6- Amanda and Jack

Author's note: This chapter will have little to do with the plot of this story, as will the couple presented in it. However, just read and enjoy. I am SOOOOOO sorry that I've taken so long putting this up, but I had major writer's block. Please forgive me! Well, anyway, this chapter introduces more Smashers. Besides, I received a specific request from one of my most avid reviewers. If you would like a couple in here featuring Smashers other than Zelink or Snakus, please let me know.

Amanda was driving home in her bright red convertible, wondering about her day.

She usually let her mind wander while driving. It was so darn easy, she almost went crazy every time she took the wheel. However, that caused her to sometimes take the scenic route. As a matter of fact, today, she was thinking so hard about her friend Chloe that she didn't realize where she was driving until she looked up.

She had, unfortunately enough, driven into the rougher parts of town, where gangs were the only form of law enforcement against other gangs. Killings around here were quite normal, particularly of innocent people such as herself. The only person who dared to come here was Angela the social worker. Then again, Angela was afraid of nothing. She reminded Amanda of an angel.

Amanda swore silently and pulled the car into reverse. Or at least, she tried to. Just as she did, she heard a gun being cocked. She leapt down, using her natural agility to just avoid the bullet that was being shot. She looked up briefly to see a boy with green and red hair smirk at her.

"Let's get her!" he called. Six other individuals, mostly young men but one or two women, emerged from behind various locations and surrounded Amanda's car. One of them was cackling stupidly, but the rest were as quiet as they were frightening. Amanda took in a silent breath and looked each of them in the eye, however. She'd heard of gangs like these before, and wasn't really afraid of them, just what they might do to her.

Please, don't let it be Rick's gang, she murmured to herself. Please don't let it be the pirates. Rick and his gang were the most feared of all of the gangs, as they tended to kill first and ask questions later. As a matter of fact, they'd even threatened Angela once. Amanda had been there, and still was shocked. No one ever threatened Angela.

"Whoa, look what we got today," said one smug voice, interrupting Amanda's mantra. A massive figure then emerged from the shadows as the others joined hands around her convertible. The figure sneered at her and allowed her to look. He was extremely tall, a little taller than she (and she was six feet tall), with green, spiky hair that added another foot to his already towering height. He was much thicker than she was, just a little bit thicker than Dork, and Amanda could tell that all of his bulk was muscle. Not someone that she would normally enjoy seeing. However…

Thank god. It's not Rick.

Very few people would say 'Thank God,' however. It was Spike and the Turtles, another very feared gang. Though they didn't kill every victim or prisoner that they did, but they did kill people. Amanda hoped that she wasn't the unlucky one here.

Spike walked forward, smirking.

"Hello, girly," he began. "What's a pretty chick like you doing here?"

"If you're going to make a pass at me, I'm used to it and am sorry that I am," she replied coldly. He just laughed.

"Junior, anything valuable on her?" he turned and asked the smallest member of the gang.

"Nope," Junior replied. "We could take her prisoner, though."

"Not on my watch!"

Amanda whirled around to see that another group of people had appeared down the street. One had a gun aimed at Spike. As they advanced slowly, all six of the Turtles and Spike pulled their own guns out.

"Who are you attacking now?" the leader quipped. "Some other poor, defenseless person?"
"Don't you attack defenseless people, Jack?" Spike replied.

"No. I attack you guys and steal from other gangs," Jack replied smugly. By now, he was standing at the head of Amanda's car.

Suddenly, before anyone could react, he backflipped and landed in the shotgun seat of Amanda's car.

"Get us out of here!" he ordered her. Amanda floored the accelerator, and the two shot off before either of the gangs could react. However, as soon as they regained their wits, Jack's gang disappeared from where they came from. Spike's gang, meanwhile, just exchanged some heated words over who was to blame the most.

"Thanks," Amanda mumbled as soon as they were out of danger.

"My pleasure," Jack replied with a smile. "I don't often have such a fun and daring rescue!"
In spite of herself, Amanda blushed. Jack was being so pleasant to her. It seemed that he'd enjoyed rescuing her. Or maybe he was just a nice guy. Either way, Amanda liked him already.

"I'm Jack, Harvard dropout and leader of the Animals," he grinned and extended his hand.

"Harvard dropout?" she asked, surprised.

"I was bored. Barely made it through three classes before I quit. I mean, the material was almost, no, it was painfully easy. But if I'd stayed, I'd be in sophomore year," he replied. "Now I lead the Animals. We're a rather little gang; it's just me, Fox, Falco, Wolf, Mo, and Carson."
"Fox? Falco? Wolf?"
"They don't like their real names, so we just call them by their code names instead."

By now, they'd reached the edge of the dangerous area. Amanda sighed in relief that she'd made it through this crisis without injury.

"Come visit us sometime. It's not often that I get to meet someone like you," With that, Jack leapt out of the car, and with a final charming smile to Amanda, he sprinted off in an incredible show of his physical fortitude. Amanda realized that she was watching, her heart thumping in spite of herself. She felt herself give in to one of her extremely rare dizzy spells. No one had ever affected her that way.

It was then when she realized that she was feeling that odd feeling of déjà vu. She'd known Jack before, she was sure of it.

"Chloe, Nico, Nick, Chase, Dork, Spike, and now this," she murmured to herself. "Not to mention Rick."

She shuddered at the thought of Rick. The one time she'd met him, she'd been paralyzed. As if he'd done terrible things to her in the past. Well, then again, he, very similar to Dork, gave of a very negative vibe. As a matter of fact, what Chloe and Amanda were feeling about Dork and Rick, respectively, was almost the same. What could be the cause of this?

Amanda didn't notice that on one of her hands, a purple symbol in the shape of a lightning bolt surrounded by two circles had just appeared. And it was glowing.