The Seventh Avenger

Chapter 7: We're Family

EDITED

Though it wasn't agreed on or voiced by either Bruce, Betty or myself as we sat there in the car, Betty drove us straight from the bridge to her house, where we arrived there ten minutes after the two of them had reunited on the bridge. Already I could tell just by looking at the exterior of it that it was a grand but seemingly cozy home, with two stories and a spacious front porch.

For the entire car ride I had sat in the back seat in silence, listening to Bruce as he tried his best to explain to Betty why it was that he went on the run in the first place, without mentioning the fact that whenever his pulse reached a certain point he turned into a towering, angry green creature. I had initially been surprised that he hadn't told her the entire truth, though I knew better than to reveal it to her now. It wasn't exactly my secret to share, and I had a feeling that telling her would only cause her to freak out.

Bruce had informed her that her father was part of the reason that he went on the run in the first place though, but Betty didn't seem surprised to hear this. Apparently, she had known this almost from the beginning, having confronted her father when she had first woken up in the hospital. According to her, the two of them haven't spokena word to each other since, much to Ross' dismay. But Betty had made it abundantly clear to him that she wouldn't speak to him again until he lifted the manhunt off from Bruce.

When we had pulled up in front of the house, the three of us had quickly exited the car with our belongings in our hands, making a mad dash towards the front porch where we would be sheltered from the rain. I hadn't bothered to create a shield with the air to protect us from the rain as it poured down from above like I had when I had watched Betty rush to Bruce. But that didn't stop Betty from curiously staring at me as we went, as if she expected me to do so again.

She had quickly ushered us inside, where the house was just as grand on the inside as it was on the out. If I were to be quite honest, I couldn't help but think that it was far too large for a single person to live in, with Betty informing us that there were four bedrooms and two bathrooms. I had only smiled gratefully at this though, as I realised that tonight's sleeping conditions were going to be great compared to the ones that Bruce and I had had to endure in the past few weeks.

Betty had quickly made Bruce and I crouch down in front of the fireplace in the living room, before she then declared that she would go and get us something to drink. As she left, I couldn't help but notice the way that Bruce was violently shivering beside me, clearly chilled to the bone. Noticing that there were logs staked in the fireplace and practically waiting to be burned, I wordlessly lift my hand and create a small fireball before throwing it directly into the fireplace.

Bruce sent me a grateful smile as the logs were consequently engulfed in the flames. "Thanks."

"No problem," I reply, just as Betty returned to the room. In her hand, she carried a small box of matches, but at the sight of the flourishing fire in front of Bruce and I, they slip from her hands. She makes no move to bend down and retrieve them though, and instead only makes a small noise of surprise.

"I was going to light the fire for you," She whispers weakly, the reflection of the orange flames dancing in her wide eyes.

Bruce and I exchange slightly amused looks at her shock, our lips tugging up into wry smiles. "I think we've got it covered," I reply, diverting my gaze back up to the brunette once more.

Forgetting all about the matches together and the faint sound of the kettle boiling in the kitchen, she slowly sinks down into the closest, cream-coloured couch. "How?" She asks in an almost child-like voice, her eyes glued to the flames flickering in the space behind Bruce and me.