In the backyard of Shermie’s home, Dipper, Mabel, and Misao sat on one side of a white picnic table Shermie kept in the backyard for barbecues and other social events. On the other, Drew, Jo, and Star sat. Janna was standing at the end of the table between Drew and Dipper. Mabel, at her brother’s side, was putting the finishing touches on cleaning and dressing the cut on the side of Dipper’s head from the boot to it he received at the scrapyard, when the back patio door opened and Marco and Roland walked out to join them.

Star looked back and sprang to her feet. “Marco!”

She stopped when she saw the weary disappointment on his face and looked between him and Roland. “What happened?”

“We can talk about it later,” Marco said as he walked over to the other end of the table.

Roland agreed with a nod as he joined Drew’s side and rested a hand on the tabletop. He took a second to look again and noticed that both Mabel and Misao looked like they’d been swimming in the last hour–their respective clothes and their makeup smudged and smeared. They also appeared to be covered in bruises, like they’d been in a fight wherever they had been swimming.

“Jeez, did everyone have a messed up day today?” He asked.

“We can talk about that later, too,” Misao seethed.

Star looked contrite for such a manic girl. “I am so sorry, really! I didn’t expect that to happen.”

Mabel finished wrapping Dipper’s crown with bandages. “It’s not your fault. There’s nothing we can do-”

“But get gruesome revenge on that…” Misao trailed off into muttering in at least three different languages worth of foul words.

His bandaging done, Dipper spoke. “So three kids on dirt bikes jumped Janna and I at the scrapyard and knocked me around a bit. They came after us for no reason and without warning, but they were focused on hurting me–and filming it.”

Jo spoke next. “Exactly the same way Lars just strolled in and stuffed Dipper at lunch.”

“Once is happenstance, twice is a coincidence,” Janna said, “But Big Dippy Style’s face isn’t that punchable.”

“Unless you’re Trip Vanderhoff,” Drew said.

Marco remembered Trip’s screaming and hollering about payback. “Oh, it’s definitely him.”

“So what are we doing about it, exactly?” Roland asked.

“I’m going to be the better person, ignore the Vanderhoffs’ crap and strive to avoid further contact with them,” Dipper said sagely.

Roland and Marco both stared at him with unconvinced expressions.

“You got me. Next time I see either of them, I’m kicking their butts up and down the block.”

“We are,” Mabel corrected him, and Dipper nodded in agreement.

Jo out-stretched her arms onto the table and slouched forward to rest her chin on the painted, polished wood. Her left hand came to rest over Dipper’s and patted it as she closed her eyes and sighed. “We’re catching haters like a frog catches flies.”

“And they’re already getting in the way of more important stuff,” Drew added. “We can’t be fighting off the Vanderhoffs on one side of things while dealing with the Magnavores on the other.”

Especially if someone going after Dipper could ambush him without any warning or notice. That could make for an awkward or even dangerous situation for them if they decided to spring on him while they were after a Magnavore. The security of the Beetleborgs’ identity was at risk too, with that thought in mind.

Weighing on those thoughts, Roland spoke. “We need to avoid situations where Dipper can get jumped, and I don’t know… maybe try to deter that?”

“This is America, is it not?” Misao asked. “Why not get a gun?”

“Because the first thing I need is to pull a gun on obnoxiously rich people and give them an excuse to call their police dogs on me.”

Misao winced, while Janna slid off the table’s edge and turned around to face everyone. “I have an idea.”

She gestured to Dipper, then over to Marco. “Why don’t you two start hanging out more?”

Mabel brightened. “Yeah! Marco can be like… Dipper’s bodyguard!”

“Whoa, bodyguard? Me?” Marco asked.

Star bounced in place. “Yeah, and those guys are pretty scared of me! If both of us are around Dipper, then they won’t mess with him!”

“And if anyone thinks they can do it for them, they’ll be in for a bad time,” Janna finished.

Dipper turned his head and looked at Marco, who was certainly thinking about the idea, too. Jo, on the other hand, was skeptical.

“It’d be easier if they went to class together, but they don’t,” she pointed out.

Janna smirked. “Come now, Jojo, you can guard his body, too.”

Jo broke into a small, triumphant smile. “I see nothing wrong with this strategy.”

