Sky High 1. prologue

I know this chapter is reeeally short, but I had to get the idea out and in writing; the chapters following will be much longer, I promise 

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Superheroes are so stupid. They think after barging in with their spandex clad team of losers and taking away whatever weapon a villain has, they can lock said villain in jail and live happily ever after, never having to worry about them again. Take Royal Pain for example; when the Commander and Jetstream crashed the homecoming party and eventually destroyed the pacifier, they locked up Pain and her crew, forgetting about them forever. Didn't they once stop and think 'boy, it was awfully easy to capture those villains who only made one copy of their weapon and didn't flee from the school they were sending crashing down to the earth'? I mean come one, they're not complete idiots. Will Stronghold was so busy mashing with his hippie girlfriend that he didn't see the smug grins on their faces. Even before the plan had been executed he was too busy with his hormones to realize what was happening. And now he and his family are at their perfect house in suburbia, sipping perfect lemonade discussing their perfect lives, not once giving thought to the villains that they locked up for life, never worrying about an escape or revenge. Well let me tell you, ignorance is bliss.

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Will rolled over in his bed, stretching his arms carefully so as not to wake the beautiful woman who lie next to him, and let a lazy smile play on his lips as bits of sun peeked out from behind the drawn curtains. He let his eyes close and drifted in and out of sleep until a soft sigh gently alerted him that his love was now awake. Wordlessly, she shifted her body and lay her head down on Will's strong chest, letting yet another sigh escape. Her hidden grin grew at an amazing rate as she felt Will carefully run his fingers through her hair. Her eyebrows furrowed together as she thought of how to describe this wonderful feeling.

"Content." Will whispered shortly after, as if reading the woman's mind. Still she said nothing, but Will knew the question didn't really need to be asked. "I've been trying to think of what this is." She smiled again, a warm feeling rushing through her at the thought; Will even thought the same thoughts, they were perfect together. The comfort she felt from hearing his voice was enough to will her mouth to form the short but succinct question.

"What?"

"This feeling; waking up in the morning beside the woman I love, not having to worry about rushing out to save the world from some new catastrophe." For Will, the reality of the world being safe had just sunk in, and it gave him an almost euphoric feeling he eventually described as contentment. After Baron and King Kamayamayhem lost the war for villains everywhere, it seemed like all evil simply disappeared – ceased to exist, if you will. For months afterward Will spend days worrying that the good wouldn't last, too restless to unwind and let the happiness overtake him. But just two weeks previously, Will had been called into a meeting with the mayor – he went in armed and ready to battle, but was simply asked to hand in his red emergency cell phone. At first Will was dumbfounded – he, the son of the Commander and Jetstream, one of the most powerful superheroes in the world, was being fired? The mayor sensed his distress and quickly informed the still young man that there was simply no need anymore, that this would be the last town to be officially 'crime free' with the exception, of course, of your small, relatively unimportant corner store robberies and such. This news reached his mind much faster and let to the wonderful feeling he was now experiencing. He gave the now sleeping woman a small kiss before getting up and heading to the kitchen, determined to make his wife the perfect – somewhat belated – celebratory breakfast. Careful so as not to wake her, he got out several pans and ingredients and began the standard egg scrambling, hash brown tossing nightmare that was cooking. After throwing away four burnt pieces of toast, half a large package of hash browns, three eggs, and a pan, he had what was left of the meal ready on a tray, carrying it slowly into the bedroom so as not to spill the tall glass of orange juice or the water that fed the small lily laying delicately in a vase that had been a present from Will just days earlier. He saw her stir and slowly wake as he came through the doorway, sitting up and smiling when he placed the tray on her lap.

"That's a lot of food Will." She spoke in a gentle but slightly amused voice.

He looked at her almost longingly, realizing that he couldn't possibly love her any more than he did at this very moment. He sat down on the edge of the bed and kissed her softly on the forehead, cupping her soft chin in his strong hand and looking deeply into her mesmerizing eyes. He spoke words he, ten years ago, could never have pictured him saying, but now couldn't help but hear the excitement in his voice as he said, "Remember Layla, you're eating for two now."


	2. paper routes and three little words

Three little birds, sat on my window,

And they told me I don't need to worry.

Summer came like cinnamon, so sweet,

little girl's double Dutch on the concrete.

