FANG!

Ratchet's head snapped up. He rubbed his eyes then glanced at the clock. 4:00 AM. The mutant groaned, slamming his head back into the pillow. Last night, he had been too lazy to put on his headphones, and now he regretted it. A confused expression slipped across his face, even though it was hidden in the pillow.

The noise that woke him up echoed through his mind again. It had sounded like a voice, a scream. Ratchet sighed, then kicked his legs over the edge of the couch. Without looking, he grabbed his Ray-Bans off the side table, fluently slipping them over his eyes. He got up and headed for the door, almost walking straight into Star. They both looked at each other with surprise, Ratchet's expression hidden by his sunglasses.

"Did you hear that?" He asked. Star raised an eyebrow.

"Course' you didn't." Ratchet murmured, edging past her and walking out the door.

Ratchet made his way down the stairs to the main level. He shouldered through the revolving door, stepping out onto the sidewalk. Immediately, the mutant regretted not wearing ear protection.

There was another scream; one that made Ratchet wince. He followed the cry back to its source, dashing to the back of the apartment complex. The teen caught sight of two men standing over a young girl who was tangled in a net. Her pleading eyes met Ratchet's.

Two men stepped in front of her, causing their gaze to break. The ex-gangster was now staring at the men. They both had on sunglasses and black clothing, and expressions that were not at all friendly.

"I'm not looking for trouble ok? Just let her go," Ratchet tried to negotiate, "I won't rat you out. Just let the girl go." He put up his hands, showing that he meant no harm. The men looked at each other, then back to Ratchet, grinning. The smiles creeped him out, sending a cold shiver up his spine.

Ratchet heard the net above him before it was even thrown. The trap came down, but he sidestepped it, the mass of rope catching noting but air. Ratchet sprang. His fist connected with the closest man's jaw, sending the foe reeling.

While Ratchet was off-balance, the other man tackled him around the waist, sending both of them to the ground. The back of the mutant's head cracked against the pavement. Temporarily dazed, the mutant's attacker wasted no time. He hammered Ratchet's face with his fist once, twice, three times. When Ratchet finally got his attacker off, he realized that his glasses were no longer covering his eyes. He was trying to adjust to the light when one of the men tried to sneak up on him. Tried. Ratchet spun around, his fist flying into the man's face. The foe flew back, colliding with a dumpster.

Ratchet ran over to the girl, wiping blood off his face while he simultaneously whipped out his pocketknife. She gasped. "N-n-no, I'm a good guy, alright?" He said quickly, sawing at the net.

"You ok?" Ratchet asked, snapping two ropes. His question of concern was acknowledged with a "look out!"

One of the men swung a pipe at Ratchet's head. He heard the weapon as it whistled through the air. Fluently, he ducked, then spun around, slashing out with the knife. The blade cut a deep line across the man's chest. Ratchet's eyes widened beneath his shades.

His assailant stumbled back, but lunged forward again, barely pausing despite the life-threatening injury. That's when Ratchet realized that these men weren't normal. The ex-gangster backed up, right into the grasp of the other man. He squeezed Ratchet, pinning the teen's arms to his sides. The mutant struggled, but the grip tightened, crushing him with strength that rivaled Kate's. Ratchet let out a shout of pain. The other man came over, fist raised.

Ratchet jerked his head back, knocking it into the man's forehead. He brought his feet up and slammed them into the chest of the man who was running at him. Ratchet was able to twist out of the grip. He stumbled past the man he kicked. The man stooped down and grabbed something, yanking it sharply. Ratchet was suddenly on his back, staring up at the sky, the breath knocked out of him. He had made a stupid mistake; stepping on the net that was thrown at him in the beginning of the fight. There was no time for him to get up. The men were on top of him instantly, slamming their fists into Ratchet's already bloodied face.

Nudge reached for the knife, but it taunted her, just inches away from her fingertips. She smiled. Not like that was much of a problem. She put her palm out and drew the weapon towards her. The avian's fingers curled around the handle, and she slashed at the rope. After a few more cuts, Nudge got to her feet, unfurling her wings full-force. The remaining ropes snapped, little sections of net strewn around her feet.

"You're messing with the wrong hybrid." Nudge growled. She could hear the men on the roof as they clambered down the fire escape. She turned to it, raising her arms. The old, rusty structure shuddered, but it wasn't enough. She closed her eyes and concentrated, not on the whole structure, but the bolts that bound it to the brick. There were a few small clattering sounds as metal hit the concrete, then a groan. Nudge used her wings to propel herself back a safe distance as the fire escape came down. She clapped her hands over her ears, ducking behind a dumpster, gritting her teeth at the loud BOOM!

The noise crashed into Ratchet with the force of a semi-truck. His back arched, mouth open in a silent scream. Then, he went limp, head lolling to the side.

Nudge stared at the three people who had been crushed by the fire escape, but she figured from the metal and wires jutting out of their skin that they weren't really people at all; not even human. Robots. She turned to the remaining men, who were looming over the boy who saved her.

He looked too still on the ground, his face covered in red. The sight of it made Nudge furious. These men wanted her, not him. Her hands rose up, and she attempted to pull the bots towards her. They looked at each other and laughed. She snarled and ran towards them, and used her wings to suspend herself in the air, granting her the perfect amount of time to deliver a roundhouse kick to one of the men. The other came at her, but Nudge pressed her palm to his forehead, kicking on her magnetic ability. The man-android went rigid, twitched, then broke down, falling to the bird girl's feet. The other came at her, but Nudge just pulled the same trick. After the mandroid collapsed, she ran to the boy.

His eyes were closed. Nudge looked at him, knowing that she had seen him before, and where. She glanced around, and spotted what she was looking for. The avian got up, grabbed the sunglasses, and carefully placed them onto the teen's bruised face.

Like magic, he immediately jerked awake, letting out a fit of coughs. His eyes looked through the lenses of his Ray Bans, focusing on the girl's face. "I know you… you were in Paris," he muttered.

"I'm Nudge." She answered. "I saw you too, you're with Fang. Oh! Where is Fang? See, I came here, well flew here, to-"

Ratchet lifted up a hand. "Ok, ok, enough talk. Head hurts. Let's just go inside, I'll take you to him." The teenager winced.

"Oh, yeah o-ok," Nudge stuttered somewhat sheepishly. Her and her big mouth. She reached down to help him up.

Ratchet reached up, grasping the girls arm. She hauled him to his feet. He had to lean on her a bit to keep his balance. To his surprise, she was actually strong, despite being so young, and, well, a girl. Ratchet scolded himself mentally. Kate was a girl, and she was definitely not weak.

"I'm Ratchet." The ex-gangster said. Nudge nodded.

"Well Ratchet," She seemed to be testing out his name, "let's get back to your gang."

Fang's gang. Nudge smiled.

Well, thanks Pennycat for being the only reviewer. I was a little surprised about that. As a writer, I need my readers' input. Tell me what you want to see more of! Correct my grammar errors! I'm going to keep writing this story, but the more reviews I get, the faster the updates will come and the longer the chapters will be!