Bravo and his group moved silently through the city sticking to alleys, and roof tops, avoiding all contact with anyone else who might be out in the dead of night.

“So” Kid asked as they stalked the night, “Does this stuff normally occur?”

“For us? no,” Otto replied, “For this city? Probably.”

“Really?” Kid said, surprised.

“Yeah, the Wolvers have connections to the O’Malley family,” Otto paused for a second thinking, “They're a crime family here, have a lot of connections so they get away with a lot.”

“How much is a lot?”

“Muggings, petty theft, extortion, drug dealings and the like.” Delta replied.

Otto stretched and yawned, “Yeah, mostly lower end stuff. They have been known to murder those who cross them, but the Police are normally good about nailing them for that one,” His his voiced shifted to mock humor, “Provided they aren't on the take.”

“Police?” Kid asked

“Law enforcement, they enforce the law. Put criminals in jail and stuff”

Kid’s mouth opened in a silent “Oh” of realization but before he could say anything else Bravo held up his hand in a signal to stop.

“We’re here,” He told them. His eyes had a glare of anger and there was an edge to his voice as he stood with his body tensed up.

They had stopped in an alleyway between two apartments. Across the street they could see a line of trees that signaled the beginning of the park. Just past that they could see a group of shadowy figures Standing next to a fountain 

“That's them?” Otto asked.

“I would assume so.” Bravo replied.

“What’s the plan?” Delta asked.

Bravo looked around and spotted a ladder leading up to the roof of one of the apartment buildings. “Delta, get up on the roof and spot for us. Make sure there’s no surprises”

Delta made for the ladder but was stopped when Kid put a hand on his shoulder. “Here you should take this.” He said as he unholstered his sidearm, “It’s accurate for the distance you need, and set to stun so you won’t kill anyone, just knock them out.”

Delta took it, his face slack with surprise. He curiously studied it for a moment, familiarizing himself with its layout before giving Kid a nod of appreciation and climbing the ladder to the roof above

 

“Now we meet them.” Bravo said as he reached back behind him towards Otto, who in turn gave him the rusty metal pipe he had been carrying. Bravo brandished it and strode over to the park followed closely by Otto and Kid.

As they neared the men, some of them began to snicker and flash wicked grins. One of them stepped out from the center of the group and scowled at Bravo. His face, crisscrossed with scars, gave him a sinister look.

Bravo stopped just a handful of steps from the group and glared at them, “Give us back our friends.” he demanded.

The men laughed, and the scared one made a hand signal and the men behind him parted, letting two other members of the gang move forward. The two each dragged an unconscious teenage boy and dumped them on the ground just in front of their boss. 

The two boys looked like they had been beaten, with bruises and scrapes all over their faces and hands. Bravo looked at them and then at the scarred Boss, his hand tightening around the pipe. “We’re going to leave now.” He said putting an edge into his voice.

The gang boss laughed followed by his cronies, “No, you’re not,” He said with a growl, “You rats stole from us. We can't let a bunch of junkyard brats steal from us and get away now can we? It’d ruin our reputation”  As soon as he finished his gang members snickered again, bloodlust filling their eyes. 

Otto unexpectedly let out a snort of amusement, “Really?” He asked. “I mean seriously, all you ‘big, strong,’ gang boys want to beat us up, over some stolen food?”

The gang members stopped for a moment staring at Otto in disbelief, as Kid shot him a nervous glance. Bravo, however, continued to glare at them.

Finally, one of them stepped forward towards Bravo, brandishing a knife. Bravo raised the pipe right as the man lunged. 

Before he could connect with Bravo a bright blue beam of energy slammed into him. He cried out as electricity spread all over his body, then he crumpled to the ground unconscious. 

The other gang members stopped in their tracks and stared at their fallen member, dumbstruck at what had just happened to him. Some began to frantically look around, trying to figure out where the shot had come from. Their boss roared in anger and began to move towards the two unconscious teens on the ground in front of him.

Bravo, seeing this, burst into motion. He sprinted towards the man at full speed. As he neared him the man took a swing at him. Bravo ducked and brought the metal pipe around, slamming into the man's stomach. The man grunted as it knocked the wind out of him. 

Bravo continued his action by bringing the pipe up and under the man's chin. The man’s head jerked back violently with the force of the blow, and stumbled backwards to the ground.   

The other gang members looked at their boss lying on the ground. Some of them began to inch backwards, their eyes darting around seeking a way out, clearly marking them as wanting to end the confrontation and run. Three braver ones rushed forward. Two of them pulled out switch blades, one, however, pulled a pistol out the back of his pants and pointed it at Bravo. 

Before the man could fire, Kid darted forward. As he did he reached into his left sleeve with his right hand and withdrew something from his sleeve. A loud Crack! Crack! Crack! sounded as he snapped off three shots, each hitting the three men trying to attack Bravo. They shrieked as electricity danced all over their bodies and then collapsed onto the ground.

Kid stepped forward and held up what appeared to be a miniature pistol. He pointed to the remaining assailants, “E seggist yu lave.” 

They stared at him, trying to figure out what he was trying to say in his weird accent, then as he raised the weapon they panicked and started a mad dash away from the park nearly tripping over each other as they scrambled to get away from the man.

Otto laughed while watching them run, “Yeah that’s right!” he yelled after them, then he looked at their unconscious boss and other members they’d left behind and laughed even harder. 

Bravo rushed over to the still unmoving Buck and Data and knelt beside them quickly joined by Kid.

“They appear to be ok,” Kid said, “Just some bruises.” He mentioned as he glanced over them, “The unconsciousness is worrying but they are breathing just fine.”

“Let’s get them out of here.” Bravo said as he and Otto lifted Data up and began to carry him.

Kid slid his sidearm back into his sleeve then bent down and lifted Buck onto his shoulders.

 “Hey” Otto called to Kid, “That gun was way smaller than the one you gave Delta.”

Kid smiled, “It’s a holdout, only good for about six shots, but it comes in handy in a pinch.”

“Nice”.

As they neared the alley where they’d entered the park from they could see Delta climbing down from the roof. Once they’d entered they set their charges down for a moment.

Delta finished his descent. He walked over the Kid and handed him back his pistol. “Thanks”

Kid grinned as he holstered it, “You’re welcome. That was a very fine shot.”

“Delta’s always been good at stuff like that,” Otto chimed in.

“What are we going to do?” Delta asked Bravo, “Take them to the hospital?” 

Bravo shook his head, “They’d call CPS, send them to an orphanage.” 

“But if they’re hurt badly, something internal, there’s nothing we could do. We don’t know how bad they were beaten.”

Kid stared at them, puzzled, “CPS?”

“Child Protective Services.” Delta stated, “They take in orphaned children and send them to homes where they’re supposed to be cared for and loved.”

“Ha!” Otto spat, disgust evident on his face, “Loved! That’s a joke, We’ve known guys who’ve gone to these ‘homes’ there's no love in them, they just want us for the big fat paycheck they get from the government.” 

“Then what do you suggest we do with these two,” Delta asked Otto before looking at Bravo, “We can’t take care of them, we can’t guarantee that they’ll be ok.”

The boys were silent, their eyes staring at the ground, fear and worry evident on their faces, as they thought about what to do with their friends.

Finally Kid spoke, “I have a medical scanner in the shuttle. It would tell us if they were hurt really badly. I don’t have much medical training but I should be able to stabilize them until they can get better medical care if it’s something serious.”

Bravo nodded, “Then let’s get them back to your ship.”

Otto flashed a grin, “Mickey’s probably worried sick by now.”