A Lesson to Be Learned

On that Saturday night, an MCPD squad car pulled up in front of a brownstone home. With people walking around freely, as well as oil drums blazing with fire to keep any vagrants warm, this area wasn't as bad as some of the other parts of Metro City. Some of the people walking around didn't look like ruffians or drug dealers or anything of the like.

Of course, maybe not a lot was going on in that general area.

The doors opened and out walked an African-American male cop in uniform and a Caucasian blonde female cop in uniform. They were Sean Sims and Lucia Morgan, respectively. Sean led the way while Lucia followed him.

"You sure your mom won't mind that I'm coming inside?" Lucia said.

"Shit's been slow tonight, we're on a break," Sean said. "Besides, you've met my mom. This could be a chance for you two to get to know each other a bit better."

"I just don't want her to think we're…you know," Lucia said.

"Don't sweat it, she knows we're just partners," Sean said. "Besides, she has been wanting you to come by. She said she liked you last time."

"Oh, okay," Lucia said.

Lucia and Sean had been partners for a few months by that point. Sean was the veteran of the two. Although he wasn't much older than Lucia, Sean had been on the force for a tad longer. The two were regular beat cops in uniform, but they wanted something more. They want to become part of the Special Crimes Unit, but with a lot of the presumed corruption of the Metro City Police Department, it would prove to be a difficult task.

When the two cops got to the apartment, Sean used his key to get inside. There sat a middle-aged African-American woman in front of the TV. This woman looked to be in her mid-to-late-40s. It was Evelyn Sims, Sean's mother.

Evelyn raised her son and daughter. Although her son was an adult, Sean wanted to keep an eye on both his mother and sister, especially after Sean's father, George, died when he was a teen and his sister was a little girl. So he was the man of the house.

"Hey, Mama," Sean said.

Evelyn looked up. "Oh, Sean, you're home." Evelyn looked behind her son. "Hi, Lucia."

"Hello, Mrs. Sims," Lucia said. She wanted to be formal because she figured she was not quite at first-name basis with her partner's mother, at least not yet.

"How are things going?" Sean said.

Evelyn looked away and sighed in worry. "Things are fine."

But Sean looked at his mother a certain way. Things were not fine.

"Is everything okay?" Sean said.

"I'm worried about your sister," Evelyn said.

Sean froze for a moment, like maybe he and his partner should leave soon.

"Where is she?" Sean said.

"She is in her room," Evelyn said.

Lucia had a look of confusion when she heard that. "Wait, what?"

"Then why are you worried?" Sean said.

"She's barely left her room all day, she wouldn't talk to me," Evelyn said.

Sean and Lucia looked at each other. What could possibly have been the problem here? Sean knew that his sister had a social life, but in a place like Metro City, going out at night probably wasn't the best choice. It didn't mean she couldn't do something in the day, though. However, Sean's mother noted that his sister hadn't left her room.

"I should go talk to her," Sean said.

"I tried to do the same earlier, but she wouldn't tell me anything," Evelyn said.

Lucia cut in. "Vanessa is a teenager. I had a hard time telling my parents stuff when I was younger."

Evelyn looked at her son's partner and nodded her head. It wasn't unheard of for teens, be it boy or girl, to be reluctant in turning to their parents for advice or to talk about what had been bothering them.

Sean and Lucia, along with Evelyn behind them, approached a door. Sean knocked on the door.

"Go away!" A girl's voice said.

"Vanessa, it's Sean, please let me come in."

"I got nothing to say," Vanessa said.

"Mama said you haven't left your room all day," Sean said. "We need to talk."

No response. Dead silence plagued the air while Sean stood there with his partner and his mother. Sean knocked a few more times.

"Come on, let me in."

"The door is not locked, come in."

The door opened. Sean saw his own sister sit on her bed, sitting there with her knees to her chest and looking down. Deep in thought, so much on her mind, that was what Sean suspected.

"What's wrong, sis?"

Inside her room, Vanessa sat on her bed with decorations on her walls ranging from posters of R&B groups such as New Edition and Guy to solo singers like Keith Sweat and Bobby Brown. She also had posters of rap groups such as Salt-N-Pepa, J.J. Fad, and L'Trimm.

Vanessa looked up and saw her own brother, along with his female partner, and her mother near the door way. This was not going to be easy, but after what she had gone through the night before, she had a hard time leaving her room, let alone her home.

