The Use of a Brain

Disclaimer: I do not own No Ordinary Family. In this story, though, I own the characters of Connor and Mitch.

Connor had spent the day at the races. Even with the little money he had, he liked to go to the races and bet whatever he could, losing often, and wishing he could bet more. His partner-in-crime, Mitchell, told him how useless it was, and how no good could come of betting. Connor couldn't stop, though. There was something about watching the horses run, knowing your money depended on one of them, that gave such a rush of adrenaline. It was exciting and addicting, and Mitchell accepted it as a part of his friend, and allowed him to bet moderately. It wasn't like they had much money to begin with!

That day, Connor had been losing yet again, when suddenly a man and a kid walked in. They both had brown hair, and the younger one looked like he wasn't even in high school yet. Connor usually wouldn't have noticed them at all, except that they'd accidentally bumped into him on their way in. He'd stared at the kid, wondering why a boy like that was at the races. The older man, probably his father, was talking to him seriously.

After that, Connor turned from them to the horses, ignoring them. They weren't worth his attention, and it wasn't his problem if a man decided to take his son to a horse race. He was successful in forgetting about them until he heard them scream in victory. Connor frowned, wrinkling up his ticket and throwing it on the ground, frustrated. Angrily, he watched as the two guys cashed in their prize.

Connor stayed a while longer, finally running out of money. He would have left except for the fact that the pair of them kept winning. The man and the boy, they just won and won and won. Soon, they'd gained an enormous amount of cash. Connor had to wonder whether they were cheating or could somehow see the future. He stuck around just so he could stare at them as they won over and over again.

Finally, Connor decided to bet again, this time with some emergency cash he always kept on his person. He overheard the names of the horses and bet exactly as the two guys had done. To his amazement, he won some money back. He was so excited and wanted to play another round, but the father and son were leaving.

Connor decided to head back. He wondered whether what he'd seen had been a fluke, or just some really lucky guys. Maybe they had a method or a system… He would have to learn it, whatever it was.

-)-(-

That night, once Connor had returned to the small apartment he shared with Mitch, he recounted his entire day. His blond partner barely looked up from the newspaper he was reading. "Dude, that doesn't happen. They must have just had a lucky streak or something."

"I'm telling you, Mitch," Connor repeated, almost not believing what he'd seen himself. It just had been so amazing, and he couldn't help but feel curious about who they were. "It was something, all right! They won so much cash they must be almost millionaires by now!"

"You're exaggerating," Mitch replied, quite used to the way Connor tended to add to whatever experiences he had. A little fog became a thunderstorm, a car barely touching the other became a devastating accident, and now, winning a few dollars became a million.

"No, man, I'm not!" Connor complained, well aware of his tendency to blow things out of proportion. This time, though, he didn't feel like he was doing it that much. "Trust me on this one. There's something different about those guys."

Mitch sighed and finally tore his eyes away from the paper, only to look tiredly at his roommate. "What?" he asked exasperatedly. "What was just so different about them, besides the fact that they could apparently make money out of thin air?"

Connor's mouth hung open, frustrated that his partner just wouldn't believe him. He huffed. "You know what? You should just come to the races with me tomorrow. Maybe they'll be there again, and you can see it all for yourself."

Mitch thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "Fine," he said. "But we're not betting. We're just there to watch. We can barely make the rent anyway."

Connor didn't even care, much, that he wouldn't be able to bet. He just wanted to show Mitch what he'd found. Who knows? Maybe this would allow them to turn their luck around!

-)-(-

The next day, Connor and Mitch went back to the horse races, intent on one thing and one thing only: they had to find the guys who'd managed to win so much money. Mitch was mostly just along for the ride, and to calm his partner down. He didn't expect to find anything out of the ordinary. Connor, though, was convinced that everything was going to change.

As time went on, however, and the man and the boy didn't show, Connor began to grow worried. Mitch looked at his watch pointedly for the twentieth time. Connor ignored him. "I don't know why they haven't come," he kept muttering.

Mitch shrugged and grabbed his roommate's arm. "Look, man, we have work to do. Let's just get out of here." Connor allowed himself to be tugged towards the exit, that is, until he spotted someone familiar.

