Rainy Days

Chapter Thirty-Six: As An Afterthought, Diego Can Hold His Own

[jordans house–tuesday afternoon]

BEN COULDN'T help but be afraid when the people with guns broke down the front door.

"Holy shit!" Klaus screeched, scrambling backwards. Allison screamed, and Diego instinctively threw the nearest sharp object. It nailed one guy in the face, but more kept piling through the doorway.

Quick as they could, all six in the living room retreated into the kitchen; Diego armed himself with knives and tensed, ready to throw. Allison grabbed a knife of her own, and Vanya stood there looking panicked. Ben couldn't blame her.

Bullets started to rain down, hailing on them from all directions. Five appeared behind them in a flash of blue light.

"Holy shit!" He yelled as Klaus pulled him behind the counter. A bullet whizzed over their heads.

"What's the plan?" Allison asked Luther as Diego stood up and threw a knife into ones eye.

"Run?" Luther winced. They all gaped at him.

"You really are worthless!" Diego snapped, and then he got to his feet and vaulted himself over the counter.

"Diego!" Klaus shrieked, but he was already gone. Ben could hear him throwing knives; he was pretty sure Diego had started hiding behind chairs.

"We can't leave him!" Five shouted over the din, and he snatched up a butter knife. He smiled grimly and was gone in a flash of light; a spray of blood fell across the counter, dropping onto Ben's hair.

"What the heck," Ben sighed, standing up. He lifted his shirt and the tentacles flew out, grasping seven men around the neck. One was thrown against the wall.

"Sweet!" Klaus grinned. "Violence!"

Within seconds, all seven Hargreeves where fighting in sync; Ben was continuously disarming or strangling men, and Luther picked up a gun. He was firing it now, the bullets adding to the chaos—he wasn't a particularly good shot, but he managed to hit two in the stomach. Diego had quickly rolled over to them and stabbed.

Vanya, shaken out of her fear, was wrestling for power with a woman holding a pistol. She didn't seem comfortable using her abilities, but she was doing just fine. She stood up, hair tussled and red-faced, and shot the woman through the forehead. Whirling around, Vanya aimed at another man with her gun and pulled the trigger.

Klaus was causing chaos, doing elaborate flips and generally confusing the enemy. Once they'd been righteously puzzled, Klaus would offer a magic trick and pull out a knife. At the moment, he had just kicked a man in the balls and pierced his throat with the knife. Allison was assisting him, throwing them off by spreading her Rumors; two where firing bullets off at their comrades and a third had walked out. Five was lazily teleporting around and dragging feet out from under them so Diego could better kill them.

"Stop!" Someone they didn't know screamed.

Everyone froze. Upstairs, Ben could hear sounds of struggling and prayed to God that Jordan was okay. He'd done well at Walmart; hopefully he'd have the same luck here.

"We don't want to fight," the voice said, and in stepped Jordan's trusted friend Billie.

"You," Luther hissed, raising his gun. Billie smiled, and with a jolt of shock Ben realized that her teeth looked like a vampires.