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High School at Thirty-Thousand Feet (Chapter 1)

Read here at Ao3.

The Flash (TV)/Sky High fusion.

For Day 5 [Free Day] of Flashvibe Summer Week 2016 (and Day 1 [AU Day] and Day 3 [Poly Day]).

Relationship: Barriscowest (Barry/Iris/Cisco)

Iris West is the daughter of Joe and Francine West — but you'd know them as the Commander and Jetstream, Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Iris is going to Sky High to follow in their footsteps. Too bad she doesn't have any superpowers (but don't tell her dad that).

Barry Allen is the son of Henry Allen, better known as the Comet, the most notorious former superhero ever. The Comet was unmasked just before he was convicted of murdering his wife, Nora Allen. Barry has flown under the radar as a normal teenager, but now he's going to be attending Sky High, where everyone will know his family history.

Cisco Ramon is the son of Adriana Ramon, perhaps the most powerful superhero to ever fight the forces of evil. Unfortunately, Cisco can't quite get a handle on his own powers, and his brother is never going to let him live it down.

High school is going to be tough.

Chapter 1

Seven in the morning on a Monday, and Iris West was actually awake. So much for summer.

“Iris!” Joe called up the stairs. “You’re going to be late!”

She opened her door an inch. “In a minute, Dad!” Turning back to the exercise bench by the window, she began to set up her daily charade. Thanks to a faulty alarm, Iris was cutting it pretty close to the wire. She laid down on the bench and used every muscle she had to lift the weights above her even half an inch. Her dad would barge into her room in three… two… one…

There was a loud knock. “Iris!” Joe burst through the door carrying a bright red sweatshirt, definitely Barry’s.

Iris let the weights shift back into place on the bench. They hardly ever moved from that spot. “I’m almost ready, Dad,” Iris assured him. She got up and made a show of stretching.

“Just getting in a few before school, huh?” Joe commented, glowing with pride. “I used to do the same thing. You have all your books?”

“Yes, Dad,” Iris said with a roll of her eyes. “Not that we’ll open them – it’s the first day.”

“I know, I know,” said Joe with a grin. “I can’t help it! My kids are going to high school. Soon, college—”

“Oh, God,” moaned Iris, “please don’t start with this again—”

“And you’ll move out and forget about your old man—”

“That’s four years away, Dad! Now go bother Barry; I have to change.” Iris made a shooing motion with her hands.

Holding his hands up in surrender, Joe backed out of the doorway. “Barry isn’t up yet,” he admitted. “I couldn’t think of a good reason to wake him up, ‘cause, you know—” A blur shot past Iris’s door.

“Super speed,” Iris finished.

%%%

It took another five minutes to finish getting ready, but Iris and Barry were both at the bus stop and ready to head off for their first day of school. Except—

“Joe, it’s not that we don’t appreciate it—”

Iris cut Barry off. “It’s embarrassing,” she said, putting it bluntly. “You’re great, number one Dad and I mean that, but you’re also literally world famous. It would be nice to start school without this level of…” Iris trailed off, gesturing at Joe. “Notoriety.”

Joe frowned, seemingly upset. “I feel like I should be hurt by that.”

“Dad—”

“Joe—”

“No, I get it,” Joe said with a smile revealing itself. “It’s your first day of high school and you don’t need me calling attention. Just promise me, both of you, be safe? Stay away from the edge of the grounds, all right?”

“What do you mean?” asked Barry, exchanging a glance with Iris. “The school’s downtown, right?”

“You’ll see,” Joe replied. “Now give me a hug, you two.” Iris and Barry both hugged Joe before he headed back inside.

Barry turned his attention to Iris. “So you still haven’t told Joe that you don’t have superpowers.”

“Drop it.”

“He’s going to find out eventually.”

“You don’t think I know that?” Iris snapped. She looked at Barry and could see he was hurt. That boy was never going to win at poker. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—I know he’s going to find out. I just thought I’d have my powers by now. I mean, don’t most kids with superhero parents have powers? And I have two! …Had.”

Barry put a hand on her shoulder. “Iris—”

They could hear the school bus turn the corner. It was time to face the beast. Iris shrugged out of Barry’s grip and took hold of her messenger bag. “It’s fine, Barr. Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell.”

