I know it's been a while since I have updated on this story. For that I am sorry, but I have written a new chapter. Sadly, the third eye blind will be awhile before it is updated. I have run out of ideas for it but it is NOT the end of it! That I PROMISE you. Enjoy this chapter and tell me if you like it.

Chapter 6 - Do You Have A Hero

The ride in the car was silent. M.O.M was more silent then most at the moment and looked at Diana who had fallen asleep in the car. The raven haired woman woke her up and watched Diana stretch her arms. "Thanks. M.O.M, I have a question."

"Yes."

"Do you have a hero?" M.O.M thought for a moment, continuing to drive.

"I'm not sure. Do you?" Diana blushed and nodded.

"I think I do," she smiled and her mind went into deep thought. Diana knew who her hero was, and for the past week she knew who exactly it was. It wasn't some braniac, and it wasn't some sports hero. It wasn't someone who was rich and the they weren't famous. Her hero was laying in that hospital room, feeling sad because he felt rejected by his own father. Her hero had taken a bullet for her and said he would do it again. Her hero loved her with all his heart and she loved him. It wasn't the boyfriend girlfriend love, it was the love you felt so deeply that you would never forget that person. She smiled, her brother was the one person who made her feel like she was more then just some braniac. He made her do crazy things and made crazy bets with her. He made her feel alive. He made her something more then she thought she could have been.

Diana watched all the cars pass by and noticed they were coming up to the restuarant by the hotel that the siblings had occupied for a short amount of time. M.O.M pulled into the parking lot and looked at the building. A smile formed on her face and she seemed to disappear into deep thought for a few moments. She broke free of it leaving Diana confused and curious but Diana respected M.O.M's privacy. Diana got out of the car and so did M.O.M. They both entered the shop and walked up to the bar where Murry was standing, serving a drink to a woman with long brown hair.

"Here ya go miss. Enjoy." Murry looked up and smiled, "Nice to see you again. Where's your brother?"

"He's in the hospital."

"Heard about the case," the brown haired woman wasn't listening. She had left to another booth rather quickly, "Your brother is a good guy."

"Tell me about it." Diana sat down, "I just wanted to thank you. You were a huge help." Diana smiled at the bar tender, causing the man to blush. Diana stood up, taking her drink to go and left with M.O.M so they could go relax.

0-------0

Martin was sitting in his hospital bed, thinking. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. He watched as nurse passed by his hospital room, looking in and checking in if everything was okay. Martin hated hospitals and right now was no different but inside here, he could keep his father away. At least for a short amount of time he could. For the first time Martin felt so angry, sad, and unwanted. It had been a few months since he had felt that and thought, as he closed his eyes to sleep, that he was really such a terrible person that his father didn't want him. For the first time, Martin felt like he wanted to die.

"Martin?" the blonde looked up and saw his father standing there. A knot the size of a basketball formed in his stomache and he wanted to be sick. He saw it again, the disappointment that had been there before. Gerad Mystery watched his son in anger. He felt it every time he saw Martin and knew it wasn't right and this wasn't what a father was supposed to be feeling. He watched his son hang his head low and pull his knees up into a hug, trying to hide away from the world. "Why must you always hide like a coward?" That had not been what he wanted to say. It was something more like, 'I'm sorry son, I know I hurt you and made you angry. Please forgive me.' Martin looked away from his father and out the window. Gerad saw the tears fall slowly down his sons face but made no attempt to move. He didn't know how to help Martin

"Why are you here? I told you to leave." Martin's voice did not waver as he looked back up the man. Those golden brown eyes had lost their shine and were dull. No longer full of life but replaced with a sense of hoplessness but even that couldn't keep Martin's voice from sounding harsh and cruel. "Just go away..." Martin turned onto his side with a wince and closed his eyes. Gerad Mystery watched his son for a moment before leaving, slamming the door behind him. Martin jumped a bit but otherwise sunk back into the matress, trying his hardest to hold the tears back.

He drifted off into a less then restful sleep and woke up hours later to see M.O.M packing his bags. He saw the shirt he had worn, the blood seemed to have stained the material nicely, leaving a brown spot that probably wouldn't come out. M.O.M had put a white long sleeved shirt, red pants that had an intricate design of a dragon on the pant leg on it and a new black over shirt with a red dragon on the front on a chair. She finished packing up his things and turned around to see him looking at her, red rimmed eyes marking that he had been crying. Martin wished he could stop his crying but it just seemed to seep out after being hurt.

"We're taking you home today. Your father," Martin looked over to see his dad watching him through the door, "Has generously offered to let me stay with you for a month or two. My room is being redecorated so I neeed a place anyway." Martin didn't question the woman and looked at the clothes, "They're new. Diana and I thought that you could use a new wardrobe, other then the oranges and yellows."

