I've read a lot of Newsies stories, and none of them seem to capture Spot very well. I just wanted to try my luck at it. Oneshot

The cane spun around in my hand, gold end flashing. I watched the newsies walk down the bridge, laughing and joking. I was close enough to hear one say, "So, is this Spot Conlon really dangerous?"

There was a pause, then loud laughing from the two others. I felt the cruel smile on my face before heading to the docks. Who was the newbie who didn't know anything about me? All the idiots must land in Manhattan, for even the freshest newsboy not to know the King of Brooklyn, and therefore New York.

I watched as the docks came into view. The boys jumping off the dock were loud and noisy. I smiled again, before running and climbing up onto the crates. I always felt like the king I was up there. King of Brooklyn. If you were king of Brooklyn, you were king of the city. No questions asked. Why?

I chuckled to myself as Jack, Boots, and the new kid came onto the dock. Easy. Manhattan has the idiots and the jokers.

Brooklyn has the fighters.

"Why if it ain't Jack-be-nimble, Jack-be-quick." I said slowly, sounding evil even to myself. Jack looked up, smiling like this was a funny joke.

"So you moved up in the woild, Spot. Gotta better view and everything."

I jumped down from the crates, wondering if I should soak him for that. Then I decided not to. I'd hear what they had to say, then soak 'um.

I grinned with the friendliness of an angry rat before spitting in my hand and shaking with Cowboy. I saw Boots behind him.

"Hey, Boots. How's it rolling?" I let a bit of the hostility leave my voice. The black kid always had some marbles or rocks for my slingshot.

"Hey, I gotta couple of reeal good shooters here." He held out his hand. True to form, there were marbles stacked in them.

"Yeah." I agreed, taking them. I got out my sling shot. There was a bottle up on the railing. I aimed for it while telling Jack, "So, uh, Jacky Boy. I've been hearing things from little boidies."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Things from Harlem. Queens." I loosed the band and the marble flung forward, shattering the bottle. I saw the new boy flinch, and I was satisfied. He may not know my reputation yet, but he would. "All over. They're chirping in my ear." I walked away then turned to face the three newsies. "Jacky Boy's newsies is playing like they're going on strike."

"Yeah, well we are." Cowboy said, not smiling. I knew why. Practically all the newsies in New York knew that Jacky Boy wanted to go to Santa Fe. It was all he talked about. Him having to pay more money meant more time for him waiting to get there.

"But we're not playing." The brown headed kid interrupted. "We really are going on strike."

I widened my eyes and said, "Oh, yeah? Yeah?" acting only slightly awed while still managing to glare at him. It was a special talent. Why was this newbie talking? He should know better. "What is this, Jacky Boy? Some kind of walking mouth?"

"Yeah it's a mouth." Jack said. "A mouth with a brain and if you got half of one you'll listen to what he has to say."

If he had been anyone other than the leader of Manhattan he would have been dead by now, but instead I sneered and sat down on a crate, mockingly gesturing for Mouth to cough up, then crossed my arms.

"Well, we've been starting the strike but we can't do it alone, so we've been talking to the other newsies all over the city" He said, looking a little nervous. So he should be.

"Yeah. So they told me." I said, annoyed. He was wasting my time. "But what'd they tell you?" I knew the answer already.

"They're waiting to see what Spot Conlons says. See, you're the key." Mouth said. Of course I was. "That Spot Conlons is the most respected and famous newsie in all of New York, and probably anywhere else." The kid was either trying to flatter me, or he was just being a moron. "And if Spot Conlons joins the strike, then they'll join. And we'll be unstoppable. So you gotta join us, cause… well, you just gotta!" He looked a bit desperate now. I nodded at Jack, smiling a little.

"Well you're right Jack" I admitted. "Brains." I got up, making sure my cane was out. "But I got brains too, and more than just half of one. How do I know you punks won't run the first time some goon comes at you with a club? How do I know you got what it takes to win?"

