A/N Hi everybody! To those of you who are wondering, no I'm not halting progress on "Only A Celebrity Would Name Their Kid Renesmee," I just had a new idea which I couldn't get out of my head no matter how I tried…. So here it is. It's kind of a crossover between Sky High and Twilight. I only saw one Crossover like that, so I decided that it was absolutely essential I try my hand at it.

Disclaimer: This story is based off the writings of Stephenie Meyer in Twilight and the Disney movie "Sky High". I own neither of them, I only wish I did.

Chapter 1: The Sorting

I walked to the end of my driveway with my eyes glued to the cracked pavement below me. I reached the small patch of grass surrounding my generic white mail box and adjusted the shoulder strap on my backpack so that it rested on my right side rather than my left. The letter from Principal Powers instructed that I stand in this exact location at precisely 7 a.m. to await the school bus which ferried all freshmen to school. It was my first day of high school, and I was insufferably nervous.

I checked my watch—it was 6:52 a.m. I made a habit of being early; it was something I had learned from my father, the marvelously judicious and ever timely man responsible for the majority of my upbringing. My father, Charlie Swan had left for the station over an hour ago—but not before I made him his favorite breakfast, French toast and maple sausage. He was a Sheriff's Deputy here in the crime ridden city of New York, and the special breakfast was not my first attempt to alleviate some of the stress he was surely feeling today on my first day at a new school.

Charlie was a worrier, but I supposed he had good reason to be. As one of New York's finest, he knew all too well the dangers of this city, but on top of that, he had never even heard of, much less visited, my new high school before last year. It was by no means a typical high school; it was a school attended by those with invitation only. More or less, you could say it was a school for the gifted, and I most certainly—for better or worse—was gifted.

Just as the letter from Principal Powers dictated, the biodiesel fueled yellow bus screeched to a halt three feet in front of me, and the door squeaked open. I looked up timidly then began my ascent up the treacherously tall steps of what I considered an all-too-innocent looking school bus. My nerves were alleviated at least marginally when a wide, jolly looking man stood and welcomed me onto the bus—quite unlike any bus driver I had encountered previously.

"Ron Wilson, Bus Driver," he announced proudly as he held his hand out for me to shake.

I carefully placed my hand in his, wary of his potential reaction to my skin. It was a few degrees colder than that of the average human and therefore embarrassingly noticeable to anyone shaking my hands. According to Principal Powers, I wouldn't have to worry about any sort of exposure at my new school because I would find myself surrounded by similarly gifted peers. I only hoped that her promise extended to my bus ride and the bus driver as well.

"Bella Swan," I said softly as I looked up to meet his eyes. He didn't flinch the way a normal person would in response to my low body temperature. Instead he grinned at me.

"Cool hands," he stated, it sounded like a compliment. "What's your power?" he asked. I supposed I would have to get used to questions like that at this new school.

I decided a demonstration would be most effective. I let my eyes fall into focus on his yellow baseball hat and focused the energy in my body into a swirling feeling. Ironically it made me feel quite warm as I coated his hat in a layer of thick ice. "I freeze things, I guess," I said simply.

He took his hat off and slid his hand across the rim appreciatively. "Neat," he smirked. "Just a few more stops and we'll be off to school," he informed me. At that moment, I finally noticed the other occupants of the bus. It was a little more than half full and several of the students were watching me curiously.

I caught sight of one girl with short spiky hair, styled into an inky black halo around her head. She was smiling at me warmly from a seat toward the back of the bus. The seat beside her was unoccupied so I decided to make my approach.

"Is this seat taken?" I asked softly. Her smile grew as she shook her head. I slid into the seat and offered her the friendliest smile I could muster.

"I'm Alice Cullen," she said sweetly and she too held out her hand to me. Just like with Ron Wilson, the bus driver, I placed my hand in hers and was once again relieved by the non-reaction. "It's nice to meet you Bella," she continued in a pleasant, melodic voice. "So is that really all you do, freeze things?" she asked as the bus jolted forward and my small home and familiar mailbox disappeared from sight.

"Well," I paused, trying to think of a way to explain my power exactly. "I suppose it's more to do with the temperature of an object, or even just the air. I can lower the temperature of any person, place, or thing until it's frozen, or I can create a pretty great ice sculpture," I said with a wry smile.

