Disclaimer: I don't own Sky High, because if I did you'd be watching it (as a Halloween episode) instead of reading it, it would have Ben Stein as Dr. When (I haven't figured out the rest as of now), and it would feature the songs "Real Wild Child" by Iggy Pop, "Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon, and "People Are Strange" by the Doors.
Sky High-The Series
Episode 4
"Just Good Fiends"
"CYAN, YOU LITTLE SNOT! COME BACK HERE WITH MY DIARY!"
The agile ten-year-old boy bounded down the large staircase, leaped over the banister and headed for the dining room of the large house. Grinning from ear to ear, he wasn't even breathing hard from the incredible feats he was performing. The only thing that marked him as different was the natural blue-green streak that ran like a mohawk through the rest of his pitch-black hair. He was wearing loose fitting blue-green clothes to better move in, though he was barefoot.
Magenta then came down the stairs in hot pursuit of her little brother, though she couldn't move nearly as fast as he could even if she wasn't wearing the high heeled boots she had chosen for today. She muttered under her breath as she saw him disappear through the doorway to the dining room, and knew he was going to hide behind mom and dad like he always did.
Sure enough, as she stomped into the dining room Cyan was sitting next to mom with the MOST FAKE innocent look on his face. Mom was already filling the "little darling's" plate with all sorts of goodies befitting the spoiled little brat he was.
"There you are Magenta," said her mother, "do hurry and sit down or you'll be late for your bus."
"Not likely Mom," huffed Magenta, "Ron will wait for me."
"That is NOT the point, young lady," said Magenta's mom as she poured Cyan a glass of orange juice, "you don't want to give anyone the wrong ideas about you."
"Mom, pretty much EVERYONE at school knows who I am. You know, the "goth guinea pig girl who kept the school from crashing into the 'burbs"."
"Yes, dear," her mom said as she tucked a napkin around Cyan's neck, "but still fame is fleeting in the super hero world…believe me, I know."
"Geez," Magenta thought to herself, "why doesn't she freaking spoon feed the little creep and burp him too?" She then plopped down into her chair and saw the open newspaper, meaning her father was hiding behind it somewhere.
It wasn't that Mr. Edward Violetta, a wealthy businessman in Maxville, didn't like his children. On the contrary he adored all three of them, it was just that they were always so…loud. Thankfully his oldest daughter Sienna had graduated Sky High the year before and was now working as a heroine called the "Purple Panther" in Middleton. Otherwise she would also be involved in whatever altercation Magenta and Cyan were having THIS time.
"Daddy," said Magenta in a VERY sweet "little princess" voice that would have shocked all of her friends, "could you PLEEEEAAASSEE ask Cyan if he knows where my diary is? It's VERY important I find it."
Just as Cyan was a momma's boy, Magenta could wrap her father around her little finger without any effort. Of course she very seldom did so unless the circumstances were dire, and the fact the little green monkey boy had her diary definitely qualified.
"I'm sure your brother would tell you if he did," said their mom as she patted Cyan on the head while he gobbled down his food like a starving pit bull only with fewer manners.
"Give it back Cyan," said Mr. Violetta without looking up from behind his paper.
"But Daaaddd…" started Cyan, either trying to imitate or mock Magenta's plea.
"Cyan," was all Mr. Violetta needed to say, it was the tone of voice that did the job.
"Here," said Cyan, pulling the diary out of one of the numerous pockets of his baggy cargo pants, "I found it as I was coming in for breakfast."
"Yeah," said Magenta as she snatched it back, "right on my freaking nightstand where I left it!"
"Now Magenta," mom started, "don't you accuse your brother of anything like that. He says he found it and now he's returned it to you."
"Yeah," said Cyan with a fake pout that turned into an evil little grin, "and all I saw was the part about you thinking what a hottie Warren Peace is."
Magenta's face turned three shades of red from both anger and embarrassment. If she had Warren's power there'd be only a little pile of ashes where Cyan was sitting now.
