SCOUT

Well everything about this was going to shit fast. Scout was at a stalemate with Jumbo. Well she had been until Shen tried to take him out, only to get tranq'd, then Jem saved her, only for him to end up caught. Then Nellie tried to save them all. Scout's fury brought her to a near trembling state as Jumbo tossed her sheep cousin around like a whip.

Weapons, weapons, weapons for $1000? Anyone? Anyone?

Then, Nik for the win.

Seeing her bag soaring toward her waiting hands, Scout made her move. With a single running step, she leapt onto the shoulder of her nearest enemy. As she pushed off him, the man let out a pained grunt, falling into the guy next to him. The only thing going through her mind was how fast could she get her hands on her chucks?

Bonus points for Nik. He'd left the zipper half open. Just enough to keep her loot from flying out and give her quick access. As she began to descend, Scout aimed her foot for tranq-gun guy's shoulder. Kicking his weapon across the room, she leapt back into the air while yanking her chucks free. Clutching her bag in one hand, both of her precious weapons in the other, she bounced off the other tranq guard, disarming him as she spun and launched the bag toward Alli. "Catch!"

"Don't just stand there, get her!" Jumbo yelled.

"Drea, move!" Jem shouted, leaping for his tonfa. Her cousin grabbing her sticks.

Scout's hands slid to the ends of her weapons, her grip alone indicating her intent. Whoever was getting hit was going down. Unlocking an arsenal of moves she was barely permitted to know, let alone practice, she went to work, beginning with her foot flying into the nearest guys face on her descent.

As her weapon connected another man's head, smashing in his temple, Scout's stomach balled into a knot. As the wood met flesh and caved-in bone, she felt the recoil through her arm. Wow. She'd have to adjust for that if she was to keep her strikes on point.

With a mild distract and a hard swipe with the opposite hand, her other chuck smashed in another man's face, sending blood flying. Bile rose to her throat. Weapons still in motion, she leapt into a snap kick, distract, strike combo that flowed into a second attack of side kick, hook kick, distract, strike, distract, strike attack. Bones caved beneath her blows, blood and teeth flying, splattering her clothes and skin.

That was when she stopped seeing their faces. Their eyes widening, or even worse disappearing beneath the gore. They couldn't be people, not when they were trying to hurt her family. When they had hurt her. When they had hurt so many. No. There was no room or time for moral debate, or error here. Only skill. Only staying on her feet and getting the enemy down.

With every strike, the ringing in her head grew louder and louder. Her body longed to stop. Adrenaline the only thing permitting her to fight on, she couldn't feel the counterstrikes of her opponents. Though she'd certainly taken hits, vaguely aware that someone at some point had a knife and knew how to use it. They'd managed to get a decent strike to her arm and left leg.

Battle cries rose from her gut as she fought. She should've been savoring the ability to hear them. Too lost in the battle, they didn't even register.

Finding a second to wipe the blood from her face, Scout's eyes darted over the sea of bodies. More men poured in from somewhere. From where, she didn't know, couldn't waste time trying to figure it out. She saw Alli and Jem struggling to protect Shen, Nellie and Nik. Jem's tonfa were dripping in blood, his eyes covered in the nictitating eyelids she knew he had but had never seen. Her brother was killing people. Shen had killed people. Nellie had killed.

Her weapons still flying, Scout manipulated her enemy so she could see her sister. Alli's cheek was split, her eyebrow busted, blood in her hairline. There were bright pink welts across her body. Her strikes were slowing as she struggled with Scout's second set of nunchucks. They weren't her best weapon by any means, and that was letting the enemy get his licks in on her delicate sister.

Where was Jumbo in all of this? Why had he not come after her yet? Scout struggled to see through the blood in her eyes and the blurred edges of her enemies. Pain seared through her skull, blood trickling in a steady stream down her neck. Working her way towards Alli, she had the sense to look beyond her sister, to the great shadow looming over her. Jumbo. With a gun.

"Stop!" he shouted. "Or I'll kill her, then him and the rest of them, right now."

Scout's finger brushed against the trigger on her weapon. She couldn't hesitate, couldn't miss. Charging toward him she freed the blade, felt the chain drop from its casing. Pulling her arm in close, she adjusted her grip and executed her weapon's primary kill strike.