Dipper looked at Jo, Drew, and Roland. “Actually, if Trip and Van are moving like this, we all need to be seen together less.”

Jo sat up. “What? Why?”

Drew got it in an instant. “Protecting our secret identities.”

Roland agreed. “Yeah, if people keep seeing them with us, then seeing them with the Beetleborgs and not with us, it won’t take much to put it together.”

“Actually rolling as a group in public has to stop,” Dipper began.

Mabel held up her phone. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t stay in touch! Or hang out here, or at Hillhurst!”

Jo pouted but accepted the wisdom of the move. “We can still hang out incidentally, right? And I’ll watch your back in class?”

“Of course,” Dipper said.

“Then once again I see nothing wrong with this strategy.” Jo stopped. “Wait, what about going to the dojo? Both Marco and I will be there…”

Roland grimaced, but Marco took over. “No we won’t.” When everyone looked at him, he dropped the news. “I quit the dojo today.”

Star gasped. “What happened?!”

Marco glanced at Jo, before he spoke. “Brantley didn’t want me to become his assistant, but he didn’t have the nerve to just say it. He put me through all that crap this morning, so I’d give up on the red belt.”

Jo slammed her fist on the table, thankfully not breaking it. “Fuck that son of a bitch!”

“… Oh my God,” Drew muttered. “That’s… unsettlingly familiar…” He trailed off.

Marco sighed. “On the bright side, I can teach you guys whatever anytime. I definitely know more than what a Green Belt is supposed to–oof!”

Star’s hug knocked the breath out of him, and its tightness made it almost difficult to get it back. She leaned into him and rested the side of her head against his. “… Karate meant so much to you, I’m so sorry that happened…”

Marco returned the hug and rested his chin on her shoulder. “Thanks, Star.”

“I can go find him and avenge you, if you want,” she suggested.

“No.” Marco shook his head. “He’s not worth it.”

“He’s really not,” Roland agreed.

Mabel joined in the hug, Misao coming around the other side and hugging him, too. As he found himself trapped between three different girls, he looked back and forth between each–from down at Misao to up at Mabel. “No offense but you’re all kind of… damp?”

“The sprinklers at the Bounce Lounge went off,” Mabel said.

Misao growled. “Because an idiot started himself on fire.”

“Geez… I’m sorry,” he murmured back.

Dipper drummed his fingers on the table. “To think it’s only our first week here.”

“Our first week all knowing each other,” Roland said.

“The first week as superheroes,” Jo added as she brushed her fingers against Dipper’s.

Drew looked at the girls hugging Marco, Jo in contact with Dipper, then Janna smiling at it all like it was part of some grand plan–and realized that it was. “So what? It’s not going to get easier, but we are going to get better… and we’re not alone for this fight.”

Dipper perked up. “… Yeah.”

The other girls all looked back at the table, but Star remained embracing Marco.

“That’s right,” Mabel agreed. “We’re all in this together!”

Misao nodded. “Even if we all can’t fight, we can do something… and the very least is be there for each other to lean on.”

“And to stick up for,” Roland added.

“And protect, too.” Marco spoke.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

“It’s because of that, that I think we’ll win.” Drew said. “Not just against the Magnavores but against anyone else who messes with us. Even as sloppy and new we are at this, we don’t give up… and when we’re together we’re unstoppable.”

Janna gave Drew a light punch in the arm. “Well said, Sad Kid.”

“Yeah,” Jo agreed, “Way to remember that the Blue Stingerborg makes all the good speeches.”

Drew let out a small laugh and rubbed the back of his head. “I just thought it’d be nice to say, you know?”

Mabel decided then it was time to do one better. “You know what we should do while we’re all here? A… party!”

Misao agreed. “Ja, anything to wash the taste of the Bounce Lounge out of my mouth!”

Star gasped and pulled back from Marco. “That’d be fine, right?”

Marco’s smile was small, but it was there. “Yeah, let’s end today on a high note.”

Dipper got up. “I’ll go talk to Shermie about getting some food. We all had Pizza yesterday…”

“How about barbecue? I know a place,” Roland said.

Marco’s smile slipped into a smirk. “Do you think we can get a discount if we mention that we know Nano’s grandson?”

