A/N: In this fic, I use the term "direct descendant" to mean that one of the gods was their immediate father/mother. Obviously you also have some kids attending that they had demigods for their parents and that the gods where their grandparents. In this case, there is a bit of class rivalry like in Sky High with the Hero's vs Sidekicks.

Will Stronghold nearly fell out of the bright yellow bus' doors which had brought him and his childhood friend, Layla, from Maxville to Camp Sky High, summer camp to demigods. Legs shaking from the nail biting ride, he braced his hands against his knees and gasped for breath. Hands shoved him out of the way so that everyone else could exit from the bus.

"Will, aren't you excited? I can't believe I'll be hanging out with other heroes, or soon to be heroes anyways. I mean, other than you. You don't count since I've known you since kindergarten."

"Um, yes. I'm ecstatic. Say, Layla, you've gotten some powers from Demeter right? I mean, I know that you're her descendant, but would you have come if, say hypothetically, none of your powers had manifested?"

"Will!" Layla was the only one that he knew that could simultaneously yell at him but still keep it a whisper. "You still don't have your powers? Have you told your parents yet?"

"No I-" Will was interrupted by a gangly teenager with bright yellow hair and a radiant grin.

"Hey guys! Zack's my name, glowings the game. Descendant of Helious here. I shine as bright as the sun!"

"Hi Zack," Layla said politely, "I'm Layla, daughter of Demeter and this here is Will. He's-"

"The son of Steve and Josie Stronghold, better known as Commander and Jetstream. He comes from the line of not one god but two, Zeus himself and Aeolus- god of the wind. Everyone is expecting great things from you."

Another teenager had appeared from behind Zack. He had large glasses and darker skin. The newcomer stopped talking and stared shyly at his feet. Zack leaned one elbow on the shorter boy's shoulder.

"This here is Ethan. He's a true descendant of Athena. If you have any questions at all about Sky High or any of its campers, he's the one to ask."

The four of them would have continued talking however a bright light came zooming over their heads. The light was so bright that all of the teenagers except for Zack had to squint their eyes. Just as suddenly as the light had appeared, it disappeared, leaving in its wake a fit older woman. She had brown hair and was dressed in a white pantsuit.

"Who is that?" Will whispered to Layla, but it was Ethan that answered him.

"That's Ms. Powers. She runs the camp. She's descended from Hesperus."

"Hesperus? Who's that?" Layla asked. Will was glad that she asked. He already felt out of place. His parents had both gone to Camp Sky High when they were his age, and yet, Will felt like he knew less than the kids who had never heard of the camp.

"You might know Hesperus better as the evening star." Ethan quieted down when someone in the crowd hushed him.

"Welcome back campers," Ms. Powers was saying, "To another great year at Camp Sky High. Just a reminder: All swordplay is to take place only in the arena under the close supervision of Coach Boomer. Do I make myself clear?"

At this, Ms. Powers turned her head and seemed to glare at two teenage boys who looked to be slightly older than Will. One was on the slightly chubby side while the other one was whip thin with greasy black hair. They grinned nastily at each other and seemed unrepentant.

Behind the two boys was a teenage girl with long, straight brown hair held back from her face with bubblegum pink headband. She shot Will a sugary sweet smile and smoothed her matching skirt. Will was so struck that he almost missed Ms. Powers next sentence.

"All new campers will report to the arena for house placements."

Coach Boomer turned out to be a short, stocky man with an exceedingly loud voice used to being heard over the sounds of a battlefield. Being the distant son of Ares, he saw no problem dropping chimeras on top of each student to test their "hero quality" and to see which powers were manifested.

For the most part, each teen was able to fight the monster, some with more ease than others. One demigod managed to shock even Coach Boomer when she turned into a purple guinea pig. The daughter of Artemis was quickly recognized from her mastery of animals and was placed into her perspective house. Even Ethan and Zack were able to disperse the monster with a fair amount of ease; the first with brains, the latter by blinding the three chimeras heads before they could scorch him with fire.

Then there was Layla.

"I refuse to use my powers on a poor animal in support of a flawed system."

Will looked at the "poor animal." The lion's head was snarling and long, glistening strands of drool dripped from its maw. The horned head of the goat shook back and forth and its eyes glared pure evil. The tail, which was the snake's head, whipped back and forth. A faint rattling noise was heard from no discernible source. Venom collected at the curved tips of its fangs. It wanted to be released to go after anything slow enough to be prey.

Coach Boomer scowled. "A pacifist. A hippie. You will never be a hero. If you won't show your powers, then you will be put in Hermes' cabin. The cabin for the misfits and losers that nobody wants to claim. I'll show you how a real hero acts. Stronghold! You're up! He has two bloodlines flowing in him."

Will gulped nervously and jogged up to the coach's side.

"Um, Coach," he said as quietly as he could. "I don't have my powers yet-"

"What! No powers!" Coach Boomer lived up to his name. "The rules are quite clear: Hermes Cabin!"

It turned out the chubby teen that Will had spotted at Ms. Power's introduction speech was the head of the House of Hermes. Somebody called him Speed, but Will wasn't certain if that was his actual name or a nickname. Speed's best friend, the greasy teen, was named Lash. His limbs seemed to flow and stretch. It was quite fitting seeing as he was a descendant of one of the river gods, Proteus, who was known for change.

