Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer rights apply.

Warning:Updates will most definitely be slow. Sorry, guys.
This contains SLASH, in other words: same sex couples. It also contains drug use, violence, sexual situations, and MAY contain a(n OC) death. This story is marked for mature readers only, please treat it as such.

Pairings: Will be sporadic, and a surprise. I'm not ruining the story by telling you end pairings.

Beta'd By: Sarah2437 (Thank you for your hard work!)

Getting Back Together Again
The Past VI - Speed or How Spot Became Patient

Bam: Age 12
Sean: Age 13
Slingshot: Age 14
Stealth: Age 15
Speed: Age 17
Hunter: Age 17

Seth's roommate was spending the next few days under surveillance at the hospital, thanks to Sean Conlon, a kid who had spent one day in school before getting expelled and becoming wanted by the police. Despite the oddness of the whole situation Speed found that he enjoyed it; it'd been ages since he had a room to himself.

He had spent the last twenty minutes arguing with himself about the pros and cons of smoking in the room before finally deciding that he probably shouldn't risk it. It was nearing midnight, and while most of the dorm was asleep, that didn't guarantee that the smell wouldn't linger until morning.

So, reluctantly, he padded through the dorm hallways and went outside, not even bothering to put his shoes on.

He needed to figure out who those guys were. Did someone send them for him? Or was it just a coincidence? He couldn't afford to take risks. If his cover was about to get blown then he needed to make sure that he was gone first, especially without Tom here to watch his back.

Seth lit up his cigarette and took a drag. He should leave, even if those guys hadn't come here for him. He'd gotten by so far by being cautious, and he couldn't afford not to be, especially if he wanted to keep in the same area.

The problem was he didn't know any other boarding schools in Brooklyn, and even if he came across one it would be hard to get accepted this late in the year. But if he couldn't get into a boarding school then he would have to start renting an apartment. And if he started living in an apartment it would become absurdly hard to convince his cousin that he couldn't move in.

Seth had always had a hard time saying 'no' to the brat, especially when it came to his care. He had been using boarding school as an excuse as to why Derek had to keep living with his legal guardians, but if Seth suddenly moved into an apartment he had no doubt the complaints and whinings would pop right back up.

On the other hand, if he ended up staying here and those guys really were looking for him …

Seth frowned as his musings hit a roadblock. He didn't know what would happen to him, but guys that had no problem fighting cops while shouting at each other were people that he definitely didn't want to get involved in.

"There you are!" a familiar voice called out before Seth heard something fall from behind him.

Seth quickly looked back, jumping up from where he had been sitting on the bench as soon as he recognized the kid from earlier.

"You don't have to get up!" The kid said, putting his hands up in surrender as he walked around the bench. "I actually fell from a rooftop earlier today, so if we could sit down and talk that'd be really great," he said, sitting down without an invitation and gently putting his left foot out in front of him. "I think I twisted my fucking ankle," he explained, jerking his head toward it.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing back here?" Seth snapped, quickly looking around for people who might recognize them despite the fact that no one was out during the late hour. "You're going to get the cops out here all over again."

"Duh," Bam replied, rolling his eyes as he leaned back against the bench. "That's why they made me wait until dark to come get you."

" 'They'? Get me to go where?" Seth asked, quickly looking around before heading back towards the door to the dormitories. "Look, I don't know who you guys are or what you want, but I'm not interested, okay? I won't tell anyone you were here, but I don't wanna be involved either, alright?"

Seth was quickly halted by a strong hand on his shoulder. He flung his hand out as he turned around, hoping to hit the other boy in the face. The other boy dodged and Seth froze when he realized he was looking into the face of a second boy, one he hadn't seen before.

"You've already been chosen."

"Stealth, Jesus, don't freak him out," a third boy interrupted, one he did recognize from that afternoon.

"It's against school policy to be on grounds if you aren't attending school here," Seth said. "Leave now, and I won't alert security."

