Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High.
The X-Men and Sky High gang trained for two straight weeks, all their normal classes and routine's forgotten. Xavier and Jean worked together to find the Coven and Dylan, eventually locating them just outside town. Every few days a new group of the heroes and heroes in training went to scout the location, and every time more Absolutes had arrived.
The gym had become their haven, morning, noon and night. The Commander, Jetstream, and all the Super parents had been given a full detail on the situation, and they had all joined the fight. Clark, Bruce and Diana had been sent warnings as well, alerting them to the situation, preparing them in case somehow Ivy and the rest could not stop it.
In the actual school year, it was slowly becoming the time when the heroes would be paired with their sidekicks, but Principal Powers ignored the tradition with the group she'd come to know so well and love as if they were her blood and not just her charges. She announced to them after training on a Friday of a week they lost count of that they would be choosing their own pairs – or groups – that they would work their careers in. Taylor and Speed automatically knew they would stay together, Lash and Magenta invited Zach to make their group a trio, Warren and Will simultaneously knew their duo would not change, Dara and Layla found each other and knew right away that when Dara graduated, she would join the hippy in the Super Hero world, and Trent announced he was moving to South America after Graduation to help rebuild towns that had collapsed under natural disasters.
Will had caught Layla alone after Principal Powers announcement, and without a word he kissed her more passionately than he ever had. She returned it more than willingly and they both begged their apologies to the other, saying "I love you" and "Never again." They exited the gym to find the rest of the group sitting and waiting, everyone, even the X-Men who had no idea what happened in the beginning, cat-called and whistled when they walked out hand-in-hand. Magenta screamed an "I-FUCKING-TOLD-YOU-SO!" at Zach, who in return paid her a smooth $50, earning them both a look of dismay from Layla.
A school bus landed behind them and everyone turned around warily knowing that no bus should be landing that late in the day. Everyone's skin tingled with their powers until a full-grown Ethan stepped out. He may have been scrawny when he left Maxville, but California had done him well; he was taller, still lean, but not nearly as dorky as they had last seen him. Zach ran to his best friend, the rest of the original Sky High gang in tow, and they hugged him until he couldn't breathe. He explained how Principal Powers had called him and explained the situation. He couldn't let his friends save the world and not have his name in the history books with them. Plus he had designed a few rays and beams he wanted to test out.
Everyone boarded the bus that waited for them, and Xavier called for Ivy as she was about to join her friends.
"A word?" He telepathically connected with her for the first time since she was little. She kissed Warren on the cheek, squeezed his hand, and returned to the professor without saying a word. The bus left, and the two of them sat alone together under a tree Layla had grown.
"Your friends have some amazing gifts." He looked at her and she smiled proudly, nodding. "Your mother would be very proud of the woman you've become. You brought all these people together, Ivy."
"I wish it had been under better circumstances." She dropped her shoulders, and looked down at the grass beneath her. She looked up at the wheelchair-bound man that had cared for her for so long. They sat silently for a few minutes, just looking into each others eyes, knowing how much they had helped each other. She stood after a moment, nodding at the professor gratefully and walked towards the second empty bus that waited for her. She glanced back at the professor who continued to sit and watch her. A cold wind chilled her to the bone and she got on the bus.
I'm starting to have anxiety about only having 2 chapters left... I don't want it to end! Ahh well, I'll post another chapter this week.