Day With The Boys: Penguins of Madagascar Xover
Title: Day With The Boys
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Just friendship
Summary: Just a day in the lives of commado trained humans.
A/N: Yup, I'm crossing them over with penguins. They're still human though! Written originally for the Xover challenge going on in the other comm! I'm actually thinking of making a whole series of these! It was damn fun!
Ryan yawned, stretching out on the bunk that had become his home for more years than he could remember. Swinging his legs over the edge, he rubbed his eyes before sliding off it to land on his feet with ease, not affected by the near twelve foot drop between his bunk and the floor. When he and his teammates had moved into the old abandoned warehouse outside the city, he had made sure that they installed their bunks one on top of the other into the wall to save space and to ensure that they remained in tip top shape. It was also a sort of exercise to improve team bonds, not that they actually needed it. Cut off from their families, they spent every waking moment together, including weekends and holidays. They switched bunks most nights, each taking turns to access the lower most bunk, but they normally stuck in a specific order: Ryan in the top most bunk, then Brad, Greg and Colin.
He smiled as he looked over at his still sleeping comrades, his eyes lingering on Brad for a bit longer. Brad was the one he had most in common. He was their demolitions and weapons expert and had suffered an accident as a child that had damaged his voice and left a scar that cut his mouth on the side. It apparently had also rattled his mind to some degree as he was prone to deciding that violence was the proper answer and while Ryan normally agreed with him, Brad’s volatile nature could sometimes prove dangerous to all those around him and until now, no one could control him at all, except for Ryan to a small degree.
Below Brad slept Greg, his right hand. Greg’s position was officially Intelligence, but like all his teammates, he had combat training as well. Ryan refused to let any of his teammates be a liability and had ensured that they all were in tip top shape. Even if he and Brad were the official muscle, Greg was no slouch and was more than capable of taking care of himself. He was incredibly smart and, though he was a little oblivious to others’ feelings, was Ryan’s oldest friend. He and Ryan had stumbled upon Brad years ago, feeling pity for the broken, mad man they had found beaten and bloodied. Well, Ryan had felt pity, Greg was too busy trying to pull his leader away from the mad man trying to bite his arm off. Greg had had a point earlier as Brad had attempted to kill them the first time they had met and had given Ryan a wrist wound that had taken months to heal, but once Ryan managed to calm him down, they found that the man was definitely not completely stable, but he was a loyal friend and like a playful puppy dog when in a good mood, which was very often. Greg preferred to remain in his lab and invent items that would help his team perform spectacularly or just reading while Ryan spent his time either devising strategies, training programs or brooding in a corner.
The final member of their team was the probably the most normal one out of them. Ryan smiled softly and, in a moment of tenderness that he would deny having later, shifted Colin’s blanket to cover him better as the other man sniffled in his dreams. Colin was the last person they had recruited. Having been saved from a violent gang by the three of them, he had followed them around until Ryan had finally consented to allow him to join. He had expected that once Colin saw how hard they worked, that he would leave them alone, but the other man surprised him by being much stronger than they had expected and incredibly determined to do them proud. Colin brought to them the innocent humanity they had been lacking for so long. Ryan had been raised by a military family and being the youngest in a family of males, his mother having passed away when he was young, he had not had a good time. Finally running away when he was seventeen, he had tried to tear himself away from his military background, but found that he just couldn’t, ultimately making his own team and training them. Greg had been alienated for his supreme intelligence and had shown no interest in human interaction at all. The only reason he and Ryan got along was due to the fact that both their interests were dependent on each other and their hobbies meant that they had to be left alone. Colin’s entry into their lives had made them more human and much closer than they had been before. Whereas earlier they didn’t spend anytime together beyond training and missions, they now actively went out together and enjoyed themselves. Their favorite was visiting the zoo and having snow cones while looking at the penguins. There was a group of four penguins that they had formed a sort of attachment with, feeling that they somehow reminded them of their own family and they made sure to visit them every Saturday.
Looking at the clock, he knew that the alarm would ring in another few minutes and he went to make himself a cup of coffee, pouring it into the cup with a fish on it that had been a gift from his team on what Colin had declared ‘their anniversary’ of when they had first become the team. Ryan had asked why he was the only one receiving a gift and Colin had simply responded, “Because you’re the reason we’re together like this.”
Just as he was taking his first sip, he heard the trumpets that were their alarm break in the early morning silence and then heard the ruffling of blankets as they immediately leapt out of bed as if they hadn’t been sleeping soundly but just lying there and immediately landed on the floor in formation. Ryan didn’t say anything but just took another sip of coffee as they realized he was already awake and called out Good Mornings to each other before beginning their morning rituals, which was breakfast and then training.
“Very prompt response to the alarm, boys,” Ryan spoke up once they had all gathered at the table for breakfast, “Good job.”
“Thank you, sir!” Colin smiled, beaming at the compliment. Ryan wasn’t exactly stringy with the praise- on the contrary, he was quite generous with it- but it was always nice to hear him compliment them. Greg took it with a simple smile and Brad perked up considerably right before tearing into his breakfast of eggs, toast and bacon like he had been deprived of food for a lifetime.
“Brad, slowly,” Ryan chided him absently, going through his own breakfast at a normal pace, “Greg, what did I say about reading at the table?”
“Sorry,” Greg shut his science magazine.
“Just don’t let it happen again.”
Breakfast was like every other meal time, ripe with conversation as they talked about anything and everything. Colin spoke about a dream he had, Greg spoke about his new idea for an invention, Ryan talked about his ideas for training and Brad just listened, occasionally piping in with a comment, but with his limited speech, it was almost impossible to understand him. They, however, could understand him to a degree after having spent so much time with him. He could say a few phrases, but they were very rare and often just made him sound like a child but they never made fun of him about it. That was why he loved this team so much.