The first boy, Bam, cocked out a hip as he crossed his arms. "Does it seem like we give a damn about school policy to you?"

"Bam, fuck, not you, too," the third boy said before turning to Seth. "Look, we're not trying to intimidate you." He shot a dark look to the other two boys. "Despite what it may seem."

"Stealth's the one being creepy," Bam said, his arms still crossed as he sat back down on the bench. "I've been nice, god damn it."

"You're scaring him," the third boy snapped before looking back at Seth. "We're civil guys, I promise. Speed, right? I'm Slingshot," he said holding out his hand.

That had the opposite effect of calming Seth down. His eyes widened as he quickly looked around him. "How'd you know that? Fuck. Fuck! Who told you? I'm not- Fuck!"

And then he was gone, zipping through the parking lot in a dead sprint.

"Nice going, Slingshot," Bam snapped. "This'll never be a successful mission if you scare off the target."

"It won't be a successful mission if you keep falling off fucking rooftops, either," Slingshot replied before turning to Stealth. "Any idea where he'd go?"

Stealth just shrugged.

THE PAST

"You've got control issues, huh?" Hunter asked as he was dragged along on yet another run to the school. "I thought you were running a democracy, and I'm pretty sure the vote of whether or not you would go came out to be negative."

"You've gotta learn to shut the fuck up if you don't want to end up dead by the time I'm done with you," Spot replied as he leaped across an alley and landed on another rooftop.

"And even if the vote had been in your favor, I don't remember anyone voting for me to come along," Hunter continued, ignoring Spot's comments. "This is a bunch of useless shit anyway. Speed's never going to agree to join whatever fucked up group this is supposed to be."

"You've gotta be one of the most fucking annoying people I've ever fucking met," Spot said, grabbing Hunter's arm and pulling him along. "You're also slow as shit, so hurry the fuck up."

"This isn't what I signed up for!" Hunter burst out, trying and failing to pull his arm out of Spot's grip.

Spot yanked him back, tripping him with his foot and sending him to the ground. He quickly put a boot on his chest, effectively pinning him in place. "You didn't sign up for anything," he growled out. "And you certainly aren't here to fucking contribute anything. You're here because I knew you couldn't be trusted to be left alone."

"So, tell me, how long have you been having these sorts of trust issues?"

Spot growled before slamming his foot into Hunter's chest. "Get the fuck up and let's go," he demanded, taking a few steps back and watching Hunter wheeze as he stayed on the ground.

It took a full minute for Hunter to get his breath back. "You're a sadistic motherfucker," he said, still breathing heavy.

"I'm a sadistic motherfucker who is on a time schedule, so get off your fucking ass and let's go before I knock more than just the breath out of you," Spot demanded as he glared.

"I don't understand why you're so insistent on this working out," Hunter said, still lying on his back. "I've worked with Speed before; he makes way too much fucking money to be dicking around with your ass."

Spot kicked him in the side of his ribs. "Get the fuck up and stop thinking about my ass."

"Don't be disgusting," Hunter said as he rolled on his side and finally forced himself up. "I wasn't thinking about it in the gay way. Jesus. Pipsqueak's aren't my type. And neither are dicks, both in the literal and figurative sense."

"Just get fucking moving. You're going to make us fucking late."

"Late for what, exactly? I was under the impression you weren't going to be involved in this after you royally fucked it up the first time," Hunter replied, following behind Spot despite his words.

"I'm going to fix it after they fuck it up," Spot explained, starting to look around as they approached the school.

"You have some major trust issues," Hunter muttered loud enough for Spot to hear.

"Yeah, so you've said," Spot replied, rolling his eyes. "It's not an issue if I'm always right." He frowned when he finally saw a group of people on the ground. He didn't bother warning Hunter before grabbing his arm and forcing him off the roof onto a nearby dumpster. Hunter landed straight on his back. "Nice landing," Spot snorted before quickly following after him.

