The Adventures of Teen Island

The Bandits Stay

Emma's POV
"That sounds like a horrible idea" Siren said. "Well that sucks for you. This is the plan. Most of you have powers, so I don't have to teach you about guns yet. Emma will be out in the open and we'll all hide around her to catch this asshole" Carter said. I took off my bandit jacket and set it down. We cant let the guy know that I have a team on my side. "Courtney, escort Emma into town. Radio to us if you see anyone suspicious around" Carter threw her a walkie-talkie. "The rest of you will split up between me and Tony. We'll bring you to your posts" Carter said. Tony stood up and walked to me and Carter. "Everyone ready?" He asked. They were hesitant. I made eye contact with Clay. He looked at everyone else and then me. He winked and stood up. "Lets do it! Come on" he cheered. He's getting them hyped. I smiled. The rest of them started to join him. Clay walked to me. "I got your back" he smiled. "Thanks Clay" I said. "Oh, and one more thing. Courtney, after you drop off Emma, spread the word about our disbanding. If this is gonna work, we're gonna need a mob" Carter said.

"Ready?" Courtney asked walking with me. "As long as I don't get burnt, yeah" I said. She chuckled and walked away. I walked through the marketplace. I still think that all these kids being able to set up and take down all of this every day is crazy, but if adults can do it at farmers markets I guess kids can do it here. I never thought I'd like this place as much as I do. I've been here for a week and a half and I already feel more at home then I ever have before. Maybe I do belong here. Even if I wasn't kidnapped like the others. I heard a crackle and looked over. I breathed out relived as it was just a candle. I looked up at the guy who ran the candle stand. My eyes widened. That's the guy. That's the arsonist! Looks like I found him before he found me. I have to tell the others without actually going to one of them. I walked up to the stand and he did a double take seeing me. I noticed the wrap on his ankle from where Carter shot him. "What happened to your ankle?" I asked innocently. He played along. "Oh, I crashed in Drivers Gully. I knew I should have stayed off that bike" He said with a laugh. "Most injuries from there end up being your whole leg. I'm surprised it's only your ankle" I said. "Yeah, I jumped out before I crashed" He said. "You jumped out? Of a bike?" I asked confused. "Off, out, same difference." he shrugged. Tony and Clay snuck behind the guy in their animal forms. "Still, it doesn't even look broken. You didn't even get a cast. Just a wrap" I said. "It's not like I jumped off a cliff" He said irritated. Clay put his front paws on the table without the guy noticing and blew out the candle before getting back down. The guy smelled the smoke and looked down. He lit his finger on fire and lit it again. That's all the proof we needed. Had to be sure this was the right guy. Tony didn't hesitate to bite the guys injured ankle making him freak out and scream in pain. Courtney popped out of no where and grabbed my arm, pulling me away. "Woah! Hey!" I said. "Come on! We gotta get you out of here while they handle it" She said. "When was this part of the plan?" I asked. She shoved me behind some trees and checked to make sure we weren't followed. "Carter told me to do it" She said. "What?" I asked. "She said that when they caught the guy, to grab you and run. To keep you safe" She said. "She... did that for me?" I asked. "Yeah. I'm just as surprised as you. I didn't think she had feelings" she shrugged. I peeked around the tree and watched the team fight the guy who is now on fire, flying around and torching shit like a maniac. My eyes caught Carter and I smiled. "Like what you see?" Courtney asked with a smirk. "Can people stop saying that!" I shrieked. She laughed.

I looked back at the fight. Carter shot the guy in the shoulder and he stopped the fire to grab his shoulder in pain. Oliver took this chance to use his powers. Two wooden roots shot out of the ground and wrapped around the guy, restricting him. My jaw dropped. Courtney looked at me and then at the fight. "Yeah that's Olly for ya" She said, unfazed. The guy tried to burn through it but couldn't because of his gun wound. They actually caught him. "We did it!" I cheered. Courtney and I high-fived.

Carter dropped the guy on the floor, tied up, right in front of the kings throne. The king looked at him and then us. "Who is that?" He asked. "That, is the arsonist that we caught in a matter of minutes compared to your guards who couldn't do it in a week." Carter said. The king looked up at Carter in a rage. "You disobeyed me?" He growled. "No. You said that we had one last week to be bandits. Just because it was our last week, doesn't mean we stop doing our job." Carter said sternly. The king scanned over all of us. "And who are they?" He asked. Carter turned to us, smiled, and turned back to the king. "They, are the Teen Bandits" She said. The king was taken back. "You have a full team" He said shocked. "Did you ever doubt I would?" she asked sarcastically. "Yeah. Honestly, I did. I also didn't think that you would get more members only to fire them a few days later" he said. "Seriously? You're still gonna disband us?!" Tony exclaimed. Carter put her hand up and Tony stopped. "That was the deal. There was no negotiating. As far as I'm concerned, I don't have a need for you" The king said. "Don't you?" Carter asked. On que, another guy ran in panting. "Your majesty! Sorry to interrupt, but there's a mob outside the doors!" He said. The king looked at us but then looked back to the boy. "Get the guards on it!" he snapped. "That's just it sir. They're protesting the guard" He said. "What!?" the king shrieked. "They're protesting the removal of... well... them" he pointed to us. The king looked at us and we all smirked. "The people stand with us. Where do you stand? Your majesty" Carter snarled. The king sighed heavily. There was a short silence in which Carter and the king just stared at each other. Finally, he sighed again. "Teen Bandits" He stood up. We tensed and Carter stood firm. The king paused before speaking. "Go calm the people. I will call you when I need your assistance" He caved. Carter smiled as the rest of us cheered. "As for you, bring him to a cell" The king turned to the other boy and pointed to the arsonist.

We walked outside and Carter looked at Courtney. Courtney nodded. "We get to stay!" she announced. The mob cheered for us as we left. "That was insane" I laughed. "Like I said, everyone knows me" Courtney shrugged. I walked faster to catch up with Carter. "Hey" I smiled. She looked over. "You told Courtney to keep me safe?" I asked. She rolled her eyes. "I knew you'd refuse, so I didn't tell you" she said. "Hell yeah I would've refused" I agreed. She looked to the side. "It wasn't just for you ok? I didn't want my untrained human members getting hurt. Humans take longer to heal" She said. I squinted at her. "Are you lying to me?" I asked. "What?" She looked at me confused. "You expect me to think you care about Courtney's health?" I asked. "What makes you think I care about yours?" She asked. I stopped walking. She looked back at me with a smirk and raised an eyebrow. I ran back up to her and pushed her. "That's not funny!" I huffed. She laughed. "I care about all of you. As leader, I have to make sure my team is happy and healthy. Plus, you picked a good group. They're pretty cool" she said, looking back at them. "But why did you specifically want to keep me safe?" I asked. "Like I said, you're human." she said. "So are you" I crossed my arms. "Yeah, but I'm trained" she said. I looked down. She looked over at me for a moment, then took a deep breath and sighed. "If it makes you feel better, I do care about you a little bit more" She said. "You do?" I asked looking up at her. "You're a special kid Emma. Not too childish for a thirteen year old." she said. I smiled and rolled my eyes. "And, you're almost as smart as me. I take pride in you Emma" she added. "Thanks Carter. That means a lot" I said. "Yeah yeah. This conversation didn't happen" she held out her hand. I looked at it for a second and then remembered. "Oh! Right" I said. I dropped an imaginary bullet in her hand. "You tell anyone about this and I'll out you, tween" she threatened. I smiled and nodded.