(A/N): I don't like school.
Lilac held her breath as she waited for her possible adoptive mother's response.
"No! Of course not, honey! You've seen the pictures of me at the hospital. Plus, you have the same birthmark as your brother on your shoulder." Nikki said as Lilac sighed in relief. How come she didn't think about that before? "What brought this on?" Nikki asked.
"Just a weird dream, mom…" Lilac said as she sat down on her bed even more confused than she was before. It was only a week until graduation and everybody was relaxing from the stressful week of finals. Garrett was sitting with Cat in their apartment on their couch happily.
"We're graduating in a week." Garrett whispered as Cat sighed contently and snuggled closer to him.
"I know, can you believe it?" Cat asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up at him. "We're going to be done with school." She said as he smiled down at her.
"Yeah we will!" He exclaimed as she laughed. They stopped laughing and looked at each other. They leaned in and kissed each other lovingly before pulling away.
"I love you." Cat said as Garrett smiled softly before freezing and frowning. Cat pulled back even farther as she raised her eyebrow. Garrett scratched his neck nervously.
"Um…I got to go." Garrett said getting off the couch and running out of the apartment leaving a very confused Cat.
"He did what?" Ruby exclaimed as she sat with Cat at a coffee shop.
"He ran out after I said I loved him. God, I knew I shouldn't have said anything." Cat said putting her face in her hands.
"Dude, this is weird. Garrett is one of those guys." Tyler said as Cat raised her eyebrow. "He's so happy and he practically showers you with affection. I'm surprised he didn't burst into song when you told him." Tyler said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"I agree." Onyx said putting his two cents in.
"Hey guys, what's going on?" Jeff asked as he sat with them.
"Cat told Garrett she loved him and he ran away." Ruby said as Jeff looked at Cat confused.
"That's…strange." Jeff said as Cat sighed.
"Ok, I know it's weird, but I still don't know why." Cat said as she looked at her friends.
"Hmm…want me to talk to him?" Tyler asked as Cat shook her head.
"No, I'm going to." Cat said as she got up and walked away. The rest of them wished her luck before going back into their own conversation.
"Guys, I've been working on this new extreme gear and the boards are amazing if I do say so myself." Jeff said rubbing his knuckles against his chest.
"Dude! Can we see them?" Tyler asked excitedly.
"Well…they're not completely done." Jeff said sheepishly.
"What do you still have to do?" Onyx asked as he leaned back in his chair crossing his arms.
"Well, I need to test to hover jets and test the remotes." Jeff said as Ruby scoffed.
"If it's just testing we're your perfect test subjects." Ruby said as all three skaters smirked. Jeff sighed as he stood up.
"Fine." He said as they all cheered and followed him. Flash was walking from the grocery store when he felt something hit his head. He turned around as he felt around his quills. He didn't see anything of feel anything. He shrugged his shoulders before continuing to walk back to his apartment.
"Good shot." Drake commented to Eric who didn't say anything. He got up and walked away as Drake rolled his eyes and followed him. Garrett was pacing his apartment when he heard a knock at the door. He opened it to reveal a pale green hedgehog with long quills. She had light blue eyes and was short compared to Garrett. She looked middle-aged with laugh lines which were visible with the bright smile on her face.
"Mom!" Garrett exclaimed as the hedgehog hugged her son. "What are you doing here?" Garrett asked as his mom walked through the door.
"I had sometime off and decided to see my son. Edward and Jamie will come here in a few days." His mom – Brianna – said referring to Garrett's step-father and half-sister. "So, how has life been?" Brianna asked sitting on his couch.
"Crazy." Garrett said with a sigh as he plopped down next to his mom.
"Uh oh. A deep sigh. What happened?" His mom asked as she turned her body to face him.
"Just…problems, mom. I don't really want to talk about it." Garrett said as Brianna smiled at him sympathetically.
"Well, when you want to tell me, I'll be here." Brianna said smoothed out some of his stray quills.
