The next couple of chapters will be a bit belated - real life came a-knockin'. Again. Gah.

A/N 1: As in the previous chapters – ideas for fic and character development, questions, plotbunnies, suggestions, flames, character pictures, corrections, additions, comments, and everything in between can be mailed to hack_heaven@usa.net

A/N 2: MissNovelist: Well...that depends on what plot twist you're talking about. I have a lot of those planned, you know...*eg*

WritingMoose: Don't worry, Jhonen won't end up in a slash pairing. If he gets paired up, it will be a pairing with...a twist *he, he*. And in regards to powerful bad guys...there's an explanation for that. Really. 1) The Shadow Alliance have their ruthlessness and lack of morals working for them, the Guardians don't. 2) In some warped way, this is my way of dealing with all the all-powerful, glorious good guy teams I've seen. I guess that at some point I just got tired of good guys who would always win, no matter how powerful their enemies were. I wanted a team of bad guys that didn't constantly argue and could actually work together. I don't care if the fic will have a morally correct ending or not. I wanted to give the bad guys a chance for once, and if they happen to be more powerful than the good guys...then so be it.

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Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Burden of Leadership

* * *

"You know, I remember that I had a normal life once," Ben remarked and took a sip of his tea. "A nice, normal life with parents, and school, and the possibility to turn on the TV without being afraid of what they might say on the news."

Kyle sent him a sympathetic look, then poured a cup of tea to himself and sat down next to the young healer.

"Do you miss it?" he asked.

Ben shrugged.

"Sometimes. I like it here, but sometimes...sometimes things just go too fast," he explained.

Kyle nodded.

"Yeah."

He paused, watching the rest of the team absently. They were gathered in the living room, listening to West's report of the FoH activities in Chicago. Neither Kyle nor Ben had felt up to anything that required concentration, and had retreated to the small kitchen. They would hear the full story eventually, anyway.

"I miss New York, too, you know" he confided. "It felt safe. We knew what to expect. This..." he stopped and shook his head. "This is too unpredictable."

"And exposed. And unsafe," Ben added with a small sigh.

"We're not completely defenseless, Benji," Kyle disagreed.

Ben sent him a sad smile.

"Maybe not...but sometimes it feels that way."

Kyle didn't reply, maybe because they both knew that he couldn't argue the truth of the words.

* * *

In the other end of the cabin, in the small living room, Ryan sent Kyle and Ben a concerned look. The two males were still tired - as exhausted as they were, they probably shouldn't even have been up in the first place, but it was too late for that now.

He forced his attention away from the two, and back to West. The boy - a mutant with the ability to erase people's memories - was explaining what he'd heard about the FoH around town. Judging from what he'd told them so far, things weren't looking too good.

"-Sure, people have been guessing, but no one really knows what they're up to," West said.

"Guesses?" Ryan asked. "What guesses?"

West shrugged.

"You name it. Anything from riots, protests, and new anti-mutant groups, up to and including genocide. Personally, I have no idea, but whatever it is, I'm not staying around to see it."

"Smart kid," Prue said with a wry grin.

West smirked.

"Love you too, babe," he replied, and Prue smiled.

Ryan watched the exchange carefully. Ever since he'd found out about West's plans, he'd considered asking the boy to join the Guardians. They might be able to use his talents, and besides, it wouldn't be safe for a seventeen-year-old to travel alone.

The only thing he'd wondered about was the boy's ability to work in a team, and that was why he'd kept an eye on West for the past hour.

What he'd seen so far had made him optimistic. West seemed remarkably good at adapting to a team, and didn't act like a troublemaker. Maybe it had something to do with his mutation - that he was afraid that he would accidentally hurt a friend if he lost control of his powers - but whatever it was, it worked.

Ryan slowly nodded and reached a decision.

"How are you planning to get around?" he asked casually. "It's not safe for someone your age to travel alone, you know."

West shrugged.

"I don't know. I kinda hoped that my powers would be able to protect me, or at least until I found some safe place to stay."

Ryan nodded again.

"You could always tag along with us," he offered. Several of the Guardians looked surprised at him, but nobody objected. Prue just sent him a grateful smile and a silent 'thank you'. While she hadn't told anyone, she had been concerned about West's future wellbeing if he had chosen to travel around on his own.

West blinked surprised.

"You're serious?"

Ryan shrugged.

"Sure," he said and smiled slightly. "We're mutants. We're supposed to stick together, right?"

"Come on...I promise that they're not as bad as they look," Prue added teasingly.

West looked around, searching for any signs of objection among the other Guardians. To his surprise, he found none. He blinked again, still trying to comprehend the magnitude of the offer. He would become part of a team. He wouldn't be alone again.

