Tonberry With No Name 2

'City buses, as a rule, must be serviced by the nearest wretched hive of scum and villainy. That is seemingly everywhere except in Brockton Bay, where grants maintained by trustees to the Marquis (who is currently on a working vacation for the next xx years), kept them in clean working order. It says something when the villain cares more for city infrastructure then the heroes', Taylor thought to herself as the bus she was on came closer to Winslow High, second place winner for the hive of scum but lacked enough villainy for the first place win (it still belonged to the DMV). The bag in her lap twitched almost falling to the floor before she caught it. "Easy guys," she hurriedly whispered, "Just a few more minutes and we'll be there."

The bag became still again and Taylor sighed in relief. Taking a look around her to see if anyone saw or heard her, her eyes met the eyes of black girl a few years younger then her and those of a hansom muscular male a few years older.

"Big brother," the girl mock whispered, "That strange white girl is talking to herself and is now looking at me."

"Aisha, don't provoke the crazy white girl. The police would just claim she's eccentric and throw you in juvie," said the muscl... i mean older brother, taking hold of his younger sisters arm and moving to the other end of the bus.

Taylor was mortified, she carefully unzipped her bag and looked at it's contents. "I'm not crazy, right?" she asked. The stuffed dolls in the bag seemed to shrug as the bus hit a plot hole. "That's reassuring."

Taylor quickly made her way from the bus stop, to a side door into the school and quickly hid her bag in the teacher's lounge. "Just a few more hours guys," Taylor mumbled as she made her way to class, avoiding Them, by shear chance more then skill.

Taylor managed to avoid the attention of Them until just fifteen minutes till the lunch bell when she raised her hand and got permission to go to the bathroom. As Taylor left the class room a girl in the corner began sending a text. Taylor quickly made her way to the lounge and grabbed her bag before making her way to a third floor bathroom almost jumping at imaginary shadows that seemed to follow her.

After making sure no one was there, Taylor entered a stall and locked the door while breathing a sigh of relief. Opening her bag she took out her lunch and whispered, "Not much longer now" She took a bite of her sandwich, "Get in my belly," she giggled. Then the door banged open, voices carried over to her, THEM! 'It's okay,i'm not here, you can't see me, help,' quickly sped through her mind just before a hand snatched her bag from under the stall door. "No!" she yelled trying to open the door, but it was being held closed from the outside, as the cruel laughter grew in volume.

"What's the matter Hebert," came the voice of her ex-friend Emma. "We used to share everything, no reason I can't keep doing so now is there."

Hurry up," Sofia commanded from where she was holding the door shut (remind me to send a strongly worded letter to the contractors for their shoddy workmanship) "The bells going to ring in a minute."

A noise from above her alerted Taylor to where the button cute Maddison, leered at her with several sugar drinks in hand. "HI Taylor," she perkily piped up as she opened one of the cans. "I noticed how awful you stank this morning, like a chicken farm or something, so we're giving you a nice shower to help. Isn't that great." Then she and Emma, who had climbed the other stall, started dumping multiple juice packs onto her.

When the deluge was over Taylor looked and felt like a drowned moggle. Then along with the laughter of Them, came the sound of a zipper coming undone, sending a spike of dread into her heart. "Emma! Please don't! Leave my bag alone!" Taylor pleaded.

"Why," came the redhead's cruel voice. "What do you have in there? Merchant drugs, you seem the type."

"Oh my gosh!" came Maddison's squeaky clean voice (like a little mouse really). "Look at these! They're so cute!"

"High quality too," said Emma. "No way she could afford these."

Sofia scoffed, "Probably stolen then. Where'd you get them Hebert, your favorite John." Taylor could practically here the sneer in Sofia's voice. "You know what, I think we should confiscate these as concerned citizens. We don't want Hebert falling to a line of petty theft, the weakling would get herself killed walking down her front step at night."

"Emma, please give them back," Taylor whimpered as her eyes began to sting from the juice.

Just then the bell rang signaling the start of lunch. "Sorry Taylor, can't hear you," spoke Emma. "But don't worry, we'll give them a good home."

Then they left, after jamming the stall door shut, cackling like three hyenas terrorizing a lion cub.

Taylor remained in the stall all of lunch, when all was quite and the tears dried, a small light manifested in her hand the shape of a key. "Gotta thank Mog, for those stories of that Alice girl," she mumbled as the door popped open easily. She washed herself off of all the sticky sugar in the sink then made her way out of the school and started walking home.

She bumped into several people as she moved down the sidewalk barley paying them any mind. Half way home she stepped into the same park she had visited that morning, taking a deep breath and releasing it, a smile slowly curled up her lips. The gleam of a job well done came to her eyes.

She stood for a moment, basking in the afternoon sunlight, a smoking chocolate cigar in the corner of her mouth. "I love it when a plan comes together," she stated happily. She took five more steps before another thought hit her. "Where did the chocolate cigar come from... And how the hell is it lit!" A moment later the answer hit her. "bullshit, Tinkers!"

Several blocks away from the girl, a grey haired man leaned against a black van puffing on a cigar.

"Package was delivered," said the tall brown haired man coming down the sidewalk. "I'd seriously question our motives about accepting money from strange fedora wearing woman, but it was an easy job for quite a bit of c-note."

"Yes, and that was the easy job, Face," said the older man. "I've already lined up our next job, we just have to get Mad Dog out of the asylum... again."

"You know he only goes there for the free shock therapy, right?"

"Of course."

"Right, sure thing Hannibal" Face banged on the side of the van. "Hey B.A. you set to go?"

The side door banged open and a tall heavily muscles black man with a mo-hawk stepped out to tower over Face, "Fool, I was ready an hour ago. And don't you be puttin dents in my baby!"

"Gentlemen," Hannibal spoke calmly. "Let's continue this on the way to the meeting point."

As they left the dying city behind them, B.A. asked, "Hey boss man, what's our next job anyway?"

Hannibal answered in his usual know it all calm voice, "Just a quick supply drop in northern China near the Great Wall for an, and this is the description I was given, tall awesome muscular super hero/villain/mercenary/friend to all things Mexican food, man in the red and black suit and don't call me Shirley."

Silence.

"So, just a walk in the park then."