Roland laughed. “Man, knock that shit off…”

It took a while, but the long disastrous day was left behind. By the end of the evening at the home of Shermie Pines, there was nothing but loud music and laughter as the teens brought together by happenstance and fate took comfort in their bonds. The bonds that would help them for the trouble that was soon to arrive.

@@@@@

In the hills on the northern edge of Echo Creek, were the mansions of town’s wealthier residents. Here lived the likes of Jeremy Birnbaum, Brittney Wong, and of course the Vanderhoff brothers, who were comfortably hanging out by their in-ground pool, a pit fire burning between them. Van played video games on a hologram projection television, while Trip sat on the edge of the pool, dipping his big toe into the water idly. Like most days, the boys were on their own at the house with the help–their father was out of the state, maybe even the country, and neither had seen their mothers since the last divorce.

“Say, have you heard anything from those old friends of yours?” Trip asked as he dipped his toe in the water and held it there.

Van could not tear his attention from the game. “What, you mean Topher and those guys? Nah, I didn’t hear anything since they said they saw Pine Tree by the track with that creepy witch chick.”

“You think they got him?” Trip removed his toe from the water.

“Topher said he’d film it. I told them to mess him up as hard as they could, even if they put him in the hospital, so we’re gonna get some good shots.”

Trip chuckled. “Paying people to get mad for us. Why didn’t I think of doing this sooner? As long as they sign the contract and take the money, we can hire whoever we want to bully Pine Tree for us, and we can just watch and laugh.” He dipped his whole foot in the water. “Even better, that idiot probably has no idea why people are after him. He must be so scared and confused.”

“If he’s even conscious right now. Topher said he was gonna do a burnout on his nuts.”

Trip burst into full-on laughter. “Oh man, I hope they filmed it!”

Van pumped his fist as the game he played ended with his victory. “After this, wanna hire someone to go after McCormick?”

“Andrew? Oh yeah. Maybe we could hire a guy to steal his bike and throw it into the creek.”

Van hummed. “Maybe someone to break into his house and steal his comics.”

Trip had it. “I know. Hire a girl to pretend to be interested in him, and then lead him someplace we can beat him up.”

Van thought about that. “I think I know some girls who’d be down for that.” He pulled out his phone and looked at it. “I’ve been posting around on Insta for people who wanna jump in on the fun, and there’ve been a lot of hits.”

Dudley shuffled his way over and cleared his throat. Trip looked over at him, with mild irritation. “What Demetrius?”

“Dudley, sir,” the butler corrected. “A Mister Topher, and a Mister Caleb are here to see you, sirs.”

Van hopped up onto his feet, excited. “Sweet, they’re here.”

Trip got up from the pool edge and Dudley skedaddled out of the way, as two of the young men who assaulted Dipper, still wearing their motocross gear, marched out of the house and over to the poolside. The boy who led the attack on Dipper–Topher–had dark brown hair with matching eyes, and his face was twisted in anger as he marched up to Van and shoved him hard.

“You set us up, you piece of garbage!” He yelled at Van as the larger of the Vanderhoffs stumbled back.

Van recoiled, and when Topher attempted to push him again, he pushed back harder. “Huh? No I didn’t!”

“Blaine’s in the hospital missing like half his teeth because you said Pine Tree was a joke!” Topher yelled. “And now the track is freakin’ gone, too!”

Van tried to process that. “What do you mean it’s gone?!”

“Because Pine Tree’s friends with Nano, you tool! You didn’t tell us that either! She told the manager to bury the track and he did! They chased us all out of there and knocked like fifty tons of cars onto it!”

“What was Nano even doing there?” Van asked.

“I don’t know! She came out of nowhere and snatched me off my bike!”

The other motocrosser, a lighter haired, brown eyed boy named Caleb, spoke up. “She’s gonna tell our parents, man! If I go home, I’m dead!”

Trip grunted in annoyance. “That freakin’ old bag needs to mind her own business.” On that note. “So what do you two want?”

“For you to pay up now!” Topher yelled at him. “My parents won’t wreck my face if I can at least show them some money.”

Trip rolled his eyes. “Sure, whatever. Dolby, cut ‘em a check.”

“As you wish,” Dudley said, pulling out a checkbook.

Trip glowered at Topher and Caleb. “You at least did it, right?”

