Snippet #2483576

Troy took in an long breath, puffed out his chest, furrowed his brows...and pushed Juniper forward.

"Go kick their asses," he whispered timidly.

"Hold on a second," Juniper said, turning the tables on him and bringing him forward instead. "Weren't you the one that said that you were going to help him? You really should keep your word."

"Give me a break," he groaned. "I get it, I get it, just do something, will you?"

"Whatever you say," she shrugged, making her way past Troy and toward the thugs.

One of the thugs came forward with a grin on his face.
"Looks like the punk has a girlfr-" Juniper knocked him flat before he could even finish the sentence, a foot stomping down on his back as he attempted to get back on his feet. His body trembled as he looked up at her with a bloodied face.

"Does it look like I'm here to talk?" Juniper said quietly, a killer intent glinting in her eyes as she glared down at him. A bat suddenly swung in and it her across the face, the force of the hit causing the bat to fracture. As Juniper turned her attention to the thug that just hit her across the face, a pattern of armored scales were visible in the same place where she'd been struck, red veins webbing out from the patch as it melded back into her skin and vanished without leaving a trace.a

"Oh, shit-"

Juniper roundhoused the bat into a thousand pieces, the shattered fragments scattering all across the floor. Before he had time to react, she mimicked the motion with her other leg, this time hitting the thug in the side. The power of the kick sent him reeling into the opposite wall, which he promptly collapsed and slid down against. She stared down at the last thug, her hands crammed in her pockets.

"I'll give you a free shot," she said, her intonation making it clear that her words were a threat to him. Unfortunately, he didn't take her up on her offer and decided to scamper off, only to be caught in the back of the collar by Troy.

"Hey buddy," Troy smiled, pulling the gangster's collar back. "The princess might be done with you, but I think you haven't overstayed your welcome just yet. I think you have something to tell our friend here," he continued, nodding his head toward the young man that they had ganged up on. "Oh, and maybe you can send a message to the rest of your pals too, eh?" Juniper leaned with her back against the wall and crossed her arms.

"Don't make this more complicated than it needs to be," she told Troy, plucking her cigarette from her lips and letting out a stream of smoke. Her gaze fell down on Rae. "Hey, kid. Can you stand?"