The AT A-Team: The Beginning

by Emily N. Daniel

It was just another night at The Stadium, a local sports bar in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Jarrod never exactly looked forward to these gigs, especially not tonight. He was exhausted, having spent another sleepless night in front of his computer. All he really wanted to do was go home and go to bed, but he and the rest of Admiral Twin were required to play until 1:30 AM. As usual, there were several drunken idiots on the dance floor. They didn't care who played, as long as they could bump and grind to the music. He wrinkled his nose. 'Tasteless,' he thought, as he kept pounding away on the drums. He stared over at Mark, who seemed just as worn out. John was the only one who appeared to be half-awake, but even he was being rather quiet that night.

Eventually, 1:30 did roll around. Jarrod got up and stretched. It was finally time to pack up and go home. As much as he enjoyed playing, he had to admit he was glad they were done for the night. As the bar emptied out, he bid farewell to some of the actual fans who had turned out, then went about packing up the instruments. Mark and John were doing the same, as were their good friends, Kara and Steven. "Well, another night, another night, huh?" he sighed, closing the case to his bass drum.

"Don't you mean another night, another dollar?" Kara asked, gathering up the amp chords.

"Not really," Mark said, looking down at the scarcely-filled tip bucket. "Not much of a haul tonight."

"Hey, well, that's okay," John smiled weakly, "What about album sales?"

Steven shook his head. "Only sold one, I'm afraid. I tried to sell some after the show, but the bar was almost empty." Jarrod rolled his eyes. His spirit weary and his mood foul, he went on packing things up, as did the others. It was strangely quiet, almost too much so. He could hear cockroaches crawling in the distance, could even feel the vibration of their tiny footsteps. Possessing supernatural psychic abilities tended to make one rather sensitive to one's environment, but even so the lack of sleep and his utter exhaustion had dulled his abilities down extremely.

The night air was cool and crisp as they started to load up the van. The moon appeared to be hiding that night as the starless sky darkened the lot. Crickets chirped their eerily haunting melodies and a breeze blew suddenly, causing Jarrod to shudder. "Damn, it's cold," Mark commented as he blew fire out of his mouth to light up a cigarette.

"Honestly, Mark, did you have to go and light that thing up right now?" John scowled as he carried the entire drum set towards the van, quickly set it in the back, and within two seconds had rushed back in and was now hauling nearly the rest of their equipment out. "You know I hate cigarette smoke! Hurry up so we can leave! I'm freezing my ass off!"

"What ass?" Kara laughed, messing with the pocket knife she always had with her. "Really, you two are something else...AHHH!" She jumped as a red beam of light suddenly shot out of the end of the pocket knife. "Damn laser! Always going off randomly like that...scares the shit out of me! I really need to fix that sometime."

"Hey, a little help over here?" Steven cried out, who was dangerously close to dropping one of the larger amps straight on his foot.

"Oops, did I miss that? My bad," John rushed over just in time to grab a hold and take it off Steven's hands, shoving it into the back of the van. "Okay, that's about it...err, Jarrod, what are you doing?"

Jarrod looked up at him. He had been levitating the lighter stuff, such as the boxes of merchandise, to the van but was only managing to hit the side, completely missing the door and scattering the boxes everywhere. He had been so tired that he hadn't even noticed. "Sorry, man, my abilities aren't quite so sharp tonight." He bent down to pick everything up, but the whole time his teeth kept on chattering. Was he getting sick? "Oh, shit! Hey, I forgot to grab my jacket!" Jarrod said, suddenly realizing why he was so cold. "Let me go back and grab it real quick. I'll be right back out!" He rushed back inside the back entrance. He was expecting to see the bar owners going about their usual closing ritual, but there was no one out cleaning tables or mopping up the vomit off the floor. He stepped over one rather huge puddle and came to the chair he had set his jacket on earlier. That's when he noticed rather harsh voices coming from a room not far from the bar. Thinking something might be wrong, he slowly crept towards the room, making sure to make no noise as the voices grew louder and more understandable. Jarrod leaned in a bit closer to try and distinguish what was being said.

