The Boston Trio

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Part 1 by Sara -

Nat looked around and breathed deep, inhaling the Boston smells---bakery goods, manure, and smoke from the towering chimneys.

People were swarming all around him---women, men, children, even his fellow street-bound friends . . . and enemies.

He was home.

Although it was different, with his father not accompanying him. He had lost him no more than two weeks ago, and he was just getting used to being alone in the big city. He had avoided trouble as much as he could, and but he could only hope that the luck he had thus far wouldn't run out.

That morning Nat was on his way to the bakery to buy a roll for his meal. His money that he had made playing his violin on the streets was plentiful that day, but, although he was tempted, he knew he couldn't waste all of it in one day.

Nat left the bakery (2 cents poorer but one roll richer) with his mouth watering. The bread that he held in his hand looked so good, and it was still warm, fresh from the oven. It was a good foot long, and he couldn't wait to bite into it.

He reached an alley and put his violin case down besides him. He was so hungry he could have eaten the whole thing before he had time to think about it, but instead, trusting his instincts, he tore off a tiny piece from the end and chewed it graciously. "I have to make sure this lasts at least a week," he warned himself after he had swallowed the bite.

Suddenly he heard running footsteps behind him, and he whirled around just in time to see a brown-haired boy with fire in his eyes run into him, knocking both himself and Nat to the ground below.

Nat was about to apologize when the other boy was picked up by a bigger boy and thrown against the wall. "I warned you Dan," the boy said grimly, grasping his shirt in his fists. "Don't you go stealing my meals, ya hear?"

Dan looked mad, and punched the other one in the face. "I would think I'd have a right to if you steal them from me first! Those apples were rightly mine, Peter! You know it!"

Peter glanced at the bag of apples in Dan's hand and reached for them. "They should've been mine, though."

Dan jabbed Peter in the face again, and the boy fell back. "Don't touch me, Peter! I haven't eaten in two weeks! You just ate a whole duck last night!"

Once Nat thought about it (he, by the way, was standing on the side, not sure of what to do), the boy with the apples did look rather skinny, and hungry, and Peter certainly looked liked he could spare a few meals.

Peter stood up angrily, wincing due to his bloody nose. Not sure of what to do, he suddenly lunged for the apple bag, grabbed it in his hands, and ran away before Dan could do anything about it.

"You steer clear of me, ya hear Peter?" Dan screamed after him, not even bothering to run after him. "Don't you ever run into me again!" The boy looked angry and Nat tore off a piece of bread and handed it out to him. "Here, Dan," he offered.

The boy looked at Nat confused, and cautiously took it from his hands. "Thanks. What's your name?" he asked.

Nat smiled, glad that he seemingly made a new friend. "Nat Blake."

Dan looked interested, and perked up suddenly. "Blake," he said in thought. "I've heard of you . . . aren't you that boy who played music with your father all the time?" he asked, and bit into the piece of bread.

Nat looked down sadly. "My father's not with me anymore," he said. Dan immediately looked sympathetic and sorry he brought it up. "Sorry, Nat," he said gloomily.

Nat shook his head, and gathered his things. "That's all right, you didn't know."

Dan smiled suddenly and patted him on the shoulder. "You gotta make sure you steer clear of these all alleys, Nat," Dan warned with a serious look on his face and they walked to the streets. "Boston's not really a safe place for those of us who live on the streets."

Before Dan went off on his separate way, Nat found a strange urge to hug him, he was so glad he finally found a friend. "I hope we meet up again," Nat said hopefully.

Dan smiled, and patted him on the back again. "Don't worry," he said. "Boston may be big, but here on the streets, it's as small as it can be." And with that, the boy turned around and walked down the street, with Nat not knowing how soon it would be before he would meet up with Dan again.

* * * * *

Nat wandered through the streets of Boston, looking for a place to stay that night. He was cold, and it was wet from the rain that had been pouring all day. With his violin clutched tightly in its case in his hand, he walked slowly, not really knowing where he was going to go.

He drifted down an alley, when suddenly he was grabbed by the shoulders and pushed against the wall. He yelped in pain, and heard someone laughing.

"Nothing? Let me just take that from you, and I'll be on my way." The boy grinned at the frightened Nat who wiggled, trying to get out of the kid's grip.

Nat peered into the darkness to see who was talking, but the person stayed hidden.

