Well to say things are looking up would be an understatement. Considering I now have access to prime modernized gem technology, my knowledge of gem tech is further increased because of it and it gives me an idea of what to expect in the future should I have to deal with more gem tech. From what I remember, I still have the replicator in storage so if I start to lose too many of my robonoids, I'll have the ability to make more of them. I've got some ideas on what I can do to make extensive use of these little guys but first I need to start putting in a lot of data for them.

And I mean 'a lot' of data. For the items I have in question, I need to do what it is that Peridot did for the warp pad and start plugging in all the data of what those items consist of. From dimensions to sizes, their composition, how their made, how some things go together, I also need to upload pictures and images of the items in question so that way the robonoids can properly make the repairs or creations if they have an actual representation. The warp pad data was very in-depth so they didn't need to upload an image to make it easier for them.

That's what I've been doing the last few days. I've been coding and transferring data as much as I can so I can go ahead and get started. I've got a good majority of the stuff down but I still need to code a lot more. As I was going out earlier today to get some fresh air, I bumped into Jenny, who gave me a card for a rave that she and bunch of her friends were planning to have in some broken down warehouse. She said Sour Cream was going to DJ and that it was going to be fun. I wasn't too sure about the while situation so I said maybe I'll do it but not 100 percent. I also made the excuse that I was working on something that needed my attention and hoed that she would understand. She was cool with it and wished me luck on what it is that I had to do. Social scenes still aren't my preference but we'll see if whether or not I'm able to go.

Still despite that, I also found someone else to help with my work. When Connie came over to hang out with Steven, she was amazed at the tech I got and offered to help with the data input.

Who would have thought that a girl like her was good with coding too. I knew she was smart and intelligent in so many ways but damn does she impress me just the same as Steven.

Now I'm sitting here on the counter island and plugging in the dimensions of a gun barrel into my computer while the others are moving about and Steven is off playing with Connie.

"I still don't see why you didn't want to try your hand at fusing." Pearl asks me out of left field.

"I'll admit it, I am curious what fusing with you would look like." Garnet adds.

"Haaaaa," I breathe out, "And I told you guys before: just like with shape shifting, I don't feel comfortable with altering my body in any sort of way and that goes with fusing as well." I calmly explain to them while I continue typing. Earlier today the gems tried to teach Steven how to fuse and while the kid was enthusiastic, he didn't exactly get the moves right and either he didn't understand one thing or another, it was his size that was also detrimental to his progress as well. Yes I am taller than him and am on par with the others to the point that I could probably fuse, there is one other thing that I'm kind of scared to do as well. "Plus I don't like the idea of merging my subconscious mind with another thank you very much."

"So? Are things really that bad?"

I fingers stop typing in mid-air at Amethyst's question. Slowly, I look at Pearl to see a look of being worried plastered on it. I told her about a moment of my past, one that set me on the path I walk today. Other moments aren't really… "I'd… rather not risk it." I say hesitantly. Thankfully, after the awkward silence of my words, they decided to let it go and I'm happy with that. While it's true that I'm sure the gems have seen things as well, probably even worse than mine, I don't want to take the chance on it. Plus if I'm being honest, the way how they were dancing to fuse were a bit… explicit in my own mind. Then again I have the mind of a teenager so while the gem side of my intelligence is awesome, I hope the way I was seeing those dances weren't as… crazy and suggestive as I made them out to be. To get my mind off the subject, I go back to coding the barrel. Everything runs smoothly so far, "Damnit." At least until I run into a problem as I lightly curse and place my head on the counter in frustration.

"Something wrong?" I hear Pearl asks me.

"Yeah… uhhhh." I groan as I wave a hand to my computer. "I also need to add the striations of the gun barrel into the data as well but I'm having some difficulty actually putting it into here."

"Yeesss, the spiral pattern inside the firearms barrels that allows the bullet to fly faster and easier through the air. I can imagine that would be a bit difficult in putting to numbers." She says.

"Yep." I say in a sulking tone.

"Anything we can do to help?" I turn to Garnet at her question to see all three gems standing close to me. I smile at their willingness to help.

"Thanks guys. I appreciate the help but unless you have extensive knowledge of coding in computers, then you won't be of much help." I sadly tell them and it's true. While gems like Pearl are a bit handy when it comes to mechanics or physical constructs, this isn't physical and I need be precise with the data input and how things need to be or else when they decide to fix what I want them to fix, it'll come out wrong. They look away sadly at not being able to help now. "Ahh, don't worry. I'm sure I'll have something I'll need help with soon. At one point I'm sure I'll need help picking up and delivering some supplies to where my house will be. For now, I'll handle the technical details but by then you can help."