Alice took a moment to smooth out her lacey white and obviously designer skirt—she seemed to be lost in thought. Her pensive smile was genuine and sweet and I easily decided that I liked her as a person. I was surprised by my own quick conclusion about her character. The truth was, I tended to struggle when it came to making friends, particularly with people my own age, so I was quite relieved to have met somebody like her, and so soon nonetheless. Maybe high school wouldn't be so bad after all. "That's actually pretty amazing," she said with another bright and amiable expression. "So you can just make an ice sculpture out of thin air?" she verified.

Demonstrations were always best for these types of questions, so I quickly conjured up a perfectly sculpted ice rose and handed it to her. Her already broad smile grew broader still. "It's beautiful," she whispered reverently. "Roses are my foster mother, Esme's favorite," she explained.

I let the new information sink in for a few seconds before speaking again. "Foster mother?" I asked, hesitantly. I didn't want her to think I was prying or anything, but I felt like we might have the potential to be friends, so why not learn as much as I could about her?

"Yep," she said happily, "I don't actually remember my real parents," she explained rapidly when she saw the sympathetic look which had most likely transformed my face—without my permission. I was usually on the receiving end of such looks, side effect of growing up without a mother, but they generally just infuriated me so I worked to transform my features into one of complacency, rather than sympathy. "When they died, I was just a baby, too young to remember anything or understand what was happening. My foster parents, Esme and Carlisle adopted me several years ago. They're wonderful parents and I love them very much." Her voice grew soft and loving when she spoke of her new parents, and I looked at her with new eyes—what an amazing person—I was shocked at my good fortune to have actually befriended her.

When I didn't say anything, Alice continued on with her story. "Neither Carlisle nor Esme have any sort of super powers, but Esme is a social worker who helps the school track down gifted students. She couldn't have children of her own, so she adopted first Edward, then me because we were both 'gifted' children who lost our parents."

I again remained silent as I took a moment to absorb all this new information. So Esme must have been the person who found me and submitted my name to the school for an invitation. I couldn't remember ever meeting a woman named Esme, but perhaps she had tracked me down nonetheless. I was immediately thankful to this woman for finding me, and allowing me to be amongst people who would be able to befriend me without secrets.

After a few seconds of silence I decided to change the subject, to something lighter, "So what's your power?" I asked innocently.

She looked up at me with two striking green eyes; they reminded me of an evergreen tree and they matched her cashmere cardigan perfectly. "I guess you could say I control plants—," her eyes quickly flitted around the bus, "I don't think I can give you a demonstration though because there aren't really any plants around, but I'll show you once we get to school," she promised and I felt my face turn up into a smile. I had never had such an easy conversation with a near complete stranger before, it was definitely a foreign feeling for me, but I liked it.

After a few more minutes of marvelously effortless conversation with Alice, the bus stopped once again and Ron Wilson gave his ever-cheery introduction to the latest newcomer. He was a huge, and I mean enormously huge, too big for the football team, boy with curly brown hair, matching eyes and a round face. His backpack looked comically miniscule on his back and the boyish grin which turned his features at the sight of Alice, alerted me to the fact that they must already be friends.

"Hey short stuff," he greeted her with a sly smirk as he seated himself in the empty row ahead of us. After completing my compulsory observation of the near giant, I turned back to Alice, I hadn't actually noticed her height deficit previously since we were both sitting. Her heel clad feet barely reached the floor of the bus. She was unquestionably petite.

"Hey Em," she greeted with excitement, "This is Bella, she can freeze things!"

I felt my face redden slightly from embarrassment at the casual mention of my powers, however I ignored it as best I could. I boldly trained my eyes on the wide round face of this boy known as "Em". I was surprised to find that the otherwise scary looking boy in front of us had some of the softest brown eyes I had ever seen. "It's nice to meet you," I said formally, I was further surprised to discover that I wasn't even lying—I was nothing less than thrilled to meet people more like myself. I couldn't get used to this new feeling—like I actually belonged.

"Nice to meet you too Bella," he grinned, "I'm Emmett McCarty, and all I can do is lift really heavy things," he grinned sarcastically.

"Super strength?" I asked with a tone which failed to hide my amazement.

He laughed outright. "Yep, I've never met something I couldn't pick up," he explained with childish glee. Though I typically loathed and display of pompousness, I found Emmett's teasing self-assuredness almost endearing rather than annoying.

