Streets of Ravetham

Ennuy stood at a mere 4’9”, the average height for a 10-year-old boy, but as he stared up at the towering goblin thug in front of him—a brute easily over 6 feet tall with jagged teeth and a slimy grin—he didn’t feel small. The goblin, one of the GB6s gang members, had been slinging fairy dust, a highly addictive magical drug that messed with reality. His yellow eyes gleamed as he laughed at the sight of the young boy in black medieval armor that hugged his form like a battle suit. Spiked shoulder guards and intricate plate designs gave Ennuy a fearsome look, while a blood-red cape fluttered behind him, adding to his imposing appearance.

The goblin chuckled. “Run along, kid. Before I—”

The goblin’s laughter was cut short as Ennuy's red eyes flared. He clenched his fist, channeling his hemomancy. The blood within the goblin’s veins obeyed Ennuy’s command, twisting and contorting, strangling the life out of the thug. The goblin clawed at his throat, gurgling, trying to free himself, but the pressure only increased.

“P-p-please…” the goblin choked out, but it was too late. With a final squeeze, the goblin crumpled to the ground in a lifeless heap. Ennuy calmly knelt beside the body, searching the pockets and pouches on the goblin’s vest. He found a stash of fairy dust, a few silver coins, and a gun. The kid stuffed the loot into his pouch and stood up, his cape trailing behind him like a shadow.

“Next,” he muttered.

Payback, a wiry 10-year-old boy with dark skin and an infectious grin, had already made his move. Dressed in a sleeveless jacket with a metallic sheen, dark jeans, and combat boots, he had been pickpocketing thugs left and right. A group of goblins and a few druids from the wolf pact were after him now, growling in anger as they chased him down a narrow alley. He glanced over his shoulder, taunting them.

“You guys gotta be faster than that!” he yelled, vaulting over a trash bin. His jacket caught the light, making him look like a streak of metal zipping through the dark streets.

As he reached the end of the alley, Payback skidded to a halt next to Frostie, who stood with her usual calm. Frostie, with her white-blonde hair peeking out, radiated cold. Dressed in her blue hoodie, jeans, and sneakers, she looked low-key and unassuming. But the frost in her ice-blue eyes was lethal. With a flick of her fingers, an icy mist rolled from her hands, freezing the ground beneath the thugs’ feet. Within moments, their bodies stiffened, ice creeping over their skin as they screamed in surprise. The cold gnawed at their limbs, locking them in place like statues.

Payback stopped next to Frostie, giving her a quick fist bump. “Nice work, Frostie. Chillin’ as always.”

“Nice of you to bring me some targets,” Frostie said coolly, tucking her hands back into her hoodie pockets.

Payback flashed a grin, spinning around to check the frozen thugs. “Easy money.”

From a nearby rooftop, Charm, a girl with long blonde hair tied up in a messy bun, peered down at her team. Her street villain outfit was a mix of style and practicality: a leather jacket adorned with glowing runes, fingerless gloves, and black jeans. The glowing tattoos that ran down her arms pulsed softly as she cast buffs over her teammates.

“Ennuy, your power just got a boost,” she whispered as she activated his hemomantic abilities, amplifying the blood magic flowing through him. She then sent a quick healing spell to Frostie, just in case.

Meanwhile, Ragdoll, the smallest of the group with her brown pigtails bouncing behind her, was on the street, grinning from ear to ear in her overalls. Her power allowed her to swap the positions of anyone within her range, and she was using it to her full advantage. With a flick of her wrist, she swapped one of the frozen goblins with a druid thug from across the street, sending the confused druid stumbling into a wall, while the goblin found himself staring down Frostie’s icy glare.

"Oops, wrong spot!" Ragdoll giggled, flipping another thug around just as he tried to escape.

Ennuy reappeared on the scene like a shadow, moving in quickly to finish off the last of the goblins. With Frostie freezing them in place, it was easy work. He dispatched a few more thugs with swift strikes, using his soul weapon, a shadowy scythe as it drain the blood from their bodies as they collapsed in front of him.

Ragdoll snickered as she switched positions again, causing a goblin who had been trying to flee to materialize in front of Payback, who instantly decked him in the jaw, knocking him out cold. Spoils—dragon scales and gold—were adding up fast, as Ennuy grabbed a pouch filled with scales, valuable on the black market.

The mission was coming together perfectly.

As Ennuy finished looting the bodies, Payback high-fived him. “That’s how we do it, boss.”

The team, despite being kids, moved with the precision and ruthlessness of seasoned criminals, their cowl outfits making them look like a gang of street villains.

“Let’s go,” Ennuy commanded, glancing at his team. Frostie, Payback, Ragdoll, and Charm regrouped around him, each of them glowing from the thrill of victory.

Back in the city, Don Cappo sat in his office, staring at the report in disbelief. The GB6 goblin gang had been found dead, robbed, and humiliated. Even worse, the biker gang Shell Shock, part of the druid wolf pact, had met the same fate. His grip tightened on the report, frustration bubbling under his calm exterior. He liked to feel in charge, but this...this was something else.

With a sigh, Don Cappo dialed a number. “Get me Kaelen Valrath,” he demanded.

Instead of Kaelen’s voice, Loren, the Vice President, answered. “Yeah, Kaelen’s a bit busy,” she said nonchalantly. “He’s fighting with Princess Nys’Trinara on the moon right now.”

Don Cappo pinched the bridge of his nose, not liking how that sounded. “Did Kaelen’s girls kill those gangbangers? Should I cover it up?” he asked, knowing full well how the Drakov family operated.

Loren chuckled, her voice dripping with mischief. “I don’t know what you mean, Don. Handle your city.” She hung up before he could say another word.

Frustrated, Don Cappo decided to head to the crime scene himself. When he arrived, the place was swarming with cops. In the middle of it all, five kids sat on the ground, handcuffed. He got closer and saw them more clearly. There were two human-looking boys and three girls, all dressed in villainous street clothes. They were too young to be caught up in this, yet they looked utterly unbothered.

One boy stood out, dressed in black medieval armor that looked like a twisted version of a dragon-slayer. The others wore street clothes but with a villainous edge: a girl with icy-blue eyes in a hoodie, a boy in a sleeveless jacket, a rune-covered girl in tactical leather, and a small girl in overalls.

Before Don Cappo could step forward, a presence moved up beside him—Delphinus, the pink space dolphin with psychic abilities, hovering just above the ground.

“Don’t worry, Mayor,” Delphinus said. “Those children are the new members of the Justice Guild.”

Don Cappo’s eyes widened in shock.