With a sharp intake of breath, Connor pointed at the kid he'd seen yesterday. "Look, there he is!" he whispered excitedly. "He's just not with the other man this time." He watched the boy and his new guardian with interest. The new arrival was bald and quite different from the man yesterday.

Mitch was annoyed. He'd nearly gotten Connor to leave, but the kid had finally arrived. "Ok. I'll watch them, but only for an hour. After that, I'm gone." Connor nodded, too happy to argue. He was pretty sure his point would be proven, though.

Mitch, despite his promise to leave in an hour, was soon caught up in the excitement. The man kept betting and betting, and he kept winning. Mitch was astounded. For so long he'd wanted to make so much money, and had been unable to. Now, he knew why Connor had been so excited. He hadn't been exaggerating. The man and the kid were making so much money it was ridiculous.

Mitch was a smart guy, and he soon noticed that the bald man kept asking the kid for advice before making a bet, and he approached the pair to try and find out what the boy was saying. They spoke in hushed tones, however, so it was hard to tell. But, he could see that the boy was rather special.

After a while, Mitch had seen enough. "Come on," he said, once he noticed that the day was drawing to an end. He pulled Connor out of the building and to their car. Instead of starting it and heading back to the apartment, however, he sat in there, hunched over.

Connor seemed confused. "Mitch, what are we doing? I thought we'd head back."

"No, we're not. Looks like we've found our big break, and I'm not letting it out of our sights," Mitch replied, a strange tone in his voice. He motioned for Connor to hunch over too, so they wouldn't be very visible to passerby.

Eventually, the bald man and the kid left the building. They climbed into a car and began to drive away. Mitch was careful to follow them to their, making sure there was enough distance between both cars so they wouldn't notice anything. Connor did notice, though. "Dude, what are you planning?" he asked.

"Didn't you always want to be a millionaire, Connor?" Mitch said instead of answering the question. "I'm going to make that dream come true." He turned off the headlights, the car parked just within view of the house. Settling down, he kept watch, knowing that sooner or later, the kid had to come out.

-)-(-

Despite losing at the races, everything had managed to turn out ok. Jim had managed to get his brother away from the bad guys and everything seemed to be working out.

JJ smiled after his uncle left, hopefully to a more lucrative scheme than the last one. He hoped the man had learned his lesson and wouldn't need any more rescuing any time soon. Although, it had been rather enjoyable to use his power in that way. JJ had never actually thought about it before, quite surprising since technically his neurons were emitting more transmitters that enabled him to use a larger mental capacity than most people, but he could actually make quite a lot of money just by being super smart. Still, he knew that it would only call attention to himself and he'd eventually be found out. It was interesting to think about, though.

"JJ, it's your turn to take out the trash," Stephanie said, and JJ just sighed. It was unfortunate that being a genius didn't excuse him from everyday tasks. He grabbed the bag from the kitchen and his skateboard, figuring that since his chores were nearly done for the day, he might have some fun. After dumping the bag in the large can by the sidewalk, JJ dusted his hands off and set his skateboard on the ground. He then stepped onto it and began to roll down the street. For a moment, he considered calculating his speed by the relative distance which everything seemed to be going by, but decided against it. For a moment, it was just enough to feel the wind on his face and the rush of the skateboard. Just because he was now really smart didn't mean he didn't enjoy doing regular boy stuff.

JJ smiled, rolling down the street. He noticed a strange van parked just a little ways away. Frowning, he went over to it. He didn't recognize the vehicle or the man who was checking the back wheels. Feeling that he should do something, JJ stepped off his board and picked it up. "Hey, do you need some help?" he asked. He was sure his brain would be able to figure it out, whatever it was. He'd managed to fix his grandfather's car (now his car that he was only lending to Daphne) after all.

The man turned to look at him, scratching his blond head. "Well, yeah. It looks like I have a flat, but I'm not sure I'd be able to get the other wheel out of the car." He grimaced as he showed JJ a hand that seemed to have been hastily wrapped in white cloth. "Football accident."

JJ nodded, not paying much attention to the injury. "I could help you, if you want. You just lift one side with your good hand, and I'll do the other," he shrugged. His parents had always taught him to be polite and helpful, and he was putting those teachings into practice now. "Where's the tire?" he inquired.