"Where's Rose?" asked Alice as the bus continued to speed through streets I didn't recognize and stop sporadically to admit somebody new onto the now crowded bus.

"Oh she's got her own means of transportation," Emmett said nonchalantly.

"I thought all freshmen had to ride the bus?" I questioned.

"Ha, Rose wouldn't be caught dead in any sort of public transit," Emmett smiled fondly. I noted that if he and Rose weren't dating already, then he at the very least must have a crush on her.

Alice laughed heartily at his statement, and I realized I was missing something, "Oh yes she would if she couldn't fly," she remarked.

"Wait, she can fly?" I asked, flabbergasted. Now, that was a pretty awesome power, if I might say so myself.

"And she's beautiful," commented Emmett. Yep, he was definitely enamored.

As the bus came to a halt one last time, Ron Wilson stood up and turned to face us with a look of sheer excitement evident on his broad face. "Alright, boys and girls, as you all know my name is Ron Wilson, bus driver," he said jubilantly, "The next stop is Sky High!" he shouted as he returned to his seat.

He expertly pressed a few buttons and twisted a large knob and suddenly restraints popped out of the seats and fastened us in place. My heart began racing, and I looked to Alice who seemed equally frightened.

"What's going on?" I managed to squeak out between heavy breaths.

Before she could answer, Ron Wilson was yelling again, "Hang on everybody! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!" Unfortunately though, now that I was strapped into a seat with a foreboding feeling similar to that which I felt before I rode that rollercoaster last year at Six Flags Amusement Park, Ron Wilson's exuberance had ceased to be comical. Now it was just plain terrifying.

The bus zoomed forward faster than we had been travelling before. We raced down a seemingly abandoned road which slanted up dangerously. "Alice!" I called with unbridled horror filling my voice, "What's…Going…On?" I tried again between bumps and heavy breaths, but she just shook her head.

Emmett was laughing maniacally, and that was more frightening still. "Bella, Alice, look up there!" he pointed to the front of the bus, where a large road sign which read "Danger! Road Ends," blocked the path a few hundred meters ahead of us.

"Holy Crow!" I yelled, "We're gonna crash!" Alice had covered her eyes.

"Relax Bella!" Emmett called as we closed in on the sign. "The bus flies!" he explained.

I didn't feel the least bit relieved by the newest bit of information. In fact, terror like I had never felt before paralyzed me in my seat. The road sign bent automatically to our approach and we drove over it and off the edge of the roadway in one blazed motion. I screamed again and so did Alice. And suddenly we were flying.

The clouds in the sky seemed to grow larger and larger until my mind identified the fact that we were actually just getting closer to them. And in yet another surprise for the day, I realized that rather than fearful or even nauseous, now I simply felt exhilarated. I stared out the windows of the bus in awe as we passed a flock of geese. I gently touched Alice's hands which were pressed firmly to her eyes and she cautiously let them drop to her lap. "We're flying," I whispered.

She didn't look the least bit happy about that. "I hate flying," she stated resolutely. The bus ride through the clouds was remarkably smooth, in my opinion. It was a bit like riding in an airplane except it felt like we were moving faster since we were a little closer to the ground.

I noticed that the ice sculpture rose I had created for her had melted into her seat, so I searched my mind for another way to calm her. "But look outside," I suggested, as I easily transformed some of the cloud materials outside the bus into enormous snowflakes. They seemed to be flying past us as I continued to conjure beautiful giant snowflakes for her amusement.

To my relief she actually smiled. "Thanks Bella," she sighed, seemingly glad for the distraction.

"Woah!" Emmett exclaimed, "That's a cool trick! You'll be classified as a hero for sure!" he said excitedly.

Once again I felt confusion color my expression. "Excuse me?" I asked as the bus crashed to a stop on an island which was just floating in the sky. The collection of stark white buildings, tar black parking lots, grassy fields, and commotion of teenagers was undoubtedly a school. So this was Sky High, no doubt named for its location in the sky. It was more amazing than I had imagined.

"Sorry everybody!" shouted Ron Wilson from the front of the bus in apology for the rough landing. He then opened the doors and pressed a button which unfastened our safety harnesses.

"Glad that's over with," Alice said with obvious relief as we gathered our belongings and marched off the bus. Even with her heels, I still had a good two or three inches on Alice in the height department. She was tiny.

