What's up? I've had this done for a few days, but every time I sit down to post it, something else needs my urgent attention. Other than that, nothing much over at my end, just a serious sibling rivalry challenge. It wouldn't be that bad if not for the fact that I have seven brothers….I'm winning, though, so it's all good.

I wake the next morning with the sun in my eyes and my face pressed into the window sill. My body is scrunched up on the small window seat and my legs are hanging out of the open window. At lease I didn't fall out. My back cracks so many times when I sit up that I'm a little worried. Squinting against the sun, I release the building yawn. What comes out of my mouth is louder than a foghorn, shattering the glass of the still open window and sending me flying back to skid across my bed and flip over onto my front on the floor on the other side. I groan into the hardwood that probably bruised me on the landing and place my hands flat, preparing to lift myself up. I hear multiple pairs of feet pounding up the stairs. The door flies open and hits the wall with enough force to make me wince.

"Levi?" I hear from Vati, Aunt Raven and Uncle Azazel as they enter several seconds after the echo of the door is gone. They sound anxious. They really shouldn't be. All that happened was me yawning, breaking a window and possibly bruising my face.

"I'm right over here," I reply. It hurts a little to stand and I almost go back down when I step on the comforter that came with me on my descent to the ground.

Vati immediately steps into my personal space to check me over. I push him back after he has looked over me three times. As soon as he has stepped back, I am immediately assaulted by Raven and Azazel doing the exact same thing. I hang my head and endure the search of my person.

"What happened?" Vati demands.

I shrug. "I yawned. The glass broke –by the way, Aunt Raven, I'm really sorry about that- and I flew back. End of story."

Azazel waves off the apology as if it's no big deal while Raven and Vati share a look that makes my insides tighten with something like unease, as if they knew why and how this had happened. Azazel and I watched them almost communicate with their eyes for what seemed a long time before he broke the silence.

"Well, it's your first day of Sky High. You should eat something. We made eggs and there's cereal if you would like." His concern deepened his Russian accent and forced me to take my eyes from the still silent pair and place them on his face. He grabbed my arm and walked out of the room with me in tow. The other two didn't follow and that made me somewhat anxious. I knew they were going to talk about something that they didn't want me to hear or else they would have already said it. The fact that this something concerned me and they still kept silent, well…. Let's just say that I wasn't having the best start to my day.

"Sit," Azazel instructed me and pointed to a seat. I didn't sit right away and he shoved me down none too gently and placed a plate in front of me on the breakfast bar. I glared and he returned it. His was far scarier than mine could ever hope to be, so I turned to the eggs and took a bite. They were actually pretty good and I ended up enjoying them immensely. Vati and Raven come down a few minutes later, all smiles. It's vaguely creepy.

"Are you excited?" Aunt Raven asks eagerly.

I shrug. "Sure."

"Your enthusiasm is contagious," Vati responds dryly. "You should be thrilled. You're going to my alma mater. I had a great time and so shall you."

"Yeah, but you also thought smiling around those kids last week was a good idea," I mutter, thinking back on when he scared the hell out of a bunch of children with his shark grin last week.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"That's what I thought."

I finish my eggs and run upstairs to get away from the awkward adults. They obviously have more they need to discuss. I could eavesdrop, but that's a ton of effort I don't feel like extending this early in the morning. You can't blame me, though; it is the first day of school.

The mass of my belongings is still on the floor where it tumbled out yesterday, and will probably stay there for a few days until I feel like cleaning it up and putting it away. I attempt to provide at least a little order, throwing clothes into a pile next to the dresser. I bend down for another handful when it occurs to me that I didn't have a dresser last night or this morning. I stand back up straight and tilt my head while I stare at it. After a minute, I give up on questioning this and go back to sorting between clothing and non-clothing. When I'm finished, I close my eyes and shove my hands in the clothing pile, digging around until finally grabbing whatever my hand comes in contact with. Pulling them out, I open my eyes to see what I would be wearing for the day.

I managed to get my hands on a pair of boxers, boxer briefs, jeans, a black t-shirt that proclaimed Got Balls? and one neon orange sock. An interesting outfit for the first day, but I've blindly picked out worse. Believe me. There are a ton of disadvantages to my particular method of choice. Now that I look at the shirt, I wonder why I own something that asks about balls. But then again, it is probably something I would actually ask someone. I toss down the boxers and bend to snatch up the black sock on the top of the pile.

Off goes the sleep attire and on goes the new outfit as I stare out the broken window and wonder about the girl from last night. How cool would it be to control plant life? Pretty fucking cool, I think.

["Move it! Move it! Move it! You don't want to be late!"]

"That's what you think," I mumble under my breath.

["What did you say?"]

Holy fuck! How did he hear me?

"Nothing!"

["That's what I thought."]

I grasp the first pair of shoes I can get my hands on and run down the stairs. Except I'm in socks on a staircase made of hardwood, so I slip on the second to last step and land heavily a few feet from the stairs, completely knocking the breath out of me. Now my front and my back hurt. I'm just that lucky that all three adults are in the living room, in full view of the stairs, as I fall. They burst out laughing, Vati and Aunt Raven leaning and holding each other up on the couch while Uncle Azazel drops from his seat to the floor. I catch my breath enough that I manage to sit up. To avoid further incident, I put my shoes on, black vans, one with a bright blue lace and the other with neon yellow. Do I have anything that matches?