"That's what I'm telling you, Spot." He told me. I clenched my teeth, deciding in my head. I wasn't gonna risk my boys or help Jack's if he wasn't serious.

"That ain't good enough, Jacky Boy." I said, walking back to where Brooklyn was standing, watching. I tuned back and looked at the small group of Manhattan. "You gotta show me."

X

I watched as the Crypts (is that what they called the goons?) Waited behind the door. Then I turned my gaze to where Jack, Davey, and Manhattan were standing. Davey looked around nervously.

"Alright. Everyone, remain calm!" he said. There was silence for a few minutes, then Jack appeared to have had enough.

"Let's soak 'em for Crutchy!" he shouted, and the newsies agreed with a roar. They rushed in, brandishing sticks, signs, and bare fists. I smiled. Maybe these guys would have what it took to do this.

The doors opened, and the Crypts walked in, holding bats. I grimaced as Race shouted, "Jack! Jack, it's the crypts!" Several shouted and surged against the gate, but it closed fast.

Morris and Oscar came out through the door, nasty scabbers that they were. "Heya, Jacky Boy." Oscar said, trying to grin menacingly. The fight started soon thereafter.

I waited for the fight to get worse, and whistled when it was apparent Manhattan wasn't going to win.

Brooklyn came out on the roofs, so in time it was almost funny. I myself had to make my grand entrance, jumping from where I was to a fire escape. "Never fear, Brooklyn is here." I smiled cruelly, before taking my slingshot and aiming.

"It's Brooklyn!" Mush shouted when he noticed us, and several more followed suit.

The change was almost immediate as the newsies started winning. Little Boots hit a guy, while Race claimed to have given up before kicking another. I nodded and smiled in satisfaction.

"Hey Spot!" Jack called, and I grabbed a rope on a pulley and swung down, effectively ramming two men in the back, causing them to tumble over. I spat in my palm and shook hands with Jack, before starting in on the fight myself.

I heard several sounds of people being punched as I beat my way to the gate and wrenched it open. Right on time, my other boys that weren't good at slingshots came around the corner.

"Brooklyn!" went a collective cheer. I grinned smugly.

When even the Crypts realized who was here and beat it, the cheers were deafening.

Then a man with a camera shouted at us to freeze. I laughed while David jumped up and down from someone stepping on his foot. The camera flashed brightly, just as I realized that I wasn't wearing my hat anymore. Dang, what had happened to it?

X

The door rang as Denton walked in. "Hey fellas." He said, and we cheered. We had heard that we were in the Sun, but we hadn't seen the newspaper yet. I wanted to see what my picture looked like. I walked over to the table he was headed towards.

Denton brandished the paper, and we all crowded around to look at it. "Where's me picture, where's me picture?" I said, leaning over Jack's shoulder and trying to make sense of the slightly blurry black and white ink.

"Hey, those words, are they all about us?" Boots said.

Mush laughed in that annoying way he had. "Hey, look at you Jack! You look like a kind of gentleman or something!"

"Would you get your fingers off my face?" Jack demanded, annoyed. I still couldn't see the paper very well.

"Where does it say my name? Where's my name?" I wouldn't admit that I could read very well. Queens was the one with the smarties.

"Would ya quit thinking about yourself?" Jack asked while one of the younger boys pointed my name out to me.

Spot Conlon, right there. I found my picture among the cluster of boys on the front page, and smiled again. Too bad I didn't have my hat on then. I thought it made me look better.

X

I'm a little lazy, so I'm just gonna skip to one of my favorite parts just so I can do one line.

I was with the others as the coach came out of the gates, roaring "Stop the world! No more papes!" We clustered again once the wagon had passed, and I wrestled my way to the front. Two of the younger kids were fighting up there, and I shoved them apart. "Hey, break it up, break it up!" I said, before catching sight of who was behind the crowd of scabbers.

"Hey, hey. Race, Race!" I said, tugging him forward so he was looking at what I was. "Race come here."

"What?" Racetrack said, not noticing him yet.

