"Hey, Hype, you okay?" Asked a tall, dark-skinned boy. His shirt rippled softly over his huge muscles as he stood up. He had been walking along, when he stopped and bent down to gently set down the huge firearm he had been carrying over his shoulder and check to see if it was loaded with ammo, when he noticed his best friend Hype, had stopped walking and was staring up at the night sky.

Hype looked at him, and gave a small reassuring smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. She quickly caught up to him, and they started walking again.

"Yeah, why do yah ask?" She asked. The huge boy gave her a look, but didn't say anything. She frowned and looked down at her feet.

"Can I'se tell yah somethin'?" She asked. The boy nodded. "Okay, but yah can't tell no one. And I'se mean no one.."

"Alrigh'." He agreed. Hype sighed.

"I'm not okay. I'se hate it. I'se hate lying tah them, Tank, I'se hate it!"

"Keep yoah voice down!" The huge boy called Tank whisper-yelled to her. "Yah gonna give us away." Usually Hype would chastise him for yelling at her, but this time she let it slide. They walked in silence for a bit.

"Listen," Tank sighed. "I know yah don't like it, and neithah do I, but you'se signed up foah this, remembah? And you'se knew as well as I'se did about the consequences."

Hype had to bite her tongue to keep from yelling.

"I'se didn't sign up foah this!" She whisper-yelled back. "They recruited us, remembah?"

"Yeah, but they also gave us a choice." Tank argued back. Hype didn't have an answer. He was completely right. She had been given a choice. And she chose the most dangerous option. And with it came consequences.

"Heah we are." Hype slowed to a stop. To any untrained eye, it looked just like an old abandoned warehouse. But as Tank and Hype knew, it most certainly was not.

"Where were we supposed tah meet 'em again?" Tank asked.

"Geronimo told me the East gate is the least guarded, so I'se told him tah tell the rest of the team tah meet us there."

"Oh yeah. I see it, It's ovah there." Tank nodded to a door with a huge chain and padlock on it.

"Stay down and follow me." Hype reached down her pants and pulled out a Balisong butterfly knife. It was very futuristic-looking, considering the year was 1900.

"But then again, so is all of our weaponry," she thought. She crouched into a low position, and keeping in the shadows, she crept to the East gate. Tank followed close behind, his firearm on safety lock so he wouldn't accidentally set it off and give away their position. Hype signaled for Tank to stop. Slowly, she crept out of the shadows, her knife plan was for the whole team to split up and go to the warehouse at different times, so they wouldn't cause any suspicion. Hype and Tank were the last of the team to get there. Hype would go in front, while Tank would be the back-up. If Hype was to spot one of the enemy, she would quickly cover their mouths and slit their throat before they could make a sound. If anything went wrong, Tank would have her back. Hype trusted Tank with her life. That was why Hype was the team leader, She had the wits, the moves, and was a good judge of character. And that was why Tank was her second-in-command. He was big-no, scratch that, he was huge. Not to say he wasn't smart, because he was. Tank was from Brooklyn, and everyone knows that in Brooklyn you gotta have both the brains, and the brawn. Hype was from Manhattan, the slyest and the friendliest of all the boroughs.

Hype didn't see anyone. She walked towards the heavily locked door and examined the padlock.

"Shouldn't be too hard for Geronimo to crack open," she muttered to herself. "If all else fails, I'll just have Ammo blow it up. Nothin' like a grand entrance to make a good foist impression on those bastards." Hype turned around and whistled their team's signature whistle, the cry of a blue jay. After a three second pause, the shadows came alive. A small boy with windswept hair jumped out from a trashcan. From one of the beams above Hype's head, a lean girl with dirty-blonde hair and a permanent scowl on her face jumped down from her hiding place. Tank came out of the shadows. A muscular boy who looked almost identical to Tank crawled out from the sewers. A girl with brown hair and kind-looking eyes walked out from behind a fence.

"Great job, Geronimo!" Hype held up her hand for a high-five with the small boy with the windswept hair. Geronimo, whose real name was Jerome, was the youngest out of all in their team. At a mere 14 years old, Geronimo was Hype's bird. Whenever she wanted to do some digging, or find a vital piece of information, like how heavily guarded a certain place was, she'd send Geronimo. Since he was so small, he blended in almost anywhere. He was also quite handy with locks, and by the time he was 7, he was already an expert lock-picker. Hailing from Ireland, Geronimo was a Queens newsie.