Hunter slowly picked himself up, wincing at the effort. "How the hell am I supposed to have any type of graceful landing if you're shoving me off the god damn roof?"

"Hey! Asshole!" Bam's voice interrupted in a harsh whisper. "Shut the fuck up, will ya? We're trying to be inconspicuous here, ya dumb fuck."

"What the fuck are you guys doing?"Spot asked as he surveyed the scene. Slingshot was sitting on Speed's chest, holding his hands on each side of his head while Slingshot's nose dripped blood down onto Speed's chest. Bam stood a few feet away, holding a baseball bat and bleeding from a cut right above his eyebrow. Stealth was nowhere to be found. He looked between the two boys before frowning. "I don't remember rape being part of the plan."

Speed immediately started trying to get out of Slingshot's hold. "Woah! Wait! What! Secur-!" he yelled out before the other boy put a hand up to his mouth.

"Stop fucking squirming or I'll be doing something a lot worse than just raping you," Slingshot snapped at him in a harsh whisper.

"What the fuck's worse than rape?" Hunter asked as he walked over to the two of them and looked down at Speed. "Speed? Alex. We've done some work together before, though, seeing as though your job's already done before I get to it, you may not remember me. I'd shake your hand, but you seem … um ... " he looked up and down Speed's body and up to Slingshot who was still sitting on him. "... otherwise occupied, shall we say?"

"Shut the fuck up already," Spot demanded, pushing him away and looking down at Slingshot. "I'm more interested in why he's …" He shot a look over to Hunter before growling out, "... otherwise occupied."

"Things may have gotten a bit out of hand," Bam broke in.

"Fucking obviously," Spot replied, looking down at Speed. "I'm asking how it fucking happened."

"The subject may have gotten a bit spooked and yelled out for security," Slingshot admitted quietly from his position on top of Speed.

"Stealth led them off," Bam finished quickly.

Spot rolled his eyes. "Why the fuck are you on top of him, Sling?"

"The subject may have become uncooperative," Slingshot muttered just loud enough for Spot to hear.

"He wasn't cooperating, so you decided that holding him down and threatening to rape him would make him come to our side?" Spot asked slowly.

"It worked on Bam!" Slingshot replied quickly.

"Yeah, it worked on-" Bam started before snapping his head in Slingshot's direction. "What the fuck? That's not what happened at all, you fucking assfuck!"

"Where did the raping thing even come from?" Speed asked when he finally squirmed enough to move Slingshot's hand from his mouth. "I thought you guys wanted me to steal a car."

"It's not just one car, my friend," Hunter said, rubbing his hands together. "It's several. A day. For the rest of your life, for we are your captors now, and you will never be able to-"

"What the fuck are you even talking about?" Spot demanded, kicking Hunter in the back. "Shut the fuck up, you idiot," he said before looking towards Speed and Slingshot. "I need a driver. Full time position. You can do whatever the hell you want when I don't need you."

"I decline," Speed replied quickly.

"Ha! Fucking told you he wouldn't do it," Hunter burst out. "You guys are fucking amateurs compared to us."

"I don't even know who the fuck you are," Speed said, tilting his head up a bit from the ground to get a better look at him. "But now that I know you've sold me down the fucking river I'm certainly going to fucking remember."

"Slingshot, get off him," Spot said, turning his back on him as he started walking down the street. "I'm going the fuck home. Two failures in one night is enough for me."

"Also knew I'd have to publish more fake fucking documents," Hunter grumbled as he followed behind.

"So … we're really giving up?" Bam asked, his voice quiet.

THE PAST

"Of course we aren't giving up," Spot said as soon as they had gotten home. He started pacing the living room. "But we certainly weren't going to convince him of shit when he was afraid of being fucking raped, Slingshot," he snapped, turning to face his second in command.

"For the thousandth time, I wasn't going to fucking rape him! I just needed to stop him from running away," Slingshot replied, glaring right back at his boss.