Corinne Baily Rae

Max sat up in his bed, stretching his limbs until they touched the walls on either side of his cramped area. A loopy grin spread across his pale face as he realized – this was day one. He stood slowly and walked towards the doorway, grabbing one of four full coffee cups on the way and turning left towards the sound of ever familiar voices. His pigeon toed feet caused his sneakers to squeak against the cold linoleum floor, and skidded to a halt as he entered the room that held the voices, looking around and sheepishly realizing that he was the only one who arrived late. Sue greeted him with a tight lipped smile and walked over to a large free standing chalkboard, heels clicking along the way.

"Max, thank you for joining us." She said calmly as she flipped the board over to reveal a somewhat cryptic looking schedule. "Remember everyone, although it is an exiting time, remember to remain calm and continue with our routine. Which means Penny, Speed, Lash and I will be leaving in just a few minutes." Max slurped his coffee loudly and looked around the room to see the three villains nodding, albeit begrudgingly. 'Although' thought Max 'I would be pretty bummed if I had to spend every day from 9 am to 10 pm in a rotting jail cell with the same pissy people I got thrown in with ten years ago, only coming out between 11 pm and 8 am to plot revenge on incompetent super heroes who seemed to have luck practically rain down on their halo covered heads.

"Max; are you even listening?" The shrilling sound of Penny's voice shook Max from his thoughts. He shook his head no and Sue rubbed her temples slowly, obviously sick of dealing with all the juvenile delinquents and giving Penny the privilege of using her sickeningly sweet yet horrifyingly grating voice to get my attention.

Gwen spoke again, slowly this time, as if speaking to a four year old. "Now Max, I need you to keep going to class, and coming to the cell at 10 for the switch. And now, I need you and Ellie to go and do your paper route. Okay?" As if on cue, a young girl about Max's age walking in the door, an identical coffee cup in her hand. Max smiled as he looked her up and down. She had fair skin just like his from an extreme lack of sunshine, and short black hair that accentuated her big green eyes. She was wearing tight black boot cut jeans and a zip up sweater that went down to her thighs. Sue gave her the same tight smile she gave Max, and dismissed everyone to do their 'assignments'… which pretty much meant to go about their day. Ellie walked over to Max, grabbing his hand and teleporting them to a small familiar suburban street in Maxville, with messenger bags full of papers across their chests and skateboards under their feet. They immediately skated to opposite ends of the street and started with the first door. After a few minutes Ellie had come to the fifth door, and gave a gentle knock, only having to wait a few moments before the door was swung open to reveal a smiling Will Stronghold. Ellie handed him a paper and used the sweetest, most gentle voice she could.

"Here's your paper sir, have a nice day." She turned around and slowly made her way back down the driveway, only getting so far before Will called her back, a somewhat confused look on his still young face. Ellie smiled inwardly, thinking about how this assignment was far too easy for someone with powers like hers. "Yes sir, what is it?" She asked, the sound of her own voice making her feel slightly nauseas.

"Umm, I was just wondering; I've never had the paper delivered right to me before, are you to the area?" Will winced at how inconsiderate his voice sounded – he couldn't help but be oblivious in high school, but Layla had made him keenly aware of just how terribly his mouth rearranged words that came from his brain. Saying the two did not get along would be an imaginative understatement.

Ellie smiled, outwardly this time, glad she was so prepared for this and many other questions. "You haven't heard?" She asked as if it were the most common thing in the world. "We've been told" she said, gesturing to Max across the street, "that some papers have been stolen when they're left just on the porch or in the mail slot, so we've been asked to deliver them right to the door. That's why we're here an hour later than usual; we didn't want to wake anyone up." She slapped a look of fake concern on her face and spoke again before Will had a chance to. "Did I wake you up sir?" He gestured the word no and smiled down at her.

"Of course not, I was just curious; and please, call me Will." Will's smile grew when he saw the look on her face, like she was trying to place the face with the name. "Stronghold," he added, "Will Stronghold." He put so much emphasis on his last name he was sure to see the 'light bulb' and be asked to sign something after the standard 'you're the Will Stronghold!' But just before he started to search his jean pockets for a pen, she spoke words that were unfamiliar to him.

"Hmm, I don't recognize that name; have a nice day sir." A new feeling hit Will so hard he almost fell over as he watched the girl skate down his driveway. He felt like one of those old washed up child actors who went around with eight by ten glossies of themselves and sharpies ready to sign. Of course she wouldn't know who he was; he hadn't been all that active since shortly after high school. If fact, it seemed like his crowning career moment was homecoming, and it all went down hill from there. Shrugging off his bad feelings, he walked back inside, shutting the door and absentmindedly opening the paper to reveal a headline that pumped adrenaline through his veins.

