The first time I have ever committed a crime was when I was twelve years old. I remember it perfectly; I stole some machine parts from an auto store. I spent days planning the heist, and it was worth it. My plan was well executed. I ended up getting everything I needed and more. My teammates were pleased with me, but not as much as I was pleased with myself.

Five years later, thieving became second nature to my team and I. It was in our blood, after all, as the decedents of the ancient Babylon Rogues. There are only three of us, and we work well together. Well, we usually do.

I, Wave the Swallow, am the brains of the Babylon Rogues. I plan our heists down to the core and act as a mechanic for our extreme gear.

Storm is the brawn of our group. Despite being oldest at nineteen, he is the dumbest. I hated being around him for fear of his stupidity rubbing off on me. I had to hand it to the big guy, though: what he lacked in brains he made up for muscle. The guy was basically a sack of meat overloaded with muscle.

And then there's Jet. He's snotty, rude, lazy, greedy... and the leader. It was a position he was born into - once his father died he was to become leader. And since Jet's father died when he was eight years old, we were blessed enough the have the youngest leader in Babylonian history. I guess the ancient Babylonians never saw that one coming when they made these traditions. It might sound like I have ill feelings towards Jet, but I really don't. Even though he is four years younger than me, he has the skills to be a great leader. He is fearless, determined, and speedy- his most important trait. Thanks to his skills on extreme boards, Jet was earned the title "Wind Master" due to his incredulous speeds and has won quite a few races for the Babylon Rogues. He has earned us fame and the occasional prize money. Of course, the prize money is never enough so we have to resort to stealing, but nevertheless Jet is a valuable member of our team.

"Hey, focus Wave!" yelled Storm with his annoying drowsy voice.

"I was thinking about the mission. Back off!" I snapped back at him.

"Now is not he time to be arguing, you two!" yelled Jet. "Storm has a point, Wave. It's not like you to stay silent like that. Keep it together, will ya?"

I stamped my foot. "For the twelfth time, we already went over the plan! Storm and I are going to pose as an couple fighting couple. When the employees get involved, Jet will sneak in and grab the cash. The we high taint outta there and fly back up to the airship. Got it?"

Jet and Storm nodded. "Okay, ready team?" called Jet. We all put on our goggles and grabbed out extreme boards. It's showtime.

Storm jumped out of the ship followed by me and then Jet. We hit the ground gracefully and sped towards the planned convenience store.

We arrived in no time and Jet took his position by the window. "Remember, lay low and when the moment strikes, waste no time. Be as fast as you can," I reminded him.

Jet rolled his eyes. "Be as fast as I can?" he quoted. "You don't have to tell me that twice."

I wanted to slap him. "Just don't mess this up. C'mon Storm."

We walked to the store and waited for the crowd to die down a little. It was my job to start to ruckus, so I was waiting for the perfect time to strike. Finally, the number people in the store dwindled low enough for us to easily escape. I turned towards Storm.

"What are you doing? Don't touch me!" I yelled. I hope Storm remembered his lines. I swear, if he messes this up...

"Stop being so stuck up! One little disagreement and I'm not allowed to touch ya?"

"Nope! Not until you stop being such an insensitive jerk!" I took a quick glimpse around; everyone was staring just as I has hoped. I forced myself to not smile at my success.

"You shut your mouth!" yelled Storm. To my pleasure he grabbed he nearest shelf, which happened to have assorted snacks and candy bars, and threw it over, sending all of the food flying on the other aisles. The people in the store backed up in horror while the employee at the cash register decided to finally get involved.

"Now look what you've done!" I screamed as loud as I could. This was the code phrase for Jet to make his move. The shop employee grabbed Storm, who did not fight back.

"Excuse me but I'm going to have you pay for this, or else I am calling the cops," he whispers harshly to Storm.

"Sorry, we're broke," said Storm as he delivered a nasty uppercut to the employee, knocking him out cold. I was about to grab Storm and make a run for it when I heard Jet yell. I turned to face the register and froze. Jet was behind the register holding a large bag of cash, but a bystander decided to get involved and was choking Jet. Reluctant as ever, Jet was not letting go of the bag even though it was obvious he wasn't getting any oxygen. I took my handy wrench out of my pocket and threw it at the bystander. I smirked as his body flew backwards from the impact. Jet faltered a second to get air into is system then took off. Storm and I followed suit until I felt a pair of meaty hands grab onto me and throw me onto the ground. I was face to face with a large, angry bat woman.

"Not my husband!" she yelled as she punched me in the face. I heard a sickening crack and felt pain cascade all over my face. She had split my beak! I tried to push her off of me but her weight was too much. She put her hand in the air; she was going to strike again! I yelled for back up.

Within seconds Storm was there to lift the woman off of me. Jet helped me up and winced when he saw my face. I smiled to reassure him I was alright when the woman escaped from Storm and tackled Jet to the ground. Storm pushed her off again and I helped Jet up.

"Let's bail!" yelled Jet as the three of us scrambled out the store, grabbed our gear and flew away.

When we arrived at the airship, the three of us went to Jet's office to talk about the mission that was obviously a failure.

"You okay, Wave?" asked Jet passively.

"Yeah. At least we got the cash," I said as I fingered the crack on the side of my beak. Cracking a beak was the bird equivalent to busting a lip.

"Actually, I dropped it when that fat lady tackled me. After that we ran out, so yeah."

"You left the cash behind? Ugh! You idiot! It's your fault we failed!"

Jet immediately got defensive. "I caused us to fail? Ha! You're the one who came up with the stupid soap-opera acting ploy! What happened to your brilliant nighttime infiltrations? Those plans were worthwhile! This plan sucked, Wave! I bet even Storm could have done better planning than that."

"Well excuse me for trying something new!" I yelled back.

"Why would you abandon the old ways when they worked out just fine, Wave?"

That rendered me speechless. "The boss has a point," muttered Storm after a few moments of silence.

"Pipe down, I don't need your commentary too, " I snapped. I threw myself out of the chair I was sitting in. "I'm tired and I'm going to my room. Don't bother me until tomorrow."

"Wave, it's only six o' clock," said Jet.

"So?" I asked as I continued to walk out without looking back. As I entered my room I couldn't help but feel as if it was my fault that we failed our mission even though it was Jet who left the money behind. I should have planned better!

There was a knock at my door. I thought I told those idiots to not bother me! I got up to open the door and unleash my fury when I realized there was nobody there. If they are playing tricks with me, bad things are going to happen to them. I slammed the door shut as a warning.

"Down here," said a small voice. I reopened the door to find a little girl looking up at me happily. How did she get in here?

"Uh, can I help you?" I asked.

"Yes. I would like to join you. Join the Babylon Rogues, I mean."

You have got to be kidding me.