"Thanks for your help! Glad you're back in town!" The police officer smiles broadly as he hustles a handful of cuffed suspects towards a Police van.

I give him a halfhearted salute. "No problem. It's good to be back." I edge away, and as soon as his attention is diverted to a guy cursing loudly among the group, I dash away. I scurry around a corner and out of sight, letting out a heavy sigh once I'm hidden from view.

I kick at a rock with a pout, frustrated beyond belief I'd had to handle yet another petty crime. It probably wouldn't bother me so much if I wasn't the only one here. No one else has returned from training yet, and it meant I had been sweeping the streets for several weeks by myself.

I scrub at my face with a groan, actually contemplating hanging out with my brothers out of sheer boredom. "I really, REALLY want Kimmie to come back." The familiar ache thinking of her makes me grimace and rub my chest. I quickly divert my attention to the small endure motorcycle that my mother finally allowed me to ride freely. I thrust the waiting helmet on my head before hopping onto the seat. When the motorcycle purrs to life, I grin as I rev the engine a bit.

Well, at least there's this small bit of freedom. Mom may be too stingy to let me go too far, but at least she understands the need for me to escape. I roar out of the alleyway and off down the street, ignoring people as they wave and call out to me as my familiar black and green motorcycle zips past.

I let myself wander down random streets, mind turning over the many faces of Kimmie.

I snicker to myself. 'the many faces of kimmie', wow. But it's true.

A wistful smile crosses my lips as I recall the dead future. Her youthful age… when her confidence and ego were larger than life, when she always seemed to just be in the right place at the right time. Her snarky comebacks were a riot back then, and the only time I'd gotten concerned was the one time I wasn't responsible for what had happened. Getting kicked into that tower had been alarming; Kimmie's face a wash of hatred. Then, things changed, and we stopped an invasion. For just a moment, when that green skinned giant bitch had almost taken Kimmie from me, I found myself staring the stupid bitch down and Kim looking up at me in startled awe.

And she grew up, got married, and the redhead became more mature and her features sharper. Her eyes were more fierce, and her usual cocky smile had thinned into something more of a stern admonishment. When Junior was born… I've never seen Kimmie glow like that before. Her smile was utterly radiant, full of boundless love.

A part of me hopes I will get to see that face again. It was the most beautiful expression she's ever worn, and I would give anything to share such a moment with her.

Now… now she's mine. Her smiles are for me. I feel my eyes burn as I turn another corner, bike rumbling as my thoughts linger on her tender smiles and the teasing lilt in her eyes. My breath hitches, remembering the first time our eyes met and the familiar green had turned a milky white. Though I am extremely attached to her reddish orange hair, the pure whiteness of her hair now is just as breathtaking. It makes her look a little more mature but forever youthful, a cherubs face surrounded by a white silken curtain.

A familiar screeching sound startles me out of my thoughts, and I shove the right handle forward to dodge a rocket as it screams past my shoulders by mere inches.

My heart lurches as I veer left, dodging a second rocket even as the first impacts with a loud explosion behind me. My foot scrapes the pavement as I swerve tightly to the right again to dodge down a side street. The loud hum of a hovercraft falls in behind me, tailing closely as I race down the streets trying to get further out of town and away from heavy traffic. Several cars have already crashed, and the familiar sounds of wailing sirens are the only reason I don't hesitate to race away from all the chaos behind me.

A third rocket roars over my head and detonates in the road before me.

"Fuck!" I leap off the motorcycle, watching in irritation as it crashes into the smoking hole the rocket had created. I roll forward and land gracefully on my feet. My fingers are already clawing at the strap holding my helmet on as a black hovercraft comes bearing down on me.

A blue streak flies out of nowhere and impacts solidly with the side of the hovercraft, causing a great screeching of metal as the entire machine rolls repeatedly, the blue light streaking from the side like some crazy kind of firework.

I blink a few times before yanking my helmet off to stare at the scene in confusion.

A familiar mop of blond hair hops out of the crumpled mess now smooshed into the side of a warehouse. The blond gives me a goofy grin before his face pales and he pivots sharply and vomits all over the sidewalk.

"Seriously?" I deadpan.

He holds up a finger, gut expelling a few more dry heaves before he shakily turns to me with a weak chuckle. "That… wasn't as cool as I was hoping it would be."

"It was probably an eight… until you upchucked. Now it's a two."

"Aw man!" He pouts and mutters under his breath.

The wreckage groans as a door flops awkwardly to the cement. A brawny tanned arm reaches out and grasps the sides of the crumpled frame of the doorway and hauls itself from the mess.

"Jr?"