METROPOLIS BANK ROBBED – WHERE ARE OUR SUPERHEROES NOW? Will read the article so quickly he only caught half of the facts; but half was more than enough. "Layla, I'm going out for a few minutes; do you want anything?" He knew she didn't like him yelling from the other room, but he wasn't sure his feet would lift off the ground in any direction other than out the door. After he was sure she was 'content', he ran out of the house and into the vehicle that they had purchased just months earlier – a minivan. Just after they decided to have children, Layla convinced him to buy a 'family friendly' van, something he now despised as he tried in vain to weave through traffic to the mayor's office. The ride there was the longest fifteen minutes of his life, and he felt himself lifting slightly off the ground to reach the elevator, and yet he still met with the closed metal doors. Looking around at the now seemingly empty entryway, he decided to fly up the stairs and… well, truthfully there was no word more appropriate than barge, into the large room where the mayor sat, almost eerily calm.

"Mr. Stronghold, I didn't expect to see you here today."

Will took a deep breath to keep himself from reminding the mayor just how persuasive his powers could be. "I was just a little concerned about the robbery, why was I not called?" It took all his might to keep his feet on the ground and his arms at his side, but took comfort in the fact that Layla would be proud of his self restraint. Mayor Bortry simply looked at Will with his tired old eyes and folded his hands across his lap, clearing his throat with a strange amount of authority, as if he had been granted the ability to clear said throat whenever he pleased.

"Mr. Stronghold, please; it wasn't some devastating cataclysmic event, it was a small crime that the police are taking care of in the way that they feel is best. And yes, Mr. Stronghold I know that the police are not equipped with enchanting super powers, but they have spend many months of their lives training and are very dedicated – they know what they are doing, and I'm leaving it to them. If later on there is some strange, bizarre turn of events that require abilities such as yours then yes, I will call you – but Mr. Stronghold, be rational and let the losers of the gene pool lottery have a little taste of what it feels like to be a hero, alright?" Will was left dumbstruck – mayor Bortry made him sound haughty, self righteous – but he just cared about the town too much to let its safety lay in the hands of men and women who couldn't do beyond ordinary to save it. His hands curled into fists and he looked up, preparing a somewhat stark comment for the mayor, but saw that he was already on the phone with someone else, as if completely oblivious to Will's existence. He pursed his lips together to restrain them and walked loudly out of the office and into the surprisingly empty waiting room. The world being safe was a lovely idea, he admitted that freely – but it didn't feel right, it didn't feel real. He didn't want to turn into a narcissist, but he was capable of ensuring safety for everyone, and the 'police' weren't. It made him angry that he had to hide his powers and pretend he didn't have these amazing abilities while ordinary men who were nothing special were allotted this high position and could bask in the glory without doing a thing. He got into the van, swearing that he would never buy another, and realizing moments later that Layla could convince him to do nearly anything by simply giving him one of her world famous pouts. He drove home, still in quite a state as he went over the mayor's less than kind words. Come on, the losers of the gene pool lottery? How is it that in high school his inheritance was something that raised his status, and now it was something that stole glory from others, and it was somehow his fault? Shaking his head as if to free it from the thoughts, he parked the van and walked in the house, vaguely aware of the eerie feeling that comes from being watched. He checked over his shoulders but only saw the two young teenagers riding down the street, obviously just finished their paper routes. He felt an almost subconscious pang of jealousy – those kids didn't have to worry about hiding powers, they didn't have to feel obligatory shame for being extraordinary, they just had to finish their paper routes before noon. The thought of the time shook Will once again from his thoughts – all this free time was really pulling one over on his now overworking brain – and he walked briskly up the driveway, pausing only once to wave at said innocent teenagers, and into his house where he was greeted by a cheery Layla. He felt his spirits rise at the sight of her chopping a large amount of vegetables and putting them in a large bowl. He walked over and kissed her gently on the cheek from behind, resting his chin in the crook of her neck and wrapping his arms around her and onto her bulging stomach. He couldn't see her face, but was comforted by the fact that he knew exactly what expression she wore at moments like this, slightly droopy eyes, and a smile revealing pearly white teeth and the most adorable dimples Will had ever seen, and couldn't help but speak the words he knew were on the tip of her tongue, and at the front of his mind all day long. Three words that were more safe and comforting than anything else in the world. Three words that he had only recently come to understand the meaning of.