“Okay, this is schedule for today, men,” Ryan drew their attention to him, “You’ve all been working very hard lately and I’m especially pleased with your performance on yesterday’s case, so today, we won’t be training.” He waited for the cheers to die down before continuing. While they loved their work, including the training, it was always nice to get an unexpected day off. “But, I’ve noticed that we’ve been neglecting cleaning so today, we’re going to clean up our base.”
Colin groaned and Greg and Brad joined him. Well, a partial day off was better than nothing.
“And,” Ryan continued, eyeing them all with a smile over his cup, “if we finish before three, it’ll be snow cones all around.”
That perked them up and before he could say another word, they were already grabbing their plates and dashing to the sink in their makeshift kitchen to wash them. It was times like this when Ryan was most proud of them. He always declared that the perfect soldier was one who’s perfect record extended to the home front as well. He had disciplined them well, but not to the degree that they would resent him for it. He only wished his family had taken this much care with him.
“Ry?”
Ryan started and saw Brad looking at him with concern, using the only word that he could pronounce to address his leader. Somehow, it was always the demolition expert who knew whenever he was thinking about something unpleasant and that thought amused him like no other. Years ago, he would have never believed that someone as big and beefy as Brad would be capable of the gentleness that he possessed, but Brad had always been a maverick, he always made his own rules. It was times like this when Ryan wondered why he had ever been afraid of the man, but he chalked it down to the condition he had found Brad in the first time. Even though Ryan was quite tall and with a slim build of muscle which made him the strongest and most skilled of the team, he always felt slightly intimidated when Brad stood next to him, beating him by at least a couple of inches and thirty pounds of muscle. But all the other man had to do was play around unashamedly with his favorite possession, a Barbie doll he had been given by a grateful little girl, and he knew that at heart, Brad was barely more than a kid himself. He adopted his usual smirk and saw Brad smirk back and just like that, the bad memories flowed away, reminding him that that chapter of his life was over and what he had now was much better than what he could have had with them. This was his family.
“Okay, boys!” Ryan clapped his hands loudly, “let’s get to it! Commence Operation Lemony Fresh!”
With that, the cleaning was on. Considering what they did for training each day, cleaning would have been incredibly easy had it not been for the fact that the warehouse they lived in was bigger than most dormitories were. Thankfully, they only lived in one building which was only a couple of floors and they rarely used the uppermost one so the only main concerns were the ground floor and the first floor.
“Greg and Colin, you guys take the upper floor and watch out for Greg’s lab. Brad and I’ll take care of the bottom floor,” Ryan barked out. Greg and Colin saluted him and were up to the first floor in seconds. Brad had already begun working on the beds as Ryan took over kitchen duty. He heard a gruff grunt from the other room which meant “all clear” and told Brad to start on the floor as he finally got the sink clean and placed all the now clean dishes back in the cupboard. Immediately racing out, he grabbed the mop Brad threw to him and started on the floor that Brad was dusting. With their quick teamwork - broken only by an impromptu swordfight with the broom and mop which Ryan won - the entire floor was cleaned up in a matter of a few hours. Greg and Colin also returned triumphantly and with only a couple of burns from something having exploded in Greg’s lab. After giving Greg a good lecture, and a good slap, on taking better care of his combustible experiments, Ryan looked over at the clock to see that they had finished just ten minutes before three.
“Bravissimo! It’s a new record, men,” he grinned as they all exchanged high fives like a well oiled machine “and you know what that means!”
“Snow cones!” came the chorus cheer. They gathered around the door which led to their garage and Ryan was about to open it when a series of knocks came against the metal of the warehouse door and his men groaned in unison, already seeing their dreams of snow cones fly away.
“Relax, guys, I’m sure it’s nothing serious,” Ryan assured them, bending down and opening the metal shutter enough for their visitor to enter, “hey Josie.”
“Hi Ryan,” Josie smiled at her best friend, “was I interrupting something?”
“Kind of, but what’s up? Please say another case,” just because his men preferred a day off didn’t mean he did. Honestly, he ended up working even if he did give the others the day off, knowing that just because he enjoyed working didn’t mean that the others couldn’t enjoy themselves in their own ways. That didn’t stop them from ultimately pulling him into their reindeer games as well and he loved them for that.
Josie was the daughter of the commissioner of police in the nearby city. She had been friends with them ever since they had moved into the warehouse and often told them of her father’s cases, which they would then take action to solve. Josie paid them well for their services, but they mostly spent it on food, materials and certain small indulgences. Brad would buy explosives or raw materials to make them, Greg would purchase some chemicals for his personal experiments, Colin would buy sweets and Ryan would spend it on knives to add to his collection.
“Sorry, I was just buying you guys lunch to thank you for your help yesterday,” she held up her parcels.
“Thanks, Jose, but you didn’t have to-”
“It’s Italian!”
“....okay, we can eat.”
They all sat down at their table, pulling up an extra chair for Josie and nearly wolfed down the wonderful food. They didn’t eat out like this often and it was always nice to take advantage of a free meal. They invited Josie out with them, but she refused to go along with them, saying that she had to get home before her father did. Waving goodbye to her, they checked their security one last time before Ryan opened the door to reveal their main form of above ground travel: a sleek BMW convertible. On finding a wealthy client’s emerald necklace, she had told them that she would give them any two things they desired. After a bit of discussion, they asked for the car and a promise from the client that she would pay the bills for repairs and check ups. She had readily agreed as long as they promised to be careful with the car and not damage it for fun. After a few months, she would decide if she’d continue their deal or just pay them off directly. They had kept up their end of the bargain, even going so far as to repair what they could, and so she kept up hers.
Hopping into their normal seats, which was Brad behind the wheel, Ryan next to him and Greg and Colin in the back, Brad punched the gas and the car zoomed out of the open garage into the road. It took them only a few minutes to find a snow cone stand and even less to place their orders. In just a couple of minutes, they were all enjoying the cold treat and occasionally sneaking tastes of each others’. To an outsider, it would have seemed strange, four men sitting in various places on a convertible and sharing snow cones, but it was routine for them and the world could go to hell as far as they were concerned.