"There," she shouted in triumph, "he READ my diary! Do something to punish him!"
"Cyan," said mom, "you know better than that. Now you apologize to your sister."
"I'm sorry," said Cyan with a sickly sweet look that made Magenta's ears almost give off steam.
"There," said mom, "that's all done. Now get ready for school you two."
"ALL DONE? Monkey Boy there snuck into my room, read my diary and tried to steal it too and that ALL he has to do is give a fake apology? THIS SUCKS!"
"Magenta," said Mom, "young ladies do NOT use such vulgar language in this house. I have a mind to ground you from your silly little concert this weekend."
"I DOUBT YOU EVEN HAVE A MIND!" yelled Magenta. "GO AHEAD AND GROUND ME…I DON'T CARE! AS LONG AS YOUR FREAKING GREEN MONKEY BOY GETS ALL THE ATTENTION AND IS SPOILED SO ROTTEN HE STINKS YOU'RE HAPPY! FINE!"
Magenta jumped up and stomped out of the dining room, not bothering to take her diary or look at anyone. Her mother was completely stunned by the outburst until Mr. Violetta quietly folded his newspaper and looked at her in exasperation.
Neither noticed that Cyan sat quietly with his head down as tears started to trickle from his blue-green eyes. He had specifically mentioned that part of her diary to get Magenta to open it and see he had hidden a birthday card for her that stated "to my Super Sister from your number one fan".
Magenta went back up to her room, grabbed her backpack and threw on a big black hooded cape she had found at the mall in her favorite goth boutique. She then stomped down the stairs, taking care to notice that no one had tried to stop her at any time as she threw open the front door and got hit in the face with cold rain water. She looked out to see that it was nearly as dark as night as a heavy downpour had commenced, accentuated by occasional flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder.
"Terrific," she snarled to herself, "perfect to match my mood".
She pulled the hood up and the cape around her and splashed her way out of the house and up the sidewalk. She was so engrossed in her anger and bad mood she didn't notice she walked right past her usual spot to be picked up and continued on until she noticed she had gotten turned around. It was so dark and rainy she was disoriented for a moment, then she saw the lights of an oncoming school bus…that proceeded to pass on by.
"Wait!" She yelled. What was wrong with Ron Wilson-Bus Driver? He NEVER failed to pick up a student. She was running and splashing through the cold rain as it suddenly stopped and the door opened for her. She didn't bother to pull back her hood or even look at anyone as she stomped onto the bus. She was in an even worse mood now because of the rain and nearly being left behind, and if Zach said one word she'd pull out his day-glo tongue and tie it in a knot. She found an empty seat and slammed down into it, then proceeded to glare out the window.
How could her parents treat her like that? All Mom thought about was her precious little boy, while Dad only threw money at her just to get her to leave her alone. And Cyan…why was he such a total jerk? She knew all little brothers were supposed to be a pain in the butt, but he had gotten especially bad since she had started going to Sky High. Was he mad she wasn't around as much and did the things he did for attention from her? He already had Mom waiting on him hand and foot, so what MORE could the little creep want?
Who cared? All she wanted now was to be left alone. She could understand why Warren acted the way he did sometimes, and even he didn't have a little brother pestering him. An evil smile crossed her face as she wondered if she could sell Cyan to Warren at a really cheap price. Right now she'd PAY him to take the little monster.
Magenta continued her line of thought, pulling out a new journal and writing down her dark thoughts and feelings, totally unmindful of the bus route as it headed out of town and started winding through the forest that lay on the outskirts of Maxville. She was so engrossed with venting she didn't feel the bus start up a steep incline, and just assumed the bus had taken off for the final leg of its trip to Sky High, and did not even stop to wonder why the security straps hadn't shot out to hold her in place for take off.
Suddenly the bus came to a shuddering stop. Magenta had just finished pouring out her feelings and felt better. She then looked up and noticed that she did not recognize ANY of the kids that were now leaving the bus. All of them looked strangely somber, almost like they were going to a funeral. School could be bad at times, but THIS bad?