She had heard the telephone ring and her mom answered. Who could have called? Celeste, her best friend? Or Kyle, her boyfriend?

Through her very eyes, her brother Sean had a look of worry on his face. He had heard her brother ask what was wrong.

"Nothing," she said.

Sean sat at the corner of Vanessa's bed and stared directly towards his sister's blue eyes.

"Don't bullshit me, Vanessa," Sean said.

"Sean, language!" Evelyn said.

Sean signaled to his mother. "What's really going on with you?"

Vanessa knew she wasn't going to get out of this. Her brother had dealt with criminals on a daily basis and Sean would know when someone is lying. She knew she didn't want to tell anybody about what happened the night before. While that one incident in the Industrial Area was bad involving those gang members executing that one criminal like that, she was at a distance from what happened. What happened the night before, she was front and center. She was so scared that those thugs were going to kill her boyfriend and his friend. Even worse, she wondered what could have happened to her and Celeste.

The teenage girl looked away, right in front of her. Through her peripherals, she saw her mother and Sean's partner, Lucia, looking at her with some concern. Vanessa had talked to Lucia before. She never suspected anything went on between her brother and Lucia as their relationship was mostly professional, but with Sean bringing Lucia around at times, she saw that their partnership crossed the personal boundary but it was platonic.

Vanessa inhaled and then exhaled. "Last night, I went out with Kyle, and also Paco and Celeste. We were in the 12th Street station. This clown came up to us with three thugs. The clown was really creepy and the other guys looked really mean and scary."

She paused and took another deep breath. Sean had a look of suspicion the moment Vanessa mentioned the name Kyle.

"The clown and what looked like his main assistant or something, they started beating up Kyle and Paco while…," Vanessa's voice cracked a bit. "The other guys held me and Celeste."

Sean glared while Lucia and Evelyn had looks of shock on their faces.

"What did those other guys look like?" Lucia said.

Sean held his hand out in a position saying, "Please, not now." He then turned his attention back to his sister. "Did they hurt you?"

"No, because this guy and girl ran in and beat them up," Vanessa said.

Suddenly, Sean's eyes widened at what he just heard. The same thing happened with Lucia. It was great that two people came to the teenagers' aid, but who were they?

"What did these people look like?" Sean said.

"Things happened so fast that we just went on the train as soon as they came, but I saw them through the window," Vanessa said. "They looked Asian but they had these crazy ninja moves."

"Do you remember what they wore, or anything?" Sean said.

"All I remember seeing is they both wore red and orange," Vanessa said. "The girl had long blonde hair."

"What about the guy?" Sean said.

"All I remember is that he had a serious look on his face," Vanessa said. "The look he gave Kyle, it was sort of intimidating."

Right then, Sean glared when he heard Kyle's name. In his eyes, that boy was trouble. Sean turned around and looked down. Lucia looked at her partner. Evelyn looked at her son.

"I should have known," Sean said in an angry tone.

"Bro, no, please!" Vanessa said.

"Shut up! That boy is trouble!" Sean said. "I don't want you hanging out with him."

"Sean, please," Evelyn said.

"Calm down," Lucia said.

"You two are taking her side? Are you fucking kidding me?" Sean said.

Sean was shocked to hear his mother try to intervene about who Vanessa was hanging out with.

A tear started to come out of Vanessa's eye. She knew what her brother felt about her boyfriend. Although the two hadn't actually spoken, Sean had heard his share of stories about what his sister and her boyfriend had gone through.

"Kyle tried to protect me!" Vanessa yelled.

Suddenly, the entire room went silent. Sean, Lucia, and Evelyn turned their attentions to Vanessa.

"What did you just say?" Sean said.

"I said Kyle tried to protect me," Vanessa said.

"Well he didn't do a good job with all the shit you went through," Sean said.

Now he was just being mean about it. It was one thing to be a protective older brother, but the way Sean said it, it sounded condescending, like he had no trust in that boy. Sean knew that Vanessa was getting into boys, maybe "bad boys" at that.

"Sean, let your sister finish," Evelyn said.

"I'm telling you, Kyle tried to protect me from those guys," Vanessa said. "Paco tried to protect Celeste, too."

"Yeah, but he still got you into all that shit," Sean said.

"Sean, I need to talk to you," Evelyn said.

Lucia cut in. "Let me talk to her."

"She is my sister!" Sean said.