"In the back." The man took a few steps to the side and pulled at the backdoor's handle. "Here, hold on." The door swung open, and JJ leaned inside to be able to help the man. He didn't expect, though, for something heavy to suddenly shove him. He fell headfirst into the space, stunned. The man stepped in beside him and closed the backdoor from the inside. "Drive, drive!" the blond yelled.

JJ yelped as the car lurched forward, sending him rolling into the door. He looked up to see the blond man leering above him. "Did it work, Mitch?" a voice asked from the driver's seat.

The blond man, Mitch, grinned. "It worked like a dream, Connor. Trust me, we'll be rich in no time."

-)-(-

JJ struggled against his bonds. He'd been put in an empty room as soon as they'd arrived. Unfortunately, JJ hadn't been able to see where they'd gone as his eyes had been covered the whole time. He had, more or less, memorized the turns they'd taken, and could estimate that he was about 40 miles from his house. It wasn't enough at the moment, though.

His arms and legs had been tied up, a piece of tape roughly holding his lips together. He still wasn't sure what the men wanted from him, but he was certain that, whatever it was, it couldn't be good. Ever since he'd been left alone, he'd been trying to escape. There was only so much he could do, though. With his arms tied behind him, he couldn't reach the bonds on his legs or mouth. He'd tried to twist his hands to the front of his body, but had only succeeded in giving himself a pulled muscle in his shoulder. He just wasn't flexible enough. And he had nothing to cut the tape with either. In movies, the heroes usually found something the kidnappers had overlooked. In this case, however, the two men who had taken him, Mitch and Connor, hadn't left him anything, not even a rusty nail stuck in the wall, for him to try and cut his bonds with.

Not for the first time, he wished he could have a power different from the one he did. Sure, super intelligence was really cool, but if he was stuck in this sort of situation, it wasn't very helpful. If he had super strength, like his dad, he'd be able to break free. If he'd had his mother's power, they wouldn't have been able to grab him. If he'd had his sister's power, he wouldn't have approached them in the first place. Really, what was the use of being super smart when his brain kept conjuring up a myriad of kidnapping cases, as well as their statistics. What did he have to read a book on criminology for? His odds were not good.

The door suddenly opened, and JJ's frightened eyes came to rest on it. He didn't know what to expect, or what the men wanted. As he watched, the blond man, Mitch, walked in. He crouched next to JJ, watching him. JJ did his best to glare in return, although he felt more like cringing away. He was still terrified about what might potentially happen.

His attempt to appear strong seemed to cause Mitch some amusement. He pulled a knife out of his pocket, the metal reflecting the fear that suddenly surfaced on JJ's face. "Scream and you're dead," the man said before carefully pulling the tape away from JJ's mouth.

JJ winced, but kept quiet. His eyes kept glancing back at the knife as the man pulled the rest of the tape away. Finally, it was all gone, and for a moment JJ lamented the loss of the few mustache hairs he'd had before he realized that by the time this was over, he'd be lucky if those were the only things he lost.

The man settled down, sitting next to JJ on the cold, hard floor. He seemed very calm about the whole situation, almost as if he was sitting down to have a good talk with a friend instead of talking to someone he had kidnapped.

JJ cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable with the man so close to him. "If you want ransom money from my kidnapping, it would have been more convenient to use somebody else. My parents can't give you that much, but I'm sure if you call them, you can arrange something," he stated, trying to get the man to reveal what he wanted. Statistically, most kidnappings were for ransom. The others… JJ didn't even want to think about them. The man, however, hadn't reacted so far. "Please, just call my parents. They'll give you money," JJ begged. He knew that as soon as that call reached his parents, they would use their powers to find him, as well as George's pretty cool lair. All he had to do was get the kidnapper to call the Powells.

Mitch, however was chuckling at JJ's words. "We do want money, but I have another plan about how to get it," he said, staring intently at the younger boy. JJ shifted nervously, as the man opened his mouth to speak again. "So," he continued, "how did you manage to make all that money at the races?"

Out of all the things he'd thought of, JJ had not expected that. He'd thought they'd been discreet enough, and he'd only gone to the races twice. He had never expected someone to notice what was going on. It was, unreal, in a way, that someone had finally noticed something strange about him. Shocked, JJ stuttered, "W-what do you mean?" Cold sweat began to rise at his hairline.

