AN: Hello everybody! So, for those of you who've just been alerted about a new chapter, this is to tell you that I did a whole rewrite. This story was just old (8 years according to the date stamp) and it just needed some sprucing up. Between spelling errors, grammar, and just a wobbly story, I decided to go through it. The story is basically the same. Only a few things have been changed which, hopefully, make it flow better than before. I mean, I even managed to cut the chapter literally in half!

So, anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the new version, and for those of you who just found it and reached the end, I hope you enjoyed it, too!

~Fifteen~

Slowly, the group of wayward friends began to gather everyone up again, unloading them from the bus. Warren had taken Medulla to the Mad Science lab after forcing the man to swear he would pass with at least an A. Medulla agreed. Neither of them was willing to relive the "diaper changing" incident. But, with a clean diaper, the scientist went about fixing the Pacifier and set it to return the years it had taken.

The ones that had remained untouched paced the halls, talking amongst themselves or just sitting silently as they waited. They had nothing to do at the moment, all just exhausted from their ordeal. Ryan sat on her own on the floor, thinking about what had happened. She knew what she'd done, she just didn't like it. Apparently, she was more like her father than she thought.

When her father changed, he was transformed into a monster. His skin would turn red, his eyes black, and bat wings would sprout from his back. His feet hoofed, his fingers grew claws, and he even had a tail. He was the literal embodiment of evil from just about every religious text. He was a monster.

Her only solace in the situation was that, thankfully, Ryan didn't turn into that. She'd thought she only inherited his temper, his weakness to emotion, and his fire. She thought her eyes and fingernails were the only things affected, but apparently that wasn't the case. It was a lot of information to take.

As she sat there, Ryan looked around. She noticed Warren sitting on the floor across the hall a few lockers down. His back was to the wall, one leg was left to stretch out while the other was bent at the knee. He rested an arm on his knee and his eyes were closed. She couldn't tell if he was asleep or not, but he looked to be relaxing as much as he could.

The longer she stared at him, the more she thought. They'd almost died. As dramatic as it might have sounded to admit, they had almost died and taken countless civilians with them. The crater their school would have left behind would have been a mile wide at the very least, and they were over a residential area when it fell. The damage would have been substantial, but all Ryan could think about was Warren.

She remembered that he scrambled to get close to her and then shielded her body. She felt the heat of him pressed into her, felt his arms wrapped around her, and could even hear him breathing in her ear. For those few seconds, she did in fact feel safe, but then consumed with fear. It wasn't fear for herself that brought on the change. It was fear that the others would die, that Warren would get hurt if they didn't stop the school from plummeting. That was what brought on the full change, fear over Warren.

The longer she stared at him, the more her resolve hardened. Ryan knew what she wanted to do and even though she knew that the desire would probably pass quickly, she decided to simply indulge in it.

Ryan shoved herself to her feet and approached Warren. He seemed to finally sense her when she knelt down in front of him. He opened his eyes and met her stare.

"Hey," He said casually with his low, deep voice.

"Hi," She replied.

She looked over him for a moment, then reached for his tie. Warren's brows tugged together curiously as she began to straighten it. Ryan could see he was about to say something, probably chastise her for doing something so stupid, but she didn't give him the chance. Still holding firmly to his tie, Ryan jerked him forward. Warren was clearly taken by surprise, an emotion that probably deepened when she pressed her lips to his.

The world around her seemed to fade away in those few seconds. She could feel how tense Warren was, feel how rigid he was just through his lips until, eventually, he began to relax. His lips molded against hers and she heard him let out a small breath before she drew back.

Ryan released his tie and allowed him to lean against the lockers again. His brows pulled together. The confusion was evident and she understood completely. Even Ryan wasn't entirely certain why she'd kissed him, only that it felt like something she needed to do. To her, it made complete sense.

"What was that for?" He asked. His voice sounded like it was an iota deeper than before.

She glanced to his lips and noticed that some of her gloss had transferred. Ryan, apparently still filled with confidence, reached forward. She tenderly held his jaw and swept her thumb over his bottom lip to wipe away the shine.

"It seemed like the thing to do since we almost died." She replied.

Without another word, she rose to her feet and left. Behind her, she could hear the clap of heels against tile and knew that she wasn't alone.

Layla and Magenta had followed her out of the hall and immediately bombarded her with questions. It was only then that Ryan realized other people had seen what she did and they might think it strange. Maybe it was, but the reasoning was simple to her. She told the pair that she wanted to know what it was like. That was the plain truth of it.

