Backseat Heroes

And So It Begins.

Sometimes things happen that we could've never in a thousand years predicted. Sometimes things happen that we've been predicting would happen since the very beginning. Sometimes both occur at once.

When people first learn of the close bond between Lila, Cat, Leo, Carter and Sage, they're both surprised and not surprised at all. The age gap between many of them would suggest they wouldn't associate with one another, but the clincher is the fact that they're all considered social rejects. Every one of them.

It's not uncommon for outcasts to band together, as these five students had done. It wasn't just their social status that had caused their friendship - in fact, it was thanks to their siblings that they had even met. CRASH was invited to a private dinner at the mayor's household a few years back, and they brought along their family.

There's a story from the dinner that no one likes to talk about, something involving Carter, Leo's cup, and a toad. Nevertheless, it didn't take long at all for the lot of them to become as close as siblings. They remain just as close now, if not closer.

There were many traditions established within the group. One was to go out to a movie on the last Friday of every month, and another was to always meet at Leo's house the first day of summer vacation. His house was always the first pick if the group wanted to hang out, mainly because of his lack of parental figures hanging about (and the abundance of junk food, of course).

The day was playing out as usual. Carter showed up first at about noon, and after helping himself to the chip bowl, started kicking Leo's butt at xbox. Cat showed up next, and Leo gave up his controller, eager to do something other than continuously lose. It seemed that the two were evenly matched, but Carter always ended up winning in the end.

When Sage arrived at half past twelve she wasted no time in showing Carter up. Growing up in a house full of boys will do things to you, especially to your gaming skills. Sage was a pro.

Lila arrived bearing brownies that disappeared all too quickly, and just like that, the group was together again. Things progressed as they usually did, with Sage continuously beating Carter at every game they played, Cat recounting her latest and greatest fights even if no one was actually listening, and Lila playing Leo at chess. Several hours, movies and pizzas later, everyone happily departed to head home, unaware that their lives were about to be changed - permanently.

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Lila was the first to reach home. She regarded with curiosity the shiny black car parked next to her mother's silver one - she'd never seen the likes of it before, especially not in her driveway. She mulled the possibilities over in her head, but nothing came to mind.

She walked through the front door, and immediately heard murmuring voices originating from the living room. She paused to shed her shoes in the closet, then made her way over to the room, standing in the doorway. Three people were seated in various places; her mother on the couch, her father on the love-seat, and a man in a suit perched on the edge of the overstuffed armchair.

Lila cleared her throat, and immediately all chatter stopped as the three turned to look at her. Her mother chuckled awkwardly. "Ah, Lila, I see you've finally returned. This is Agent Brown, from that hero agency your sister works for. I'm afraid he's come bearing...Less than lovely news."

Her father snorted. "Oh, cut the crap, Marge. Look, Lila, your sister's missing. The whole team's missing. No one knows where the hell any of them have gone." Lila's eyes widened as she turned to the Agent. He looked as cookie-cutter as the rest of his agency, but she addressed him anyway. "You-you're sure they're missing? They're not out on a mission or anything? You're sure?"