[h1]Injae Park[/h1]
[hr]
"Unfortunately," Ratchet hollered back, breaking into a run, "our asses are directly connected to the rest of our bodies, all of which we would very much like to keep to ourselves. So I'm going to have to say no on that one."

"Don't give them any ideas," Kate hissed.

"Hey, they can bite my shiny metal ass."

"Your butt isn't even made of metal."

"Exactly. They aren't gonna catch us--WHOA, NELLY!" Ratchet heard gunshots from behind her. One thing that sucks about being tall: you're a larger target. Ratchet dashed to the side and hunched over. Thankfully, the Fiend who just tried to kill them only had two bullets left in the magazine, both of which Ratchet had the sense to move out of the way of. (Good thing that she quite towered over Kate as well; otherwise Kate would've taken those bullets to the head.)

Then again, he did send his mutant cronies after our friends.

Ratchet heard the warping noise of uneven footsteps. She looked behind her; the first thing she saw was the fellow with the newly-grown stilts. "This much trouble for a few kids?" Ratchet snorted, her gaze turning to the gentle lady who had recently taken up the profession of reaping, and therefore acquired the equipment to do so. "Who do they think they are? And why doesn't someone call the cops? Well, besides the obvious reason that these chaps order their victims to hand over their cell phones."

"Ratchet, help!" Winston cried. He was about to run into a wall.

Ratchet twirled her wheel and flicked her wrist, disrupting the atoms around Winston and causing him to accelerate in such a manner that his path ran directly parallel to the wall.

"I gotcha, bro," Ratchet called. "At least until you learn to turn yourself."

"Is this really the time to be saying things like that?!"

"Admittedly not! You know I get sassy when I'm nervous!"

Ratchet turned back to Jennifer. "I should hope that it's better!" Ratchet snapped. "Getting heckled and then outright attacked by not one but [i]two[/i] gangs can REALLY put a damper on your mood!" 

Ratchet and her family continued to run back towards the mainland. Thankfully, they made progress. Ratchet looked back at Jennifer again. "You're probably wondering where we're going. To be honest... I haven't the foggiest idea, I'm just trying to lose the guys," she said, catching her breath. She glanced back at their gaining pursuers. "Can't imagine these folks are born like that, unless they're really, really genetically modified circus clowns or farmers. Which, of course, I doubt they are," Ratchet remarked.

Winston grabbed onto a lamppost and swung around twice before coming to a halt. "This is so horrifying," Winston complained. "It's fine if you're watching it all from behind a screen--"

"You mean like with those militant--"

"Let me rephrase that. This ain't League of Legends."

"Oh, yes. And I bet that next you'll tell me that apartments aren't made of paper and crayon like they are in [i]Elmo's World.[/i] Of course this isn't a game, Winnie!" Ratchet cried.

"If this was a game, we'd have power-ups," Kate said.

"What I wouldn't do for a goddam Fire Flower right now. Besides give up my good arm."

Winston folded his arms. "Can't you just use your powers to move a truck and slam it into those guys?"

"That isn't how my power works, Winston. Do you [i]want[/i] me to get a hernia?" Ratchet sniffed.

"Well, we are running out of options..."

"Don't tell me you just said 'yes' on the hernia thing!"

"I [i]didn't![/i] Wait. Can you make [i]them[/i] stop moving?"

"Too many widespread cells; the human body is too diffuse for my kinetokinesis to affect it."

Ratchet threw her hands in the air. "We need to keep moving," she muttered. "Otherwise, we'll never lose them. And let's try to avoid alleyways, that's how people die in the movies..."