Grayscale, ch. 4
Title: Grayscale
Summary: "We've heard some rumors that you're going to be a pretty tough villain some day. Care for a head start on that?" - Warren must choose between light and dark, though maybe there's no difference at all anyway.
Chapter: 4/6
Note: Begins post-Save the Citizens scene. The plot slowly diverges from that point on.
Chapter Three
--there's less than two hours until the dance, when she arrives at your window--
The next day was oddly normal. Warren attended school, and kept his head down for the most part. He ate lunch with Lash and Speed for the first time in a while, much to the shock and dismay of the little posse of sidekicks that had taken to his table.
Actually, Lash came to get him after he'd already settled down with his book and cafeteria food and now-familiar desire for earplugs. The taller boy arrived out of nowhere to lean down and rest his elbow on Warren's shoulder. "Hey, Hothead," he said, "you've been neglecting us for these little weaklings? What's up with that?"
The one that liked to wear lots of orange puffed up at this, but Speed whizzing forward to shove him off his bench took care of that and soon he was just another puddle on the sticky floor. Goth girl glared, and Layla looked at Warren with wide eyes. On his left, the loudest of the bunch had fallen suddenly quiet. Lash waited for a response, so the only sound at the table was Speed devouring the puddle kid's pudding.
Warren sighed.
Then he shoved Lash off his shoulder, and stood up. "Shut up," he told his somewhat-friend, "and leave them alone, would you? Rein in your idiot."
Speed lifted his head with a glare at this, but Lash absentmindedly stretched an arm over to land on his shoulder and restrain him from whatever move he'd been about to make. He didn't look away from Warren's eyes, and seemed oddly solemn. "Warren's right," Lash said. "They're not worth our time. Let's go."
They left the table without another word, lingering at the cafeteria doorway to wait for Warren to catch up. Warren picked up his bag, then debated a moment before snatching the apple and pudding off his tray and leaving the rest. Everyone at the table was still watching him; but more importantly, a single Penny across the room was also staring intently at him, undoubtedly on Gwen's request. He met her eyes for a moment, then looked down at Layla's horrified face ('you're friends with them?' she seemed to be asking) and mustered up a tight grin that was obviously false.
"See you tomorrow."
Then Warren left, to join Lash and Speed under their usual tree on the soft grass outside. He tossed his pudding to Speed who snatched it out of the air with a grunt, then sat down with his back against the tree and bit into his apple. Lash began going on about something or other, but Warren didn't pay him any attention, instead closing his eyes and chewing contemplatively.
Tomorrow, all this would disappear. Warren couldn't quite wrap his mind around that; couldn't decide how to feel about it.
--she steps inside without a word and pretty soon her mouth is wet against your collarbone--
Warren found himself unable to muster up much hate for Stronghold.
Oh, he still didn't like the guy at all, but somewhere along the line with Layla's little stories of childhood memories and after the realization that Gwen was about to eat this poor kid alive in just a few short hours, the hate had mostly faded away. Also, Stronghold was looking pretty pathetic, sitting and calling Layla all night. Warren had a good idea of what had happened; given Gwen's plan to use a big party as a distraction to help her and Speed steal back her Pacifier from Will's home, and the fact that Layla was Stronghold's next-door neighbor, it was pretty likely Layla had seen Gwen and Will doing something she didn't like, and a fight had erupted out of that.
At least it was somewhat gratifying to see Stronghold realizing what a mistake he'd made valuing popularity over someone like the hippy. She might not be such a fan of Warren anymore after seeing him interact so casually with bullies like Lash and Speed at lunch earlier (although, she was probably the type who'd assume the best and try to believe in him or something regardless), but Warren still had a fond spot for Layla. He had never really known many people like her - wasn't entirely convinced she wasn't the last of her species, actually - but she liked Will enough to mope about in a restaurant until closing hours. If that went the other way as well, as it seemed to be doing tonight, and given the fact that Stronghold was on borrowed time already - Warren kind of thought, what the hell.
He sat down, talked a bit of sense into the guy. It probably wouldn't really make a difference for tomorrow, anyway. There was no real reason not to do it, except that Warren wasn't supposed to care if Layla got her little happy ending with Will Stronghold, seeing as they'd be either babies again or dead very soon, and he was meant to hate them all anyway. But so long as Gwen didn't find out…
Rather than continuing that line of thought, Warren worked diligently at the Paper Lantern to show how grateful he was for not losing his job after skipping out yesterday, then went home and tried on the tux he'd just gotten back from the dry-cleaners.
It fit him very well. Wearing it, he looked just like his dad, except his dad had always been very cheerful and pleasant and never scowled at anyone, not even when he was murdering them.