“THIEF!” Ryan turned as a woman screamed and saw a man grab her purse and run off into an alley between the buildings. Even if it was their day off, there was no way anyone was going to get hurt on their watch.
“Men, roll out!” Ryan shouted. It took them not even three seconds to react, Colin leaping out of the car to comfort the woman and assure her that they would get her purse back and the other three to tear off behind the thief. Ryan took point as always with Greg and Brad behind him and he heard the clatter of a manhole cover being removed, turning the corner to see the thief descending into the sewers.
“Greg, options,” Ryan barked out, immediately assuming their familiar roles.
“We go after him through the sewers. I doubt he knows them nearly as well as we do,” came Greg’s quick answer. Not bothering with the ladder, the three of them dropped into the sewer just in time to hear fading footsteps from their right. They ran in that direction and with each turn, they could hear the footsteps get closer and closer. Finally, Ryan turned one corner....only to dive to the ground as a gun shot struck the place where his face had been just a second ago. Greg and Brad’s quick reflexes had stopped them from going around the corner into the fire as well, but that didn’t stop them from looking at their leader with concern.
“Just return the purse and we won’t hurt you,” Ryan yelled from where he had taken refuge behind a low pile of rubble.
“Stop following me or I swear I’ll kill you!” the other man’s voice came, bordering on hysterical.
“Listen, I don’t want to hurt you anymore than you want to hurt me! But we will use lethal force if necessary!” Ryan looked over at Brad and Greg, making a circling motion with his finger which meant that he wanted them to get to the other side of the guy. Greg nodded and, after a quick glance and calculation, figured out the shortest route to get to the required spot. He gestured for Brad to follow him and he did so reluctantly, throwing concerned glances over his shoulder at their leader until he was out of sight.
Making their way around quickly, they were startled when they heard another loud gun shot and picked up speed, running as fast as they could and stopping right before they would reach the man’s line of sight and peered around the corner. The man had lost his earlier fear and was now slowly getting closer to Ryan’s hiding spot and from the tense set of his shoulders, they could tell that he wouldn’t think twice before shooting him. Greg began to think up of a plan, but before he could say anything, Brad had already drawn a gun from his roomy backpack and, with one well-aimed bullet, shot the gun out of the perp’s hand. The sewer tunnel was filled with screams of pain as the man dropped both the gun and the purse and ran, barreling past Ryan’s position and disappearing down the sewer.
“Brad? What the hell?” Greg stared at his comrade, but Brad was looking positively furious and his grip on the gun did not loosen. He made to get closer to him, only to stop when Ryan held his hand up before tossing the purse to him and making a pulling motion with his other hand, telling Greg that he wanted him to pull out. Tossing another concerned glance to Brad, he obeyed and soon, his footsteps faded away as well. Ryan turned to Brad, moving towards his friend cautiously, one hand going up, almost as if he were approaching a rabid animal rather than his best friend. When he touched Brad’s gun wielding hand, it jerked and Brad nearly brought it down on Ryan’s head, only to be stopped by his leader’s steel grip on his wrist. Recognizing the touch at last through the haze of anger that had surrounded him, Brad gentled and then looked throughout ashamed of what he had done. Ryan knew what to do, having seen Brad react like that several times before when someone he cared about was in danger or being threatened and brought his arms around his comrade, not even flinching when those strong, muscled arms embraced him tightly back. Brad buried his face in his shoulder and made small whimpering noises as Ryan ruffled his dark, spiky hair in reassurance.
“Come on, big guy, let’s go home,” he spoke softly, knowing he had to calm Brad down. Brad nodded against his shoulder and pulled away, wiping his eyes and sniffling slightly. Getting back to the warehouse took them barely any time as they were well acquainted with the sewers and Greg’s idea of inserting roller blade wheels into their shoes made it all that much easier for them to travel. Once there, Ryan helped Brad through the manhole and him to the guest room, the only room where they had some amount of privacy besides the lab and the garage.
“So what happened today?” Ryan asked, once Brad had been seated. He knew Brad didn’t want to talk about it, but he had to insist. If Brad was going to shoot whoever attacked them without a second thought, they could get into serious trouble if even a single shot went haywire.
Brad looked down and didn’t respond.
“Brad?” Ryan’s voice remained soft, but still insistent.
“Hurt....” Brad croaked, still focused on a spot on the ground.
“Brad, we’re always in danger of getting hurt,” Ryan sighed, “it’s part of our job. But if you react like this whenever Greg, Colin or I’m in danger then-”
“Nuh uh! No Greglin,” Brad shook his head, using the name he always used to pronounce his other comrades’ names.
“Not Greg and Colin?” Ryan frowned, leaning forward to try and catch his friend’s eye, “Why not?”
“You....” Brad whispered, quietly enough that no one would have been able to hear him unless they had been complete attention. Ryan had been.
“Oh....” Ryan blinked, at a loss for words. That was unexpected. “Well....thank you Brad, but we’re all comrades and you shouldn’t treat me any different than the others. I mean, aside from obeying my orders, because I am your leader, but otherwise-”
For the first time, Brad had managed to quiet their unflappable leader and did it by a method that no training in the world could have prepared Ryan for it. He pulled his leader forward, hard enough that he tumbled into his lap and hugged him tightly, enough to nearly cut off his supply of air.
Ryan gasped as he felt Brad cling to him and was very surprised at the intensity of the emotions in the hold. He had always known that Brad was fond of him, he was the first one he went to hug if he did something wrong or was feeling sad, but he had never realized the degree to which he cared for him. Shifting until he was seated next to Brad instead of on him, he returned the hug, albeit with less franticness and simply soothed him, assuring him that he was alright. It was times like this when he felt that Brad deserved the title Colin had given him of ‘the gentle giant’.
“Brad, I’m fine,” Ryan assured him, “There was no danger and you know I’m capable of taking care of myself. You can’t lose your temper like that again, okay? If you had killed that guy, we all would have gotten into trouble.
“Sorry....” Brad mumbled in a soft voice, pulling back and wiping his eyes.
