Chapter Text
Principal Powers drank her morning coffee as she strutted down the halls of Sky High. The simple, powerful clacks of her heels echoing off the tile. Another beautiful morning at Sky High.
"Lovely morning, Principal Powers!" Mr. Boy greeted, approaching her with a coffee cup of his own. She relayed Mr. Boy a polite smile. "Truly. Say, how's Hero Support coming along this semester?" typically, she didn't have much time to indulge in questions she knew would require such a droning answer, but this morning, she didn't mind. Mr. Boy almost jumped for joy to be asked about his class. His face lit up as he began rambling on about his current lesson in Hero Support.
While she had intended to listen to Mr. Boy's reply, his words seemed to crossfade into a dull hum. Her super senses coming to the forefront. Something was..off...was that-?
"I'm sorry, Mr. Boy, but...do you..smell smoke? she interrupted, a far away look in expression. Suddenly, a deafened thud echoes from down the hallway, jolting them both. Principal Powers put two and two together and narrowed her eyes.
"It's too damn early for this.." she muttered to herself as she shoved her coffee into the free hand of Mr. Boy, who stared at her quizzically as she strutted off down the hallway.
"I'll just hold onto this for you!" He called awkwardly, his gesture falling on deaf ears.
__
The Gymnasium was fragrant with heavy smoke. The students, cowered behind pillars and under bleachers, watching the save the citizen round that had turned into a full on brawl. Coach Boomer hid behind his referee chair and clipboard, giving his whistle another loud hoot powered by his super sonic powers, but it was to no avail. A fireball suddenly crashes into his referee chair, nearly missing him. He takes off his jacket clumsily and hits it on the chair to stomp out the flames.
On the now dilapidated court, an extremely firey Warren Peace, lets out a frustrated roar and begins a charge, but a slick path of ice shoots underneath him, and he falls into his back with a hard thud, nearly smacking his skull into the ground. " You Bitch!" he groaned.
"LANGUAGE!!" Boomer yelled fruitlessly from his new hiding spot. These two were impossible..
Opposite of Warren, was a girl shaped nightmare named Ashe Hailstorm. She sported a threatening smirk to Warrens fall. Satisfied with her hit on him. Her Icy Powers on full attack mode, ready to land another hit on Warren Peace. She didn't care if it killed him at this point.
"Where's your firepower now, asshole?!" She jeered out. This Jackass needed to be humbled. She cocked her arm back, conjuring a whirlwind of icy and electric lighting. It crackled in her hand, swelling with intensity. She paid no mind to the burned flesh across her other arm.
Warren sat up amongst the icy rubble, wiping the blood off his nose angrily. Realizing his compromised position, he had only time to brace himself.
"ENOUGH!" Principal Powers voice boomed through the Gym, even louder than coach boomers strongest blow. Her vibrant white aura, nearly blinding everyone in the room. In the split second this happens, its simply not enough time for Ashe to cancel her attack, but it is enough time to have it accidentally now face towards Principal Powers in her blinded state. A large sharp icicle slams into the wall just inches from Principal Powers' head.
The entire room becomes a vacuum at her presence. Ashe drops her hands immediately. " Principal Powers, oh my god, I'm so-!"
"HAILSTORM, PEACE, MY OFFICE. NOW." She bellows angrily. Ashe and Warren exchange a glance. For the first time, the two of them agreeing on one thing-they were so fucked.
--
Warren and Ashe sat opposite of each other inside the enclosed detention room. As far away as the small room permitted. Ashe held a bandage to the burn across her bicep, and Warren held bandage to a cut on his forehead
God, look at her. I'll melt that stupid fucking smirk right off her face, Warren thought.
God, look at him. and I almost had him too, Ashe scrunched her face.
Luckily, for the structural integrity of the building, the detention room disengaged all powers. The door slid open, entering a furious Principal Powers. Neither Ashe, Nor Warren could bring themselves to face her at first, amid their shame.
Principal Powers waited a beat, collecting herself gracefully before speaking.
"Six times." She finally remarks. "Six times, that I've had the two of you sitting in this room, after leaving some trail of destruction in your wake." She folds her arms, beginning a slow pace in the room.
The anger in her, so well contained, was terrifying to the both of them.
"It's him-he's the one who-" Ashe starts. Principal Powers raises her hand, putting a silence to Ashes defense. Warren simply rolls his eyes at Ashes pathetic attempt to blame him.
"I, do not care if the two of you despise each other. Frankly- I don't care that you two want to kill each other, for that matter. But what I do care about, is repairing the school property every time the two of you can't have a civil interaction." she paces again.
Ashe and Warren ashamedly avert their eyes away, the two of them, fully aware of the damage that they've caused over the course of the schoolyear so far.
