Thanks to Inspector Brown, RubyVulpix, Shaded-Sky, and The Star Swordsman for reviewing! And I want to apologize for the long period of not updating due to my being a) very busy and b) very lazy. To make up for that this chapter's kind of long, or at least it has a lot in it. Oh, and I'll be gone from tomorrow until August 11th, so don't expect any updates till then.

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Chapter 7: To the Rescue

"Here we are," murmured Tony as he steered his family's boat into a small grove out of view of the rest of the island. He anchored it firmly and climbed out, checking their surroundings with the beam of light from his flashlight carefully. "Looks like it's safe enough. Come on, guys."

Sam and Brittany stepped out of the boat and onto the island. "We should keep quiet just in case there are microphones or something hidden in the jungle. And somebody should keep an eye out for cameras too," said Sam sensibly. "Tony, I think you should do that. You have good eyesight."

Nodding, Tony took the lead and crept almost silently into the jungle, Brittany and Sam behind them. They didn't get far before they heard a loud rustling in the undergrowth behind them.

"What was that?" whispered Brittany, her voice trembling just a bit and her eyes widening in fear.

"Nothing." Sam tried - unsuccessfully - not to sound afraid. "Just a bird or something."

Except it obviously wasn't a bird, because birds do not say "Psst! Hey you!"

But that's what whatever it was in the bushes hissed to them. After giving his friends an uncertain look, Tony shone his flashlight in the direction the voice had come from. "Who's there?" he called.

More rustling, then a boy's face looked out at them from the leaves. "Don't be afraid. I'm a friend." He stood up, brushed the leaves and dirt off his clothes, and grinned as he made the peace sign with his right hand. "I come in peace!"

Tony raised an eyebrow and half-smiled. "A friend, huh? How do we know?"

"Oh, not again," the boy groaned. "Okay, see, my name's Tim and I'm here to help you rescue Mia and Violet. Don't believe me if you want, but I have the key to their cells..." - he dangled a silver key in front of the beam of light - "and I know my way around the Element's lair."

Without taking his eyes off Tim, Tony asked his friends, "What do you guys think? Can we trust him?"

Sam still looked distrustful of the boy, but Brittany was studying Tim carefully. Looking into his almost black eyes, she saw no reason to fear him. "I think...I think we can trust him," she said softly. "He doesn't look dangerous." Actually, from what she could see of him, Brittany thought he looked quite attractive - although she saw no reason to say that aloud.

Smiling gratefully at her, Tim looked back at Tony. "Well? Will you let me help you?"

What have we got to lose? thought Tony. He shrugged and nodded. "Sure. We'll come with you. I'm Tony, that's Sam, and that's Brittany," he added, introducing them.

The four teens slipped through the shadowy jungle with only starlight to guide them - Tony had turned off his flashlight so as not to attract possible attention from anything that might be nearby. It took them the better part of an hour to reach the headquarters, and when they arrived the first streaks of dawn were beginning to pierce the sky.

"Okay, follow me," whispered Tim. Of course the others did; they had been since their first encounter with him. He led them to a small door at the back of the building, which had a large sign on it reading UNAUTHORIZED ENTRANCE WILL RESULT IN DIRE CONSEQUENCES. As Tim used a key to unlock the door Tony eyed the sign uneasily. "There aren't any alarms that go off if we open this door, right?" he asked warily.

Shaking his head, Tim opened the door and beckoned them inside. "I turned it off when I left the headquarters to meet you."

The two other boys still looked suspicious, but Brittany clearly trusted Tim - she moved quietly after him into the building and smiled shyly at him. "Thanks for helping us," she said quietly as Sam and Tony came into the building.

"You're welcome." answered Tim, starting down a dark corridor. His dark eyes met hers warmly for a moment before he kept going. After several hundred yards, he called softly, "The containment unit is in here," and opened a door on the right side of the hallway.

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Mia started awake when from her dream about Sam when she heard the door handle turning. "Violet!" she hissed. "Violet!"

"Uggh...five more minutes Mom..." Obviously Violet was not a morning person.

"Violet! Someone's coming! Wake up now!"

Her friend jerked awake then. "What? Who's there?"

"I don't know, but I heard the door..." Turning just in time to see it open, Mia gasped when Tim, Tony, Sam, and another girl who looked familiar walked in.

"Miss us?" asked Sam, grinning.

Too happy to say anything, the two girls just watched Tim unlock their cells. They wanted to shout with joy - but decided to hold off until they were somewhere else, somewhere not in the vicinity of evil villains.

Violet threw her arms around Tony's neck and hugged him. Nearby, Mia and Sam were also in a tight embrace. "Thank you," Violet breathed into his ear.

"Anytime." Tony kissed her gently. "I'm just glad you're all right."

"Ahem," Tim coughed. "Um, sorry to interrupt this tender reunion and all, but we do really have to get out of here before any of The Elements wake up."

Mia looked sad at having to let go of Sam so soon, but she nodded. "Let's go, guys."

As the group tiptoed along the hallway toward the nearest exit Brittany found herself walking next to Tim. Their hands brushed against each other accidentally several times, then suddenly Tim reached out and gently took her hand in his. Brittany looked into his dark eyes, trying not to look too surprised...could Tim like her?

Meeting her gaze steadily, he asked in a soft voice, "Do you mind it? I can let go if..."

"No!" Blushing, she added, "It's okay, thanks. I don't mind."

He smiled, and she felt her heart flip over.

About a hundred feet away from the door through which they'd entered, Tim suddenly turned to the right, toward another door. "Hold on, everybody. I have an idea."

The others shrugged and cautiously followed him through the door, down a flight of stairs, through a hallway, and straight to another door. This door had a sign on it that said KEEP OUT THIS MEANS YOU in large red letters, but Tim appeared not to notice and went through it anyway.

Inside the large room was a contraption made of metal that had two large chairs with helmet-like things hanging over their backs. A series of cords ran from the chairs to a large round tank with the words "Power-Thief" painted in very grand lettering on the side.

"The Power-Thief!" whispered Violet in a mixture of surprise and fear.

"Right." Nodding, Tim walked over to the control panel, which was on the side of the tank. He quickly examined all the levers and buttons on it before beginning to nod slowly, as if to himself. Then he went over to the large seats, took out a small pocket-knife, and to everyone's surprise made large slashes all over the material.

"There's part gone," he murmured, and turned to his new friends. "All of you are supers, right? Does anyone happen to possess powers that would be of use in destroying this thing?"

Sam grinned mischievously. "Would laser beams work for that?"

"Very nicely." Stepping back to allow him room, Tim gestured to the evil device. "Please be my guest."

Right away Sam got to work making scorched rubble out of the Power-Thief, and Tony doused the control panel with water (causing a lovely electrical show). Although Mia and Violet's powers were no help to the boys, they enjoyed watching them demolish it, particularly the "fireworks" from the control panel.

Finally everyone decided that the Power-Thief was scorched, soaked, and damaged beyond repair, so they high-fived each other and turned to slip out of the headquarters...only to find six smug supervillains blocking their escape route.

"And just where do you think you're going?" asked Tempest in a contemptuous tone.

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I know everyone's just going to kill me for leaving it at that and then not updating for two weeks...reviews are nice though. And I'll be working on this while I'm gone so when I get back updates will be more frequent.