"No problem." Garnet answers and the others nod. With their sadness alleviated, I go back to working on my computer. Right now I've also shut down the majority of the robonoids and placed them in a corner so that way they don't go wandering off and I can keep track of them. I've only got a few walking about and doing their own things.

"Hey guys!" The new voice tears me from my work and everyone in the house shifts their attention to the source. A tall dark skinned woman with a large amount of poofy curly hair wearing two different shirts and really short shorts stands in front of the door. She stands there staring at us with an immense smile on her face while the rest of us are confused. Well, not me confused, I'm more cautious right now because I'm reaching under the counter to grab a Mac-10 I have strapped under it. "It's me."

"…" I start peeling the tape off.

"Steven!... and Connie!"

Okay, that gets a reaction out of us. We all widen our eyes in surprise. At first I call bullshit on it, except when I spot the gem in the middle of her slender sto-

And that's as far as I get before I pass out.


*Thud*

Everyone moves their attention from the human fusion to the passed out hybrid that falls off the stool. No one says anything at the action, except for Stevonnie the fusion who calmly walks over to the sink, fills a cup of water, takes a sip… and dumps the rest of it onto the passed out teenager.

"Wha! Oh! Ha! Who's that?! What happened?!" Marcus calls out hysterically as he jumps up and aims his Mac-10 all over the place.

"You passed out." Stevonnie tells him as she places the cup back into the sink.

"Oh… okay." He manages to say through his stunned and stumped self. After wiping as much water as he can off himself, he regains his seat, places the SMG back under the counter and stares back at the tall woman before him. "Uhhhhhhhh… Uhhh?" He groans out incoherently, unsure of what to say or ask as he waves his hand up and down the general direction of Stevonnie."

"Pretty cool, right?" She says with a smile of confidence.

"He fused? With his friend Connie?" Pearl asks to no one in particular. At this point she and everyone else are more or less surprised about what this turn of events for the human gem when his earlier efforts of fusion were unsuccessful. Even more so considering its with a full-fledged human.

"Hahaha ha, guys, look at Garnet." Amethyst leans over to Pearl and Marcus and loudly whispers to them while smiling. True to her amusement, Garnet is standing there with her hands clasped in front of her face with a very wide very toothy chesire smile adorning her face. The thousands of years old gems aren't really surprised at her enthusiasm of the situation but Marcus is more than a little creeped out considering this is about as much emotion beside anger and frustration that he's seen the stoic gem display since he's joined the Crystal Gems.

"This is unprecedented." Pearl says and begins to examine Stevonnie multiple angles. "A gem fusing with a human being?" She asks as she examines Stevonnie's arms and legs before finishing off by looking at her in crouched position. "It's impossible!" She blurts out in surprise as she stands back up She then looks away while cupping her face with a hand. "Or at the very least inappropriate."

"Yeah uhhh… yeah…. I don't… huh." Marcus sort of blubbers a bit as he scratches his head, his mind still trying to catch up to what's going on before him.

"Wow!" Amethyst voices her excitement of the situation as she laughs a bit. "You two look great together! How does it feel Steven? Connie? ... Stevonnie?" Since their isn't an actual gem name for them, Amethyst just goes ahead and calls them a name that's a mix of the two who fused.

"It feels amazing!" Stevonnie voices her happiness at the feeling she's having about being a fusion.

"Yes. Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves, but you two should un-fuse this instant." Pearl proposes, clearly uncomfortable with the whole thing. It was one thing for her to think when Steven could have fused with one of the gems but fusing with a full human? That's something that Pearl is both confused and uncomfortable with.

"Wait. What?" Stevonnie however is a bit reluctant with the idea of un-fusing so soon. "Pearl. You were so worried Steven wouldn't be able to do this. Aren't you proud of him?" She asks the pale gem in an almost sad and slightly hurt tone.

"Of… course I am! I—" Pearl slightly stammers out but loses what she's going to say. She turns back to Garnet with a worried look on her face. "Garnet, help me out here."

"Stevonnie." Garnet says seriously as she walks up to Stevonnie while Amethyst and Pearl back away to Marcus, who is still staring with wide eyes. "Listen to me." She cups Stevonnie's face with her hands. "You are not two people. And you are not one person. You... are an experience!" She says as her voice begins to increase in tempo. "Make sure you're a good experience. Now... Go!... Have!... Fun!" She finishes saying loudly with a loud grin on her face.