"Thanks." Geronimo blushed and slapped her a high-five.

"Where were you'se? I thought we agreed 9:00 P.M." The girl with a scowl on her face snapped. She was Strobe, the best fighter and also the one with the worst temper in their team. Well, she was from Harlem.

"Look Strobe, I'se tried, but Jack and the boys wanted to know where I'se was going, and you'se know how I'se hate lying to them, and then I'se had to meet Tank, but he wasn't there, so I'se had to find Spot-"

"Oh, I'se see." Strobe smirked, cutting Hype off. Hype's face hardened.

"What was that?"

"I'se said," Strobe spat back. "I'se see." Hype said nothing, only glaring daggers at Strobe. She was a pain in the ass, but she was a martial arts prodigy, so therefore a necessity to the team.

"You'se had to go see Spot." Strobe spat again, this time, with a little bit more venom.

"Listen, just because you'se dated him once and he dumped you'se after two weeks doesn't mean you'se can take it out on me. Not my fault if Spot is my friend." Hype argued back. Strobe was about to retort when the girl with kind eyes interrupted.

"Guys, we'se on a mission, or did you'se forget that?" Her name was Patch, and she was the team "doctor." She earned her nickname by being able to fix any injury, anywhere, at anytime. She was from The Bronx, which was like the Switzerland of the buroughs.

"Yeah, come on, you'se can argue about who loves Spot more afteh the mission." Joked the large boy who looked like Tank's twin. He was the team's weapon specialist, and like Patch, also from The Bronx.

"Shut up, Ammo. Anyways, Patch's right, we'se got woik tah do." Hype agreed.

"Wait a sec guys, I'se got something cool tah show yah." Ammo cut in. "'Kay, so you know how a few weeks ago I'se was woikin' on somethin' special?" Everyone nodded. "Well heah it is." From his belt, Ammo pulled off a small, round object. He threw it up into the air and caught it with one hand.

"Wow. A grenade. Amazin'." Strobe scowled at him. "Any more fascinatin' inventions yah wanna share with us?"

"No, dumbass, this is more than a grenade. Think about it. What do yah know about grenades?"

"They blow up on impact." Geronimo answered.

"Right. This one doesn't. Instead of blowin' up, it lights on fire, setting the object it was thrown at on fire."

"Sweet!" Tank whistled. "Imagine what hell I'se could raise in Brooklyn with one of those babies."

"That's it!" Ammo suddenly cried.

"What's it?"

"That's what I'll name 'em. Hellraisers!" Ammo grinned, obviously pleased with his new creation.

"Alrigh' alrigh, well that's all fine and dandy. Now, the mission?" Hype was getting annoyed. It was already close to 10:30 and they haven't even started yet. Big Daddy would not be pleased.

"I even made some for you'se guys!" Ammo reached for his belt again and gave two Hellraisers to every team member.

"Alrigh', suits on." Hype instructed. They immediately began stripping off their clothes to reveal sleek, formfitting black leather suits underneath.

"Weapons check. I'se got two handguns, two Hellraisers, and one butterfly. Tank.?"

"Two Hellraisers, one firearm, one handgun."

"Ammo?"

"Two Hellraisers, one handgun, one bazooka."

"Pa- wait, bazooka?"

"Hey, I ain't called Ammo for nuthin'" He replied with a cheeky smile.

"Okay. Patch?"

"Two handguns, two Hellraisers, one machete."

"Strobe?"

"Two Hellraisers, my bare hands."

"Good enough. Geronimo?"

"Four handguns, two Hellraisers, one chain, one switchblade."

"Alrigh', ready?" Hype made a fist with her right hand and stuck it out. The rest immediately followed suit and stacked their fists up on top of hers. That was sort of their thing.

"Geronimo?" Hype asked.

"I'm on it." From deep within his suit, Geronimo fished out a hairpin and a needle, and immediately began picking the lock. After a minute, the door smoothly slid open.

Hype stared into the darkness. "Let's go give our guests a proper welcome party." Hype fearlessly stepped into the darkness like a true leader, and like a true team, the rest followed closely behind.

A/N

Heey fellow newsie luuuvers! Tell me what you thought! Oh, just thought I'd let you know that Balisong is pronounced "BAH-LEE-song" not "Ball-EYE-song" ;D