"So what were you saying before about being classified as a super hero?" I asked as Emmett, Alice, and I followed the other students toward the largest building. There were lots of students congregated in the grassy area between the pavement for the buses and the school. I watched with a slightly parted mouth as the teenagers each displayed various super powers which would probably frighten any normal human. There was a boy with braces bending metal with his mind and a girl on the other side of my peripheral vision just quadrupled her size so that now she was taller than the school. The clatter of voices and activity helped ease my nerves.

Alice's face grew confused now in response to my question. "You do know that Sky High is a school for super heroes?" she seemed worried.

"Well, yes, Principal Powers explained as much," to me at least, I added in my head. I had decided my father didn't need that kind of stress, so I had refrained from sharing the fact that I would be attending a school which sought to teach us how to fight "bad guys" with our super powers. What my father did know, was that I would be among similarly "gifted" people, and I wouldn't have to worry about hiding my "gift" while I received an education. That was more than enough for his ever-worrying self to handle.

"And everybody is classified as either a hero or a sidekick based on their power," Emmett explained further. I stopped short. Now that information was new. Alice and Emmett had been walking on either side of me, and they halted as well and each turned to face me with concern painted on their faces—well, more humor than concern in Emmett's expression, but there was still at least a hint of concern. I felt my body temperature drop and a patch of ice begin to form beneath me as my nervousness returned in full force.

"You mean they judge us by our powers?" I squeaked out.

Alice nodded morosely, "It's really a stupid hierarchical system designed to separate us and make some people feel superior to others. I personally don't believe in it."

I was too stunned to say anything. I didn't like the idea of being told that my power was any less useful or super than somebody else's. I hadn't noticed that we had begun moving again until I ran straight into Emmett's back. He laughed. "Walk much Bella?" I flushed, embarrassed by my clumsiness.

I didn't have a chance to apologize before I became aware of a blur of color swirling in a circle around the group of freshmen which had just exited the bus—myself included. Once we were herded into a tight circle, two unfriendly looking boys stood before us with haughty expressions on their faces.

"Hello freshmeat," greeted the darker of the two boys, dressed in a long sleeved striped shirt. As we watched, the striped sleeve on his arm extended longer and longer until his hand was fifteen feet from his body, nearly touching one of the smaller freshmen near the front of the group. I supposed that the combination of his small stature and the bright yellow visor he wore tilted to the side on his head had brought unwanted attention to himself, making him a target. I felt sorry for him.

"We're the welcoming committee," explained the stretchable bully casually. I detected the slightest hint of French accent in his voice, "Now we'll be happy to collect that fifteen dollar bus fee," he explained with overly false charm as his hand tapped the side of the small, visor wearing freshmen boy.

The other member of the self proclaimed "welcoming committee" had blonde hair and brown, calculating eyes. The color of his clothes matched the shades of swirling which had been surrounding us, herding us. Apparently he had some sort of super speed. His eyes scanned over the crowd of freshmen quickly and he flitted over to stand before Alice, Emmett, and me in a motion far too fast for my eyes to comprehend.

Emmett looked displeased with the display which the two boys were putting on and he crossed his arms impatiently.

"Well hello there beautiful," said the speed demon, staring at me with a glint of approval in his cruel, scheming eyes, "I suppose I could waive the bus fee for you, if you'd join me for a date after school," he said smoothly. I quickly looked behind me to make sure he was actually talking to me.

"Um," I said, bewildered. Everything about the boy seemed distasteful to me from his overly-evident cockiness to his sadistic enjoyment of tormenting freshmen.

Unfortunately, he seemed to take my incoherency as a sign of coyness, so he reached his hand over to grab mine. There was no way I was alright with that. "Freeze!" I yelled. I hadn't actually intended to physically freeze him, but sometimes my self-preservation reactions operated without my approval.

Emmett laughed, "Nice Bella." He poked the newest ice sculpture decorating the lawn of the school with amusement. "He's really stuck there, isn't he?"

"Until he thaws," I agreed.