They'd almost died and she wanted to know what it was like to kiss Warren. Despite all of their taunting, their bitter remarks back and forth, and everything else, she owed him. If it weren't for him, Ryan and Tony would still be in that hell hole. If it weren't for Warren, Ryan wouldn't be fostered by a person as great as his mom.

In truth, she owed him a lot and while he probably didn't see the kiss as any kind of "thank you", that's what it was.

The party commenced once everyone was de-pacified. Un-pacified? The party continued once everyone was back to normal, but as the music played and the people danced, Warren realized he hadn't seen Ryan once. Being swathed in blood-red fabric, she should have stood out in the crowd, but he was gone.

He went in search of her and eventually spotted her standing outside on the front steps to the school. The back of her dress was torn to pieces. The lace had been shredded when her wings appeared. It made sense, but it almost made the images flash in his mind again. He hadn't been prepared for it.

Warren slowly approached her. He felt the fires in him react. They grew stronger than before. It was like that whenever he was around another fire-user. It was like holding the flames of two candles side by side. They fed off each other, got bigger and stronger, until they finally joined together as one. So, whenever he was within a few feet of her, he could sense it. It had to be the same for her, too, because she glanced over her shoulder.

Eventually, he came to stand beside her.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked as he slid his hands into his pockets.

Ryan shrugged. "I don't know. I think I'm going to go home, though." She shifted to face him. "I think I'm all partied out."

He nodded, but felt compelled to ask something that had been bothering him since it happened.

"Why'd you kiss me?"

Her brows twitched slightly, silently telling him that she'd been unprepared for the question.

"Because I wanted to." She said. "Maybe because I wanted to, maybe because I knew you wouldn't." She shrugged a single shoulder. "I don't know. Did it bother you?"

He noticed something that surprised him. She seemed worried that she might have, somehow, offended him with a kiss. It was a ridiculous thought, obviously, but he supposed he could understand the reason behind it.

"No," He told her honestly. "Wish I was a little prepared, though."

He gave her a crooked grin and she smiled in response.

As they stood there, Warren couldn't help but glance at her lips. He wanted to kiss her again, if anything just to participate in it. He wasn't given the chance, however.

Movement from behind drew their attention. Together, they turned to find The Commander and Jetstream heading for them. It was clear they were on their way home and were doing their best to slip out, only to find that they weren't alone. They instantly plastered smiles across their faces.

"Hello, there." Jetstream said kindly. "You two helped save the school, right?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Ryan said while Warren nodded. He wanted to punch The Commander in the face, but he didn't budge.

"Well done, both of you." The Commander beamed with a wide, poster-worthy smile. "I don't think we were properly introduced. I'm The Commander."

He extended his hand and Warren couldn't help himself. He shook it and a bit sarcastically, introduced himself, too.

"Warren Peace." He smiled snarkily. The Commander shook his hand firmly and, judging by his smile, didn't recognize Warren by name. He chose to clarify. "Baron Battle's son."

The Commander's face fell slightly, and so did Jetstream's.

"Ah," Commander nodded as he released Warren's grip. His eye shifted to Ryan. "And you, my dear?"

"Aryana," She shook his hand. "Ryan," And like Warren had, Ryan spoke her name in the most fashionably dramatic way. "Gehenna."

What little smile the two Heroes had managed to force after Warren's declaration had vanished completely. Their gazes darted between the two smug teens. The moment was tense enough that even someone as dense as the Commander could be seemed to sense it.

A moment passed and then another before Ryan turned her attention to Warren. He met her eye.

"I'm going home." She said as she touched his arm in passing. "Tell the guys I left?"

"Yeah," He nodded. "I'll see you later."

And what she did next brought a very-real smile to that angry, revenge-driven part of Warren's heart, the part of him that wanted to avenge his father.

As her eyes locked with the Commander's, they darkened until all color had fled. And then her wings unfolded. She spread them wide behind her.

"Commander," She offered him a small head-nod, one she offered his wife as well, "Jetstream."

She then turned her back to the three others standing on the front steps and leapt forward the same time she batted her wings. They carried her into the air. Shortly after, her blood-red figure disappeared over the edge of the school.

When she was gone, Warren turned once again to the Heroes. He smiled shortly, a bit sarcastically, then returned inside.

