Grayscale, ch. 2
Title: Grayscale
Summary: "We've heard some rumors that you're going to be a pretty tough villain some day. Care for a head start on that?" - Warren must choose between light and dark, though maybe there's no difference at all anyway.
Chapter: 2/6
Note: Begins post-Save the Citizens scene. The plot slowly diverges from that point on.
Chapter Note: A minor change to the movie timeline appears in this chapter. In this retelling, Will didn't ask Layla out to the Paper Lantern until about a week after he first sits with Gwen and Penny at lunch (aka the day of the Save the Citizen game). Gwen's dinner with Will is also postponed. The reasons are still the same, but it just took Will a little longer to get guilty enough - and Gwen was otherwise occupied, as you'll see.
Chapter One
--you first feel fire in the middle of the night, an explosion that rocks the house--
The next day at school, Warren bumped into Stronghold in the hallway. Glaring was second nature, even if his mind was focused on other things at the moment. Such as the arm that snaked expertly through the crowd to grip his elbow and steer him down the hall.
When he got close, Warren shook Lash off. The older boy just grinned at him, and a freshman behind Warren gasped dramatically. Warren rolled his eyes. The whole school would probably think they were best buds by lunchtime.
"What do you want?" Warren asked, careful to keep his tone blank. He wasn't quite sure what to think of Lash, beyond the obvious bully angle.
Lash seemed to have realized this, or so Warren assumed by the way his smirk grew just a little wider. "We're having lunch outside today," he shrugged. "Come and join."
Despite his nonchalance, there was a bright flare of resentment in his eyes, and Warren snorted. "Orders from on high?" he guessed, and was proved right by the way Lash clenched his teeth and didn't answer.
It had been obvious since last night, but this Gwen Grayson - if that was her real name - was far more than what she initially seemed. She had deep power, a humming energy that could power a thousand generators on resentment alone. Warren just wasn't yet sure what exactly she resented, or whether it was wise or even possible to escape her magnetic field now that she'd decided she wanted him on her side.
After all, she wouldn't want to alarm the public, but he'd be too much of a security risk if he refused her offer. Warren guessed she'd ask Speed to visit him at home and play ring-around-the-rosie for a while. He'd die easily enough from that, so the only question in that case was whether or not Speed would have the guts to do it this time, knowing the consequences. Warren didn't think so, but he wasn't willing to take the chance.
"I prefer to eat alone," he told Lash. "Inside. And Penny is irritating."
"Sure," Lash snickered, "but she's hot and dude - instant harem." A wink. Warren's scowl indicated just how little he was inclined to indulge in locker-room talk with his companion, so after a brief pause, Lash shook his head. "Anyway, Miss Queen Bee doesn't want you talking to her in public. You're her dirty little secret." Another wink flashed his way, and Warren crossed his arms. Lash just stretched an arm around his shoulders to pat him reassuringly. "So, see? No problem. Just us guys."
Warren grit his teeth, but eventually muttered, "I'll think about it."
But he ended up leaving the lunchroom in disgust anyway, as Penny and Gwen fawned all over Stronghold. They'd been doing it ever since he'd been bumped up to Hero, but it was especially nauseating after what he'd learned last night. The guy's sidekick buddies watched on in a mix of envy and distaste of their own, and as Warren tugged open the cafeteria door, Gwen threw him a sultry look of pleasure, like a dragon that's just eaten the king.
Warren shuddered as he crossed the lawn towards Speed and Lash's picnic, realizing that he'd already made his decision.
--it dances all about you and you can hear your mother screaming, but you still smile--
"You just got your power last year?" Speed gaped. He was collapsed into the most comfortable chair in Gwen's living room, ostensibly doing math homework but realistically - as with Lash and Penny - eavesdropping on the power assessment Gwen had insisted she needed to give their newest member.
Warren shrugged, not much bothered by his late development. "Well, creating fire. It's never hurt me in my life, but that might just be my second power." The interest in the room noticeably peaked, and Warren sighed. "Uh, Stronghold threw me through like eight walls and not a bruise? I'm kind of really hard to hurt."
Speed snorted. "Not for me."
Gwen leveled a glare his way. "No interruptions." Then she turned back to Warren. "I thought so. Your heat is less than it should be for an elemental power, and the way you use it could be greatly improved. For instance, if you could throw fireballs faster and actually hit him, Speed would be toast."
Speed reeled back from the pointed comment, face screwing up, but Lash stretched an arm to slap a hand over his mouth. "Forget it, man," he said. "Now get to work, you're supposed to be the math whiz and that's due tomorrow." They seemed to be trading work for the subjects they did well in.
After several more questions ("Can you control all fire, or just your own?" "Just how much damage can you take?" "Can you direct fire once it's no longer touching you?" and so on), Gwen finally put down the computer she'd made it in ten seconds flat by just waving a hand over a workshop table scattered with parts, and delivered her assessment.
"Well, Boomer was definitely right to put you in Hero. You've got power, and lots of it. All you really lack is practice, control, and technique, all of which I can train into you much faster than the dolts at school." She paused, and Warren nodded his complete agreement. A satisfied smile on her face, Gwen went on, "I'm going to set up a training schedule for you here - I've got a room for it in the basement. But even at home or at school, you can practice. Simple things, like controlling your body heat or giving off heat without creating flames, you can do at school without alerting much attention. At home, I want you to practice controlling fires you haven't created - putting them out, making them stronger, and eventually shaping them in midair, away from their source."
She took a deep breath - then grinned with evident joy, meeting Warren's eyes. "You're lucky - like me," she claimed. "Speed, Lash, and Penny are all tough, but they can't really train their powers to become stronger… just use them better. We're different, though. Strong. We're real villains, Warren. If we work hard enough, we're unstoppable."
Something glittered in her eyes during that speech, a hateful sort of tattered pride that spoke very strongly to Warren, and he found himself grinning back in a way that showed all his teeth. He felt sharp, dangerous, and despicable all at once, and it wasn't until five Pennys simultaneously complained about being spoken of as inferior, backed up by the indignant Speed and Lash, that he could look away.
--you're too young to understand after all, just a baby, and you laugh while the house burns and collapses, keep laughing in the wreckage until your father returns for you, smelling of smoke and blood--
Chapter Three