"Yeah!" Stevonnie cheers and bounds out the door. "Thanks Garnet!" She calls back as she bounds down the stairs and out of sight.

"Haaaaa… they grow up so fast." Garnet sighs and says with a motherly look about her.

"Wait, wait. We're just going to let them go out like that? Without a care or a word of warning about what could happen?" Marcus asks incredulously. He's still a little mind-blown per say about the whole thing but now that the subject of everyone's attention is gone, he's a bit more level-headed.

No one says anything to his question. The gems all look to each other separately at first before they look back to Marcus. "Yeah, pretty much." Garnet says simply before she sits down on the couch and reads a magazine. The others shrug and start going about their own tasks as well.

"… Okay then." Marcus resigns himself to saying and turns back to typing on his computer. Since the others aren't too worried about what it is that Stevonnie will do, Marcus sees no harm in it and resumes his work.

A few minutes pass, silence taking over the small house with the occasional sound of everyone doing their own thing: The sound of a page rustling as Garnet looks at her reading material, the sound of Amethyst chugging a 3-liter bottle of soda, Pearl examining and placing attachments on the Macmillan Tac-50 sniper rifle, and the continuous 'clicking' sounds of Marcus's laptop. All is right in their own little world.

"WE LET THEM GO OUT WITH ANY WARNING WHATSOEVER!"

*Bang*

"Pah! *Cough*Cough*"

At least until Marcus screams loudly, resulting in Pearl accidentally discharging her rifle into the floor and Amethyst coughing up her soda as it splashes all over her.

"What?" Garnet asks nonchalantly, not bothered by Marcus's outburst as the human-gem starts pacing around.

"We…! Let them go out into the world without any warning whatsoever! Who knows what sort of trouble they could get in since you told them to go have fun!" Marcus says loudly and in a scared tone, clearly distraught about the outcomes.

"What are you talking about Marcus?" Pearl asks him as she places the rifle down, more than a little annoyed at having to accidentally discharge her weapon.

"What am I talking about?! Don't you get it! You told them to have fun when they don't know what's out there! AND WORSE… She's hot!"

"…" The others look at him with confused looks as what he said finally catches up to his brain.

"Oh my god I can't believe I just said that." He mutters to himself as he slams his head down onto the counter.

"Uhhhh, can you clarify?" Pearl asks.

"Clarify? We just let a hot teenager go out into the world without a warning and encouraged her- he- Argh! Them! To go have fun. To teenage boys she's eye-candy and ripe for the picking!" He explains to them with a look of horror on his face.

"Oh c'mon Marcus." Amethyst says as she goes to the sink and wets a towel to clean herself of the sticky soda. "You're a teenage boy." She starts wiping her face. "If other teenagers think like you, then I'm sure you have nothing to worry about." She says with a slightly muffled voice.

*SLAM*

Everyone jumps as they look to see that Marcus is gone and the front door is almost completely torn off its hinges from being opened to hard.

"What'd I say?" Amethyst asks outloud, oblivious to the significance of what she said.

No one says anything or bother going after the hysterical human, instead they watch as the few robonoids that Marcus left on walk around. One walks over to where Pearl shot the floor and repairs it easily, and the other two go over to the door where one pushes the door and the other sprays the hinges, repairing and reattaching them to the door. They close the door and continue roaming around.

"… He does good work." Garnet comments about Marcus's work on the robonoids. The others nod in agreement and continue what they were doing.


"Alright alright alright. Where where where did they go?" I quickly say to myself as I run along the sand. I know what I'm thinking and when it comes to women, I don't like the idea of Stevonnie being… taken advantage of. And I mean 'murderous' don't like the idea of. Right now my top priority is to find her and hopefully keep an eye on her to make sure no one tries anything. 'I'll be damned if I let anything bad happen.' As soon as I made my way down the stairs, I immediately found the footprints and took off after her. To my surprise, Stevonnie really booked it after she left the house and I'm surprised at the distance she put out. As I continue to make my way along the tracks, I also find the tracks moving in different directions but also hand prints to accompany them as well. 'If I had to guess, she was doing some cartwheels in her excitement.'