Finding one double seat unclaimed, Iris and Barry settled in for the ride. Most of the kids around them seemed to know each other. There was one kid alone in the seat next to them, but judging by the intense glare he was giving his book from behind his glasses, he didn’t want to be disturbed. “We’re not going to know anyone, are we?” Iris looked over at Barry. “It’s only powered kids. And me.”

“It probably won’t be too bad,” Barry said, nerves showing. “I mean, we’re freshmen, so we’ll probably have a pretty standard curriculum,” he reasoned. “You can probably hide that you don’t have powers yet.”

“That’s true,” Iris granted. “And there’ll be other kids who don’t know anyone. And we’ll make friends.”

“You’ll make friends,” corrected Barry.

“No, we’ll both make friends,” Iris retorted with feeling. “You’re a sweet guy, Barry. And this is superhero school! With your powers—”

“I was thinking maybe I wouldn’t use my powers at school.”

Iris froze, struck speechless. Super speed was a highly respected and coveted power. Iris would have given her right arm to have powers like Barry. “Barry, why—”

Suddenly, the bus lurched. The bus driver called out, “Hold onto your seats, kids!”

“Iris, did Joe say anything about—”

“Flying?” Iris watched the ground as the trees and cars became smaller, and smaller. “No, Barry. He did not.”

%%%

When Joe had told Barry about “Sky High”, Barry had assumed that was a nickname. So had Iris. That could not be further from the case.

“The school flys,” Barry whispered to Iris, eyes wide.

“Barry,” Iris said calmly, “we’re in the middle of orientation. I am aware the school flys.” They were, in fact, in the middle of freshman orientation. A crowd of about forty other students surrounded them while a senior explained how not to fall off the edge of the school grounds.

“But the power it must take to keep the entire building in the air—”

A voice came from Barry’s left. “I know, right? The schematics are crazy levels of top secret, though. I requested them but they said something about security clearance, and how I wasn’t even in high school yet. Ageists.”

Barry swiveled his head so fast, he barely seemed to move. No way, he thought, was that really— “Cisco?” Sure enough, there he was. Cisco Ramon. Barry had met him through physics club at his and Iris’s old middle school and never, not once, had he ever mentioned having superpowers. “What are you doing here, man?” Barry asked, bringing Cisco in for a hug. Wow, he smelled good. No, Barry, that’s a creepy thought to have about your friend. Stop it.

Cisco laughed into Barry’s hoodie. Pulling away, he said, “Same as you, I guess. Superpowers?”

“Yeah, super speed,” Barry confirmed, watching Cisco with awe. “I had no idea that— What about you?”

Something flickered across Cisco’s face, but it disappeared in a flash. “It’s hard to explain, man,” he said uncomfortably. “But I guess you’ll see anyway when we go through power placement, so—”

“Sorry,” Iris interrupted. “What’s power placement?”

Cisco looked over at Iris like he was only just now noticing she was there. “They sort us into the hero or sidekick class based on our powers. They call the sidekick class ‘hero support’, though,” he explained, grimacing. “I think ‘hero support’ just means you suck. Which does not seem like the sort of thing teachers should be tellings us at this delicate stage of our emotional development.”

Barry glanced over at Iris. Pure terror was written across her face. This wasn’t going to be good.

%%%

This was going to be a bloodbath. Iris could see it so very clearly. Coach Boomer stood in front of the freshman class, explaining how he was going to determine what class they’d be in. It was Iris’s worst nightmare.

“Abernathy!” A small girl with blue hair climbed up onto the platform to stand in front of Coach Boomer. “Show me what you got.” The girl proceeded to burn a hole in the far wall… with lasers. Coming from her eyes. Boomer nodded appreciatively and made a note on his clipboard. “Not bad. Hero! Next up… Allen!”

“Um,” Barry stammered. Iris gave him a once over. He looked even more nervous than she felt. “I was just wondering, I mean… We won’t receive training pertaining to our abilities until next year? So, what’s—”

Coach Boomer strode to the edge of the stage to look down at Barry. “I said, Allen! And I won’t say it again!”

