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Gigabites, one part internet cafe and one part arcade, is an oasis in a neighborhood that can't usually support such things. The owner came up from here, though, and runs the whole operation at near his own costs. It isn't unusual to find Temperance here after school, or during school, or anytime her parents have driven her out of the house in a screaming huff. It also isn't unusual to find her on a four game winning streak in a 4v4 Alley Brawler 2 (indisputably the best entry in the series) tournament with idiots like Preston and Greg, who are standing behind her shouting in mock-rage at her performance.

"Your tears just give me power." She speaks the words through clenched teeth as she bounces Trina's avatar up with a spinning kick and then juggles her against the edge of the screen with a barrage of punches. Trina groans in exasperation as the health bar on her side of the screen plummets and she tosses the controller onto the overstuffed green loveseat. As the only other girl in this particular crew of misfit gamers, Trina's loss brings Temperance no pleasure but its is the only obstacle between her and the final step in the ladder. 

"GG." Both girls say it at the same time, exchanging a fist bump, and Temperance is scanning the room for her final opponent. "I love the nose ring." Trina squeaks out and Temperance offers a grin as she taps the silver with her fingernail. Her parents were less enthusiastic about it, and the resultant fight is what put her here in the first place. She's about to offer thanks, and likely a correction on it being a septum ring, when glass shatters from the front area of the store. She's on her feet faster than most have even turned toward it, but she hesitates there as silence hangs in the air. Then a muffled shout cuts through it, alongside the clatter of something heavy hitting the floor, and she is putting her own shoulder to the door without a thought. The front room, a half-dozen pcs along one wall and a small grill on the opposite, is a rush of motion as people scramble away from a man with a section of pipe in his hands. The window he came through and the computer he kicked over are beyond helping, but the patrons need her. Her phone chirps and she glances down to the screen to see Ben's message flicker through.

"Hey, yo!" She pulls the Seattle Kraken cap down lower on her face to give her eyes a shaded look, lifting her hands into a ready pose as she steps forward only to stop dead as the man turns to face her. Her feet go lead in her shoes and she blinks to try to clear the obvious illusion but nothing changes. "Mr. Scovner?" It's definitely him, with that bald spot and the biker moustache. Her algebra teacher from last year, the one who stayed after twice a week to help her understand why x and y are acceptable in math problems. He covered her lunch tab when her parents came up short three months ago. She'd never say it, but he actually made her feel like she could do well in math. Now he's swinging a pipe around like a Skrellan barbarian from Mage and Knight...or was that Blade Quest? She shakes her head as the thoughts start to cloud her senses. That dip out to the alley for 'some air' was maybe a bad choice, after all. A raised voice cuts through the din of shouts and shatters outside.

 "...DISPERSE NOW OR PREPARE TO BE PROCESSED!"

Thoughts burn full-speed through her mind now. What could have started this? Why would anyone? How bad is this going to get? Her feet slide as she shifts her weight to her heels, glass crunching beneath her Keds. Tightening her fists again, she shifts more assuredly into that fighting stance. Can she throw hands with Mr. Scovner? He's got to be under some kind of power or something. He isn't this kind of person at all.

"Come on, man. Don't make me do this."

Gigabites, one part internet cafe and one part arcade, is an oasis in a neighborhood that can't usually support such things. The owner came up from here, though, and runs the whole operation at near his own costs. It isn't unusual to find Temperance here after school, or during school, or anytime her parents have driven her out of the house in a screaming huff. It also isn't unusual to find her on a four game winning streak in a 4v4 Alley Brawler 2 (indisputably the best entry in the series) tournament with idiots like Preston and Greg, who are standing behind her shouting in mock-rage at her performance.

"Your tears just give me power." She speaks the words through clenched teeth as she bounces Trina's avatar up with a spinning kick and then juggles her against the edge of the screen with a barrage of punches. Trina groans in exasperation as the health bar on her side of the screen plummets and she tosses the controller onto the overstuffed green loveseat. As the only other girl in this particular crew of misfit gamers, Trina's loss brings Temperance no pleasure but its is the only obstacle between her and the final step in the ladder. 

