Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High or its characters, settings etc, all of which belong to Disney. Original characters and concepts belong to me.
A/N: This story is the sequel to Phoenix Emergent and Phoenix Rising – if you don't read those first, don't blame me if this one doesn't make sense ;)
Chapter 1: Knight-Fire #1
"So, how was your first day at Sky High?"
Nicola looked up at her cousin in surprise as they sat down on a bench in the botanical gardens. Even though they were in a less-popular area and she hadn't seen any other people around, she would have thought they would need to be more cautious about what they discussed. But Warren didn't seem too concerned about being overheard so she decided to just take her cue from him.
"A lot like you guys told me about," she replied with a smile. The night before, the group had sat her down and given her all sorts of survival tips for starting at their old school, some bits more useful than others. She rather suspected that Warren and the rest of the Guardians had pulled some strings to get her into the school in her sophomore year, considering her day had started in Principal Powers' office with a little speech about how lucky she was to get this opportunity. "Only they don't have Heroes and Sidekicks, or Hero Support or whatever, anymore. Everyone takes all the same classes and, thanks to the shining example of yourself and your partners in anti-crime, there's a lot of teamwork stuff."
"Layla will be so happy to hear they've done away with Power Placement," Warren commented.
"Uh, not completely. I still had to go through it – with the freshmen, which was way embarrassing – but it's now called Power Proficiency, and it only applies to gym class. Apparently, the story goes, it's because one time a Student Formally Known As Hero seriously injured a Student Formally Known As Sidekick during Save the Citizen, so now you only do gym class with people who aren't likely to be able to kill you."
"So Boomer still gets to have his little ego trip at the beginning of the year then?"
"Yip, scary gym shorts and all, just like Zach's description."
"Ouch."
"Yeah, and I was so sure Zach was just pulling my leg. By the way, speaking of stories, I heard something very interesting about you."
He held up one hand. "If it's about the cafeteria fight with Stronghold, it's probably grossly exaggerated."
"Hey, what cafeteria fight with Will?"
"Never mind," he replied quickly. "What did you hear about me?"
She made a mental note to ask either him or Will about that again later, and went on, "Well, my lab partner in Mad Science is this geek girl who knows about every superpowered person in the world, it seems, and we had to light a Bunsen burner so I used the lighter you gave me." Warren nodded as she referred to the phoenix-embossed Zippo he'd given her when he lost his powers. She'd offered to give it back when his powers returned a few months ago, but he simply got a new one instead. "Anyhow, when she saw the phoenix on it and I told her you'd given it to me, she decided to impress me by reciting a whole lot of facts and stats about you, including the fact that you're a fire elemental!"
Warren looked thoughtful. "Wonder how she found that out. It's not exactly common knowledge."
"No, it's not. Even I, your own cousin, didn't know that." She gave him a mock scowl. "Thanks a lot, I looked like a real idiot in front of Miss Know-it-all."
"Hey, be nice to geeks. They'll probably end up saving your life someday, even if you don't quite understand their explanation of how they did it."
"Stop avoiding the topic. I mean, I knew you had more than one power, but four? That's, like, incredible." She gave him a serious look. "Why didn't you tell me last year that the ultimate pyro which the Battle family were trying to breed would be just like you?"
He shrugged. "That would have been showing off, I guess."
"Hmm, is that also the reason you didn't tell me about some fight with Will? Was that also showing off?"
"Nah, that was just boys behaving badly, and if I told you about that it might have spoilt your image of him as the City's golden boy."
She smirked. "Aw, that's sweet of you to protect him like that. On the subject of Will, are he and Kate ever going to be able to get married?"
"At the rate things are going, they'll still be engaged when they retire from hero work," Warren replied dryly.
Ten days ago he wouldn't have been able to answer so lightheartedly. The night before Will and Kate were going to get married, the Guardians had been battling with a super villain gang on top of one of the tallest buildings in the City. While Will had been pinned down by three thugs almost as strong as he was, one of the other criminals had thrown Kate off the roof. Layla had desperately grown some vegetation to try and break her fall, but with the height of the building she still landed pretty hard. It took a lot to seriously injure someone of Kate's level of invulnerability, and they had all been quite worried for a while. At the time, postponing a wedding had been the least of their concerns.
"She's getting better, though, isn't she?"
"Oh yeah, much better. If anything happens this weekend while we're away, I'm sure she and Stronghold will be able to handle it. They can always call in his parents if need be."
