Hey everybody!

So, this fanfic idea came to me almost imediately after I watched Sky High in theaters all those long years ago. I didn't get to write it out until now for various reasons that I no longer remember, but here it is! I always felt that Sky High was too innocent of a hero film. The villainy didn't satisfy the need an antagonist is supposed to have, so I made up my own! :D And thus, Identity Ten came to be. Please enjoy.

RueLin

One

It's been two and a half dreary years since the incident everyone at Sky High is calling "Royal Pain in the Ass." Everybody in the student body has returned to their own routines: The sidekicks hung out with sidekicks and heroes hung out with heroes. All except, well, eccentric Will Stronghold that still stuck with his girlfriend and sidekick friends, and Warren Peace who eventually went back to his life as the lone wolf.

It was the middle of third period when the Principle, Ms. Powers, stepped into the room of sidekicks taught by the teacher, Mr. Boy Everybody froze in their seats looking upon whatever kind of impending doom is to befall them.

She held a steady gaze on all their students as if she could see their through skulls. Even Mr. Boy had stopped in the middle of his sentence and stood stiffly at the front waiting for her to say something, anything.

"Everyone," she started in a casual tone, though no one dared to relax. "I have a new student with me. She just transferred here today. Please welcome Miss Alaura Decem."

A thin girl entered the room silently, like a ghost, her small feet didn't make a sound on the ground. She looked like a perfectly average girl. By looks she possessed the girl-next-door look, not drop-dead gorgeous, but one couldn't say plain either. Her long chestnut colored hair fell lazily down to the middle of her back, silky like a foal's coat. Her long lashes casted dark shadows on her blushing cheeks and contrasted neatly with her porcelain skin.

She walked in and didn't look a bit nervous standing next to the strict woman with a demeaning presence. She held a special aura herself that no one in the room was able to quite describe. Principle Powers instructed her to introduce herself.

"Hello," she said with a smile and voice sweeter than sugar. "I am Alaura Decem. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Um, hi, Alaura," Mr. Boy stuttered nervously. "Welcome to Sky High. If you would please take a seat…." He looked around the classroom for an empty chair. "Please sit there, he pointed and looked back at her and noticed something very peculiar. "Uh, Alaura? Is something wrong with your eyes? Can you open them for me?"

"Miss Decem is blind, Mr. Bow," Principle Powers announced loudly for the entire to class to hear.

Mr. Boy's eyes grew large and his mouth formed an "O." "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine." Alaura lifted an elegant hand, relaxing her new teacher with a gentle tone. "Where shall I sit?"

"Right." Mr. Boy straighted himself up and got his brain back in his head. "You can sit right there, behind Michael. Mike raise your hand," he ordered, but then took it back right away. "I'm sorry, I"ll guide you there."

"Don't worry," Alaura said as she turned her head in an interesting angle, as if she looked a little past him. "I can make it to my seat."

"What?" Mr. Boy and the rest of the class muttered. They watched with wide eyes as the blind girl effortlessly navigated her way around clusters of desks, backpacks, and stray legs until she got to the plastic blue chair behind Mike.

"My power is echolocation," she explained. "I'm able to map out my surroundings down to the smallest detail in my head within a seventy meter radius."

"Oh," Mr. Boy and the class muttered.

"Well, then," Principle Powers said, smoothing out her blazer. "I believe you'll have everything under control, Mr. Boy. Continue."

As soon as she left the classroom and the door was closed everyone let out a great sigh of relief.

"Well, I thought she'd never leave!"

Lunchtime came quickly and Alaura walked down the halls to the library to get the textbooks for her classes. With surprising efficiency, she made her way to her locker and flawlessly unlocked the combination padlock. She organized her books neatly by class.

As she headed down the busy hall littered with students at every corner, she turned more than just a couple heads with her closed eyes.

In the cafeteria, the lunch lady was especially nice to her, since she seemed to be impaired, and offered her more food. At the end of the line, Alaura stood still to the side as she surveyed the entire room. Most of the tables were full and some nearly over-packed with friends sitting on the benches and tabletops. It was all very unnerving for Alaura to even think of sharing a space in such a crowd.

Finally, she found one, a table which was occupied by only one. Swiftly, she walked through the maze of tables towards her target.

Warren Peace looked up, disturbed from his nap. Someone had invaded his privacy and that put him instantly on the edge. He glared at the new girl as if she were his mortal nemesis. Alaura ignored him and simply set her tray down on the opposite end of the table facing him.

With her eyes closed, she smiled invitingly. He found her tranquility exasperatingly irksome. No one's ever remained so calm when he glared at them.