A red hand appears in my line of vision. I take hold of it and pull myself up. Only Raven and Vati are still chuckling and wiping away tears.

"Go on. Laugh. Don't ask if I'm okay or anything. That was two nasty spills today. No damage sustained."

They take one look at me and are gasping with mirth again. Rolling my eyes, I head out of the door, throwing a goodbye to Azazel over my shoulder.

A motorcycle is sitting in the driveway. It looks like any other Harley-Davidson, except for the rocket thrusters on the back. Vati comes out the door and immediately throws a leg over it. He looks to me expectantly.

"Get on."

"Are you telling me I have to ride bitch?"

I receive a headshake and a small smirk at my question as if it amuses him. "Yes. You will be riding bitch."

I growl but give no other response than placing myself behind him on the motorcycle. He grasps the two entirely black helmets I hadn't noticed sitting next to it on the ground and hands me one.

"Now you're worried about safety?" I mutter as I pull it over my head and shut the tinted visor.

"Shut up."

He kick starts the vehicle and it almost instantly begins to rumble violently. I grab hold of the back of my seat. Vati does the same. Before he evens places his hands on the handlebars, the motorcycle shoots forward and to the right. We're down the street in seconds.

"Where did you get this?" I ask through the microphone in my helmet.

His voice comes in through the speakers next to my ears. "It belongs to Azazel. He has plenty of toys such as this one."

"Why does he have a motorcycle if he can teleport?"

"I have no idea."

We come up to a bridge that, even from this distance, I can see isn't finished. There's a bus already almost to the edge and I panic that it must be some kind of suicide mission of the bus driver's before I see the name Sky High on the side. I relax into the leather seat and watch as we come up to their side. I turn my head to look at the students as they stare back at us. I give a wave until I hear Vati's voice in my ears again.

"Hold on tight."

I clutch the seat harder and secure myself using my powers. The bus and the motorcycle tide off the edge of the bridge at the same time and seem to power up their thruster simultaneously as well. The only difference is that we can fly faster, and we do. It doesn't take long for us to overtake the bus and then leave it behind altogether.

In less than five minutes I see the floating school. It looks the same as I last saw it, only there are teenagers milling around now. The motorcycle lowers down until it hits the grass in a smooth landing, parting the sea of kids as it rumbles along until rolls to a stop by the front steps. I step off first and allow Vati to kill the engine. Almost like it was timed, we pull our helmets off together and place them on the seats. He runs his fingers through his hair and sets off up the stairs. I just scrub my hand around in my hair until it isn't flat and saunter after him.

People are openly staring at us as we stride through the halls. The whispers aren't really whispers at all. Is that Magneto? Who's that beside him? Do you think it's his son? No way, Magneto's been with that Xavier guy for ages now. I seriously want to roll my eyes right now, but I refrain. Why are people so stupid?

I get the sense that Vati is feeling nostalgic and I appreciate the effort he is giving not to show it. His nostalgic face is weird to look at.

I have no idea where we're going but Vati seems to. I guess too much hasn't changed since he's been here. The bell rings as I look around and I catch a glimpse of a black jacket and red-streaked hair. I perk up immediately.

["Vati! Does Warren go here?"]

["Yes, he does. Did I fail to mention that?"] His smirk tells me that was the plan. I make a mental note to get him back for it. I might even remember it later.

He suddenly veers right and leads me to an open door that is clearly the principal's office. He shuts the door behind me and the woman behind the desk looks up in confusion. She jumps up instantly and makes her way to Vati. They embrace warmly then pull back to share a peck on the lips. My eyes widen when I see this. They turn to me and chuckle.

"This is my good friend, Patricia Powers. We've known each other since freshman year."

I raise an eyebrow. "Do you greet all of your friends that way?" That makes them laugh.

"No, just this one." I just nod along and sit in one of the leather seats in front of the desk. The other two also sit.

"My name is Principal Powers. Welcome to Sky High. While you are entering here as a sophomore, you will need to go through power placement with the new freshmen I welcomed a few minutes ago. The classes you took at your step-father's institution have rolled over and you will be able to continue on as a sophomore with the rest of your class. As soon as you are placed, you will receive a schedule and classes will officially start tomorrow."

I nod, though I'm confused. Power placement? What's that?

"If you'll follow me, I'll give you a tour of the school and explain a few things."

I nod, though I'm not really listening at this point. She leads us all around the school, showing me what no doubt will be important features that I will need to remember but I'm too busy staring off into space. Did other students get tours as well?

"And this is our sacrificial alter. We pay homage to the gods through the killing of a virgin every new moon."

"I'm sorry?" I sound freaked out, even to myself. The adults just laugh.

"I was just making sure you were paying attention. Now, why don't you make your way to the gym and get placed. Your father and I are going to catch up in my office."