“It’s alright, just don’t let it happen again, soldier,” Ryan smiled and then heard the sound of the other two members of the team returning and made to get up, only to be stopped by Brad’s grip on his hand.
“Brad, the others are back,” he said, wondering what the other man wanted.
“Nuh uh,” Brad shook his head vehemently.
“That’s not them?” Ryan frowned as Brad nodded, “Then who-”
Their questions were answered when they heard a loud crash and the sound of a very familiar and hated voice laughing. It was the leader of the Rats, a man named Diedrich who had gotten off on the wrong foot with them ever since they had first moved into the warehouse. He had a second to wonder why the alarms or the security system hadn’t gone off when Brad pulled him out of the guest room towards the sewer for a quick escape. The two of them alone didn’t stand for much of a chance against the Rat gang without damaging almost the entire base. Dropping into the sewer without being detected, Ryan sent a quick message to the other two to meet them down there to plan their counter attack. Colin and Greg met them barely ten minutes later.
“How did they get in?” Colin wringed his hands in worry. He had always thought the base was the safest place in the world.
“Greg forgot to activate the front door’s security after Josie left,” Ryan growled, glaring over at him.
“Oh!” Greg blushed and looked down, “Here, I’ll just do it myself,” he slapped himself across the face.
“We need to get those rats out of our base. Kowalski, options,” this was no longer just a casual mission, but one that they had trained for extensively and that meant that it was time for the code names. Greg pulled out the clipboard he carried with him all the type and started scribbling away.
“Well, you said they were in the living area, right Skipper?” a nod from Ryan, “then we’ll have to go at this with stealth and brute force. If we try explosives or guns, we could damage our base and operations, so we should save that for the last minute if we have no other choice. I advise....”
The plans were drawn up and explained in minutes, such was Greg’s talent. Colin would go and lure them into their training area, where they would first be attacked by Greg, then Ryan and Brad. Using the numerous secret passages to the warehouse, they managed to sneak into the training room with nary a problem, except for one Rat member who Brad had quickly taken out before he could utter a sound. They waited for the cue, which they received as Colin’s piercing scream and the sound of footsteps chasing him.
“Steady, Kowalski....” Ryan warned, “NOW!”
Just as Colin burst through the door, Greg dropped a net on the chasing Rat gang , trapping a couple of them, but the others either were too far behind or were too fast and had dodged it. It didn’t matter, because those who dodged the net were unable to dodge the superior fighting skills of the four men who took them out with barely any trouble. Finally, they heard a thump and turned to see Diedrich, the Rat King, enter the room with his three enforcers, the strongest members of the gang.
“So what’s up birds?” Diedrich growled, smirking at them. He had given them that nickname after seeing their fascination with the penguins at the zoo where they had had their first unpleasant encounter.
“Nothing much, rats,” Ryan shrugged, “Nice try breaking into our base.”
“It was easy,” Diedrich shrugged, “Just like taking you guys out will be. Rats, attack!”
“Men, commence Operation Exterminator,” Ryan smirked and the four of them leaped forward in unison, kicking their opponents back. The leaders automatically took each other on while the others tried to beat each other. Colin used his comparatively smaller size to dodge the other man’s blows and then used his extensive training to knock him out cold. Greg dodged the man’s blocks, mentally calculating the amount of force it would take to win and his opponent’s weaknesses until finally punching the man straight in his glass jaw and knocking him out. Brad did do any such thing, rather he charged his opponent and kicked him into the wall where he slumped to the ground unconscious.
Ryan wasn’t having as easy a time. Diedrich wasn’t anything like his Enforcers and was much more powerful than they said he was. Ryan was quickly losing the upper ground and a hard kick in the stomach nearly put him down for the count. Seeing the others gather around behind his adversary, he mentally formed a new plan and nodded at Brad. Brad understood what he meant and stood at the ready.
“I knew you couldn’t defeat me without help from your friends. No matter, I’ll take you all on,” Diedrich grinned and reached down to grab him, but Ryan darted out of his grasp, ran over to Brad who cupped his hands and, once he had placed his foot in the cup, launched him up into the air, from where he conducted his most powerful technique, the spinning kick. Diedrich had a second to shriek in terror right before the kick knocked him back at least five feet and down to the ground.
“Crap!” he groaned, stumbling to his feet and running out of the nearest exit, along with whatever remaining allies he had. The others cheered, exchanging high fives and copious amounts of praise, Greg for his plans, Colin for his distraction, Brad for his quick dispatching of his opponents and Ryan for executing an amazing finishing move.
“That was amazing, Skipper!” Colin looked at him with awe, “When will you teach us that move?”
“All in good time, Private, all in good time,” Ryan smiled and then looked around at the various unconscious people in the room, “now, what say we clean up this mess? Private, call Josie and tell her we have some gifts for her. Kowalski, go and correct the security system. Rico,” he looked over at Brad to see him already holding up a long length of room, “always one step ahead, amico. I like that.”
Josie had been delighted at finding so many of the Rat gang literally being handed over to them and refused to let them not accept payment for it. Ryan argued with her until she told him that if he didn’t accept the money, she would never give them another case again. That was a horrible alternative and they accepted it with gratitude, already wondering what they could buy this time.
“Ooh, can we get some more snow cones, Skipper?” Colin asked eagerly, once everyone else had left.
“First of all, we’re no longer in an emergency, so you can drop the code names, Col,” Ryan corrected him, “Second, we have any more snow cones today and we’ll all throw up.”
“Well, maybe we can utilize the money in a more productive manner, like say for science,” Greg scrutinized it.
“Kaboom!” Brad threw in his two cents as well, expressing his desire for explosives.
“Hold on, guys!” Ryan cut in, “how about we use the money to get some extra materials we couldn’t afford before to improve our security system? The Rats know where we live now and we’ll need it. Any excess could be split equally between us as reward for performing so well. What’d ya say?”
His three teammates looked at each other and then nodded. Ryan grinned and tossed the car keys to Brad, “Then let’s go shopping, boys.”