Iris could see the moment Barry considered not going up. She didn’t understand why, though. He had never mentioned anything about not powering up at school until that day. Barry’s eyes darted back and forth before he set his eyes on the ground. He climbed up and walked over to Boomer.

Boomer sneered at him, pen at the ready. “Alright, let’s go!” he yelled. A wave of sound pushed forward, forcing Barry to slide back a few inches. Then Barry was gone. “What the—”

The other freshman started looking around the gym, asking each other if they saw where the kid went. Iris just rolled her eyes. For someone so reluctant to demonstrate his powers, Barry sure liked to put on a show.

A streak, and short shocks of lightning, shot through the gym. Barry stopped on the stage, and handed Coach Boomer a cookie. “From the cafeteria,” he said. Iris gave him a thumbs up from the crowd and a bright smile lit up his face.

Whispers erupted from the other students. Iris watched as the smile slid off Barry’s face, his eyes turning down to stare at the floor. She could hear them asking, “Allen?” “As in Henry Allen, the Comet?” “Didn’t the Comet kill his wife?” “He’s gotta be. Another speedster with the last name Allen?” “He’s in prison now, I think. Is that his son?”

Oh God. Iris suddenly realized why Barry hadn’t wanted to show his powers. Of course everyone would figure out that he was the Comet’s son. The case had been legendary. Henry Allen, revealed in court to be the Comet, had been convicted of murdering his wife, Nora. Eyewitnesses had described a speedster as her attacker; the case was open and shut. It was the first case in which a superhero had been convicted of murder, and everyone knew about it. But until now, no one had known the name of his son.

“Very nice, Allen. Hero! Now get off the stage!” shouted Coach Boomer, ushering Barry off the stage. “Cain!”

Iris shoved her way up to the front to meet Barry as he came down. “Barry—”

“It’s fine,” he mumbled, shoving past her and heading to the back of the group.

“Barry!” Iris followed him. She grabbed Barry’s arm and pulled, forcing him to turn around. He didn’t meet her eyes. “It’s not fine, Barr,” she insisted. “It’s not fine, and it’s okay if you’re not fine. Why didn’t you talk to me about this?”

“It’s just…” Barry made a vague gesture, looking up to the ceiling. “You were so worried! You were worried about your powers, and I didn’t want to pile on!” he said so earnestly, finally looking at her.

“You can always talk to me,” said Iris. She moved her hand up to hold his other arm, smoothing the fabric of his sweatshirt. “Okay? You can always talk to me. Tell me you know that.”

“I know,” Barry wavered, biting his lip. “I know. I just didn’t want to pile on, and I didn’t realize I’d have to power up on the first day, and… I felt like I should be able to handle this by now, I guess.” Barry smiled at Iris weakly.

Iris rubbed Barry’s arm comfortingly and tried to find the right words. Then Barry looked over her shoulder.

“You okay, Barry?” she heard Cisco ask quietly. Of course.

“Yeah, Cisco, I’ll be fine,” Barry answered, smile brightening just a little. Iris resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She wasn’t sure what it was about Cisco that annoyed her. She had never spent a lot of time with him, really; he was Barry’s friend, not hers. Iris could even admit that he seemed like a really nice, if excitable, guy. Still, for some reason, Iris and Cisco had never gotten along very well.

Cisco and Barry kept chatting while Coach Boomer placed other students into their classes. ris listened in and contributed occasionally, but mostly kept watching the stage as her doom approached ever closer.

“Iris? You doing alright?” Barry asked, tugging lightly on her sleeve. Cisco looked over with curiosity.

“Peachy,” she said. Iris brought her hand up and bit at her thumbnail, imagining scenarios. Would they kick her out of school? No, she’d get her powers later, right? And they couldn’t just put her in a normal high school until then. Probably.

“At least you only have to go through placement once, right?” Cisco remarked.

“Right,” Iris said doubtfully. If she was lucky, her powers would kick in right that second. Or the next second. Hopefully before she went on stage.

“Alright!” called Coach Boomer, blowing his whistle once. Several freshmen in the crowd covered their ears. “Time to go to lunch! We’ll meet up back here in half an hour!”

