Ch. 17: Government Car Chase

The eight heroes break some bad news, then go to save a captured friend!

Brenden, Tara, Seth, Anna, Scarlett, Drew, Frank, and JT were finally back home, but before they could get back with their families, they needed to break some unfortunate news. Everyone went to Brenden's house with their weapons. Brenden led them and opened the door. His parents, or who he thought to be his parents, were sitting in the living room. 
"Mom. Dad." Brenden said. 
"Woah, what is that?" Brenden's mom asked, pointing to Brenden's bo staff. 
"I'll get to that." Brenden said. "There's three things I... er... we need to tell you both." 
"Alright." Brenden's dad said. "Lay it on us." 
"The first thing is that I figured it out." Brenden said, putting his head down. 
"Figured out what?" Brenden's mom asked. 
"That... I'm not your real son." 
Everyone in the room besides Brenden gasped. 
"I didn't even know that." Seth said. 
"We... were going to tell you when you were eighteen." Brenden's mom said. "We're sorry." 
"Second thing is about these weapons we all have." Brenden explained. "Basically, us nine... er... eight, were chosen by this old sensei because we needed to save the world from demons named Akuma." 
"What!?" Brenden's dad said. "That's insane! Do you really think I'd believe that!?" 
"I thought you might say something like that." Brenden tapped Scarlett's shoulder. Scarlett walked up and waved. 
"Um, hi." Scarlett waved. "My name's Scarlett. I'm a friend of Brenden's, although you probably already know me. So, my element is wind, so I can do stuff like this." 
Scarlett turned invisible. Brenden's parents were flustered. 
"W-what the...!" Brenden's dad said. 
"Ya see?" Seth asked. "He wasn't lying. I can do some cool stuff, too, but I wouldn't want to ruin your floor." 
"This is so crazy!" Brenden's mom shook her head. "Does John have any powers, too? Where is he anyway?" 
"That was the third thing." Brenden looked down. His friends did the same. 
"W-what happened?" Brenden's mom asked. 
"He... died." Brenden said. "Don't worry though! We can get him back! The place we're trying to get to is the place that he's at!" 
Brenden's mom started crying. 
"Get out." Brenden's dad said. 
"W-wha..?" Brenden asked. 
"You and your friends get out!" Brenden's dad roared. "If you weren't doing such stupid stuff, maybe you wouldn't have gotten your brother killed!" 
"Waitwaitwait!" Brenden and his friends started backing up out of the door. "We can get him back! He's not technically dead!" 
Brenden's dad sighed. 
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry." Brenden's dad apologized. "I got overheated. Would you kids like something to eat or drink?" 
"Yes please!" Frank nodded. 

Everyone came back in, set their weapons down, and went into the kitchen. Brenden, Tara, Seth, Anna, Scarlett, and Frank all sat down at the kitchen table, while Drew, JT, and Lucy stood up. They had some food and talked for a while. After a while, Drew walked to the door. 
"Well, I'm gonna drop my bow off at Tanaka's, then get some cash for all these gold pieces and jewels!" 
"Maybe you should get some clean clothes, too!" JT laughed. "You're covered in blue stuff, after all." 
"That can wait." Drew responded. "How much do you think this diamond is worth? Or this dagger?" 
JT rolled his eyes. 
"Hey, I thought you said you were gonna share!" Scarlett yelled to Drew walking out the door. 
"I'm not gonna spend all the money!" Drew's voice was muffled by the door being closed. 
"So, Brenden, what's your 'element'?" Brenden's dad asked. 
Brenden poked Seth's arm, zapping him. 
"Lightning." Brenden answered. 
"Hey!" Seth grabbed his arm. "You're lucky I couldn't feel that because of my Earth element!" 
"Hey Seth." Brenden's mom said. "What's with the eyepatch?" 
"Oh, something stabbed it." Seth shrugged. "It doesn't hurt that much anymore though, although I probably won't be able to see out of it anymore. At least it looks cool though, right?" 
Anna gave Seth a kiss. 
"It sure does." She said. 
"Woah." Brenden laughed. "Since when were YOU two a thing?" 