Evelyn cut in as well. "And I am your mother, and I say we need to talk alone, boy!"

Sean left his sister's room as he followed his mom. The door shut. The only people left in the room were Vanessa and Lucia. Vanessa had spoken to her brother's partner before. Vanessa had heard that this woman could hold her own if things got violent. Lucia looked to be in a good shape with her being tall and was also lean with muscle.

"Okay, Vanessa, it's just us girls now," Lucia said. "Can you tell me anything else?"

"I don't want you or my brother to arrest Kyle or those other people," Vanessa said.

"Relax, it's okay," Lucia said. "I don't want to arrest anybody, at least not someone who did the right thing."

Deep down, Vanessa felt weird because in reality, Kyle instigated the fight with that clown. She knew that Kyle sometimes tried to start fights. What happened the previous night was no exception, but at least she knew Kyle tried to protect her whether or not he started that fight. She didn't want to throw him under the bus, nor did she want to throw those other people under the bus.

Lucia continued, "You said that those people who saved you wore red and orange. You said the girl had blonde hair, right?"

Vanessa nodded. "The man gave Kyle a look, but he said the guy was friends with his brother."

Lucia had an idea on who Vanessa was talking about. This whole thing about vigilante justice being dispensed had gotten her thinking. If her captain wasn't doing anything about the crime wave that had been going on for months, then maybe citizens of Metro City needed to take a stand one way or another against Mad Gear.

It then hit Lucia about the power and hierarchy that Mad Gear had. Who was the top boss? Was there an underboss, a capo, and were some other members just lieutenants and the rest were just underlings and soldiers? Having witnessed some other members in various parts of the city, even off her beat, some just felt like muscle/enforcers, while few others handled the "wet work." It wasn't like Mad Gear was one big organization as they had other gangs allied with them.

"I think I might know who you're talking about," Lucia said.

"Those people saved me and my friends," Vanessa said. "Please don't arrest them."

"I won't arrest them," Lucia said. "And another thing, is it true that Kyle tried to protect you?"

Vanessa nodded again. "The same thing with my other friends. My friend Paco tried to protect my friend, Celeste, his girlfriend. The guys really tried to protect us."

Lucia saw right through Vanessa's eyes and heard it in her voice about how she felt about her boyfriend. Because Lucia knew who Kyle was related to, she saw that her friend Cody was like that with his girlfriend, Jessica, especially when they were in high school. This must run in the family.

"You really like Kyle, don't you?"

"I do, I really do. I don't want to stop seeing him."

"You won't stop seeing him. I know him, too."

"You do?"

"Yeah, I know him. I know his brother. Me and Kyle's brother go way back."

"Did you two…date?" Vanessa said with unease in her voice.

"Oh, no, no, it was never like that with us," Lucia said. "Cody and I are just good friends. Besides, he has a girlfriend already."

"I hear he is with the mayor's daughter," Vanessa said.

"Have you met him before?" Lucia said.

"I have seen him, but Kyle hasn't introduced us yet," Vanessa said. "He says that Cody is always on him about stuff."

Lucia nodded her head at that comment. "Well, you should talk to Kyle about bringing you around. If he protected you, he must really care about you and he should try to bring you around his family, too."

Vanessa nodded her head at that comment.

However, Lucia started to think about what Vanessa had said about the two people who saved the group of teens. In no way did she want to arrest them, but with people dispensing vigilante justice, it made her question what the Metro City Police Department was doing with the crime element.

In the living room, Evelyn stood before her son, who had a glare on his face after his sister mentioned a boy he did not approve of.

"Sean, why did you act like that?" Evelyn said.

"Because I know Vanessa is growing up," Sean said. "I have heard what she and that boy have done."

"Wait, have they…?" Evelyn said.

What? No!" Sean said. "At least I hope not." He then thought to himself, if they did, I will kill him!

"Then what are you talking about?" Evelyn said.

"I heard they ditched school a few times," Sean said. "With Mad Gear running the streets, I'm afraid that boy will get Vanessa into trouble."

While Evelyn wasn't thrilled to hear that her daughter skipped school, she figured her son had a point. However, there was something she needed to say.

"Listen, Sean, maybe you should actually meet the boy before you judge him," Evelyn said. "I've actually met Kyle a few times. He's a good boy. I know he might get into trouble sometimes, but I can see that he and Vanessa really like each other. So maybe you should talk to him."