Before long as I continue to follow the tracks, I find myself standing off the edge of a cliff and looking at the water below. "Okay…" I say warily, "I don't see any blood, so I hope to hell and back that she didn't get hurt falling into the water." With nothing else for me to do, I decide to head back to the edge of the beach between the sand and sea wall to see if there are any tracks leading off into the city. It doesn't take me long until I find the tracks I need. At first I could consider the foot tracks as possibly someone else's from earlier but when I see the fresh water on the prints and the droplets of water around the footsteps, chances are it's Stevonnie. Following the bits of wet sand footprints along the concrete floor leads me to the Big Donut. Without wasting any time, I burst through the glass door and look for any signs of Stevonnie.

"Oh! H-hey Marcus. What's going o-?"

"Shh! Shut up for a second." I quickly shush Sadie and see the puddle of water in front of the counter.

'No doubt about it. She was here.' I look up to see both Sadie and Lars with blushes on their faces but I ignore it and ask my questions. "Have you guys seen a possibly wet woman come by here? Tall, dark skinned, insanely poofy long hair, wearing two shirts, red and blue, wearing shorts and no shoes?" I give the best description I can of Stevonnie to them.

"What do you want with her?!" Lars tells me sternly as he slams both his hands on the counter.

Unfortunately for him, I'm in no mood for games. I grab him by the shirt and pull half his body onto the counter close to my face. "Look Lars, I don't have time for your crap now I know she was here but I also want to know where she went. Where. Did. She go?" I ask him very sternly.

"She uhhh, she bought two donuts and left. Went to the right out the door." Sadie manages to answer before I get even more physical with the lanky teen.

"Thanks Sadie." I thank her and let the guy go.

"Oof!" Who grunts as the top half of his body falls onto the floor and the bottom half stays on the counter.

Without another word, I leave the store and take off in the direction she said Stevonnie went. Now at this point, I can't track her anymore because all the sand and water she had on her has slipped off.

For the next fifteen minutes, my search for the human fusion comes up empty. With nothing else to go on, I sit down on a bench nearby so I can think a bit more clearly on what my next action is. 'Okay… Her trail ran cold after she left the donut shop. Think, where could she have gone after she got her food?' I take a bite of the donut and continue to contemplate. 'She might have been a little winded and tired after all the running and cart wheeling she did. Plus her excitement might have waned on her too so she could have stopped to take breather as we—' I stop thinking as I go to take another bite of the donut in my hand… that I just found. I look at the donut in front of my open mouth and gently place it back down on the bag. As I place the donut down, I see the bag is from the Big Donut and the bags slightly wet. "Huh, well that was easy." 'Alright, so she was here. Now maybe I can find something else that could lead me to her.' I quickly glance around for anything that seems of interest that Stevonnie could have gone to. "Hmmmm… huh?" I begin to hum but when my foot steps on something papery, I look down and see another of those cards for the rave that Jenny gave me earlier today. "Oh right. I forgot this was happening… wait…" I comment about the party at first but if this was here, and so was Stevonnie, then chances are—

"Oh fuck!" I curse loudly and take off towards the warehouse, leaving the card to billow back and forth as it gently falls down to the ground.


"Damn." I curse under my breath as I stare at the massive party happening before me. I was able to find the warehouse that the rave was taking place in. It wasn't that hard, even with the address on the card, but all I had to do was find the broken wall in the side of a warehouse that was booming loudly with epileptic inducing lights and loud music. I immediately crawled up the small hill and peeked in through the broken wall to try to find Stevonnie. I see over a dozen people here on the dance floor, some I recognize and others just seem shady and look to be having too much fun. Nonetheless, I see Ronaldo, Jenny, and Buck having fun on the dance floor while Sour Cream is DJing on the elevated area. "Alright, so far there's nothing that indicates that Stevonnie was here. Good, I'd hate to see her involved with— Wait…" I start to have hope that Stevonnie isn't here but my stomach drops as I spot her pressed up against a wall with another guy next to her. The guy immediately puts a bad taste in my mouth and the way how he's leaning in and the carefree look he has about him, it doesn't look good, nor does the uncomfortable look I see on Stevonnie's face. "I don't think so." I mutter myself and jump up onto the dance floor before I maneuver my way through the floor towards her as I catch a bit of their conversation.

"No one is crazy. I just don't like feeling alone here!" She sternly tells the guy.

"If you're so lonely, then dance with me!" The guy proposes to her. 'Yeah, I don't think so.'

"Stevonnie, hey." I quickly cut in so she can see that it's me.