Keeping her hood up, Magenta was the last one off the bus, but she shot a quick look at the driver, but instead of the usual amiable and too serious to be taken seriously Ron Wilson was a tall, thin man with pale skin dressed in a black suit like an undertaker.
"Have a good day," said the man with a somewhat pleasant (for a corpse) smile.
Magenta gave a nervous smile back and jumped off the bus. She then looked up and saw herself standing in front of a monstrous building that looked like the ultimate haunted Transylvanian castle complete with crumbling turrets and a huge drawbridge across a moat of deep, dark water that separated the castle from the rest of the land. In the still gloomy sky circled ravens and vultures, while an occasional owl would call from somewhere up high. Scattered about were large, gnarled and black though still alive trees that looked like they would just as soon eat even Layla than obey her.
"I definitely got on the wrong bus," she whispered to herself.
"Miss Violetta? Miss Violetta?" called out Dr. When, the history teacher who had once been a renowned time traveling adventurer. He was now in the last reincarnation of his life cycle, and had decided to "retire" from adventuring and be the ultimate authority on history since he had experienced most of it first hand. His field trips into the past, courtesy of his time machine, were the stuff of school legend.
"Has anyone seen Miss Violetta? Anyone? Anyone?" Dr. When was a nice guy, but even the way he took role in his dry, monotone voice was making students drop off like they were being exposed to knock out gas. Will was fading in and out of consciousness and Zach was already face down on his desk in a puddle of drool, snoring like a rusty chainsaw trying to cut through concrete.
"She isn't here, sir," said Layla as she raised her hand. Having had long conversations with ancient oak trees had made Layla immune to long, slow lectures, so she was as bright eyed as ever. "She never even got on the bus."
"Most unusual," said Dr. When, "her parents did not call in that she was sick, so I'm afraid she may be playing hooky. Most unfortunate, because today I was going to discuss the finer points of the impact of hydrology upon the ancient Capadocians…and actually I have an amusing anecdote about when I first visited there…"
The sound of more kids slipping into comas just from that statement was like thunder in the classroom. Wherever she was, Magenta was far luckier than they were.
Magenta reached into her bag to get her cell phone, but it was gone. She cursed that she had forgotten to take it off the charger and pack it as she had taken off after Cyan. She hoped somewhere in the imposing edifice was a phone she could use to call for help to get away from…wherever it was she was.
Inside the place looked just as menacing; dark stone walls and floors, shadows everywhere as the lonely light came from great flickering torches set about in wall sconces, and the other kids moving about were…weird.
All were teenagers as well, most dressed in black or dark clothes that made it easy for Magenta to blend in. Some were ghostly pale while others looked almost feral, a few were outright bizarre with green scaly skin, batlike wings or any number of strange appearances. While many were interacting, their voices were whisperings or rumbling growls.
Magenta wasn't paying attention as she bumped into someone, but before she could say anything she was confronted by one of the pale skinned ones; a boy probably only a year or two older than her with slicked back black hair and red pupiled eyes that only made his drawn features look more fearsome.
"Watch where you're going," hissed the boy as he glared at Magenta.
"Sorry," mumbled Magenta, "I didn't see…"
"Wait a minute," he hissed again as he grabbed Magenta by her cloak and pulled her close, "you're a LIVE one, eh? Maybe I'll just take a little taste…"
"Back off, Radu," came a deep voice, and Magenta was instantly released to see that the speaker was another boy, this one a tall, dark complected one with a shaggy head of dark hair and dressed in black leather. If Warren had a cousin, this guy would definitely be him.
"This isn't any of your concern, Fang," said Radu, though he looked a lot less confident than he was trying to sound.
"You mess with ANY of my shifters, it's my business bat boy". The boy called "Fang" stepped forward between the trembling Magenta and Radu, his dark stare never wavering.
"In trouble again, little brother?" came a female voice, and Magenta saw a tall girl who was basically the female version of Fang step out of the dark clad crowd and stand next to him.
