Ok, before I start this next chappie, I just want to give a shout out to Wolftriplex and Cycloptic NightBat. Thanx 4 reviewing loyally!
Seven: Blast to the Past
Mari stood there, unmoving. She didn't know what to do – what to think. Her breath caught in her throat and her knees began to buckle. Suddenly, her legs became Jell-O and she collapsed.
She would have hit the floor – hard – if Jessie had not broken out of his daze and caught her. He positioned himself so as to firmly keep her in her arms. Her head leaned against his chest and heard the steady beating of his heart. It made her feel somehow safe. She closed her eyes.
"Let's back down into the basement," she heard his voice rumble.
She then felt herself being half carried-half dragged down into the basement. She was then positioned to sit on top of a box. She opened her eyes.
"Are you OK?" he said, tones full of feeling.
She nodded.
She looked over his shoulder and saw Pete with his back to both of them, leaning his hands on a poker table. His spine was rigid and Mari could hear his ragged breathing.
Jessie sat down (for he had just about lost the strength in his legs as well) and put his head in his hands. All three of them were too shocked and scared to cry.
After a few minutes of shocked silence, Jessie spoke up.
"Maybe we should call the police?"
"And tell them what?" snapped Pete, whipping around. "That our parents were just abducted while eating dinner by crazy robots!"
"As much as I hate to say it," said Mari, "Pete's right. We can't drag the authorities into this. Who ever did this, they had a grudge against our parents."
"Gee," said Pete, sarcastically, "what was your first guess?"
"Look, we need to figure out what happened, here!"
"What's to figure out? Our parents are gone, your house is a mess, and it feels like we're stuck in a Sci-Fi movie!"
"Well, jumping down everyone's throat is not helping!"
Pete bared his teeth and Mari's eyes glowed sapphire. Then, both of their visions were interrupted by a fan of blue peacock feathers that protruded in the middle of their paths.
"Fighting's not going to get us anywhere," said Jessie as he turned back into a human. They went out of their fighting stances and broke eye-contact. Jessie went over and stood next to a pile of cardboard boxes.
"He's right," said Mari. "We need to work together if we're ever going to find our parents."
"If they're even alive…" Pete mumbled.
"They are alive!" shouted Mari. "And we're going to find out who did this!"
"But why?" said Pete. "Why would anyone have anything against our parents?"
"I don't know…"
Suddenly –
"Woah!"
Jessie tripped over his own shoelace, causing him to fall backwards into the pile of boxes behind them, incasing him in cardboard.
Mari let out a small gasp and rushed over to him while Pete just stood there, laughing. He then wiped a tear from his eye and fought for air.
"Ahhh, I needed that…"
"Could you stop being a jerk for once?" Mari said angrily as she pulled out a dizzy Jessie from the boxes. He rolled his eyes and went over to the other two. As Mari helped him stand (though it made him blush for her to grab his hand) Jess noticed an old newspaper at his feet.
"What's this?" he said out loud, picking it up. Pete looked at it.
"Who the heck are the Teen Titans?" he said. (A/N guess what it says! G'head, take a gander!)
"Let me see," said Mari, as Jess handed her the paper. She looked at it. It read:
TEEN TITANS SAVE THE DAY AGAIN!
Under it was an old, black-and-white photo of a masked boy, a girl in a mini skirt, a boy with pointed ears, a girl in a cloak, and a big guy who was half metal.
"Hmmm…" That big guy seemed pretty familiar…
"Hey, Pete," she said, "isn't that your dad?"
He looked at the picture and squinted.
"Ya know… now that you mentioned it… yeah… yeah that is him!"
"And that must be my mom and dad," said Jessie.
"And these two must be my parents! Guys," she said, turning to them, "our parents were superheroes!"
The boys looked at each other.
"I mean, this explains everything! Our parents would have had to have made enemies because they were fighting all the time! One of them could really know how to hold a grudge!"
"You mean," said Pete, "you never went through this stuff?"
"My dad told me not to…"
"So," said Jess, "you wouldn't know what this is?" He handed her a picture he found sticking out between two boxes. She looked over it.
"It looks like some sort of – tower."
Pete looked over it. It was indeed a tower.
"Who in their right minds would want to live in a T shaped tower?"
"Are parents, I guess," said Jessie.
Mari looked over the article.
Jump City News
"Ok," she said, "Jessie, you and Pete get the boxes. We're going to Jump City. Now, once we're there, we'll – "
"Hold up," said Pete, "who died and made you queen? I say I call the shots."
"And why in the world would you make a better leader then me?"
"I'm bigger, I'm older, and I'm stronger."
"Phh! You're not stronger then me!"
"Oh, yeah? Wanna put your money where your mouth is?"
"And how would you suggest I do that?"
He lifted the poker table, put it between them, and pulled up two chairs.
"In an arm-wrestling contest!"
"You're on! Winner becomes leader?"
"Deal!"
They sat down at the same time as Jessie (who, for some reason, was now in a referee costume) pulled out a boxing bell from nowhere. They both took their right arms and put the elbows on the table. They took each other's hand. The bell dinged.
They pushed against each other with all their might. Muscles contracted, they both breathed heavily through their noses. Sweat glistened their faces and they shot daggers at each other. Then, Mari's hand started moving back down towards the table. He laughed. Suddenly, her eyes glowed blue once more and she poured on the steam, throwing Pete across the room and breaking the card table in half.
Pete had made a dent in the floor and small stars were flying around his head.
Jessie (no longer in the referee costume) looked at Mari's collateral damage.
"Jump City, here we come!" he said nervously. She smiled.
'K, you know the drill! REVIEW!
T.