“Thank God,” muttered Iris, hoisting her bag up on her shoulder. She turned to Barry and Cisco. If Cisco was Barry’s friend and going to high school with them, she might as well try to get to know the guy. “Lunch? Cisco?”

“Yeah, I’m down,” Cisco replied, eyeing Barry with concern. Barry nodded, seeming more upbeat. His trial was over, for better or worse. Iris knew hers was just ahead.

%%%

Cisco’s mind was racing. Barry was Barry Allen, son of Henry Allen, the most notorious former superhero in… ever. Cisco hadn’t even known Barry had superpowers. He had assumed he would be totally alone at Sky High.

Well, except for Dante. Cisco looked over at the table his brother was sitting at. He claimed it was “reserved for certified basasses”. What a jerk, Cisco thought to himself, surveying the crowd Dante called his friends. He told Cisco they called themselves “the Rogues”. They sounded pretty full of themselves, in Cisco’s opinion.

“Line’s moving,” prompted the guy behind him. He loomed over Cisco; obviously an upperclassman.

“Sorry,” said Cisco. He paused for a moment to take the probably-a-senior in. Was he wearing a parka indoors, in September?

The guy just raised an eyebrow and gave Cisco a bored look. “Are you going to move sometime today?” he asked, not seeming terribly bothered either way. All the same, there was a chill in the air that made something in Cisco’s brain kick into gear.

“Right!” he blurted. “Sorry, dude.” Cisco rapidly turned back around and moved forward in line to grab a lunch tray. He made a mental note: don’t piss off people at superhero high school.

After wrestling his lunch from the clutches of the cafeteria staff – who were being super stingy with the macaroni, rude – Cisco scanned the mass of high schoolers for Barry and Iris. He had been surprised when Iris asked him to sit with her and Barry at lunch; Cisco had always gotten the impression that Iris didn’t like him that much. Admittedly, they had only ever seen each other when Barry had brought Cisco home after school. Maybe he had read her wrong. She certainly seemed like a friendly person, especially to Barry.

In the corner of his eye, Cisco caught sight of Barry waving him over. God, his smile was like sunshine. Iris was smiling too, but she seemed guarded. Maybe, Cisco realized, she was just worried about him stealing her best friend. She really didn’t have to worry, he knew, a pang shooting through his chest. It was painfully obvious to Cisco that Barry loved her.

%%%

It was difficult to keep thinking about his dad with Iris and Cisco smiling at him. It was also more than a little confusing. This was why Barry hadn’t tried to get them to hang out together in middle school.

Barry had been in love with Iris for as long as he could remember. They had known each other since kindergarten, when Barry’s parents had decided to tell him his dad was a superhero. It had taken him a long time to get used to living with his crush after… everything, but he made it work. Barry had long ago accepted that he’d love Iris forever, however he had to do that.

Then, Barry met Cisco. Shortly after that, Barry had to look up bisexuality on Wikipedia (which was pretty awkward to do in the middle school library). For a split second, Barry thought he might be gay – then he got home and Iris was sitting on the front porch. There went that theory.

Over the course of eighth grade, Barry began to fall for Cisco and thought that maybe he’d be okay. Whether with Cisco, or someone else, he could be happy with someone who wasn’t Iris. Unfortunately, that thought completely left his head everytime he actually saw her.

Now, he was eating lunch with Iris. And Cisco. Being in the same room as the two of them made Barry’s head spin in a not completely unpleasant way.

“Barry? You there?” teased Iris, stealing a bite of his jello.

“Yeah,” he said, feeling a bit breathless. “I’m here.”

“Good, ‘cause your lunch is under attack,” Cisco pointed out.

“What?” Barry looked down at his food as Iris quickly set her fork down on her own tray. Half of the jello was gone, as was a sizeable portion of his macaroni and cheese. He looked over to his supposed best friend. She was doing an excellent impression of innocence. Then he felt his tray move. Barry swiftly turned and saw Cisco take his pear. “Dude!”

“You left an opening,” Cisco said with a shrug.

“Wha—” His friends had betrayed him. “Speedsters need calories!”

“Barry. Dad made you pack, like, fifteen protein bars,” Iris replied. She went for another bite of pasta.