"Now come on Flash, we could make some money off of what he's got in his case. I'll make a deal with you, . . . whatever we get for it, I'll split it with you, . . 60 - 40, since I grabbed the kid in the first place."

Nat felt himself suddenly released as two hands pushed �Jasper' away from him. He watched as this kid pushed him into the wall, and punched Jasper a couple of times. "How many times do I have to tell you? Get lost!"

Jasper ran from the alley, threatening the person who had hit him. "I'll get you for this Flash. You're gonna pay!"

"If you stay on the streets long enough, you'll learn." The girl turned and started to walk away.

That reminded Nat that he didn't have a place to stay that night either, so he quietly said, "oh," and started walking the other direction.

She sighed, "you can stay with me." She started walking, then noticed he wasn't following, "well, come on."

They started walking towards the other side of town, talking about Nat and why he was on the streets, then after a pause in the conversation, Nat asked, "so why do they call you Flash?"

"This is my place, tomorrow we'll go out and I'll teach you a few things you'll need to know about living on the streets."

Nat nodded, then curled up on the ground in a corner of the room. He was instantly fast asleep.

The girl smiled again, and put a blanket around his shoulders. "See you in the morning Nat," she whispered, then went to her bed to sleep.

* * * * *

Nat opened his eyes to find Flash sitting at the table studying something. It looked to be a newspaper, but since when did street people get the newspaper, he wondered.

The girl turned around and smiled at the boy across the room. Nat was taken surprise by it. He never really got the chance to study her smile, and once he got the chance to think about it, she did have a really nice one. "Hey, Nat. Just reading this newspaper here. There some apples over there," she told him as she bit into one herself, and pointed over to the corner.

Nat stood up and leaned over her. "You teaching yourself to read?" he asked her.

Flash shook her head. "Nope, I already know how. I learned it when I was real young, before-" the girls stopped talking for some reason. Nat felt sad for her, figuring she lost her family, too.

Flash folded the newspaper and stood up. She was pretty tall, Nat thought--he even thought she was taller than he by the tiniest bit. Playfully punching him on the shoulder, Flash spoke. "C'mon, Natty. It's time I go teach you a lesson on how to survive on the streets," and with that she and her new friend walked out the front door into the morning air.

* * *

Flash looked around the market with her new friend. She had told him to look very casual, just like a boy shopping. Nat had a strange awareness of what was coming next.

Before Nat knew what was going on, Flash took his hand and crossed the street to an alley. She got about halfway down with him, looked around for anyone, then stopped. "Ha!" she laughed, and pulled out two oranges. Nat opened his eyes wide. "Breakfast is served, my friend. Breakfast is served."

Nat looked confused, and took it cautiously. "When did you have time to buy these?" he asked her.

Flash smiled, and shuffled through the other ones that were bunched at the bottom of her burlap sack. "I didn't buy 'em, Nat. See, you didn't even see me take 'em. Told you I was fast."

Nat gasped. "Flash, that's stealing!" he said in surprise.

Flash laughed again and patted Nat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Nat, every street bum does it, it's the only way they can survive, unless they have money. But then of course, if they had money, they wouldn't be a street bum now would they?" Nat had to laugh at that, and Flash smiled again. Nat knew he could get used to seeing her smile every day that's for sure. "Anyway, it's only wrong if you get caught. And if you're any good, then you don't."

* * *

Later that day Flash had been teaching Nat some of the tricks of the trade. By the end of the day, Nat stole two apples, a banana, and a bar of chocolate. He appreciated all that Flash was doing for him, but he knew he would probably never end up stealing on his own, and he'd never swipe someone's wallet.

When the two friends got back to Flash's place, they hung around for a while, talking about a lot of things. Nat told Flash that his father had died fairly recently, and he was getting used to living on the streets on his own. Flash was silent for a while. "Your last name Blake, huh?" she asked, although it was more like a comment rather than a question. "I remember hearing all about you, Nat. You and your father were quite a pair, weren't ya?" she asked.

Nat nodded his head gloomily. "What about your family?" Nat asked her, trying to change the subject.

Flash looked him right in the eye. He didn't know people could be so direct. "My mother walked out on us when I was two. Later that year my father died in a house fire, and only two weeks after my brother and I started living on the streets, he died of the measles," she told him. Nat was amazed by her huge loss.