"Garrett we need to…oh, um, hello." Cat said as she walked into the apartment.
"Hi! I'm Garrett's mom Brianna. Who are you?" She asked as Cat opened her mouth to answer, but Garrett quickly got up and pushed Cat outside the door.
"I'll be right back." Garrett said to his mom before closing the door.
"Garrett…what's going on with you?" Cat asked crossing her arms.
"Cat…there's no easy way to say this, but-"Cat quickly cut off Garrett.
"Oh Garrett, please don't tell me." Cat said as she covered her mouth while she shook her head. Garrett sighed as he looked down.
"Cat…I think we should break up." Garrett said as tears fell out of Cat's eyes.
"Garrett…no." Cat said shaking her head as she tried to hold back her sobs.
"Cat, please…please don't cry." Garrett said as he reached out to touch her, but she stepped backwards.
"You were the one that made me believe. Believe in something special." She said removing her hands from her mouth.
"Cat…" Garrett said as Cat shook her head.
"I'm sorry." She said before walking away. Garrett sighed as he turned around to face the door to his apartment. He growled and hit his head against the door in frustration.
"I got here as soon as I could. What happened?" Ebony said running through the door of Serenity's apartment. Cat was sitting on the couch with tear-stained cheeks and zero life in her eyes.
"Garrett broke up with her." Serenity said as she rubbed her older sister's shoulder.
"What? I'll kick that boy's ass!" Ebony exclaimed as Shade stood up with her.
"Hell yeah!" Shade exclaimed.
"No. Cat doesn't want that." Serenity said as Cat nodded numbly. Ebony and Shade huffed as they sat down.
"Are you going to be ok, Cat?" Ebony asked as Cat nodded numbly again. Suddenly Arianna appeared behind Cat looking at her stone-holder sadly.
"Arianna? Why are you here?" Shade asked in confusion.
"I'm here to explain this." Arianna said motioning to Cat who wasn't looking at her ancestor. "She lost her hope." Arianna said. "This is apart of her journey." She said as Ebony raised an eyebrow.
"Like the Alana-Rafael thing?" Ebony asked as Arianna nodded.
"Garrett was Cat's sign for hope, but with him gone she doesn't have hope anymore." Arianna explained as her siblings looked at her sympathetically.
"How does she get her hope back?" Serenity asked.
"She needs to find it herself. Whether it's going back to Garrett or finding something else to bring her hope." Arianna said before disappearing.
"Everything is going to be ok, Cat." Shade said to his older sister.
"No it's not." Cat muttered as Serenity hugged her tightly. Tsunami was walking with Lazarus in the park as she rested her head on his shoulder. She suddenly got knocked in the back of her head. She and Lazarus whipped around to see Ryan tossing a pebble in his head.
"Who the hell are you?" Lazarus asked.
"Ryan. An Avenger." Ryan said as he threw another pebble at Tsunami.
"That's it!" She exclaimed loudly. Suddenly she gripped her head as dark purple aura surrounded her. Lazarus' eyes widened as he whipped out his phone and started dialing numbers. Tsunami screamed as she collapsed on her knees. He fur started to turn a dark purple as her pupils turned black. Her claws grew as her fangs grew. She growled as she glared at Ryan. At super speed she ran and tackled the hawk. She clawed him across the chest making him hiss in pain.
"Tsunami!" Hydro yelled as he ran up with Roddy and Jeff. Tsunami screamed as she grabbed Ryan and threw him at Hydro. Hydro stepped to the side and let Ryan fly past him.
"You need to calm down." Hydro said as he stepped towards her.
"On the contrary, I think you should get crazy." Dominique said as she made an explosion by him. Hydro went flying into the air before slamming against a tree. Ryan wrapped his metallic arms around Hydro binding him to the tree. Hydro growled before screaming out in pain. A dark blue aura surrounded him as his pupils dilated and turned red.