"I... don't know actually." Anna laughed. "It just kinda happened." 
Frank put his head down. 
"Frank?" Scarlett asked. "You okay?" 
"Yeah, I just..." Frank got up from the table. "Now that I've eaten, I can focus on something." 
"On what?" Tara asked. 
"I just... I wanna be stronger." Frank sighed. "I'm obviously the weakest link of the group, and if I sit around and do nothing, I'll only get weaker." 
Frank walked to the door. 
"I'm gonna head over to Tanaka's. I'll see you guys later." He said, walking out the door and closing it behind him. 
"I don't think he's that weak." Brenden said. "But whatever makes him happy, I guess." 
"Speaking of happy, who wants to go watch a movie?" Seth asked. "We haven't done that in a long time." 
"Yeah!" Scarlett agreed. "Do all six of us want to go?" 
Brenden, Tara, Seth, Anna, and JT all nodded. Lucy barked. 
"Cool. Let's go!" Seth got up from the table and the rest followed. 
"I could drive you kids if you want." Brenden's dad said. 
"That's okay, dad." Brenden answered. "We like walking." 
Brenden, Tara, Seth, Anna, Scarlett, JT, and Lucy left Brenden's house and started to walk to the movie theater. 
"Hey, the pawn shop is pretty close to the movie theater, right?" Tara asked. 
"Yeah, it's like right across the street from it." Scarlett answered. "Why?" 
"Well that's where Drew would probably exchange his treasure for money." Tara responded. 
"Hey, yeah!" JT said. "Maybe we could meet up with him after the movie! He's probably gonna be there for a while because the guy behind the counter has to inspect every piece of gold and jewel." 
"Oh wait." Brenden said. "Before we go to the movies, we should probably put our weapons back." 
Everyone nodded and started to walk to Tanaka's hut. 
"JT, your claws are pretty cool!" Scarlett said. "Your armor, too!" 
"Thanks." JT said. "Lucy likes them too." 
Lucy barked. 
"Oh yeah, I should probably take her home, since dogs aren't allowed in the movie theater." JT said. "Can someone put my armor and rings back for me? I'll meet up with you guys at the movie theater." 
They nodded, and Brenden held onto JT's rings, Scarlett held onto his chestpiece, Seth held onto his helmet, and Anna held onto his leggings. JT then walked away with Lucy. 
"Thanks, you guys!" He said. "See ya!" 
A bit of walking later and they made it to the hut. They passed Drew on the way there. At the hideout was Frank and Tanaka. 
"Hey. What are you guys doing here?" Frank asked. 
"We're dropping off our weapons." Anna answered. "We're going to watch a movie, so we wouldn't want to get kicked out for having deadly weapons on us." 
"Do you wanna come with?" Brenden asked. 
"Nah, I'd rather train." Frank shook his head. "Thanks for the offer though. Hey, watch this." 
Frank charged up his whip and swung it in front of him, causing a large blade of energy to slash in front of it. 
"I call it 'Nature Slash'." Frank smiled. 
"That's pretty cool!" Seth smiled, closing his weapon case. "Everybody ready?" 
The four others that were going to the movies nodded, and they began to walk to the movie theater. A bit of walking later and they made it. While waiting in line for tickets, JT walked through the door. 
"Hey guys!" JT waved. "Cuts?" 
Brenden rolled his eyes and let JT in front of him. Once they got their tickets, they got food and drinks, and went to their seats. They sat in the topmost row because that's where they always sat. From left to right sat Brenden, Seth, Anna, Tara, Scarlett, and JT. 
During the movie, Seth and Anna were focused on each other, Tara was talking to Scarlett, and Brenden and JT were watching the movie. 
"Hey, Tara." Scarlett whispered. 
"Yeah?" Tara whispered back. 
"Is it just me, or is Brenden ignoring you?" 
"Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure he is. I was going to confront him about it, but I forgot." 
"Why not do it now?" 
"Because I um..." Tara thought for a second. "Actually, I think I will." 
Tara got up from her seat and grabbed Brenden's arm. 