"Radu's trying to pick on one of us again Claw," said Fang, "and quit calling me "little", you were only born four minutes before I was."
"Now see what you've done," Claw looked at Radu with green eyes, the only thing different than he twin brother, "you've upset my baby brother and his new friend. Now are you going to apologize or…?"
"Alright, alright," said Radu, his eyes glowing red with anger but he was apparently not brave enough to do anything about it. "I was joking with the new blood."
"Now go hang in a belfry somewhere," said Claw, dismissing Radu without even looking at him, "and STAY away from ANY of our pack."
With that both Fang and Claw put an arm across Magenta's shoulders and walked off with her between them, letting everyone know she was under their protection.
Once they were alone the two siblings stopped and turned to Magenta.
"What exactly ARE you?" said Fang, actually smelling Magenta with deep breaths through his nose.
"Some kind of rodent I'd say," said Claw with less obvious but more frequent sniffs, "and I should know."
"What ARE you doing?" asked Magenta, getting more nervous by the second, "I appreciate the save from the Son of Dracula back there, but…"
"Radu's not related to him at ALL," said Fang, "though he acts like it. He's just a common nightwalker…"
"I don't CARE about that," said Magenta, trying to back away from the two, "I want to know why you're smelling me!"
"Oh sorry," said Fang, "didn't mean to be so forward, but it's been a while since we've met a new shifter, and you smelled so nice…"
"What my brother is trying to say," said Claw, "is that we smelled a new shifter and wanted to meet you. We're just curious as to what you can turn into. Fang there is a werewolf and I'm a werepanther."
"Well," said Magenta, "I…I kind of…turn into a guinea pig."
"A wereguinea pig? I've NEVER heard of that before," exclaimed Fang, "do you turn into a seven foot tall guinea pig with big saber teeth and gnaw through stuff at high speed to destroy buildings and…"
"No," said Magenta, "I just turn into a guinea pig. I'm purple…but just a guinea pig."
Both of the siblings looked at her with confusion, then both burst into laughter, upsetting Magenta even more. She finally started to cry, which made them both stop.
"Sorry," said Fang, "but why would you come to THIS school? A guinea pig sure isn't scary…unless someone is allergic to you."
"School?" said Magenta. "THIS place is a school? What kind of a school looks like this and is filled with weirdoes…no offense…but this looks like something out of one of my boyfriend's dumb horror movies."
"Well," said Claw, "that's because it IS fit for a horror movie. This is where all the monster kids come…this is MONSTER HIGH."
Radu stalked through the corridors of the school, making sure no one saw him as he slipped through one particular door and crept down a flight of dark stairs before coming to another level. There he came to a locked door and easily slipped through it by turning into a cloud of mist, reforming on the other side. In the room were several others, including a girl dressed in black and red, a tall, heavily built boy with greenish skin and strange scars on his neck and wrists, a dark skinned boy with black hair and hawkish features, and a few others. The rest of the room was hidden; dominated by an immense cloud of total darkness that writhed and seemed to breath like it was alive.
"So Radu," came a rumbling voice from within the darkness that even his night vision could not penetrate, "you once again drew unnecessary attention to yourself at this critical time. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"It wasn't MY fault," whined the vampire, "those two lycanthropes…"
"SILENCE!" bellowed the dark voice. "I cannot overthrow the miserable rulers of this school and make the students my personal army of darkness if they get an idea about what is going on, especially at this critical time!"
"Besides," said the hawkish boy, "you might want to watch what you say about lycanthropes with ME around."
"ENOUGH!" the darkness roared again. "I sense that there is a NEW shifter on the premises, one I cannot identify. That will be your assignment, Talon, and once you have determined whether or not she can be of use to me, then we will proceed with the final stage of my plan.
"By the stroke of midnight tonight," continued the voice of darkness, "all of Monster High will be mine. Then after that…all of Maxville."
Sorry everyone, another "commercial break" is here (hopefully a LOT shorter than the last one). See you soon.