YOSH! This is Squalo King with a remade story that I recently deleted called Realmbreakers, but I've decided to rename it Stray Dogs. After much thought and feedback, I would start over, especially with the first chapter. Many things will remain the same such as Holly Robinson being in the story. Some things might change, but I can guarantee the cliffhanger from before will be resolved.

Disclaimer; I own nothing.

Reviews and criticism are welcomed and encouraged, though I will try my best.

One thing to note is that when Lotus hears certain characters like Ace/Zero "speaking" it will appear as this: "~Lotus, let's see what we can find,~"

Thoughts will be: "If we head through here we'll find them."

Chapter 1: Introducing The Stray Dogs

December /30/2008

In the dead of night, a cold winter's night, a young boy at the age of 13, was against a wall exhausted and injured. His lower face was covered with a face mask but his breath could be seen due to the freezing air. He huffed and puffed, sweating underneath his winter clothes; a white coat with a blue button winter shirt and white pants with brown shoes and mittens. He was in a wide alley, snow was falling and had built up enough to coat the ground in hypnotic white. Around the nameless boy were defeated criminals; an average gang of thugs with bats, bottles, and few guns. All of them for the criminals groaned and moaned in pain from their; broken bones, black eyes, bruises, and possibly internal bleeding.

*BARK* *BARK* *BARK* *BARK*

While this all occurred, a dog was barked at one of the defeated thugs with her scruffy master hugging her while he wore one of his many coats to help keep her warm. The scruffy-bearded man was scared, he hugged his dog to keep her from running away or at the very least biting the faces of the unconscious criminals. While the enemies were in the snow the masked young man seemed to be gazing at the only figure that stood in the aftermath of the implied madness that transpired; he wore no shoes while in the winter cold, wore a large cloak riddled with bullet holes that covered his upper down to his legs, his hair was jet black, wild that reached down his back. The wild-cloaked boy turned his head back to the masked young man, his amber-colored eyes glowed in the night as his gaze pierced into his soul. The masked young man's mind was filled with endless questions that he desperately wanted to ask, one of the loudest of the questions was;

"~Who are you?~"

The cloaked young man smiled and turned around completely showing his face with a big smile as his amber eyes pierced through the night.

"I am the God of Flowers," he said.

February 12/2010/ State; Kentucky / City; Louisville

"I'm off Jenna,"

A man in a police uniform walked out of an old apartment in a quick walk down the stairs and to his cop car through a thick blanket of snow that plagued the city. From his short-cut blond hair down to his snow boots that went with his winter uniform, set to toss himself into danger. His name was Bill Madison. Bill looks back at his wife as she stands at the door of the apartment building in a pair of brown jeans with a yellow sweater, wearing a polka-dotted around her neck and a couple of sandals on her feet. She meekly waves goodbye to her husband as he heads off to work, parting her brown hair as she does.

"Be safe," Jenna.

"Like always, make sure you lock the door," Bill said cautiously, with a near tremor in his voice. "And remember the rules about the phone and keep Anthoney inside," He points at her, " Understand?"

Jenna nods and passively touches her scarf. She quickly goes inside the building and hurries to her suite. Bill knocked the snow off of his patrol car and wiped the windows clean. He got in his squad car to head into the city. He steps inside his car, but just as he is about the start his patrol car,

"*Groan* I don't wanna go to work, but here we go," he said to himself.

On the 3rd floor of the building, a pair of black drapes part revealing a boy named Anthoney at the age of 10 looking out of the window. He had blonde hair matching Bill's with freckles adorning his face. He watched, his father drive off into the snow-ridden city and he hoped for the best. Anthoney then walked over to the computer his parents had given him, normally it was locked but he guessed his father's password. Next to that computer were some trading cards, and a portrait of his grandfather and grandmother on his mother's side. Looking through his emails he saw a new message had come.

"Get him out of here, now!"

"I ain't movin'!"

One of Bill's first calls was to a grocery store in the city. He knew Jenna would make visits there and he was sure that nobody who frequented there was someone he didn't know. However today he was called because of loitering. Outside the store standing was the store's manager; Carl. Next to the store's giant glass automatic doors was an old man with raggedy grayish brown hair coming out of his red-knitted cap, wearing multiple coats and scarves to stave off the cold with worn boots.

"He's scaring the customers," complained Carl as he chilled in his winter coat. "I want him gone!" he cleaned his square-framed glasses of any snow that hit them.

"Right I'll get rid of him," said Bill. He walked over to the old man.

"Alright, time to go, I'll get you to a shelter," he said. He reached out to the homeless man, but his hand was slapped away.

"Don't touch me, get away!" he said. "Just get me some food," he sounded almost begging. Bill didn't like when people got physical with him, even a little. One guy tried to grab his hand and he ended up punching him in the nose. Now he had gotten to a boiling point.

"Irritating bastard." he thought. He looked around at any customers that were coming in and out of the store; all of them were keeping away from the homeless man, some covering their noses, taking pictures, or just ignoring him. Some people had stopped on the streets to watch, even in the snow an arrest was a public show.

