"(static)…ode Silver..."

"... (static static static)..."

"(static)...active shooter at..."

"...officer (static) down."

Dreadlocks knotted heavy against the nape of her neck, Officer Sargent found herself behind the wheel of her modified squad car, pulled over speeder let off with a hasty verbal warning.

"Oh for fuck's sake, Maggie. Quit whining!" Puck snarled.

"Oh my GAAAAAWWWWWD! Uncle Mike's even heavier than when he was a bear!" Maggie wailed, accidentally pulling off one of her uncle's big ol' cop boots, revealing a large toeless steel foot. "Why did he have to wear his steel legs today? Couldn't Mr. Stein (grunt) have waited until Saturday to upgrade his (whew!) regular ones?"

"Quit bitchin' an' pull!" Puck screamed, inwardly begging, Please, PLEASE, don't be gone for real this time, Uncle Mike! as the big cop's body, lubricated by synth ichor and Dakota's blood, slid ponderously down the hall behind them towards the front doors and their inward scatter of broken glass.

If Uncle Mike was really dead this time, where would they go? Aunt Raina'd dump them the second she found out Uncle Mike was gone… Eustice and Muriel, the elderly farm couple from back in the 1980s the LA DCFS fostered her out to after mom got busted for possession and prostitution were probably dead by now. They'd had been boring old farts, but they'd given her the home she'd needed, even if she'd resented it at the time, acting up so bad that they gave up and relinquished custody.

Please, Uncle Mike, don't be dead!

"God dammit, Mags, hurry it up. I hear sirens!" Puck snapped, the front door tauntingly just out of reach.

"But he's HEAVYYYYYYYYY!" Maggie wailed, shifting her grip on Uncle Mike. "Anyway, why are we running away? We haven't done anything wrong this time!"

"Shut UP!" Servos protested loudly in Puck's hips and lower back beneath her baggy clothing as she helped Maggie drag Mike over the threshold of the remains of the school's front door. "Mags, we gotta get the fuck outta here, and I know exactly how we're gonna do it!"

Officer Sargent and her team of first responders stepped onto school property fully expecting to encounter two active shooters.

What they found was a large, red and white smear going out the front door, down the steps, and across the street.

And a flattened suspect.

Leaving behind half of her team to secure the crime scene and keep the press out until it'd been processed, Sargent and a second officer went looking for what made that big stain on the pavement.

A raven with four eyes landed on the roof of Cleopatra de Nile's car, damaging the custom paint job. Something interesting was about to go down.

"Puck, no! That's MISTA'S truck!"

"Shut UP, Mags!"

Crash!

Sorry Mista, we need it more!

Puck stepped back as the driver's side window of Mista's lifted old truck shattered with a single blow from her fist. Shedding broken safety glass, Puck reached up, popped the lock and fumbled around inside for the door handle on the driver's side. Uncle Mike'd taught her how to start rolling wrecks like this with just a screwdriver after they escaped from Circus Baby's– Babe'girl, only take shit nobody'll miss and only if you have to—"You're under arrest."

Shit.

Some damned cop in tactical gear who should'a been doin' their job while letting Puck and the only people she loved outside of herself leave in peace, blocked her way with Maggie face down in the school parking lot being handcuffed as Uncle Mike's pale blood puddled on the pavement.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck!