Heroes Not Wanted

Chapter 27: To Safety

"Do something, sweetheart!" Storm yelled at Art as they were lifted higher and higher into the air.

"Thinking!" Art shouted back.

"Uhh, I think your kidnapped person just passed out," Brick said.

"Good," Art answered. "At least now she can't annoy me with her constant chattering. Just, uh, make sure she's still alive, okay?"

There was a moment's silence, then Brick spoke. "Yeah, she's alive."

"Okay, good," Art responded. "That means I don't have to worry about her anymore. Any ideas, Stormy, before our old friend Sampson crushes our car like an old tin can?"

Storm sighed. "Just one. Poke him in the eye."

"But he'll drop us!" Silence yelled, horrified.

"That's the idea," Storm answered mirthlessly. "Trust me, Eagle, just do it!"

Since Art didn't have any better ideas—and it was usually a bad thing when she called him by his codename—he cranked down the window and lit up his hand with solar energy. Sampson was holding them up with one hand, his other hand coming to rip the door from its hinges, probably to pull Lauren out. "Hey Sammy!" Art called.

Sampson's eyes turned to Art. "Don't make this any worse than it has to be," he rumbled. "Just give us Bradley and you can go free. We'll even get Delphi and Phoenix back."

"That's all well and good, except Brain is a supervillain who wants to destroy all regular humans," Art said. "Probably. Anyway, my wife is also friends with Bradley, not that I like the girl, so ... I'm sorry." He fired off the shot of solar energy to Sampson's eye, and the man recoiled with a roar, dropping the vehicle as he clapped his hand to the injured eye.

The teenagers in the back of the van were screaming, and Art felt like screaming himself as they freefell towards the ground. Storm had her eyes squeezed shut, mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like, "Come on, come on, come on!" That didn't instill any amount of confidence in Art.

Without warning, the van stopped falling. Ivy shrieked briefly, but nobody else made any sound. Storm had managed to wrap the van in vines, holding it above the ground before it could smash into the concrete. They were only inches away from it. Belatedly, Ivy lent her plants to help, and they lowered themselves to the ground.

The instant the wheels were on the sidewalk, Art floored the gas and they shot off again. The cars following them, apparently not expecting them to have escaped Sampson's grasp, took a few seconds to start driving after them. That was just the lead that Art needed. He jerked on the wheel, sending them careening around a corner, nearly tipping them over.

Silence cried out belatedly. "We're going to get killed!" she squealed.

"I swear, if all of you keep complaining about my driving, I'm going to gag you all myself," Art said.

"You do drive like a maniac," Brick said tentatively.

"It's my crazy driving that's keeping us alive!" Art snapped back and nearly flipped them over again. Deciding that he really just needed to focus on driving, he turned his attention back to the road before him.

"Ivy," Storm said. "I know what we need to do, now that Sampson is way behind us."

Ivy looked up, her eyes widening. "What?"

"Cover the road behind us with plants ... now!" Storm yelled, plants growing over the road from where they'd just driven past. Ivy's face paled as she squeezed her eyes shut, growing the plants over the road.

When the cars behind them tried to follow, they slammed into the net of plants that the two women had put up and immediately got tangled. Though their wheels spun and their engines revved, they were stuck fast. "Well done," Art complimented them. "Brick, how's the United woman?"

"I'm fine, you swine," Lauren snapped.

Art sighed. "Well, that's unfortunate," he muttered. "It was so much more peaceful when you were unconscious."

"It would be so much more peaceful for you if you let me go," Lauren retorted.

"True," Art said. "Because we would be dead. And peaceful or not, I like my life too much to die at such a young age."

Lauren harrumphed, the only indication that she had heard Art. As long as she wasn't saying anything else, Art was happy. He glanced behind him, but there was no sign of their pursuers or Sampson. That was probably a good thing, since Art didn't want to deal with the giant again.

They kept driving, rumbling on, and everyone relaxed inwardly. Art glanced over at Storm, running his hand through his still-damp hair. "We're safe, for now," he said.

"For now," Storm agreed. "But Hal and Diana aren't."

Art bit down on his lip. "We'll get them back," he said softly. "I know we will. It's just a matter of when, and how."

"Well," Storm said. "We can't do anything now. Not with United after us, and the villains as well. We need to find a temporary place to stay, and relax for a little while at least."

Art glared at Lauren in the rearview mirror. "Are you going to behave, now that you know that they're after you?"

Judging from the sulky expression on Lauren's face and the way she didn't meet his eyes, Art guessed that would be a "no". Sighing, he looked back at Storm. "Relaxing sounds like a plan," he said. "We can eat, regroup, and figure things out."

Nobody else said anything, and they drove on. Art found himself hoping for Diana and Hal's safety. There was nothing they could do about it now.

They drove on, to safety and rest, if only for just a little while.

To be continued ...