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Just friendship
Summary: Just a day in the lives of commado trained humans.
A/N: Yup, I'm crossing them over with penguins. They're still human though! Written originally for the Xover challenge going on in the other comm! I'm actually thinking of making a whole series of these! It was damn fun!
Ryan yawned, stretching out on the bunk that had become his home for more years than he could remember. Swinging his legs over the edge, he rubbed his eyes before sliding off it to land on his feet with ease, not affected by the near twelve foot drop between his bunk and the floor. When he and his teammates had moved into the old abandoned warehouse outside the city, he had made sure that they installed their bunks one on top of the other into the wall to save space and to ensure that they remained in tip top shape. It was also a sort of exercise to improve team bonds, not that they actually needed it. Cut off from their families, they spent every waking moment together, including weekends and holidays. They switched bunks most nights, each taking turns to access the lower most bunk, but they normally stuck in a specific order: Ryan in the top most bunk, then Brad, Greg and Colin.
He smiled as he looked over at his still sleeping comrades, his eyes lingering on Brad for a bit longer. Brad was the one he had most in common. He was their demolitions and weapons expert and had suffered an accident as a child that had damaged his voice and left a scar that cut his mouth on the side. It apparently had also rattled his mind to some degree as he was prone to deciding that violence was the proper answer and while Ryan normally agreed with him, Brad’s volatile nature could sometimes prove dangerous to all those around him and until now, no one could control him at all, except for Ryan to a small degree.
Below Brad slept Greg, his right hand. Greg’s position was officially Intelligence, but like all his teammates, he had combat training as well. Ryan refused to let any of his teammates be a liability and had ensured that they all were in tip top shape. Even if he and Brad were the official muscle, Greg was no slouch and was more than capable of taking care of himself. He was incredibly smart and, though he was a little oblivious to others’ feelings, was Ryan’s oldest friend. He and Ryan had stumbled upon Brad years ago, feeling pity for the broken, mad man they had found beaten and bloodied. Well, Ryan had felt pity, Greg was too busy trying to pull his leader away from the mad man trying to bite his arm off. Greg had had a point earlier as Brad had attempted to kill them the first time they had met and had given Ryan a wrist wound that had taken months to heal, but once Ryan managed to calm him down, they found that the man was definitely not completely stable, but he was a loyal friend and like a playful puppy dog when in a good mood, which was very often. Greg preferred to remain in his lab and invent items that would help his team perform spectacularly or just reading while Ryan spent his time either devising strategies, training programs or brooding in a corner.
The final member of their team was the probably the most normal one out of them. Ryan smiled softly and, in a moment of tenderness that he would deny having later, shifted Colin’s blanket to cover him better as the other man sniffled in his dreams. Colin was the last person they had recruited. Having been saved from a violent gang by the three of them, he had followed them around until Ryan had finally consented to allow him to join. He had expected that once Colin saw how hard they worked, that he would leave them alone, but the other man surprised him by being much stronger than they had expected and incredibly determined to do them proud. Colin brought to them the innocent humanity they had been lacking for so long. Ryan had been raised by a military family and being the youngest in a family of males, his mother having passed away when he was young, he had not had a good time. Finally running away when he was seventeen, he had tried to tear himself away from his military background, but found that he just couldn’t, ultimately making his own team and training them. Greg had been alienated for his supreme intelligence and had shown no interest in human interaction at all. The only reason he and Ryan got along was due to the fact that both their interests were dependent on each other and their hobbies meant that they had to be left alone. Colin’s entry into their lives had made them more human and much closer than they had been before. Whereas earlier they didn’t spend anytime together beyond training and missions, they now actively went out together and enjoyed themselves. Their favorite was visiting the zoo and having snow cones while looking at the penguins. There was a group of four penguins that they had formed a sort of attachment with, feeling that they somehow reminded them of their own family and they made sure to visit them every Saturday.
Looking at the clock, he knew that the alarm would ring in another few minutes and he went to make himself a cup of coffee, pouring it into the cup with a fish on it that had been a gift from his team on what Colin had declared ‘their anniversary’ of when they had first become the team. Ryan had asked why he was the only one receiving a gift and Colin had simply responded, “Because you’re the reason we’re together like this.”
Just as he was taking his first sip, he heard the trumpets that were their alarm break in the early morning silence and then heard the ruffling of blankets as they immediately leapt out of bed as if they hadn’t been sleeping soundly but just lying there and immediately landed on the floor in formation. Ryan didn’t say anything but just took another sip of coffee as they realized he was already awake and called out Good Mornings to each other before beginning their morning rituals, which was breakfast and then training.
“Very prompt response to the alarm, boys,” Ryan spoke up once they had all gathered at the table for breakfast, “Good job.”
“Thank you, sir!” Colin smiled, beaming at the compliment. Ryan wasn’t exactly stringy with the praise- on the contrary, he was quite generous with it- but it was always nice to hear him compliment them. Greg took it with a simple smile and Brad perked up considerably right before tearing into his breakfast of eggs, toast and bacon like he had been deprived of food for a lifetime.
“Brad, slowly,” Ryan chided him absently, going through his own breakfast at a normal pace, “Greg, what did I say about reading at the table?”
“Sorry,” Greg shut his science magazine.
“Just don’t let it happen again.”
Breakfast was like every other meal time, ripe with conversation as they talked about anything and everything. Colin spoke about a dream he had, Greg spoke about his new idea for an invention, Ryan talked about his ideas for training and Brad just listened, occasionally piping in with a comment, but with his limited speech, it was almost impossible to understand him. They, however, could understand him to a degree after having spent so much time with him. He could say a few phrases, but they were very rare and often just made him sound like a child but they never made fun of him about it. That was why he loved this team so much.
“Okay, this is schedule for today, men,” Ryan drew their attention to him, “You’ve all been working very hard lately and I’m especially pleased with your performance on yesterday’s case, so today, we won’t be training.” He waited for the cheers to die down before continuing. While they loved their work, including the training, it was always nice to get an unexpected day off. “But, I’ve noticed that we’ve been neglecting cleaning so today, we’re going to clean up our base.”
