"Dynamic Duo"

"Wanna play some ball, T?" Justin asked bouncing into the living room of the hotel suite. Tammy was sitting on the couch tiredly watching TV. "Nope," she replied, not even bothering to glance at Justin. She looked slightly pale and droopy, and for the past two days didn't have the energy for any big activities. In Justin's opinion, that was really strange since Tammy usually had more energy than all five guys combined.

"C'mon, T," Justin persisted. "You've been sitting in this stupid hotel room for the past two days. The Orlando sunlight'll do ya some good," he finished with a grin.

Tammy continued to stare at the TV screen, making it obvious for the millionth time that she was ignoring him. Justin got annoyed as usual, and stood in Tammy's line of vision. Tammy looked up at Justin and rolled her eyes. "I told you Justin," she sighed, "I'm tired. Now go away."

Justin continued to press into Tammy. "C'mon, please?" he begged. "I heard that the Backstreet Boys are at the court in the park and I really want us to wipe the floor with their asses." Tammy could play basketball like a pro, and knew it. She was the best trash talker Justin had ever met, yet she had the skills to back it up. She was fast on the court, and had quick hands. Tammy could cut anybody up without even trying, and could drop shots from anywhere on the court. The only thing she was unable to do was dunk, and that was only because she wasn't tall enough.

Tammy glared at Justin. "Justin," she warned, scowling. Justin knew that look, and therefore backed off, sitting down on the couch beside her and pouting. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "You know," he started casually, "I heard that Nick said he couldn't wait to play against you. He said he wanted to shut you up finally."

Tammy snorted in disbelief. "Dude, I know he didn't say that, so just shut up before I bitch slap you."

Justin protested, "Yeah-huh! He did say it! I heard 'em! That's why I kinda… you know… challenged him and Brian to a game for today. And," he continued, not looking at Tammy, "if we don't show up, they'll think we got scared."

Tammy rolled her eyes, replying, "J, I can't believe you!" She sat back and took a deep breath. She didn't want to back down 'cause quite frankly, she couldn't stand the Backstreet Boys. They were the cockiest bastards she'd ever met and the ironic thing was, she made more money than all of them combined, yet they treated her like she should have been shining their shoes. Like that'll ever happen, Tammy thought bitterly. She glanced at Justin, who was grinning cheesily at her. She sighed, "Okay, we'll go. Let me get my clothes on."

Tammy went into her room and threw on her baggy basketball clothes, which consisted of baggy Georgetown shorts and a Georgetown jersey over a sports bra, along with some semi-new sneakers. She grinned at herself in the mirror, admiring her blazing tattoos. "Just 'cause I'ma be playin' ball," she commented to herself, "doesn't mean I can't look damn good." She walked back out into the living room. Justin looked at her and grinned. "Not only are you gonna have the guys watching the game drooling," he said, "but I'm sure you'll have our adversaries panting too."

"Speaking of panting," Tammy said, "I'm still a little tired, so make sure you don't pass the ball to me all the time like you usually do."

"Is everything cool, T?" Justin asked with concern. Even though Tammy acted like the mom to them most of the time, he still remembered that she was a year younger than him and because of that, was a bit over-protective at times.

Tammy kicked him in the back of the leg, causing his knee to buckle forward. As he fell to the ground, Tammy smirked, "Of course. I've just been kinda tired lately. Haven't been takin' my Flintstone vitamins, ya know?"

Justin got back to his feet. "Good," he replied, "'cause I'm ready to kick some Backstreet ass."

As he and Tammy walked out the door, she said sarcastically, "But on camera y'all are so nice to each other."

Justin slung his arm around Tammy's neck and grinned. "You said the key word… on camera. Now, let's go show these pricks that our game is 'larger than life'."

The two hopped in Justin's car and sped off. As they were driving, Justin said, "We need some mood music, you know… to get us hyped." He threw in a CD, and seconds later, Tammy heard the opening chords of Missy Elliott's "Hot Boys".

"Oh yeah!" Tammy said, starting to bounce to the beat. "That's what I like to hear. She put it down for VA. My hometown!" She yelled that last part out the window.

Justin laughed. "You're crazy," he said. He continued, "Ya know, I don't know why you didn't just stay with me at my house. Or with any of the other guys," he added.

Tammy yawned and answered, "Would you accept ''Cause I didn't fuckin' feel like it' as an answer?"