"Shit." Roddy cursed as Hydro's claws grew along with his fangs. In a matter of seconds Hydro shredded through Ryan's restraints. Ryan's eyes widened as Hydro grabbed one of his arms and quickly threw him at Dominique. They both crashed through two trees before skidding against the ground.
"Where the hell is Mason?" Ryan groaned as they got off the ground.
"Flash has to come here first, idiot." Dominique growled as she flew into the sky. Dominique aimed her finger at the seething hedgehogs when she was suddenly shot down.
"Stay away from them." Flash said as Ryan smirked.
"Make me." He said as his wings morphed into cannons. Flash charged up two orbs and shot it at the hawk. Ryan went flying into Dominique as Flash smirked. Dominique aimed her finger at him and set off an explosion by him. He went flying into a tree and groaned. He got back on his feet as the two looked at each other confused.
"He's supposed to be changing by now." Dominique muttered when a blast hit near Flash. Flash covered his head as the smoke cleared. Eric arrived with Ethan as they both landed on the ground.
"Apparently if you want something done, you need to do it yourself." Ethan said glaring at the beaten Avengers.
"What the fuck is going on? I just finished my finals. I don't feel like kicking some ass." Bolt said as he walked over to Flash with Shawn and Lorgo.
"Where's Shade? I told you to get Shade too!" Flash exclaimed as Bolt rolled his eyes.
"Cat is having some crisis and he can't go." Bolt said as Flash raised his eyebrow.
"Really? What happened?" Flash asked as Ethan groaned.
"Hello? We're not here to listen to your group's drama." Ethan said as they all got into fighting stances. Ethan was about to whip out his katana, but he was suddenly surrounded with a purple aura. He couldn't move and everybody looked at Jeff who had glowing purple eyes. Jeff moved his hand up making Ethan shoot into the air.
"Dude, I should tell you more often that your power is cool." Roddy said as Jeff smirked. Flash charged up an electrical orb in his hands before launching it at a paralyzed Ethan. Ethan prepared himself to be hit, but he was suddenly moved to the side. Everybody looked down to see Zeke skating their way.
"Where are they coming from?" Shawn exclaimed as Zeke skidded to a halt. Zeke inhaled deeply before blowing out a gust of wind sending everybody flying. Hydro growled and charged after Zeke, but Flash tackled him to the ground.
"Where the fuck is Garrett when you need him?" Jeff growled as he got back on his feet.
"He broke up with Cat." Bolt whispered as Zeke's ears perked up. "They kind of need their space." Bolt said as Jeff nodded understandingly.
'Seems like Kitty-Cat lost her boyfriend.' Zeke thought with a smirk before getting back on his board. He skated away as the four Avengers watched him skate away.
"Where the fuck is he going?" Ryan exclaimed as Ethan groaned.
"Forget about him! Just go back to the plan." Ethan sneered as they all turned back to see a giant electrical orb heading their way. Ethan and Eric ducked letting Dominique and Ryan take the blow. They flew and hit a wall knocking them unconscious. Ethan rolled his eyes as Eric remained emotionless.
"Idiots." Ethan muttered as he stood back up. Bolt had his hands surging with electricity and ice as Eric narrowed his eyes. Eric's purple energy surrounded his hands as his eyes turned the same color.
"Shit…this is getting intense." Shawn said as Roddy nodded. Bolt and Eric charged at each other with sparks and purple energy exploding around them. Flash glared at his brother when Tsunami charged at him. Suddenly she was tackled to the ground. She screamed as her black eyes glared into Lazarus' green ones.
"Tusi. You have to relax. Calm down." Lazarus said as Tsunami blasted him off. Lazarus flipped through the air and landed in a crouch. Tsunami got back on her feet quickly and ran towards her boyfriend. Lazarus grabbed her wrists – careful to avoid her lighting filled hands – and flipped her over him and slammed her on the ground. "Sorry." Lazarus said as Tsunami swung her leg knocking his feet from under him. She crawled on top of him as she pinned him to the ground.