Topher turned to face him fully. “What? Did you not hear what I said? Pine Tree shot Blaine in the face with a harpoon gun or something, then Nano showed up and wouldn’t let us near him!”

Anger flashed in Trip’s eyes. “Droopy, burn that check.”

Ripping off the check, Dudley tossed it into a fire pit.

Topher exploded. “WHAT THE HELL?!”

“I don’t pay people for doing nothing,” Trip said in a flat voice. “If you can’t do something as easy as beat up a stupid nerd, then you should be paying me for the time you wasted.”

Topher growled and lunged to grab Trip, only for Van to step in and shove him to the ground at Caleb’s feet. The motocross boy got up and pulled a knife from his boot.

Both Trip and Van recoiled at the sight of the glinting steel. Caleb himself raised his hands in fright. “Whoa, wait!”

Topher ignored him and brandished the knife and began stomping towards the brothers. “You think you’re gonna screw us over, you jackass?! Screw you!”

CLACK!

The sound of wood hitting stone stopped everyone.

CLACK!

Both Vanderhoffs and the Motocross boys looked around, then saw the source of the sound.

CLACK!

Sitting on an empty lawn chair by the pool was an african american teenager wearing a white t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, dark colored hiking boots, and a cream-colored bucket hat whose brim fell over his eyes. He was beating against the ground a long wooden sword coated in a black lacquer. At the end of its hilt a pink string was bound tightly around it, and at the end of the strings dangled miniature figures of a wolf and an imp.

Topher lowered the knife and stared at him. “Who the heck are you?”

Trip and Van looked at each other, then the former turned to Dudley. “Did you let this guy in here?”

Dudley shrugged his shoulders.

“Hey,” the new arrival spoke in a droning baritone as he struck the tip of the wooden sword against the ground. “You’re paying five stacks to mess with dude, right?”

Trip nodded. “Yeah.”

Using the sword to push himself up to his feet, the newcomer pointed it at Topher. “I’ll beat his ass for fifty bucks.”

Topher faced him. “What?”

“Do it!” Trip shouted.

The newcomer took the wooden sword in both hands. “Bet.”

Before Topher could speak or move, the newcomer sprinted at him and swung the bokken into his stomach. The dirt biker folded in half over the wooden blade, knocking the wind, spit, and taste out of his mouth. His assailant lifted his blade and swung it and Topher around to throw at Caleb’s feet, the other biker jumping back in fright.

“Uhhhhngh…!” Topher groaned and began coughing heavily as he clutched his stomach. Trip and his brother stared in silence–both slow to register the feat of speed and strength that laid him out.

The newcomer rested the wooden sword on his shoulder with one hand, as he reached out with his free hand–gesturing to Trip. “Pay me.”

Trip snapped out of his confusion, and barked at Dudley. “Well…? Pay him!”

Dudley reached into his jacket, and pulled out a billfold. Producing a crisp fifty dollar bill, the old chauffeur placed it in the newcomer’s hand.

“Aight.” He folded the bill between two fingers and walked over to Topher. Who was clutching his sides. “Hey, is this Pine Tree kid tough, or what?”

“Screw you… ahh… you broke my ribs!” Topher whimpered.

He looked up from him to Caleb. “Well?”

“He had like a harpoon gun. Don’t listen to whatever those idiots say!” Caleb pointed at Trip and Van. “That kid won’t go down easy.”

“Swag.” He pointed the wooden sword at Caleb. “Now get the fuck out of here.”

Caleb didn’t need to be told twice. He helped Topher up and walked him into the house, Dudley following to make sure they left. After they fell out of sight, the newcomer turned to face Trip and Van.

“So, I’m Gabe and I’ll beat Pine Tree’s ass for a hundred thousand.”

Trip stopped. “What?”

“One hundred thousand, or I’m just gonna leave.” Gabe pointed to the wall that surrounded the house with his sword, the way he got in.

Trip and Van looked at each other again, and Trip answered again. “That’s way too much!”

Gabe lowered his sword, resting the tip on the ground. He shrugged his shoulders. “Aight, then I’m gonna leave.”

Turning around, he walked over to the wall–then stopped and looked back. “But if you change yo mind, catch me on Insta at GHaleyRobbinThem. That’s two Bs, no G, nigga.”