"Nope…"

"Oh," Tammy grinned. "Then in that case, there is no answer." She was lying, though. The only reason she didn't stay with them was because four days before was her battle with Shilen. Using her inner strength left her more drained than she had ever been. Directly after her denial of JC's accusations, she had had to endure the long, uncomfortable plane ride back to Orlando with the guys. She used the time after that to recoup through meditation and other breathing techniques. Tammy may have looked tired then, but days before that when she was at her worse, she could barely get out of bed. She didn't want to clue the guys in to the fact that something was still wrong with her, especially since the whole "bruise incident".

Justin smirked as Tammy suddenly got really hyped. "Oh shit!" she exclaimed. "This is my part!" She started to rap, "Mami what the deal? Ain't no heat fuckin' hotter that the heat a brother hold, I think you really should be told…" She looked at Justin. "This is my favorite part," she repeated with a smile.

"You just said that," Justin laughed. He turned into the park and sighed at the huge crowd of people there. The diversity ranged from young to old, black to white, and urban to suburban. "So much for a private game," he frowned.

"You know that'll never happen," Tammy said, touching his arm. She grinned, "I bet even MTV's here to cover the 'Battle of the Boybands'."

Justin sighed again. "Probably." He turned into a parking place and smiled. "Well," he said finally, "let's go."

As the two got out of the car, the screams began almost immediately. "Oh my god! It's Justin!" one girl shrieked.

"Shit!" a girl in baggy clothes and Tim's yelled, "It's Tammy!" A crowd immediately rushed towards the two, and Justin and Tammy merely pasted smiles on their faces as people asked them for autographs and flashes from cameras went off. The two posed for pictures and signed autographs for about three minutes until Justin said loudly, "Okay guys, we'll get the rest of y'all after the game. Right now," he continued, "we have some Backstreet Boys to defeat." The crowd yelled and cheered at Justin's comment.

Justin and Tammy walked over to the crowded basketball area and as they stepped onto the court, they heard cheers from what sounded like hundreds of people. Tammy started acting like a serious geek, doing cartwheels and flexing her muscles. Justin laughed 'cause her arms looked like rails. He threw up his arms and started to raise the roof. Tammy hit him upside the head, saying, "That is so old, J! Here, do this," she demonstrated, starting to do her arms in what seemed to be a running motion. The crowd got louder again. Justin and Tammy turned just in time to see Method Man, Redman, and Sisqo come over to the court and sit down. Also already there were the other Backstreet Boys and the remaining members of 'NSync. Tammy waved to her friend Sisqo and threw up a fist. Sisqo laughed and yelled to her, "Make it a good game, shorty!" Tammy nodded.

Just then, Brian and Nick got up from their seats on the bleachers and walked onto the court as more screams erupted from the many fans there. Justin glanced to the right and saw an MTV camera. He looked at Tammy and asked, "Why the hell is MTV here?", just as Brian and Nick approached the two.

Nick heard Justin's comment and smirked. "'Cause we called 'em and told 'em we'd be playin' y'all. So they brought a camera down to cover it."

Justin rolled his eyes as Brian drawled, "Yeah, at first we didn't think y'all would come, but…"

"But what?" Tammy challenged, fire in her eyes.

"But I guess Justy here wants yet again to be number two compared to me," Nick finished for Brian with a laugh.

Justin merely crossed his arms over his chest. "Is that right?" he asked. "Well I'll tell ya what. Why don't we put a lil' wager on this game?"

Nick snorted. "How much?" he asked.

"Loser has to donate $500 to whatever charity the winner wants," Justin answered.

"Plus…" Tammy interjected.

"Plus?" Brian questioned.

"Yeah, plus," Tammy glared at him. "Plus, the loser has to pay a certain amount of money per point the winner scored."

"That's lame," Nick snorted again.

Tammy smirked at him, "It ain't lame if it's $50 a point and we play up to 50."

Brian, Nick, and Justin's jaws hit the floor. "$50 a point?" Nick protested. "Uh-uh. No way. I'm not payin' no $50 per point."

"What's wrong, Nicky?" Justin taunted. "Scared?"

Nick took a deep breath. "No… are you?"

Tammy answered for Justin, "No, but you guys should be. Get ready to ride," she growled, smiling as the MTV cameraman approached them with John Norris.

