Heroes Not Wanted

Chapter 8: The Twins

After Hal chose his hero name, his conversation with Guardian was over. He and Art were ushered out politely and they returned to Art's van. Hal sat in the front as the older man pulled away and drove off down the street.

It was a few minutes later when Art spoke. "Phoenix?" he said.

Hal shrugged, self-conscious. "I dunno. It was the best I could think of," he admitted. "You know, fire and all that."

Art chuckled. "I've heard worse," he said. "To be honest, I went through a bunch of names before picking Eagle. It sounds cool, though."

"You changed your name?" Hal asked.

For some reason, the question seemed to make Art uncomfortable. "Yes ... for reasons."

Deciding that it would probably be better if he didn't pursue that conversation, Hal sought a different topic. "Where are we going?" he said.

"To the School," Art answered, his voice jovial once again. "It's where everyone learns to control their powers. Even me and Storm went there. There are a whole bunch of people your age there. At least one hundred."

Hal squirmed. "I don't really like school. I'm not very good at it."

Art straight-up laughed at him. "Don't worry, kid," he said. "This isn't like regular school. You'll pick it up in no time. We're here." He jammed on the brakes, shooting Hal forward in his seat and nearly giving him whiplash.

"Don't you know how to do anything gently?" Hal complained.

Art grinned. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said innocently. He indicated the building. "Your new home."

Hal got out of the van and looked up at the building. It looked similar to some of the houses—made out of metal, sparkling in the peculiar light above them—but much bigger. Some lights were on in the windows. "Wow," he said.

"Dorms are on the left, classrooms and other rooms on the right," Art said in a monotone. His grin belied the bored tone. "I've done this a thousand times. C'mon. Diana and your guides are waiting for you."

Hal followed Art down the metal path to the door of the School. The two walked through the massive doors, crafted to look like wood but still the color of metal. Inside the main lobby, there was a desk with a bored-looking woman behind it, otherwise unfurnished. She didn't even look up at them.

Art chuckled to himself and motioned to the hall on the right. "Go on," he said. "Your guides are waiting for you. First door on the right."

Hal followed the instructions and went inside the indicated room. It was not what he'd expected—instead of a classroom with desks, it looked like a gym, with a padded floor and everything. A boy was doing sit-ups in the middle of the unfurnished room, a girl standing over him. Diana leaned against the wall, staring at the floor, but she looked up when Hal came in and smiled.

The other girl looked up as well, brushing her caramel hair out of her eyes. It was cut in a pixie that demonstrated her pointy and elfin face, her dark brown eyes smiling when he approached. The boy on the floor had to be her brother. Although he was significantly smaller than the petite girl, he still resembled her, right down to the elfin face. "Hi," he said, still doing his sit-ups. "Are you Phoenix?"

Hal nodded. "Yeah."

The boy finally stood up. Now that he was standing, even under the sheen of sweat on his tan skin, Hal could see that he was only around fourteen. "I'm Brick," he said. "It's nice to meet you."