"Hello."

She sat down and began to quietly munch on her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She sat with her back straight and her legs were crossed at the ankles.

He waited for her to start explaining why she decided to sit at that very spot, disturbing his lonesome peace, when there were a million other places she could have gone to. Or at least, he thought, she can open her darn eyes and get a clue!

"Why are you angry?" she asked. Her voice sounded so clear to him even though she didn't look like she was trying to talk over all the noise in the cafeteria.

Warren's mouth dropped a little. He was sure she hadn't opened her eyes yet, since he kept his gaze trained on her face. The ranting in his head stopped and he became curious. He shook his head a little. This was not to time to become a curious cat. He wanted to get rid of her.

"This is my table," he answered, point down at the plastic table. "And only I sit here," he said dangerously and bared his teeth at her like a wolf.

"I'm sorry for intruding." Even through his rage, he could sense her sincerity. "But there aren't any other seats around. Please bear with me."

"Well, I don't care." He could hear the scowl and snarl in his words. "People annoy me."

"I promise I'll be quite. I'll be so silent you won't even notice me here at all." Her face was confident and composed and he nagged at him like a paper cut would.

He continued to leer, but when he was sure she wasn't changing her mind he pushed off the table and leaned back with his hands crossed in front of his chest.

"Fine. Whatever."

"Thank you," she said politely, even though he clearly didn't deserve her patience.

He turned and propped his leg up on the bench and avoided any kind of eye contact with her. He looked around the room at something to distract himself with, but couldn't find anything to look at or even think about. He breathed out a heavy sigh and turned back to face his unwanted guest.

At first he just watched her each. She was true to her word and didn't make an audible sound as she chewed rhythmically. He analyzed her face. She was pretty, but not nearly his type with her delicate features. She looked like an old portrait painted in oil paints or acrylics. There was a surreal feel all around her as if she didn't belong on that room with rowdy teenagers.

A princess, that's what she reminded him of, sweet, fine, and delicate, as if nothing in this world could taint her purity. It made him feel almost like a villain sitting next to her, their differences were just too great. But perhaps it was because of that great gap that made him even more curious about her, who she was and why she was here.

"Why do you keep your eyes closed?" he asked before he thought, unable to contain himself.

She looked up, or seemed to look up by tilting her head in his direction, from her food and smiled at his cooperative attitude to start a conversation.

"I'm blind."

"Oh," Warren muttered quietly, feeling guilty for acting the way he did. He was on the blacklist for being a violent lone wolf, but he was capable of sympathy and compassion beyond what most people expected from him. And he figured that was the reason he was slow to show that part of him and quick to rear up in fire. They judged him by his appearance before ever getting to know him.

"How can you see?" he continued as he thumbed the hem of his backpack he used as a pillow previously.

"Oh, I can't see," she laughed. "My power is echolocation. It's technically acoustic location, but no one really knows the difference anyways."

He leaned in as his interest peaked."Then can you read also?"

"It's hard, but I can manage. Ink on page sometimes is too shallow to decipher."

"You can't see color?"

"No, I can't."

He nodded, it made sense. "Can you see things behind you?"

"Yes. I can see everything in a seventy meter radius."

He rubbed his chin and decided to tease her a bit. "How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked, sticking his hand right before her face.

"Four," she answered, not bothered by his stupid question.

"Now how many?" He lifted another.

"Five."

"Okay. And now?" He pulled his thumb towards the center of his hand,"

"Six."

"Nope, you're wrong. I'm holding up four again."

She smiled at his eminent defeat. "You're hiding two under the table."

Warren chuckled, a deep rumbled from his chest and she harmonized with her soft giggle.

The bell rang for class signaling the start of the next class. Students got out of their seats and parted ways with their friends. Alaura collected the trash around her, even if she wasn't the one that produced it, and gathered it on her tray, prepared to leave.

"See you tomorrow then," Warren said casually as his swung his backpack behind him and got up.

"Sure." She smiled at the invitation and held out her hand. "I'm Alaura."

"Warren," he introduced as he wrapped his large gloved hand around hers.

"Well, Warren, it's very nice to meet you." She flashed another smile that showed a hint of white teeth.

He dropped his hand and stuck it in the pocket of his jeans. "Sure."

Alaura picked up her tray and walked past him, tossing the trash in the bin. Warren took a few steps in the other direction towards his next class. He couldn't help looking back to watch Alaura leave with her back straight and her honey brown hair gliding behind her. She was the strangest girl he had ever seen, as annoying as she was interesting. Warren wondered what this curious pull toward her was.