"Well…this seems familiar." Lazarus said with a smirk.
"Ew! That's my sister!" Flash yelled through Hydro's water blasts. Lazarus rolled his eyes when an idea popped into his head. He ran his hands up her thighs the same time he dodged her punch. He sat up and sat her on his lap as he rested his forehead on hers. He pulled back to avoid her swipe before placing his forehead back on hers. Tsunami screamed, but Lazarus quickly grabbed her wrists and bound them behind her.
"Let me go." She growled her black eyes piercingly staring at Lazarus.
"Not until you calm down." Lazarus whispered as he started to kiss her neck.
"Oh my God. Tell me their not going to do it." Shawn said covering his eyes as Roddy shook his head. Tsunami froze against Lazarus as Lazarus pulled away from her. Her eyes started to flash between lavender and black before Lazarus grabbed her face and kissed her. Lazarus could start to feel her kiss back and pulled away. Tsunami's eyes opened to reveal her lavender eyes as the aura around her disappeared. Her fur returned to normal as she collapsed against Lazarus. She started to sob as Lazarus held her tightly.
"Sshh…it's ok. I'm here." Lazarus whispered soothingly.
"Man, I wish that works for Hydro." Lauren said next to Roddy.
"When did you get here?" Roddy exclaimed.
"A few minutes ago. I just wanted to see what Lazarus was going to do." Lauren said before running off towards Hydro. She jumped over Flash's tumbling body and ran towards Hydro before stopping in front of the seething hedgehog. She had to admit a part – a rather large part – was afraid of what she saw in front of her. She never actually saw Hydro this way before. He's always been calm and mellow. He never let himself become what he hated.
"This is new." Lauren said as she looked up at Hydro. Hydro growled as Flash groaned from his spot on the ground.
"Lauren, this isn't a time to be funny!" Flash groaned in pain as Shawn rushed over to him. Lauren bit her lip as she looked at Flash in his injured state before looking at the ground. Hydro walked menacingly towards her as an orb of ice started to appear in his hand. He raised his hand above Lauren prepared to attack.
"Don't." Lauren whispered as Hydro froze. Lauren looked up at Hydro with tears in her eyes. Lauren never cried. Hydro let the orb in his hand disappear as his hand lowered. He was still snarling as he looked at Lauren with ebony eyes. "You're not like this. I know we argue a lot, but I love you, Hydro. You know that. Don't let this happen to you." Lauren said as tears streaked down her cheeks. Everybody watched – besides Bolt and Eric who were still fighting – in silence. They haven't said I love you to each other yet. Four years and she's now just saying it.
"I…" She heard him say in a dark voice. Lauren trembled with all the emotions rushing through her as she stared at Hydro's face. Hydro screamed in pain as he gripped his head. Lauren reached out her hand, but Hydro flinched away from it as he collapsed onto his knees. Lauren dropped to her knees and grabbed his arms. His eyes popped open deep ebony, but something was different. There was emotion in there; emotion besides hate.
"I l-l-l…" Hydro stuttered as Lauren scooted closer to him. "I love you." Hydro said as his eyes returned to normal and his body returned to normal. Hydro kissed Lauren as she wrapped her arms around him. Flash sighed in relief as he collapsed back on the ground. Hydro kissed away her tears as she smiled and hugged him tightly.
"I'm sorry I scared you." Hydro whispered as Lauren scoffed.
"Please…I wasn't scared." She said as Hydro shook his head with a smile and hugged her tightly. Bolt dodged another of Eric's blasts and fired an ice orb towards him. Eric melted it with his energy as he shot a beam towards Bolt. Bolt let it faze through him before running towards him. He punched Eric across the face and went for another, but Eric caught his fist. Eric let it drop back at Bolt's side as Bolt looked at him confused.
