Hey everyone! Happy Fourth of July! Here's a little something special to celebrate.

(Note: This is during the summer, so I'm just going to take a guess and say...Post-Cheerleaders of Doom, Pre-Villain Virus?)

Enjoy~

"Hey! Guys! Look what we found!"

Grinning, Flinch hauled a bulging sack over his shoulder as he walked through the door and approached his teammates, Jackson following close behind.

Ruby glanced up from her book, snorted with amusement, then went back to reading.

Duncan waited for a second, watching her, then turned to the other two boys. "We're in a library. We should probably keep it down, don't you think?"

Flinch shrugged, and laid the sack on the floor next to an empty chair. "Probably. But this is just too exciting to keep it down!" With that, he grabbed a candy bar from his back pocket and took a huge bite.

Jackson glanced around to make sure they didn't have eavesdroppers. "While Flinch is occupied, I suppose I'd better explain-"

"Explain what?" Matilda interrupted. "What's in the bag?"

Jackson grinned and opened the mouth of the bag. "Why don't you see for yourself?"

Matilda took a peek inside and gasped. She motioned Duncan over.

Duncan approached hesitantly, half afraid that whatever was inside was dangerous, illegal, might bite, or all three. He took the bag and spread the contents on the ground, revealing...

A half-dozen huge fireworks. Duncan gaped at them for a second. "How...why...just...Explain!" He stammered. "How did you get these?"

Jackson drew himself up proudly. "Impressive, aren't they?" He asked. "Someone was just giving them away behind the store. It took awhile to convince him to give even this much to kids like us, but I managed."

Ruby glanced up from her book again. "Why was he giving them away for free? Those things look really expensive."

"Something about them being too dangerous to legally sell to public." Flinch said, giggling.

Jackson nodded. "Actually, that's pretty much word-for-word."

Ruby sighed and put down her book. "There's always a catch. What are we supposed to do with these?" She asked, motioning to the fireworks.

Flinch stared at her. "Set them off, of course! What do you usually do with fireworks? Eat them?" He broke down into hysterical giggles again.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Yes. I usually eat them, seeing as I'm allergic to everything actually edible."

Jackson stared at her in mock amazement. "Ruby? Was that..a joke? Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine!" Ruby snapped. "Where do you think you're going to set those off?"

Both boys seemed taken aback at this question.

"Uh...actually, we haven't gotten that far yet." Jackson admitted. "We mainly just wanted the fireworks."

Matilda snickered. Ruby sighed. "Boys." She grumbled. "Well, since I don't want you setting off colorful, loud, and somewhat illegal bombs in a place where it would cause too many problems, I guess I can help you find a good spot."

Jackson and Flinch looked at her, then each other in amazement. "Dude. You owe me five bucks." Flinch said. He held out his hand. "Pay up."

Jackson shook his head furiously. "Later." He whispered.

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "You were betting? On what?"

Jackson grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Well, you see..."

"Jackson didn't want to tell you at first because he thought that you'd make him give the fireworks back, but then decided to turn it into a bet." Flinch explained.

Jackson gave him a dirty look. "Yeah, more or less. I'm glad I lost, to be honest. Even though it means I have to give up five dollars I may or may not have."

Flinch laughed and clapped him on the back. "I let you go on that one. We probably wouldn't have gotten the fireworks in the first place without you."

"I'll remember that." Ruby commented dryly. "Both parts-the bet and the blame." She looked thoughtful for a second. "You know, I don't think anyone's booked the school roof tonight. We can shoot them off there."

This time, everyone gaped at her.

"You're serious?" Jackson asked, barely able to believe it.

Ruby nodded. "Don't make me regret it."

Jackson turned to Flinch. "Let's go ahead and get them set up. It'll get dark in a few hours."

Flinch nodded. "On it." He began to gather up the fireworks.