"Don't you have any other family?" he asked her questionably.

Flash shook her head and lay back on her bed with her hands behind her head. She stared at the ceiling as she talked to him. "Don't have any, don't need any. I've put all my losses to the past. I gotta start making a living for myself now, I can't be held back by my family's deaths," she said. Nat wished he had her strength, but he wasn't sure that he'd ever.

* * *

That night Flash and Nat went for a walk in the city. The sun was just setting behind the buildings, so they agreed that they should head back once it got dark.

As the two friends neared an alley, someone jumped out in front of them. "Well, well, Christa," came the voice of someone who sounded like they wanted revenge.

Flash stood up tall, and Nat inched closer to her. No wonder why she was so brave-she had been living on the streets for most of her life, Nat realized. The boy came closer to her, and the boy and girl noticed three other figures coming closer. "I'm so glad I ran into you, Miss Christa," the boy said again. "Heard you gave my friend Jasper some trouble," he said again, and Flash gritted her teeth.

"Just goes to show how much of a coward he actually is, Joseph. Making his boys do the dirty work instead of facing me himself like the very man he claims to be," Flash snapped back bravely.

There was a short pause, and then Joseph snapped his fingers once. Two of the three other boys advanced, and when Nat thought they were going after Flash, instead they came straight Nat and held him back. It was getting much darker now, and the two friends couldn't make out their attackers' faces, but they did know that they were in a lot of trouble. Flash looked at Nat quickly, then back to Joe. "Leave Nat out of this, Joe," she warned, taking a small step forward.

Joe took a step forward too, and soon the two enemies were face to face. "That's exactly what I plan to do, Flash. Can't ya see I'm looking out for him by keeping out of the fight."

Nat tried to struggle free, but he didn't say anything, he was too scared. In the mean time, Joe and the other boy charged at Flash. After a couple blows to the stomach, Flash was backed up against the wall by the Joe's accompanist and punched in the face. Joe backed off, and smiled greedily. "Coward!" Nat screamed, struggling to free himself. The boy who was punching Flash stopped suddenly, his fist in mid air. He turned his head slowly.

"Nat?" he asked quietly, but Nat was so angry he didn't hear. "Coward!" he said again, and Joe stepped towards him, grinding his teeth. Nat was angry that he had to watch this being done to his friend, and he didn't back down. "You come here to stick up for Jasper, and now you're having the rest of your little gang do all the work! What kind of brave guy are you?" he asked him angrily.

Joe stopped right in front of Nat so his face was almost touching Nat's. "It's not a good idea to threaten me, ya little creep," Joe said angrily, and thrust his hand into Nat's stomach.

Flash and her attacker both screamed "NO!" at the same time, and raced to help their friend. Flash punched one of the boys in the face, and they ran. "Let's get outta here, Joe!" one of the boys screamed.

"That's Christa Moon you're messing with!" he screamed, and the two boys were gone.

The other boy walked up to Joe and shoved him. "Don't you touch him, Joe," the boy warned, and Nat looked up at the boy from the ground in confusion, and Flash looked confused too. Joe backed off, and soon he too was gone.

They were silent for a while-the two boys and a girl-until suddenly the boy lunged at Flash. He pounded her to the ground, screaming at her the whole time. "I'll have your scalp for messing with Jasper!" he screamed.

Flash was angry, and pushed him up to the wall. She returned many of the blows she had received, and soon the two were enrolled in a huge punching bash. They gave and received punches just about everywhere-the face, the stomach, the chest, anywhere and everywhere that would hurt, a lot.

Nat stood up wearily. "Dan?" he asked. "Is that you?" but Dan didn't hear, he was outraged that this girl had offended his friend Jasper. Flash didn't hear either, so Nat got up and tried to pull Flash off of Dan.

Flash struggled hard, trying to get out of Nat's grasp. Nat himself couldn't believe it that he was actually restraining her, but since she was so tired out from all the fighting, she wasn't struggling as hard as she could be. "Back off, Flash!" he screamed, and Dan just stood in front of her, glaring at her.

"Why are you standing up for this guy, Nat?" she asked, still trying to free herself from Nat's grasp. "He's a lowlife, that's all! Nothing more, nothing less!"