"GG." Both girls say it at the same time, exchanging a fist bump, and Temperance is scanning the room for her final opponent. "I love the nose ring." Trina squeaks out and Temperance offers a grin as she taps the silver with her fingernail. Her parents were less enthusiastic about it, and the resultant fight is what put her here in the first place. She's about to offer thanks when glass shatters from the front area of the store. She's on her feet faster than most have even turned toward it, but she hesitates there as silence hangs in the air. Then a muffled shout cuts through it, alongside the clatter of something heavy hitting the floor, and she is putting her own shoulder to the door without a thought. The front room, a half-dozen pcs along one wall and a small grill on the opposite, is a rush of motion as people scramble away from a man with a section of pipe in his hands. The window he came through and the computer he kicked over are beyond helping, but the patrons need her. Her phone chirps and she glances down to the screen to see Ben's message flicker through.

"Hey, yo!" She pulls the Seattle Kraken cap down lower on her face to give her eyes a shaded look, lifting her hands into a ready pose as she steps forward only to stop dead as the man turns to face her. Her feet go lead in her shoes and she blinks to try to clear the obvious illusion but nothing changes. "Mr. Scovner?" It's definitely him, with that bald spot and the biker moustache. Her algebra teacher from last year, the one who stayed after twice a week to help her understand why x and y are acceptable in math problems. He covered her lunch tab when her parents came up short three months ago. She'd never say it, but he actually made her feel like she could do well in math. Now he's swinging a pipe around like a Skrellan barbarian from Mage and Knight...or was that Blade Quest? She shakes her head as the thoughts start to cloud her senses. That dip out to the alley for 'some air' was maybe a bad choice, after all. A raised voice cuts through the din of shouts and shatters outside.

 "...DISPERSE NOW OR PREPARE TO BE PROCESSED!"

Thoughts burn full-speed through her mind now. What could have started this? Why would anyone? How bad is this going to get? Her feet slide as she shifts her weight to her heels, glass crunching beneath her Keds. Tightening her fists again, she shifts more assuredly into that fighting stance. Can she throw hands with Mr. Scovner? He's got to be under some kind of power or something. He isn't this kind of person at all.

"Come on, man. Don't make me do this."

Gigabites, one part internet cafe and one part arcade, is an oasis in a neighborhood that can't usually support such things. The owner came up from here, though, and runs the whole operation at near his own costs. It isn't unusual to find Temperance here after school, or during school, or anytime her parents have driven her out of the house in a screaming huff. It also isn't unusual to find her on a four game winning streak in a 4v4 Alley Brawler 2 (indisputably the best entry in the series) tournament with idiots like Preston and Greg, who are standing behind her shouting in mock-rage at her performance.

"Your tears just give me power." She speaks the words through clenched teeth as she bounces Trina's avatar up with a spinning kick and then juggles her against the edge of the screen with a barrage of punches. Trina groans in exasperation as the health bar on her side of the screen plummets and she tosses the controller onto the overstuffed green loveseat. As the only other girl in this particular crew of misfit gamers, Trina's loss brings Temperance no pleasure but its is the only obstacle between her and the final step in the ladder. 

"GG." Both girls say it at the same time, exchanging a fist bump, and Temperance is scanning the room for her final opponent when glass shatters from the front area of the store. She's on her feet faster than most have even turned toward it, but she hesitates there as silence hangs in the air. Then a muffled shout cuts through it, alongside the clatter of something heavy hitting the floor, and she is putting her own shoulder to the door without a thought. The front room, a half-dozen pcs along one wall and a small grill on the opposite, is a rush of motion as people scramble away from a man with a section of pipe in his hands. The window he came through and the computer he kicked over are beyond helping, but the patrons need her. Her phone chirps and she glances down to the screen to see Ben's message flicker through.