"So," John chirped brightly, "what's this I hear about a 'Battle of the Boybands'?" He looked confused as Tammy burst out laughing and said to Justin, "I told you!"

Justin nudged Tammy with his elbow and replied, "It's not really a battle of the boybands since Tammy isn't in a boyband, but it should be interesting."

"Tell me," John continued, "have any wagers been placed?"

Tammy chuckled and went on to explain the terms of the bet, after which John whistled. "$50 a point, huh? So loser automatically pays $3000."

"Yeah," Nick smiled. He looked at Tammy and Justin. "Get your checkbooks out."

Justin smiled, which was clearly fake, and replied, "My calculations say we'll only be paying $50… 'cause y'all are only gonna score one point."

"If you're lucky," Tammy added. She sounded cocky, but in all actuality, she was kind of nervous. Normally, she wouldn't have been, but her strength wasn’t up to it's normal level yet, and she worried whether or not she'd be able to perform to the best of her abilities. Plus, she heard Nick and Brian were pretty good.

The referee, who was Teck from "The Real World: Hawaii", came onto the court as the crowd once again erupted into screams. "Aight, aight," he said, clapping his hands. "Let's get these cameras off the court and get a game goin', you know what I'm sayin'?" As John Norris and the cameraman walked off the court, Teck smiled at Tammy, who merely stared back at him. "You know, you right sexy," he grinned wolfishly. He added, "And if y'all happen to lose, I'll be happy to console you, if you know what I mean."

"Oh please," Tammy muttered as Justin started to laugh. She continued, "You know, you look like a crackhead version of my friend Mark. He's right over there, see?" She pointed to Sisqo, who smiled at her and waved.

"Oh," Teck laughed. "You got jokes, huh? But it's all good." He turned serious. "I wish y'all the best of luck, aight shorty? Do ya thang."

As Tammy and Justin convened on their side of the court, Teck walked to the center of the court with a mic and yelled, "Wassup y'all?" The crowd cheered and jumped to their feet. Teck continued, "I know y'all are as amped about this game as I am, so I'm gonna announce the players in this two on two." He paused and then smiled. "On one side, we have the two dreamiest white boys on the planet who say that they don't want you to play games with their heart, but are prepared to play a serious game on the court. Backstreet Boys Nick Carter and Brian Littrell! Give it up!" Nick and Brian gave each other high fives and walked to the center of the court.

Justin and Tammy walked on the court, ready to play. They all convened in the center as Teck relayed the rules of the game and the terms of the bet again. "Okay," Teck started, "the game goes like this. Y'all are playin' up to 50 goin' by two's, with the exception of three-pointers. First one to 50 wins, unless someone forfeits. We're playing full court, so I hope you got your strength up. Loser has to pay an automatic 3 G's, whereas the winner pays $50 for every point the loser scores. Good luck y'all."

Tammy asked, "What about fouls?"

Teck smiled at her. "Fouls?" he repeated. "What does that mean?" At Tammy's perplexed look he continued, "In this game, almost anything goes… almost. We definitely don't allow cheating, but anything else is cool. It's a war goin' on outside, ya know? Just don't kill each other or seriously wound each other." At that remark, Nick smirked, whispering something in Brian's ear and patting his chest. The two teams glared at each other, then Tammy looked at all the people there. She whispered to Justin, "I thought this was supposed to be a simple basketball game, yet here we have MTV cameras, fans, and Teck from 'The Real World'. When the hell was this game set up?"

Justin replied with a shrug, "Me and Nick set the date two days ago. I'd have told you then, but everytime I called you, no one answered."

Tammy nodded. At that time, she was damn near in a coma and wasn't taking any calls or visitors. She sighed and said, "Let's just do this."

All four of them gathered at the half court line. Teck asked, "Who'll be jumping for the ball for each team?" Brian pointed at Nick, who was taller than him as Tammy answered, "Justin", who was taller than both her and Nick. Justin looked at her and mouthed, "You alright?" Tammy glanced at Teck and back a Justin, shrugging. Justin whispered in her ear, "You scared, T?"

Tammy shook her head. "I'm just nervous," she whispered back. "This is a game I really don't wanna lose."

Justin rubbed Tammy's shoulders as she took a deep breath. "Relax, T," he said. "Just go out there and do what you do… which is win. Don't be scared of them, and don't be scared to lose. Even though we won't," he added with a grin.