"Don't play dumb," Mitch's face demonstrated his annoyance. "I saw you win a bunch of money at the races. What I want to know is how you did it."

"It must have been luck," JJ tried, knowing before he even started to speak that the answer wouldn't be accepted. "And we didn't win that much. We lost all of it at the end." He still had to try. He couldn't allow this man to realize the potential JJ had in him. With his brains, he could do so much damage, and if people were threatening to kill him, he didn't know just how far they would go before he broke.

Mitch's eyes hardened. He obviously didn't believe the boy. Twirling his knife in his hands, he spoke once more. "I'm going to give you to the count of five to tell me just how you managed to get the right horses every time. If you don't say anything, or I don't like the answer, this knife is going to do something you really won't like." Mitch grabbed JJ's bound legs and pulled them towards him. He tore off one of his shoes and socks, holding the blade against the smallest toe. "One," he said.

JJ's mind was going at a mile a minute. He knew that he didn't need the little toe to walk, and that science had demonstrated that humans would eventually be born without them. Pinky toes were virtually useless, so it shouldn't matter if he lost one, right? "Two."

Despite everything his mind was telling him, his gut was yelling that, need it or not, the loss of his toe would hurt like nothing he'd ever experienced before. JJ didn't want to tell the man why he was able to tell his dad and uncle who would win in the races, especially as that information could be used against him. "Three."

Mitch seemed rather disappointed that the kid hadn't cracked yet, but he continued. "Four," he said quietly. "Five." With that word, he pushed the blade into the skin, causing the boy to yell out.

"Ok, ok!" the kid was yelling, unshed tears in his eyes. "I'll tell you, I promise!" Despite his willingness to remain silent, the pain of almost losing his toe was enough for him to break. Looking down, JJ noticed quite a large amount of blood beginning to run down his foot. He knew the foot had many delicate veins, but nothing had prepared him for quite that amount. It wasn't a lethal amount of blood by any means, but he still paled, especially as he realized that the knife was still sunken into his flesh, his foot in that iron grip.

"Ok, I'm listening," the man said quietly, threateningly. He didn't seem to care that his hand was getting soiled in blood. He was mostly interested in what JJ was going to tell him.

The boy groaned in pain before saying, "I-it wasn't luck. I was able to figure it out with a mathematical formula." JJ shouted as he felt the knife being forced against his bone. "No! Please, don't! I swear it's the truth! It was all math!"

Mitch smirked as he watched the kid struggling against him. Despite the strange statement the boy had made, Mitch could tell it was the truth. The kid was in a lot of pain, sure, but the blond man could always tell when someone was lying to him. Fortunately, this boy wasn't. "And how did you do the math?" he inquired further. He began to twist the knife when he noticed the kid had gone silent. "Answer me!"

JJ was crying by then. He couldn't help it. Tears of pain ran down his face as the man kept hurting him. He was being forced to admit the secret that he'd sworn never to reveal, no matter what; although, nobody had ever considered the possibility of his getting into a situation like this. He hoped his family would be able to forgive him as he replied to his captor's question. "I'm really smart. I did the math in my head." Thankfully, the knife was still once more, as was Mitch, who was processing this information.

"Say, kid, what's your name?" he suddenly asked.

JJ looked up. Of all the questions Mitch had asked him, this was the least harmful. It was a surprise, really. "JJ," he answered readily, unwilling to stand any more pain.

Mitch removed his knife from JJ's foot and pulled out a gauze bandage from his pocket, along with some medical tape. "Well, JJ, you smart kid, you're going to be helping me and my roommate with some important business." As he spoke, he wrapped up the injury he'd caused tightly, to stop the bleeding. "If you cooperate, you get to go home at the end of it. If you don't… let's just say that you should cooperate fully." With a smile, Mitch stood up and left the room, leaving a sobbing JJ behind.