"Well?" Ryan asked and raised an eyebrow.

"I..." West started, then stopped, unable to find the right words. "Thank you," he finally said with a warm smile.

Ryan smiled back, and Prue hugged West.

"Welcome on the team, W.," she said, and the others expressed similar notes of welcome, all accompanied by a warm, caring feeling that Ryan couldn't help but pick up through his powers. He smiled and watched as Deirdre and Prue chatted happily with their new teammate. If he'd only paid a bit more attention, he would have sensed the sudden waves of seriousness and grim determination from Suzuka as she pulled Diana aside.

"We gotta talk. Outside, in one hour. Don't tell anyone," was her quiet request, and Diana just nodded confused and decided to play along with whatever strangeness Suzuka was up to.

And as quickly as it had appeared, the grim determination disappeared and became genuine joy as Suzuka welcomed West. It was gone so fast that Ryan never got the chance to realize that Suzuka was up to something.

It was a fact he would regret for a long time.

* * *

"No! Absolutely not!" Diana stated one hour later, after Suzuka and Deirdre's explanation. "I'm not going to let you two wander right into the lion's den. Not a chance!"

Deirdre sighed and was suddenly glad that they'd walked a bit away from the cabin to talk - this way Diana's loud protests wouldn't alert anyone to their plan.

"Come on, Dee. It's not like we're gonna do anything dangerous," Deirdre objected.

"'Not gonna do anything dangerous'?" Diana repeated, not quite sure whether to laugh or cry. She finally settled on disbelief. "You're going to walk right into the arms of the Shadow Alliance, and you call it 'not dangerous'?!"

Suzuka glared at Deirdre, mentally telling her to shut up.

"What 'Dre *meant* to say was that we'll be careful," Suzuka corrected. "Yes, it's a bit dangerous, but think about how much trouble it might save us later."

Diana sighed and sat down heavily on the soft grass. It had been a bad day, and Deirdre and Suzuka's crazy idea was not making things any better. Diana looked at her two teammates, and suddenly felt much older than her almost seventeen years.

"Alright. I'll bite. What kind of trouble do you mean?" she asked tiredly.

"I'm talking about the Shadow Alliance. Who knows what they're planning? I mean, they have Jhonen on their side now - he knows a lot about us. And both he and Blade know where we are. They could be planning an attack even as we speak," Suzuka told her, putting a bit of pressure behind her words.

Diana frowned. The words made sense, but she wasn't convinced. It was quite a risk Suzuka would be taking, and Diana didn't like it one bit. It must have shown on her face, because Suzuka sighed and sat down in front of Diana

"You know them," she continued. "You know they would do it."

Diana still didn't reply, and Suzuka pressed on.

"Come on...you know what they did to Kyle. He was hopelessly outnumbered, and they still used fire against him. There were a dozen other ways they could have taken him out, and they still used the one thing that terrifies him. If that isn't unfair fighting, I don't know what is," she finished and shook her head.

Diana sighed and closed her eyes. She was well aware of the consequences of the choice she was about to make. If she helped Suzuka and Deirdre, they could get valuable information about the Shadow Alliance, but there was a real risk that they might get caught in the process. On the other hand...if she *didn't* help them, they would be completely unprepared if the Shadow Alliance decided to attack.

That decision was too heavy a burden for a sixteen-year-old to carry, but Diana didn't have a choice. Ryan would never go along with Suzuka's plan, no matter what advantages it might give them. Some part of Diana knew that the wisest thing to do would be to agree with Ryan and tell the duo to stay at home, and still...right now Ryan was in no condition to make that choice. It had been a cruel trick the Shadow Alliance had played on him, and he still wasn't over the emotional scars of his ordeal. As capable a leader as he was, at that moment he wouldn't be able to make a decision based on logical arguments.

And Suzuka was good, Diana knew that. She was good, and if anyone could get close to the Shadow Alliance without being seen, it would be her. It would be risky, sure, but it would be worth that risk if it could prepare them for a possible future attack.

Diana opened her eyes and saw the half-nervous, half-hopeful looks Suzuka and Deirdre sent her. With a silent pray that she was doing the right thing, Diana reached into her pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. She hesitated for a moment, then gave Suzuka the paper with the address.

"Just...be careful, okay? I don't want to lose any more teammates," Diana finally surrendered.

Suzuka nodded, and Deirdre smiled.

"We'll be careful. We promise."

Diana just closed her eyes, and silently cursed the day Ryan had given her the responsibility and power that followed the position as his second in command.

* * *

Coming up: Deirdre and Suzuka put their crazy plan in motion...but is it such a good idea after all?