The four players got into position to play. Justin and Nick met up at the half court line, preparing to jump for the ball, while Tammy stood behind Nick and Brian behind Justin, both preparing to catch the ball.

Teck threw the ball up into the air and Justin jumped high for the ball, smacking it towards Tammy, who immediately caught it and started her dribbling. Brian quickly ran up to her as Nick ran to play defense against Justin. As Tammy dribbled towards the net, she mused it was kinda weird that Nick would post up on Justin since he was closer to her, but she didn't think much of it. Tammy quickly faked out Brian and went around him, sending a behind-the-back pass to Justin, who started to drive the court. Nick merely smirked and got in front of him. As Justin started to go around him, Tammy saw Nick put out his foot and trip Justin. As Justin fell to the ground, the ball flew out of his hands and into Brian's, who ran down court with Tammy hot on his heels. As Tammy was about to block Brian's lay up, Nick stood right behind her, causing her to fall into him, and both of them to fall to the ground. Brian's shot went in easily. "That's $100," he smiled as Tammy climbed to her feet.

Justin came up to her and scowled, "I saw what Nick did. Is that even legal?"

Tammy glared at Nick, who smirked. "We're waiting," he said in a sing-song voice.

She turned back to Justin. "I saw when Nick tripped you…" she sighed and continued, "But it's legal… as long as they don't get caught. Remember, anything goes."

Justin glared at the boys, too. "I'd love to wipe the court with their faces, but I'm not gonna cheat. We're gonna prove that we can win without cheating." Tammy nodded and took the ball out. She passed it back in to Justin, who started down court. As he crossed the half-court line, he was forced to put his back to Nick, who was seriously dogging him. He looked to Tammy to see if he could get a pass off to her, but Brian was sticking to her like glue. As a matter of fact, it looked to Justin like Brian was holding her shirt, making her unable to maneuver like she wanted to. Just then, Nick gave Justin a hard nudge, sending him back over the half-court line.

Teck blew his whistle. "Back court violation! Backstreet Boys get the ball."

Justin threw the ball down in a rage. "What?! He pushed me! Didn't you see it?"

Teck shook his head. "Nope," he shrugged, "all I saw was you stepping over the line."

Tammy patted Justin on the back. "Shake it off, J. We'll get it back." Justin just nodded and continued to scowl. The two got back on defense, ready to get the boys back. As Nick came down court with the ball, Tammy easily stole it from him and ran down the court with Justin as the crowd cheered. Tammy passed the ball to Justin quickly. Unfortunately, Nick and Brian set him up for a blind side hit, which in basketball is usually not allowed. Justin was being guarded by Brian at his back and his right side slightly, so when he moved to his left to go around him quickly, he ran smack into Nick, who was standing right next to Brian. Justin fell backwards onto the ground with a hard thud as Nick took the ball and headed back down the court and scored again. Just like that, it was 4-0, BSB.

Tammy huffed, "I can't believe this! Those little bastards are cheating their asses off!"

Justin just shook his head angrily. "I know," he replied, "but we're gonna keep playing fair."

Ten minutes later, Brian and Nick were leading 10-0. As Tammy was blocking Nick, he suddenly charged her while making it look like he was merely passing her. To the onlookers, it looked like she lost her balance and fell, but in all actuality, as Nick passed her, he pushed her roughly to the ground. As Tammy hit the pavement, the crowd groaned as Nick made yet another shot. Justin, who saw the entire thing, launched into "over-protective friend" mode. "Are you alright?" he asked, pulling Tammy to her feet.

"Yeah," Tammy answered, looking at where her elbow was scratched.

Justin ran his fingers over her bruise and frowned angrily. "Man… I hate those guys."

Tammy looked up at him, and then at Teck. "Time out!" she called. She pulled Justin over to where they could talk alone. "Hey, J," she said casually, "you remember when we were in L.A. and I took you to South Central, and you learned how to play some real ball?"

Justin shrugged, "Of course. I still have those bruises. So?"

Tammy grinned slowly. "You know," she continued, "we don't have to cheat, but we can get tougher."

Justin arched an eyebrow. "Tougher?" he questioned, smiling too.

"Yeah tougher," she replied, giving Justin a pound. "Whaddya say we play some ghetto ball?"