"That cop's gonna drag him away,"

"Ew, he looks dirty."

"*Groan* Alright I'm tired of this its time to go!" ordered Bill, He reached for the old man

"Screw off Pig! Just get me some food!" the homeless man begged, he smacked Bill's hand away harder this time. It wasn't enough to harm Bill, but his pride had been wounded enough. Bill gritted his teeth, he was already mad that he had to do this on such a cold day,

"Disgusting l-you k what, fine!" he pulled out his cuffs and pepper spray, "He wants to be difficult, I'll just arrest him since he already put his filthy hands on me." Bill then prepared to reach for the man, expecting and preparing for another "attack". Everyone braced themselves for the inevitable fight.

"Hey-Hey, get back," the homeless man grabbed a handful of snow and in that instant Bill was about to use his pepper spray.

"Yo Mike, there you are!" Then a young voice called out and somehow the tension died. Bill looked over and saw a teenager walking over with bags of food.

"Who the hell is this ki-" the boy walked over to the homeless man. "Hey get back he-" The newcomer paid Bill no mind and walked over to "Mike" who was just as surprised as everyone else. Bill tried to stop him with force but when he grabbed the kid by the white-furred collar of his deep plum winter coat, the teen wasn't fazed. Rather, Bill was given a gentle shove and was sent into the snow. He had to be at least 16 years old and he just sent him in the snow like nothing.

"Sorry, I kept you so long." the teen started to rummage through the grocery bag and pulled out a bag of honey BBQ chips, "I hadn't shopped here before so I got a little lost, man" he took off his white stocking cap and rustled his chin length locs for a moment.

Mike dropped his snow and took the bag. He looked at the boy like he was an alien, wondering what he was doing and this stranger just gave him a smile in return. One thing strange about him was his eyes; Sunset Amber that almost seemed to glow unnaturally, almost like he could look into your soul. He took the bag of chips held them tenderly and then opened them.

"I-I can have all this?" he asked confused and hopeful. The boy almost laughs as he puts his at back on

"Yeah, I bought it for you," he said. "Got your favorite food inside,"

"T-Thank you, son," said Mike. He started eating the chips, forgetting that he was about to be arrested. When the flavor hit his tongue he felt like crying. "*Muffle* F-Four days,*Chew* and *Chew* my favorite too,"

"Anytime." He went through the bags, "I also got you some boxers, toothpaste with brushes, and water bottles." he brought out a backpack, "And I got you this to carry some of the heavy shit."

"Thanks, son, I needed it 'cause my breath ain't too good," Mike said with a chuckle, he almost laughed only for his new friend doing it for him.

"Nah don't sweat it," said the mysterious boy as he put a pair of white wireless headphones to his ears. They seemed to have a Lotus flower emblem on them.

At that moment every person who wanted Mike out of their sight was stunned by this. The stranger came out of nowhere, clearly lied about knowing this homeless man, and gave him what looked like over a hundred dollars worth of food and supplies.

"Hey kid you shouldn't be involved in this, this is a police matter," Bill advised

"Anytime, but let's go." He hugs his body and shivers, "I'm freezing out here and I gotta meet Ace soon." said the boy. Mike had no idea who that was but he rolled with it, somehow he wasn't worried or afraid of Bill at the moment.

"I hear you, I'm freezing my nut-"

"Hey, do you hear me?!" Billed asked angrily. He glared at the two as he was being brushed off. This continued with Mike and his rescuer started walking away, making tracks in the snow.

"Thanks again- ughh um?" Mike awkwardly tried to remember the boy's name, he might have known him and this boy only remembered him. The boy elbowed Mike playfully.

"What forgot already, it's Lotus." The two then walked away with no one stopping them. This brought confusion to all who saw, some people even laughed seeing a kid resolve this with the Cop left dumbstruck while not even giving him the time of day, and this did not bode well for Bill's reaction.

"I should've called that kid," said Dave tactlessly.

"Okay, I'm not having having this," he uttered. "Old man is gone, I'm done here," He then walked back to his car and prepared to do more rounds. He looks around for a moment, as if looking for someone, and gets in his car. As he drove away he was unaware that a burgundy Mustang was going off in the same direction, almost like it was hunting him.

2 hours later

"HELP, POLICE!" screamed a woman.

Bill's patrol was brought to an abrupt halt, he quickly pulled over hearing someone cry out for help. Running over to the distressed party he sees a woman in her 30's, in well-kept winter clothes, curly red hair that reached her chin, black lipstick with red snow boots that had. Around her was a sprinkle of items; ID cards, makeup, candy, spare change, etc. were sprawled in the snow.

"What happened?" asked Bill with haste. The woman pointed ahead, distraught and shaken. Bill looks and sees a man running away with a purse and wallet in his hands. He wore a white winter coat with a

"He-He mugged me!" she cried.

Bill wasted no time and sprinted toward the purse snatcher.

"STOP, POLICE!" he yelled. He rushed as fast as he could, kicking up snow and ice, as he chased the man's back. Both cop and robber ran past people, mailboxes, and even a snowman. But no matter how hard Bill tried he couldn't close the gap between him and the thief.