"Certainly looked like you were trying to rape him," Hunter grunted from his normal place at the kitchen table.

"Raping wasn't even on the table until Spot mentioned it!" Slingshot yelled back, raising himself up from the couch he had been sitting on.

Spot pinched the bridge of his nose as he loudly breathed out. "We're not doing this stupid shit all over again." He shot a look at Stealth. "If we had avoided this shit the last time we were discussing it we wouldn't have failed the last time."

"The same could be said about the first time we had this discussion," Slingshot pointed out, hastily adding a, "sir," as soon as he caught Spot's glare.

"The point is," Spot ground out, looking from Hunter to Slingshot to Bam, "no more fucking arguing. If you have something fucking important to say then say it, if you don't, then shut the god damn hell up."

"I think-"

Spot quickly reached down, picking up a discarded shoe from the ground and hurling it at Hunter's head. "That means you don't fucking talk at all, got it, peasant?"

Hunter looked around him as he rubbed his head. "So, do I talk to answer that question, oorr …"

"Jesus! Shut the fuck up already!" Bam demanded from across the room. "Can we vote for cutting his god damn tongue out?"

"Just ignore him, for god's sake, Bam," Slingshot reprimanded from where he was reseated on the couch. "Yelling at that imbecile isn't going to do any good."

"I don't think anyone in this fucking place has the right to call me an imbecile, seeing as none of you have graduated high school," Hunter replied, crossing his arms and lifting his chin in the air.

"You haven't graduated high school either, you fucking asshole!"

"Bam! I told you, stop fucking encouraging him!"

"I'm going for a walk before I kill everyone in here," Spot said to Stealth over the yelling. "Fix this fucking shit," he demanded before strolling out, grumbling, " Fuck this stupid fucking democracy shit," before slamming the door behind him.

Slingshot immediately rounded onto Stealth. "Does that mean he left you in charge? I'm second in command! This completely disrespects my authority!"

"What authority?" Bam asked.

Hunter wasted no time in joining the fray. "How the fuck can some retard that can't talk be in charge?"

Stealth just stared.

THE PAST

Spot rolled off his back on the roof he had been lying back on as soon as he heard the gymnasium door open and close. He quickly and quietly jumped onto the grass below as soon as he saw it was Speed.

"So what do you want?" he asked abruptly, causing Speed to jump into the air and whirl around to face him.

"What the hell, man?" Speed asked, clutching at his chest. He looked around wildly and took several steps back as soon as he recognized the other boy. "What are you doing back here? I thought you said you gave up!"

"Yeah, for the night," Spot replied. "You're a hot commodity, you see," he explained, walking towards him. "I need you."

Speed's eyes widened as he took a step back for Spot's every step forward, keeping the distance between them. "Look, I really don't want to have sex with you, okay? And … and statutory rape is a felony … sometimes. I'm sure a violent statutory rape would be. And ours would be because … you know … I'd struggle."

Spot had stopped walking towards him, instead deciding to stand with his arms crossed as Speed got farther away. "I don't know why you're so fucking worried about everyone fucking raping you; you aren't even fucking good looking."

"What the fuck?" Speed asked, glaring at Spot as he abruptly stopped walking. "I'll have you know that I'm gorgeous. I get compliments all the time!"

"You're tall and bony."

"I'm a runner. You're short and scrawny," Speed declared, pointing at Spot. "I could crush you with my foot."

Spot frowned, looking down at the other boy's feet. "You probably fucking could because you have fucking Big Foot feet."

Speed looked down at his feet, too, matching Spot's frown. "Do not," he muttered before looking at the other boy's feet. "My feet are normal; you're just comparing them to your baby feet."

Spot rolled his eyes before taking a few quick steps toward him, leaving them a few feet apart. "Yeah, whatever. I don't give a fuck. My baby feet could still kick your bony ass," he said quickly. "I'm not here to have asinine arguments with you. I'm here to negotiate."