A new voice, disrupted us once again, and I looked up to see a fiery red headed girl standing before the group now. "Laurent," she admonished the dark boy with the stretchy arms, "Play nice," she teased. She turned to face the freshmen now. "Hello everybody and welcome to Sky High, my name is Victoria, and I'm the student body president. Please excuse these two clowns, Laurent and James," she motioned first to the gangly boy then the statue of the blonde one. One of her perfectly manicured eyebrows lifted when she saw that he was now covered in ice, but she didn't mention it. "Now, if you'll all follow me please, I'll take you to the gymnasium so you can be sorted properly."

Emmett smirked at me one more time and we followed Victoria into a large room with shiny wooden floors and muted beige walls. I recognized the shoulder length brown hair and sharp eyes of Principal Powers standing behind a podium on a large rectangular stage in the center of the gym. She was clearly past her prime, but her statuesque frame was clad in a black business suit which simply screamed, "Do NOT mess with me". No doubt she had been quite the super hero several years ago. A heavy set man in white gym shorts, a red baseball cap, and long white socks stood beside her holding a shiny silver whistle which he wore on a lanyard around his neck.

"Good morning students, and welcome to Sky High!" Principal Powers said proudly. "In case some of you are unaware, my name is Principal Powers, and it is my pleasure to introduce you to Coach Boomer," she motioned to the man beside her and he nodded curtly. "He will be sorting you into your appropriate classes in a few minutes. For the sorting to take place, you each will demonstrate your power to Coach Boomer and he will decide your placement. I hope that you all have a wonderful day and a most enriching experience here at Sky High." She nodded once to Victoria, before promptly exploding into a bright white comet which crashed out of the room leaving all of the freshmen quite stunned.

"Cool!" Emmett whispered. "I wonder what she could do with—," he cut off abruptly as a beautiful blonde girl with crystal blue eyes sauntered over to us and came to a stop just beside Emmett. She was quite literally the most beautiful person I had ever seen. I quickly contemplated the probability that she had physically just walked out of some fashion magazine—after all the super powers that I had seen today, there was a distinct possibility. Her tan skin was accented stunningly with a tight fitting white dress and high healed sand-colored sandals which wrapped around her legs and seemed to elongate them for miles. I felt my self esteem shrink by just being in her presence. "Rose, you made it!" Emmett exclaimed once he had regained his composure. His excited, puppy dog face was comical, I had to laugh.

"Of course I did," Rose agreed with extreme confidence. When she looked at me though, she had humor in her eyes as well. "I'm Rose, and you are?" she asked pointedly. There was no doubt, she was well aware of her beauty, and it made her fierce.

I coughed, "Bella," I held out my hand and she placed hers in mine daintily, "Bella Swan," I said further, and she smiled a blindingly bright smile.

"Rosalie Hale, pleasure," she said briskly as she turned to face the front where Coach Boomer was now speaking.

"As some of you may not already know, I'm Coach Boomer, aka Sonic Boom!" he yelled that last part so loud that the windows shook and my eardrums felt faint. I supposed that was why he was called "Sonic Boom".

"For your sorting," he continued gruffly, "Each of you will individually step up here on the stage and demonstrate your powers with whichever tests that I deem appropriate. Now because a lot of you are whiners and won't appreciate the sorting I give you, you should all know one thing: my word is final!" Once again, his loud boom of a voice shook the entire gym as he yelled the word "final". "If you don't like being a side kick, that's tough, because you are what you are and nothing more. Now, on with the sorting!"

He motioned for a girl with magenta hair to approach the stage. "Name?" he questioned.

"Angela Weber," she said shortly.

"What's your power?" he demanded.

"I'm a shape shifter," Angela explained with little patience.

"Well show me!" Coach Boomer yelled with even less patience.

Before our eyes, the magenta haired girl morphed into a guinea pig. Emmett covered his mouth to stifle a laugh.

"That's it?" yelled Boomer.

Angela quickly morphed back and crossed her arms, waiting for the judgment.

"Sidekick!" he screamed and she stormed off stage, her foul mood seemingly unfazed. So maybe she knew she'd be just a side kick all along. Alice was shaking her head in disapproval beside me.

"You next!" Coach Boomer yelled at a blonde haired boy standing near the stage.

"Mike Newton, sir," said the boy nervously. His features were cute, but rather babyish.

"What's your power?" Boomer demanded.

Without speaking, Mike transformed into a giant rock-like creature. Boomer seemed enthusiastic. "Car!" he yelled and less than a second later a car fell from the ceiling. The rock-like creature known as Mike caught it then threw it across the gym.

