexa to go through that again."

"Go through, what, exactly?" Warren demanded, his voice still a low growl.

Keith swallowed hard. "Look, there's… there's something about Amanda's powers that she's been keepin' secret. Those… projections a hers? She can adjust those energy waves to different frequencies. Frequencies that can make people lose their heads, and do whatever it is that she wants 'em to."

"Are you telling me," Warren asked slowly, "That Amanda can hypnotize people with her powers? You really expect me to believe that?"

"How do you think I know about her even having powers?" Keith asked. "Look, I didn't want to do that to Alexa. I may not have been a great guy, but I would not cheat on her. Especially not with her own family. Amanda cornered me at Alexa's party, and hypnotized me."

Warren hesitated. He wasn't a trusting guy under normal circumstances, but this was too much even for him. "Let's say, for the sake of conversation, that I believe you. How do I know you're not still under Amanda's control?"

Keith shook his head. "She didn't know how long it would last when I wasn't in constant contact with her. And she told me a lotta stuff about her and her family." The blonde scratched the back of his head. "I don't think she knew that I was pretty much aware of everything she was saying."

"Like what?"

"Like she really hates Alexa." Keith said. "I don't know what Alexa did to her, or if she did anything, but Amanda wants Alexa completely and totally ruined, if not dead. She talked about tearing her wings off a couple of times. In detail." Warren grimaced. "Yeah, I didn't like it much either. She told me everything. I don't think she knows that her control over me's worn off."

"Even if she did, she probably doesn't think you're crazy enough to try and tell me all of this." Warren pointed out.

Keith chuckled. "Yeah. Kinda why I did it in the mall. Figured there was less chance of you… doing whatever it is you do to me."

"She told you we were…?"

"I'll take it to my grave. I mean, I haven't told anyone yet. Already hurt Alexa pretty bad once, and I don't wanna do it again." He muttered, scuffing a boot against the floor.

Warren crossed his arms. "Are you going to tell Alexa?"

The teen shrugged. "Don't know what good it'd do me now. Other'n maybe stop her from barbequin' me 'fore I leave."

"I'll tell her." Warren said.

Keith looked surprised, to say the least. "You will?"

"I don't know if she'll believe me, but it might get her to listen to you." Warren said.

"Thanks, Warren. Thanks a lot." Keith said. "I, uh, better git before Amanda starts wonderin' where I am." Warren nodded, watching the other male until he left the store. With a sigh, Warren headed out of the store. He wasn't in much of a mood for music now anyway. And he wasn't looking forward to telling Alexa what Keith had told him.

However, it didn't seem to be much of an issue, as Warren couldn't seem to get Alexa alone no matter what he tried. "You okay?" Warren fought not to jump as Annie seemed to suddenly appear in the seat across from him.

"That is really annoying." He told her. "And sneaking up on the guy who throws fireballs is never a good idea."

"I'll keep that in mind for future reference." She smirked, following his gaze out onto the dance floor. "You afraid she's gonna start dancing with another guy or something?"

Warren glanced over at Annie. "I'm not worried about Alexa cheating on me. I just… I need to talk to her."

"You say that like it's difficult."

"Alone. And it is, with our friends." Warren told her dryly. "They're always popping up out of somewhere without any kind of warn-"

"Warren!"

"-ing." He finished with a chuckle. "See what I mean? What's up, Popsicle?"

"We need you over there. Now. Alexa's about to blow up."

Warren sighed. "Lemme guess- Amanda and Keith walked in?" Ethan nodded. "All right, let's… uh, hey Alexa." He said, realizing that his girlfriend had just appeared beside Ethan.

"Hi Warren." Alexa said, smiling. "Annie, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Uh, sure?" Annie asked, looking at Alexa oddly, wondering what happened to Ethan's description of the girl who was about to 'blow up.'

Warren stood and grabbed Alexa's wrist as she started to walk off after Annie. "Alexa. I know that look."

"What look?" She asked innocently, her eyes gleaming darkly.

"That look." He said. "The last time you had that look, you got thrown through a window."

Alexa just smiled, pulling Warren down to leave a kiss on his cheek. He felt a slight heat from the kiss, signaling that Alexa was running hotter than usual. "I know what I'm doing. Trust me."

"Famous last words." Warren muttered as he sat back down, watching as Alexa grabbed Annie's wrist and pulling her toward the stage.

"What's Alexa doing?" Will questioned as he and Layla came up next to Warren.

