Next chapter! And no Tim, I'm sorry :( next chapter, I swear on my Superman shirt!

Enjoy~

"It's hot," Bart groaned for the 5th time that minute. Conner's eye twitched.

"We haven't even entered the jungle," he pointed out sharply, and the younger boy winced, looking down as he took a few quick steps forward.

"I know. I just…don't like the heat." Bart explained, and Jaime narrowed his eyes in suspicion; it seemed more of fear than dislike that he was talking about.

M'gann just sighed, her feet starting to burn thanks to the increasingly hot sand. She started to walk faster, the first trees just ten feet away. Garfield glanced nervously behind him; his eyes locked with steely blue, and he snapped his head forward, breathing uneven.

"Calm," M'gann touched his shoulder lightly, hoping he wouldn't have another panic attack. Especially after the anniversary of their mom's death. Gar had such a bad attack that his heart stopped beating for a few seconds.

He took a deep breath and relaxed, his hand still grasping her arm. She gave him a little smile before craning her head back to stare at the trees.

"Ready, everyone?" Jaime asked grimly, and everyone nodded. He stepped in front of M'gann, and Bart followed him, like a lost puppy. Conner rolled his eyes, but his shoulders were tense as he peered between the two tall trees.

It seemed like steam was rolling off from the entire jungle, it was so hot. Jaime hesitated, his dark eyes darting back to look at the 4, before bravely entering the jungle. Bart swallowed hard, feeling his heart beat faster in fear as a cloud of fog descended upon them; it felt like the heat was enveloping him in a tight embrace.

He didn't even know he was choking until Jaime said urgently, "Bart! Breath, ese!"

He took a deep breath and looked around, emerald eyes dropping their gaze in embarrassment. He relaxed when he felt a hand on his shoulder, somehow knowing it was Jaime.

"You ok?" the Hispanic male asked softly, concerned, and all the auburn-haired boy could do was nod, waving his hand to motion they should keep walking. Jaime sighed before taking more steps. The trees were huge, with thick tree trunks.

The canopy was dark green and covered the sky. As soon as the group had reached a clearing surrounded by short palm trees, the sky was completely blocked by the fronds, branches, and leaves.

"I think we should look for food and water first," M'gann said, and Bart nodded, looking down at his thin stomach.

"I agree! Um…how about these berries?" Bart picked off some bright purple dots off a nearby bush and was about to pop them in his mouth when Conner smacked them out of his hand.

"Are you insane? Do you have a bloody death wish?" he hissed, his blue eyes dark with anger. Bart flinched back at the contact. Conner ran an hand through his short black hair and gave him the evil eye.

"There are certain berries you can eat, and this is not one of them. If you get poisoned, you die. There aren't any hospitals or antidotes," he growled, crossing his arms and lecturing the group. His blue eyes were light again, as if enjoying teaching them.

"How do you know all this?" M'gann asked slowly, amber eyes narrowed. He just shrugged, his eyes closing up again and becoming that steely shade again. She sighed; the cerulean color was rather nice, and she didn't know why he had to keep hiding it. Gar notice her staring and tugged lightly on her ruined dress sleeve.

"So, what berries can we eat?" Jaime questioned. He fiddled with a thread on his blue jacket; his pants were ripped and dirty and now resembled shorts. It was worse than Conner's; his black shirt was shredded and his jeans all white thanks to the salty water.

"A few. I don't see them yet." Conner replied in a clipped tone. The group fell silent for a while; birdcalls and animal growls echoed throughout the jungle, and the faint sound of howling was heard.

Gar opened his mouth then closed it, his wide green eyes focusing on something high up in the trees.

The rest of the group was discussing which direction to go; M'gann didn't even notice him tugging on her sleeve as she made suggestions to the group.

Gar's eyes widened even more as he stared into a pair of fierce gold eyes. he yanked even harder on his sister's sleeve, and she whirled around impatiently.

"What, Garfield?" she asked in annoyance. He couldn't speak, but that didn't matter; a silent scream was erupting in his chest as those eyes dropped even lower, and in the darkness of the far off branch, he could make out the outline of powerful hind legs and a thick body.

The eyes disappeared, and Garfield began shaking in fear. He licked his dry lips and tugged hard on her sleeve. She ignored him this time, and his heart jumped in his throat as he saw the eyes appear again, much closer. In fact, they were so close that he could now see the black spots on its lean body.