Nicola smiled playfully. "I'm glad Kate's okay, but I'm also sure you'd love an excuse to not go."
Warren just rolled his eyes. He would have given a lot to get out of the upcoming trip with Layla and her parents to visit her aunt and family at their new home in Metrocity. He wasn't even sure why this little family reunion was taking place at all, considering it was no secret that Margo Tyler did not exactly approve of her brother's hippie wife and daughter. As for Warren himself, she'd taken one look at him and decided he was bad news, and then snidely asked what had happened to 'that nice boy next door whom Layla was so in love with'. Of course, he knew he couldn't blame her for making that kind of snap judgment about him considering how long he'd spent cultivating his bad boy image, but still that didn't mean he had to like it. He supposed he should be grateful that Layla had managed to get out of inviting the Tylers to their wedding.
Nicola had a thought. "You're not going to go there in, like, an airplane are you? Seems ridiculous when you think how fast your best friend can fly."
"Yeah, but he's not too good with baggage handling at that speed," Warren quipped. "Plus, there's six of us going, including Popsicle and Denise because they want to visit the equivalent of level 4a there," he added, referring to the top-secret floor of Maxville Hospital for people with superpowers. "Zach wanted to go too, to visit GeoWorld Theme Park with us – don't ask. Anyhow, we're getting a lift in the van."
Just then Warren looked up as if he'd heard something, and a cloud of sparks swooped up to where they were sitting. The cloud coalesced briefly into a small firebird before curling up on his outstretched hand, where the fire formed into a flickering image of people walking among trees.
"There're people coming," he told her as he closed his hand, extinguishing the fiery messenger. "We'd better leave."
Nicola thought quickly back to what her lab partner had said about his powers and realized what she had just seen. "So I'm guessing that was a flame construct?"
"Yeah, I left a sentry at each of the paths leading this way," he answered casually.
That would certainly explain why he wasn't concerned about eavesdroppers. Like she'd said earlier, incredible. She'd only ever seen Kate use her pyro-construction from a distance or on television, so seeing a construct up close was something new for her.
But she couldn't resist teasing him as he dispersed his other 'sentries' and they headed back to the entrance. "And I suppose you're going to tell me that's not showing off?"
Zach dropped Ethan and Denise off at Metrocity Hospital and then took Warren, Layla and her parents to a car rental agency. Mr. and Mrs. Williams agreed that it was definitely a more pleasant trip than a commercial airline would have been, and not just because it took half the travel time.
They pulled up at Aunt Margo's house at twilight, and there was a flurry of hugs, kisses and an awful lot of very fake smiles. Warren also got to meet Layla's cousins for the first time. Her uncle had died five years ago, so it was just her aunt and the boys. Keith was about his age and looked quite preppy with his neat dark hair and button-down shirt, while Bradley was 12 and sported the same red hair as Layla.
While they were waiting for Keith's girlfriend to join them for dinner, Aunt Margo suggested looking at Layla's wedding photos, which she dutifully got out and the three women sat together on one of the couches to go through the album. Meanwhile, Bradley decided that this was all too girly for him, and took out his newest superhero comic book, which sparked an avid discussion between him and Warren about the relative strengths of various heroes and villains.
Layla looked up from turning the pages of her wedding album and smiled at the sight of the two of them, wondering if Bradley knew that the characters they were comparing were actually real people. The National Council of Superheroes released declassified mission reports to the two officially sanctioned comic publishers, Wonder Comics and BC Comics, who used them as the basis for their storylines. In fact, it had been well-known at Sky High that Warren had only passed Hero History because of his years spent reading comics.
Aunt Margo suddenly disturbed her reverie by holding up her left hand to look at her ring. "Don't you have an engagement ring, dear?" she asked with an accusing glance at Warren who studiously ignored her.
He allowed himself a small smile, though, at Layla's staunch defense of her choice to not have an engagement ring which then progressed into a sweeping statement that their wedding rings were priceless (so there). Which they were, actually, considering they were transmutated by Denise from mild steel into Durosium, and the indestructible metal didn't actually have a value on the Stock Exchange as such, making them – literally – priceless.
The doorbell rang, putting an end to that conversation as Keith ushered his girlfriend into the living room. From the couch Warren was sitting on, to the side of the door, he was out of her line of vision, so she didn't see him at first.