"Hey buddy! I was the one—"

"Ugh! Fine." Before the guy could say anything else, Stevonnie interrupts him and glares at the guy past me. "You wanna dance? Let's go." She grabs his hand and just before she leaves, she looks back to me. "Stay here. I'll only be a sec." She tells me with a sly smile before pulling the confused teen away.

"Wait! Stevonnie I—… Ohhhhhh, be careful." I mutter under my breath as I watch them. 'They were probably talking before I got here. Whatever that guy said, it must've hit a nerve with her.' I think as I rub my brow in frustration at the situation.

"Marcus, hey!"

"'Sup bro."

Before I can contemplate anymore, a new set of voices catch my attention and I see its Buck and Jenny greeting me. "Oh. Hey guys."

"I'm so glad you could make!" Jenny says with a beaming smile. "How's it going for you so far?" She asks.

"Well, it's alright. I'm not really the one for these types of settings but my friend over there really wanted to come so I'm here to watch out you know." I make up an excuse. Technically it's somewhat true since Stevonnie did come here to have fun but it's just that I wasn't there when she agreed to it. Now I'm just the lookout for danger basically.

"Oh, which friend?" Jenny asks. I nod my head over in Stevonnie's direction and I blanch a little at the 'dancing' she's doing. "O-oh. H-her?" She questions hesitantly. "That's… you friend?" She asks in a disheartened voice.

I look at her curiously as I try to make sense of her hesitation but then it hits me. 'Is… is she… jealous of Stevonnie?' I shake my head of the thought and try to alleviate her mind. "Relax. She's a cousin of mine that wasn't sure about coming alone. So I offered bring her and make sure everything is alright." I take a quick glance at her unique dancing style and shake my head. "Evidently, she's starting to come out of her shell."

"Oh! That's good!" Jenny says with a bit more enthusiasm and happiness than originally intended. Apparently Buck didn't miss it as well and raises an eyebrow in her direction.

With a smile, I push myself off the wall and lean in closer to her. "Jenny… are you jealous?" I ask the question straight forward.

"What?!" She asks out loud in surprise. "Wha— No! What ever gave you that idea?!" She asks me hysterically with a small bit of sweat start to trickle down her forehead.

Before I can answer, I spot the gem Stevonnie has start to glow and in a flash, she disappears and Connie and Steven un-fuse, forcing them to the ground. "Guys!" I call out loudly and sprint to them. The flash was enough to get everyone's attention because now all eyes are on the two kids. I push past a big guy a bit rough as the teen that Stevonnie pulled onto the dance floor flees, blue in the face. "Guys! Guys! You two okay?" I quickly ask as I slide next to them. The both of them look a little disoriented about the whole thing but nonetheless alright.

"We're back." Steven says as he sits up.

He nor Connie acknowledge me at first but to my slight confusion, she begins to laugh nervously before her laughs turn to hysterically. Before I can question why she's laughing so happily, I see Steven stare for a moment at her before he too starts laughing as well. The two of them stand up and continue to laugh as Sour Cream cheers and starts throwing glow sticks at us. I bring my hand up to keep a few of the glow sticks from hitting me in the face but the kids aren't deterred from annoying onslaught as they continue to laugh raucously and dance in the rain of glow sticks around me. I smile at their enthusiasm as the crowd stares at us, stunned no doubt. The two of them ignore everyone and just dance around me, completely lost in their euphoria. "Hahahaha, looks like you guys are having fun?" I ask with a smirk.

"Marcus!" The two of them finally take note of me and lunge themselves onto me.

"Oooh! Hahahaaa, okay okay. Yes, yes it's me." I chuckle as I return the hug they're giving me.

"Marcus! This was so much fun! The feeling was awesome and I felt so alive and free! Oh thank you for letting us go out and have fun." Connie tells me her experience loudly and with much enthusiasm after the two of them detach from me and she hugs me again.

"Heh, well I'm glad to see that the two of you had fun."

"Now I know why the gems wanted us to fuse in the first place." Steven adds as Connie lets go.

"Yeah, I guess from what you told me, it was a good experience." I say with a smile. My smile however turns into a slight frown as I remember the look they had on themselves when I got here. "So it was all good?" I ask them, making sure to make sure that the skepticism in my voice is evident.

They both look at each other for a second before they smile and look to me. "Well, there were some problems…" Steven begins.

"But overall, it was so much fun." And Connie finishes.