"STOP DAMN IT!"

The purse snatcher ran across the road, causing cars to screech to a halt to avoid an accident. As Bill followed his same path, moving quickly before cars started moving again, he saw the thief run down the street and take a hard right into an alleyway and out of sight. When Bill managed to make it to the other side of the street he ran with as much hope as possible to the alleyway but when he looked down it she was nothing but shocked.

"Ugh,"

The thief was on their back in the snow, with a bloody nose, groaning in pain. Someone got to him before Bill did.

"What he-" Bill looked down the alleyway, it led to another side of the building. He looked around as much as he could but he couldn't find anyone else. No one else but the thief had gone into the alleyway and there was no other way out. Bill shook off whatever confusion he had and made the arrest. Tuning the man on his back and reading him his rights as he cuffed him. When he was finished he looked around for the stolen items and saw that they were gone. He searched the thief's clothes and found nothing.

"Where's the purse?" he asked.

"I don't know!"

"Where did you put the purse?" Bill pulled his arm, not caring if he broke it, his anger coming to a boil. "I won't ask again, you're already going to jail!"

"Ahh, I-I swear I don't know don't know, I just got knocked on my ass and someone took it I swear!"

Bill fumed, but he held it in picked the thief up on his feet, and dragged him back to his squad car.

When Bill brought his arrest back to where he had parked he noticed the woman who had asked for his help talking to a young boy. The boy seemed to be wearing a dark green winter coat with matching pants, a brown scarf boots. She was smiling and the boy nodded, not saying a word. The boy looked back in Bill's direction, the only two things he could make out about him were his curly brown hair and that he was wearing a face mask, it was white and had the number 1 in cobalt blue ink. The boy walked down the opposite path and out of sight.

After Bill took the thief into the back of his squad car and locked him inside.

"I'm sorry miss, I was-"

Bill expected a disappointed and disjointed victim of a purse-snatcher, but she was fine. She was happy with an expensive purse in her hands.

"Your purse?" he asked. The woman smiled even wider.

"Yes, that nice boy got it back for me," she said."Everything's still here too."

"He did? Oh." He looked back down where he ran, positive that he ran at least a mile, and that no one was following him as he ran. "Did he happen to say anything before leaving?" Bill asked. The woman shook her head.

"No, in fact, he didn't talk at all," she said. She pondered it for a moment. "He didn't look me in the eyes either, but he seemed very sweet and he wrote something in the snow," she pointed down at the snow for Bill to see a singular name.

"Ace"

Bill knew no one by that name.

"What the hell is happening today?" he thought. As Bill pondered this he saw someone looking at him from inside of their car from the corner of his eye. A man in a red hoodie, and a broken nose. He quickly looked over to see if anyone was there, but the car had already driven off.

"I'm losing my mind, is that him?" he thought, his mind bringing up a single image. "No, he knows what'll happen if he comes back,"

4 hours later

Soon it became dark, the stars coming out with the still cold air growing even colder The city itself was still active with people heading home, to shop, eat,t or whatever they pleased. After the more strange first hours of patrolling, Bill's day had become more routine; pulling over the occasional careless driver, giving out much-hated tickets and even helping an old lady cross the street. Yet with all of this, he found himself more paranoid about his home, so he called them, for the 5th time today.

"Jenna, finally you pick up," He leans back in his seat, looking out at the streets for any activity. Unusually quiet, which wasn't a bad thing. "No I'm fine, but did anyone come by the house?" he asked into his cellphone.

"N-No, no one," she answered meekly.

" How about a call, did you pick up the phone?" he asked a bit more intensely.

"No, no one's called all day," said Jenna. Bill sighed in relief hearing that.

"Good, good. Where's Anthony?" he asked.

"H-He's asleep in his room, he was asking to see my mother-"

"I told him 'no', " said Bill sternly. " I don't want him around h-"

*CLATTER*

Bill fails to finish his sentence. He hears a loud sound coming from an alleyway, and coincidentally enough this was next to a jewelry store. Suspicious, he hangs up the phone and reaches for his walkie-talkie, but he stops.

"No, I can deal with it myself," he said.

He gets out of his car and skulks down the alley as no other witnesses are present. Careful and quiet, he sneaks around the dumpster, stepping lightly as his feet make a small crunch with every step. He reached the end of the wall, looking around the corner; he saw, a back road behind the buildings; dumpsters, illuminated by porches and street lights, some even flickered. Around the bend, Bill witnessed six men. Their faces were hidden with ski masks, they were wearing all black.

"Shit I was wrong, I need to call for backup!" He seemed like an amateur robbery; two of them were attempting to pick the lock to the back door, and others were looking out for any witnesses with loaded guns in their hands.

Bill gets off the wall and backs away to avoid being seen. When he believes he's out of sight he reaches for his radio only to feel the barrel of a gun pressed against the side of his head. His blood runs cold, and any idea that leads to reaching for his taser, his mace, or even his gun ends with the final shot he hears a gunshot to the head.