-)-(-

JJ had been left in the dark for a long while. As Mitch had left, he'd closed the door and left the boy lying on the floor, occasionally wincing from the pain in his foot. His mind was functioning well, despite the stress. It was calculating how long it would take for his parents to find out he was missing, how a possible infection might be spreading through his body from the cut, and what the men wanted him to do, all simultaneously. JJ had to admit that none of his conclusions were good. It was the weekend, and his parents had big plans. It wouldn't be the first time that JJ didn't head home at night. Often enough, before the powers, he'd gone to spend the night at a friend's house, where he would be allowed to play video games until the wee hours of the morning. His parents would only discover he was missing late at night, when he didn't call. About his foot, if the knife was dirty, the blood that had flowed from the injury might have slowed the germs down, but they must still be making their way through his system. He'd have a few days, at most, before his foot became severely inflamed. He'd have to monitor himself for a fever. The last question had a multitude of answers, all of them bad. Nobody who kidnapped a boy could be expected to be good. And, as time went on and it grew later and later, JJ realized that his prospects were probably getting worse.

Finally, the door creaked open. Mitch and the other man stepped inside. JJ cringed as he saw them, trying to pull himself away. Unfortunately, he was tied up and there was only so far he could go. Mitch took a few steps and lazily pulled out his knife. He knelt down next to JJ, tickling the boy's throat with the steel. "You do anything funny, and you're dead," Mitch warned him unnecessarily before cutting away the tape holding JJ's legs. He pulled the kid up roughly by his shirt, and JJ staggered as the feeling returned to his feet. The other man caught him and swung him up, easily placing JJ on his shoulder, eliciting a yelp from the boy. Mitch only laughed. "Careful, Connor," he jokingly said. "You wouldn't want to hurt our golden goose!"

JJ's eyes widened as he heard the man refer to himself that way. The nickname boded no good, and as Connor began to carry him out of the place, he wondered where they were going. Before he could think about finding out where he was, Mitch put a blindfold over his eyes. Soon, he'd been tossed into the back of the van once more, en route to an unknown destination.

-)-(-

When the van parked, JJ was pulled out roughly and the blindfold taken off his eyes. He blinked, getting used to the light from the streetlamps. It was dark out, definitely nighttime. From the positions of the stars, JJ could estimate that it was after midnight. He was standing outside of a large house, if it could be called that. It seemed to be more of a mansion, honestly. Large gates barred unwelcome visitors from entering, and the bad feeling in JJ's stomach increased tenfold.

Mitch put the knife to his throat. "Now, JJ, you're going to be a nice kid and help up break into the house. If you don't help us, you're dead."

JJ was too nervous to even tell Mitch that his constant threats weren't needed. He knew what would happen to him if he didn't help these men break in. The steel scraped his sensitive skin, and then Mitch grabbed the boy's upper arm and led him to a small box hanging outside the gate. JJ could see numbers on it, and he knew that some sort of password was required to open it.

Mitch cut JJ's arms free, and the boy rubbed his wrists while his kidnapper pointed at the box. "You're smart. Figure it out."

JJ knew that if he mentioned how difficult or time consuming it could be, he would be killed. So, instead, he tried to figure out another way to open the gates. His mind, having been stagnant for so long, relished the challenge. JJ found himself going through motions automatically. His incredible brain figured out what sort of lock he was dealing with. Connor was only too happy to help by breaking the box open, revealing a mess of wires inside it. JJ looked through them and unstuck a few, mixing them up, sticking them together. Finally, right when Mitch was getting impatient, the gate buzzed and opened.

Both Connor and Mitch stared at the opening with wide eyes. The kid had gone beyond their wildest dreams. They grabbed him once more and took him inside. However, instead of starting to strip the place, taking everything in sight, Mitch led JJ down a series of hallways. He looked into several rooms before he found what he was looking for. "Bingo," he said, a creepy smile on his face.

He pushed JJ into a sort of study, forcing him down into a rolling chair in front of a laptop. "Now," Mitch said, "I want you to hack into the Mallard bank accounts and transfer as much money as you can into this account." Mitch gave JJ a piece of paper. "Make it untraceable, kid," he added.

By now, JJ was downright terrified. He was in a house full of security, but was sure that if he tried anything, he would die. There was nothing to do but do as the man ordered. Mitch stood behind him, ruffling JJ's hair with each breath. The boy worked quickly, frantically. While he did so, a small part of his brain focused on the man behind him. If Mitch would turn away for just a second, JJ would use that time to send a message letting his family know what had happened. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell them where he was, but he could at least let them know what was going on.