"Hm?" Brenden looked up from the movie to see that Tara was trying to get him to come with her. Brenden sighed and got up. 
Tara and Brenden walked out of the room they were in and walked to a corner of the movie theater's lobby. 
"Brenden, what's wrong?" Tara asked. "What's your problem with me? I want to know." 
Brenden grunted and tried to walk away. 
"Wait!" Tara grabbed his arm again. "Just tell me!" 
"The problem I have is that you're trying to take John away from me!" Brenden yelled. This caused some people in the lobby to look at them. 
"What? I would never do that!" 
"Well, you're gonna end up going out with him, right? That means less time for me and him to hang out!" 
"Brenden, calm down. You're just stressed out." Tara put her hand on Brenden's shoulder. "It's been a long day. We're all having fun, and you're having fun with them, so why not have fun with me, too?" 
Brenden started to cry and gave Tara a hug. "I am stressing a little bit. I guess being the leader of a team of people that are supposed to save the world is a stressful task." 
Brenden stepped away from Tara and wiped his tears. 
"I don't even know why I thought that, though." Brenden sniffled. "Kobun just tried getting me to think that, and I believed it for some reason." 
"Yeah, he tried getting me to turn against you." Tara said. "I didn't fall for it, though." 
They stood there for a bit. 
"Well, let's go back." Brenden said. "They're probably wondering what's taking so- hey look!" 
Brenden pointed at the window that was behind Tara. Tara turned around to see a CIA van. 
"I don't think I've ever seen one of those in person before." Brenden said. "I wonder what's happening." 
The van stopped driving and parked. A few people in black suits ran out of the back of the van and funneled into... 
"Uh oh." Tara said. "Hurry! Go get everyone!" 
"Uh, okay?" Brenden said, flustered. "Why?" 
"Because, they're going into the pawn shop!" 
"Oh CRAP!" Brenden ran into the movie room and told everyone to come out. They all ran out of the movie theater to see that Drew was being held down in the pawn shop! They ran over to the shop. 
"What's going on in there!?" Brenden asked a man standing outside. 
"Apparently that teenager in there tried giving the shop owner some gold that wasn't made on this planet or something." Said the man. "The shop owner said the gold was unscannable when he scanned it, meaning that it was made of something not known to man." 
"That's not good!" Seth panicked. "Wait, here they come!" 
The CIA men ran out of the door carrying Drew. He was knocked out. The men threw him into the back of their van, climbed in, and drove off. 
"We need to follow that van!" Brenden shouted. 
Brenden and the others sprinted over to a parked van in the movie theater parking lot. Seth broke the window of the van door and unlocked the door. Brenden got in the driver's seat. He ripped off the panel with the keyhole, revealing some loose wires. Brenden grabbed the wires and sent a jolt of electricity to his hand, starting the van up. 
"Everyone, get in!" He yelled. 
The five others piled in the van. Luckily, there were enough seats for all six of them plus an extra seat in the back. Brenden drove the van onto the road and started chasing the CIA van. 
"Don't make it look obvious!" Scarlett shouted. She was in one of the back seats. "Just follow it!" 
"Well I have to catch up to it first!" Brenden shouted back. 
Trying not to run any red lights or crash, Brenden tried his best to get closer to the CIA van. 
"Brenden, I didn't even know you could drive!" Anna yelled. She was sitting in the middle seat behind Brenden. "I thought only Frank could!" 
"I'm uh... self taught!" Brenden yelled back. "I'm kinda just wingin' it!" 
Brenden had to stop at a red light. Luckily, the CIA van was stopped at the same light. 
"Brenden, what if we turn right right now and then turn left once we're on that street and then cut back toward this road!?" JT suggested. He was in another back seat. "That way that van with Drew in it will be stopped while we'll be moving!" 
"That's a good idea!" Brenden shouted back. He drove to the right and waited for a gap between cars. Once there was one, he turned into the road, then immediately went to the turning lane and turned left into an alleyway. The alleyway led to the next street, but a fence separated the two halves of the alleyway. 
"Brenden, what are you doing!?" Seth asked. He was in the other middle seat. 