But he definitely saw her. He just couldn't believe who he was seeing.
Layla was equally flabbergasted. "Amber?"
It was Amber White, a.k.a. Freeze-Girl.
"Layla? Wow, small world, isn't it?"
Layla got up to give her a hug. "I didn't know you were back in the country?"
"Oh yeah, I came back soon after high school graduation. It's so nice to see you and Wi–" She swung around and stopped dead. "Warren??"
Amber looked between the two of them in shock. Her surprise was quite understandable, actually. After all, the last time she saw them before she emigrated, Layla and Will were still Sky High's golden couple.
Warren couldn't resist. "Oh, you were expecting Prince Charming?"
"No, no," she answered, obviously trying to regain her composure. "Just Will Stronghold."
"That's what I meant," he replied dryly.
"So, have you seen anyone else from our old school lately?" Layla asked Amber during dinner.
"Yeah, I see Brett Simmonds in this part of the City quite often, one or two others in other areas now and then," the blonde replied.
Warren narrowed his eyes slightly at her mention of the pyrokinetic, a complete jerk a year younger than him at Sky High. He'd been notorious for bullying the hero support kids until Warren and Will completely creamed him and Carbon Copy Kid at Save the Citizen soon after Warren got his second power. Funnily enough he behaved himself a lot better for the rest of his school career. Still, the idea of Simmonds actually being an active superhero – and partnered with someone as respectable as Amber – was quite difficult to accept.
Meanwhile, Amber was asking after the rest of their gang. "And I hear Will's pretty much taken over the Maxville branch of parents' realty business nowadays?"
"Yeah, his parents take care of the out-of-town and international business."
She nodded. "I saw them here a few weeks ago, striking a deal on some riverside property." The Commander and Jetstream had been called in when the Mad Collector had starting beaming away the Metrocity Bridge to add to his private collection of historical architecture.
"I heard it was quite a steal," Warren commented. Talking over everybody else's heads like this was somewhat risky, but also really fun.
As they were clearing the table after dinner, Amber's cell phone rang. From the look on her face as she answered it, Warren and Layla guessed that it was a distress call. Apparently, like the Guardians, she didn't bother with having two separate cell phones; it was much easier to just have a different ring tone for emergencies.
"Yeah, don't worry, I'll be right there," she finished, closing her phone as she turned to the others, "I'm sorry, everyone, but I have to go. It's my sister; she's having another episode, you know, ranting and screaming and stuff, and I'm the only one who can get her to chill out."
That confirmed Warren's suspicion, because he knew perfectly well she didn't have a sister. Psycho family members; that was definitely a new one. But, come to think about it, it was a pretty good cover story considering it gave her an excuse to leave urgently at any time of day.
Layla played along smoothly by making a suitably sympathetic comment while Warren offered to take the stack of plates Amber was clearing.
He put the plates down in the kitchen and caught up with the cryokinetic at the door.
"Do you need a hand?"
She smiled. "You shouldn't be working, Warren, you're on vacation." He pulled a wry face to suggest what he thought of his 'vacation', and she gave him a sympathetic look before adding, "Besides, I already have a partner with your … talents."
"I can do other stuff he can't now," he told her quietly, knowing that she'd already left Sky High before he got even his second power, let alone the rest.
"Yeah I heard a few rumors about that, but for the moment, don't worry, I'll be fine." She took off the stylish glasses that were evidently part of her disguise, much like the senior Strongholds. "Thanks for the offer anyway." With that she was gone.
Keith was almost at the hall when he saw his girlfriend standing in the doorway talking to Warren, and he ducked back out of sight to listen in.
"Besides, I already have a partner with your … talents," he heard her say, and he frowned as he tried to catch Warren's response from his position.
The next thing he was able to hear was Amber saying "Thanks for the offer anyway," and then the door opening and closing as she left.
There was only one thing that could mean. He couldn't believe the guy could have made such an indecent proposal at a time like this, when she was so worried about her sister.
If Keith was a more primitively aggressive type, he would suggest taking this outside and settling it once and for all, however he was far too mature for that sort of thing, firmly believing that violence didn't solve anything. Of course, this sentiment had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that in a physical confrontation with his cousin's husband he would definitely wind up second-best (or possibly even third-best).
The most sensible and mature course of action would be to get Layla to handle it, and in the meantime settle for snide comments.