"I'm with that," Justin said. "Let's do it." The two ran back onto the court with a renewed spirit. Tammy threw the ball in to Justin, who quickly passed it back to her. She turned her back to Nick as he immediately posted up on her. She quickly and neatly drove her elbow into his stomach and went around him. She backed up and let up a beautiful jump shot from the three point line. "Three pointer!" Tammy yelled.

As Brian was bringing the ball down the court, Justin whipped the ball away from him and charged swiftly down the court, putting up a lovely jump shot. "Yes!" he yelled, giving Tammy a high five. "We on fire now!"

Ten minutes later, Justin and Tammy were leading 22-12 and talking some serious trash. As Justin made another three-pointer, he yelled in Nick's face, "And what? You cheat and still can't beat us! Why? 'Cause I want it that way." He gave Tammy another high-five.

Later, Tammy was coming swiftly down the court and as she passed the half court line, she let up a shot that went in without even touching the rim. Three pointer. "Shit!" Nick swore to himself, taking out the ball, "how does she do that?" He looked at Brian and said, "Don't let her get another shot up… no matter what."

Brian nodded as Nick threw in the ball to him. As he came down the court, Tammy and Justin double teamed him, 'causing him to lose his grip on the ball. Justin scooped it up and ran down the court, dunking the ball right in Nick's face.

Nick's face was pure red as he took out the ball again. "C'mon Brian, get your head in the game!" he yelled.

"I am!" Brian yelled back. As Nick threw in the ball, Tammy intercepted it and caught it, putting up a quick shot and making it. "Yes!" she screamed. "What's that? 34 points?" She looked at Justin and gave him another pound. "I think this game'll be over quickly."

Justin laughed as Nick and Brian threw the ball in again. As they came down court, Brian tried to put up a shot, but he bricked it. Justin caught the rebound and ran down the court with Tammy at his heels. He stopped and quickly passed the ball to Tammy, who tried to drive the lane for a lay-up. Just then, Nick jumped in front of her as she went up for the shot, knocking her flat on her back.

The crowd that was cheering for Tammy and Justin immediately jumped to their feet and started to boo Nick when they saw how hard Tammy hit the ground. Justin ran up to her and knelt down. "Are you okay, T?" he asked worriedly.

Tammy tried to sit up, stars suddenly swimming in her vision. "Yeah, I guess," she replied weakly. She got to her feet, wobbling from side to side. As she started to fall to the left, Justin caught her. Teck came running over. "You alright, baby?" he asked. "Wanna throw in the towel?"

Tammy glared at Nick, who was smirking, out of the corner of her eye. "Never. Let's play." She walked back to the center of the court as the crowd cheered.

"Jump ball!" Teck announced, as Justin and Nick faced off at the half-court line again. Shaking her head free of its dizziness, Tammy gathered up all her strength, promising to play the best game she could, even if it meant she'd be unconscious for the next year.

Justin once again slapped the ball to Tammy, who took the ball way out past the three point line and let her shot off. Another three points for her and Justin. Afterwards, as Nick was bringing the ball down the court, Tammy stole the ball and started down the court again. Nick started to hack her for the ball, slapping her arms and whatnot, so Tammy posted up on him (posting up is when you put your butt to them), and quickly stepped back, knocking him to the ground. She then backed up and let off another three pointer.

Twenty minutes later, Nick and Brian were frowning as they each wrote a check for $1500. Tammy and Justin, on the other hand, were grinning from ear to ear as they wrote a check for $500 each. Nick and Brian only made twenty points as opposed to Justin and Tammy's 50, so the two only had to pay $1000, or since they split the cost, $500.

Even though the boys were pissed, Tammy had to give Brian props, who came up to the guys later and said, "Good game, you guys. Y'all deserved to win… even though Nick was a little rough."

Justin nodded and shook his hand. "No problem. You played a damn good game, too."

"Yeah," Tammy said in her ghetto-girl voice, "y'all was good…" She looked at Justin and smirked, continuing, "…but y'all wasn't us." She and Justin busted out laughing. Brian shrugged and smiled, "I see how y'all are. It's okay, though." With that, he walked away.

Justin wrapped his arm around Tammy's shoulders as John Norris came up to the two. "So," he started, "how does it feel being the champs of this two-on-two?"

"It's great!" Justin chirped. He smiled at Tammy, who grinned mischievously and started to put up her middle finger at the camera. Grabbing her hand, he continued, "We had a lot of fun and it was a great workout. Nick and Brian really gave us a run for our money."

