By the time Hal and Diana got back to the School, it seemed that all of Haven knew about Art's arrest. People crowded around them as Storm pulled them back inside the building, trying to demand why in the world a well-known super like Art would attack their benefactor. Even though Hal had no intention of telling them anything—granted, he didn't actually know anything himself—Storm still refused to let them even stop. It just made him look really ridiculous.

Diana was silent. It was as if the reason for her moodiness at breakfast had somehow been a precursor to what they were going through now. She didn't even send a telepathic message to him. Any time he tried to reach out to her, it was like he hit a brick wall. Her meaning was clear: Leave me alone.

So Hal walked in silence. Storm's nails were digging into his arms, and he felt rather like a naughty puppy being pulled along by the scruff of his neck. Once they got to the entrance of the girls' dorms in the School, the crowd was forced to disperse. Storm gave Diana a little shove. "Don't do anything stupid," she warned the younger girl.

A momentary expression of rebellion crossed Diana's face, swiftly doused by the glare Storm gave her. The two stood there for several seconds, and Hal assumed they were having a private telepathic conversation. He felt really left out, especially since Diana had shut him out of her mind not five seconds ago. He just stood there incredibly awkwardly, wishing Brick would show up so he could have an excuse to get the heck out of there.

Finally, without another word—though she looked really annoyed—Diana flounced off. Hal gave a little sigh as Storm grabbed his arm again and dragged him off in the opposite direction. He really wished she would just let him walk on his own.

After what felt like forever, they finally stopped at the entrance to the boys' dormitory. Before Storm could just shove him aside and walk away, Hal stopped her. "Storm, I just want to know what's going on," he said with a hint of pleading in his voice.

She glared at him for several seconds before her face relaxed a fraction. "I'm sorry, Hal. I don't want to leave you outside the loop, but it's safer for you now. If you get involved ... I don't want that to happen. You need to learn to control your powers."

"That doesn't mean anything to me if the people who helped me are getting thrown in prison for no reason," Hal protested.

Storm reached out and gently brushed his hair off his forehead. The gesture was so unexpected and unlike her that all he could do was stare. "Hal, I'm sorry. But this goes beyond us saving you. We've only known you for a little more than a day. I can't ask you to risk everything for us."

"But—"

"There's no 'but's about it, Hal," Storm told him. "This is between me and Art, and Guardian. I don't want either you or Diana dragged into this. If he thinks you're against him, he'll act against you as he's done with Art. Take my advice and sit this one out, Hal. It's not your fight."

Before Hal could think of any sort of a response to that, Storm turned on her heel and walked away. He kept staring after her for several moments, trying to curb his rebellious side while still thinking that she was dead wrong.

His train of thought was derailed when someone tapped on his shoulder. Jumping a mile into the air, Hal swung around and saw Brick standing there. "Holy cow, Brick!" he complained, breathless. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry, bro," Brick said. "But you were standing there for like ten minutes. You good?"

Hal hesitated, then nodded. If Storm didn't want Hal butting in, she definitely wouldn't want Brick to mess things up. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "Just a slight problem."

"Y'mean, the thing with Eagle?" Brick asked. "It's got a lot of people bugged, to be sure. Makes you wonder who you can trust."

"What d'you mean?" Hal questioned as the two boys made their way back towards their dormitory.

Brick shrugged. "Eagle's well-liked by all the people in Haven," he explained. "Guardian ... eh. He made everything here, but he so rarely leaves his home that most of us don't even really think about him. He's just kind of there. The people of the city are more likely to side with Eagle than Guardian."

"You think it'll come to that?" Hal inquired.

Brick shrugged. "Who knows? It might. Guardian and Eagle have never fought before."

"Surely it can't be as bad as all that," Hal said.

Brick scratched his head as the two boys went into their room. "Silence or Thorn would have a better idea," he admitted. "I'm not really all that into strategy, if I'm being honest. I just like people to point where I'm going and I'll bash them on the head. Makes things much easier for me."

Hal had to laugh at that. "I can imagine. Not so much for the person who has to physically do the pointing, though," he added.

