Backseat Heroes

Cat.

Catherine Donahue, also known as Cat, doesn't like you. She doesn't like much of anyone, really. Her four best friends are the only people she truly likes, and even then she can still be sarcastic and even rude to them. To be fair, she can't help it - it's in her blood.

The Donahues are a tough bunch. Not necessarily abusive, but definitely rough. No pain, no gain, is the family motto. Cat's a brilliant fighter, just like the rest of her family is, but unlike them, she doesn't like hitting people to get what she wants. No, this fourteen year-old's favorite weapon is her tongue.

The words she spits are brutal and meant to sting every bit as much as they do. She doesn't cuss, either. She just has the natural talent to hit right where it hurts, every time, with one sly comment and a cocky smirk. She's left classmates in tears, completely stunned teachers, and made all the lions at the zoo agitated once. By Donahue standards, she's a natural.

But she's not the star of her family. It's her older sister, Randy, who holds that special spot. Randy possesses an inhuman amount of strength, enough to lift a car or two - or four. She's able to control it, but that doesn't stop her from messing around with her family every once in awhile. For example, the time she put the oven on the roof of the house.

Despite her pranking, though, Randy really is a true superhero. She has the compassion her family has little of, and would do anything to protect a loved one should the need arise.

Cat can't help but be jealous. She doesn't want to be a superhero, no, and she doesn't want to go around and fight villains all day. Still, she can't help but wish she had super strength, too. Why did it have to be her sister? Why couldn't it be her who got the awesome power of the ability to bash people's heads in with the flick of a finger?

It's not Cat's parents who wish she was super. It's Cat herself who wishes she was super. She wants to be special, too. But she can't be, she never will be, and that's what she's reminded of every time she sees Randy's face on the screen. That her sister gets to do cool things and be awesome in general, and she's just...She's just a normal kid.

Normal is so last week.

/////

"Channing Tatum is a complete hottie!"

Randy stared dreamily at the television, then jolted when a piece of popcorn hit her right between the eyes. She turned to see Cat staring at her reproachfully with a bowl of popcorn in her lap. "Excuse me? No he's not. He's ugly and waaaay too muscular. He's like a walking pile of axe and steroids."

Randy gasped, snatching the popcorn bowl away. "How dare you! Channing Tatum is the sexiest man alive, and you know it!" Then she smirked. "You're just denying it."

Cat made a 'pfft' noise, tried to take the bowl back, and failed. "Yeah, sure, mmhm. That's exactly what's up. I'm just disguising my eternal love for him under a veil of rude comments and lies." She said this all in a monotonous tone, lifting an eyebrow.

If Randy caught on to the sarcasm, she didn't say. "Exactly! See, always trust your elders."

Cat snorted, elbowing her sister hard in the side. "Oh, shut up, you're not my elder. You're only twenty-two, that's hardly a huge difference." Randy elbowed her back, turning her gaze on the tv screen again.

"Whatever you say, Kitty, just shut up and let me watch my baby be sexy. Okay? Okay. I'm glad we had this talk."

Cat rolled her eyes, but she went back to watching the movie playing as well. By now, she couldn't remember the title, she just knew it had Channing Tatum in it - how could she forget? Her sister kept cooing and sighing over him, and his face kept popping up on screen anyway. In all honesty, Cat really wasn't fond of the actor - she just didn't see what all the other girls fawning over him saw in him. He really did look like a batch of steroids gone wrong, or something equally weird and over-muscled.

Nonetheless, she settled back, grabbed a fistful of popcorn, and watched the movie. It wasn't often that she got to sit down with her sister, watch a movie, and tease and taunt each other back and forth like they were doing now. Randy was so busy with all of her hero stuff that she hardly ever had time to sleep, much less hang out with her baby sister.

But for once Randy had found the time, and so now they were in the living room together, acting exactly like they did before Randy was enlisted to be part of CRASH two years ago. Before she didn't have time, before she saw her team members more than her family, before she had to be responsible and trustworthy and a real-life adult.

Cat felt a pang deep down in her heart, and immediately shoved more popcorn in her mouth. Now wasn't the time to get emotional. Emotions were saved for late at night, when her pillow was the only one to see her tears and muffle her cries.

She shifted slightly in her seat. Huh, this actually wasn't too bad of a film, despite their obvious mistake in casting. The plot was actually kind of interesting, and the characters were pretty funny. There hadn't even been that typical love-y dove-y main character couple kiss yet-

Oh, wait, never mind. Ew.

/////

Randy, or Riptide, as the world knows her, likes to boast that no material is unbendable or even unbreakable in her hands. It's a statement that's never been proven wrong. Iron, steel, rock, she's bested it all. Being tied up has certainly never been a problem for her and her power of strength.

Yet here she is, unable to free herself from the strange material binding her arms and legs. It's perplexing. What kind of stuff is it, and why can't she bend it? How did anyone get their hands on something she couldn't break? As a matter of fact, who kidnapped her in the first place?

Randy tugged on her restraints again. Nothing. The blindfold tied tightly over her eyes prevented her from seeing anything, but she couldn't hear anything anyway, so she doubted there was much to see.

The last thing she remembered was watching that movie with Cat. Had they both fallen asleep on the couch? They must've. They usually did when they watched movies late at night together anyway, it wouldn't have been completely out of the ordinary.

Where was her sister, anyway? Had she been kidnapped too? Or was she at home with their parents, wondering where she had gone without saying a word? Worry squeezed her insides, making it a little hard to breathe. She needed answers.

Someone had managed to kidnap one of the best superheros in the business, and she wanted to know who. Now.

/////

A/N: The introduction to another one of the main five characters, Cat, and her older sister Randy. If you liked the chapter, make sure you hit that 'like' button, you'll make me the happiest person in the world!