Sean sighed. He knew his mother had a point. It was true. He hadn't sat down to have a talk with the boy that his little sister was dating. When he and his partner found that boy's older brother ready to get jumped, he figured that things ran in the family. Maybe it was time to put his issues aside and see for himself about the boy.

It was now the following Monday. Kyle and his friend Lou walked through the school hallway. Kyle told Lou about what had happened a few nights prior. As they walked, there stood Celeste and Paco, much to Kyle's surprise.

"Hey, guys," Kyle said. "Have you seen Vanessa?"

"No, I haven't," Celeste said. "I talked to her yesterday. She's still shaken about what happened. She needed a little more time off."

"I'm surprised you showed up," Kyle said and looked to Paco. "And you, too."

"Hey, I was scared, too, but I got over it," Celeste said. "I don't know how, but I did."

Kyle looked down. "I feel like this was my fault."

The three of Kyle's friends looked at him.

"Why would you think that?" Paco said.

"Because I started that shit with that fucking clown," Kyle said. "I should have known better."

Paco, Celeste, and Lou looked down as well.

"Don't worry about it," Celeste said and touched Kyle's shoulder. "You know Vanessa really likes you. She wouldn't hold this against you."

"I wonder what that girl sees in you, though, or what you see in her." A voice was heard from behind Kyle. Paco, Celeste, and Lou looked behind Kyle and there stood a boy who was taller and more muscular. While Kyle was in decent shape, this boy looked like he was on the Metro High football team. This guy was named Vito Bracca.

Vito had three other boys with him. One was Devin Aranoc, who was African-American and for some reason was called "Stiff," but was muscular as well. Another was Vito's cousin, Dino, who had longer hair and liked to be called "Blades." Finally, there was Nicholas Wissell, who was called "Weasel," a scrawny guy who hung out with them. Kyle, Paco, and Lou, along with Vanessa and Celeste, had dealt with these four guys before.

"Fuck off, Vito," Kyle said. "I got no time for you right now."

As Kyle was about to walk away, Vito said, "Why? Because someone like her can't see you for the pussy you are."

In this type of situation, Kyle would just fight him right then and there, but this was different.

"Like I said, I don't have time for this," Kyle said.

"Yeah, and rumor has it that you got your ass kicked by a clown," Vito said.

Kyle turned around and glared at Vito with so much hate in his eyes. His friends put their hands in front of him.

Paco leaned in towards Kyle and whispered, "He's trying to get you to fight him. Don't waste your time on an asshole like him."

Kyle took a deep breath. After what happened a few nights ago, he needed to control himself when getting into fights, even when someone tried to get under his skin.

I'll get you one day, Vito, but not now. Kyle thought.

Later that day at Guy's dojo, Guy and Maki trained their Bushin art. Carlos dropped by. He had the day off from being a bodyguard for the mayor. Carlos had his katana with him sheathed. He often carried it with him.

Maki looked over. "Well…look who decided to show up."

"Just wanted to train, that's all," Carlos said.

Guy walked to the side where his girlfriend Rena was. She had just ended her shift at the restaurant.

"I'm going to take a little break right now," Guy said.

Maki scoffed. "Not me, I'm just getting warmed up." She looked at Carlos. "Ready to show me what you're made of."

Maki then winked at Carlos, who then smiled at that remark. Carlos put on some padded gloves.

"Let's go," he said.

The two bowed before each other as a matter of respect. Maki threw the first attack which caused Carlos to dodge it. Although Maki was a bit tall, she was still smaller as Carlos was fit enough to be muscular, which gave her a speed advantage. However, Carlos had trained in his styles for years, which was why he had quick reflexes and knew how to evade attacks.

Carlos threw a few attacks of his own but didn't want them to land. He didn't want to hurt her, much less ruin Maki's pretty face. But because this was a friendly sparring session, the two martial artists knew what they were doing.

"You're good," Maki said.

"Thanks," Carlos said. "You're not so bad yourself."

"Well, I train as hard as I could, because I know I will become the 39th Bushin master," Maki said and turned towards Guy. "Isn't that right?"

All Guy did when he sat there with Rena was roll his eyes and just nod to appease his friend and rival in this.

Maki and Guy, despite having history with one another, had been vying for the next ranking of being a Bushin master. Maki's father, Hideo Genryusai, was a master of Bushinryu Ninjutsu and had taught the two the style. After a while, the mentorship was passed down to their current master, Zeku.

