The alley was one of many in Port Ryndem. It seemed to be a city of contrasts - water and land, colourful clothes and dreary skies, open roads and claustrophobic alleys. The cracks between the buildings served as homes for the myriad of rodents and general filth. Even thieves and swindlers made their homes here, it seemed.
Ink stormed after Amos with a righteous fury. Arria chewed nervously on an already stunted nail. Mondir also showed his reluctance for Amos' crusade in his hunched stance. The Trenmir were just outside the alley, but Amos knew they weren't going to do anything. Not for a lowly beggar and four newcomers to their beautiful city, especially not on their lunch break.
Shadows crept along the walls. Two gabled roofs blocked out the already filtered sunlight. It took several moments for Amos' eyes to adjust to the sudden change in lighting. As he stood, waiting, a fist-sized rat scampered across his shoe. He yelped and jumped back in alarm.
At his outburst, a dark lump in the far recesses of the alleyway whipped around, staring into their souls with wild, hungry eyes.
"This is my alley!" a voice ripped itself from the twitching lump. "Bubble's alley! What're you doin' here?"
Amos cleared his throat. "Bubble? That's your name?"
"Yep! They call me Bubble 'cause of how clean I am!" Bubble the vagabond smiled wide revealing a nearly empty mouth, the few teeth remaining already succumbing to a black rot.
"Clean? Who's saying this Bubble? Someone's lying to you."
"All o' my friends, of course," Bubble spread his arms, releasing a foul miasma from his armpits. Amos looked around in a panic - he didn't want to start a fight with someone who had backup, and ideally this could be resolved without resorting to blows in the first place. There was no one but them in this alley. Amos, his friends, Bubble, and the many many rats that started streaming from every crack, crevice, hollow, and shadow.
"Beautiful creatures," Mondir mumbled.
"Amos," Arria said, "let's just go. This is a bad idea."
"Bubble!" Ink leaped forward, pointing an accusation. "You stole from that kind lady! You need to return her bracelet now, or else!"
Amos mentally slapped his forehead. He placed a gentle hand on Ink's shoulder and pulled him backwards, taking the front to try and defuse the situation.
"Well, no. There's no 'or else'. We just want you to do the right thing, Bubble," he said.
"Stealing? I never steals," Bubble said. "I only take from richies who won't miss nothin'!"
"But..." Amos started.
"And we're hungry! My friends and me! We need it more than she does..." Bubble lurched forward, indicating his rats with a sweeping arm. "I need to take care of me friends!"
"Bubble," Amos said. "You need to take that bracelet back. Now."
"Why do you even care? It's not like it's your bracelet!"
Amos sighed. "Last chance."
"I need it!"
Amos fell into a boxer's stance - the one he learned from training with Arria on Jasper's boat. "I'll make this quick, Bubble. The lady is getting that bracelet back one way or the other."
"What happened to 'no or else'?" Arria cried. "We need to get to the Institute!"
"This is the right thing to do, Arria," Amos said. "Besides, it's good practice."
Arria just sighed. She checked Amos' form and nodded appreciatively. "You were taught by a genius, it seems."
The alley was a dead end and Bubble had nowhere to run. So he screamed. He lifted his arms as he did so and a veritable wave of rats clambered over each other with beady eyes to descend upon Amos.
Amos held his guard over his head as the swarm collided with him. His feet were wide, and the rats pushed him back an inch before the wave dissipated into scrambling, squeaking animals. The rats started to bite at his ankles with viscious jaws.
Amos responded by stomping. The rats made small popping noises as Amos stomped on their skulls, they squealed as he crushed them one by one.
"No!" Bubble screamed. "My friends!"
Bubble ran forward to attack Amos in synchronisation with his filthy pets. The rats swarmed up his legs, clawing up his body and under his shirt. Amos twisted in a panic and grabbed at the rats, throwing them at the wall, wet thuds sounding in the distance where they landed. Then Bubble was on him, swinging his arms in a windmill, and Amos couldn't afford to pay the rats any more attention.
He gritted his teeth as the unending swarm sunk teeth into his skin and dodged Bubble's wild attack.
Bubble had his eyes squeezed shut as he approached, leaving him wide open to a quick jab. Amos struck his temple and sent the thief reeling.