Dan advanced and punched her in the face again. "That's a whole lot more than you can say for yourself, Christa Moon!" he screamed, knowing her name since he had heard so much about her. He was actually honored that he was punching and getting punched by the famous Christa Moon, but he didn't tell her that. "Don't listen to her, Nat!" he told his friend, and then Nat knew for sure that it was Dan. "She's a back-stabber! You can't trust her!"

As Flash was still struggling to get out of Nat's firm grasp, Nat was pleading with Dan to stop punching her. "Don't Dan! Please! She's my friend," he begged, and Dan stopped.

"Let me go, Nat!" Flash screamed, trying to squirm her way out of Nat's hands.

"Only if you promise not to hurt Dan!" Nat screamed, pleased when he realized he was getting somewhere.

Flash stopped struggling, and Nat let her go. Dan and Christa glared at each other for a while, but Nat broke the silence. "Dan, I'm sure you've heard about Flash," he said, introducing both of his friends to each other.

"Course I have," Dan scowled. Nat smiled, and Flash expression didn't change.

"Flash, this is Dan, my friend," Nat told Flash, and as a way to gesture their meeting Flash nodded her head once.

The three children stood still for a moment, and again, Nat was the one to break the silence. "C'mon, guys. You can't stay mad at each other forever. I'm sure you could become real good friends," Nat told them hopefully.

Dan surprised everyone by smiling. "S'pose it wouldn't be too bad to have the toughest street kid in Boston on your side," he said, and stuck his hand out for Flash to shake it.

Flash hesitated, then laughed and shook Dan's hand. Nat noticed that Dan must have been surprised by Flash's smile, too. You wouldn't suspect someone so tough to have such a nice smile.

Nat smiled, and put his arms around both of his friends. "Well, isn't this nice?" he asked them hopefully.

Flash laughed again. "Whaddya know---we seem to make quite a trio, don't we?" she asked them, and they all shared a good laugh.

Suddenly there was a crash of glass and there was the sound of lots of footsteps coming towards them. The three kids whirled around, and peered into the darkness to see if they could find what had made the noise. "C'mon boys, those three twerps couldn't have gotten far!" they heard, and the three children exchanged scared looks.

"We gotta get outta here," Flash whispered silently, and the three kids sat silently, trying to think of a way out of the mess before whoever it was reached them.

* * * * *

Hearing the pounding footsteps of the three, the thugs began chasing them. "You come back here, you hear? Joe wants to talk to you! Come back!"

"Run!" Flash screamed, quickly taking the lead. Dan and Nat followed her, down long, dark, alleys and streets. After running for what seemed like forever, Nat had to stop.

Dan looked around, then hearing the footsteps of the gang, grabbed Nat and Flash by their arms, and ran for an empty alley. Pushing them against the wall, he squeezed into the tight space, hoping that they had not been seen or heard.

They left the alley, and entered into the streets. "Nice gang you were with Dan." Flash commented.

That smirk was starting to bug her, and she scowled. "I don't Need a gang. . . unlike some people I know."

That remark hit a nerve and Dan grabbed her, pushing her back up against the wall.

The silence that followed was cold, filled with unvoiced, bitter thoughts between Flash and Dan. Nat hoped that this wouldn't become a habit between the two.

"I mean, Nat, that since I stuck up for you, I really don't have anywhere to go. I'm probably on my gang's most hated list right about now."

"Oh," Nat said quietly, then brightening, he almost smiled, "you can stay with us, right Flash?"

"Well, . . uh, . . if it's okay with you, of course." Nat stuttered, then smiled politely, and hopefully.

"No that's okay," Dan interrupted, then he smirked once again, "I'll just go stay with Jasper."

Flash growled softly, then turned on her heels and started walking down the street. Nat smiled at Dan, then ran after her.

Shaking his head Dan grinned and called out. "If I remember correctly, from what people have told me, . . . you're place would be in the opposite direction Flash."

Angrily, she turned again on her heels and marched the other direction, ignoring him as she passed.

*****

"Hey Jasper, you mind if I stay with you for a few days? . . . Just until I get a place of my own of course."

"Hey, of course Dan. Come on in." Jasper smiled and opened the door, or what was left of it, and Dan walked into the shack.

"Thanks. I really don't have a place to stay right now."

"I heard about that Dan. Apparently, you stopped Joe from doing his job that I asked him to. You were supposed to help."

"I know Jasper, its just that, nobody told me that I'd have to fight Nat."

"Nat? Who's Nat?"