--she's beautiful, and as vicious as expected and you're entirely lost, when she promises what she thinks you want most to hear--
There was something rather humiliating about taking a school bus to a dance, but Warren couldn't be seen with Gwen yet, Penny would never even think of taking him (he'd never think of asking her), and his and Lash's dubious friendship didn't extend quite that far. Warren certainly didn't have the funds to purchase any flying vehicles of his own, so he grit his teeth and trudged onto the school bus full of overeager freshman. At least no one tried to sit next to him, or anything, and these guys were too scared of him to laugh at his presence, so that was something.
Still, it gave the night a distinctly unpleasant flavor, one that only worsened as time passed. It was no one's fault, exactly - and certainly, Layla tried her hardest to put away whatever negative opinions she might hold about him and be nice - but the whole event was just annoying. Stupid, really, in the way that all school dances are, but that was inevitable, Warren supposed. At least Gwen's dramatic reveal livened things up a bit.
It was a pleasure to see the Commander go down, even just as a baby. Heat flashed through Warren at the sight, and he clenched his fists, almost eager to dive into the fray. He wouldn't, because Warren would never attack a mere infant, but the urge was there, distressingly prevalent amidst the panic growing all around him, and Warren took a deep breath to calm himself.
Coach Boomer saw this show of mild composure, or something, because all of a sudden he was yelling for Warren to get the rest of the school out, relying on Warren for rescue despite all of the less questionable Hero-class students surrounding them. Maybe Warren was just less terrified-looking, or maybe his PE teacher had always secretly trusted him, or maybe he was just the first person Boomer saw; it didn't really matter. But it was ironic, sort of, and Warren kind of smiled at the baby just crawling out of those hideous gym shorts. Whatever might have caused it, such a show of trust was… nice. But also kind of unfair; he didn't exactly deserve it, after all.
--you watch her leave after and she's glowing, in love with you or what she's planning you don't know, but undeniably in love, and you finally choose--
The only real problem was that Will Stronghold wasn't there. His parents were already effectively neutralized, but at this point Will was a wild card, and that was exactly what Gwen didn't want. That was the whole reason she'd originally picked him, as she'd told him earlier that night.
"You're the ace up my sleeve," she'd said seriously, professional as always despite resting her head on his naked shoulder. "I would've probably been able to pull this off with just the others - but if the Commander's taught me anything, it's that you can never be sure. Don't let anyone know you're on my side. Just watch - and if you see something that needs to be taken care of, do it. You're my insurance, Warren, so - " she'd smiled suddenly, and his heart had thumped a bit harder " - don't let me down."
So now, seeing the problem that Stronghold could potentially come, Warren took the initiative to exit the dance floor in a way that wouldn't alert anyone to his true allegiances. The fact that he ended up bringing along four sidekicks was a bit unexpected, but he could easily work with that.
It was also unexpected for him to feel a tiny bit of fondness for them, when that loud kid got so proud about being able to glow the way for them and goth girl sang that half-mocking/half-sweet line about, "…and then all the reindeer loved him…"
Warren had forced himself to endure their company for months now, and not once had he liked them. But maybe the fact that this was pretty much the end of their acquaintance changed things a bit. He pondered that as they reached the end of the tunnel and miraculously enough, Stronghold actually was here somehow to rip off the vent and let them out, to apologize ridiculously to Layla and make all her dreams come true, probably.
It wasn't like saying goodbye had ever bothered Warren before. But then again, he'd never really said goodbye to anyone he cared about. His mother's death was nothing more than a half-memory, one of those supposedly long-suppressed ones he'd abruptly recalled halfway during his father's trial. His father, well. Warren's relationship with his dad had always been unusual, a fact explained easily enough in hindsight, and saying goodbye to that man had been a relief in many ways. Warren had felt very numb for most of that time, quiet and unable to form any sort of opinion about even the most vital things. This time was different.
If he was having such a hard time with the thought of just turning traitor to this pathetic group, could he really go through with this?
Penny, Lash, and Speed chose their moment well. They interrupted Layla and Will's sweet but honestly sickening kiss, and served as an abrupt reminder to Warren that, yes, he could go through with this. He kind of had to.
Lash grinned at him, and Warren smiled slightly back.
Penny's voice went sour; "I hate sweet." Warren stepped forward, crossed the invisible line to stand with the villains.
Gasps from behind him, Layla's voice whispering his name in a plaintive sort of horror, and Stronghold saying, "But I thought…"
Lash laughed, delighted in the trick. Warren said, in an explanatory sort of way, "Well, six on three isn't exactly fair, is it?"
And after that there were no words, just powers: Pennys everywhere, Lash stretching, Speed blurring out of sight - puddle kid wide-eyed and melting down, the loud one bright and terrified, goth girl snarling, Will's fists clenching, and Layla, her eyes shimmering with tears, not attacking anyone, just yelling, trying to convince Warren not to do this -
The fire swirled out from him and forward to surround her, whirling higher and hotter until she'd completely disappeared from sight.
--you put your dad's tux back on, think about how to do this, think about how he would do this, and then you quietly vomit until it's time to go to the bus-stop--
Chapter Five