"Isn't that sweet?" Penny simpered, smirking at the group of Sidekicks (and two Heroes) before her. "I hate sweet."

"You guys are a part of this too?" Will questioned. "Why am I not surprised?"

Moving around the group, Astrid waited until she was at the front of the group before she flickered back into view, directly in Lash's line of vision. Shock rippled across Lash's features and Astrid took great pleasure in his reaction. Seeing the stony look on her face was more of a surprise than her appearance, he had never seen such a lack of compassion in her eyes.

"Go take care of Gwen. We'll handled these assholes." Astrid snarled, nodding at her cousin when hesitated to leave before the rest of the Freshman practically forced him down the corridor.

Turning on her heel, Layla fled down the corridor towards one of the classrooms and Penny followed after her, multiplying as she ran. Turning towards Ethan, Lash's arms were already elongating so as to trap the nervous boy but Ethan had melted into a puddle and slid along the floor into the nearest men's restroom.

Nodding at Warren, the pair prepared themselves for Speed who charged at the pair. A fireball was instantly in hand and the blonde vanished, confusing the speedy villain. Once the unlikely duo had finished dealing with Speed, they gave each other a congratulatory fist-bump when Ethan strolled out of the restroom, a satisfied smirk on his face.

"He's in there." Ethan smiled, pointing towards the bathroom.

Most of the school knew that Astrid had been Lash's favourite victim for the majority of high school so it was only rational that she would want to take revenge on the guy who had hurt her. Not only that, Ethan was extremely observant and had noticed the shift between them this past week; whatever he had done, he deserved what was about to happen to him. Thanking the sweet boy, she tentatively pushed open the bathroom door.

Lash had only just managed to pull his head out of the toilet when he heard a light snigger sound from behind him.

"You're way smarter than I originally gave you credit for. I'll give you that, Lash." Astrid drawled, leaning against the sink, arms crossed casually. "Pretending to be nice to me so that you could get closer to the Pacifier."

Pushing his hair out of his face, he glanced up at the cold blue eyes. "That wasn't my-."

Shutting up when she glared at him, he shrunk a little under the ferocity of her rage.

"You're a coward, Livingston. You knew your plan wasn't going the way you wanted so you got out as soon as you could, right? You thought hurting me would make it easier for you to walk away?"

Lash hung his head in shame. She was right because that was exactly what he had done.

"You were right, though – we could never be friends. A friendship between us would never work because whilst I'm just 'some pathetic Sidekick', I'm at least a good person. Powers aren't what make you a Hero and you've definitely demonstrated that. I hope you rot in Solitary," she spat before kicking him right between the legs, putting two years worth of pain into it.

Smirking as he dropped to the floor, Astrid gripped his chin and forced him to look her in the eyes. Reminding him of the cruel things he had said to her had been painful enough but seeing the hate in her eyes was far worse.

"I never want to see you again."

Dropping her hold on him, she watched as he huddled into a ball of pain (physical and emotional) on the floor before walking out the door, not even bothering to glance back.

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ ⁂☆⁂ ☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰

Having defeated Royal Pain's minions, the group of Sidekicks burst into the Gym just as Will was thrown out of the window, plummeting towards the ground.

Letting out a pained screech, Astrid tried running towards him but she knew it would be too late. Wrapping his arms around the thrashing girl, Warren pinned her to his side and whispered soothing words into her hair in an attempt to calm her. Will might've been gone but they still had a job to do and she was their strongest asset. They needed her level-headed until Royal Pain was defeated.

"And there goes your last chance of stopping me." Gwen – who was actually Royal Pain – boasted as she turned the Pacifier onto the final Stronghold.

"We'll see about that!" Will yelled, floating outside the window. "Surprised? So am I."

"You're flying? That's impossible." Royal Pain gasped before Will flew at her.

Grateful that Warren's arms were around because they were the only things holding her up when she realised her cousin was still alive.

Hugging him tightly, Astrid praised her cousin for defeating Royal Pain but their victory was short lived when the school began falling through the sky. A high pitched shriek rang in Astrid's ear as the force of the falling school slammed them all into the floor.

Scaring his cousin once more, Will jumped out the window and flew under the school, using his Super strength to prevent the descent of the school. Giving her stomach a moment to stop flipping, she steadily scrambled to her feet, watching as her friends did the same. All of their faces were various shades of white and green.

"Layla, I wasn't aware you could scream like that." Astrid teased.

However, when Layla denied being the culprit for the ringing in Astrid's ear, she turned her sights elsewhere. Wide-eyed Warren refused to make eye contact with Astrid and the blonde burst into laughter, a snort escaping her mouth. She was too amused to be embarrassed by the snort and after a while, she wasn't the only one who had. Whilst the Freshmen immediately ceased their laughter at Warren's deadly stare, Astrid continued teasing her about his scream until he got annoyed and lightly singed her with a fireball.

"Now what?" Layla asked, staring at all the babies that had once been students and teachers.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance," a squeaky voice came from one of the baby chairs.

Turning it around, Warren glanced at a baby Medulla whose head was still far larger than the average baby head.