"Hands behind your head, now" ordered the assailant. Bill doesn't hesitate and does as he's ordered.

"Good, get walkin'," ordered the thug. Bill then walks into the back alley with the criminal pressing the gun hard to the back of his head. When they reached the open space the other criminals saw them both. There was a near panic, but they kept their voices down.

"Where'd the cop come from?!" one whispered loudly.

"Doesn't matter, get one of the extra bags and rope," he ordered. "We put him in the trunk," He gestured to their lock picker, "Keep working on that door,"

The lock picker continued working on the door while one of them quickly pulled out a large bag and rope from a duffel bag. Bill swallows hard and panics, his breaths are sharp, and he nearly chokes on air.

"Look, you don't ha-"

The leader presses his gun harder into Bill's head, silencing him. He then takes Bill's gun from its holster and puts it into his pocket.

"I have the gun now, keep your mouth shut," he said.

"YO!" a voice cried out.

Bill and the thugs were shocked to hear someone call out to them. All the members of this gang looked around for the source. They drew their guns preparing to shoot whatever came out to greet them.

"Did someone else see you come in from the other side?" one of them asked.

"No, we killed the cameras too."

"Guessing you ain't the night shift guards," the youth said jokingly. "You need to let that man go,

"Who said that!?"

"Hey listen up, I got my gun to this cop's head." He hit Bill with the butt of his handgun, "Come out and I'll kill 'em!"

They spread out to quickly kill this new As they scouted for the source of the voice Bill silently prayed for this to be his savior, He darted his eyes around seeing if he could see anyone that could help him. Then like a miracle, a young man appears seemingly from thin air. He grabbed Bill's shirt with one hand and knocked the gang leader's gun away with the other.

"I'm taking this!" he said.

The mysterious newcomer then tosses Bill away from the danger to the opposite end of the area. He slides on the thin snow and ice, wet but uninjured. Bill then sits up and scoots on the ground until he hits a wall. As the Criminal leader reacts to losing his hostage he pulls out the other gun only for the hero to grab his hand. The hero then steps on the gunman's foot, steps forward while pulling the thug In close, and lastly punches him in the solar plexus. The Gang leader's stomach contorted from the hit, he gags, and spits up saliva. The newcomer tosses him to the side, like a rag-doll. With their leader unconscious on the ground they got a good look at their assailant as the moonlight hit him.

Black locs tied into a ponytail with two locs acting as bangs(one on each side of his forehead, dark skin tone, and he was tall as most teenagers with a somewhat athletic build under his outfit. He wore a large black poncho cloak with flower petals stitched into it that covered his entire upper body, underneath a tight-fitting black Martial arts robe that had only one long sleeve, and matching baggy hakama. He had lotus petals all over his body and a picture of a fully bloomed white Lotus flower on the back.

"Okay," the hero put his hand to the mask on his face, it covered the top half leaving his mouth and uncovered. There were no eye holes, only drawings of flowers, "Last chance to surrender or-.

"Blast him!" one of them yelled. Before they could even shoot, the youth charged at one of them and kicked the side of his head, knocking him hard onto the snow before he could react. The remaining five shoot at him, but the hero darts around the area, preventing them from hitting him. The bullets fly and hit the ground, kicking asphalt and snow, leaving holes.

He then goes after the criminal with the knife and catches it with his bare hand when the criminal tries to stab him. He smiles, then grabs the thug by his shirt throws him over his shoulder, and slams him to the ground. With a quick and powerful jab to the face, he knocks him unconscious. Now there were only four left.

"S-Stay back!" one yelled desperately He shot only to miss. A chuckle escapes the masked hero's lips as he attacks the remaining thugs.

"He's crazy; what the hell is this guy?" asked Bill His tone was more cheering on the teenager than fear for his life. Then, just as he felt safe watching the battle before, a stranger suddenly grabbed him with a gun to his head. The remaining 3 opponents feared for their lives; the hero stared them down with fists clenched and a smirk on his face. However, the smirk was distorted into a frown by what he saw next.

"Put your hands up!" yelled their now-conscious leader. His henchmen looked back and saw their leader standing with spittle on his mouth. He had Bill in a headlock with the gun in his hand. Bill struggled to get free, but the fear of a bullet in his brain rendered him helpless. The thugs looked back at their antagonist and smirked with guns in hand. However, the hero of the story merely folds his arms and sighs. He then puts his hands above his head.

"No-No save me!" Bill begged

"SHUT UP!" yelled the gang leader, "Get those guns on him," His subordinates pointed their guns at the vigilante, fingers ready to pull their triggers. The masked hero puts his hands up, and the criminal then points the gun at our hero.

"Any last words?" asked one of the thugs. Our hero's displeased and annoyed feeling melts away, and his frown then contorted into a smile.

"About time you got here," he said.

"Huh?"

Before the head criminal could blink, he heard a small noise, like a ping; he felt a sharp wave of energy and pain hit the back of his skull and reverberated through his head. It was like a shock of electricity was hitting him, it hurt, but not like a bullet. He tried to pull the trigger, but his body had become numb, and soon he lost control of all functions. He blacks out and falls to the ground As Bill was free he saw the barrel of a gun next to his face, though it was pointed at the remaining thugs. The rest of the criminals hear the thud and turn around to see the gunfire two more times hitting them and knocking them out in the same fashion.