"This fight is over." He said as his eyes returned to normal. He walked away quietly by himself since Ethan had left a while ago seeing no use in being in the fight anymore. Bolt watched his opponent leave in confusion before returning to the group. Cat walked out of her sister's apartment and was quickly greeted with an unwelcoming face.
"How's it going, Cat?" Zeke asked as Cat ignored him and continued to walk down the hall. "Heard you're in need of a boyfriend." Zeke said as he followed her. Cat remained ignoring him. "I'm available for the position." Zeke said as Cat just walked to her apartment. Zeke sighed and stood in front of Cat stopping her in her pursuit. "I'm not going to leave you like he did." Zeke said as Cat focused her gaze on the ground.
"I didn't leave her." Garrett growled as Zeke whipped around. Cat didn't even look up, but she could feel her heart swell inside her chest.
"Really now? You broke up with her didn't you? That is considered leaving." Zeke said fully turning around.
"I never left her. I did the right thing and broke up with her." Garrett said glaring at Zeke. Zeke scoffed and kicked his board up.
"Whatever, man. But, look at her," Zeke said stepping to the side. Cat looked up at the look crushed Garrett. She never looked sadder in her life and he was the cause of it. "She looked like she's been left. Good day." Zeke said as he moved past Cat and walked away. Cat walked past Garrett without saying a word before stopping in front of her apartment. She then remembered she shared it with Garrett and froze. She turned and walked past Garrett again.
"I'll pick up my stuff tomorrow." She said emotionlessly before walking back into Serenity's apartment. Garrett sighed as he slammed his fists into his door. The door opened and Garrett fell through it.
"Oh! I'm sorry, baby. Are you alright?" Brianna said as she bent down to help her son.
"Just peachy." He muttered as he got back on his feet.
"Who is that girl?" His mom asked as they sat down on the couch.
"What girl?" Garrett asked as he got back onto his feet and walked around the couch.
"This Cat girl. I know you have something with this girl. Now tell me." She said in a parental voice. Garrett sighed as he plopped back down on the couch.
"She was my girlfriend." Garrett said.
"Was?" Brianna questioned.
"I broke up with her?" Garrett said as Brianna gasped.
"Why? Did she cheat on you?" She asked as Garrett shook her head.
"No, I just broke up with her." Garrett said as his mom raised an eyebrow.
"Why? You must have a reason." She asked putting her hands on her waist. Garrett sighed as he got back up and turned away with his back facing his mom.
"I just…I don't want to hurt her." Garrett said before leaving the apartment. Brianna sat on the couch in confusion before something dawned on her. Lilac was sitting in Starbucks tracing circles on the table absent-mindlessly.
"Hey doll." Roddy said as he sat next to Lilac and kissing her cheek. "Boy, did I have a crazy day? How was yours?" Roddy asked. Lilac shrugged her shoulders as Roddy frowned. "Are you still thinking about the dream?" Roddy asked.
"Why would I dream about that? I know this has something to do with the stone, but Rosa isn't telling me anything. It was so vivid. Like a memory. I know I have the birthmark and the pictures, but it all just seems…unreal." Lilac said as Roddy held her hand.
"You are apart of their family. They even have a birth certificate to prove it. James and Nikki wouldn't lie to you like that and Derek wouldn't either." Roddy said as Lilac sighed.
"But my parents could be just protecting me or don't want to hurt me and Derek would have been like one he wouldn't have known." Lilac said as Roddy moved her chair so she would be facing him.
"Lilac. You are a Stanson. Never doubt it." Roddy said as Lilac smiled softly.
"Thanks Roddy." Lilac said as Roddy kissed her softly. Garrett was walking back to his apartment from Julian's and opened his door. He saw Cat there with her arms crossed and a fire in her eyes. To add on to it his mom was right behind her with her arms crossed. Shit…
"Um, what's going on?" Garrett asked.
