He was going to be in so much trouble… And he knew better. Brian told him not to go out alone. Timmy always had a terrible sense of direction. He once got lost in their own building, and ended up in the sub-basement. Also turned out at one time, in the long, long ago, the building had a coal furnace….
Not now, idiot! He mentally chided himself, as he looked around. He really shouldn't have left. He shouldn't have lied. He had told Efi and Orisa that he knew how to get home, and that Brian was going to meet him at the station. And Timmy got on the train. And now he was...someplace dark.
Of course it's dark, you nitwit! Timmy chewed his lip as he looked at street signs. Yup. He knew exactly where he wasn't.
Numbani was an amazing city. It was clean, and warm, and bright. Omnics and humans lived together in relative harmony.
Of course there were always problem people. It's probably the trait that showed omnics and humans to be so alike.
And those types tended to congregate. All cities had there bad parts of town. And, naturally, Timmy found himself in one. Lost. Again. He didn't even notice until he had gotten far enough from the station to not be able to find his way back. Which wasn't far. Because he was a moron.
Around him, people less walked, and more...shuffled. They looked sad and wore dirty clothes. They looked sick, or tired, or depressed. They smelled of cigarettes and cheap alcohol. Of unwashed bodies and despair.
It wasn't just humans. Omnics too. They seemed to mostly avoid each other, one eyeing the other, as if waiting for the other to jump.
On the corner ahead of him, three women stood. Well...two women and an omnic dressed as a woman. Timmy may have been at the bottom of his class when it came to finding his way, and he wasn't particularly street smart, but he had snuck out of bed to watch the late night vids that he wasn't supposed to. He knew the...job, those women had.
Timmy paused, his hands wringing slightly as he contemplated what to do. Should he try to back track? Maybe he could ask directions? The ladies might be the kind that had a secret hidden heart of gold, or something. Maybe he should just find a place to hide and hope Brian found him?
Brian always did, afterall. No matter how lost, Brian always managed to find him. When Brian found him this time, Timmy was never going to go out alone by himself. Ever. In fact, maybe he should laock himself in his room.
Except to see Efi. Assuming she wanted to see him again after he lied to her. He just...wanted to seem more grown up. It was stupid. He didn't know why he had done it.
He was jerked into an alleyway.
"Well, well, well," a tall thin man sneered down at Timmy. He was kinda hunched over, but was tall even like that. His right arm from the elbow down seemed to be cybernetic, yet he had a peg leg? Weird. As weird as the fact he was wearing shorts and no shirt. "What do we have here?"
Timmy's eyes shot wide as he slapped his hand over his butt.
"Wait...what?" the man looked confused. "Why...why are you standing like that?"
"I..I saw in the vids...I know what guys dressed like you do…" Timmy stammered, putting his back to the wall.
"Hrr, hrr, hrr," a low laugh came from the darkness behind the first man. This new one was huge! He was amazingly tall, but also broad. His large belly hung out over his belt and had a tattooed...pig? "He has your number, Rat."
"Shut up, Mako," Rat snapped, before turning back to Timmy with a wide, crazed looking smile. "I'm afraid you might have a slight misunderstanding, mate. I'm just interested in robbing ya."
"Oh!" Timmy smiled, sagging a little with relief. "Great, 'cause I thought…."
"I know what you thought," Rat sighed, running a hand over his eyes. "Just give us your money. An your shoes."
"My shoes?" Timmy looked confused. "You only have one foot and it's too big to fit in my shoe. Let alone Mister Mako's."
"I like this kid," Mako chuckled again. When he moved forward, more into the light, Timmy could see that he had a gas mask over his face.
"Hey!" Timmy grinned, excitedly. "I know you! You're Road Hog! I've seen you on the TV vids! You're wanted, like, everywhere!"
"Hey," the Rat man frowned, his hands on his hips. "What about me?"
For a moment Timmy looked the man over while scowling. Then it came to him as he snapped his fingers. "Are you Mister Road Hog's sidekick?"
"I..what? No! I'm Junk Rat!" Junk Rat half yelled as he waved his arms over his head. "I'm the brains of our operation. And the beauty. And the things that go boom!"
"Neat!" Timmy hopped up and down slightly. "I like rockets! I made a bigone and almost blew a hole in my building's roof! And broke my wrist!"
"Really?' Junk Rat kneeled down to Timmy's height. "Gotta be careful though. Too much boom, and you end up like this!" Junk Rat held up his cybernetic hand. "I mean, it's useful for when I need to get something out of the oven and stuff, but it makes private time kinda rough, if you know what I mean?"
Timmy just grinned, little sparkles behind his eyes. "Nope!," he shrugged. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing," Road Hog interrupted, pulling Junk Rat back. "Don't worry about it."
"Oh...right," Junk Rat shrugged. "Either way, we need to rob you, and get a move on."
"Oh, yeah," Timmy nodded, pulling out his wallet. "I got...five dollars."
"No score to small!" Junk Rat held out his hand.
With a small sigh, Timmy handed over his money. "Before you go," he said. "Could you help me back to the station? I'm lost and my brother is already going to be really mad at me!"
"Uh...whatsit, now?" Junk Rat looked confused. This wasn't normally how robberies were supposed to go down. He was used to a certain amount of crying and yelling.
"Sure thing, kid," Road Hog nodded and reached out with one massive hand. Scooping up Timmy, he deposited the kid onto his shoulder as he walked out of the alley and turned down the street.
"Hey! Wait!" Junk Rat scrambled to catch up. "What the hell are you doing? We're bad guys, right?"
"Not that bad, Rat," Road Hog grunted. "Nobody's that bad."
"I...uh, alright. I guess," Junk Rat shrugged, still confused.
"Thanks Mister Road Hog! Thanks Mister Junk Rat!" Timmy waved as he ran up the steps to the station. "Have a good crime spree!"
"No problem," Road Hog waved back.
"Not too bad a kid," Junk Rat sighed. Then, after a quiet moment, he looked up at his large friend. "He's...about as old as she was when…"
"Yes," Mako Rutledge nodded as he stared at the ground. "She was ten."
"Ah...sorry mate, shouldn't have brought it up," Jamison patted Mako's arm.
"It's done," Mako took a deep breath and Road Hog turned to look at Junk Rat. "Let's look at breaking into that Overwatch museum. It probably has some useful stuff."
"I love the way you think, buddy!"