"Tell me I'm seeing things." I said in disbelief. "Tell me, just tell me I'm just seeing things." The scabbers parted as one walked down the center. I didn't want him too, but the guy looked pretty dang real.

"No you ain't seeing things, that's Jack." Race said. "What's he doin' up there?"

"He's dressed like a scabber!" I said. Mush stared.

"Jack, look at me will ya?" he asked, desperate as the bulls held him back. "Jack, it's me Mush! Look at me, what are you doing Jack?"

"This ain't happening! This can't be happening! What are you doing Jack?" Kid Blink asked frantically. I glared at the traitor up with the scabbers.

"Hey, what is this?" shouted Boots. "Where'd you get those clothes?"

"Mr. Pulitzer picked them out himself." Weasel said smugly. "Special gift, for a special, new employee."

"He sold us out!" Blink shouted, furious.

I felt cold fury well up inside me as Race said what I was thinking.

"Look at him, in his little suit. Ya bum!" he shouted. "I'll soak ya! Ya fake!"

Fake.

Traitor.

Liar.

Scabber.

"Hey, hey, hey. Enough." I interrupted Racetrack. "Let me get my hands dirty. Come here you dirty rotten scabber!" I yelled, and threw myself at Jack as the bulls held me back. (heehee, I love that line and the way he says it. Dirty rotten scabber!) I was pulled back as I shouted as the others tried to get me to calm down. "I'm gonna kill ya! Come on! You're dead! I'm gonna hurt ya! Come here you dirty rat!" I struggled violently as Matches tried to restrain me. "Traitor!" All went quiet as I glared.

Strike leader. Yeah right. And after all of those phony words about never giving up. If there is anyone I hate, and trust me, there is, it's a traitor. If there's anyone else I hate, it's a scabber. Jack had just become both.

I was going to kill him. Slowly.

They let David through to talk to him. I heard some crud Jack said about trying to look after himself, and not being able to be a kid anymore. That he finally had money now. I froze.

That's why he became a scabber. They offered enough money for him to get to Santa Fe. Never mind that Jack was our leader. Never mind that half of his newsies had trusted him fully. All he cared about was his own festering future,

Davey said good, shouting that we didn't need him. For the first time, I agreed fully with the walking mouth.

David turned from Jack and started walking back to the newsies, then paused. I smiled when he threw himself at Jack. Unfortunately, a few other scabbers caught him. Weasel stood in front of Jack. ""Perhaps you'd like a new suit of your own, huh?" he asked mockingly.

David paused, and I dared him to say yes. Nothing would stop me from killing him and Jack both if he did. Then the mouth shouted "Never!" and he was shoved back with us. The crowd dispersed after that, watching as Jack left.

"I trusted you!" Boots shouted.

Racetrack commented. "Seize the day, huh, Jack?"

We watched the little guy… Les. "Maybe he's foolin' 'em." He protested. "Spying or something." I rolled my eyes. Poor kid. "Yeah, that's it! He's foolin' um!"

Race ruffled Les's hair sympathetically. "Yeah, he's fooling them alright."

The little boy kept protesting as we walked to the statue.

X

I waved my paper over my head. "Scandelous truth of Refuge revealed!" I shouted. "Newsies strike spreads across New York!"

I handed out papers to every working kid I found. Shoe shiners ignored their angry customers as they read. I thought about how Jack had come back. Not affectionately. I was thinking up different ways to kill him if he betrayed the newsies again. But for now, his plan seemed to be a good one. Kids weren't the only ones reading the papers. I heard some of them fine ladies discussing the horrors of the children's jail in shocked tones of voice. What did they expect the jail to be like?

I shook my head and passed out more papers.

X

We were all silent as Jack came out of Pulitzer's building. I waited anxiously. Brooklyn watched intently as Jack bent down to whisper in Les's ear, then helped him onto his shoulders.

Les and Jack raised their hands up as Cowboy roared, "We beat 'em!"

Thanx 4 reading!