Barry could have taken the tray, but instead he let his friends burgle him as he fought a smile. “Guys, come on!” he protested half heartedly. Iris and Cisco just laughed, looking at him fondly. His heart swelled. Honestly, Barry thought to himself, he was just glad they were getting along.

%%%

“Ramon!” The gym somehow seemed small when Coach Boomer called Cisco’s name. “Get up here!”

Cisco groaned internally. He already knew how this was going to go. Hanging his head like he was going to his execution, Cisco walked up to the stage.

Boomer took a good look at him. “Another Ramon. You’re Adriana’s kid?” Cisco just nodded in response. “This should be good, then. Show us what you got, Ramon,” Boomer prompted, clipboard and pen in position.

“My powers,” Cisco began, focusing on not freaking out over a stupid high school test, “they aren’t exactly… visible. They’re…” He tried to figure out how to explain “I can feel and interpret vibrations” in a way that didn’t sound insane.

“Spit it out, kid!” demanded Boomer.

“I can see things,” was the explanation Cisco settled on. “I touch things and sometimes I can see images.” Yeah, that was specific. Thanks for playing, buddy.

“Right,” Coach Boomer said skeptically. “Could you give us a demonstration?”

“I can’t always control it,” Cisco admitted.

“Can you use it offensively?” Boomer asked, making a note on his clipboard. “Make things explode with your mind, or fly, or something?”

Cisco had known that question was coming. “No.”

Coach Boomer looked up. “Right,” he said, distinctly unimpressed. “Sidekick!”

“Great,” muttered Cisco as he stepped down from the stage.

%%%

Iris watched Cisco make his way back to her and Barry. He looked defeated. Iris suddenly felt bad for being standoffish to him in middle school; she knew what it was like to not live up to the family name. “Hey,” she said, getting his attention as he stood next to Barry. “Just wait until I go up. That should make you feel better.”

“What do you mean?” Cisco asked with a frown. “Aren’t you—”

“Yeah, I’m a West,” Iris confirmed. “Just wait and see. It’s going to be good.”

“Iris…” Barry watched her carefully. “Maybe they’ll wait to place you until—”

“They won’t,” Iris said curtly. “Sorry.” She gave Barry an apologetic look. “I’ve reached the acceptance stage. I just want to get it over with.”

“Okay, I think I’m missing something,” Cisco interrupted. “Clue me in?”

Barry looked lost, glancing between Iris and Cisco and not saying anything. Iris felt kinda bad. It wasn’t such a big deal, in the long run. She breathed out, catching Cisco’s eyes. “I don’t have—”

“West!”

Shit. “Never mind. No need to spoil the show,” Iris joked. It sounded hollow even to her.

“It’ll be okay, Iris,” Barry assured her. There was a hint of desperation in his eyes when they met hers.

“Today, West!” Boomer yelled impatiently. Iris broke eye contact and walked to the front of the group, climbing up onto the platform. “Alright, West, let’s go! Lift something.”

“Um, actually, I don’t have any powers. Yet.” Iris shrugged, trying to come off like she wasn’t shaken to her core over not having received her powers yet.

Coach Boomer stared for a second before laughing. “Oh, I get it,” he said. “Playing a little joke on your teacher. You’re just like your mother. Car!” He clicked a button on the end of his pen.

Iris dived off the stage. A car came plummeting from the ceiling and landed right where she had been standing. In an instant, Barry was by her side. “Are you insane?” he shouted at Boomer, helping Iris to her feet.

“I’ve got it, Barr.” Iris got back onto the stage. “I don’t have super strength,” she explained.

“My bad,” said Coach Boomer. “So you’re a flyer, like your mom.” Another click of the pen. Suddenly, Iris was thrust off her feet and flung to the other side of the gym.

Once again, Barry caught her, right before she could hit the wall. “I can’t fly, either!” she cried, heart going a mile a minute. Barry looked almost as panicked as Iris felt as he gave her a once over, making sure she wasn’t injured.

“Then what’s your power?” asked Boomer loudly.

“I don’t have one,” Iris replied, doing her best to appear calm.

Her classmates and the coach gaped. “You… don’t have a superpower,” Boomer stated.

“No,” Iris said with a cringe. “I don’t.”

There was a brief, sweet silence before— “SIDEKICK!”

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