He haphazardly threw the sword up over the wall, and with a quick run up, scrambled up to the top and vaulted over. From the other side of the wall he called out. “And a capital T! Don’t forget that!”

Trip walked back over to the pool and sat down, dropping both his feet into the water. “The heck was that?”

“I don’t know,” Van replied before he pulled out his phone and began checking his social media. “GHaley…” He stared at the phone, and gave a quick glance at the wall. “… Okay?”

He walked over to Trip and sat down beside him. “Hey, check this out.”

He showed his brother the phone, and Trip stared at it. The smaller Vanderhoff’s expression cycled through surprise to confusion. “… Huh. Yeah, there’s no way I’m paying him a hundred grand to beat up Pine Tree.”

With a petulant sniff, Trip leaned back on his hands and looked at the darkening sky, the sun all but below the distant horizon. “It’s only been a week. He’s not worth that much.”

He kicked his feet in the water. “There are plenty of chumps who’ll do it for less.”

@@@@@

His regenerative abilities gave Typhus an advantage over Jara and Noxic, who were still recovering and repairing from their injuries after Monday’s battle. While they sat in hiding he was free to move around their new domain, do reconnaissance, and even attack his foes alone if he wanted to… if he wanted to. The truth was, Typhus didn’t do much by himself, he often refused to outright.

“Baby, this is so boring,” he grumbled as he sat hiding atop a building overlooking the expensive Rodeo Drive.

It was well within his power to go and just tear things up, but what was causing mayhem and chaos without his best friends there to cheer him on and for him to hype up? At least he only had a few more days before Jara was on her feet, and once Noxic finished remaking the parts he lost, they’d be the three amigos of anarchy once again.

The power went out on the entire block below. The street lights and the exterior lights of the super expensive shops flickered back on, before they all shut down, plunging the street and Typhus himself into darkness. “Huh.”

“Dangerous ones… powerful ones… ssss… this is an interesting world, Master.” Snake Head said as his bulky form emerged from the shadows of an air conditioning unit behind him.

“All right!” Typhus cheered, upon seeing Snake Head. “What’s up, Snake Head. You got anything for the Big T?”

The snake head dangling off Snake Head’s right side hissed aloud. “The humans are dangerous. Some more than others. Clever, strong, powerful. Some are unaware, some hide it, but all hold the potential. Be very careful Master, do not cross the wrong human carelessly.”

Typhus snorted. “I’ve already seen plenty of that, baby. What else you got?”

“I have already found one of the prey… tomorrow I will capture and use it to lure out the others.”

Typhus pumped his fists. “All right, I knew I could count on you. Let me know when you’re going that way, I’ll ride witcha.”

“It would be an honor.” Snake Head fell silent for a moment, then hissed again. “Tell me, Master. How is it that you have come to the service of Vexor?”

The question perked Typhus up. “Well, you know. The Magnavores ain’t the strongest tribe in the Nightmare Realm, but they ain’t the dumbest. If you ain’t a world eatin’ God, you gotta be smart enough to stay outta sight, baby.”

“But… ssss… Vexor?”

Typhus waved his creation off. “He thinks too much of himself, but he ain’t no fool. If it wasn’t for him, I woulda been chopped up into pieces by Nukus.”

Snake Head staggered back. “Ssss… Nukus?!”

“Yeah, your Master had a bad day, crossed paths with the Lord of Nightmares himself. Vexor got me out of that jam quick, baby. I’ve been riding with him since.”

Snake Head fell silent after that, and turned away from Typhus “… Ssss…”

His creation’s odd mood didn’t escape Typhus. “What is it?”

“Be wary of Vexor, Master. Do not let him hold too great a power over you.”

“C’mon, who do you think you’re talkin’ to? I’m Bio Lord Typhus, I ain’t afraid of no space crab with a built in Pope Hat!”

Snake Head’s hisses came out sounding like laughter. “Bio Lord?”

“Yeah, that’s what they call me in the funny pages, baby!”

Snake Head turned to face him, with a burst of energy. “It suits you, Master! Let us go hunt, and strike terror into the enemies of Bio Lord Typhus!”

Typhus laughed and folded his arms. With a nod, both monsters vanished into flame as the sound of many, many police sirens began to fill the air, converging on Rodeo Drive.