"There has to be more money than this, you impudent little bitch!" a rough male voice growled furiously. A frightened yelp escaped from a young woman's throat as drawers were pulled open, the metal clanging against the floor and papers scattering about.

"I swear, I gave you all I could find," her voice trembling horribly, "Please...I am new here. Please don't hurt me."
Jarrod's mouth fell agape. He grabbed his cellphone out of his jacket pocket and started to dial the number to the police station, but just as the phone started to ring he was struck a sharp blow to the head and everything soon went dark.

"Man, what is taking Jarrod so long?" Steven wondered, looking down at his watch, "I want to get home sometime before the sun comes up."

"It's been over fifteen minutes," Kara commented, "Should we be worried?"

"Maybe," Mark replied, pointing his finger at his cigarette and freezing the tip, the flame quickly going out.

"Gawd, finally!" John exclaimed, "That was, like, your third one in ten minutes!"

"Guys, please! This could be serious!" Kara scolded them, "What if something happened to him? Come on, let's go check. Be quiet as you go in, just in case." Slowly, the crew walked to the back entrance and entered on tiptoe. At first nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but the further they travelled in the more they could hear something going on. "That sounds like voices," Kara whispered, "And they sound harsh."

"Well, the shit bartenders have to take, who wouldn't be cranky after a long night's work?" John remarked.

"Shhh, John, shut up!" Kara hissed and again they made their way towards the voices. It sounded like things were being tied together roughly and there was a lot of shuffling about. It wasn't long before the voices became comprehendable.

"Okay, boss, the guy and girl are tied up. Let's take the loot and get out of here," a gruff male voice said. Again, there was more shuffling about and things being slammed open and shut. Kara made her way towards the door, which was still open a crack. She peeked in and started to gasp before quickly clasping her hands over her mouth. There was Jarrod, unconscious and tied up to a chair, gagged and blindfolded. The same had been done to a young woman that she recognized as the female bartender from earlier. There had to be five other guys in the room, all burly and rough-looking and all of them toting guns. Ever so silently, Kara slowly backed up to where the others were waiting.

"Well, what's going on?" Steven asked.

"Guys, this place is being robbed," Kara told them, "And they have Jarrod tied up, along with the bartender."

"Oh my gawd..." Mark uttered in disbelief.

"What's more is they have guns and possibly other weapons on hand," Kara explained to them.

"What are we going to do?" John asked her, looking worried.

"Well, what choice do we have?" Kara sighed, "We have to save Jarrod and that girl. Perhaps those powers of yours will finally come in handy, but first we have to create some sort of distraction..."

His head pounding something fierce, Jarrod moaned slightly as he opened his eyes, only to find out he couldn't see anything at all. Trying to move, he found himself restrained. Suddenly remembering what happened, he let out a cry and struggled desperately. "Hey, you, quiet over there!" A man's voice rang harshly in Jarrod's ear and again he was struck a blow, only to his stomach via the man's huge fist. Jarrod let out a painful groan, which was muffled by the gag in his mouth. "Hahaha, what a little pansy!" the man's voice laughed, and again he socked him square in the stomach. Jarrod doubled over in his chair and was now gasping for air as the last blow had knocked the wind out of him.

'Man, how did I get into this situation?' Jarrod thought as his head and abdomen throbbed, 'Why didn't I pick up on someone sneaking up behind me before I was knocked out?' Jarrod kicked himself for letting himself get so worn out. If he had just properly taken care of himself, he wouldn't even be in this situation right now. His powers were of no use to him now that he was tied up, his eyes covered where he couldn't see to be able to levitate anything towards him to cut the ropes with.