"Neat," commented Emmett appreciatively, "But at least I don't have to turn into a giant rock to do that," he smirked at Rose as he slipped his arm around her shoulder. She didn't shrug him off so I assumed that they must be dating after all.

"You next!" Boomer pointed at the small dark haired boy whom stretchy Laurent had targeted for his bullying earlier. In the muted light of the gym, I noticed that his hair actually had a bright yellow streak down the middle which complimented his—unique—highlighter yellow clothing, "What's your name?"

"Ben Cheney, man," he said confidently as he adjusted the visor he was wearing so it tilted at an even more severe angle.

"Power?" Boomer demanded once again.

Ben focused for a minute, "Kay, there it is!" he proclaimed.

"What?" Boomer seemed less than thrilled.

"I glow!" Ben explained, "It's easier to see if you turn the lights off. Or I suppose you could just cup your hands around me or something."

Boomer definitely wasn't impressed. "Sidekick!" he screamed as Ben's mouth fell open.

"But, I glow!" Ben argued.

The sorting continued for another hour and a half while we stood huddled in the gym around the stage. I was awed by the number and diversity of gifts among us. When Boomer dismissed us for lunch, we walked as a large group into the cafeteria before finally splitting up to sit with our newest acquaintances. I was glad to see that some of those sorted as heroes still sat with the ones sorted as sidekicks. Rose, Emmett, Alice, and I sat at a table near the front after picking up our food—which actually looked pretty good. I had a grilled chicken sandwich, while Rose and Alice each got salads, and Emmett had pizza.

"I still can't believe that the administrators at this school have the nerve to tell us that some people's gifts are any better than others," scoffed Alice about halfway through lunch. She had been scowling throughout the sorting process, and I already missed the smile I had grown accustomed to from our first few minutes of meeting on the bus.

"Don't worry Alice," Emmett laughed, "We'll all be classified as heroes, no doubt. Even you short stuff. I've seen that gift of yours in action. It can be scary, let me tell you," Emmett explained ominously and Rose smirked.

"Oh yeah, you promised you'd show me your power!" I remembered suddenly causing everybody at our table to smile.

"Alright," Alice agreed. I was relieved to see the smile again.

Alice pointed to the window near the far corner of the lunch room and Emmett grinned in anticipation, "See that plant," she said as she made a motion with her hand. In an instant the flowering plant which sat in a small pot just inside the window began growing at a remarkable rate. It climbed up the wall in a vine-like motion until the whole window was covered in leafy green vines and bright purple flowers.

"Wow!" I was mesmerized by the mutant fern, and when I turned to meet Alice's gaze I saw in place of her eyes, two glowing green orbs. Her gift had so much potential. She would definitely be a hero.

"So Emmett tells me you can make ice cubes Bella?" Rose asked after a moment of heavy silence.

I nodded self consciously, "I suppose that's one way of putting it," I agreed.

"Think you'll make hero?" she questioned again.

"Rosie, you wouldn't believe what she could do, it was so cool!" Emmett said enthusiastically.

"Well I guess we'll just have to wait and see, won't we," Rose said with a challenging smile. It was intimidating, but I could see that it was in good fun. Despite her cold exterior, she seemed to have warmed up to me, and it almost seemed like she truly did want me to do well. Perhaps it was Emmett's influence, but perhaps not. How had I found such good friends already anyway?

When lunch time was over, the four of us emptied our trays and headed back toward the door which lead out to the courtyard by the gym. As we passed a loud group of upperclassmen girls, I noticed one solitary figure sitting alone at a lunch table near the window with the flower pot Alice had used for her demonstration.

My eyes locked on him, and I couldn't rip them away. I don't know how I managed to keep from tripping. His bronze hair was the most beautiful shade I had ever witnessed and it was in a state of disarray—yet somehow unbearably silky looking. I hadn't even seen his face, but I already longed to run my fingers through his beautiful locks.

His lanky, slim frame was covered by a black button up shirt which hinted at designer origins, and my curiosity grew. When we passed him, though, I realized in less than a second's time that he must either be a dream or a figment of my imagination. His face was that stunning. It was angular and strong looking. And his eyes! His eyes were a vibrant green color which I could see clearly despite the distance between us and the fact that his head was cast downward, staring at his tray. He was so beautiful—like he had been designed from a list of every physical desire I could ever think to ask for in a male counterpart. "Who's that?" I said softly, motioning over my shoulder to the angel.

