52 Splitting Up, Again

The men stared up at the kids with expressions teetering between fearful and cautious.

"So uh, what should we do with these two?" Duke had an underwhelmed look on his face, as if this were an every day occurrence.

"I have an idea."

The group glanced at Marco as he spoke, only to see him hold up a baton he had swiped from the guards they had faced earlier. He flashed a charming smile.

"Oh, boy." Michelle wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or amused. The guards however, looked somehow terrified and absolutely confused and the same time. With a large wind-up, Marco unceremoniously slammed the baton onto the first guard's face, hitting him square in the temple.

"You know what they say, a good hit to the temple will knock anyone out." Marco grinned.

"Who says that?"

"I've never heard anyone say that."

"I don't think people say that."

Marco scowled back at his group.

"Wow, thanks for backing me up guys." Marco looked back down at the second guard. He was shaky, yet there was indignation in his eyes. They stared each other down for a second before the guard made his move.

"If you think I'm just gonna sit down and take this, you've got another thing coming!" The guard managed to slash free of the vines with his knife, and bolted up. He made a run for the door, but before he made it there a burst of energy blasted him in the feet. He yelped in pain and looked down at his burning foot.

"Where the hell...?" The guard looked up at the group, wondering where the explosion had come from, but no one in the group seemed to have moved.

"You can expect a lot more of that if you try to run again," Marco said coldly, glaring at the injured man before him. "Traps, you could call them. The buildings littered with them. And I can activate them whenever I so please. In fact, if I so desired, you could be dead this instant."

The man's face twisted into fear as his voice shook.

"P-please... I won't tell or do anything, so just, have mercy..."

Sable spoke out next, her voice strong and clear.

"Did you have mercy when these girls begged you to let them go?"

The guard barely had time to process what Sable had said before Duke slammed another baton onto the back of the man's head.

"God, he was annoying. Moving on." Duke tossed the baton to the side and stared back at his vaguely surprised group.

"Didn't even see you sneak up behind him there. How stealthy of you," Michelle lightheartedly remarked.

"I know right? Wasn't it cool? I'm like a ninja or something."

"Yeah, a ninja who steals other people's moves. The baton idea was mine." Marco playfully scowled at Duke.

"Oh, I'm so sorry sir, I didn't realize you had copyrighted the use of a baton," Duke shot back.

"Screw off."

The group gave a small laugh.

"Michelle, Sable, Byrd..... You really came back for us...." Katie looked awed, yet immensely relieved.

"Most def, I mean we wouldn't just leave you hanging. Told you we could handle it." Michelle grinned.

"But, where are Cassidy and Waze...?" Katie seemed concerned.

"Oh don't worry about them, they're dealing with bigger problems. For now, let me introduce you to our friends here." Michelle stepped to the side and cleared her throat, then gestured to the boys like a gameshow host presenting a prize.

"Here we have Duke, our wonderful ninja-like red head, and Marco, a beautiful, yet cruel prince."

The girls murmured a bit and all looked at the boys with slight awe in their eyes.

"Oh, and let me introduce you boys to this lovely girl. This here, is Ms. Katie Hopkins."

"Eh? Really? That Yuka girl's friend?" Duke looked down at the girl, then grinned. "Well, pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Same here." Marco flashed one of his trademark smiles at Katie, who smiled in return.

"So, are you guys really planning on breaking us out of here...?" Maya looked back at them. She still looked dissatisfied, mostly cautious though.

"Well, Miss....." Marco trailed off, waiting for a name.

"Maya," She said.

"Well, Miss Maya, we most certainly will. But we do need a moment to... reconvene." Marco glanced at his team. "Time out, group talk." He gathered them all into a group by the door, and spoke with a hushed voice so the girls wouldn't hear.

"This is all well and great, but we've got another group of girls we need to rescue, and we've got to take these ones to the meeting point."

"Marco has a point, there aren't that many of us," Duke remarked.

"I-I think that the girls can help, though." The group looked curiously at Byrd as she spoke.

"Why do you figure?" Michelle asked.

"Well, they're mostly high steps too, right? Thats why they're here. Maybe they're not as tough as us, but they can probably still help a bit."

"I agree with Byrd. We should split up so half of us take this group back to the others, and the other half go get the other girls." Sable looked around for approval.

"Hmmm..." Marco looked deep in thought for a moment. "I'll go with Byrd to bring these girls back to the others. I've already set traps along the way we came, so it'll be easier for me to activate it. Plus, we know that way is mostly clear. You three go get the other girls from the conference room."

"Sounds reliable to me." Michelle gave a satisfied nod, and Sable and Byrd nodded in agreement as well.

"Alright!" Duke clapped his hands loudly and turned to the girls in the room. They all looked at him attentively. "Here's the deal. My friends Byrd and Marco here are going to take you out of the building to some other friends of ours outside. The police will be here soon to take you home. Us three are going to find the other group of girls. Got it?"

The girls murmured agreement. Maya still looked suspicious, though.

"Are you sure we can get out safely?" She looked questioningly at the group. Marco smiled at her, and replied.

"It might be difficult, though Byrd and I will help you through. However, you might all need to defend yourselves. You have high enough abilities, right?" They all nodded in agreement. "Good, then lets get going."