"I love you."


	3. prison guards and tower 3

Well I was eating lunch at the D.L.G.

when this little girl came and she sat next to me

Never seen nobody move the way she did,

well she did and she does and she'll do it again.

When you move like a jellyfish rhythm don't mean nothing,

you go with the flow you don't stop.

Jack Johnson

"Alright Ellie, tell me what happened, tell me everything." Sue spoke in hushed tones through the phone at the maximum security prison to the girl across the booth from her. Ellie knew that Sue still had some un dealt with feelings for Will Stronghold and took great pleasure in explaining in great deal how much he loved and thought about his wife, and added the last sentence with so much joy she almost shouted it.

"And Layla's pregnant." She read the thoughts going through Sue's head and grinned an evil grin; they had the same idea. With Layla's growth powers, she would have the baby in her womb for less than 4 months, and their plan was to be executed in just over three; they had to get that baby. A nature controlling, flying, super strong grower would be a great villain. She grinned when she saw Lash's signature smirk and without using her powers could tell he was thinking the same thing.

"Excuse me Miss Tenny; I'm afraid you're going to have to ask your guest to leave." Sue said a quick goodbye as the guard led her back to her cell, leaving Ellie to find her way back. She stepped out of the building minutes later and into the sunlight, stopping for a moment to put on sunglasses – an accessory she found herself carrying increasingly often. She enjoyed the feeling that came from having accomplished a mission early, even if the mission did eventually involve the destruction of innocent people. Ellie had been one of the few supers who weren't pacified; she was actually Lash's niece, and had been put in his care by… well, whoever her mother was. She didn't remember anything before her life at the underground Grayson academy for villains, but knew that she had been trained from age three to do what she did, and accepted it without question. Max once told her a little about his life before being pacified – he was a twenty five year old musician whose band was just starting to become known, and one day he was on the bus to go visit his family when he met a young man – Lash – who he got along with surprisingly well and was honestly shocked when the younger man pulled out a strange looking gun and pointed it at him as discreetly as was possible. Max said it wasn't really a painful process, but did wipe out some memories of who his real parents were. Ellie glanced a squinted eye at her watch – it was 3:30 pm, and she needed to get back for a brief update of her classes and hopefully say goodbye to Max, who had an eerie resemblance to Lash and would often switch places for a few days at a time so Lash could have some hands on participation. Upon reaching the school, which to the naked eye was simply a camp shelter with picnic benches, she pulled out a small key card and inserted in into a random piece of wood, which in turn opened a small block in the concrete floor which she lowered herself down, revealing a winding hallway that led to a large elevator. Shaking off the frightened feeling she always got from the 'entryway,' she pressed the button to the main floor and smoothed out her sweater, barely having a chance to check her watch once again before the doors opened up to reveal what appeared to be you're average busy school, with teenagers speeding along to their next class, a small office in the center beside the staircase. She walked confidently to the office and leaned herself against it, waiting for Pam to finish her conversation, making it clear of her lack of time to spare by tapping her short nails loudly against the counter.

"Sorry Ellie, Max left nearly half an hour ago." Said the older woman while holding her hand to the bottom speaker of the phone; Ellie gave a small smile in return and spun around, already making up excuses as to why she was late for the briefing. She had hardly taken one step before she bumped into a tall, somewhat clumsy looking figure she assumed to be Lash.

"Hey Ellie, how's it going?" He asked in an almost suspiciously easygoing way. She lifted an eyebrow to express her suspicion and managed a 'fine.' She had always been fairly close with her uncle, and could tell when he was getting ready to ask a favor of her. "I have an idea, why don't you skip the briefing and I'll just tell the teachers to update you tomorrow." The bribe was a dead giveaway for the young girl.

"What do you want uncle Lash?" She asked in the most bored tone she could muster. Lash put his hands in his pockets sheepishly and stepped to the side to reveal a woman who appeared to be in her mid twenties. "Who's this?" Curiosity kept her from using whatever manners she had left after living with villains since birth, and Lash's disapproval was little more than apparent. It bugged Ellie that the woman said nothing, just appeared to be taking her in, making the younger girl visibly self conscious.