Colin groaned and Greg and Brad joined him. Well, a partial day off was better than nothing.
“And,” Ryan continued, eyeing them all with a smile over his cup, “if we finish before three, it’ll be snow cones all around.”
That perked them up and before he could say another word, they were already grabbing their plates and dashing to the sink in their makeshift kitchen to wash them. It was times like this when Ryan was most proud of them. He always declared that the perfect soldier was one who’s perfect record extended to the home front as well. He had disciplined them well, but not to the degree that they would resent him for it. He only wished his family had taken this much care with him.
“Ry?”
Ryan started and saw Brad looking at him with concern, using the only word that he could pronounce to address his leader. Somehow, it was always the demolition expert who knew whenever he was thinking about something unpleasant and that thought amused him like no other. Years ago, he would have never believed that someone as big and beefy as Brad would be capable of the gentleness that he possessed, but Brad had always been a maverick, he always made his own rules. It was times like this when Ryan wondered why he had ever been afraid of the man, but he chalked it down to the condition he had found Brad in the first time. Even though Ryan was quite tall and with a slim build of muscle which made him the strongest and most skilled of the team, he always felt slightly intimidated when Brad stood next to him, beating him by at least a couple of inches and thirty pounds of muscle. But all the other man had to do was play around unashamedly with his favorite possession, a Barbie doll he had been given by a grateful little girl, and he knew that at heart, Brad was barely more than a kid himself. He adopted his usual smirk and saw Brad smirk back and just like that, the bad memories flowed away, reminding him that that chapter of his life was over and what he had now was much better than what he could have had with them. This was his family.
“Okay, boys!” Ryan clapped his hands loudly, “let’s get to it! Commence Operation Lemony Fresh!”
With that, the cleaning was on. Considering what they did for training each day, cleaning would have been incredibly easy had it not been for the fact that the warehouse they lived in was bigger than most dormitories were. Thankfully, they only lived in one building which was only a couple of floors and they rarely used the uppermost one so the only main concerns were the ground floor and the first floor.
“Greg and Colin, you guys take the upper floor and watch out for Greg’s lab. Brad and I’ll take care of the bottom floor,” Ryan barked out. Greg and Colin saluted him and were up to the first floor in seconds. Brad had already begun working on the beds as Ryan took over kitchen duty. He heard a gruff grunt from the other room which meant “all clear” and told Brad to start on the floor as he finally got the sink clean and placed all the now clean dishes back in the cupboard. Immediately racing out, he grabbed the mop Brad threw to him and started on the floor that Brad was dusting. With their quick teamwork - broken only by an impromptu swordfight with the broom and mop which Ryan won - the entire floor was cleaned up in a matter of a few hours. Greg and Colin also returned triumphantly and with only a couple of burns from something having exploded in Greg’s lab. After giving Greg a good lecture, and a good slap, on taking better care of his combustible experiments, Ryan looked over at the clock to see that they had finished just ten minutes before three.
“Bravissimo! It’s a new record, men,” he grinned as they all exchanged high fives like a well oiled machine “and you know what that means!”
“Snow cones!” came the chorus cheer. They gathered around the door which led to their garage and Ryan was about to open it when a series of knocks came against the metal of the warehouse door and his men groaned in unison, already seeing their dreams of snow cones fly away.
“Relax, guys, I’m sure it’s nothing serious,” Ryan assured them, bending down and opening the metal shutter enough for their visitor to enter, “hey Josie.”
“Hi Ryan,” Josie smiled at her best friend, “was I interrupting something?”
“Kind of, but what’s up? Please say another case,” just because his men preferred a day off didn’t mean he did. Honestly, he ended up working even if he did give the others the day off, knowing that just because he enjoyed working didn’t mean that the others couldn’t enjoy themselves in their own ways. That didn’t stop them from ultimately pulling him into their reindeer games as well and he loved them for that.
Josie was the daughter of the commissioner of police in the nearby city. She had been friends with them ever since they had moved into the warehouse and often told them of her father’s cases, which they would then take action to solve. Josie paid them well for their services, but they mostly spent it on food, materials and certain small indulgences. Brad would buy explosives or raw materials to make them, Greg would purchase some chemicals for his personal experiments, Colin would buy sweets and Ryan would spend it on knives to add to his collection.
“Sorry, I was just buying you guys lunch to thank you for your help yesterday,” she held up her parcels.
“Thanks, Jose, but you didn’t have to-”
“It’s Italian!”
“....okay, we can eat.”
They all sat down at their table, pulling up an extra chair for Josie and nearly wolfed down the wonderful food. They didn’t eat out like this often and it was always nice to take advantage of a free meal. They invited Josie out with them, but she refused to go along with them, saying that she had to get home before her father did. Waving goodbye to her, they checked their security one last time before Ryan opened the door to reveal their main form of above ground travel: a sleek BMW convertible. On finding a wealthy client’s emerald necklace, she had told them that she would give them any two things they desired. After a bit of discussion, they asked for the car and a promise from the client that she would pay the bills for repairs and check ups. She had readily agreed as long as they promised to be careful with the car and not damage it for fun. After a few months, she would decide if she’d continue their deal or just pay them off directly. They had kept up their end of the bargain, even going so far as to repair what they could, and so she kept up hers.
Hopping into their normal seats, which was Brad behind the wheel, Ryan next to him and Greg and Colin in the back, Brad punched the gas and the car zoomed out of the open garage into the road. It took them only a few minutes to find a snow cone stand and even less to place their orders. In just a couple of minutes, they were all enjoying the cold treat and occasionally sneaking tastes of each others’. To an outsider, it would have seemed strange, four men sitting in various places on a convertible and sharing snow cones, but it was routine for them and the world could go to hell as far as they were concerned.