"The holy hell was that?" he uttered,

Bill turns around and sees another young man walking past him; possibly the same age as the other hero. he is an inch shorter with pale skin, and he seems to be as tall as his assumed partner. He wore an open grey coat that reached past his waist, he wore a fitted white shirt underneath with a numerical zero over his heart with some armor padding. His pants were fitted, black multiple pouches, it fit him well enough not to sag with a utility belt.

The gun in his hand looked like a strange revolver: it was dark grey and made from a weird-looking metal with strange markings. had a medium-sized barrel and the chamber didn't use bullets; that was already determined.

"These two just saved me," Billed said astonished. The two teenagers approached one another.

"~Good job, Lotus~"

Lotus looked at his dear friend; His eyes were cerulean, bright, and seemed to be a bit sharper than his. As for his mask; the face mask he wore was black and covered the lower half of his face from his nose to his chin with a silver disk-like filter where the mouth was.

"Hey I was just waiting for you, Zero," Lotus gestures to the surrounding thugs, "Good call sending me here early, but you said that you were keeping an eye on him."

"~I am, well technically,~" Zero" puts his gun in his coat. He then points behind him, "~He's back there, waiting for us to get finished~"

"Yeah I can see him, I thought he was going to hang back in his car?" Lotus questioned, "Wasn't this dangerous enough with these fools here,". Zero shrugs, he points behind himself, then to the cop,

"~The man was insistent,~" Zero then points at Bill, "~ He wanted to be here to finish it and frankly I can't blame him~" he then clenched his fist.

"Yeah I'm down for it, "Zero shrugs, "'Sides half of the danger is off to bed," said Lotus with a satisfied smirk. Zero folds his arms and taps his foot on the ground. His friend then grimaces and looks at the body of the leader.

"~Off to bed? Well one of them couldn't wait till morning to shoot you,~" said Zero

"I had it handled and none of them could hurt me, we stopped a robbery, so that's one bird with one to go," Lotus said calmly. Zero continues folding his arms and tapping his foot even faster. His friend sighs giving up the endeavor.

"Okay I'm sorry, I underestimated him," he put his hand on the back of his head. "I held back cause thought if I hit him too hard he'd lose both lungs, couldn't risk that,"

Zero put his hand to his chin. "~Yeah, I can't blame you for trying to prevent intense injuries, the others went down from the same amount of force.~" He then nods, understanding the dilemma. "~Of course I still had to save you,~" His ally chuckles at this, knowing Zero was smiling under his mask.

"Yeah, you eclipsed my K.O. count. You took out four and I got three, brag all you want, bitch," said Lotus.

"~Can you use a regular word? 'Eclipse'?~" Zero uttered confused. Lotus points at Zero's side.

"By the by, how's the new gun working?", he then tries to open Zero's jacket only to have his hand smacked away. "Ow"

"~I'm still getting used to this one, I felt like I was two shakes away from missing those guys,~" Zero admitted. "~ I keep thinking I tweaked with the weight too much,~"

"Huh, maybe you need to break it in more," Lotus suggested, "Like everything you make" Lotus gestured to all of Zero.

As the "conversation" went on, Bill was confused as he was grateful. Only one of them seemed to be talking, "Zero" didn't speak as much as used hand gestures, sometimes he didn't even do that. Also, he noticed that the mask his friend was wearing was obscuring his sight, he wondered how he could even see Zero or anyone.

"My hand," Lotus smiled at Zero and showed his palm revealing he had no wound., "It's already fine. didn't even cut that deep," Zero wipes the sweat from his brow.

"~Well you're not invincible today, but thank the stars it wasn't a bullet wound,~" said Zero. Lotus shuddered at the mere mention of that.

"So we do this now or what?" asked Lotus. "Out of sight so even if he does what he wants so can we," Zero gives a thumbs up.

"~Right, but let's be quick yeah?~" he points at the bullet casings on the snow,

"Yeah no telling when someone will call the cops, especially if people heard gunfire," said Lotus They both turned to Bill who got on his feet and ran over to the two young fighters. He was sweaty and tired from the ordeal he was forced through and wanted to thank them. He takes the Lotus's hand and starts shaking it

"Lo.-Look I don't know whose sidekicks you are, but thank you so much!" he said nearly breaking into tears. "Tell you something, the Justice League is alright for bringing up good kids like you," Lotus and Zero give each other a look and then turn to Bill.

"You don't need to thank us, Bill, that was the least we could do," said Lotus.

"So what are your names, if don't mind me asking?" Bill asked. His anxiety had washed away and he felt comfortable with these two protecting him.

"~Don't tell him, our real or hero names,~" said Zero.

"Can't tell you that," said Lotus,

"So whose sidekicks are you, never seen or heard of you two before?" asked Bill. Lotus groans while Zero shrugs his shoulders while shaking his head.