Alice and Rose both giggled. "Why do you ask?" Alice teased.

I felt my face flush, which made Alice only laugh harder, "That's my foster brother, Edward," Alice explained after a good long laugh at my expense.

"Wait, he's your brother?!" As in they lived in the same house? As in she was privileged to a view of his glorious face every day?

Alice simply nodded smugly, sensing my obvious infatuation. "Why's he sitting alone?" I wondered after a moment of attempting to clear my head and school my features back into one of indifference.

Alice brushed one of her hands through her short spiky hair, looking a bit uncomfortable for a few seconds before she answered with a much more subdued tone, "He's not really that comfortable here at this school amongst heroes. See, the reason Esme and Carlisle adopted him is his dad actually used to be a super villain. When Edward was less than a year old, his dad was defeated by a hero who graduated from this very school, and he's been locked away in prison ever since. He's in on a life sentence." Alice took another moment to contemplate before adding, "Since a super hero was responsible for getting Edward's father arrested in the first place, and that's essentially what everybody here is pining to be, he doesn't really get along very well here."

"So, he doesn't want to be a hero?" I asked uncertainly.

"No, it's not that!" Alice insisted, "He may not get along well here, but he has a good heart!" Alice was quick to defend, so my mind relaxed infinitesimally. Alice seemed like a good person, and probably a very decent judge of character, "He's no super villain like his father, he's a hero," Alice said fervently.

I felt a lump of sadness well up in the back of my throat thinking about Edward's discomfort at Sky High. I remembered all too well my years of normal public schooling and never feeling like I belonged. Everything was so different here, different—but better. Here, I did belong. Here, at Sky High, I could be open about my powers and problems. I had made friends already and it was an amazing feeling. I didn't even want to think about what it would feel like to be an outcast even here.

I remained silent as we walked the rest of the way back to the gym. Sorting continued again promptly, and Rose and Emmett were each sorted as heroes easily. Coach Boomer had Rosalie demonstrate her flying abilities by dodging fiery arrows and navigating through hoops. He dropped a semi-truck on top of Emmett and Emmett very efficiently broke it in half and tossed the two pieces of the truck in opposite directions across the gym floor. Needless to say, Boomer was impressed by both displays.

After a small girl with big glasses changed into a human size rubber ball, Coach Boomer literally kicked her off the stage while pronouncing her a sidekick, I think he was trying to be clever. Finally it was my turn. I carefully made my way up to the stage and stood as tall as I could in an attempt to look confident rather than unbearably nervous. I looked down to Alice and Emmett and Rose as soon as I reached the stage, I was relieved to see them each smiling at me, trying to convey their emotional support.

"Name?" demanded Coach Boomer.

"Bella Swan," I said determinedly. He grinned when he heard my tone.

"Let's see what you've got then," he commanded, "Go ahead."

I decided to bring as much ice as I could, so that he would see the value of my gift. I focused for half a second on the spot I had been occupying near Alice and Rose so that less than 8 seconds later; the entire gym floor was covered in ice. I felt warm, so I knew there must be a definite chill in the air at this point. The students were gasping and slipping, but I couldn't read the expression on Boomer's face, so I decided to keep going. I swiftly formed a cage of ice around Coach Boomer, with thick icy bars and a perfectly sculpted roof. His eyes grew large, but I still couldn't tell if he was impressed or simply annoyed. Trying to turn the tides in my favor, I next formed several thick levels of ice on the ground like stairs ascending toward the roof of the gym—with his newly formed prison resting securely up top, twenty feet from the floor. Nevertheless, I remained uncertain; I really didn't want to hear a negative judgment. So in a flurry of angst, I decided to try something which I hadn't yet perfected, but had been working on for a while now—flying.

Well, technically it wasn't really flying so much as a form of levitation in which I cooled the air below me just to the point where the less dense, warm air surrounding me was forced to rise above the cold, carrying me with it. The theory had been something I discovered last summer, in the warm air of Florida during a vacation which Charlie had endeavored to supply for us to escape the craziness of the big city for a few days. The levitation had been all too easy with the warm, humid, Florida air, but I would have to focus much harder to recreate the experience in the significantly cooler gym—cooler because nearly everything in sight was covered with ice.

