Chapter Two

They were in a submarine. Lavagirl was at the "helm," Marissa was helping Max figure out their coordinates, and Linus was going in between the three helping out where he could. Lavagirl was heading them towards Australia. She knew she had to find Sharkboy and he had to be alive. She would kill herself if he was dead.

"We're nearing the place where Sharkboy disappeared." Max said. "His sub should be right . . . here!"

Suddenly a loud tearing sound ripped through the submarine. The machine groaned to a stop. The lights flickered and went out. Everything was dead. A soft trickling was heard near the back of the sub. Marissa shivered.

"Um, guys? What's that noise?"

They all listened carefully. Lavagirl stiffened.

"The sub is leaking." She stated.

Max gasped in horror. Linus looked sideways at him. "What? Why is that so bad? We can just get life-jackets and float to the top. With breathers of course."

Max turned to Linus, his eyes still on Lavagirl.

"Lavagirl can't survive in water." He said sadly. "She'll die."

There was a long silence. Lavagirl sighed. "I can't do you any good. You go on. If I go out there I'll die. If I stay in here I will die as well but I might be able to fix the sub before the water fills it. You go on."

Marissa and Linus started putting on life-jackets. Max looked sadly at Lavagirl. He reached out his hand and she took it.

"When you find Sharkboy," she said softly, "tell him I-I . . . tell him I had hoped that we could have been more than just friends but I hope he finds a nice girl who won't burn him every time they touch. Will you give him that message for me, Max?"

"I will."

Lavagirl let go of his hand and turned away. A tear ran down her cheek and fell onto the control panel. When she looked over her shoulder, the kids were gone. She sighed.

"Oh Sharky, I'm going to miss you."

000000

Sharkboy and Danny reached the boy's house some thirty minutes later. There were sheep everywhere and Sharkboy had to sidestep several heaps of poo just walking to the house. Danny brought Sharkboy inside and called for his little brother.

"Tucker? Hey Tuck! I want you to meet someone!"

A strange whirring sound emitted from the next room over. A little boy about nine-years-old came into the room. He was in a motorized wheelchair. He brown hair like his brother but no freckles dotted his face. His cool gray eyes surveyed Sharkboy suspiciously.

"Who're you?" He asked.

"This is Sharkboy." Danny answered before Sharkboy could speak. "He's half-boy half-shark."

"No, duh. With a name like Sharkboy what would you think he'd be? Half-dog?"

"Well, no . . ."

"Just tell your friend 'Steve,' or whatever his real name is, to take off the costume and get lost."

"His name really is Sharkboy." Danny turned to Sharkboy. "Isn't it?"

Sharkboy shrugged. "It didn't used to be. It's been so long, I don't remember my real name."

"Whatever." Tucker turned to Danny. "Where's Mom and Dad? I came home from school and nobody was here."

"I'm sorry," Danny said. "Mom went to work and Dad left for America. I went fishing for dinner."

"Did you catch anything?"

"Yeah," Danny looked into his fishing bucket he had brought from the boat. "I've got a few fish. Let me heat up the stove."

He left the room and went into the kitchen. Tucker turned to Sharkboy.

"Who are you really?" He asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Sharkboy."

"Uh, huh. Where do you live?"

"Right now, nowhere. I'm looking for my father. He's been looking for me for nine years; ever since we were separated at sea when I was five. I was raised by sharks and became like them. Then, just recently I found out that he was looking for me and now I'm looking for him too. My sub broke though, right off the coast. Your brother found me." Sharkboy took a deep breath. That little story right there was the most he had ever spoken to anybody since his father disappeared. The boy looked down at Tucker to see how he would respond.

Tucker just blinked at him. "If you really are 'half-shark,' eat one of those fish. Raw."

"I eat them like that all the time." Sharkboy said and proceeded to do so with gusto. When he was finished he looked at Tucker expectantly. Tucker just stared at him expressionless.

"That's disgusting." He stated.

Danny came back into the room to find Sharkboy with half of a fish's bone in his hand.

"What's going on?"

Tucker turned his wheelchair around and rolled away, calling over his shoulder, "Your mate just ate a raw fish. Send him back to the circus or wherever you found him."

Danny turned to Sharkboy. "What was that all about?"

"Your brother's temperamental."

"I know. He's been like that ever since the accident."

"What happened?"

"Uh, um . . . swimming accident. Yeah, he was swimming and then he had an accident."

Sharkboy raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Uh, huh."

"Let me show you where you can stay for the night."