Once the transaction was complete, Mitch looked at the computer, checking over everything. Then, he stood up and walked around the desk, to look outside of a window. He seemed rather overwhelmed by what had just happened. JJ took the opportunity to type the few keys necessary to send the message to his family. Unfortunately, the sound alerted Mitch to something going on. The man turned away from the window with an angry gleam in his eye. He strutted over to JJ and looked into the screen of the computer. "What did you do, you stupid kid?" he demanded, sending a fist straight into JJ's face. The hit came from the side, and the boy found himself on the ground, spitting blood out onto the carpet. He'd bitten his tongue.

Mitch pressed the knife to JJ's throat once again. "What did I say about doing anything funny?" he asked, before hitting JJ once more. The boy's eyes fell closed as he was welcomed into the dark.

-)-(-

"Where could he be?" Stephanie was asking frantically. "I've looked throughout the city, and haven't seen him at all. It's not like him not to call!"

The Powell family was sitting in the living room, accompanied by George. They'd discovered JJ was missing a few hours ago, and since then, they'd done everything they could to get him back. George was currently on his phone, checking to see if anybody matching JJ's description had been found. He was coming up blank.

"Don't worry, Steph. He's smart. I'm sure he'll figure something out," Jim said calmly, even though his own heart was racing at a mile a minute. He couldn't believe that he'd failed his son so spectacularly, allowing him to be kidnapped.

Stephanie nodded mutely. George glanced up and sent her a smile, before looking back down at his phone. He'd gotten a message about a silent alarm being triggered at some mansion, but he figured finding JJ was more important than a robbery.

At that moment, the phone rang shrilly. Jim answered it, his expression guarded in case it was JJ's kidnappers. It was Katie.

"Hey, can I speak to Stephanie?" she was asking. Her voice sounded strange, almost choked. Jim didn't notice, however, as he was worrying about other stuff.

"Sure," he said, handing the phone to his wife. "It's Katie," he explained to her inquisitive look.

"Katie, now is not really a good time," Stephanie began. However, the words that Katie next spoke were enough to make her freeze.

"I know. It's about your son."

Stephanie's eyes widened and she set the phone on speaker, putting it in the middle of the table. "How do you know about JJ, Katie?" she inquired.

"He just sent me a message."

"A message? What kind of message? Where did he send it from?" Jim demanded forcefully.

"I don't recognize the computer or IP address, but it looks like he wrote from someplace uptown, where all the fancy houses are. His message was encrypted, made to look like a hack more than anything. In fact, he used the computers here at the labs to bounce off his signal. He did it from a few more places too."

Stephanie could recognize the excitement in her assistant's voice. She knew that Katie considered challenges thrilling, and must have had an interesting time finding all this out before coming to them. However, Stephanie had an important question in mind. "What did the message say?"

Katie's voice was silent for a moment, before she finally spoke, as if reading from somewhere. "It says, 'Grabbed this morning in dark van, robbery, help.'"

Stephanie closed her eyes as one of her worst nightmares seemed to be coming true right in front of her. Jim barely restrained himself from slamming his fist against any of the fragile architecture in his house. George, however, was frowning. "I got a message for the station that said a silent alarm was triggered in the Mallard house a short while ago," he mused. "That's close to where Katie said the signal was coming from. I'll bet you anything that's where JJ is!"

Both superhero parents turned to look at their dark-skinned friend with joy on their faces. Now that they had an address, they could get their son back. George mutely handed over his phone. As soon as they'd read their destination, Jim and Stephanie shared a silent look before dashing out the door. They would get JJ back.

-)-(-

JJ came to as his head thumped against Mitch's back. Not for the first time, he wished he was bigger and stronger. At least that way, people wouldn't find him so easy to carry. Mitch was walking down the halls once more, the boy slung over his shoulders. With a sigh, JJ realized that he was bound, hand and foot, once more. Cloth had been stuffed into his mouth and then tied around his head. There was no way he could make a single sound. He didn't even try squirming, especially as his head hurt so very much and he was very close to throwing up. With the cloth in his mouth, that would not be pleasant. So, instead of resisting, he concentrated on calming his nausea.

"Connor," Mitch was whispering. "Let's go."