"Negotiate?" Speed asked, raising his eyebrows. "Negotiate for what? I don't even know what you psychos want."

"Your fucking services," Spot snapped. "I already told you that."

"See, and now we're back to the sex thing," Speed replied with a smirk.

Spot pinched the bridge of his nose. "I swear I will snap your fucking ribs in half," he muttered too low to be heard. "I can give you three meals a day, a roof over your head, and protection. In exchange you drive me where I need you to and when I need you to. Do whatever the hell you want in your off time. So, get your shit and let's go," he told him, jerking his head at the school gates.

Speed blinked before squinting at him. "I get all that here, and I don't have to drive any snot-nosed kids around. How are you offering me a good deal?"

"Because you don't have to pay for any of the shit, and my protection has no borders."

Speed let out a breathless laugh. "Are you for real? That's pompous as fuck. Not that I'd expect much more from a nine year old.

"I'm fucking thirteen, douchebag," Spot snapped, crossing his arms. "And if you insult me one more fucking time I'm going to ram one of your big fatass feet into one of your big, fatass nostrils," he threatened through clenched teeth.

Speed's eyes widened as he took several steps back again. "Like I told your friends, man, you guys aren't even allowed to be here, and it's fucking daylight right now. Any minute a guard's going to be coming around that corner."

Spot forced himself to breath out in an effort to calm himself. Threats were so much fucking easier than negotiations. "So what do you want then? What do you want that you can't get here?"

"I want you to leave me the fuck alone," Speed declared, looking behind him when he heard the gymnasium door open. When he turned back around Spot was gone.

THE PAST

"The Hulk could take down Batman and Superman," Bam declared loudly. "The guy's

impenetrable! And super strong!"

"Superman's impenetrable and super strong," Slingshot pointed out.

"Batman's fucking rich!" Hunter argued. "He can buy whatever the fuck he wants! Definitely the tools to be able to take The Hulk and Superman down! Probably at the same fucking time!"

Spot walked through the front door in the middle of their argument, looking right at Stealth and raising an eyebrow at him. "I take it they didn't listen to you?"

Stealth just shrugged.

"Alright, you idiots, listen up," Spot declared in a loud voice, effectively cutting off the super hero argument. "Fuck that democracy shit; I've got a plan. And you're all going to follow it perfectly to the god damn letter or I am going to hang you off our god damn roof by your fucking shoe strings, got me?"

Spot began to pace as he received nods from the other boys. "We're going to bombard him. Everyone has a fucking price, and we're going to find out his," he said.

"This is a super villain talk, isn't it?" Hunter muttered from the table as he rested his chin in his hand.

Bam and Slingshot both shot him glares, but didn't dare speak over Spot.

"Don't offer him anything. We just need intel right now. I want a man on him twenty-four/seven, and I want you talking to him every single fucking second he's alone. Any inkling that he gave you something we can use to manipulate or threaten him with I wanna hear about it immediately."

Stealth looked around the room, smirking at his king as soon as they made eye contact.

"Bam, you're up," Spot said, jerking his head towards the door. "I needed you out that door twenty minutes before I stepped into it. Report any movements or suspicious activity. And don't fall off any more rooftops, dummy."

Bam glared at Slingshot before flicking his gaze over to his boss. Spot smirked at him before jerking his head at the door again. Bam nodded before stepping outside and heading back to the school.

"Stealth, you've got second watch," Spot said. "You're to relieve him in four hours." He turned to look at Slingshot. "You're third shift; you're on in eight. And I'll take fourth watch."

"That's only sixteen hours, you dipshit," Hunter replied

Spot quickly strode across the room, knocking the kitchen table onto Hunter and shattering what little dishes they had left. "That's why they'll be revolving shifts," he explained before he turned and headed towards the hallway. "I'm taking a nap. Someone tie up Hunter someplace unpleasant and wake me when it's my shift."