"Ah, my father was correct! That man's tools are faulty! I must have father get better toys next time!"

I groan and rub my temple with my free hand. "Dude, you just wrecked my bike. You owe me a new one."

The young man in the bright yellow shirt ignores me, dusting himself off and tsking at all the "dirt" everywhere.

Ron glances over my shoulder and lets out a low whistle. "Dude, that think is dead. Like, dead, dead."

I glare at him. "No kidding."

Ron winces before jerking a thumb at the 'villain'. "Want to give him a few payback lumps?"

I smirk and set my helmet down. "What a splendid idea." The cracking of my knuckles draws Jr's attention.

The black haired youth swivels around and blinks at me a few times. "Ah, I see that you were unharmed during our exchange. Father was correct! You are indeed a challenging opponent."

"This 'challenging opponent' is about to kick your ass for destroying her bike."

"Psh! That lowly machine is hardly worth scrap metal." He waves a hand at her flippantly. "Now, if you were to be interested in a real machine, there are these beautiful Du-"

SMACK!

Jr goes stumbling back, eyes wide. He grasps his cheek and gawks at me.

"There's nothing wrong with my Yamaha!" My eyebrow twitches. "Well, there wasn't."

He huffs. "Do not be angry at me for your low quality machinery. If you-"

CRACK!

"Shut up! It isn't low quality!"

"Stop hitting me!" he whines, cradling his head protectively in his arms.

"Then stop being a doofus!" I plant my foot in his chest and knock him off his feet.

He yelps and falls in a… flamboyant fashion, eyes fluttering up at me with the barest hints of tears glistening in them.

A hiss fills the air as an odd… thing, falls between the two of us. I instinctively fall into a defensive pose and I watch Jr cover his face with his hands.

I shout in pain as the object explodes in a blinding flash of light, and I hear Ron carrying on behind me as we both struggle to regain our sight.

I am still trying to blink the spots form my vision when I vaguely identify a sharp looking old fashioned limousine roll up. The rear window rolls down with a soft whir.

"Jr, get in the car," says a gruff voice. "Why must you be such a disgrace?" The second sentence is muttered softly, and I'm pretty sure Jr missed it as he obligingly scurries over to the other side of the car. "Miss Go," the old man says pleasantly, nodding briefly. "Let us be off," he instructs his driver.

The window rolls up as I rub the last of the blurriness from sight. Ron stumbles over to me, eyes still watering from the surprise attack.

"Haven't seen those two in a while," he says, squinting as the car calmly drives away. He blinks and reaches down to pick something up off the ground. He chokes on his own spit. "DUDE!" He thrusts his hand in my face.

"Damn it Ron, I-"

"Look!" he interrupts.

I tilt my head back and look down at the fist in my face.

"SHIT!" I stagger back as I stare at the wad of hundreds in Ron's hand. "Are you kidding me?!"

Ron laughs a little airily. "Dude, you can totally get a new bike!"

"I could get two!" I snatch the money, counting it obsessively to ensure there is indeed that much there. "Holy crap!"

Ron snickers. "You mean a backup in case your new one gets creamed too?"

I reach out and slap him upside the head without looking away from the cash in my hand.

"I have no idea why a man that stinking rich bothers with trying to be a villain. It's not like he can't buy anything he wants anyway." I sigh and stuff the wad of cash awkwardly into my hip pouch.

Ron shrugs. "I bet he's bored. I mean, if he's already pretty much bought everything he wanted, what else is there to do?"

I pause and stare at the blond.

"What?" he shifts uncomfortably, looking himself over in worry.

"It still surprises me you have a brain."

"Hey!"

I laugh as I pick up my helmet. I glance once more at my crumpled motorcycle before huffing and walking away. "Come on, let's go see what motorcycle shops are around."

"I can come?!" He sounds too eager.

I groan. "Don't make me regret asking."

"Best behavior!" he chirps, eagerly falling in step beside me.

Inwardly, I find myself smiling a bit. Not my first choice of people to return from training and be stuck with… but… I glance at the blond out of the corner of my eye. He's wearing a broad smile and chatting happily with the bald rat now sitting on his elbow.

I guess he's not completely hopeless.

A/N: Dude, I am so sorry this has taken so long to get out. I got a little burnt out on this story, and I forgot where I was going with it. I will try really hard to keep updating this with some sort of regularity but life is still really complicated, and I might not have time to update it frequently. I just want to let you know I haven't forgotten and I've spent the last three months trying to figure out what this chapter would look like. I remember vaguely what I had planned with things, so I should be able to continue it without too many problems.

Again, sorry for the tardiness!

-Salute!-