Chapter Text
She tried to slow her breathing and control her thoughts. It didn't work. No matter where her mind led her, it all circled back to where she was heading in a few minutes. Sky High, a school for super-powered teenagers... Great. It wasn't that Layla didn't want to go. On the contrary, she believed her life had been leading to this exact moment. However, as she walked downstairs, her legs nearly giving out under her, she wondered if she had been wrong.
She wanted to go to Sky High for the same reason everyone else did. To be a hero and Sky High has created some of the best, such as Commander and Jetstream. Two of the most famous and well-respected heroes the world has ever seen. They also happen to be her best friend's parents. Will Stronghold, aka the son of Steve and Josie Stronghold. Layla should be excited, jumping up and down on the spot because both Will and she would be going. And she would be doing just that... if Will hadn't dropped a huge secret on her. Will has no superpowers, which isn't the news. She's known about that for as long as she has known him. The real kicker is that he hasn't bothered to tell his parents about it.
Awesome...great...fantastic even.
"Layla?"
Great, she has been standing at the bottom of the stairs, staring at the ceiling for the last few minutes. So, what's on the checklist today? Her best friend has kept a huge secret from his family. Check. Her mother now thinks she's losing her mind. Check. Layla could only imagine what the rest of the day had in store for her.
"Layla, darling, are you okay?"
She finally turned in the direction of her mother. The older woman looked the same as always, with short, thin dark hair, and that beaming smile of hers. She looked like any other person, apart from the nasal cannula that sat under her nose. The tubes went around the back of her ears and down to the oxygen tank by her feet. God, so much for being a hero. Layla wished every day that she didn't have Chlorokinesis and instead acquired some sort of healing ability. Then she wouldn't be playing with plants but instead, saving the person that meant the most to her.
Layla forced a smile. "Yeah, just fine."
She watched her mom narrow her eyes "Ah I see, you have a case of first-day jitters."
Layla would have called it 'stress-induced psychosis', but she wasn't about to say that out loud. Layla only noticed then that the woman was leaning on the sofa for support, as if the idea of standing on her own two feet was too much.
"You got me...I'll be home for about five."
Layla felt like cursing. Her mother had been getting sicker as the days went by, and no matter how many times she brought the topic up, she always got shut down. So that meant there was a wall between them, an awkward unmoving barrier cutting off any sort of normality. Layla waited a moment for her to say something-anything. When her mother only nodded, Layla turned her back and opened the door.
"Bye." She went to leave but found herself immobile. "You'll be here when I get home, right?"
There was a moment of silence, then two simple words, "Of course."
It meant nothing, Layla could hope as much as she wanted, but it was very possible that she could come home and find her mother...well, there was no need to think about that today. Instead, she forced her head high and headed for Will's house. Which takes all of three minutes to get to, because he lives right next door to her.
"'You can do this." She mumbled.
Layla has been friends with Will since second grade, so as she opened the back door without a knock, Josie didn't seem the least bit surprised at her appearance.
"Good morning, Mrs Stronghold."
Layla's eyes couldn't help but land on the table set for three, and the freshly cooked breakfast lay out on each plate. The center of her chest began to hurt because she couldn't remember the last time she had woken up and come, downstairs to a normal meal with her mom. As the thoughts ran circles in her mind, she was vaguely aware that she was talking to Josie, but the words weren't processing. Not until Will in his plain white shirt came down and took the seat right next to her. That's when she began to focus on what was around her. Like the glass of orange juice on the table, or the way the napkins were folded into neat squares. Or even the fact that the Strongholds were on their way out of the kitchen.
The Commander was talking to Will and just finishing up one of his usual tangents "Some of the kids only have one Superhero parent...so no showing off."
Will rolled his eyes at her "Don't worry, I'll keep it lowkey."
She watched as the couple punched in a code to a secret door. She had seen this a few times before but still found it amazing as they slid down the poles that were revealed to them. She wondered how the two would react to Will's news, in truth Layla believed they would be more hurt that he didn't tell them what he was going through. As she was about to ask him how he was going to keep his non-existent powers 'low key', Will reached forward and grabbed the remote. The news immediately showed Commander and Jetstream on screen fighting a huge robot, and Will made a face. She has seen that look hundreds of times before. He is sick of waiting for his powers to show up, sick of hearing his parents talk about them being the Stronghold three one day. Sick, of her bringing it all up, so she won't. Instead, she sits and waits for him to finish his breakfast.
It doesn't take long, and soon enough, they are out the door and walking down the street towards the bus stop. The further Layla gets from her house, the lighter she feels.
There are many ways to break the ice, start a conversation... And she says, "I feel really good about this year."
Good one.
With the stress of meeting new people momentarily pushed aside, she focuses on the vehicle approaching. She fixes her skirt and brown bag as the giant yellow bus screeches to a halt. You would assume that a school for superheroes would have something a little fancier. However, as soon as the doors open, they step on, Will talks to the driver, and again, Layla retreats into her mind. She just wants to be there, get to class, and get her first day done and over with.
Ron Wilson, the bus driver, asks, "What's your name, son?"
Layla looks around as he says his full name and isn't shocked at the effect it has on everyone. His parents are famous, which in turn makes him famous as well. Finally, after an oddly intimate moment between Will and the bus driver involving a card and a 'you can call me anytime', they head into the bus. She can feel everyone staring, but it gives her some comfort, knowing that they aren't looking at her.
"You guys can sit here. Come on, Magenta move."