“THIEF!” Ryan turned as a woman screamed and saw a man grab her purse and run off into an alley between the buildings. Even if it was their day off, there was no way anyone was going to get hurt on their watch.
“Men, roll out!” Ryan shouted. It took them not even three seconds to react, Colin leaping out of the car to comfort the woman and assure her that they would get her purse back and the other three to tear off behind the thief. Ryan took point as always with Greg and Brad behind him and he heard the clatter of a manhole cover being removed, turning the corner to see the thief descending into the sewers.
“Greg, options,” Ryan barked out, immediately assuming their familiar roles.
“We go after him through the sewers. I doubt he knows them nearly as well as we do,” came Greg’s quick answer. Not bothering with the ladder, the three of them dropped into the sewer just in time to hear fading footsteps from their right. They ran in that direction and with each turn, they could hear the footsteps get closer and closer. Finally, Ryan turned one corner....only to dive to the ground as a gun shot struck the place where his face had been just a second ago. Greg and Brad’s quick reflexes had stopped them from going around the corner into the fire as well, but that didn’t stop them from looking at their leader with concern.
“Just return the purse and we won’t hurt you,” Ryan yelled from where he had taken refuge behind a low pile of rubble.
“Stop following me or I swear I’ll kill you!” the other man’s voice came, bordering on hysterical.
“Listen, I don’t want to hurt you anymore than you want to hurt me! But we will use lethal force if necessary!” Ryan looked over at Brad and Greg, making a circling motion with his finger which meant that he wanted them to get to the other side of the guy. Greg nodded and, after a quick glance and calculation, figured out the shortest route to get to the required spot. He gestured for Brad to follow him and he did so reluctantly, throwing concerned glances over his shoulder at their leader until he was out of sight.
Making their way around quickly, they were startled when they heard another loud gun shot and picked up speed, running as fast as they could and stopping right before they would reach the man’s line of sight and peered around the corner. The man had lost his earlier fear and was now slowly getting closer to Ryan’s hiding spot and from the tense set of his shoulders, they could tell that he wouldn’t think twice before shooting him. Greg began to think up of a plan, but before he could say anything, Brad had already drawn a gun from his roomy backpack and, with one well-aimed bullet, shot the gun out of the perp’s hand. The sewer tunnel was filled with screams of pain as the man dropped both the gun and the purse and ran, barreling past Ryan’s position and disappearing down the sewer.
“Brad? What the hell?” Greg stared at his comrade, but Brad was looking positively furious and his grip on the gun did not loosen. He made to get closer to him, only to stop when Ryan held his hand up before tossing the purse to him and making a pulling motion with his other hand, telling Greg that he wanted him to pull out. Tossing another concerned glance to Brad, he obeyed and soon, his footsteps faded away as well. Ryan turned to Brad, moving towards his friend cautiously, one hand going up, almost as if he were approaching a rabid animal rather than his best friend. When he touched Brad’s gun wielding hand, it jerked and Brad nearly brought it down on Ryan’s head, only to be stopped by his leader’s steel grip on his wrist. Recognizing the touch at last through the haze of anger that had surrounded him, Brad gentled and then looked throughout ashamed of what he had done. Ryan knew what to do, having seen Brad react like that several times before when someone he cared about was in danger or being threatened and brought his arms around his comrade, not even flinching when those strong, muscled arms embraced him tightly back. Brad buried his face in his shoulder and made small whimpering noises as Ryan ruffled his dark, spiky hair in reassurance.
“Come on, big guy, let’s go home,” he spoke softly, knowing he had to calm Brad down. Brad nodded against his shoulder and pulled away, wiping his eyes and sniffling slightly. Getting back to the warehouse took them barely any time as they were well acquainted with the sewers and Greg’s idea of inserting roller blade wheels into their shoes made it all that much easier for them to travel. Once there, Ryan helped Brad through the manhole and him to the guest room, the only room where they had some amount of privacy besides the lab and the garage.
“So what happened today?” Ryan asked, once Brad had been seated. He knew Brad didn’t want to talk about it, but he had to insist. If Brad was going to shoot whoever attacked them without a second thought, they could get into serious trouble if even a single shot went haywire.
Brad looked down and didn’t respond.
“Brad?” Ryan’s voice remained soft, but still insistent.
“Hurt....” Brad croaked, still focused on a spot on the ground.
“Brad, we’re always in danger of getting hurt,” Ryan sighed, “it’s part of our job. But if you react like this whenever Greg, Colin or I’m in danger then-”
“Nuh uh! No Greglin,” Brad shook his head, using the name he always used to pronounce his other comrades’ names.
“Not Greg and Colin?” Ryan frowned, leaning forward to try and catch his friend’s eye, “Why not?”
“You....” Brad whispered, quietly enough that no one would have been able to hear him unless they had been complete attention. Ryan had been.
“Oh....” Ryan blinked, at a loss for words. That was unexpected. “Well....thank you Brad, but we’re all comrades and you shouldn’t treat me any different than the others. I mean, aside from obeying my orders, because I am your leader, but otherwise-”
For the first time, Brad had managed to quiet their unflappable leader and did it by a method that no training in the world could have prepared Ryan for it. He pulled his leader forward, hard enough that he tumbled into his lap and hugged him tightly, enough to nearly cut off his supply of air.
Ryan gasped as he felt Brad cling to him and was very surprised at the intensity of the emotions in the hold. He had always known that Brad was fond of him, he was the first one he went to hug if he did something wrong or was feeling sad, but he had never realized the degree to which he cared for him. Shifting until he was seated next to Brad instead of on him, he returned the hug, albeit with less franticness and simply soothed him, assuring him that he was alright. It was times like this when he felt that Brad deserved the title Colin had given him of ‘the gentle giant’.
“Brad, I’m fine,” Ryan assured him, “There was no danger and you know I’m capable of taking care of myself. You can’t lose your temper like that again, okay? If you had killed that guy, we all would have gotten into trouble.
“Sorry....” Brad mumbled in a soft voice, pulling back and wiping his eyes.