Just as it all began to seem completely hopeless, a great commotion came from outside the room. "What in the hell is that?!" one of the guys exclaimed angrily, "Come on! We'll take care of whoever punks are making that racket!" Jarrod could hear the pounding of heavy feet as they rushed out of the room, the floor shaking greatly from the force, or was that his abilities picking up again? He could sense he was not alone in the room, but who else could be in there with him? He tried to move about, scooting around in his chair until he suddenly bumped into what felt like another chair. He felt around with his leg and it graced another leg, only it was limp. He panicked. He wasn't the only one who was tied up. That's when a hand clamped tightly onto his shoulder. "Be quiet and don't move," a voice said, "This will all be over in a minute..."

"HEY, YOU'RE RIGHT! THE ACOUSTICS DO SOUND BETTER IN HERE!" John yelled over to Mark while loudly strumming his guitar to Mark's bongo drums.

"I AM FEELING THE GROOVE, MAN!" Mark shouted as he pounded away, his head bobbing in time to the music. Even while doing all this, the guys paid close attention to their surroundings to see if their distraction was working. They grinned as five guys came running into the area, though grew nervous when noticing the guns they carried with them. Still, this did not faze the two, for they had a plan.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" the man who appeared to be the ring leader yelled, his gun out and pointed towards them. "DO YOU PUNKS HAVE A DEATH WISH OR WHAT?!"

"Actually, no, we don't," Mark replied, smirking, "but it appears that you do. Steven, NOW!"

Steven came out from the shadows, where he had been well-hidden in his black ninja garb. "Hahaha, what is this?!" one of the thugs laughed, "Some kind of joke?"

"Ah, do not mock the ways of the ninja," Steven said, slowly snaking his way towards them, a menacing look in his eyes. Suddenly the thug seemed more unnerved than amused as he shakily pointed his gun. Without a moment's hesitation, Steven high-kicked the weapon out of his hand. The thug stood there, stunned, before his face flamed with anger as he, along with a couple of the others, ganged up on him. Again, in no time flat, all three were lying on the ground, groaning painfully while Steven quickly snatched up their guns.

"Get up!" the ring leader growled, then again turned to Mark and John. "What kind of game are you three trying to play?! You hurt my men and now you all will pay...what the?!" Mark had already gone to work freezing the gun, then Steven pulled off another high-kick that shattered it to pieces. Shocked, the ring leader stuttered, "You...you guys are freaks! Hey, you, shoot them!"

As there was only one guy left with a gun, he quickly pointed it in Mark's direction, but then suddenly he was knocked down by a chair that had flown his way. John chuckled as he quickly flung tables and chairs at the gang, sending them all sprawling to the ground as Mark again used his freezing powers to turn the lot into ice statues. "This is crazy!" the ring leader yelled, "I'm getting out of here!"

"No, I don't think so, chief," Mark said, freezing his legs where he couldn't move. John grinned and pulled up a booth chair, holding it high above his head.

"You...you wouldn't..." the ring leader stuttered again, looking truly frightened.

"Oh, wouldn't I?" John remarked and was preparing to hurl it his way, but suddenly someone grabbed him around the neck and the next thing John knew, a cold metal blade was being held against his throat.

"Just put that thing down slowly or else I'll slit your throat wide open," a menacing voice hissed. John did as he was told. "As for you other two punks, I suggest none of you come near or else your friend will be in a world of hurt!" He glared at Mark. "And unfreeze our leader and the rest of the gang if you know what's good for you freaks!" The gang member kept a tight grip around John's neck as Mark took to breathing fire on all the frozen gangsters. He smirked as some of the guys got their hair singed in the process. "Hey, no funny business!" the guy warned, pressing his knife harder onto John's throat. Mark sighed and continued, wondering what the hell was keeping Kara.

"Wow, thanks, Kara," Jarrod grinned, rubbing his wrists where the ropes had been tied.