Layla looks around Will's and sees a short dark-skinned boy, asking his friend to move so that she and Will can sit. Layla has never wanted to physically shrink before this moment. The girl with two dark buns looks up at them and then back at her friend.
"Why do we both have to move?"
"So that Will and his girlfriend can sit next to each other."
Just as Layla was about to correct them, Will stepped in "Layla? No, she's just my friend."
She nods "Yeah and don't worry, there are two free seats in the back."
Layla quickly moves on. She can't believe how badly this is already going. She just wants the rest to go smoothly... She needs it to go smoothly. Layla finally sits beside a guy who is staring out the window. She sees that Will finds a seat on the opposite side of the aisle. Layla puts her head back, feeling the bumps and turns in the road. For the most part, the ride is peaceful... until it's not. At first, it's just pieces of Will's conversation.
"...Show your power -"
The boy sitting next to Will has pure white hair, and he is ranting about...Well something. She can only hear bits and pieces, but it's not hard to figure out what's being said. If they all have to show their powers, then everyone is going to find out that Will has squat.
Not good.
"We're going off-road!"
This is when things take a turn. Layla focuses on herself as a seat belt comes out of nowhere and straps her to the seat. She can hear chatter about there being no road ahead. Was she really going to die before even seeing the school? The bus starts to shake violently, and suddenly, the whole thing is tilting. Thankfully, she isn't the only one screaming her lungs off. It only hits Layla that they're flying when the bus levels out and Ron Wilson points out the school. It's in the air, in the middle of the air floating with no support. Layla can feel herself grinning. Maybe today won't be all that bad. She watches as the building gets closer and closer. Each fine line and reflection in the glass becomes clearer.
"Sorry!" Ron yells back to them, the vehicle landing roughly on the gravel.
He doesn't need to apologise, everyone is too busy looking outside or trying to get out. Which is exactly what Layla is trying to do, moving past people, even forgetting about her best friend. Who is no doubt talking to Ron Wilson again, being complimented for being born. She smiles as she looks around, above her two girls flying down and waving towards their bus. To her left, a guy zaps a girl's skirt up, and in retaliation, she freezes him and his friend. Layla smiles once more, not feeling as weird as she usually does. Continuing to glance around she sees that cheerleaders are doing a routine and as they move closer, multiple flashes happen as each identical girl vanishes until only one is left. But of course, something always has to ruin the fun.
A strong wind moves around their group, blowing Layla's hair everywhere. A bigger, stronger boy with a smirk on his face appears, accompanied by an oddly skinny guy. Whose limbs stretch an extraordinary amount until he too is standing in front of them.
"Hello, new students," the skinny one says "I'm Lash, and this here is Speed and we'd be more than happy to collect the $15 new student fee."
Layla is impressed as the boy from the bus, whom she realises is called Ethan. Begins to stand up to the two, but it doesn't last long.
"Okay boys, that's enough."
A beautiful girl in a pink cardigan comes up to the group and ushers the boys away. She explains to them a few rules, known of which Layla hadn't expected.
No powers outside of school.
No fighting.
No bullying.
No taking equipment home.
So on and so forth until finally Gwen smiled "And I will be the one to show you to the gym, where Coach Boomer will assign you either Sidekick or Hero."
Sounds easy enough, looking at Will she notices his eyes have glazed over. He hasn't heard a word she or anyone else has said, annoying really.
Everything moves ever so quickly from there, as they enter the gym all is quiet and still until a bright light flies through the air. A woman in a finely made suit appears from the light and introduces herself as Principal Powers. Words are thrown around, such as "Power placement" and Bright futures.
"Sounds fascist." Layla mumbles.
More talking, laughing, and then as the Principal flies away once more another adult comes in. This time however she recognises them, it's 'Sonic Boom', a superhero with the ability to create an overwhelming sound through his mouth. The 'Coach Boomer', made a little more sense now.
Oh...no.
He calls forth students one by one, and each time they don't show a power that he believes to be adequate, they are made a Sidekick. Layla is sure that people are feeling fear, anxiety even...But she's just angry. This is not a sound system (pardon the pun) to figure out what class one should be in. She was expecting a test, written or otherwise, but instead, they were just showing off.
Only a small part of her was worried for Will now, this was on him. They had, had so many conversations about him telling his parents, coming clean. Each time, just like her mother, he'd lift his hand and brush her off. Whatever happened now, was up to him and Layla had other things to worry about. Her power is strong, something that could put her right into Hero class...but at what cost? Would she also have to stand up on the stage and look down on her classmates? As she flaunts what she could do, there is no way she could bring herself to do such a thing. It goes against all her values, everything she has come to believe is right.
Coach Boomer came into focus as his hand gestures in her direction "Okay flower child, let's go."
It only takes a second for her to make her decision "Oh, I believe in only using my powers when the situation demands it."
Coach smiles "Well you're in luck, this is the situation, and I'm demanding it."
Layla shook her head, confused about how all of this was turning out "But to participate in this test, would be to support a flawed system. I think the whole Hero-Sidekick dichotomy only serves-"
He raises his hand, silencing her "Let me get this straight. Are you refusing to show me your powers?"
"It's more complicated than that. I mean-"
She could only stare as the man stomped his foot, and bellowed "SIDEKICK!"
The vibrations of it make her brain rattle, and the soles of her feet, become unsteady. He had screamed it to a few students before but this was different. He was frustrated with her. The feeling was mutual.
The man rolled his eyes and threw his arm up in the air "Okay, we will pick it up after lunch, starting with you."
Of course, he is pointing directly at Will.