"Hm, well I'm glad to hear that then." I say and stand up. "So I think that's enough excitement for one night. We should probably head back." I tell them and take a step away from them. "Or…" I say with a sly smile as they look at me curiously. I turn back to them, "The nights still young… and we are at a party…?" I let the question hang in the air, hoping they get what I mean. With wide smiles, they nod yes. "Well alright then. Hey, Sour Cream!" I call out before turning to the DJ table. "Turn the music back— Gah!"

"Marcus!"

Before I can finish saying what I wanted to say, I'm interrupted by a very hard punch to the face, resulting in me stumbling back as my friends call out my name in worry and surprise. My moment of me becoming dazed forces me to land and clutch hard against a table, knocking over a couple things in the process as well. "Ow." I lightly groan as I try to get my barings from the hit. My vision comes back to me as I see some guy come up to me and grab me by the collar of my shirt and bring me close to his face.

"Hey! You think you can just push me and get away with it?" The guy snarls in my face in a low gruff.

'Crap, this was the guy I accidentally pushed in my hurry to make sure Steven and Connie were alright.' I think. "Listen man, I'm sorry I pushed you. I don't want any trouble—" I try to apologize but he pushes me back, where I'm grabbed from behind by two guys on each of my arms.

"Well you got trouble. Rough him up." The guy orders and before I can retort or reason with him, two other guys come up and one punches me in the face while the other goes for my stomach.

"That was for messing with our friend!" I hear one guy call out, probably one of the ones in front of me.

"Yeah! Get him!"

"Teach him a lesson!"

Some other of the guys antagonizes the beating as I'm punched repeatedly. I cough as I already start to feel a little bit of a familiar copper taste in my mouth before the guys holding my arms let me go and join in the kicking. I groan out loudly and grunt as they kick me repeatedly. 'Fuck. God this hurts… But whatever. I've taken worse. Let them feel like big men for onc-'

"Leave him alone!"

"Get off him!"

"Ah!"

"Connie! Jenny!"

I see red as I spot Connie trying to pull one of the guys off me but it's futile as the man pushes her to ground roughly. Jenny also tries to pull one of them off me as well but the guy backhands her to ground. "Stupid! You want a piece of this?! I'll do to you a lot worse—"

"Grrrr!" I growl out as I push them off me. "Come here you son of a—!" I yell as I grab the back of the guys shirt that hit Jenny and throw him onto the table I was pushed on earlier before I slide him along the table, forcing his face into a couple coolers and a ton of food before throwing him off.

"Why you little— Guh!" The guy who pushed Connie tries to tackle me but I easily grab him by the throat and lift him off the ground. The guy struggles for a second before I take the initiative.

"Raaah!" I yell loudly and bring the guy up high in the air before choke slamming him down onto the table, breaking it into a million pieces as he makes contact with the concrete floor. Silence is the only thing in the air as everyone stares wide-eyed at me because of my action. I stare at the unconscious man in front of me before I slowly turn to the other jackasses that decided to use me as punching bag. The asshole I accidentally pushed earlier looks at me with pure rage on his face as his friends look at me with fear. "Ptoh!" I spit a small glob of blood out of my mouth before I slowly take off my jacket. I'm pretty sure they saw my guns strapped underneath my jacket because they all look even more freaked out but I pay them no mind as I stare at them with a cross look. "Steven. Connie." I call the kids name before I toss them the article of dangerous clothing. They both catch it easily before they look up at me for answers. "Keep that safe." I calmly tell them.

"Marcus," Jenny calls out my name with Sour Cream and Buck next to her, making sure she's alright. She has a slight bruise on her face but nothing that'll leave a permanent mark or require medical attention. "What are you going to do?" She asks worriedly.

The entire dance floor gives us a wide berth as both me and the four guys in front of me stare each other down. I look a little worse for wear considering the small beat down they gave me but I smirk, angering the alpha leader of my opponents.

*Crack*

*Crack*

I bring my hands up and pop my fingers while also popping the bones in my neck as well before getting into a Krav Maga Stance. I smile.

"Taking out the trash."