When the table was cleared, they all sat in the living room and Keith flipped through the channels until Bradley asked him to go back to the news, having seen a glimpse of superhero action.
'We can confirm that the countdown on the bomb is completely frozen,' commented the reporter on the scene. 'It seems Freeze-Woman has iced it completely.'
Warren and Layla exchanged an amused glance at the mention of her superhero name. Apparently she felt she'd outgrown 'Freeze-Girl'.
'And now she and Fire-Man are chasing after the perpetrators who are escaping in their getaway car with the priceless artworks!'
As they watched, Simmonds threw a volley of fireballs to cut off the criminals' escape while Amber used her ice powers to keep the fire from getting out of control. Soon they and the police had the car cornered and surrounded, but still the thieves refused to surrender. Then Simmonds threw a fireball directly at the car and the roof started to burn. The criminals were evidently cowards because they tumbled out of the car and straight into the waiting hands of the police. Amber quickly extinguished the fire before the artworks were damaged.
The two of them smiled tiredly for the cameras, and Layla leaned over to Warren, saying in a very soft teasing voice, "Looks like they didn't need any help after all."
He gave her a sardonic half-smile and murmured, "Actually, they make a surprisingly good team."
Keith evidently picked up a bit of their exchange, and felt the need to comment. "Yeah, they're good at their job, but their costumes are quite indecent. All I can say is I'm glad my girlfriend doesn't dress like that."
The irony of that statement was, of course, staggering. Carefully avoiding eye contact with each other, Layla smothered her laugh with a cough while Warren drew on his years of experience at poker to keep a straight face. Even so, they were almost at the point of losing the battle when Bradley said something that floored them both.
"Actually, Knight-Fire's better than both of them put together."
In one movement, Warren and Layla turned and stared at him. It was quite rare for heroes to be known outside of their own City, apart from a few famous individuals such as Will's parents, of course.
Layla recovered first. "How do you know about him?"
Bradley shrugged. "Same way as I know about any other superhero." He looked at Warren curiously. "There was only ever one issue of Knight-Fire, but I would have thought you'd have read it. Want me to go fetch it?"
"Please." Warren was really confused. The NCS only released the mission reports of heroes who were dead, had retired to remote locations or returned to their planet of origin, in order to protect the identities of active heroes. This meant that either the NCS department in charge of declassification hadn't been informed that he was actually still alive during the time when he'd lost his powers (always possible in a top-secret government organization) or the comic in question was the work of an underground publisher.
When Layla's cousin returned with Knight-Fire #1, he saw from the logo in the top left corner that it was the latter in this case. This was one of the most disreputable comic book publishers, and the NCS kept trying to close them down without much success.
"You know this comic company publishes totally fictitious stuff, right?" he said to Bradley. One of their comics even portrayed the Commander and Jetstream as brother and sister, a concept Will thought was just too gross to contemplate and asked Warren to ceremonially burn any issue he came across.
"All comics are totally fictitious!" stated Keith pompously.
"Yeah, it's practically a supermarket tabloid," Bradley agreed with Warren, ignoring his brother completely. "I mean, can you imagine Knight-Fire's father being a super villain?"
"Yeah, imagine that," answered Warren vaguely as he paged through the comic. The danger was that an awful lot of it was true, or at least mild exaggeration. There was even an extremely cheesy Luke-I-Am-Your-Father scene between Knight-Fire and Combustion, in which the only accurate part was Barron Battle's hero name. To Warren's relief, however, his real name was not given, and there was no allusion to Layla, Will or the rest of the Guardians.
Bradley was on a roll. "I mean, when I read this, I thought the guy was quite cool, for a comic book character. Then I found out he's a real active superhero, and the little bits I've seen on TV of the stuff he does is totally awesome! You're so lucky you live in Maxville. I gotta come visit you sometime and maybe I'll get to see him."
"Yeah, maybe you will," replied Warren, only half-aware of the irony of the statement. He flipped back to the title page, and suddenly he understood. Under the 'Writer' credit it read 'Brett Simmonds.' It made sense – all the classified information about him in the comic was pretty much common knowledge at Sky High. So, although Simmonds would be in serious trouble if the NCS found out about this, at least it wasn't a major security breach … more like a minor irritation.
Oh well, join the club, thought Warren with a brief glance in the direction of Keith who was regarding him with an unpleasant expression for some reason. It looked like the weekend was going to be full of minor irritations.