THE PAST

Speed was having what was becoming the most tiring week in his entire life. As soon as one crazy goon left him another would pop up in his place. Spot threatened him, Bam rattled on as if they were friends, Slingshot kept offering him fast pay raises, and the other kid just stared at him like he was going to kill him or something.

And no one on this damn campus was stopping them! As soon as a security guard or student would pop up they would disappear like fucking ghosts. Speed had tried to complain and alert someone, but all he got were confused looks and offerings to book him with the school therapist. So clearly no one believed him.

Not that he would believe him, either, if he wasn't experiencing these guys himself. They were too unreal for words.

He stepped outside and lit a cigarette, wondering if he was still dealing with Slingshot or if it was Spot's turn in the rotation.

"We wearing you down yet?" Spot said from behind him.

So, it was Spot then. He was okay with that. Spot threatened him alot, but to date he hadn't done anything yet, and Speed was starting to get used to feeling like his life was in danger.

"You guys are a sadistic lot, aren't you?" Speed asked, taking a drag of his cigarette. "Though, I'll say, it's kind of nice to have some friends to shoot the shit with as I smoke."

Spot frowned at him. "You're fucking ridiculous; we aren't friends."

Speed just shrugged. "Well, whatever the fuck it is you wanna call us then. I don't care. Along with being ridiculous, I'm also fucking stubborn, so you can expect this to go on for a long time."

Spot shrugged back. "That's fine, I've got nothing else going on. You, on the other hand, have a car to pick up tonight, and I'd be a bit worried about that. You see," Spot said, sitting on the bench and putting his arm over Speed's shoulders, "as quiet as my men can be when they're someplace comfortable, you'll find they're much louder when they're in a place they aren't familiar with, such as a vacate lot down in the Bronx."

That made Speed stare. That had been a new threat, and one that scared him in whole new ways. One, he kept all his intel confidential. The only people who knew where the car was getting picked up were him and his client, which meant that-

"It's a real client," Spot answered calmly, as if reading his thoughts. "A big one, too." He plucked the cigarette from Speed's fingers and took a puff, not bothering to give it back. "So, you either take the client and hope my guys don't get a little too loud, or you don't take the client and get brushed outta the business for being a flake. So, lose-lose for you; win-win for me. I do like how that works out."

Speed frowned, not at all liking the situation. He had already been paid upfront for his gig tonight, and had already spent the money, so there was no backing out while giving a full refund. And if he performed the job, but got caught by the police then there would be no more money coming in.

Speed would be a sitting duck in prison, which is probably where he'd be sent, since he was only a few months away from becoming an adult. He'd have no money in his compensary to buy protection or favors.

And what would happen to his little cousin if no one was paying his guardians to take care of him? He'd probably go back into the system, and it'd take months for Speed to find him again once he managed to get out of prison for grand theft auto.

Speed snapped out of his thoughts to Spot leaning close to him, studying his face, his eyes narrowed. "What were you thinking about just then?"

"Huh? When? Nothing," Speed answered, his answer too quick to be believable.

"Hm," Spot answered, leaning back against the bench they were both sitting on. "Worried about going to prison? Or worried about something that'll happen out here while you're in prison?"

"Who the fuck are you?" Speed asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

Spot matched his stance. "Someone who doesn't take 'no' for an answer."

Speed looked up to the sky, sighing as he did so. "I've got a cousin I'm providing for," he answered quietly. "Those things you offered me before? Food, shelter, protection? If-if you give them to him instead, I'll ... " He cleared his throat. "If you can make that happen then I'm in."

Sean smirked as he leaned forward and stuck out his hand. "We have an accord then. I'll be sure to teach my boys to be quiet before you have to leave for work tonight."

Speed stared for a few minutes before sighing deeply. He closed his eyes as he shook Spot's hand, terrified that he was making a big mistake.

TBC

Yet another chapter showing why Bam is not combat ready. Haha.