"No time for thanks," Kara said, using the laser from her pocket knife to cut through the ropes keeping Jarrod's legs bond. "We have to get you freed and help the others. They're distracting those gangsters while I free you." As soon as Jarrod's ropes were completely cut, he and Kara headed towards the door.

"What about the girl though?" Jarrod asked.

"We'll worry about her later," Kara told him, "Besides, she doesn't need to find out about you guys' abilities. Now, come on! I am not sure how well the distraction's going. The others could be in real danger!"

Sure enough, as soon as Kara and Jarrod rounded the corner, they saw that indeed their worst of suspicions had been confirmed. John was being held hostage while Mark was just about done unfreezing the last gang member. Steven had also been nabbed by two of the gangsters, who held him where he couldn't move. As soon as all were unfrozen, the ring leader grinned wickedly and picked up one of the guns that Steven had been forced to give up. "Not so tough now without your superpowers to help you," he chuckled and pointed the gun at Mark, "Now I will see to it that none of you freaks ever go about ruining our plans again."

"STOP!" Jarrod yelled, stepping out of the shadows. Kara tried to grab his shirt to pull him back, but Jarrod wasn't having it. No one threatened his friends and got away with it.

The ring leader turned in shock, but soon regained his composure and grinned even more wickedly. "So, you managed to escape," he smirked, "I guess you aren't such a little pansy after all." He turned the gun towards Jarrod, "I was about to finish off that curly-haired punk, but I think I'll get rid of you first instead. Say good-bye, pansy."

The gun went off, but Jarrod just stood there, concentrating hard. The bullet gradually slowed down and was soon hovering just inches from Jarrod's chest, right where his heart was located. Jarrod then used his mind to turn the bullet towards the ring leader and made it shoot straight into the guy's arm. The ring leader howled and dropped his gun, which Jarrod quickly levitated into his own hand. "Now," he said, "I suggest you have your men let my friends go and turn yourselves in quietly. You don't want to piss off a psychic with a gun."

A half-an-hour later, the police were handcuffing the gangsters and shoving them into the back of their police cars. "I don't know how you guys managed to catch these crooks," one of the officers said in amazement, "We've been after them for months! They are known as the most dangerous gang around these parts!"

The girl, who had been freed after the police arrived, smiled at them and thanked them graciously. "Not only are you guys a rocking band, but you all are heroes too!" She looked at Steven and Kara. "And you two are amazing as well! I thank all of you so much. You all saved my life!"

"Hey, it's what we had to do," John said, "We weren't about to let some thugs get away with all that!" Mark nodded and lit up a cigarette, the normal way this time. John just shook his head and grinned.

"Well, I think we have all the information we need," the officer told them, "I think we all should go home and turn in. Thanks again, fellows." The officer walked back to his vehicle, still mumbling his amazement. The girl thanked them again and then she too left. The guys watched as the police vehicles drove away, their sirens blaring and the lights brightening the dark surroundings of the moonless night.

Kara walked up to Jarrod and patted him on the back. "I didn't think you had it in you to do that, Jarrod, shooting the guy like that! You couldn't even get the merchandise inside the van earlier!"

Jarrod smiled weakly, "Well, when one's friends are in danger, it's not that hard to find the strength you were missing before."

"Well, I don't know about you guys," Steven stretched and yawned, "but I say it's about time we got the hell out of here!"

"I'm with ya, man," Mark yawned as well and put out his cigarette. He climbed into the van, John following and waving the smoke away from his face.

Kara was about to get in as well, but noticed Jarrod staring into the night sky. "Hey, you coming?" she asked.

Jarrod looked at her and again smiled. "Yeah, I'll be right there." He gazed up into the sky once more. It felt good using his abilities to save lives. Maybe he was meant for more than just playing in a band that no one appreciated. Maybe he and the others were placed on this earth to do more. This didn't mean he wanted to give up on his music dreams, but it didn't have to be his whole life. Feeling like he had a new purpose, Jarrod followed Kara into the van and together the guys drove off, feeling better than they had in a really long time.