I stared at nothing and tuned out everything in the gym apart from the swirling cold energy I felt within me. In my extreme concentration, I knew that my normally brown eyes would probably become a severe crystal white color. Charlie had first advised me of that occurrence when I was five—the time I froze my backyard because I wanted to go ice skating. I could see little puffs of frosty air shooting out of my fingertips and I felt little chips of ice beginning to condense at the tips of my long brown hair as it floated around me while I levitated. I was relieved that it was working.

Finally the eerily silent Boomer spoke. "Hero, hero, HERO!" he screamed. I broke out of my trance when I saw that his eyes had grown even larger with awed shock than I had seen throughout the entire day of sorting. I carefully placed myself back on the stage, and ran my tingling fingers through my half frozen hair. To my enormous surprise and embarrassment, the entire gym broke out into a deafening applause. I, of course, blushed. "My, my Bella Swan," Coach Boomer said, with a tone which suggested nothing short of reverence, "I have never seen a gift like yours before!" he commented.

I rejoined my newly acquired friends in the back of the crowd of students as the effects of my freezing began to melt. "Bella!" Emmett whisper yelled, "You've been holding out on us!"

"How so?" I wondered.

Rose was the one to answer this time, "Emmett said you could make ice. I didn't know you could do, well, that!" Rosalie motioned toward the now de-caged Coach Boomer. I was a little relieved to see that the combination of melting from the heat in the gym and his sonic boom of a voice had cracked his cage enough for him to escape. I hadn't really considered what his reaction would be if he realized that he would be stuck in a cage of ice for the remainder of the day.

Before I had a chance to answer Rose, Coach Boomer had returned to his sorting—this time demanding that Alice demonstrate her powers for his judgment. I watched her chin jut out just slightly as a look of sheer defiance captured her features. She shook her head boldly from right to left and didn't move an inch from her spot beside me. "No" she said with cool anger, "I refuse to support or take any part in this bureaucratic system where you value one gift over another."

"Excuse me?" boomed the coach. "What's your name young lady?" he screeched.

"Alice Cullen," she said haughtily.

"Fine Alice Cullen, have it your way! Sidekick!" he proclaimed. I paled and felt my mouth fall agape in alarm, but Emmett and Rose just laughed.

"Oh short stuff," Emmett admonished, "You would," he teased her.

"Now don't tell me you did this just so you could be in a few classes with a certain brother of mine," Rose giggled. Emmett laughed even harder, and I simply felt confused.

"Your brother?" I asked, looking to Rose for answers.

"His name's Jasper," she explained, "He's two years ahead of us, but Alice never could get over the fact that he was labeled a sidekick rather than a hero."

"Well that and she loooves him," Emmett crooned, making Rose grin conspiratorially.

Alice scowled at them both. "Just because his gift is subtle, doesn't mean it's any less valuable in a battle or confrontation!" Alice said, outraged, "And who is Boomer to say what is and isn't a super hero power?" she demanded further, ignoring the continuing demonstrations and sorting of our classmates, I noticed that she never denied loving him.

"What is his gift?" I asked cautiously. Her face softened as she thought about him. Apparently Emmett wasn't the only one suffering from being lovesick around here; Alice seemed to have the bug as well.

"He's an empath," Alice said proudly, "He can sense and even alter the emotions of those surrounding him. Like I said, it's subtle, but very potent!"

"Wow," was all I managed to say. That did sound like a pretty neat power, "I bet he's really good at diffusing tense situations," I mused.

Alice beamed at me, "Exactly!"

"He's never lost a fight because he can alter the feelings of those around him," Rose added with a small, fond grin of her own.

"He's never even been in a fight," Emmett clarified with a wry grin. I had no choice but to smile back, my worries about Alice's judgment all but forgotten. The fact was, the boyish dimples on Emmett's humungous face were rather adorable. I marveled at the fact that somebody so huge and powerful could pull off looking so…cute. Not to be misunderstood, I wasn't by any means attracted to Emmett McCarty—in fact, already he felt much more like a brother. I could simply understand Rosalie's appreciation of his contrasting features. He still had nothing on Edward.

A/N Sooo, tell me what you think! I've got two more chapters done and I'll post them once I know that somebody is actually interested in reading this. So let me know!