"He's this kid I met the other day. He's new to the streets, and I just didn't feel good about beating him up."

"Of course not Dan. No point in being impolite." Jasper grinned and motioned for Dan to sit.

"Exactly. Besides, its true that Flash is a little bossy, and a little . . ." Dan searched for a word to use.

"Arrogant?"

"Yeah."

"Stubborn?"

"Mmhmm."

"Over Aggressive?"

"Right. But after you get past all of that, she's not that bad."

�Dan! She beat up on me and you're sticking up for her?"

"Well, no, . . not exactly. I just think that you should get to know her."

"Dan!"

"Please? For me?"

Jasper seemed to have ignored him, and changed the subject. "You do know that I'm supposed to hate you, and that I'm supposed to take you to Joe for a �meeting.'"

"A meeting?" Dan asked suspiciously.

"Mm-hmm. He wants to show you that he can fight."

"Against me?"

"Yup."

* * * * *

"Why do you hate Dan so much, Flash?" Nat asked the girl staring into the fire angrily.

Flash looked at Nat quickly. "I don't hate �em, Nat," she told him, then went back to eyeing the flames.

Flash laughed and shook her head. "Okay, okay. So I don't really like that Dan all that much. What's the problem?" she asked Nat.

"But for a minute it looked like you were going to be friends with him, Flash. You even shook his hand," Nat protested, desperate to make his two friends become friends with one another, also.

Flash didn't say anything for a while. "I just don't like opening up to people, Natty," she told him, resting her chin in her hands.

Nat was silent for a while also. "You opened up to me," he said slowly, but secretly proud at the same time.

Nat looked at Flash's profile and saw that she was smiling. "Guess you were the lucky one to find out that there's not much more to me than what everyone already know," she said, almost guiltily. "To everyone here in Boston I'm just a tough and mean old girl who always needs to get her way."

Nat felt sorry for her, but he was sure that she didn't need pity. "Not to me," he said, even slower than before, and Flash laughed and got up to her bed.

"You're quite a wonder, Blake," she said as she lay down with her hands behind her head. "Quite a wonder."

* * *

Dan paced around the alley nervously, waiting. Jasper was sitting on a pile of crates a little further down. "You sure you're ready for this, Dan?" Jasper asked him.

Dan took his jacket off and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. "Yeah," he said nervously, but ready to fight.

Dan suddenly heard people coming, and saw Joe standing angrily at the top end of the alley. He walked forward, telling his boys to go over and sit with Jasper. "Well, well, Daniel," Joe said mockingly as Dan put his fists up, showing his opponent he was ready.

"Let's just see what you're really made of, tough-boy," Joe said again, and jabbed at Dan. Dan ducked, relying completely on his reflexes and instincts, and gave Joe a hard punch to the stomach.

The fight had begun.

The boys from Joe's gang (and Dan's former gang) cheered their leader on, while Jasper sat with his arms folded across his chest, silently rooting Dan on.

The two boys did about everything to hurt the other one. They pushed each other up against the walls, punched them in the face, kicked them in the stomach, and broke wooden crates over their heads. Dan's whole body shook with pain, but he had to win, he knew it.

The fight ended with one single move. Dan was lying on the ground painfully, with a bloody forehead, nose, just about a bloody everything. His head ached, but he knew that he had one punch left in him.

Joe stood in front of him in pain too, and watched teasingly as Dan struggled to stand. "What's the matter, Dan?" Joe asked, kicking Dan's legs, and Dan tripped, only to get back up instantly. "Aren't you tough enough?"

Dan stood up, breathing hard. He saw his hand shaking uncontrollably, but to it he paid no heed. He simply stood up tall and strong, trying to be as brave as he could.

Dan took a step forward, leaned against the wall quickly for support, but stood up straight again. "I think you should be asking yourself that, Joe, �cause here comes the final test," he growled, reared back, and slammed Joe into the wall.

Joe fell to the ground in agony, and his boys rushed over to their fallen friend. Jasper laughed and patted Dan on the shoulder. "Congratulations, Dan. You're free to go," he said, and Dan laughed. Joe's boys heaved him up, and Joe stared at Dan angrily. "You may have won the battle, Dan . . ." he began, but Dan interrupted him.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But I haven't won the war," he said mockingly, and Joe reddened as he was taken out of the alley. "I will though!" Dan screamed after him, laughing.