"RAAAHH!" The big guy yells defiantly as he charges me, his anger getting the best of him but works wonders for me. He swings left then right at my head repeatedly but I dodge them easily and follow-up with a palm heel strike to his face. He grunts as my hit attacks the bottom of his nose, forcing him to pull back. You push a person's nose back from the bottom up, it'll hurt like hell and force to eyes to start watering, which is what I just did to him. "Grrrr…" He growls lowly as he stumbles away from me. He looks at his friends for a second before gesturing to me. "Well what the hell are you waiting for?! Get him!" He orders them. They hesitate for a second before all three of them rush me. Two of them go to punch my face but I duck underneath their hits, making them fall forward behind me because of their momentum, and I come up with a knee strike to the third guy's stomach. He lets out a breath of air as my strike leaves him out of breath but I don't stop there. I grab his head with both hands and head butt him hard, disorienting him but I don't stop there as I still hold onto his head and bring his face down onto my knee. I let go of his head at the same time of the hit, making him fall onto his back from the hits. As I stand back up, I smirk to the leader before I swing myself low to the ground and leg sweep the guy coming up behind me, making him completely go upside down in mid-air. I don't let him hit the ground as I quickly follow-up with multiple strikes to his stomach and one final palm strike to his chest, sending him flying away from me in a roll.

"Gotcha!" The guy I pushed along the table earlier comes up behind me and grabs me in a bear hug, locking my arms to my sides. "Fuck him up!" He calls out to his friends as he thinks he's got me. The others rush to me in an effort to attack me when I'm vulnerable but it doesn't work. With the guy holding me, I jump into the air and kick the guys trying to attack me from the front away from me. The guy doesn't let go so I continue to use that to my advantage. I lean forward as he continues to hold me, resulting in him being lifted off the ground too. Using that, I jump up and fall back onto my holder. "Cah!" The guy coughs out as the air leaves his lungs from the drop. I swing my head back into his for good measure and he lets me go.

I quickly roll off the guy as another one try's to stop on me but instead on his friend. Another goes to step on my head but I grab his right foot inches from my face. We struggle for a few seconds but I gain the advantage as I bring my foot up and stomp right into private. "AAAAhhh!" The guy screams out in pain from the hit. I wrap my left arm around his ankle and my right arm around his left thigh before I stand up and lift him off the ground. The top half of his body lightly hits the ground but I quickly pick him back up and swing him into one of his friends, bringing the two of them to the ground on top of each other into a heap.

Now I'm given a moment to catch my breath from the fighting but the guy I landed on gets back up and charges me with anger in his eyes. "Raaagh!" He yells and goes to punch me but I sigh. Before he gets close to me, I quickly twirl myself around once until my back is to him and I swing my left arm out, clotheslining the guy right in the face. His feet go up but the rest of him stays as he lands on his back in slump.

Silence follows from the beat down. The only sounds are the groans from the guys on the ground and my slight ragged breathing. I take a deep breath with my eyes closed before I let it all out slowly. "Hmmmm… okay." I calmly say and turn to the bastard that started this all. "You wanna continue thi—Guh." I groan out as the guy hits my stomach.

"AAAAAAAHHH!" Some girls screams out loud and I hear others gasp as well. At first, I'm curious about what it is that she is screaming about, but then as I feel the sharp pain emanating from the hit, I also feel a wetness start to form. The guy sneers at me as I look down and see the guy stabbed me with a butterfly knife.

'Wow… he stabbed me… asshole.' It's the only thing I can really think of the situation.

"That's what you get you stupid…" He trails off as I continue to stare the gripping knife and slowly bring my arms up wide up around me. At first he's confused but he doesn't have the chance to ask as I bring my clenched knuckles onto each side of his head. "Gaaaaahh!" He yells in pain as my attack disorients him badly. He grips his head, making him let go of the knife and giving me an opening. I grip the knife in my side using my left arm to keep it in place and give him a right hook across the face.

'Time to finish this.' I think as he grunts from the hit but I backhand him with my fist using the same arm. He stumbles back but I continue to hit him again and again, forcing him further and further back. The crowd of people back up as we make our way to them but most of them move to the side and continue to get out of our way as we make our way to the other side of the warehouse. After half a dozen hits across the face, I push the guy with my left shoulder and add several repeated punches using my right arm to his gut, knocking the air out of him. I follow the last hit with a fierce uppercut, lifting him off his feet slightly as he falls back onto another table. The table can't take the weight so it easily crumbles underneath his weight. "Uhhhh." He groans out from the onslaught as he rolls around a bit. With my one free hand, I grab the guy by the collar of his shirt and lift him onto his feet while bringing my face close to his. "You had no right to attack me like that. Your friends also hurt my friends. I want to make this explicitly clear: Never hurt my friends again. Ever." I tell him in a calm stern tone in a way that makes it clear that I'm not one to fuck around with.

