“What took — you — so long? Sarah said — you were — already — on — your way!” said Tim. He didn't bother trying to hide the accusatory tone under his haggard voice.

“The usual,” Terranis replied nonchalantly, his words firm and consistent. “I took a few pictures of the scene before jumping in. You look rather dashing in them.” He ended his words with sarcasm and a smirk.

“Ugh. Please — ask them — to — crop me out.” Tim pretended to cover his face in embarrassment.

“Huh. You know they won’t.” Terranis grunted.

“Thanks — Bro — thanks …” said Tim as he slowly limped over to his forgotten phone. It wasn’t only his leg that ached now. His entire body had gnawing pain. He wondered if he had any broken ribs from all the kicks he had received. When he finally reached his phone, he cursed. The protective case, cobalt blue with swirling patterns, was broken. It was new.

“You just — watched them — clobber me,” Tim stated as he returned to the scene. He knew all too well that Terry was still laughing on the inside.

“A few hits won’t kill you, said Terranis sternly. “Evidence comes first.” He had been  inspecting the web that Raknae left behind.

“I — despise — that,” said Tim, raising a brow.

“Think of it as a compliment. I believed in you.”

“If you — came — any later, I would’ve — been turned — into a — Tim-pancake!”

“Hmmmm … sounds disgusting,” said Terranis. He side glanced at Jenkins. The young man was still out cold from the scare.

Although he knew the ruags would still be unconscious for a while, Tim still kept watch on them as he examined his own injuries. Fractite had a nasty effect on Blood. It drained their energy, leaving them lethargic and tired.

“They’re here,” said Terranis as several police cars pulled up by the alleyway. There were no sirens. Air fresheners shaped like Creed Crests were dangling from the rear-view mirror inside each car. A tall, middle-aged man named Officer Jeremy stepped out of the first car. He was African American with medium low fade hair. He had known Tim since he was a troublemaking tyke but had also worked with him in the past on previous patrols. 

“Set up the field, boys, you know the drill,” he ordered as two other policemen, one blonde and one with fiery-red hair, scrambled out of their cars.

“Yes, sir!” they responded.

One car whistled before saying. “Large haul tonight.”

“Hey — Jerry,” greeted Tim as he hobbled slowly up to the officer. “Hey — Kich,” he said to Officer Jeremy’s car.

“Nice to see you’re in tip top shape,” the Blood remarked.

The other officers rushed to place shoebox-sized boxes around the alleyway. Together, the boxes were used to create a short range avoidance field by broadcasting psychic waves around the designated area. It acted as a giant, soundproof invisibility cloak, preventing anyone from hearing or seeing what was occurring inside the field. As soon as the field was put up, the wave would make onlookers believe that there was never anything there to begin with. When anyone outside of the field came in close proximity to it, they would completely lose interest in the area, causing them to leave. The effects were so subtle that they would hardly realize what had happened, dismissing it as simply an odd moment. Blood and Creed members wearing their Creed Crests were immune to its deterring effects; however, only insiders would be able to locate the invisible scene.

“Four ruags, son,” said Officer Jeremy, sounding impressed as Tim approached.

“Actually — there — were six,” corrected Tim. He strained to explain the situation to Officer Jeremy who looked surprised that Tim and Terranis were still alive, especially Tim most of all.

“Field’s up, sir!” reported the red-haired man to Officer Jeremy.

“Alright, Officer Kelvin, you can take care of the ruags,” he responded. He turned to the blonde-haired officer. “Officer Nick, you’ll be responsible for the kid over there. Clean up team, let’s get rolling.” Officer Jeremy motioned with his hand. The three cars responded by secreting large silver gelatinous-looking masses from their sides. They slithered into the back alley.

“ARG! Spider web!” could be heard from within.