Before she could blink, Junior year had come and gone. Normality had graced the halls of Sky High months after that dreaded nights and the students were beginning to move on. Whispers stopped following the group of Sidekicks everywhere they went and whilst people still looked at them with respect, they no longer went out of their way to praise them for simply do what a Hero should've done.

Summer had passed by with a flurry of sunny days and laughter. Astrid Stronghold had finally managed to pull herself together and push Lash Livingston out of her mind. For the first time, she was fully looking forward to returning to school for her final year at Sky High.

Senior Year was the year Heroes and Sidekicks got assigned to their partners, potentially the ones they would work with for the rest of their career if they passed their end of year exams. It was both a terrifying time and one of the best years of your Superhero life. However, Astrid was acutely aware that not all matches made in Senior Year worked well.

Staring at her reflection, she forced herself to smile. For the first day of Senior Year, the family visited the school to watch proudly as their son/daughter were assigned to their partner. As expected, Astrid's mother was absent that morning but Josie and Steven had promised her that they would be seated in the front row.

Seated on the bus, she smiled at the familiar scene below her, knowing this would be the last time she saw it as a 'first day' journey. Much to her annoyance, the blonde girl's knee refused to stop bouncing, ignoring her insistence that she wasn't nervous. A headache was already forming, which wasn't helped by the group of Freshmen that were far louder than the previous years.

"What's got your panties in a twist, Little Miss Healer?" Natalia asked, skipping over to her friend the moment she disembarked from the bus.

"Why are Freshmen so annoying and giggly and high-pitched?" Astrid vented, scowling at the fourteen-year-olds that passed her.

"Because they're children and life hasn't damaged them enough yet." Natalia stated. "Would one be feeling nervous for today?"

"Gee, how could you tell?" Astrid said sarcastically.

"Oi, I'm just trying to help, grumpy arse."

Rolling her eyes at her best friend's antics, she couldn't help but chuckle as the pair of them walked up the steps to Sky High and towards the beginning of their futures. Talking about their plans to make the most of their final year, both of them were blissfully unaware of the eyes watching them enter from a window above.

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Students, Seniors, parents and teachers alike had crammed into the Gymnasium to watch the Seniors show off their powers. Voices mingled together as everyone speculated about who would be matched with whom, making their bets.

Pairing Day was the biggest day of the year, far bigger than Graduation because it essentially decided who would be graduating with whom. As tradition, Heroes went first. Each of them stood on a podium (a little higher than the crowd) and demonstrated their abilities to the crowd.

Whilst the school had already paired up the majority of the Heroes and Sidekicks, observing them over their school years, they enjoyed making a spectacle of it for the Freshmen and the families. Three podiums were empty. Three podiums that would've been occupied by three students had they not been kicked out for their villainous behaviour. For the entire showcase, Astrid avoided looking at those three podiums.

Once the Heroes had all effectively shown off, it was time for the Sidekicks to demonstrate their abilities. Shockingly, they were given less time to show their powers than the Heroes. Thankfully, Will Stronghold had volunteered to help his cousin out with her demonstration.

For the first time in almost four years, Astrid was going to show all of Sky High what she was truly capable of.

"Welcome to Sky High. My name is Astrid Stronghold." Astrid announced to the group that had formed to watch a member of the famous Stronghold four.

Despite her Sidekick label, excited whispers rippled at the sound of her name.

"One small part of my power is my ability to heal minor injuries on other people. For example, shallow cuts and broken bones."

Stepping in front, Will showed the crowd the bleeding cut on the palm of his hand. Placing his own hand in Astrid's, the crowd watched as the girl closed her eyes in concentration before realising Will's injured hand. However, as Will raised his hand to the crowd, they could see it was injured no more.

"However, this is not the only power I possess."

At this announcement, Principal Powers and the other teachers (apart from Coach Boomer who had kept her powers a secret after she had begged him to after that Save the Citizen lesson) turned to watch Astrid Stronghold's showcase. Whilst they knew she was extraordinary, they had no idea of how powerful she truly was.

"I also have the powers of invisibility and intangibility. One moment you can see me and the next I am gone." Astrid flickered out of view, leaving Will alone on the podium.

When she reappeared, she was stood behind the group that was watching her.

"Once again, I am visible," she called out behind them, smirking as the majority of them jumped before strolling back to her podium. "My final power is the ability to move through solid objects. See the piece of wood that Will is holding? It is completely solid but by manipulating my body matter, I'm able to safely pass through it."

Ensuring that the crowd could still see her, she moved her arm entirely through the board, as if it barely existed.

"Thank you for watching." Astrid blushed when she realised that she had attracted the attention of almost everyone in the Gym.

Steven Stronghold and Jackson Livingston let out a wolf whistle and loud cheer at her performance, causing her cheeks to flame further and her form to flicker in and out of view. Proud that she had been courageous enough to reveal these powers to the rest of Sky High, Astrid failed to notice the teachers whispering furiously to each other as they watched the blonde girl.

It would appear she had developed some strand of Samuel Stronghold's ability to adapt to his surroundings. They had the perfect match for the Stronghold Sidekick.

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"Ladies and Gentlemen, Heroes and Hero Supports, Parents and Students, welcome to our Annual Senior Power Showcase. You've all gathered here today to watch as our Heroes and Hero Supports hopefully find their future partners in fighting crime. This is often the most important day in the lives of our young Supers. We thank you for joining us on this momentous occasion." Principal Powers greeted. "I'm going to save my big speech for Graduation Day so without further ado, we shall begin presenting our Hero pairs!"

Not long after, the majority of Astrid's class had been called on to the stage and paired. Seated at the front, the number of empty chairs began to increase as the number of Seniors left dwindled. Panic began settling in as she realised that she could end up being one of the Sidekicks that didn't get chosen.

A warm hand on her shoulder made her turn to see that Jackson was seated behind her. Giving her a reassuring smile, he promised that she would do brilliantly on her own or with a Hero. Smiling back, she was grateful for the encouraging words until her name was called.

"Don't disappear." Josie warned her niece, leaning over Jackson's side.

Taking a deep breath, she spared a glance at her Aunt and Uncle and their delighted smiles and reminded herself that, no matter what happened, they would still be proud of her. As she stood on the stage, she caught sight of the Sidekicks she had befriended last year. Each one of them grinned at her, shooting her a reassuring thumbs up.

"Your powers are extraordinary and if we had known about them during your Freshman Year, there is no doubt that you would've been made a Hero. Unfortunately it is too late in your studies to change that now but we have managed to find you the perfect match for your powers and your personality."

Despite Principal Powers attempting to reassure the young girl, Astrid's hands shook violently so she shoved them into her pockets. Beaming down at the daughter of Samuel Stronghold, Principal Powers knew her words would come as a shock to the entire school but she also knew that there was no more capable of keeping this Hero in check.

"Astrid Stronghold, your Hero is Lash Livingston."