I'm so sorry! It's so hard to believe that it's been over two months since I updated this story; awful case of writers block! Thank you to all of those who reviewed and a special thanks to Victoria Wolf; I'm using a little of the idea you gave me.

Now on with the story! I'll try to update sooner, I swear; if I don't, please don't kill me! Please R&R!

Chapter 4

Two weeks later…

Richie is finally out of the hospital. Right now, he's in the backseat of Mr. H's car on Hotstreak's lap sound asleep. Virgil, Darrel, and Sharon are at home preparing a surprise party for Rich.

"How is he?" Mr. H asks as he looks in the rearview mirror at the two.

"He's asleep…" Hotstreak says. "Should we wake him up when we get home?"

Mr. H nods and continues to drive.

In five minutes they pull up to the house; Hotstreak gently shakes Richie awake.

"Hey, Richie, we're home…" Hotstreak says.

Richie's eyes open slowly and he yawns cutely; he looks up at Hotstreak with sleepy eyes.

"Huh?" Richie whispers as he looks out the window; he sees the house and knows what Hotstreak said.

"Can you walk?" Hotstreak asks.

"I think…" Richie whispers.

Mr. H opens their door and helps Richie out; Hotstreak hops out of the car and closes the door behind him.

With the help of Mr. H, Richie is able to walk, but slowly. Mr. H and Hotstreak don't mind, they know that the doctors and nurses at the hospital wouldn't let Richie out of the bed during the whole time he was there; it's about time for Rich to stretch his legs.

When they get to the stairs; Richie turns to Hotstreak. Hotstreak moves over to Richie swiftly and sweeps Richie off his feet into his arms.

Mr. H smiles and goes to open the door.

When the three enter the house, Richie finds it strange for the lights to be off.

"Mr. H?" Richie whispers. "Where is everyone?"

"They must've gone out." Mr. H says. "Here, let me get the light."

A few seconds later, the lights are flicked on; then Hotstreak and Richie are practically buried in confetti.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone yells.

Richie is staring at everyone with wide eyes, not believing what he's seeing.

There is Virgil, Darrel, Sharon, Adam, Frieda, and Daisy; and of course, Mr. H and Hotstreak.

"Guys…" Richie whispers.

Slowly, Hotstreak places Richie on his feet.

Everyone gets to Richie and give him hugs and kisses; Hotstreak and Mr. H just stand away and let everyone welcome Richie.

Mr. H speaks to Hotstreak.

"I know that you and Richie are together." Mr. H says flatly. "But don't you think it's a little too soon?"

Hotstreak's eyes widen when Mr. H says he knows about him and Richie; he almost doesn't hear the question that Mr. H asks.

"Well, I'm not going to do anything bad to him." Hotstreak says. "I know it's soon, but I'll wait an eternity for Richie if I have to."

Mr. H looks at Hotstreak for a moment, then smiles.

"Somehow I find myself trusting you more as the days go by Francis." Mr. H says. "At this point, Richie trusts you with his life."

Hotstreak nods, Richie already told him.

Flashback

It's about three days before Richie goes home. Hotstreak came to pay him a visit alone; while Virgil and Darrel are at school, Mr. H at work and everyone else was pretty much out.

Richie was acting out that day, as in he wouldn't listen to anyone or eat anything. When Hotstreak entered the hospital, the doctors and nurses were so happy to see him; they pushed Hotstreak into the room so fast he didn't know what happened.

When Richie saw him, he was so happy.

"Hotstreak, you came!" Richie whispered.

Hotstreak nodded and walked over to Richie.

"The doc said you haven't been eating." Hotstreak said.

Richie flushed and tried to hide under the blankets.

"Oh no, you don't!" Hotstreak said; he quickly yanked the blanket from Richie, and tickled him.

Richie gasped and laughed, he tried to wiggle out of Hotstreak's grasp, but Hotstreak's tight but gentle hold kept him in one place. The tickle-fest continued, until a 'ahem' came from the door.

Both boys turned to the door, only to see two people.

Richie let out a quiet squeak and clung onto Hotstreak like he was his only lifeline; Hotstreak looked at the two people at the door and could tell that Richie wasn't really happy to see them. Taking a quick glance at the nametags of the man and woman at the door; he found out that he was facing Mr. and Mrs. Foley.

"What's going on in here!" Mr. Foley yelled.

Richie's grasp on Hotstreak tightened at the yelling from Mr. Foley. Mrs. Foley was glaring at both Hotstreak and Richie, silently accompanying her husband's yell.