"Look at all the losers. Even their parents won't claim them." Lash sneered at them.

"You might be in my cabin, but don't think for a second that you're welcome," said Speed. "I don't know why my cabin has to get all the social rejects."

Will sent a dismayed look at Layla. She returned it. This was going to be a long summer. Ethan and Zack spared the two of them a sympathetic backward glance before heading off to their own cabins, glad that they would not be stuck with Speed.

Out of the newcomers, Will and Layla were the only ones who hadn't demonstrated a power at placement. Will had the vague thought that Layla only threw her placement so that Will wouldn't be alone. He dismissed that thought when he thought of Layla's bullheaded personality and her rants against 'the system.' She truly was offended at the thought of being separated into groups based on powers, especially if it hurt any living thing.

Speed led them to a cabin that reminded Will of a hotel. It was someplace that he would be glad to see after a long day of traveling. It was saturated with a feeling of welcoming. That is, until Speed pushed Will into a cramped, dark room. It looked like it was converted from a closet.

"You will sleep here. Stay out of the way of the true descendants. Don't cross my path"

Layla was shoved into the room adjacent to his.

The next morning didn't go any better. It started off with breakfast that the campers were required to eat with their house. Layla, of course tried to complain to Counselor Boy.

"Mister Boy, segregating the campers only encourages an 'us against them' mentality and breeds distrust of other heroes and houses that is counterproductive to-"

"Hippie," Coach Boomer interrupted loudly, "I should have known that you were a whiner-baby. Now sit down, shut your mouth, and eat!"

Layla returned to the Hermes' table, dejected.

"Great," sneered Speed. "Now Coach will be out to make our lives miserable in the arena. Why couldn't you keep your stupid, pacifist ideas to yourself?"

He and the rest of the cabin left, leaving behind to two social outcasts.

"Thanks for trying, Layla," said Will.

"I don't see why they insist on dividing the cabins like they do. Working in diverse groups would make is so that we could cover a variety of threats. Just think of your parents, Will. Their strengths make up for each other's weaknesses."

Layla was winding up for another impassioned rant. Will tuned it out. It was all points that he had heard before. It wasn't to say that Layla didn't have some good ideas, but nobody who could change anything would listen to two kids that were stuck in Hermes' cabin because the wouldn't or couldn't demonstrate any power.

While Will was thinking this, he started to get an itching feeling in his shoulder blades. It felt like someone was glaring at his back. One learned not to ignore those feelings, or a hero tended to have a short life span.

"Layla," Will hissed, cutting off her rant. "Is there someone behind me looking at me?"

Layla looked behind Will and quickly brought her gaze back to Will's face.

"Nope, nobody is looking about you." She laughed unconvincingly. "You are so paranoid."

Not believing her, Will turned around and turned back even quicker. Sitting directly behind him on a gray, weather beaten table was a boy who looked to be about a year or two older. He was wearing a black t-shirt with a red undershirt peeking out from underneath. Overtop that was a worn leather jacket. His longer hair fell like a curtain around his face. The only thing breaking up the dark hair was some red streaks. From underneath his hair, his dark eyes glinted hate directed solely at Will.

"You are such a bad liar, Layla. Why is he staring at me? Do you know him? Do I know him?"

Ethan and Zack were walking past their table with their trays full of food and couldn't help but overhear. Glancing around to make sure none of the counselors nor other campers from the Hermes table were paying attention, they subtly slid onto the bench bracketing Will and Layla on either side.

"Dude," hissed Zack. "That's Warren Peace. How have you never heard of him?"

"Should I have?" Will asked quizzically. "He's not some famous villain is he? They wouldn't have let him into the camp if that was the case. Right?" He added the last sentence a little hesitantly. Admittedly, from what he'd seen, the adults here didn't seem too concerned about the campers safety.

"He might as well be a villain," Ethan spoke with authority. "His father is Prometheus. He stole from the gods. Zeus punished the titan by chaining him to a rock for all eternity. Legend goes that he escaped recently with the help of Warren's mother. He swore revenge on all of the gods and their descendants. Your father took it upon himself to restore Zeus' punishment. After a long battle, they finally chained him back up to the mountain."

"Man-" Zack interrupted, "You left out the best part about the eagle-"

"Anyways," Ethan continued "That left Warren's mom alone and raising him. He hates all of us, especially any descendants of Zeus."

"Why would they let him into Camp Sky High then?" asked Will.

"Do you not pay any attention to our history?" Layla asked. "Even I know this. Zeus' own father was a titan. So Warren being the son of a titan and a human makes him a demigod just like us."

Will was contemplating this when Counselor Boy say Ethan and Zack sitting at the wrong table. He shooed them away to their own tables, looking about as serious as a dazed duckling.

"It's okay Will." Layla placed a comforting hand upon his wrist. "Just leave him alone and I'm sure he'll leave you alone."

That advice- well meaning as it was given- would soon prove inaccurate.

A/N: This fic has been sitting in my folder for literal years. I finally made the decision that I would never finish it the way I had hoped, but I was at a half-way decent stopping point. If anyone feels inspired, please feel free to take the idea and run. I hoped you enjoyed it.