((A/N: Hey all! Guess what? I'm not dead:3 I had tons of work to do this year and have been focusing on my art instead of my fics… so sorry for making all of you loyal readers wait. I haven't actually played since perhaps December or earlier, so if anything I say in here contradicts something new just ignore it. Hopefully some of you are still interested in this dreck. ;
Disclaimer: Ari Taizen and PistolX are my COH characters, even though they're not active anymore. Kid Rocket belongs to her player, while Noelle is Raven001's character, used with permission. City of Heroes (and City of Villains) belongs to NCSoft.))

"I don't believe this," Ari groaned as the group crouched behind some foliage, watching a bridge, of all things. It was a short bridge, comparatively speaking, made of steel and built over a small river. It wasn't the bridge itself that was the problem, though- it was the masses of Skyraider guards patrolling it. They Skyraider gang was made up of retired (or discharged) military officials that had been slighted, jaded or otherwise offended in some way during their service time. All of them had the intense military combat training and were deadly in either ranged or close combat. Their most dangerous asset was something even more deadly- their ability to fly. Most Skyraiders were fitted with small, personal jetpacks. No hero was safe from them; Skyraiders had been known to pursue their quarry across countless miles until the exhausted hero was killed.

"Look, foxy," Kid Rocket snapped, "if you and Noelle hadn't sent Pistol packing, we wouldn't be in this mess! We can't teleport across it because she's not here. We can't fly, run or jump across it because they're Skyraiders and will chase us for all eternity. And we can't just go across the river because you're scared of the water!"

"I'm not scared of the stupid water, I'm scared of drowning in it!"

"Whatever! The point is the only way we'll make it through is a distraction."

"Yes, but why do I have to be the distracting part?" Ari whined, trying to weasel her way out of the job. The blonde sighed.

"I'm fast but not maneuverable enough to stay safe, and Noelle's flying is too slow."

"She didn't seem so slow when those Swarms were chasing her. How fast do you think she'll go for Skyraiders?" Ari grumbled, crossing her arms and pouting. "Besides, how the hell is my jumping the best?"

"They can't take aim properly with you hopping around like that, duh! If you stay far enough away, they can only shoot at you, right? And if you're jumping quickly, how are they supposed to aim long enough to hit you?"

"But-"

"GO!" The short tanker growled, shoving Ari out into the open. The kitsune winced as a guard swung around at the noise and alerted the others.

"Oh crap oh crap I HATE SKYRAIDERS!" The fox screeched as she leaped as high as she could, just dodging a barrage of shots. "I'm going to KILL you, Kid!" As the blaster led the group away from the bridge, Kid Rocket and Noelle jumped out of the bushes and ran for the bridge. Noelle paused, blinking, and looked over at the Skyraiders chasing Ari.

"What are you doing? Come on!" Kid yelled, skidding to a stop halfway across the bridge.

"Um, Kid?" The weather controller asked in a hesitant voice.

"What?"

"I think… I think you might have forgotten something in your plan."

"Oh? What?"

"Um… don't Skyraiders carry machine guns?" The weather controller glanced concernedly at her comrades.

The tanker's eyes widened. "Oh… oh crap. Spamming. They can just hold down the trigger, point in her general direction and probably score a hit! OH MAN!"

"Soooo… what now?"

"We gotta help, come on!" The two raced off towards the fight.

Meanwhile, Ari was leaping all over the place like a deranged grasshopper, practically shrieking her lungs out in panic as the Skyraiders did exactly what Kid predicted- spammed. Around three or four machineguns were aimed in her direction, and the kitsune didn't like the odds at all. She flung a few haphazard fireballs at the gang, taking out perhaps one Raider before being forced to leap for cover. A few bullets had already grazed her, and the Skyraiders seemed to start predicting her movements and getting closer every second. One managed to fire a bullet straight through her fuzzy left ear- much too close to her face to be comfortable.

"Oh god I'm gonna die!"

"Nu-uh! We're here to rescue you!" Noelle declared cheerfully as she and Kid came zooming in. Noelle first sent a big lightning blast over the group, and before they could properly focus on her, Kid Rocket ran into the fray and started delivering swift melee strikes before they could react. All of them turned their attention to the new arrivals, and Ari managed to climb up a tree and swallow a Health Inspiration pill, healing her minor wounds. As soon as she got her breath back, the fox was jumping from one side of the group to the other, throwing fireballs at point-blank before leaping to a safe distance. Kid would then dash in and retake the villain's attention, drawing them away from the two ranged heroines. Eventually the three managed to defeat all of their opponents, but it was a tedious fight.

As they pooled their Inspiration pills to trade for the ones they needed, Ari glared at Kid Rocket, flicking her tail agitatedly.

"Nice plan there. Make Ari into furry swiss cheese. Good idea!"

Kid smiled awkwardly. "Ummm, yeah, about that…"

"She forgot about the machineguns!" Noelle helpfully provided.

"Mmhmm. Okay, new plan- never let Kid come up with a strategy ever again."

"Shut up. It ended up okay, didn't it?"

"Did you see what happened to my ear!"

"Oh, quit your whining, you baby. You're fine."

"Hey guys, weren't we supposed to go find Pistol?" Noelle asked conversationally.

"Hey, that's right," Kid looked up. "That is why we wanted to clear the bridge, after all." She stood up and stretched, removing her goggles to wipe them of quickly. She grinned at them and started marching down the bridge, breaking into song. "C'mon you too, it's off to find the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz!"

"Don't you mean the Wicked Witch of the West?" Ari snickered.

"Mm, this is true," Kid agreed, chuckling.

"If only the bridge were yellow, then we'd be set."

"Well, we have a Scarecrow and a Toto already. Noelle's brainless and you'd make a great puppy dog!"

"Oh yeah? What does that make you then? The Tin Tanker?" Noelle shot back.

"Well I'm sure as hell not the Cowardly Lion!"

((A/N: I had way too much fun imagining them as Wizard of Oz characters. That's all I have to say. XD))