* * *

The next day as Dan was walking down the streets, carrying an apple in his hand somebody grabbed him from behind and thrust him into the alley that he was closest to. "Nice to see you again, Dan," Joe said angrily.

Dan rolled his eyes. "You just don't know when to back off, do you Joe?" Dan asked. "I won, fair and square. You just can't admit it that's all. Well," he added, "I have nothing to do with you now, so why don't you just let me go, okay?" he asked, and began to walk away.

Joe threw him into the wall and tossed Dan's apple further down the alley. "Hey, that's mine!" Dan screamed angrily, struggling to get free.

"Well it ain't yours anymore, Dan," Joe growled. "And besides, there's still a war to be won."

Suddenly frenzy erupted. At least seven other boys jumped out of the shadows and approached Dan cautiously. Dan looked brave, he made sure of that, but inside he was real scared. Eight against one wasn't a very good probability, and Dan had to admit to himself that the odds were for his former gang.

Joe smirked at Dan. "Not so tough are ya now, Dan?" he asked, shoving him hard.

Dan clenched his jaw, and charged.

His eight other defenders did the same.

The second battle had been launched.

In town Flash and Nat were walking down the road talking, carrying bales of hay to deliver to a nearby animal store in town. After they deposited the hay at one of the animal's stall in the barn of the store, they began walking back to downtown Boston to get started on some other jobs. It never hurt to try to get some extra money.

As they walked past one alley, the boy and girl saw a crowd of people pounding on one person. They couldn't make out his face, but they both knew instantly they had to help. There were at least seven or eight people up against one person it seemed, and that meant the odds weren't in the victim's favor at all. "You ready to fight, Nat?" she whispered to the other boy, and he nodded his head nervously, even though he certainly wasn't.

Flash approached the first attacker silently, and hit him hard on the back of the head. The boy turned around dazed, and Flash stepped aside to let Nat jab him in the face. The boy fell to the ground, and Nat smiled. "Good job, Natty," Flash said, attacking the next one.

Before long everyone was aware of the two other people who had come to help. Dan was crumpled up on the ground in the most pain he had felt in a while, and saw two people. First he saw Flash, knocking people in the heads hard, or pounding on their backs, and when she made sure they were weak enough, she stopped fighting them.

Why?

Then she saw the other boy---Nat, nervously punching the boys that Flash had already fought in the faces, which was enough to bring them down. If the situation had been different, Dan would have laughed, but he couldn't, he was in too much pain.

"Hey you!" Flash screamed at Dan. "Get outta here."

Dan stood up slowly, in complete and utter pain. Joe looked around amazed, then whistled.

Everyone stopped instantly. Flash had a fist in midair, and the boy she was about to punch looked real scared. They didn't know what was going on, but suddenly Joe snickered, then laughed out loud.

Flash, Dan, and Nat all heard it at the same time---the sound of running footsteps and angry voices coming towards the alley. More people to help Joe.

The three children didn't move. They didn't run away and they didn't talk to each other either. But they were surely thinking the same thing.

They were in a lot of trouble.

Suddenly about eight or nine other boys appeared at the front of the alley, standing tall and looking outraged.

Joe walked up to Flash and stared at her straight in the face. No one moved at all, until Joe spat two, quiet, cold words out of his mouth that sent chills up and down Flash, Dan, and Nat's spines.

"Get �em."

* * * * *

Flash instantly moved to stand next to Dan and motioned for Nat to do the same. The boys were walking so slowly, that it made her nervous. There were about 20 boys now, and only three of them, the odds did not look good.

"So now what are you going to do Flash?" Joe laughed, and without waiting for a reply said to his buddies, "take out the girl first, then hurt her little friend. After that, we'll have a little chat with Danny-boy here."

Dan groaned and tried to stand, to help. "Back off Joe!" He yelled right before he blacked out.

"Make that 10 of them Joe." A voice from the entrance to the alley startled Joe and he turned around in surprise.

Flash, seeing the opening that they voice had made, immediately punched Joe and started to fight off the other boys.

Jasper and some of the other boys came into the alley to help, while Nat bent over to help Dan.

Nat sighed, then looked up to watch the fight. He noticed that Flash was doing good, though she was obviously in pain. Jasper stood next to her, and though they were fighting against the same people they looked as if they were having an argument.

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The End!