Jumbo had to drop his gun to reach for the blade flying toward his throat. It grazed three of his fingers, slowing and redirecting its trajectory. Enough so that it hooked him in the shoulder rather than it's intended target of his throat. Scout adjusted her grip, dropping the chain beneath her foot as she shifted her weight to hold him. Jumbo was too strong and grasped the chain, jerking it hard. Scout was airborne a half a second before she thought she heard an unfamiliar voice screaming, "Let go, Scout!"

MIKEY

Sappho drove, veering through traffic with precision efficiency, cutting lane changes so close that Mikey was amazed she didn't clip anyone. She even jumped to the sidewalk to pass cars when pedestrian traffic was light enough. He wouldn't protest. Anything that got him to his kids faster he was down with.

Mom rode shotgun, with that grim look that made him glad she was on their side. Everyone else crammed in the back like a clown car. Hard-shelled turtles on each side, squishy, giant rat wedged between and Denim balanced on his lap. He didn't mind. All the proximity, especially clutching Blue Jeans like his old teddy bear, helped keep the freaking out at bay.

It took an extra-ternity, but they finally skidded to a halt in front of the warehouse, at nearly the same time as Leo and the rest of the fam. His heart eased. With Leo here, somehow, everything would turn out ok. For as long as he could remember, Leo would do anything, no matter how crazy, to ensure they won and that his family walked away from the fight.

Flush with new confidence, he tumbled out of the car before Sappho had even put it fully into park, and rushed for the warehouse, Denim still in his arms.

"Mikey, I love you, but I can't shoot like this." She pointed out to him.

"Right." He answered sheepishly, setting her down near the building.

No visible door. No time to search. Time to turn the creativity on. He flipped up, using his shuko spikes to adhere to the wall like Velcro, climbing up a little further to bust in through a window.

It took a second to absorb the scene, cuz there was lots going on. At one end, Nellie, Nik and Shen lay in a heap, protected by Alli and Jem. For one selfish instant, he was super proud that they were still on their feet. Then he took in Alli's injuries and fatigue as she kept the baddies around her at bay with her sister's chucks. And Jem, lids down, the retractable blades in his tonfas out, slick and dripping red. His heart clenched and anger stirred within him.

Amidst the horde of evildoers, Drea was furiously bashing baddies with her sticks, left and right, in crunching splatters of gore, looking every bit an eerie mashup of both her parents as she fought her way to Alli and Jem.

And beyond that had to be the boss fight. Dude was bald, enormous and built solid. And had a hold of Scout's kusarigama chain, pulling her along with it.

Memories of being flailed about by his own weapon into walls and allies alike, flashed before his eyes. Except Scout had no protective shell to absorb the blows.

Knowing it was useless, but desperate, he cried out while running for her at full tilt. "Let go, Scout!"

To his immense shock, she did, rolling past Bossman. No way. It had to be a fluke. Her doing the smart thing, the way he never did. Because, even if she could hear, there was no way his voice would carry in this mess.

Then she stopped and turned seeking him out. Could she have heard?

Oh shell! While looking for him, she'd lost track of her own fight. And Bossman was whipping her chain around to bring the chuck back down on her. No!

He dove forward with a final burst of speed, slamming into Scout full force. As they flew, he felt the blow of her chuck land on his shell, reverberating through his whole form to the sound of shattering wood. Fortunately, a cluster of baddies were ahead to break their fall.

He immediately spun around, pushing Scout behind him as Bossman approached, cracking his knuckles.

Ping. Ping.

Two bullets struck the side of Bossman's head in rapid succession. And ricocheted off. That couldn't be good.

Bossman's attention redirected to where Denim stood, just inside an entrance. Her pistol still leveled at him, her face was a mask of shock. To her credit, that was not an easy shot to make with the accuracy of a handgun.

Bossman snagged one of his own people, yanking a gun from the guy as though tearing apart a rag doll. Mikey's stomach dropped out as he trained it on Denim, who was already moving to dodge but wasn't likely to make it to cover before he got a bead on her.

Pulling a small, oval ball from his emergency prank pocket, he slung it into Bossman's face where it exploded in a splat of orange goo.

Bossman temporarily lost interest in Denim as he tried, unsuccessfully to pull the super-stretchy, adhesive substance from his eyes with one hand.

Mikey zipped forward, striking the gun from his hand as he rushed to Bossman's other side, rapidly disassembling the gun to pieces in a speedy- trial run of the skill Denim had taught him.

Once he'd gotten passed, he and Scout could flank...

A meaty hand clamped down in the top lip of his shell.

Uh oh.