"It should only take me a couple of hours to reconfigure the Pacifier so it reverses the effects. Mr Peace, would you please carry me to the Mad Science Lab?" Medulla stared up at the fire wielder.

"Sure."

"And, Mr Peace, I have regrettably made boom-boom."

Simultaneously, the group took a step back from the baby and Warren, immediately leaving the nappy duties to the brooding teenager.

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ ⁂☆⁂ ☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰

"People, if you have already been de-Pacified, please find your clothes, grab a baby and report to the Science Lab." Principal Powers announced, directing people to their designated areas.

Even after everything she had just been through, Astrid sat in a corner with the Freshman finding the entire situation rather amusing. People were milling around the school, dazed and wrapped in blankets to disguise the fact that once they had been de-Pacified, they were entirely naked.

After checking that her Aunt and Uncle were unharmed, Astrid had allowed Will to speak to them alone. Hopefully he was apologising for being an imbecile and allowing an outsider into the Sanctum.

Resting her head on Warren's shoulder, Astrid began worrying if she had left the TV on and when she began voicing her concerns, Warren simply placed a hand over her mouth until she stopped talking. The entire group was exhausted.

"The Sidekicks." Josie said, turning to face the group that her niece was sat with. "I mean, Hero Support."

"Why don't we call them what they really are, Josie? Heroes."

Beaming at the compliment from The Commander, the group began chattering excitedly to each other about getting recognition from The Commander. Whilst she was proud of her Uncle's change in viewpoint, Astrid could barely a muster a small smile for him.

"Aunt Josie?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Can we not tell my mother about this? I don't want her to worry."

"Of course, sweetheart." Josie promised.

Staring at the retreating figure of her niece, Josie couldn't help but worry about her. As the Freshman recounted the story of the night, Ethan had accidentally told them all about the conversation he had overheard between Lash and Astrid and Josie had been stood close enough to hear.

The young girl carried so much on her shoulders; the death of her father, a mother who tried to deny her Super existence as much as possible and now the boy she might've liked turned out to be a villain. Wishing she could do more to help her niece, Josie knew the blonde Stronghold was too selfless to burden others with her problems so would never ask for help and would deny needing help if Josie asked.

Knowing all she could was ensure that Astrid knew she was welcome at their house any time, Josie let her niece walk off and return to a home where she had to conceal who she truly was.

"Astrid!" Natalia screeched, launching herself at her best friend when she was dressed once more. "I'm so glad you're okay. I can't believe you defeated Royal Pain-."

"Actually Will did."

Ignoring her, Natalia continued rambling. "And Lash? I can't believe he'd do that. I knew he was a bully but I never imagined him as a villain. I'm honestly shocked. Like, I just thought he picked on you because he liked you, not because he was actually evil. I wonder what's going to happen to them."

Flinching at the mention of Lash, the blue eyed Sidekick realised she had never gotten around to explaining what had happened between her and the striped Villain. Feeling guilty for not telling Natalia about the kiss, Astrid asked if Natalia wanted to spend the night at hers. Chick flicks, ice cream and a good gossip were needed after the night they had. Once she had checked with her parents, Natalia immediately agreed before the two girls made their way to the buses.

Plastering on a smile for the sake of her best friend, Astrid had to try and keep her emotions in check or else she would never get through the night. Everything will be fine, she reassured herself. Lash would be going to Solitary and Astrid would never have to worry about him again.

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ ⁂☆⁂ ☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰

Seated in the corner of the Detention Room, Lash attempted to ignore the fury spewing out of Royal Pain's mouth. Somehow, she was blaming him, Speed and Penny for her inability to defeat the Supers. Lash had screwed up his entire life for a Villain who couldn't even stop a couple of Sidekick Freshmen.

After the pain had gone and feeling returned to his legs, Lash had dragged his pathetic self out of the bathroom only to be arrested and dragged to the Detention Room.

"What a waste." Principal Powers sighed as she looked at the Villains in front of her. "I can't do anything more to help you."

Hanging their hands in shame, the boys felt genuine remorse for their action but the two women just glared at the disappointed Principal.

"Lash, Speed and Penny, come with me, please. We're going to have a little chat in my office."

Escorted by graduated Heroes, the three Villains were marched towards Principal Powers' office whilst Royal Pain stayed safely imprisoned in the Detention Room. Walking down the familiar hallways, Lash drank in every detail, memorising it for the years he would spend in Solitary. Sky High had been the best three years of his life and within the space of one night, he was losing it all.

Tilting his head to the right, he prayed his father would look at him, prayed he would understand why he had done the things he did but Jackson stared solemnly ahead. Filing into the office, the three Villains were forced into a seat whilst the Heroes formed a wall around them. Jackson Livingston didn't leave his sons side the entire time but Lash felt it wouldn't have mattered if there were a stranger by his side.

"Due to you being minors, it has been decided that you were negatively influenced by Royal Pain – that she took advantage of your innocence and naïveté. Even if that's not true, that's the case that has been put forward for you. Therefore, you will be spending the rest of this year and your summer at a reform camp – non negotiable – before being allowed to carry out your Senior Year here at Sky High under severe surveillance. Your parents are here to collect you and have been given the details for the camp. You are being given a second chance. Don't waste it and I'll see you next year."