"~*Sigh* Still urban legend status, huh?~"

"Yeah, we know," he looks at Zero," Though I guess we kinda like it that way sometimes," Zero puts his hands inside of his pockets.

"~I can't imagine how he'd ever forget us, you stand out like a cactus in a wheat field~," said Zero. Lotus snickered and turned to Zero.

"Yeah, well you stand out like an umbrella in a drought," said Lotus with a smile. Bill was beyond confused. He could hear one of them talking but he was having a conversation that wasn't happening. He decided to be to ignore it.

"Well, in any case, I need to call for backup to get these bastards downtown," Bill got on his walkie-talkie, "And you two your medals," Zero to grabs Bill's radio from his hand. He looked down at his savior who was now looking at him with fierce eyes. He tries to reach for it but Zero backs away, keeping it for himself.

"H-Hey kid,-"

"Bill, you may not want to do that," said Lotus in a more serious tone than earlier. Bill felt the air shift against him. With no clue as to what was going on, he asked the thing that was nagging him but chose to ignore it.

"H-How do you know my name?" he asked. Zero then hands Lotus the walkie-talkie, he walks past Bill and into the dark alleyway that he appeared from. Lotus then gestures to the unconscious gang leader.

"Cause we're not here for them we don't know they were gonna be here," said Lotus. He points at Bill while leering at him, "You're the job, you bastard, "Bill's anxiety had returned with confusion and rage mixed in.

"Me, you here for me? *Chuckle*" he expected Lotus to laugh, but he didn't. "W-What the hell did I do," he flashed his badge, "I've done nothing but try and do my job!" he said, every word Bill uttered was filled with lessened restraint.

Lotus nearly groans hearing that, "True you have been a cop for 3 years, you don't go around robbing places or killing people," he scratches his cheek, "But that's not why the three of us are here,"

"And why the hell are you here- you- you punk?" asked Bill with his arms folded, attempting to show some sense of authority. Lotus chuckles.

" 'Punk'?, I thought we were your heroes," Lotus puts his hands over his heart, "You're breaking my heart tonight, hope you don't try to choke me," Bill's eyes widen, "No wait, 'strangle' is the better word," Bill's heart sank upon hearing those words.

"Wait, three?" Bill thought in a panic.

"Bill Madison," a familiar voice calls out from the darkness. Zero returned with a tall man with a red hoodie behind him. They both walk over to Lotus with the newcomer now standing behind the two. The man had slick back brunette hair, brown eyes, and medical tape over a broken nose. "I believe you know who I am,"

Bill's heart sank. He beings panting and was near a state where he would see nothing but red. He made a fist and shook it at the stoic man. "You?!"

"~And deserved,~" said Zero.

"Private Investigator Ryan Ronald, the guy who tried to serve you divorce papers filed by that wife of yours," said Lotus. Zero puts his fist to his nose

"~He also assaulted him,~" Zero pointed out.,

"Oh thanks, man. You also punched him and threatened that if you ever saw him again you'd shoot him," said Lotus, his tone was jovial, he smiled satisfied at the state that Bill was about to be in and Zero was right there with him. Bill himself looked at Ryan with murder in his eyes, then down to our heroes.

"Look I don't know who the hell you two are, but this ain't your business," he put his hand to his holster forgetting that he no longer had his gun."Now get the out of here before I get you arrested for vigilantism!" his patience had been worn down to nothing, with true colors revealed.

"~Has he forgotten that I have taken his radio~," Zero covers his mouth and points at Bill's walkie-talkie in his other hand, "

"Yeah, I can see it in more ways than one, his head doesn't work well angry," said Lotus. "That's why he hurts his wife the way he does; he gets angry over something stupid and then hurts her." Zero clenches his fist, and Lotus can feel the anger growing in him.

"Y-You think I hi- where's your proof I hit her!" roared Bill, "She's my wife and she didn't leave me," she pointed at Ryan," Now take him and go or trouble's gonna start!"

Lotus grits his teeth, scratches his cheek, and takes a deep breath. He turns to Zero who pulls out a hand-sized device. With the press on its screen and holographic screen pulls up. Its bright vivid resolution caused Bill to nearly puke as he recognized the hall inside of Bill's apartment. Zero presses a button and it plays a video that has sound, it shows Jenna and Bill. It showed a video of Bill and Jenna arguing, he was enraged, and he started hurting her. Bill nearly puked as Zero stared him down in fury and turned off the video.

"~Scum, even kept her from her mother so she couldn't run from him,~" uttered Zero Lotus looking at Ryan who was emotionally steeled for this, though seeing the video was enough to make him inconsolably angry.

"Yeah he is scum," Bill hurried to open his mouth, but Lotus put up his hand, "And don't even try and say you're sorry, I know you're not," uttered Lotus. Ryan stepped forward.

"Video proof is enough to end this, Of course, you'd still take your anger out on her when you get home, and defy every restraining order," said Ryan.

"~Lucky we found him tailing this guy,~," said Zero. Lotus smirked

"Yeah, we got a lot to thank you for Ryan. "He patted Ryan's back as if to praise him. "We gained a better perspective on how to handle this particular case," said Lotus.