"I have a plan!" Brenden shouted. "Anna, make a dome of ice over at the fence!" 
Anna reluctantly nodded, opened her door while they were still moving, and spawned an Ice Dome in front of the fence, then closed her door. Brenden then stepped on the gas as hard as he could, and used the Ice Dome as a ramp, causing the van to fly over the fence! The van landed on the other side of the alleyway. 
"Oh my God that worked!" Seth cheered. 
Once they reached the end of the alleyway, Brenden turned the van left, then immediately right, causing them to be back on the street they were on. 
"We're in front of the van now!" JT shouted to Brenden. 
Brenden nodded and stopped the van on the side of the road and waited until the CIA truck got to him so he could get right behind it. 
"Hey, this is Green Street, isn't it?" Tara asked. She was in the passenger's seat. "Shouldn't we be getting to- look! It's Frank!" 
Tara pointed forward and surely enough, Frank was walking on the sidewalk they were parked by. Brenden stuck his head out the van door, avoiding any broken glass still in the frame. 
"Hey, Frank!" He shouted. "Over here! Come drive for us!" 
Frank looked up and ran over to them. 
"Get in the back, Anna!" Brenden shouted. 
Anna nodded and got in the back with Scarlett and JT, and Brenden sat in Anna's seat. Frank got to the van, opened the driver's door, got in the van, and closed the door. 
"What are you guys doing?" Frank asked. 
"Drew got taken by the CIA!" Seth answered. "We're waiting for the CIA van to pass us now and then we're going to follow it!" 
"You were driving, Brenden?" Frank asked. 
"Yeah, but I figured you could drive better than me, so I moved." Brenden said. 
"Guys, here comes the CIA van!" Scarlett said. "And there's lots of room behind it too!" 
Frank nodded and waited for the van to pass them. Once it did, he stepped on the gas and drove right behind it. 
"Nice!" Brenden cheered. "Now we just have to wait and see where they take Drew." 
"Why did he get taken by them anyway?" Frank asked. 
"The gold and gems that he was going to turn in for cash weren't from Earth apparently, so they're probably wondering how and where he got it." Brenden answered. 
"Not from Earth?" Frank thought aloud. "Didn't he get all that stuff from his dungeon?" 
"Well, yeah, but we all concluded that the dungeons were all different dimensions, remember?" Anna added. "That's how all of them were so close even though the dungeons themselves were massive." 
"Ah, I remember." Frank said. 
"Frank, weren't you training?" Scarlett asked. "How come you're not wearing your armor and don't have your weapon?" 
"Well I was finished training for the day, so I was gonna head home, but then you guys wanted my help to go help Drew." Frank said. "I wonder what they're gonna do to him." 
"They're not going to do anything to him." Tara said. "We'll be there to save him." 
"I hope so." Frank said. 
"I don't remember there being a CIA place around here anywhere." JT said. "I guess we're in for a long drive." 

About thirty minutes to an hour later, the CIA van pulled into a large white building that was basically in the middle of nowhere. Frank stopped the car on the side of the road and waited for the CIA people and Drew to go into the building. Once they did, Frank parked the car in front of the white building. Brenden, Tara, Seth, Anna, Scarlett, Frank, and JT all funneled out of the vehicle and walked up to the door. 
"Alright, since none of us have our weapons with us, we're either going to have to make this a stealth mission, or we just rely on our abilities." Brenden said. "Which should it be?" 
"Seth would just blow our cover if we tried to sneak around." Anna laughed. 
"What!?" Seth said. "I'll be as quiet as possible, I promise. Plus, if we get caught, we'd just use our abilities anyway. Might as well try sneaking." 
"That was actually kinda smart what you just said." Frank admitted. "Alright, let's try it!" 
"Wait!" Scarlett said. "I could turn invisible and look somewhere else than you guys with basically no consequences." 
"Sounds good." Brenden said. "Now, is everyone ready?" 
"My first real mission!" JT said, excitedly. "Yeah! Let's go!" 
Brenden cracked opened the door of the building and looked around. There weren't any people, so Brenden made the notion for them to follow him. Scarlett Wind Vanished and wandered off. 
