Heroes Not Wanted

Chapter 26: Brendan and Bradley

Once Art had recovered himself and the three teenagers were settled in the back, he and Storm sat up front. Storm elected to drive, and the two sat in comfortable silence for several minutes. At least, Art thought it was comfortable, until Storm broke the quiet by blurting out, "We can't go back to Haven."

All eyes in the van turned to her, and she visibly reddened. "But Hal, and Diana," Art managed to get out in his surprise. "We can't just leave them there!"

"They're not in Haven," Storm said, staring out at the water. "Not anymore."

"If they're not in Haven anymore, where are they?" Brick asked, his voice anxious.

Storm glanced at Art before sighing. "It was Doc, Art. He betrayed us for a pardon from United. He kidnapped Hal and Diana. I—I hesitated, Art. I couldn't decide if I wanted to go after him or come back to save Silence and Ivy." Tears slid down her cheeks and she brushed at them angrily. "I nearly killed them both."

Art put his hand on her arm, using his other hand to brush tears from her cheeks. "But you didn't," he said. "You faced a choice that nobody should have faced. You had to pick between protecting your nephew and saving two young teenagers. In your place, I wouldn't have known which either, and I probably would have hesitated longer than you did."

Storm sighed. "It's nice of you to say, but I know you wouldn't have," she answered. "The fact remains that I nearly failed you all, and I'm sorry."

"Doesn't really matter to me," Ivy said with a shrug. "I'm alive, aren't I?" She ran her fingers through her waterlogged curls. "And I punched Guardian, which felt pretty good."

"Guardian's dead," Art retorted shortly, his face reddening.

"Oh, is he?" Ivy said. "Serves him right. Conniving little schemer."

"He was being controlled by Brain," Art shot back at her. "He wasn't in his right mind, and then he got shot."

"Huh." Ivy cocked her head to the side thoughtfully. "Well, I was mostly right, about him being an evil lunatic. He was just a mind-controlled evil lunatic."

Deciding that was not a conversation he was going to win, Art turned his attention back to Storm. "Don't blame yourself," he told her quietly, before raising his voice so those in the back could hear him as well. "What's the plan now, Storm?"

It gave her a moment to martial her thoughts, and she took a deep breath. "The villains have Haven in their grasp, which just leaves United in their way of total domination," she explained. "So you should probably know who they're going to go after."

"That's not a big deal to me," Art said with a shrug. "Maybe we should let Brain deal with Bradley and then step in."

"The instant United is out of the picture, we're all doomed," Storm said. "I have no doubt that the villains have plants in place to take over once Bradley is out of the way. That doesn't exactly leave us much in the way of leeway. If they get their hands on Lauren and take over United, we're dead meat. Us and anyone who opposes them, as well as normals. And do you really want them all dying on us?"

"You mean, we have to protect that arrogant brat?" Art said, slightly disappointed.

Storm stared off into the water. "Yes," she said. "We do."

"Well, that's a bummer," Art answered, and slouched back in his seat. They drove on in silence.

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