Author's Notes 3/27/02:
Hey all! This is my first Cowboy Bebop Fan fic. LEt me warn you now, I am a HUGE Ed and Ein fan!! Yay for Edward! Anyway, I thought I'd give a crack at this and see what happens. Reviews Encouraged!

~Windresss


Bending the Spoon

By Windresss

Chapter 1: Left of Center

A dark, oily skinned- or was he just oily looking?- man hunched against the corner of a crumbling building making up the small trading port's shopping alley, squinting narrowly through a screen of cigarette smoke.
The cloud of white drifted from his nostrils, his lips nursing a slightly bent nicotine stick. The filterless creation clung to the lower cusp as he pulled his lips back from his teeth, emitting a silent snarl. His target was moving...

*****

"Oooooh, Spike-Spike! Edward is so Glad you let her and Ein-Doggy Come!" The flame headed figure of Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV, lanky in her youth, bounced alongside a man that had somehow never lost his lean posture. Spike Speigal rolled his eyes, releasing a long-suffering sigh, and Ein Barked.

"...yeah yeah yeah, I only let you come because you wouldn't leave me alone, Ed." Honestly, the kid acted like he'd bought her a new comp- 'no wait, thats not right...what is it she calls it?' Tomato. Right. Ed was acting like he'd bought her a new Tomato, as if that were even possible.

'I guess I forget that she never had parents or anyone to do things with..' He cast a glance to the orange haired girl who beamed into each and every store window they passed in the gritty trading post.

The port was pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and not very big by most accounts. The streets were relatively quiet, but what noise was made was that of rough origin. That sparked a surprising coil of worry in Spike, 'Edward's just a child...I shouldn't have brought her out here..'

He was about to open his mouth to tell her to go back to the Bebop, when the girl let out a squeal even louder than her normal racket.
Spike spun around, only to witness Ed dangling by her feet in that agile way she does from a hanging sign before a storefront for electronic parts. Her goggled head pressed flat to the window, breathing a large fogged ring on the glass as she stared into the store.

Taking a step closer, the bounty hunter tried to see just what she was looking at, but all the electronics inside looked the same and of little consequence.

Suddenly, Edward dropped from the sign, landing directly onto the unsuspecting Spike. He remained upright due solely to the fact that the girl weighed little more than Ein, but his hair took a severed beating as she scrambled off him and dashed in a flurry of spandex into the store, "Edward Be Right BAAAAACK!"

Spike grumbled something unintelligible, attempting to straighten the wild state of his green hair and turning to follow her into the store.
Instead, he collided with the solid form that barred his way. The freakishly tall figure looked familiar.... but where...?

"You didn't really think I'd let you get away with the Dog -and- getting me thrown in jail, did you?" Oh. Spike knew now. And about a millisecond before the fist connected with his jaw, he knew he was in -Big Trouble.-

*****

When Edward walked happily from the electronics store, her arms laden with various wires and devices unknown to any normal human, it was to watch a tall stranger go flying across the street, crashing into the magazine stand erected there.

The girl blinked, seeing Spike run after the stranger's sprawled form, and commented idly, "Ein, Why can we never take Spike-Spike -Any-where without having to beat up persons?"

But Ein wasn't listening. His hackles were up, and the Corgi had pressed his short frame close against Ed's leg, snarling darkly. The strange man and Spike were grappling now, their battle crossing the street towards the pair standing in the store doorway.

*****

Spike ducked under yet another punch, his hand snapping up to catch Hakeem's extended arm. It took but a twist of his grip to send the man sprawling face first into the pavement yet again 'Good thing this guy sucks at hand to hand combat...'

The escaped convict was leaping for him again, and Spike raised a leg almost casually, catching Hakeem on the chest. His knee bent slowly, cushioning his opponent's attack, before kicking out again, sending the darkly skinned man flying into the large showcase window of the electronics store.

It was then that it hit Spike. EDWARD! He spotted the girl peering into the rubble of the store's interior, and bolted forward, grabbing her arm a bit more roughly than he meant to. She whirled around to stare at him incredulously, "Oww! Spike-Spike! Let Edward go!"

Instead of complying, he jerked her closer, dragging her away from the man slowly climbing out of the shattered window and hissing into her ear, "Ed, get -out- of here. This guy is bad news. Go back to the Bebop and tell Jet..." He trailed off. Edward was stalwartly shaking her head and a stubborn expression had affixed itself to her youthful features. 'uh-oh...'

"No! Ed stay with Spike! Help him fight off Stranger-Person who is sneaking up on unsuspecting Spike.."

The last part of that sentence was given so casually that it almost didn't register in green-haired man's mind. The fact that it did at all was moot, because he simply wasn't fast enough to do anything about it.
A large fist connected with his temple, sending him flying

'Well, hell...' And he landed in the rubble of the magazine stand, issuing a loud grunt of pain.

*****

Edward suddenly found herself staring up at the tallest man she'd ever seen. 'Wow.'

Ein was growling, hunched behind her calves as she leaned way back to meet the man's frowning gaze through her tinted goggles. A senselessly wide smile plastered to her face and she darted a hand up, waving it frantically, "HI!"

*****

The stranger hesitated, seeming to not know what to think of this odd girl before him... she was a girl, right?

He came to a decision, grabbing her by her flimsy shirt front and jerking Ed, quite literally, off her feet.

This revealed another surprise, taking shape in a small Welsh Corgi who was baring its teeth at Hakeem. "Hey!" The girl was beating at his fisted hand, writhing like a large lizard in his grip. Not that it would help her any, but he had to appreciate her level of effort.

It was then that pain shot up his leg, making him howl in protest.

*****

**That's it for now because its really late and I'm tired. Don't worry though; I'll get the rest of it out and going! ~Windresss**