"Garrett, we need to talk." Brianna said as she walked up to him. "About your father." She said placing a hand on his shoulder. He jerked away from her touch and his mouth became a firm line.
"No." He said.
"Garrett-"Garrett interrupted his mother.
"No, mom! I'm not a kid anymore. You can't come here and talk with me about something I don't want to." Garrett said as Cat sighed.
"Your mom told me, Garrett." Cat said as Garrett looked at her before looking at his mom.
"You told her?" He said in disbelief to his mother.
"Garrett, why didn't you tell me? I would have understood. I was taken away from my parents and am barely getting reunited with them. I know what it's like not having parents." Cat said as Garrett faced the wall.
"I know you would have understood." Garrett said as Cat placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Then why didn't you tell me? It would have made us closer." Cat said as Garrett whipped around.
"I don't want us to be closer!" He exclaimed as Cat looked at him worriedly.
"Why?" She said. She was determined to have him back and she wasn't going to back down.
"Because I'll hurt you." He said as he walked past her with his fists covering his eyes and groaning. "I would have just left like he did!" He yelled as Brianna put her hands on either side of him.
"Garrett Jeremy Burnet, you listen to me. You are not your father." Brianna said as he shook his head. "You are you. The difference between your father and I was that we were not in love." Brianna said.
"I'm sorry, mom." Garrett said as Brianna patted his cheek.
"It's ok. I'm ok. I just want you to be happy. How can you be happy when you refuse to be with the girl you love?" Brianna asked as Garrett looked over at Cat. He walked over to her and placed his hands on either side of her face.
"I love you." He said as Cat smiled and leaned up to kiss him. A small light flew into Cat's stone as the couple kissed. Brianna left the apartment as the couple reunited. Mason slammed his fists on the table as he growled.
"Why the hell did he not go dark or whatever the fuck they call it?" He seethed as most of the new members cowered under his harsh glare. "Ethan you were in charge of bugging the idiot." Mason said as Ethan rolled his eyes.
"I did. I don't know what the fucker did. Eric shot it – quite accurately – at him and that's it. I saw the mechanism go on him." Ethan said as Mason growled and started to throw his dice in the air.
"I'm going to my chambers." He said as he walked out of the conference room.
"Who the hell says 'chambers' anymore?" Drake said as the group rolled their eyes. Mason was pacing his room as Angelica appeared.
"About time you got here." Mason said staring up at the transparent red fox.
"Shut it, Mason. The time is nearing and you need to weaken this group." Angelica said crossing her arms as she floated down on his bed.
"I know! It's not my fault that I have a shit-worthy group." Mason said as he stared her down.
"Uh, it kind of is. You chose them." Angelica said as Mason rolled his eyes. "Isabella is getting impatient." Angelica said as Mason scowled.
"She should just stop the little bitch now." Mason said as Angelica floated over him menacingly.
"I told you! She can't access her powers until all the stones are completed. If she doesn't have her power she cannot be brought down." Angelica said as Mason put his hands up defensively.
"Jeez…ok…I'll figure something out." Mason said as Angelica sneered before disappearing. Eric sat in his room lying on his bed with his eyes closed. He listened around to make sure no one was around. He jumped off his bed and dressed in all black. He hooked on a blade to his wrist and filled his dagger carrier with daggers. He pulled on his hood which covered most of his face. He grabbed another object and jumped out of his window.
He free fell until he whipped out his hook swords and hooked them on a telephone wire. He flipped through the air and onto a shorter building. He ran across the buildings before stopping a familiar one. He crouched down on the roof before sliding down the pipe. He placed a flash drive on a window sill before pushing himself off the window sill and free falling to the ground. He hooked onto a pole and spun around it before landing on the ground. He stood up straight and looked up at the window.
"Hmm…what's this?" Alex murmured as she picked up the flash drive off the window. Eric nodded to himself before running down the alley.
(A/N): Vote on the poll please! It's very important!