By the time Warren made his way back home, he was tired. He ached in some ways, but was glad to be back on the ground and no longer in danger of plummeting to the ground.

With his jacket slung over his shoulder, he went inside and wasn't surprised to find all but the table lamp in the entryway turned off. His mom tended to pick one, non-intrusive light to leave on if she knew he'd be home late. It was only ten-thirty, but still, he appreciated it.

He turned it off, more than willing to rely on his Power, when he noticed there was light peeking into the hall. It came from Ryan's cracked bedroom door. He slowly approached and decided to push open the half-closed door.

Ryan was sitting on her bed in her nightclothes, a knee propped up and a clipboard against her thigh. She was busy writing something –maybe homework- and hadn't noticed him. In those brief seconds, Warren stared because he had the chance. She still confused the hell out of him and he doubted very highly that would ever change.

When she seemed to finish her sentence, Ryan finally glanced up. When she spotted him, she smiled kindly, heavily, and he could tell she was tired, too.

"Hey," She said. Ryan dropped her leg and let the clipboard rest on her lap. "How was the dance?"

He shrugged. "Fine," He replied. "Not really my thing."

"Mine neither. I never really understood getting dressed up to awkwardly dance with people you don't like." He smiled a little and fought the urge to remark on her "date" that had been pacified. "I had actually planned to return the dress after the dance, but…"

She let her sentence dangle and he knew why. There'd be no need now that she'd completely ruined it.

"Yeah," He said. "I didn't know you could even do that."

"Neither did I." she said with a small smile.

"Well, I'm gonna take a shower."

Ryan nodded and without a word, Warren left. He was sure to grab something to change into afterward.

About fifteen minutes later, Warren emerged from the shower and felt instantly better, while simultaneously exhausted. He'd changed into a pair of pajama pants and a shirt. His tux was crumpled up in a ball. His mom would kill him for it, but at the moment, he was just too tired to care.

As he exited the bathroom, Warren spotted Ryan at the end of the hall. She was on her way back to her room with a bottle of water in hand. When she spotted him, she looked up and offered a small smile. Two things happened in that instant that surprised him. One, his mind flooded with a thousand different images and instances that had happened over the last couple of months, things that were sweet and meant nothing at the time. And two, he called out to her.

"Hey,"

Ryan had been half-in her room when he spoke and immediately paused when he did. She looked up at him as he approached.

Suddenly, and without provocation, Warren wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, pulled her close, and kissed her. Ryan let out a soft sound of surprise, but she relaxed into it faster than he had.

When she kissed him at the school, Warren had been shocked by it, as anyone would be, and thought it stirred something inside him. He thought he felt something churn, something that he hadn't experienced before. But, it'd all happened so quickly that he didn't get the chance to deal with it before it was over.

In the shower, he replayed everything that happened that night, and the kiss eventually resurfaced in his thoughts, as did the jealousy he felt when Ryan danced with Trevor. It was and odd sensation he didn't like, and when he emerged from the shower and saw her standing in the hall, he decided to see if it was real. He wanted to know if it was all in his head, or not.

The moment her lips molded to his, Warren knew he was in trouble.

A half-step forward brought his body against hers. He felt Ryan grasp at the back of his shirt. She fisted the fabric. Warren held her tightly and even threaded his fingers through her hair when he did. After a moment, he dared to deepen the action and she complied. When she took his bottom lip between hers, a shiver raced down Warren's spine.

They continued to kiss for perhaps a moment longer before they parted. She looked up at him with heavy lids, but confusion, too.

"What was that for?" Her voice was soft when she spoke.

Warren didn't really have an answer for her. He only knew that he wanted to see if his jealousy was real, or if that thing her kiss stirred inside him was imagined or not. It wasn't. It was all real. Somehow, at some point, Warren had developed feelings for her beyond what he knew he should have.

"Because I wanted to." He said, repeating her previous response.

There was rarely a time after that when the two weren't together after that. They would sit and have their own little conversations away from everyone else in the school, people whispering about them but neither cared. It actually made them laugh. People swore up and down that the two would form the most dangerous super villain duo and if they had kids, their kids would take over the world. They ignored it but enjoyed the stupidity of it all regardless.

The two were great friends with Layla and Will, the new power couple, Magenta and Zach, and even little Ethan got a girlfriend. Their time in high school was perfect, at least for Ryan, and that was something not many people got to say. She graduated with Warren, everyone else a year later, and set off on their new lives in the real world.