"It doesn't seem like it!" John replied with a laugh. "When you win by thirty points, it seems like it was a breeze!"

"We're just glad that we were able to donate to some good causes out there," Tammy said with a chuckle.

"So do you guys know what charity you're gonna donate to?" John asked.

"We have to discuss it," Tammy answered. She continued, "Justin wants some to go to his charity, but I wanna donate it to some of the parks and rec centers in the inner city areas. I mean, it's so pretty here that I think all kids should have the advantage of having a pretty place to play in like this."

"That's great! Well, congratulations again," John said. With a little grin, he said, "Time to go talk to the losers." He walked off as Tammy and Justin laughed.

Justin and Tammy walked back over to the crowd of people and spent the next hour signing autographs and taking pictures. Finally, the two were able to get back to Justin's car without too many interruptions. Twenty minutes later, Justin was dropping Tammy off in front of the hotel. "See ya, J," Tammy said, giving him a big hug in the car.

"Good game, girl," Justin smirked, hugging her back. "Are you gonna meet us at the club tonight to celebrate our win?" he asked.

Tammy shook her head, answering, "Doubt it. I'm tired as mofolo."

Justin chuckled, then dropped a quick kiss on her forehead. "I'll call ya tomorrow, okay? I still gotta show you Orlando's finest."

Tammy yawned and nodded, starting to get out of the car. "By the way," she said, "pinch Lancey's cheeks for me, aight?"

"No problem," Justin grinned. "See ya later, T." He drove off as Tammy walked into the hotel and up to her room. After Tammy stretched out on her bed, she sighed. "I definitely worked myself too hard today," she muttered to herself. As she closed her eyes, she immediately felt herself falling into the realm of sleep, and more. She heard Yasmine's voice calling her saying, "T, meet us on the spiritual plane." Tammy subconsciously focused her attention on the spiritual realm. As she entered the realm, she saw her other four friends sitting in a semi-circle in what appeared to be a beautiful meadow full of flowers of weird colors and beautiful smells that Tammy never imagined. "Nice setup," Tammy said, looking around. "Who's imagination is responsible for this scene?" Tammy continued..

"Nobody but Serena's," Michelle answered.

"But of course. Wassup everybody," Tammy said, smiling and sitting down between Isabella and Serena.

"Nothin'," Isabella smirked. "'Cept we saw the whole b-ball game… Congrats on your win."

Tammy rolled her eyes and groaned. "Don't remind me. I get exhausted just thinking about it."

Yasmine leaned over and stroked Tammy's hand gently. "We were worried," she said. "We know how much the battle with Shilen took out of you. Then, when we saw how tired you were during the days afterward…"

"What topped it off, though," Michelle interjected, "was when we saw you get pushed around on the court by Prick Carter."

Tammy shrugged. "I'm alright, guys. After tomorrow, I should be back to my normal strength. Then we can continue with our mission."

"Exactly," Serena said. "What are we supposed to do about the child? We're no closer to finding him or Rakshiki than we were before. And word is, Rakshiki has a helluva lot stronger people than Shilen working for him."

Michelle sighed and looked at Tammy. "Any ideas, T?" she asked.

Tammy shrugged. "I say that in exactly three days from this moment, and I mean to the second ladies, we meet up here again for some heavy meditation. I just hope the Elders choose to show us a clue in finding the child."

The other four girls nodded in agreement. "Let's get out of here," Isabella said, standing up. She waved to everybody. "See y'all in three days. I'll call ya." With that, she vanished.

Michelle and Serena stood up also. Giving Tammy a hug, the two girls said their own good-byes and also vanished, leaving Yasmine and Tammy up there alone. Yasmine played with one of the multicolored flowers. "You think we'll find the child, T?" Yasmine asked casually.

Tammy nodded confidently, "Yeah, it'll take time though."

Yasmine replied, "I know. The question is," her voice wavered slightly, "is this time that the child has?"

Tammy shrugged, saying, "We'll talk about it later. See ya, Yaz…" With that, she focused her attention back to her hotel room, and the slightly lighter degree of unconsciousness, also known as R.E.M., the rapid eye movement stage of sleep.

As Tammy tossed in her bed, she wondered what the future had in store for her and her friends. Not just the Five Deadly Venoms, but 'NSync, too.