Actually, I had five to experiment with. A group of guys had been walking along the opposite side of the street, drinking and talking loudly, butt hey swerved over to intercept us. They were all white with buzz cuts, piercings, and tattoos, and most had beer bottles. One finished his off and threw it hard against the sidewalk so it shattered. I guessed they were in their late teens or early twenties, with scraggly beards and stained T-shirts.
"Lookit de pretty boys!" The tallest, a lean kid with pale blonde hair sneered at me and Runt. "Whatcha doin' in our territory, faggots?" The other four snickered behind him, and I got a distinct impression that they really wanted to hurt us.
I'd forgotten about these guys - the Wolverines, if I'd heard the local gossip right. A street gang that had been causing trouble in the neighborhood for months. Mostly threats and vandalism, but they'd beat up and robbed some people recently. Normally I would have run away or at least been terrified, but now I just smiled at the leader. "Out for a walk, taking in the local wildlife."
"A smart ass, huh?" The leader pulled out a knife and flicked it open with practiced ease. "How about I cut that grin off your face?"
I glanced down and said "With a banana?" It only took a thought to change the knife.
The thug scowled, but then yelped and dropped the banana like it had shocked him. "What the Fuck!?"
Four more knives were suddenly out and Rut and I were surrounded as the gang pressed around us. None of them knew what had happened, but it was obvious I had done something to surprise the leader. The blonde guy recovered quickly, patting his pockets and looking on the ground for his missing knife, but then shoving his face into mine. "You think you're pretty tricky, don't you?"
I shrugged. "Tricky enough."
"That's the last mistake you'll ever make, fucker." He glanced around looking for witnesses, and then grabbed my shirt and yelled to his gang. "Make 'em bleed."