He stumbled back, seeing the legs tense; the jaguar positioned himself into a crouch, and he knew it was going to attack. So he did the only thing he knew would get M'gann's attention, even though it caused him much pain.

He screamed.

Or tried to, at least. It felt like someone was starting a fire in his chest, but it was worth it. The hoarse, cracking, terrible noise made everyone look straight at him. All he did was point in the vague direction of the animal before hacking up his last dinner on the ship.

"No one move…" Conner warned; he had seen the jaguar as well. He glared at Gar, as if it was his fault.

"Why should we—oh!" Bart quickly fell silent. A look of distress passed over Jaime's face as he instinctively pulled him behind him. The gold eyes blinked and then suddenly, with astonishing speed, the animal was right in front of them.

M'gann gave a little shriek of terror, and the jaguar cocked its head. Conner swore under his breath, moving back slowly as to not startle the animal. Gar was frozen; he stepped back on a little branch and broke it. The jaguar's eyes locked on the small boy, and it crouched, tail lazily moving back and forth.

Everyone was basking in their own fear as they stared at the animal with horrified eyes. They were waiting for it to leap and attack, to maim and to kill. Of course, Jaime had other ideas, the fool. He took one cautious step forward, his hand slowly delving into his pocket for something.

"Idiot," Conner mumbled under his breath, shaking his head slightly as he tried to figure out what the teen was doing. It all became clear when he pulled out a pocketknife and waved it around.

The jaguar raised a paw and batted at the reflecting light, its jaws opening in a snarl. M'gann gulped as she noticed its sharp teeth and huge jaws. Conner grabbed onto M'gann and Bart and carefully began to move them backwards. Gar was clutching onto her, so he also was dragged back.

Jaime threw the knife past the jaguar, which turned around and immediately disappeared in search of the object. The teen turned around and ran; he was followed by the other 4. They crashed through the jungle, hearts in their mouths, legs burning and aching, heads spinning, and finally stopped near a small river.

"Genius…Jaime…" M'gann managed to wheeze out, her brown hair falling into her face as she bent over. Conner wasn't wheezing that badly, but he was still out of breath. Jaime was panting lightly, but Bart was perfectly alright.

"Seriously, you're freaking amazing," he exclaimed to Jaime, green eyes joyful, and Jaime blushed slightly, brushing it off.

"It's nothing…but I regret losing the knife," he sighed. Bart grinned at Garfield, who had his eyes closed and was shaking in fear. He was the youngest out of the group, probably 13 or 14.

"Thank god Gar warned us in time!" the auburn-haired boy added, patting him on the back. Gar opened an eye and cracked a tiny smile before his gaze fell upon a glaring Conner. He winced and shrunk against his sister, who put a hand on her hip and began to browbeat him.

"Stop glaring at my brother. It isn't his fault he didn't warn us before. If it wasn't for him, we'd all be dead! And I don't know who you think you are! Just because you know some survival tips doesn't mean you're suddenly the king of the jungle! So please, back off!" she yelled, her amber eyes crackling in fury.

Conner was stunned as he stared at the enraged girl. Garfield was signaling furiously to her, but she wasn't watching. Her eyes were locked on the teen she had delivered the rant to, waiting for an answer.

He opened his mouth and then closed it. She tapped her foot, eyes narrowed. He finally sighed.

"Ok, you got me. I'm sorry."

"Apologize to him."

"I'm sorry, Garfield."

"Is that it?"

"Yeah."

Jaime and Bart listened to the banter, laughing softly under their breaths. Gar's eyebrows were furrowed as he gestured to M'gann.

"Good point. He says we take a look at the river," she translated. All eyes turned to the small river, filled halfway with small rocks. The water seemed pretty clear, but one could never be too safe.

"So, who's going to be out tester?" Bart joked.

"I will," Conner said, stepping forward and kneeling by the river. He cupped his hands and submerged them, then took a few sips from his hands.

"Well, ese?" Jaime cocked an eyebrow and waited for the answer.

"It's ok. Now we need to purify it," Conner finally answered, tilting his head to the side.

"With what?" Bart asked.

"Spit."

Please review guys ;*

~samx