"I have no idea." The pyro confessed, watching as Annie and Alexa talked animatedly. Whatever Alexa told Annie, it had the singer bouncing excitedly and hugging the blonde before running back on stage and motioning for the DJ to cut off.

"Hey, everyone, sorry for stopping the music, but we've got a real treat for you." Annie grinned. "Making her grand return to the stage, I give you Alexa Hale!"

"What?" Layla asked, grinning. Beside her, Magenta cheered loudly, cupping her hands around her mouth as Alexa climbed up on stage and walked over to the microphone.

"She looks like she's going to puke." Will said.

"Don't jinx her." Layla shushed him, beaming excitedly.

Nari picked up her guitar and picked out a few notes, and Alexa joined in with a shaky voice. "According to you, I'm stupid, I'm useless, I can't do anything right. According to you, I'm difficult, hard to please, forever changing my mind. I'm a mess in a dress, can't show up on time, even if it would save my life. According to you… according to you." Alexa grinned, pulling the mic out of its stand as she looked over to the booth where her friends were sitting. Warren felt one of his friends nudge him, and he shoved at the offending arm without taking his eyes off the stage.

"But according to him, I'm beautiful, incredible, he can't get me outta his head. According to him, I'm funny irresistible, everything he ever wanted. Everything is opposite, I don't feel like stopping it, so baby tell me what I've got to lose. He's into me for everything I'm not, according to you."

"Go Alexa!" Layla screamed, along with half the crowd. Magenta stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled.

"Who knew Alexa could sing like this?" Will called over the noise, looking over at a grinning Warren.

"According to you… I'm stupid, I'm useless, I can't do anything right…" Alexa finished her song as the music died off behind her, and it was quickly replaced by the roar of the crowd. Alexa grinned, blushing as Annie hugged her tightly- anyone looking close enough would've seen her mouth 'I'm so proud of you,' as she pulled away and let Ed have at Alexa. Ed picked Alexa up and spun her around, kissing her cheek. Alexa's face flushed darker, and she quickly descended from the stage and began to make her way through the crowd.

After accepting praises from what must have been half the club, Alexa managed to tumble out of the throng and into Warren's waiting arms. "How'd I do?" She gasped.

"You were awesome." Warren told her, giving her a kiss.

"C'mon, Warren, quit hogging her and let the rest of us give Alexa a hug!" Magenta teased.

Alexa shook her head, leaning against Warren's chest. "Warren Peace, you let go of me and I am very likely to hit that floor in a dead faint."

Warren chuckled a little. "You heard her." He said, shrugging as he held Alexa a little tighter.

"Alexa, that was great!" Layla gushed. "Your voice is… wow."

"Yeah, how'd you manage to hide that set of pipes?" Zach asked.

"Keeping my mouth shut, mostly." Alexa laughed lightly. "I'm sort of surprised I can even sing still, it's been sooo long."

Warren tuned out the conversation as he looked over the crowd, searching for two people in particular. He found them sitting at the bar across the room- Amanda was leaning back on the bar, looking across the club at the group with an unreadable expression on her face. However, it wasn't Amanda's reaction Warren was looking for- Keith's eyes rose from Alexa to look at Warren apologetically. A subtle, silent plea hid in that expression, and Warren sighed. "Hey, song bird, can we talk?" He asked lowly into his girlfriend's ear. Alexa nodded, complacent in letting Warren lead her outside.

"What's up, Warren?"

Taking a deep breath, Warren began recounting his encounter with Keith earlier that day.

"And you believed him? Warren, come on, I know you're smarter than that." Alexa said, sounding completely skeptical.

Called it, Warren thought to himself. The couple was standing off to the side of Dust, away from all of the club goers who were stumbling out and heading home. "Not really, but you have to admit that it's an interesting story."

"Yeah, well, it's one interesting story that I'm not interested in." Alexa muttered, shoving her hands in her pockets.

"Lexa, it's not healthy to hold grudges." Warren said, smirking a little.

"I'll keep that in mind, Pot." She retorted. "Come on, Warren, do you really think that Amanda could keep something like that a secret?"

"It's a possibility." Warren said.

"Why are you so keen on defending Keith?" Alexa demanded angrily.

Warren smirked. "The guy did drive you straight to me, didn't he?"

"One good thing doesn't make up for what he did." The blonde muttered, blue flame beginning to flicker across her skin.

"Hey," Warren said, reaching over and turning her face up, "Would it really kill you to listen to him?"