"The fact that the two of you are so blinded by your own, idiotic hatred for one another, or some other generational curse that you can't let go of, that you continue to put my school, and your peers, in danger? Well its just extremely disappointing." She wasn't pulling the 'I'm not mad, just disappointed' card-no she was mad AND disappointed. And frankly, that was even more terrifying.
Despite even her harshest reprimands however, the two students knew what came next. Fully anticipating another phone to parent figures, and some sort of detention homework assignment that they could easily bullshit by tomorrow. A slap on the wrist, some would argue.
"That's why, in tandem with your typical phone call home, I've decided to assign the two of you two, to Homecoming committee duties involving cleaning and repairing the school gym, everyday after school, prepping it until it's ready for Homecoming. As well as a mandatory homework report on Thermal Balance.
Ashe and Warren sit up straight, in a rare synchronicity. The homework report seemed the least of their problems. Warren clenched his jaw with great frustration "I don't do school dances, Principal Powers." Warren snarks disgustedly.
"and I don't do janitor duties. I have cheer squad after school, I cant miss practice, we have a competition coming up!" Ashe disputed.
"Yeah well some of us have jobs after school." He retorts at her seemingly privileged complaint. Ashe shoots daggers at Warren. "Well some of us just have lives okay?" She snarls.
Warren leans forward defensively, clenching his fists, ready to ignite, almost forgetting the absence of his powers.
"May I remind the both of you, that you do not have negotiating powers either." She folds her arms." This is the punishment, and you will not argue with me." She turns to Warren, giving a slight roll of her eyes. "Warren, I'm not forcing you to rent a tux. Just make the place pretty."
"But Homecoming is like- a month away!" Ashe adds. Warrens eyes widen a little at this realization.
"Then you better get started on things. The Homecoming committee needs all the help it can get from the two of you." She replies unwavering.
Ashes head drops into her hands, soaking in the terrible news. Warren, stares at the wall, stone-faced and pissed.
Principal Powers sighs, leaning back on a desk. " Listen. I don't know who told you that the two of you had to be mortal enemies just because you have opposite powers, but you don't have to be. All this fighting-its a damn waste of your talents, I'll tell you that much."
Warren averts his eyes to his desk, hanging his head slightly at the comment. Ashe, staring down at her feet with frustration.
Principal Powers steps backward towards the door as it opens.
"I hope you'll take this time to realize that." she states, disappearing through the door.
The air that remained in the room was heavy and thick, weighing the both of them inside.
She doesn't get it. None of them do, Ashe thought in frustration, sparing a hateful glance over to a closed off Warren Peace. The Warren Peace she knew? He died long ago. Along with his humanity or kindness. All that remained was this simmering embodiment that aimed to destroy.
Ashe leaned her head on her desk within folded arms, slinking into herself and turning away.
Warren can't help but see her in his peripheral, sparing her similar begrudging glance.
They don't understand. Warren thought to himself. Ashe is nothing but an Icy shell of her former self. Fueled purely by selfishness. Her true self of course. Anything she once might have pretended to be? Was simply a lie.
Warren Peace and Ashe Hailstorm. To be enemies was their fate all along. Anything that might have once said otherwise, was simply a falsehood only once believable through the minds of their former selves, in the innocence of childhood.
That was then. And this was now.
__
Ashe rolled onto her stomach along her baby blue bedsheets in a huff. " and THEN, she was all like 'Fighting is a waste of your talents'. " Ashe rolled her eyes so hard, penny could almost feel it through the phone.
"Ugh, she is so clueless, Ashe. I'm like, so bummed you wont be going to competition with us." Penny said on the other line. Ashe sat up and stood in front of her full body mirror, poking and prodding at her own reflection mindlessly as they spoke. Ashe had spent all summer prepping her appearance for cheer competition season. It was so unfair that she was finally in her prime form, and wouldn't be able to compete with the team as planned. "Ugh, I cant even think about that, its going to make me vomit." Ashe muttered, staring at herself.
"Oh, so thinking about how you're going to be chained to Warren Peace for an entire month is the better option?" Penny asked slightly teasingly. Ashe scoffed. "God don't remind me."
"Okay but like-I don't get it. This whole rivalry. Weren't you two like, best friends?" Penny questioned. "Ew, don't say it like that." Ashe scrunched her face. "No, our parents just like, knew each other when we were kids and sometimes I saw him. Hardly friends. I don't even know why our parents thought it was a good idea. His family is a bunch of psychos."
"Oh. Okay. Well, whatevs I gotta go, my moms freaking out. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Night." Penny said, satisfied with Ashes explanation. "Night." Ashe replied.
*click*
Ashe set down the phone to her side as she studied the polaroid now in her hand. A worn out photograph, a young version of Warren Peace, alongside a young Ashe. The two of them, sporting cheery smiles together under a warm hazy filter of sun, cascading over them both.
A crude version of Ashes handwriting via sharpie, captioning the photo:
"My Best Friend :)"