"Freeze scum," Martin Fukanaga growled with a hand just over his holster. "I don't want to use this, but if you take another step I'll have no choice."

Martin took a careful step towards the perpetrator who took a step forward as well, mirroring his movement exactly.

"That's it," Martin growled as he whipped his flashlight free of the holster. Immediately he shone it, from the hip, towards the other man's eyes.

The perpetrator was actually his reflection in his bedroom mirror, and the beam of light reflected into Martin's own eyes. Blinded, he stumbled backwards and tripped, falling on his back. He groaned in pain, laid there for a moment, and then rolled over to his hands and knees. He blinked furiously trying to ward off the spots of color that clouded his vision. "Not my best idea," he grumbled to himself.

Just then the doorbell rang.

His vision had just about cleared by time he opened the door to his visitor, but all the same he couldn't believe who he was seeing. "Suzi? Suzi Scott?" He said, almost dumbfounded. She was an old school mate of his and (before she was arrested) Mike's guidance counselor. "But how did you…? I thought you were in jail!"

"Out early on good behavior," she said marching into the house before he had a chance to say more. She was wearing a body suit and cape made out of some sort of strange glossy material. She ran her finger along the thick collar she was wearing that emitted a blue light. "Lately I've been a very good girl."

"Ah that's good to hear," he said backing away as she approached him. "I—I figured you were a decent person." He had back peddled all the way into the dining room but she was still just a few inches in front of him as she stalked forward. "So did the school take you back?" he asked, his voice cracking nervously. "I hope so, I always say people deserve second chances."

"They did actually," She said as his back hit a wall. She leaned in so they were nearly nose to nose. She paused for a moment before saying, "I'm here for Mike, you wouldn't know where he is would you?"

"Um, he's in his room. Is he in some sort of trouble?"

"Oh, that would be putting it lightly. Which way is the room?"

He had a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He patted his pockets looking for his cell phone but it wasn't there. He was overcome with worry for his son, and by mistake, he glanced at the staircase that led up towards his room.

She grinned at him. "Thank you Marty." She patted him on the cheek and then started off towards the staircase.

He grabbed her arm. "Hold on," he said attempting to sound firm instead of frightened.

In the blink of an eye she spun around and kicked him in the ribs. He winced in pain and fell to the floor. As she marched up the stairs, more people entered the house, most of them wearing ninja outfits, the others, familiar faces: criminals who'd been put away earlier that year.

Martin scrambled to his feet and grabbed the handle of his flashlight. "Freeze scu—." He was cut off as a ninja pushed passed him rudely, following Ms. Scott up the stairs.

Just as the lot of them got to the top, and disappeared onto the second landing, they all came tumbling noisily down the stairs again. Martin winced at each loud 'thump' that sounded on their way down. He'd fallen down a flight of stairs once himself so he knew how painful it could be. He thought to offer them some of the painkillers he had in the bathroom upstairs, on the condition that they leave immediately.

"You all have the wrong house," A mechanical voice said. A robot emerged at the top of the staircase and started marching down towards the pile of ninjas and felons at the bottom. "The loser convention is two blocks down," it finished as it neared the ground floor.

Martin stared at the robot, stunned. He had seen increasingly odd things over the last year, but this easily took the cake.

The bad guys fanned out into a semi-circle around the foot of the staircase and started attacking all at once. Swords glanced off of the robot's exterior; punches had no effect on it. It easily threw opponents this way and that. Martin considered helping but it looked like the robot had things under control.

Just then, the smallest ninja said, "Harley, crush this tin can. Now!"

Immediately Harley, the biggest of the bad guys, kicked the robot square in chest, knocking it over. Harley stomped on the robot's metallic head again and again as it struggled, in vain, to get up from under the big man's weight. The whole house shuttered with every blow. Martin could hear the sharp creak of metal deforming, and the crackle of the wood foundation of the house breaking beneath them.

Martin charged forward and slammed his shoulder into the giants gut, meaning him to push him off of the robot. The man didn't budge, instead he picked Martin up with one hand and flung him. He landed in a heap on the bottom few stairs.

"Martin," The robot said, it's robotic tone shifting unnaturally; glitching. "Run."

"But I can't leave Mike and Amanda… and Owen," he added the last reluctantly.

The stomps continued. Martin had to brace himself against the wall to not fall over from the tremors. He knew the thing on the ground in front of him was just a machine but still, his eyes started to tear up as he watched it's face cave in.

"They're safe." The machine's voice was low and deep now. It seemed just moments away from dying out. "They've run away alre-e-e-ady."

Smoke started rising from the flattened lump of metal that once resembled a head. Harley stepped back to admire his handy work.

After a moment, once they were all sure the robot was finished for good, the smallest ninja approached Martin. "Out of the way," he barked. His voice sounded a bit familiar. He raised his sword, the look in his eyes clearly promising Martin that he would slice him in two if he didn't do as he said.

Martin didn't know whether or not the robot had spoken the truth, but he certainly wasn't going to bet Mike's safety on it. He drew his flashlight, brandishing it as a weapon. "You're not getting up these stairs," Martin said as he looked over the crowd of bad-guys in front of him. The fear and shakiness in his voice was now gone. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as an animalistic instinct took over; the instinct to protect. His grip tightened on the handle of the flashlight. "Not if the Mart-attack has anything to say about it."

What came next happened so quickly that Martin's high-pitched shout didn't manage to escape his throat until it was already over: A dark figure flipped over his head, spinning in front of him; there was a flash of steal; the clang of metal against metal; the sword got tangled in the chain of the dark figure's nun-chucks as he rotated in mid air; As the figure landed on one foot, he kicked the slightly smaller ninja in the chest with the other, knocking him over and disarming him all at once.

"Agh!" Martin cried stumbling back some. It took a moment for him to regain his composure.

"Officer Fukanaga," said another, who came down the stairs next. It was a ninja girl wielding tonfas. "You'd better call for back up."

"And tell them to hurry," said the third to come, he had a small device that extended into a metal bostaff. "I'm waaay too handsome to die so young."