Ah, things have been hectic, haven't they?

Here we go. Enjoy this one!

If I hadn't acted so quickly, the geeks probably would've died.

I grabbed one of the Speeder Traps in my tote and chucked it in the car's direction. The idea was that the Trap would stick to the underside of the car, then stick out a bar long enough to throw it up in the air – like a wheel jack might, but more suddenly. Not terribly high, and the force involved made the jolt feel more like hitting a speed bump, but it would give the Trap enough time to spray the adhesive onto the tires. Once the car landed back on the asphalt – or rather, in the glue – it was stuck.

But I wasn't sure it would be enough. I was thankful there wasn't oncoming traffic as I ran out and tackled the guys out of the street.

I heard a loud "Ow! What the –?" as I pulled them out of the way of the oncoming speeder. Which was right when the Trap activated – I could tell from the sudden jerk of the vehicle and consequent landing. The Tesla tried to move, but it was completely stuck. The device worked!

Glasses Guy glanced over at the scene. "How did you –?"

"Oops! Looks like someone wanted a ticket," I replied, jerking my thumb at the now-very-stuck Tesla. Tails had used the strongest adhesive he could come up with – something that could easily hold the weight of a commuter's car when said car was packed to full capacity. The glue was all over the wheels, to the point that they were unable to turn. Fortunately for the driver, the adhesive also lost its potency in five minutes – enough time for the person to get out of the car or the cops and/or a tow truck to arrive.

Someone elbowed me in the stomach. "You know, this was not how I envisioned an encounter with a minor," said a voice.

"¡Oh, lo siento!" I jumped off the guy, who turned out to be the Twin of Spock. Glasses Guy didn't look so hot, either. Quite shaken up. "You two okay?"

"If you mean physically, we are quite uninjured," Spock Guy replied. His voice even sounded monotone like Spock's. I decided not to comment on it. "But shoving us wasn't good for our dignities."

I decided not to mention that I had shoved them out of the way in case the glue bomb didn't do its job. Which, clearly, it had. But they looked like real science types, and probably wouldn't approve of a tactic I wasn't confident in.

I helped the geeks to their feet and glanced back at Miriam. She'd – predictably – stayed on her side of the street, where it was safer. Miriam could talk my ear off about how wronged she was, but actions spoke louder than words. Me to the rescue, Miriam staying put on the sidewalk. The difference between a VLADJI and a bystander. I couldn't help smirking in her direction.

"See ya later!" I hollered.

Miriam headed off north, still on her roller blades. I wasn't sure whether I'd insulted her or not, but I had bigger problems at the moment. I grabbed a stopwatch out of my tote and set it for five minutes.

"Well, it was either that or you get run over by a speeding maniac," I replied to Spock Guy. "And sí, sé, I am a maniac. I mean the bigger –"

"Got it," came Glasses Guy's weary response. "You're worse than Sheldon."

"Beg your pardon?" Spock Guy replied. I guessed Sheldon was his name.

His friend glanced at him sideways. I decided to intervene before things got messy.

"Well, maybe if you didn't want to get hit –" I began but was cut off by the driver.

"WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO TO MY CAR?!"

You could have heard him shouting in Port Richmond. That's how loud it was.

"Ay, Dios," I muttered. I'd completely forgotten about him. I doubled over to check him out.

He was quite well-built, and I took him for a security guard type right away. His brown hair was neatly parted. I caught some faint nicks on his chin. Apparently, he fumbled with a razor. His dark gray suit was nicely offset by a flame-patterned tie, which was perhaps the only interesting thing about it.

"I can't believe this," he muttered. "My partner's in a relationship with a teacher, I find a Pride flag on my lawn, and I'm running late to get home, and now my car's stuck!"

Hold up. A Pride flag? Now there was something to look into. "Wait here," I said to the geeks, and walked up to the man. I grabbed the first metal item I could grab from my tote – which happened to be a whisk with its tines broken and twisted – and tapped it against the hood of the Tesla to get Guard Guy's attention. He turned to face me.

"Yes, young lady?" I didn't know how he'd picked up that I was female. He didn't know me, and I didn't know him. And I was still wearing my "male" attire.

I decided to discuss the car first. "The glue will lose its effect in five minutes," I said. "And I just wanted you to stop because you were about to hit someone." I gestured toward the geeks, who were still on the sidewalk.

"Those loonies?" the man asked.

Simmer, I mouthed at the geeks. Apparently, interrogation wasn't going to work here. I decided to take a less direct angle. "Who are you?"

The guy's name was Horace Hardwell, and he apparently worked two separate jobs. The first was at a Dollar Tree in Feltonville. It was the other job he mentioned that got my attention – he worked as a bouncer at Will's Restaurant and Bar on late nights. If I was thinking of the right teacher and bouncer relationship from his earlier lament, he'd likely be the partner of the bouncer Mitch Hollins was seeing.

I was surprised he was allowed to drive. It was clear he didn't do it a lot. "Did you miss the speed limit sign?" I inquired, glancing over at los sesudos (the geeks), who seemed intent on staying put. I wasn't sure whether they were actually interested in following my command or just watching this scene just to see how it played out. (Well, it's not every day a teenager pulls an adult over and interrogates them.)

"I suppose I did," he said. "Dunno why I'm telling a little kid this. And what's your name, missy?"

Little kid? Well, I was kind of small.

I wasn't sure how to phrase my occupation either – my working with avatars, my mission to be a light of reason. I knew he'd laugh at me. Adults never take kids seriously.

"Vinny Lee Marzera. You mentioned something about your partner dating a teacher," I said. "Lemme guess – the bouncer's got some kinks?"

"Not anything you should know about, kiddo," replied Hardwell.

Aha! I knew there was something with his company. I steered onto another tangent. "The Pride flag on the lawn?"

"Showed up last night." Hardwell glanced at the car. I glanced at my stopwatch. One more minute. I hoped I could hold his attention for that long. I then glanced at Sheldon and his friend, who weren't going anywhere. Definitely finding my conversation with Hardwell too entertaining. "No idea how it got there, either. Not a large one, but I know I didn't set it out. I don't endorse it – unlike my partner's… boyfriend."

The hesitation on the last word made me sure he'd been about to say something other than boyfriend. Apparently he was the partner of Hollins' love interest. I always get my man.

Also, the GABAFFS "protests" were going much farther than I'd realized before. I'd thought it was just the school getting hit with the flags. If this was going throughout the entire city… I wasn't sure how we could tell them to stop now. The mayor probably had been cowed into covering for them.

My stopwatch read thirty seconds. "Have you heard anyone else complaining about it?" I asked Hardwell politely.

"Why are you so concerned about it, Vinny Lee?" Hardwell then frowned as if he'd had an epiphany. "Wait… you too?"

I nodded. Just then, the stopwatch went off and the adhesive loosened on the car. The Trap came off the underside of the car, rolling on its own and returning to rest at my feet. I then quickly picked it up and put it back in my tote with its companion.

"Bye!" I shouted as Hardwell got in. "Remember to check the speed limit! Nice talking with you!"

Hardwell nodded. "I should probably go, kid," he said and took off.

"Well, that was unexpected," came Sheldon's voice. I'd completely forgotten about the geeks.

I nodded. "I really should head to the Hangar. I gotta report this to DJ –"

"Who's DJ?" asked Glasses Guy.

"Mi capitana." I looked at the geeks' faces and realized none of them knew what I was talking about. "New to town?"

They nodded.

"I know just the thing," I said. "Vamonos."

So nice of her, lending a helping hand! Verse for the update: 2 Samuel 7:16.

Please review! No flames! Wait up for more, coming soon!