Carlos nodded his head at what Maki said. "How good are you with weapons?"

"Well, you've seen how I work my tonfa," Maki said. "I know a few tricks with nunchaku, the bo, among other things. I see you got that katana. Maybe next time you could show me your moves with it. What do you say?"

"If you think you're so good, you're on," Carlos said with a smile, which caused Maki to smile back at him.

Rena looked at the two while they sparred again as Guy sat next to her.

"Aren't you going back to training?" Rena said.

"In a little bit," Guy said. "I need to focus."

"My sister always feels like she has something to prove," Rena said.

"Your sister is a good fighter," Guy said.

"I know, but she needs to also see that there may be someone better," Rena said.

Guy knew his girlfriend had a point. As calm and reserved as Guy was, he also saw that he didn't have much to prove. He may be passionate about learning more about the Bushin style, but he's not one to show off or feel like he is better than anyone. He knew that Maki was good, but sometimes she could be a little cocky.

Rena saw how Carlos and Maki were training and getting along out there. The two had just met, but to her, it seemed like more than just a friendly sparring session.

"Do you see what I see?" Rena said.

"What is that?" Guy said.

"Come on, you don't see it?" Rena said and shifted her eyes towards Carlos and Maki on the mat.

Guy saw it. He knew what Rena meant, but he didn't want to answer her question. All Guy could say was…

"They train well together."

Rena chuckled at that remark and smiled at Guy as she put her arm around him.

It was now evening. Cody had left Tom's Gym. He had started a little later that day than his usual shift. It often depended when he was needed to open or to come in to do his personal training.

This time, he left in the evening. It was time to go home to Jessica and Kyle.

But at the moment, all he thought about was what he could do for the next fight night. Who was his opponent going to be? Should he go to the Surf Bar to see if he could take to anybody involved? Or should he call them?

In the meantime, he could train some more for the next fight. Maybe he could talk to Guy about getting in on this, and maybe Maki if there was a women's division. It's possible that they had ladies fighting at those events.

Cody was about to walk. It would give him some to think. Maybe he would catch a bus or take a train in the subway.

From a distance, a couple of hog motorcycles rolled down the street from Tom's Gym. On the saddles sat two bikers. One had blond hair and a red bandana wrapped around his head and wore a dark gray leather jacket. It was Axl. The other had dark hair and had a dark complexion and had a maroon leather jacket. It was Slash. Behind them were other bikers of their motorcycle club that the two were co-presidents of within Mad Gear.

Axl and Slash had a graphic on the back of their jackets that had a flaming skull surrounded by revolver pistols and roses on it that said "MAD GEAR MC" at the top, in the middle it said "METRO CITY," and at the bottom, it said "DISCIPLES OF APOCALYPSE." Some of the fellow bikers in their club had the same graphic on the backs of their leather jackets and leather vests.

The two co-presidents saw a blond-haired man leaving a gym and walking alone.

"Do you think that's the guy?" Axl said.

"It's got to be," Slash said. "Let's fuck him up."

Slash pulled out a lead pipe and Axl pulled out a chain. The other bikers followed them.

Author's note: I'm back with this. I'm slowly doing this more. It's not like I didn't have the idea. I also have ideas for the next one.

I tried to experiment with something I had read in some novels in recent memory where perspectives were changed despite being in the same scene. I also watched videos on this subject by some YouTubers and tried to see if this would work.

The bullies Kyle and his friends dealt with are also references to "Final Fight: Streetwise" as they were villains in that game.

As for the posters on Vanessa's wall, I thought to keep it within the time period, why not make references to some R&B acts and other rap acts from that time? I thought about referencing Public Enemy and N.W.A., but I don't think that would have been necessary. If this was set in the early-1990s, I would have had her have posters of Boyz II Men and/or Jodeci, or even SWV or TLC. But I had to keep it within the time frame I chose.

The chapter title is a reference to an album of the same name by San Francisco rap group, RBL Posse.

Also, for Axl and Slash's motorcycle group, I think that might've been a little much, or maybe not. They are still within Mad Gear, but they have their own division. The Disciples of Apocalypse is also a reference to a wrestling stable/tag team from the WWF (WWE; same thing) that existed from 1997 to 1998. Also, if you really think about it, the roses and revolvers, take a wild guess as to what that's a reference to, especially with the co-presidents named Axl and Slash.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Stay tuned for the next one.