"Hey, yo!" She pulls the Seattle Kraken cap down lower on her face to give her eyes a shaded look, lifting her hands into a ready pose as she steps forward only to stop dead as the man turns to face her. Her feet go lead in her shoes and she blinks to try to clear the obvious illusion but nothing changes. "Mr. Scovner?" It's definitely him, with that bald spot and the biker moustache. Her algebra teacher from last year, the one who stayed after twice a week to help her understand why x and y are acceptable in math problems. He covered her lunch tab when her parents came up short three months ago. She'd never say it, but he actually made her feel like she could do well in math. Now he's swinging a pipe around like a Skrellan barbarian from Mage and Knight...or was that Blade Quest? She shakes her head as the thoughts start to cloud her senses. That dip out to the alley for 'some air' was maybe a bad choice, after all. A raised voice cuts through the din of shouts and shatters outside.

 "...DISPERSE NOW OR PREPARE TO BE PROCESSED!"

Thoughts burn full-speed through her mind now. What could have started this? Why would anyone? How bad is this going to get? Her feet slide as she shifts her weight to her heels, glass crunching beneath her Keds. Tightening her fists again, she shifts more assuredly into that fighting stance. Can she throw hands with Mr. Scovner? He's got to be under some kind of power or something. He isn't this kind of person at all.

"Come on, man. Don't make me do this."

Gigabites, one part internet cafe and one part arcade, is an oasis in a neighborhood that can't usually support such things. The owner came up from here, though, and runs the whole operation at near his own costs. It isn't unusual to find Temperance here after school, or during school, or anytime her parents have driven her out of the house in a screaming huff. It also isn't unusual to find her on a four game winning streak in a 4v4 Alley Brawler 2 (indisputably the best entry in the series) tournament with idiots like Preston and Greg, who are standing behind her shouting in mock-rage at her performance.

"Your tears just give me power." She speaks the words through clenched teeth as she bounces Trina's avatar up with a spinning kick and then juggles her against the edge of the screen with a barrage of punches. Trina groans in exasperation as the health bar on her side of the screen plummets and she tosses the controller onto the overstuffed green loveseat. As the only other girl in this particular crew of misfit gamers, Trina's loss brings Temperance no pleasure but its is the only obstacle between her and the final step in the ladder. 

"GG." Both girls say it at the same time, exchanging a fist bump, and Temperance is scanning the room for her final opponent when glass shatters from the front area of the store. She's on her feet faster than most have even turned toward it, but she hesitates there as silence hangs in the air. Then a muffled shout cuts through it, alongside the clatter of something heavy hitting the floor, and she is putting her own shoulder to the door without a thought. The front room, a half-dozen pcs along one wall and a small grill on the opposite, is a rush of motion as people scramble away from a man with a section of pipe in his hands. The window he came through and the computer he kicked over are beyond helping, but the patrons need her. Her phone chirps and she glances down to the screen to see Ben's message flicker through.

"Hey, yo!" She pulls the Seattle Kraken cap down lower on her face to give her eyes a shaded look, lifting her hands into a ready pose as she steps forward only to stop dead as the man turns to face her. Her feet go lead in her shoes and she blinks to try to clear the obvious illusion but nothing changes. "Mr. Scovner?" It's definitely him, with that bald spot and the biker moustache. Her algebra teacher from last year, the one who stayed after twice a week to help her understand why x and y are acceptable in math problems. He covered her lunch tab when her parents came up short three months ago. She'd never say it, but he actually made her feel like she could do well in math. Now he's swinging a pipe around like a Skrellan barbarian from Mage and Knight...or was that Blade Quest? She shakes her head as the thoughts start to cloud her senses. That dip out to the alley for 'some air' was maybe a bad choice, after all. A raised voice cuts through the din of shouts and shatters outside.

 "...DISPERSE NOW OR PREPARE TO BE PROCESSED!"

Thoughts burn full-speed through her mind now. What could have started this? Why would anyone? How bad is this going to get? Her feet slide as she shifts her weight to her heels, glass crunching beneath her Keds. Tightening her fists again, she shifts more assuredly into that fighting stance. Can she throw hands with Mr. Scovner? He's got to be under some kind of power or something. He isn't this kind of person at all.

"Come on, man. Don't make me do this."