"Ellie, this is Caley, she's going to be with us for a few months, she's King Kamayamayhem's daughter." Lash put extra emphasis on the name of the young woman's father, but Ellie was less than impressed. King Kamayamayhem wasn't supposed to start that stupid war – it wasn't part of the plan; and he most certainly wasn't supposed to lose! It angered Ellie when people spoke of him as if he was some sort of saint – forgive the oxymoron. The self conscious feeling left her and she crossed her arms, returning the look to the daughter of the self titled King. Lash had slowly walked over and was standing beside Ellie, now poking her in the ribs less than lightly. "Caley, this is Ellie – my lovely niece – she has super hearing, mind reading, and teleporting powers, Ellie, Caley is a wind shifter; she'll be staying in you're tower with the others, I need you to show her around and introduce her to Max, Jake, and Talissa." He leaned in closer and whispered with slight amusement apparent in his wicked voice, "and be nice, she's a big part of the plan." The villainous sound in Lash's voice made Ellie read his thoughts and – although Lash had quite the barrier built up – discover that Caley would have a much less pleasant outcome than the rest of them, a thought that made her grin ear to ear and lead the way to tower 3, the one she shared with the three aforementioned villains. Luckily, Talissa and Jake's classes ended early and were in the room; ready to be bombarded with a guest – the first they had ever been 'blessed with.'

"Ellie, my girl, how many time do I got to tell you to shut the door when you come in? You know we be planning some bad shit up in here!" The sound of Talissa's voice rang through the room, and Caley – the second to walk into the room – shut said door so loudly both uninformed teenagers lifted their heads, not used to this much anger coming through in their small roommate. "Who the hell are you?" Talissa asked immediately, not used to, or welcoming the idea of strangers in the dorm tower she had grown up in. It was a rule at GAV – Grayson Academy for Villains – that no one other than dorm mates and teachers were ever allowed in your assigned tower, so visitors were little more than unheard of.

"This is Caley – she's King Kamayamayhem's daughter…" she paused to let the name sink in; the four dorm mates had spent many a night bitching about how the 'King' should be banned from future work with the rest of the villain community. "And has come to help us out with the plan; Caley, this is Talissa," Ellie pointed to the African American girl "she has the power of time travel; and Jake, he has the power of telepathic communication, he can make you say anything." She spoke with a large grin on her face, she knew Jake already had some ideas up his sleeve and couldn't wait to embarrass the new, and hopefully temporary, tower dweller. "Jake's mute," she added after a moment of silence, "So in a way his powers are compensation. Max isn't here right now but he's the last member of our little team, and has a memory key." Ellie waited eagerly for Caley's tanned face to twist up in confusion, and when it did, she basked in the glow of knowing something the blonde woman didn't before explaining. "A memory key means that he can remember anything that has ever happened to him or anything that's ever been said to him. When he closes his eyes he can picture any scene in his life." Caley seemed less than impressed, and it made Ellie dislike her even more, so much she didn't even feel the need to eavesdrop through her mind and find out what she thought of the place; Ellie was usually impatient to find out what people thought of GAV, because she loved it more than anything. It was rebellious yet orderly – it was a school for raising villains from infantry, but grouped said infants together with a few with powers complimenting their own to befriend and room with until the time came when – or if – they were assigned somewhere else. Almost every villain in the twenty five years had been loyal when sent away to assignments, but the few who seemed to be persuaded to the good side far too easily were kept and assigned to be teachers. You may be asking, how on earth could the school have been running for twenty five years, when Gwen has been in prison for ten? Well, Gwen's plan had been a lot more complex than the Stronghold's thought. The super villain academy had already been running for fifteen years, and the pacifier hadn't turned her into a baby, it had simply turned her age back ten years. When the first set of students graduated from GAV, eight were sent to get undercover jobs at Maxville's maximum security prison for supers. From the fourth set of graduates, three were pacified back a few years – Speed, Lash, and Penny. Gwen would wait three years and then join them at the school and be discovered by Will and his dorky family, getting thrown into prison with the few closest to her and the pacifier – a copy of it specially created to turn the people directly to babies, would be destroyed. Gwen's men – the prison employees – would have, many years previously, built a small escape where Gwen, Speed, Lash, and Penny would escape for a few hours every night to make sure there plan was being carried out correctly. The ignorant world would think that Royal Pain and her henchmen were locked away forever, but really, that was all part of the


End file.

Sky High