Then Super Gnat walked in.
For a moment, the Legionnaires were frozen in silent terror. If it had been a western, someone would have shouted, “Somebody fetch the marshal! There’s gonna be trouble!” Since it was real life, however, they did the next best thing.
“Hey, Super Gnat!”
“Over here, Gnat!”
“Got an open chair here!”
The little Legionnaire stopped in her tracks, startled by the sudden eruption of invitations as her teammates tried desperately to head off the inevitable. Of course, it was all in vain.
“HELL, I’D BUY HER A DRINK, BUT SHE’S NOT TALL ENOUGH TO REACH THE TOP OF THE BAR!”
“HAW! HAW! HAW!”
Silence hung heavy in the room as the Gnat slowly turned her head to look in the direction of the noise.
“OH, LOOK! NOW SHE’S MAD! WHATCHA GONNA DO ABOUT IT, RUNT?”
The company was torn as the little Legionnaire’s head sank into her shoulders and she began to stalk grimly across the room toward her tormentors. There was a tradition of not interfering in someone else’s fight, but, for all her comic fierceness, Super Gnat was family, and no one wanted to stand by and watch her get hurt. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind what the outcome of the brawl would be, since it was doubtful that the Gnat could take any one of the loudmouths, much less all three, as was clearly her intent.
There was a quiet scrape of chairs as the individual Legionnaires struggled with their decision. The only thing that was clear was that if the interlopers did serious damage to the Gnat, they were going to have trouble getting out of the lounge in one piece-public relations be hanged!