"Sure," I reply as I try to remember where the gym was located.

"Down that hallway, make a left, go straight then that left. Go through the double doors," Vati whispers to me as he passes. "I have an idea. Pretend you know nothing but German to annoy old Boomowski." He grins and pats me on the back.

"Have a good day, boychick. I'll see you this afternoon." He walks off after Principal Powers.

I follow his directions correctly and make it to the double doors. MY hand rests on the bar to push it open, but I stop. Should I go in? Or should I skip? Skipping would be fun but then I would get my ass beat by Vati. That's the number one thing I never want to happen. But then again….. No! The last time I got an ass whooping, I couldn't sit for days. Guess I'm going in.

Fuck.

The door squeaks as I push it open and it only occurs to me after everyone turns to stare at me that I could have prevented that with my powers. Oops.

Choosing to act like I don't notice, I strut confidently in and to the back of the crowd. I hear the name Magneto whispered a few times as I pass and force myself not to laugh. I turn around and lean against the wall as the guy in the tiny shorts on the stage walks to the edge. He lifts up on his toes as if he can't really see me.

"Why are you late?" The voice that comes out of his mouth is loud enough to make me want to cringe and the force ruffles my hair.

I force a look of confusion onto my face and act as if I don't comprehend. ["Because I didn't want to have to look at some old PE teacher who doesn't know the proper length his shorts need to be."]

He frowns at me. "What?"

["Because I didn't want to have to see how high you can get your socks up your calves."]

"Can anyone understand him?" Nobody answers. "Does anyone at least know what language that is?" Everyone's faces are blank.

I compose myself before I laugh and look who has to be Boomowski Vati mentioned straight in the eye. After about a minute, he seems to give up and points to a girl dressed in purple and black and shouts at her to come up. She does and I watch as she bends forward and morphs into a guinea pig. That's fucking cool. The old guy shouts sidekick and the newly human Goth chick rolls her eyes before walking off.

A red-head in green is yelled at next, and when she is on stage, I realize it's the girl from last night. An interesting development I'd have to say. She spouts something about demanding situations and supporting flawed dichotomies before she gets screeched at. I roll my eyes and watch as a short kid in red, white and blue is gestured to and practically threatened with a simple sentence. He looks scared. How pathetic.

I followed the crowd as they navigated the school to the cafeteria. Most of the other kids were already there it seemed and another flash of a black jacket and red streaks through the mob of people catches my attention. I head straight for it and come up to Warren's back. People are whispering again, but this time I think it might be because of how close I am to what –or who- has become the obvious bad boy. Traveling around the long, empty table, I stop when I am right in front of him and take a seat.

He doesn't look up from the novel he seems really into, instead growls in an attempt to scare me. He must think I'm someone easily intimidated.

"Nobody sits here but me," Warren snarls when I don't move, nose still in his book.

"Now, is that anyway to treat an old friend?"

His head snaps up immediately and his eyes go wide and a smirk finds a place on his lips.

"Levi?"

"The one and only. I was wondering when you would realize it. How's it going?" I make a point to glance along the table, skimming my eyes over the vacant seats. "I see you've made some friends since I last saw you."

The slight smile fades immediately and he slumps his shoulders. "Yeah, I know. When I got here last year, they took one look at me, saw my father and ran away. Solitude has been forced on me, as has the bad boy image. Damn genetics."

"Well, I'm sure the leather jacket, broody countenance and scary growl doesn't scream 'come get to know me'. And hey. I look just like my father, too, and don't forget he was a villain also. People don't jump up and down or wait in lines to have a turn with my amazing conversational skills."

"Yeah, I know. But it gets irritating sometimes when I'm judged for my appearance." Warren shakes his head and rolls his eyes.

"I find it highly amusing. It's their choice if they want to think something stupid. It just goes to show that people are ignorant and only hear, see and think what they want."

"Did you get intelligent since I've last seen you?"

"Nah, that would never happen." We laugh quietly until Warren stops and stares intently at something behind me. I turn and see the kid in red, white and blue from earlier. Looking back at Warren, it doesn't look as if he's blinked yet.

"Are you stalking this guy? 'Cause I don't know how comfortable I would feel aiding you in anythi-"

"No. That's the Stronghold kid." He doesn't have to say anything more. I completely understand. Warren has a huge grudge against the Strongholds.

"Oh. Well, still. I don't think I could assist in-" He cuts me off again.

"Didn't his dad throw you off a roof when you were a little kid?"

"Well, throw is a strong word. It was more like he stumbled and lost his grip."

He stays quiet and continues to bore holes into the guy's head.

"Well, as long as you aren't going to do anything creepy, why don't you stop glaring at him before you suddenly discover the ability to shoot flames from your eyes. I shudder to imagine the clean up the poor janitors would have." I add in a fake shiver for emphasis and only then does he turn his eyes back to me.

"You're a special person."

"That's what they all say."

You made it again? I'm so proud of you! I would send you something, except you would probably get creeped out by the fact that I know where you live. I'll save that for a special occasion, then. I don't really have anything to say that would interest you, so I'll end this pointless author's note.

Kira