Jackson grabbed the bag and held it open for Flinch, who dumped them in. Jackson winced as the bag dropped onto his foot. "Little help?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry." Flinch grabbed the bag and started towards the door. Jackson rubbed his foot, then followed.

"Why didn't you just pick it up yourself?" Duncan called after him, confused.

"The same reason why you wouldn't." Jackson answered over his shoulder. "One of those fireworks weighs at least fifty pounds." Then he was gone.

Matilda shook her head. "Fifty pounds? What do they put in those things?"

"I don't know. Probably whatever made them illegally dangerous." Duncan answered. He turned to Ruby. "Are you sure that this is a good idea?"

Ruby shrugged. "No," she admitted. "But this sounds like fun. I think we need a break, if just for one night. It is a holiday, after all."

Duncan sighed. "I know, but I'm afraid that they won't be cautious enough. Your upgrades can't protect you from everything."

Ruby picked her book up and flipped through, trying to find her place. "Something tells me they would have done this with or without upgrades. That's just how boys are sometimes."

Duncan frowned. "Hey," he complained. "Not all boys!"

Ruby smiled and settled into her chair. "I know." She started to read.

"Sorry I'm late." Ruby said as she came up behind the others.

Matilda glanced her way. "What kept you?"

"Parents," Ruby sighed, "Wondering where their little girl was going this late at night."

Matilda smiled. "Not just you, then?"

Ruby gave her a sideways look. "Guess not. Did the others...?"

"OW! Be careful with that!"

"Sorry! This burns really fast."

"That doesn't mean you can throw it at me!"

"I didn't mean to! It just kinda flew out of my hand...In your general direction, yeah..."

Both girls stopped talking and turned to watch the scene unfold.

"Who let Flinch have the box of matches?" Ruby asked Matilda out of the corner of her mouth.

"I have no idea." Matilda answered.

Up ahead, about ten feet away, Flinch struck a match. "Okay...hold it steady...watch your finger! I don't want to burn you again. No, wait...There!" He finally got the first firework lit. Flinch shook out the tiny flame on the match just as Jackson let go and jumped back.

"Fire in the hole!" Flinch called, and dove away to join Jackson.

The firework exploded, sending several multicolored trails of light into the night sky with a shrill whistling sound, then those exploded, sending more lights dancing across the sky.

"Hey! HEY! FIRE!" Flinch yelped.

Ruby, Matilda, and Duncan tore their eyes away from the light show to see what was happening. Sure enough, sparks from the first explosion had caused the fuses on the other five fireworks to catch fire. Flinch and Jackson both ran out from their safe spot to try to put the sparks out, but it was too late. One by one, the fireworks also exploded sending more loud, colorful lights into the night. The two were blasted off their feet. Flinch sailed overhead, while Jackson crashed into a conveniently placed brick wall a few feet away.

Ruby walked over to where Jackson was lying. (Matilda and Duncan watched the fireworks for a few seconds later, then followed.) She put her hands on her hips. "I knew this was a bad idea."

Jackson grinned groggily up at her. "Yep. Are you going to kill me now? Or turn me into the police?"

Ruby laughed and shook her head. "Tempting, but no. Tonight was fun." She offered him her hand.

Jackson took her hand and stood up. "Good, because there's a good chance that the burn ban that was in place yesterday is still here."

Ruby froze. "What? What did you say?"

Jackson smiled and looked behind her. "I said, we probably need to find Flinch and get out of here before the police show up."

I'm just going to stop there.

Man, I'm so tired...Stayed up all night working on this. You're welcome!

Well, everyone, I'm off to bed. Have a fun, safe Fourth of July, stay off your school's roof, and please don't eat the fireworks, even if you have allergies. Nothing puts a damper on a holiday like a stomachache from eating too much gunpowder.

"I didn't mean to throw it at you! It just flew out of my hand in your direction!"

He really didn't mean to, though. Flinch wouldn't do that.

I meant for this to be a little fluffier, but it is late, and the music I'm listening too doesn't really help matters.

LoL,

~Riverstone