"Y-yeah. Yeah yeah sure." He stammers a bit in saying. His face is completely bruised up and he has a black eye, busted lip and bruises on his face.

"No. I don't think you do." I let his shirt guy and instead grab him by the throat and push him against the window. He chokes a little from my grip but I make sure he's looking directly into my eyes. "Understand… I won't allow anything to happen to my friends. And no one is going to hurt them. Especially not some self-absorbed self-inclined asshole like yourself. Do I make myself clear?"

"Gah! Y-yes! Yes! I do! Please stop!" He begs of me. I stare at his eyes to make sure that's he's not lying to my face.

"… Good." I slam him against the window and turn around to walk away from him. 'Jerk. He just had to drag this out a lot further than needed. Hate people like that. For now, I'm just gonna head home and get stitched up by nurse Pearl.' I smile at the thought as I take a few steps away from the guy.

The sound of rustling behind me causes me to stop and as I turn my head slightly, I look through my peripheral vision to see him picking up the metal leg of the table. I close my eyes and sigh. 'Fool.'

"You stupid—"

He starts to say under his breath but I don't give him the chance. As he brings the leg up to strike me from behind, I twirl myself around and grab one of his wrists with my hand.

*Crack*

"Aaaahhhh!" The guy yells as I break his wrist easily. In response, he drops the table leg and backs up as he grips his broken wrist. He backs up into the window and breathes heavily because of my action. He stares at me with disbelief, shifting his view from me and my beaten form, and his broken bone. He growls out and charges at me, clearly pissed. He brings his intact fist back to punch me.

I don't give him the chance.

*CRASH*

Before he can hit me, I spin myself around and give the guy a roundhouse kick, sending him flying back as he goes through the window. He lands in an unconscious heap outside the warehouse, a gust of wind blows against my face through the broken window and I sigh. "Idiot." I comment on the guy's stupid action. He didn't need to drag this out because I pushed him, I would have let him and his guys rough me up a little just to make them feel good and because there's no way they could kill me… but when they laid a hand on my friends, that's something that I can't let stand. I don't check to see if he's alright because right now, I just want to get the hell home. Carefully, I pull out the knife in my stomach with a slight grunt. I close the knife and place it in my pocket to add to my collection so I can examine the wound. He only hit the soft flesh in my side, similar when I first got shot by an arrow, so there's not a whole lot of blood leaking from the injury. Thankfully because I kept the knife still in me, it didn't move around a lot so nothing got torn inside of me. After applying pressure to the wound using my left hand, I limp over to my friends. No one says anything as the crowd of people all part away from me as I walk past them. When I make it to all my friends, they are all no doubt stunned by the fight and all but right now I'm too tired to care. As I stand in front of Steven, I extend my free hand and he responds by giving me back my jacket. After I sling it over my shoulders, I let out of breath of air and ask, "Can we go home?"

Both Connie and Steven stare at me with wide mouth stares and they slowly nod. With their answers given, I look at Buck, Jenny and Sour Cream to see them with the same looks as Connie and Steven. I give them a nod and start making my way towards the broken wall to home with the two kids right behind me. Without a word, I silently step off the warehouse floor and limp home. "Marcus… are you… okay?" Connie asks me worriedly.

"*Sigh*… This is why I don't do party's." I state in a glum annoyed tone.

Alright, well… this was good. I was alright with this chapter and I hope you guys liked it too. As you may have guessed Marcus will be a little bit out of commission for his injuries so expect another set of episode skips.

And before you all ask about why doesn't he use his 'healing ability' or 'use a bottle filled Rose's tears from the fountain to fix himself up' I'll explain in the next chapter but I'll mention a little here so you guys don't think I'm that dense or forgetful. He's still working on his powers so he also wants to save his ability in case of dire emergencies.

And the healing tears… c'mon guys. It was OP already when I gave him his regeneration ability, can imagine how more over powered he would be if he kept a bottle on him with the healing liquid on him all the time?

Plus it gives me an excuse to jump the timeline a bit more so I can get to the more juicy parts of the story. I want to get to Jail Break and I know you guys want to as well. Don't deny it.

The new episode of Steven Universe kind of also enticed me to push forward a bit so please bare with me guys… please.

Speaking of the new episode, it was awesome. How the characters came together, the new characters themselves, it was all so good and awesome and I couldn't help but pause every now and then and monologue out loud how Marcus would act and what he would say, contribute and so on in the episode. I love this and I'm still anxious to continue this story.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving, and as always, have fun reading.