"~I doubt the coward can do anything to him here,~," said Zero. Bill had become more visibly shaken and his anger was rising. Lotus could feel it, But Ryan stepped out in front of Lotus and Zero, away from their protection. Zero was prepared to stop him but Lotus held him back. "~Lotus, what are you doing!~"

"He wants to do this," he smiled "Right?" Lotus asked Ryan.

"Yeah, let me do this," said Ryan. "He can't hurt me with you here," Lotus and Zero beam with happiness the moment Ryan said that. He holds out the papers and pen to Bill like any other time. "Your wife already sighed her half of the papers," he holds up the pen," Sign this and settle it out of court, you don't have to pay for alimony but you have to get your stuff and out of the house.

"And never speak to her, her kid, or even her mailman ever again," said Lotus. Bill then snaps

"Who the hell do you think you are, I don't care how the Justice League handles things I'm not letting a couple of kids mess with my life!" he roared. "Keep going I'll have you sent to Bell Reve!" the boys didn't give a response they didn't seem to care. They just talked to each other.

"~Lotus, how angry is he getting?~" Zero asked as he slowly reached into his coat,

"He's gonna explode soon," said Lotus, preparing himself.

"~Protect Ryan and explain to this gobshite who we are and why we're here,~"

Lotus glances at Zero for a moment, he sees the anger in his eyes. "Gotcha, but don't hurt him too much," Lotus requested Zero nods.

He clenched his fist with Ryan tensing up and flinching as Bill tried to swing at him. Lotus then appeared in front of Ryan and caught his fist. With a gentle push, Bill fell back into the snow. As Bill sat up he saw nothing but a flash.

'*BANG*.

Zero fired his gun. An energy bullet flew fast as light past him, causing snow and ice to fly. Bill froze in fear, the sound was terrifying. Ryan had jumped from the sound, not expecting Zero to do it, Bill. Both of them saw Zero staring him down, anger and fury in his eyes. Lotus then walked over and looked down at Bill with his soul-seeking eyes.

"We're not the Justice League, we're not their partners and we're not your heroes," said Lotus. "We're us, the guys hired to get you out of that house one way or another. We don't care if you send our asses to Bell Reve or not. but if you're serious then call your boys here." he clapped his hands together, "I can go all night."

"~We still have the video and I'm sure the stuff Ryan has more we'll be able to spread around,~"

"Your choice," said Lotus. He gestured to Ryan. "Either sign the papers or deal with us,"

Bill then desperately looks at Ryan. Despite what he had done to him he had hopes that he would stop these two. However, Ryan merely holds up the pen and paper and bends over, looking down at Bill like a bird to a worm.

"Sign the papers, and get out of that house," said Ryan coldly. "Never speak to them again, obey the restraining orders you'll get and that'll be the end of it."

Bill could do nothing else. Defeated, dejected, and helpless he takes the pen and divorce papers and signs them. Ryan then takes them from him and puts them away.

"~Now we're done, let's get out of here.~" said Zero.

"Yeah let's bow out before trouble comes," said Lotus As the three walked past Bill, Lotus looked down at him, "Oh, and don't tell anyone about us,"

"Who the hell are you kids?" asked Bill in a defeated tone.

*Sirens*

Bill could hear police sirens blaring in the distance. He looks away for a moment to see if he can spot any red and blue lights. When he turned back around he saw that Ryan, Lotus, and Zero had vanished into thin air. He wondered if he could take this chance to back out of the deal, then remembered what would happen if he was found out. He couldn't threaten his wife, there could be more cameras. He even believed that Jenna hired them and would call them if he tried anything. Any option he had to get control of all this was imaginary at best. He lost.

Elsewhere Zero and Lotus had made sure that Ryan got back to his care safety. The burgundy Mustang was parked near an alley miles away from where the fight took place and the car lights were out so no one could see them. Out of the three, he seemed the more tired out of them; he sat back in his driver's seat with a bottle of water in his hands. He was sweating like a pig to the point you could see stains on his jacket, and doing his best to control his breathing.

"You went all in back there and won, nice job," said Lotus with a smile.

"Yeah well I'm never doing that shit again, but thanks," said Ryan between pants. He takes another swig of his water and swallows. "But, were you two gonna hurt him? "

Zero swats his hand out in front of him. "~Only if we had to, but because you had everything prepared we finished this up differently. Technically we fulfilled our contract~" Ryan sees this and is visibly confused.

"Okay I know some sign language and I still can't understand you," said Ryan. Zero groaned inwardly.

"~*GROAN* Right, I'm mute~" said Zero. "~This is your damned fault Lotus, just tell him what I said.~"

"He said we'd get violent if things got too far, the only reason we got the video is because of you, if it weren't for you we'd still be tailing him." Lotus shrugged. "But we weren't gonna kill him anyway, we were even told not to go that far."

"You understood all that?" asked Ryan. Lotus nods and pats Zero's shoulder.

"Your fault you can't understand him," said Lotus, "Anyway don't worry about Bill, he knows he's screwed if he goes after his wife again,"

"And you know that how?" asked Ryan. Lotus smiles.