"Maybe." Alexa said, pushing his hand away. Warren grabbed hers, smiling.

"C'mon, Alexa, don't be stubborn. I talked to him, and he managed to get away unsinged."

Alexa smiled. "And I'm still questioning your sanity on that."

"Aren't you the one who keeps telling me that I can't set all my problems on fire?"

"…touché." She relented with a smile. "I dunno, War, it's just… I don't know if I believe it. And even if it is the truth, that doesn't change what happened."

"I know." Warren said, pulling her into a hug. "And I'm not saying you have to forgive him, just think about it, okay?" Alexa sighed, nodding. Warren kissed her forehead. "Good girl."

"What am I, a dog?" She asked, shoving him back.

Warren grinned. "Keep behaving and I might give you a treat." Alexa let out an indignant shriek and started throwing half-hearted punches at him. He laughed, fending her off as they headed back inside Dust. Alexa stumbled as someone ran into her, then turned to glare at them.

"Hey! Watch where you're- Ed?" She cut off mid-rant as she realized who had run into her. Ed, however, didn't stop, busily dialing his cell phone. "Ed?"

"What's his hurry?" Warren asked, frowning.

"Dunno. Hope nothing's wrong." She murmured. "Her, however, I do hope something's wrong." Alexa said as she looked over to the bar where Amanda was sitting. The brunette had her cell phone pulled out, and whatever message she'd just gotten, she didn't look happy about it. Grabbing her purse, she stormed toward the exit, glaring at Alexa as she walked by. "Nice to see you too, Amanda! Jeez, what's with everyone tonight?"

"Guess you passed your bad mood to her." Warren suggested.

Alexa laughed. "Good. Let her be miserable for a change. Fine by-" Alexa cut off as a scream cut through the now mostly empty club. "What the hell?"

"That didn't sound like someone enjoying themselves." Warren said, running toward the back of the club, Alexa hot on his heels.

"Nari? Nari, baby, wake up. Talk to me!" The two burst into the green room to see Annie holding Nari across her lap. The Asian was unconscious and barely breathing, and there was smear of red by her visible ear.

"Annie, what happened?" Alexa gasped.

"I don't know! I wanted to see if she wanted to catch the midnight show at the theater after we closed up, and I found her like this."

Footsteps pounded down the hall, and Will appeared in the door. "What's- what happened?"

"Will, call nine-one-one." Warren ordered.

"I'm calling my uncle. Maybe he can figure out what's wrong with her." Alexa said, grabbing her phone even as Will had started dialing.

"I don't understand. You're sure there's nothing else wrong with her?"

Robert shook his head. "I'm sorry, Annie. Nari had ruptured ear drums and a slight concussion, probably from when she hit the floor, but I have no idea why she hasn't regained consciousness. None of her injuries appeared to be serious, and I couldn't sense anything else wrong with her."

Annie wiped her eyes. "Well, thank you anyway. I'm gonna go get her stuff before Ed takes me to the hospital."

Alexa squeezed her hand. "Call us if anything changes, okay?" She asked, hugging Annie tightly before climbing into the car with the others. As the large SUV and Robert's smaller sedan took off down the road, Annie sighed, heading toward the entrance.

"Annie, she'll be all right." Ed assured his sister.

"I hope so, Eddie." She sniffled, heading inside. Ed watched his sister go dispassionately, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, hitting the redial button.

"Amanda, it's me." He said, his voice flat.

"Obviously, I do have caller ID, you moron. Well? Is it taken care of?" An exasperated female voice came over the headset.

"It is. The next part of the plan can move on." Ed said, looking down at the blue-covered smart phone in his free hand.

"Good. You know what to do." Amanda said, hanging up.

"Of course." He said, shoving his own phone back into his pocket, holding the other phone up to examine his reflection in the dark screen. In the bright lights of the club, most would have thought it just an illusion, but the pale pink glow of Ed's eyes stared brightly back at him from his reflection.

"Ed? You ready to go?"

Ed hastily shoved the blue phone back into his pocket. "Yeah, I'm coming Annie."

SC: DUN DUN DUUNN. We've finally gotten to the good bit! I'm sure everyone's got more questions than I gave answers, like what Amanda's doing calling Ed, why his eyes are glowing pink, and what this big plan is, but guess what? You'll have to wait to find out. Sorry. I promise it won't take as long to update this time. And, while I probably don't deserve them, all reviews are appreciated!

Ja ne
SC