"Anyone else in the mood for a shock?!" Elegen demanded, sparks of electricity dancing in Ryan's hands.
)I thought I was the one who was supposed to be the one making bad puns,( Ryan sent with a slight mental wince at the sight of his singed fingertips.
)Sorry to be horning in on your shtick, kid.(
)Just make sure you don't keep doing it. I wouldn't want people to think I'm losing my touch.(
Leaping out of the way of another one of the bruiser's headlong charges, Ryan kicked another guy – this one with spiked brown hair, who was fairly normal-sized – in the chest. He felt a sharp tingle running down the length of his right leg, as Elegen tried to shock the guy.
)These shoes are rubber-soled, Snake-head. I could have told you that that wasn't going to work,( he snickered.
)Hey, I forgot. Heat of battle and all that,( Elegen shot back.
)Well, watch what you do to my feet, you yutz. I need those for walking.(
)Yeah, yeah. I'll keep that in mind.(
A palm-heel strike to the girl's gut acted as the perfect conduit for another of Elegen's stun-bolts, and this one put her out of the fight and down for the count. The scrawny guy came running at them again as Ryan smirked and Elegen gave the mental impression of cracking his knuckles.
)Doesn't really know what he's getting into here, does he?( Elegen's grin was obvious from his mental tone.
)No, not a clue.( Ryan's smirk widened as he thought this. )But then again, that's not really our problem, is it?(
)Nope.(
By the time Ryan's focus had come back to the outside world, the scrawny martial artist guy had cleared almost all of the distance between them. A leap enabled Ryan to cover the rest. Clamping his right hand onto the kid's face, he felt Elegen send 70 volts slamming into the guy. The scrawny martial artist, reeling around blinded, was helped to lean against the far wall of the alley by the kid with spiky brown hair.
"Hold it! Hold it!" the blond shouted, holding his arms out as if to push the two sides away from each other.
As all of the people who had been attacking them—those who were still conscious to do so, at least—backed away slowly, Ryan let himself calm down a bit.
)You think you'll be able to handle the rest on your own?( Elegen asked.
)Yeah. Thanks, though. You know, for all your help.(
)Not a problem, kid. It was actually kind of fun,( Elegen sent, as he retreated back to the periphery of their shared mind.
"Just what the hell are you?!" the blond demanded.
He smirked. "Would you believe I'm a Hok'tar?"
He hadn't been quite sure just what kind of a reaction that would get, but when both the bruiser and the scrawny guy started laughing, he grinned, realizing people had actually gotten the reference.
"That's a good one, Thunderbolt. Didn't know there was anyone else in this hole who liked that show," the big bruiser said.
The leader raised his eyebrows at them; Ryan just grinned wider.
"Yeah. You may be a little weird and crazy – not to mention those freaky powers of yours – but you've got one hell of a lot of good moves." The scrawny guy pulled himself away from the wall as he said this.
"Hey, Sci-fi? You sure you're all right?" the leader asked.
The scrawny guy, evidently called "sci-fi" for some bizarre reason or other, nodded and kept blinking.
"Still seeing stars sometimes, but yeah, I'm feeling better. Mostly, anyway," "Sci-fi" said.
"All right then," the leader – Ryan personally wondered if he had some goofy nickname like the others – said, nodding.
All of the people who had, up until that point, been trying to pound Ryan into the pavement were suddenly grinning at him like he was their new best friend. It was weird.
"Well, we're always on the lookout for new blood, and with those freaky powers of yours, I'm sure you'll manage to make a place for yourself with us," the leader said, grinning at him in a distinctly inviting manner. "So what do you say to that, Thunderbolt?"
)It may be just my imagination here, kid, but I think you just got yourself a new nickname.(
)Well, at least it's better than "carrot-top". I think I would have had to punch someone if they'd started calling me that,( he sent.
"Hey, Thunderbolt, you feeling all right?"
"Huh?" he queried, startled out of his reverie. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine, just thinking."
"About that offer I just made?" the blond asked, sounding hopeful, but looking like he wanted to play things cool.
"Yeah, about that," he said, not wanting to get into the specifics of his… condition.
)Among other things,( Elegen sent with a mental snicker.
)Quiet, you.(
"So, whadaya say?" the leader asked. "You wanna join up?"
"I don't think so. At least, not right now," he amended, wanting to be diplomatic; he'd been beaten on by these guys one time too many. "I have somewhere I have to be at the moment."
"Oh, really?" the leader asked, in a tone that could have been interpreted as sarcastic if one was so inclined.
Ryan wasn't. "Yeah. It's not exactly home, but I've got a place to stay."
"All right, Thunderbolt. But, if you ever need a 'home away from home', you just come back out here."
"How would that help me find you guys?" he asked, mildly confused.
"It won't," the leader said calmly, "but it will help us to find you."
"Fair enough, I guess," he said, nodding. "I guess I might see you guys around somewhere, maybe. So take care of yourselves, all right?"