"Time to finally show what I can do!" JT whispered. 
JT ran off away from everyone else. 
"Wait!" Brenden whispered. "We're supposed to be sneaky!" 
JT ran until he found some agents. There were two of them. 
"What the..." An agent spotted JT. "You're not supposed to be in here!" 
The agent tried grabbing JT, but his hand phased through him. 
"W-what?" The agent pull back his hand. "A hologram!" 
"Looking for someone?" JT was actually behind the two agents. 
The agents turned around towards him, but that's just what he wanted. JT sent a strong wave of light at the two agents, making them not able to see for a bit. 
"Ha!" JT laughed. "Now where's Drew?" 
"What?" An agent bumped into a wall. "What even are you!? You must be here for that kid we brought in with the interdimensional substances. 
"Yeah, that's Drew, like I said." JT rolled his eyes. "Where is he?" 
"We're not telling you!" The other agent said, still blinded. "So just leave, before we call security!" 
"That isn't going to happen!" JT laughed. "Watch this! Well, I guess you can't, so I'll tell you what I did when I do it!" 
JT pushed the blinded CIA agents into a corner, then created illusory walls around them that blended with the surrounding walls, making it seem like the agents were trapped. 
"You've been trapped in walls!" JT laughed. 
JT walked away from them and continued to search for Drew. 
"Hey, stop!" An agent shouted at him from a distance. 
In response to this, JT did what he did earlier. He turned invisible for a couple seconds and made a copy of himself out of light, making it seem like he stopped moving and stood still. JT hid from the agent. 
"That's such a cool ability!" JT thought to himself. "I'll name it... Stop Illusion!" 
In a different room, Drew was being interrogated by the head agent of the building. Drew was tied up on a chair. 
"This is pretty old-school, huh?" Drew mocked. "Wooden chair and brown rope, it's like I'm straight out of a 70's movie!" 
"Shut up! The head agent yelled. "Answer me where you got that treasure!" 
"I told you dude, I stole it from some pirates." Drew answered. "I don't see why you're making such a big deal over it." 
"Liar!" The head agent cut the rope that Drew was tied up with, grabbed Drew by the shirt, and slammed him in the wall. "I'm the head of this entire facility! I'm part of the government! If I killed you, I'd just tell the higher-ups that I had to, and they'd let me off the hook! So, either tell me the truth, or you're a goner!" 
"Dude, chill." Drew's body became water, allowing to get out of the head agent's grasp. He went back to normal and he brushed himself off. "I'm sure my friends are here by now, so good luck killing me." 
"What the..." The head agent was shocked. "How did you do that?" 
"I practiced." Drew sarcastically said. "It's easy. I can do it again if you'd like." 
Drew walked out of the door to see Scarlett become uninvisible. 
"Drew!" Scarlett cheered. "What did they do to you?" 
"Basically nothing." Drew laughed. "It was pathetic, really." 
The head agent ran out of the interrogation room and called for some backup. A few more agents ran in. 
"I can take care of these guys." Scarlett cracked her neck. "Go find the others. 
Drew nodded and ran down the hall. Scarlett turned invisible. All the agents became confused. 
"Hey, jerks!" Scarlett was behind them. 
Before they could all turn around, Scarlett shouted, knocking back all of them. "Cool, now to do this!" 
Scarlett crashed into a nearby window. She didn't realize it, but she was on the second floor. Before she hit the ground, she Second Winded, breaking her fall. She then stood at the van and waited for everyone else. After a while, everyone else ran out of the building, this time with Drew, and met up in the parking lot. 
Frank was about to get in the van, when... 
"Wait!" Brenden said. 
Frank looked up. 
"Well, why not just take a couple of these cool cars?" Brenden asked. "That van doesn't have eight seats in it anyways." 
Frank nodded, and everyone walked to two cars parked pretty close to each other: one was black and one was red. Once Brenden started them both up, everyone got in a car. Brenden, Tara, Anna, and Seth were in one car, while Frank, Drew, Scarlett, and JT were in the other. They drove back to their home, not knowing what was yet to come...