"I could tell as plain as day," Lotus answered back. "He won't hurt that woman again." Ryan then wipes the sweat off his face with his shirt.

"Yeah, her mother's gonna be happy to hear that," said Ryan.

"She was hired you, right?" asked Lotus. Ryan nodded.

"She and her husband stopped getting visits from Jenna," admitted Ryan. "They got paranoid and hired me, when I saw what happened I talked to Jenna, and tried to coax it out of her." Ryan wiped his brow, "She wanted to file for divorce, but it was useless."

"~And then Bill he saw him and slugged him,~" said Zero.

"I hope it worked this time, or her father's gonna take a shotgun to Bill," said Ryan. Zero looked down at his phone and saw the time

"~Speaking of clients, we need to report back after a few days,~," said Zero. Lotus nods.

"Yeah, time to go," said Lotus.

"What are you two going to do?" asked Ryan.

"Your part's finished, but we need to watch Ms Jenna's home for a bit, to be safe," said Lotus. Zero then gave him a nonverbal queue and the two bowed to Ryan" We thank you for assisting us fletching heroes from the bottom of our hearts and truly."

Lotus and Zero both began to walk away. but not before Ryan left the car and nearly slipped on the snow.

"Wait, who hired you two?!" he asked. "You never told me!" the two didn't stop and kept walking. But Lotus does look back and answer.

"Confidential, we're cray but we ain't snitches, this time anyway," said Lotus.

5 days later

The door to Jenna's apartment opens up revealing Jenna dressed in regular clothes without her scarf revealing a bandaged neck. She opens the door to see an elderly woman with gray hair, glasses, a small purse, and a walking stick while dressed winter coat, earmuffs, and a polka-dotted shirt with a long skirt.

"There's my baby girl." said her mother in a loving tone.

"Hi momma, " she and her mother hugged tighter than she had in a long time. She saw her father wasn't around, "W-Where's daddy?"

"Oh he's by the car, some boys are helping him get some things inside," said Jenna's mother. Jenna looked out the door and saw her father; bald and elderly wearing a larger winter coat trudging through what was left of the snow. Behind him were two boys; one with headphones around his neck and another with a face mask helping him carry things to the door. It was a bit of a slow process, but soon Jenna's father made it to the door and hugged her.

"Oh, my little girl," she hugged her father as tightly as her mother, "So glad you're okay,"

"Now that the bastard is gone let me see my grandbaby," said the Grandmother.

"Anthony is in his room right now, he's excited to get a kiss from his favorite grandma and Grandpa. said Jenna. It was then she saw the two boys that were helping.

"Thank you -uhh, what was your name again?" Jenna's father asked as the two boys got to the door.

"I'm Lotus sir, and the masked man is named Ace," said Lotus proudly. "Where do you want everything, sir?"

"Just set it down by the door, I can get the rest." Jenna's father reached into his pocket while Lotus and Ace put everything down. Ace caught a glimpse of Jenna and immediately looked away in a blush, Lots held in whatever laughter he could.

"Thank you, boys, how much do I owe you?" he asked. Lotus and Ace, who were adverting his eyes, shook their heads.

"No thank you, sir, we work for free," said Lotus. "Have a nice day,"

Both Lotus and Ace then walked away from the house. When the door closes and they make it to the sidewalk Lotus feels a pair of eyes on him. He taps Ace's shoulder and both of them look up at the window to see Anthoney waving at them, happier than he had ever been. Lotus and Ace waive back, saying their goodbyes, and walk away, side by side. On Anthoney's computer, there was an email that was sent to him on the day people came to get his father's things. It read: "Mission accomplished, signed the Stray Dogs, (delete after the final meeting)." He didn't want to, but he deleted it as instructed and ran to see his grandparents.

"Another satisfied customer," Lotus said proudly.

"~Now let's get some groceries,~ said, Ace. "~Unless we have to shell out for another homeless man we see,~"

"We could stop a purse snatcher, you can impress another girl," said Lotus in a teasing fashion.

"~*Sigh* Dumbass,~" uttered Ace annoyed.

"I heard that,"

Introducing a young group of rookie would-be heroes inspired by the best and the worst of what the world had to offer. Orphaned, scarred, broken, runaways who could fight any enemies that would plot against them and others who deserved no harm. They would walk over spikes from hell, fight armies and gangs, and bring themselves to the brink of death with their escapades. But they were not toothless; armed with weapons, their fists, their minds, their will, and their hearts they took on any challenge. They would tackle any job requested by their client with no monetary payment: from battles with demons or staring down dangerous Meta-humans, to a simple request to recover a vase or cook for those hungry. Their numbers were small(two at the moment), their experience was still lacking, and their attitude was a bit immature, but their hearts were their greatest weapon. Soon they would grow in size with new faces and some faces you've seen or heard before. They are fighters, inventors, thieves, monsters, fools and kids. They are the not-yet heroes of the DC universe. Introducing the Stray Dogs.

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"This is Squalo King, signing off,"