"Thanks." Martin replied and watched as she set the bags by the door. Diana walked in and held something behind her back. Martin wondered what she had but didn't ask. He didn't feel like talking at the moment, which was very much unlike him. Diana tried hard to keep a smile on her face and brought out the package from behind her back. Martin looked at her confused then looked at the package. She placed it promptly down on his lap and nudged him in the arm.

"Open it." Martin too the packaging off carefully to see a red box. He opened it and saw a pendant on it. It was common knowledge that Martin wore a pendent around his neck but when he picked it up, he picked it up as if it was the most precious piece of breakable glass in the world. The chain was gold and on it was a carefully made golden ball. Upon futher inspection he found he could open it, which he did. Words were written in it.

"Hero?" The word was made to look simple but elegant and on the other piece was his name and the words 'we love you'. "Why hero?"

"That, I'm going to let you figure out." She smiled at him and stood up, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, and walked over to M.O.M. "You should see the clothes we bought you, and yes some of them are orange and red." Martin smiled, just about the only thing he could do. He put the pendant around his neck and felt some warmth from it. It made him feel safe and loved. Billy, Java and M.O.M also produced a gift. Martin opened them slowly and to his surprised, he found many things he liked. One was his U-Watch, upgraded with his own personal choices of equipment and it had much more energy then before. Billy had gotten a whole set of comic books, his favorite ones, and Java had gotten him a book on all things paranormal. Gerad watched the gifts, slightly dejected that they were just furthering, in his opinion and his only, Martin's decent away from reality.

"Thanks." Martin watched them all for a moment before putting his feet over the edge of the bed. The task in itself was difficult and quite painful. His hand moved unconscsiously to his side and waited for the pain to dissappear. Diana helped her brother to the bathroom where he changed, with some help from Billy, and came out looking quite elegant yet cool in the new outfit. Martin was given a pair of sunglasses from the nurse and doctor, quite a nice pair really. He slipped them on to make his look complete. The outfit suited the teen and, if his glasses didn't cover his eyes, made them stand out more and become more vibrant.

"I see our paitent is ready to go home." Martin merely nodded and looked out the window again. "Well, you'll be walking on crutches for some time to relieve some weight off your side. I don't want to see you in this hospital again! Do you understand?" The doctor said in a joking manar, trying to lighten the blondes mood though nothing appeared to be working.

"Sure!" Martin replied, smiling though it lacked some of what it used to hold. Diana tried hard to keep a smile on her face, but seeing Martin like this hurt her. She didn't want to be the reason Martin was like this but deep down that's what she felt.

"It's not your fault Diana," M.O.M whispered into her ear, trying to pull the girl out of her own depression. M.O.M was a smart woman and noticed the change in both brother and sister. Though they did act somewhat normal, both lacked something they usualy had and that was security. After being shot and almost getting killed, of course, one wouldn't feel safe for some time but they also lacked a certain degree of happiness. If it was because of family issues, that was an obvious strain, or the whole ordeal, M.O.M hadn't a single clue. Of course it could have been both.

M.O.M, though she didn't show it as much, was always afraid for the young agents. She knew they could take care of themselves and blamed a part of herself for putting them on this mission but they were the only ones who could have done it. In fact, they were her last choice to go, simply because they were young and shouldn't be the ones to experience this type of thing. M.O.M forced herself to stay strong, but even strong women had tears to shed, wether they were head of the Centre or not. M.O.M wouldn't care to admit this to anyone, and if she did it would be a long time before that happened, but when she had heard Martin had been shot it had devestated her and it had been at least a half an hour to stop herself from crying.

M.O.M watched as Martin was taught how to use the crutches effectively, all the time his focus unclear. Once he was taught how to use his tools for the next month they ushered him into a wheel chair which he would need when they got back. Of course, one would be waiting for him in case he need to rest his legs but still wanted to move around. All the while they had been traveling through the many halls and floors the hospital had, his hand held tightly to the small golden ball around his neck. M.O.M wanted to stay by Martin's side, at least for that month. She knew what he might do, no matter how he cared to deny it. The thought would most likely cross his mind at some point and she wanted to be there when he did it so that he knew there was someone there to catch him when he fell. Diana would be there too but Billy and Java had to stay at the centre. M.O.M needed Billy to tell her when something strange happened. She could assign agents to missions from there.

The limo was waiting outside. Before they left the hospital, they had Martin slip on a new coat, a white cotton coat that moved easily with he moved but kept him warm enough for decently chilly days. Martin's hand was still clutching that little golden ball. Gerad Mystery stepped into the car first. It was seperated into two sections. Gerad Mystery asked for a section to himself, saying he needed to be seperated from Martin openly. Martin, though he didn't look bothered by that statement, was indeed bothered by it and clutched his gift tighter in his hands. The phrase home sweet home didn't quite suit this situation, but as they made their way to the airport to head home Martin zoned out and disappeared into a world of his own. A long month pursued them all and they would have to take one step at a time.