“It’s alright, just don’t let it happen again, soldier,” Ryan smiled and then heard the sound of the other two members of the team returning and made to get up, only to be stopped by Brad’s grip on his hand.
“Brad, the others are back,” he said, wondering what the other man wanted.
“Nuh uh,” Brad shook his head vehemently.
“That’s not them?” Ryan frowned as Brad nodded, “Then who-”
Their questions were answered when they heard a loud crash and the sound of a very familiar and hated voice laughing. It was the leader of the Rats, a man named Diedrich who had gotten off on the wrong foot with them ever since they had first moved into the warehouse. He had a second to wonder why the alarms or the security system hadn’t gone off when Brad pulled him out of the guest room towards the sewer for a quick escape. The two of them alone didn’t stand for much of a chance against the Rat gang without damaging almost the entire base. Dropping into the sewer without being detected, Ryan sent a quick message to the other two to meet them down there to plan their counter attack. Colin and Greg met them barely ten minutes later.
“How did they get in?” Colin wringed his hands in worry. He had always thought the base was the safest place in the world.
“Greg forgot to activate the front door’s security after Josie left,” Ryan growled, glaring over at him.
“Oh!” Greg blushed and looked down, “Here, I’ll just do it myself,” he slapped himself across the face.
“We need to get those rats out of our base. Kowalski, options,” this was no longer just a casual mission, but one that they had trained for extensively and that meant that it was time for the code names. Greg pulled out the clipboard he carried with him all the type and started scribbling away.
“Well, you said they were in the living area, right Skipper?” a nod from Ryan, “then we’ll have to go at this with stealth and brute force. If we try explosives or guns, we could damage our base and operations, so we should save that for the last minute if we have no other choice. I advise....”
The plans were drawn up and explained in minutes, such was Greg’s talent. Colin would go and lure them into their training area, where they would first be attacked by Greg, then Ryan and Brad. Using the numerous secret passages to the warehouse, they managed to sneak into the training room with nary a problem, except for one Rat member who Brad had quickly taken out before he could utter a sound. They waited for the cue, which they received as Colin’s piercing scream and the sound of footsteps chasing him.
“Steady, Kowalski....” Ryan warned, “NOW!”
Just as Colin burst through the door, Greg dropped a net on the chasing Rat gang , trapping a couple of them, but the others either were too far behind or were too fast and had dodged it. It didn’t matter, because those who dodged the net were unable to dodge the superior fighting skills of the four men who took them out with barely any trouble. Finally, they heard a thump and turned to see Diedrich, the Rat King, enter the room with his three enforcers, the strongest members of the gang.
“So what’s up birds?” Diedrich growled, smirking at them. He had given them that nickname after seeing their fascination with the penguins at the zoo where they had had their first unpleasant encounter.
“Nothing much, rats,” Ryan shrugged, “Nice try breaking into our base.”
“It was easy,” Diedrich shrugged, “Just like taking you guys out will be. Rats, attack!”
“Men, commence Operation Exterminator,” Ryan smirked and the four of them leaped forward in unison, kicking their opponents back. The leaders automatically took each other on while the others tried to beat each other. Colin used his comparatively smaller size to dodge the other man’s blows and then used his extensive training to knock him out cold. Greg dodged the man’s blocks, mentally calculating the amount of force it would take to win and his opponent’s weaknesses until finally punching the man straight in his glass jaw and knocking him out. Brad did do any such thing, rather he charged his opponent and kicked him into the wall where he slumped to the ground unconscious.
Ryan wasn’t having as easy a time. Diedrich wasn’t anything like his Enforcers and was much more powerful than they said he was. Ryan was quickly losing the upper ground and a hard kick in the stomach nearly put him down for the count. Seeing the others gather around behind his adversary, he mentally formed a new plan and nodded at Brad. Brad understood what he meant and stood at the ready.
“I knew you couldn’t defeat me without help from your friends. No matter, I’ll take you all on,” Diedrich grinned and reached down to grab him, but Ryan darted out of his grasp, ran over to Brad who cupped his hands and, once he had placed his foot in the cup, launched him up into the air, from where he conducted his most powerful technique, the spinning kick. Diedrich had a second to shriek in terror right before the kick knocked him back at least five feet and down to the ground.
“Crap!” he groaned, stumbling to his feet and running out of the nearest exit, along with whatever remaining allies he had. The others cheered, exchanging high fives and copious amounts of praise, Greg for his plans, Colin for his distraction, Brad for his quick dispatching of his opponents and Ryan for executing an amazing finishing move.
“That was amazing, Skipper!” Colin looked at him with awe, “When will you teach us that move?”
“All in good time, Private, all in good time,” Ryan smiled and then looked around at the various unconscious people in the room, “now, what say we clean up this mess? Private, call Josie and tell her we have some gifts for her. Kowalski, go and correct the security system. Rico,” he looked over at Brad to see him already holding up a long length of room, “always one step ahead, amico. I like that.”
Josie had been delighted at finding so many of the Rat gang literally being handed over to them and refused to let them not accept payment for it. Ryan argued with her until she told him that if he didn’t accept the money, she would never give them another case again. That was a horrible alternative and they accepted it with gratitude, already wondering what they could buy this time.
“Ooh, can we get some more snow cones, Skipper?” Colin asked eagerly, once everyone else had left.
“First of all, we’re no longer in an emergency, so you can drop the code names, Col,” Ryan corrected him, “Second, we have any more snow cones today and we’ll all throw up.”
“Well, maybe we can utilize the money in a more productive manner, like say for science,” Greg scrutinized it.
“Kaboom!” Brad threw in his two cents as well, expressing his desire for explosives.
“Hold on, guys!” Ryan cut in, “how about we use the money to get some extra materials we couldn’t afford before to improve our security system? The Rats know where we live now and we’ll need it. Any excess could be split equally between us as reward for performing so well. What’d ya say?”
His three teammates looked at each other and then nodded. Ryan grinned and tossed the car keys to Brad, “Then let’s go shopping, boys.”