"True, true," Brick conceded, also chuckling. "But that's not my problem—it's theirs."

Still snorting, Hal flopped down on his bed. "First day of training, I get knocked on the head, and my mentor gets arrested," he said thoughtfully. "Story of my life. It's the hair. I'd swear it's the curse of the redheads."

Brick crashed onto his bed. "Sorry about that," he said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to bonk you that hard. It just kind of ... happened."

"Next time, try not to," Hal said, rubbing his aching head. He laid back, staring at the ceiling. "Storm really told me off."

"Really? She's usually pretty chill," Brick commented. "Not like Silence."

"I think it's this deal with Art," Hal said. "Something about it's really got her bugged."

"Well, he is her husband," Brick pointed out. "Besides, the last time Art and Guardian argued, her brother died."

"Oh," Hal said quietly. After a few seconds, he dared to ask, "Who was her brother?"

"Nobody knows. She never told anyone. It was before Haven existed. Rumor has it that she even has a normal brother on top of a super one," Brick said.

Hal turned and stared at him. The instant he'd said it, Hal's mind flashed back to a peculiar conversation between his dad and Storm ... but it couldn't be. There was no way. "Brick, do you know what Thorn's maiden name is?"

Brick made a face. "Nah. I hardly even knew what her real name is. You know, most of us call her Thorn, not Storm. Same with Eagle. We mostly stick to codenames."

"Ah," Hal said, disappointed. He returned to staring at the ceiling, with only one goal in mind.

Once night had fallen, he would go and seek out Storm's maiden name. He had to purge the doubt in his mind.

. . . . . . . . . .

Diana was, to put it lightly, furious at Storm. The woman had brushed her off like she was an idiotic child, and on top of all that, she didn't listen about Diana's conversation with Ivy the previous night. There was nothing she hated worse than being treated like she was no more than an eight-year-old.

Now she furiously paced her shared room. Silence wasn't there, giving Diana time alone with her angry thoughts. The girl was wrestling with the idea of going to see Ivy, but she'd have to wait for the night to do so. There was the added problem of both the security cameras and the guard outside the room, but she'd deal with that when the time came.

Since Art had punched Guardian in the face, it meant that he now agreed with Diana. Unfortunately, with him in solitary confinement and Storm convinced that Diana shouldn't involve herself, she had no allies to look to. The even more unfortunate thing was that Diana didn't think she should involve Silence, Brick, or even Hal. The poor boy was absolutely clueless.

Diana sat down heavily on her bed, curling her knees to her chest. Both worry and anger ate away at her. She was extremely worried that Guardian would decide to make an end to her rebellious nature and that he would blame her for Art's change of mind. The anger was directed at both the Brendans. Neither had taken her seriously until Art chose to speak to Ivy. He had to have. There was no other reason for him to suddenly go and see Guardian, and even less for him to punch the man.

Before she could fully calm herself, someone knocked on her door. Diana looked up, brushing her hair back behind her ear before opening it. An unfamiliar burly man stood there, facing her. "Delphi?" he said briskly. Diana nodded wordlessly. "You have been called to Guardian's office in one hour. This is not a request."

The man turned around and walked away, leaving Diana standing there, utterly dumbfounded. She had little time to recover herself before Silence came running up, panting slightly. "Delph!" she exclaimed. "Who was that guy? What did he want?"

Diana shrugged leaning on the door as her mind ran at a million miles an hour. "Guardian wants to see me in an hour," she said after a moment.

Silence frowned. "Really? Why?" she asked.

Diana shrugged a little. "He might blame me for Art's lashing out at him."

That only served to deepen Silence's scowl. "That's stupid," she commented, crossing her arms.

"It might not be as stupid as you think," Diana admitted with a sigh. "I did have something to do with why Art went to see Guardian."

"Really?" Silence laughed.

"It's not funny, Silence!" Diana said with a trace of impatience. "Art's been thrown in prison because of it."

With some effort, Diana's roommate controlled herself. "Sorry," she apologized, wiping a stray tear of mirth from her cheek. "It just seemed funny that I assumed you were innocent and it turned out that you weren't."