The other man had succeeded in stripping down some of the other rooms, but when hearing his partner's voice, he merely nodded and followed, his hands pulling two heavy bags along.

Once they were outside, Mitch dumped JJ unceremoniously into the back of the van. "I thought we talked about his," the man said threateningly. "After that little stunt you pulled, we're going to have to leave. I was thinking Vegas." He grinned as he climbed in after the boy. "How good are you at counting cards, kid?" JJ's frightened eyes gazed up at him, which made the man remember something. "Oh, right. And, since you decided to mess with us, I think you need to rethink your actions." He pulled his knife out and it gleamed from the light of the streets. "Say goodbye to all the toes on your left foot, JJ," he said.

JJ gasped and tried to pull away, but it was useless. The man grabbed his foot once more, but before anything could happen, a sudden rush of wind blew dust into his eyes. Mitch sputtered, and looked up at a muffled sound coming from the kid. He turned, following the boy's gaze, and noticed a blond woman standing right outside the van.

"Let him go!" the woman demanded.

Mitch just grabbed JJ and pulled him into his chest, holding his knife against the boy's throat. "No way, sweetheart," he said. "This kid here is my big break. There's no way I'm letting him leave."

JJ had been so excited to see his mother again, but he realized that it would be hard for her to get him away before Mitch drove that knife into his main arteries. She might be fast, but it only took a second for a blade to cut through his throat. He closed his eyes in fear, wishing he was some other place, any other place, other than the current situation.

"Connor, get your ass over here!" Mitch demanded, and JJ heard the man's steps coming closer. He refused to open his eyes, though, until a large thump sounded. At that moment, JJ realized that his mother hadn't come alone. His father must be there as well. Mitch seemed rather worried himself. "Connor?" he called once more. Hearing no answer, he turned angry eyes to Stephanie. "I don't know what you've done to my partner, but, trust me, you take one step and I kill the kid."

Stephanie paused, considering her next move. She noticed her son making a small movement, almost unnoticeable. Before she could think about it, JJ had somehow managed to slam both of his tied legs against Mitch's left leg. The man dropped JJ, startled. At that moment, Stephanie used her speed to run at the man. Quickly, she took the knife from his hand and slammed the handle of it against the back of his head. Mitch's eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed.

Then, she turned to her son. "Jim, in here!" she called to her husband as she dropped to her knees in front of her boy. She quickly got rid of the gag and began untaping his hands when JJ's father stepped inside. He passed his hand over his face, relieved.

JJ was still shaking as he was finally released from the tape that had held him captive. He nearly broke out in tears as both of his parents embraced him. He was so grateful to be back with them, especially after everything that had happened. "I knew you guys would find me," he sobbed in happiness. His parents held him close, wrapped in their arms, until finally, they had to break away.

"The cops will be here soon, we should go," Jim was saying. JJ nodded, trying to stand up. His head was still reeling, and his toe hurt. He staggered, only to be caught by Jim.

"Something wrong, honey?" his mother asked worriedly.

"Just… I hurt my foot. We can look at it later," JJ replied, not wanting to remain in the van one second longer. His father gave him a serious look before lifting his boy up into his arms, in a way he hadn't since JJ had been four years old.

Jim stepped out of the van, noticing how his son's eyes had closed and his arms wound around his father's neck. This had scared him more than he was saying, and Jim told himself to have a nice long chat with his son once they were back safely.

"Hang on," Jim warned before he took off, bounding away. Stephanie made her own way back home.

JJ clung to his father's neck, his face buried in the material of the man's shirt. He was so grateful he'd been found, and he knew that his parents would keep him safe. After all, they had superpowers! If anything ever happened to him again, he was lucky that he had superparents. Honestly, though, he didn't plan on anything like this ever happening again. One thing could be said about this, though. At least life in the Powell house was never boring.

(A/N) This is just a little oneshot that occurred to me when I was watching the No Ordinary Brother episode. There are so many ways to take advantage of JJ's power, and I thought I'd explore a little of that in this little oneshot. I enjoyed writing it, and if you enjoyed reading it, you should definitely leave me a review or a comment. What did you like? What didn't you like? Was it fun at all?

Anyway, thanks for reading my story, and hope to see you around! Don't forget to review!