"Who the hell are you two?" Hotstreak asked; even though he knew already, he needed some sort of distraction.

"We're his parents…" Mrs. Foley said. "And we would like for you to get the hell out of here before we call the guards."

With that, a sudden wall of fire erupted behind the couple, slowly spreading towards them.

Mrs. Foley screamed and jumped, she backed away as the fire spread. Mr. Foley was sort of pushing Mrs. Foley towards the flames, as if she were some sort of shield.

Hotstreak sat on the bed that Richie sat on and looked at the couple.

"Are they really your parents?" Hotstreak asked Richie.

Richie nodded.

"Do you want them to leave?" Hotstreak asked.

Richie frantically nodded his head and started jumping slightly.

Hotstreak smirked and turned to the parents.

"I'll make you a deal; I'll stop the fire if you will leave." Hotstreak said.

"Yes, yes, we'll do anything; just please don't kill me!" Mrs. Foley yelled.

Hotstreak waved his hand and the flames disappeared.

Before she can even think straight, Mrs. Foley was out the door; leaving a very angry Mr. Foley behind.

"I'll kill you!" Mr. Foley yelled as he charged for Hotstreak and Richie.

But, as he charged, something strange happened; in mid step, he floated to the air. Before he could register what happened, he flew backwards right out of the room, crashing through a wall.

Hotstreak looked at the mess just right outside the room with wide eyes. Mr. Foley lay knocked out on the floor, with a hole in the wall right behind him.

Hearing slight panting beside him, Hotstreak turned to see a strangely tired Richie.

"Richie, did you do that?" Hotstreak asked.

Richie nodded, then suddenly yawned. He turned to the door and twitched his nose, the door closed. He scooted over to Hotstreak and lay his head down on his shoulder, a moment later, sleep captured him.

Guards were called up to find out what all of the commotion was about, only to find Mr. Foley in the state he was. The guards didn't even bother to ask Hotstreak or Richie what had happened; all they knew was that they had to deal with Mr. Foley.

A few hours passed and Richie woke up again; Hotstreak was still there to his surprise. So, he started to at least whisper again.

"Are you angry at me?" Richie asked.

Hotstreak looked down at Richie surprised.

"Angry at you, for what?" Hotstreak asked.

"For not telling you about my powers." Richie said.

"No, I'm not…" Hotstreak said. "But you have to tell me what else you can do."

"Well, the reason why I'm so smart is because of my powers." Richie said. "I'm able to move things with my mind, but I don't know how to control them fully yet."

Hotstreak nodded in understanding; just then, the door opened.

"I thought that you would be here." Mr. H said at the door; in his hand, he had three bags. "I brought something for us to eat."

The boys smiled at Mr. H and went on as if nothing happened; Mr. H knew what had happened earlier in the hospital, but was unaware of Richie's new powers.

Flashback Ends

After the party…

Mr. H, Virgil, Darrel, Sharon, and Hotstreak are cleaning up the little messes of confetti left behind by the guests after the party. Richie is currently asleep on the couch; Mr. H looks at him, then at his son.

'How is Static going to work without Gear?' Mr. H thought.

Virgil notices his father's stare and smiles at him; he already knows what his father is thinking about.

Later that night…

Virgil is looking out his window when there is a soft knock at his door; he wonders who would be knocking at his door at twelve in the morning.

"It's open…" Virgil says.

The door opens and Mr. H steps in, he looks at his son for a moment then makes his way over to him.

"Hey son…" Mr. H says.

"Hey Pops…" Virgil says.

They leave it at this for a few moments before Mr. H starts speaking again.

"You can't be Static without Gear." Mr. H says.

"Of course I can be Static without Gear." Virgil says. "In the beginning it was like that, and it will be like that for awhile again until Richie is better."

"What if Richie doesn't want to be Gear anymore?" Mr. H asks.

"Then I don't know what I'll do." Virgil asks.

"You can always get Francis to team up with you." Mr. H says.

Virgil looks at his father wide-eyed.

"Pops!" Virgil says. "If Hotstreak finds out that I'm Static, he'll fry me! Do you know how much Static has put him through!"

"Yeah, but then you can let him know that if he teams up with you; together you two can bring the people who did this to Richie to justice faster." Mr. H says.

Virgil sighs and looks out his window again.

"At least think about it." Mr. H says. "Because without your help, this city will be even worse off than it was than before there was Static."

With that, Mr. H leaves the room to leave his son with his thoughts.

To be continued…

What will Virgil do?

Will he ask Hotstreak for help and reveal his identity?

Please, send in reviews to find out!