"Hilarious," Diana said with a sigh. "I can't ask Storm to drive me. She's miffed at me."

"We could always walk," Silence suggested. "I mean, I could go with you? I don't mind. You probably could use a friend at this point, right? Whatever Guardian wants you for, it probably isn't good."

Diana felt guilty for the annoyed thoughts she'd been thinking about Silence. "I'd appreciate that. Thanks, Silence."

The other girl nodded and looped her arm through Diana's. "It's no problem," she answered with a breezy grin.

. . . . . . . . . .

The second time Diana was brought to Guardian's office, she waited in there alone, not downstairs. It made her wonder if he just didn't want her talking to anyone who might be in the lobby. As it was, Silence was refused entry and was left downstairs.

Diana sat in the leather chair, her legs crossed, waiting, feigning relaxation she definitely didn't feel. It seemed that the longer she had to wait for Guardian, the more her anxiety was building. How liable would he hold her for Art's actions? She hadn't made Art punch Guardian, after all. In fact, he really hadn't seemed to believe her or Ivy. So something had to have changed.

Without warning, the door leading further into Guardian's office opened, and the man emerged, sitting down across from her. Aside from his black eye, he was as well-put-together as he had been before. He viewed Diana with no expression on his face for several seconds. "Welcome back, Miss Crocious," he said at last.

Diana nodded, looking away. "Thanks." She felt unusually exposed without her powers. It made things a lot harder, particularly since she had no clue what Guardian wanted from her.

Guardian leaned back, folding his hands over his stomach as he looked at her. "I trust you know what's been going on with myself and Eagle?"

"You mean, how he punched you?" Diana regretted putting it so bluntly immediately after it left her mouth.

Guardian's expression didn't change, thank goodness. "Yes. That. I suppose it's rather obvious, isn't it? What with the shiner on my face."

"Why did he punch you?" Diana couldn't help but ask.

Guardian's gaze went to his view of Haven. "We disagreed. You don't need to fear, Diana. The conversation had little to do with you. It started with him telling me about your visit with Ivy, which, admittedly, was ill-advised. However, the course that followed had nothing to do with you or Ivy. It was ... a conversation we've had several times before."

"If you don't mind my asking, why is Art in solitary confinement?" Hearing that their conversation didn't have much to do with Diana bolstered her confidence enough to ask that question.

"I know many will think it's because of the black eye and the coming execution of Ivy, but it's not," Guardian reassured her. He stood up. "Do you like tea?"

The sudden change of tact took Diana by surprise. She answered hesitantly. "Why ... yes ... I do. Thank you."

"Good." Guardian went over to a side table, and she soon heard the clinking of a spoon as the tea was stirred in a cup. "Sugar?"

"Please." Diana shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "And ... well ... thanks."

Guardian finished fixing her cup of tea and put it on the desk in front of her before sitting back down. "Drink," he urged her. "I hope I didn't serve it too hot."

Diana smiled slightly, drinking the tea obediently. There was no reason to antagonize him when he seemed in such an amiable mood. "Thank you. It's delicious," she said. Although there was a bit of a strange taste in it that she wasn't too fond of.

Guardian nodded. "Now, the reason Eagle and I fell out has to do with Ivy, in fact."

"Wait, you told me it didn't!" Diana said, her head shooting up. "Why did you lie to me?"

"Because, Miss Crocious, I can't have what Ivy said getting out to too many people," Guardian answered smoothly.

Diana's gaze slid to the teacup. "What have you done?" she asked shakily. "Have you poisoned me?"

"Drugged would be a more accurate description," Guardian said, leaning back in his seat. "You'll be under my control. You won't say anything I don't want you to, not even with those powers of yours. Just until Ivy is dead. Then I'll arrange for an accident for Art and a memory wipe for you."

Diana tried to stand, but her legs wouldn't support her. Trembling, gripped the edge of the desk, her breath coming in ragged gasps. "No ... please," she begged.

"Good night, Diana," Guardian said. Diana crashed forward, and everything went black.