He advanced slowly, his progress hindered by rodents. As he did so, he plucked rats suckling blood from his torso and used them as improvisational throwing weapons. Each rat collided with Bubble with enough force to kill it and cause bruising in Bubble.
"Ow! Oww!" Bubble swatted at the air.
"This is pathetic," Mondir said.
Amos just grunted. He was close enough now to box.
He didn't even have to do anything fancy, Bubble was that disoriented. Amos punched him in the gut, making him double over. Then, he swept his feet out from underneath him with a kick and shoved. Bubble was on the ground now, among the rats. Amos used the brief reprieve to pull a few more rats from his skin. He was mostly free of the rodents now, but doing so had allowed Bubble to stand on shaky feet. He had furious tears in his eyes.
"Should've just handed it over," Amos said. Then, he began a flurry of blows at Bubble's face. After three quick jabs, he got through the vagrant's weak defence. One final jab sent Bubble to the realm of bliss; sweet unconsciousness. As he fell among his rats, they seemed to stop in shock at their master's defeat. A quiver went through the swarm and they dispersed as quickly as they had emerged, returning whence they came.
Amos gingerly picked up Bubble's limp wrist and slid the bracelet off. He held it aloft with a grin and turned to his friends. Ink was clapping and laughing while Arria and Mondir both shook their heads, unimpressed.
"Shouldn't have let him get up that first time," Arria said. "You know better."
"I still won though," Amos said.
"Don't show off, don't be flashy. In a fight with anyone that isn't starved and homeless it'll just end poorly."
"That was awesome, Amos! You're the best boxer ever!" Ink exclaimed. "Now how do we find that kind lady?"
"She can't be too far. We should split up and look for her," Amos said.
"Let's go!" Ink ran to find the woman, swept away by his excitement. His attitude was infectious.
Amos looked back at the other two. "The Institute can wait, come on!" he said. Then he gave chase after Ink.
The city outside of the alley was blindingly bright in contrast to the dark recesses of Bubble's abode. Amos couldn't see where he was running and ran into a person. He bounced off them and landed on his backside, staring up. The person stepped over him solemnly. They wore black and blotted out the sun.
"Explain yourself," they said. They spoke with a clipped tongue, short vowels and efficient use of language.
"Sorry," Amos gasped, "was going too fast, didn't mean to hit you."
"I would surely hope not," the figure said. As Amos' vision cleared, he began to see who he had bumped into.
It was a man, wearing black boots and a black cloak. He had a face that belonged in a vice, thin and elongated. By his shoulder was the insignia of the Trenmir with that strange screaming mouth in it.
"Oh," Amos said, "shit."
"Indeed," the man responded. His mouth barely moved when he spoke, yet his voice carried. A crowd was gathering and the man was backed by his entire unit. Mondir, Ink, and Arria watched from the crowd. "However, you will refrain from using such language in our presence. Pray tell, your face is familiar to me. Have we met before, oaf?"
"Uh, no," Amos tried to get up.
"Stay," the man held a hand over him. Amos smacked it away and stood regardless. The man's thin nostrils flared. "State your identity."
I look familiar because I'm still a wanted man. This is really bad!
I can't get everyone else wrapped up in this. It's time for my excellent lying skills!
"I'm... John."
"John who?"
"John, uhhhh... Johnson."
"John, son of John," the Trenmir agent considered. "What were you doing in that alley? Why were you in such a rush to leave?"
"Oh, nothing. Just hanging out. In the alley."
The Trenmir agent stepped forward and quickly slapped Amos across the face. "You bear a woman's bracelet. You come from a dark alley. You are in a rush. You disobey orders from the Trenmir. You use a false name. You are under arrest, John son of John."
The Trenmir agent grabbed Amos by the wrists and turned him around. His arms were thin and weak, so Amos easily wriggled out and made to run.
"I swear..." The thin man caught his wrist once more. "You will not escape me!" The Trenmir agent's strength multiplied tenfold as he glowed blue. Amos tried to wriggle out again, but the hand encircling his wrist was unmovable. It felt as though he were already in handcuffs.
Shit. Shit shit shit.
He doesn't recognise me yet, but if he takes me in they might learn who I am.
If I use my powers then they'll definitely learn who I am, and there's a whole unit here with powers that I don't know.
What do I do?!