The sedan tailed Mary Poppins' car at a cautious distance, its windows tinted and engines low. The men inside were restless.
"Keep it in sight." The leader muttered. "We'll follow this car to wherever they are hiding the rest."
For several blocks, the chase remained smooth until Mary's car suddenly swerved down a narrow alley.
"Quick! After them!"
They turned sharply, tires screeching and then halted.
The alley was empty.
"What!?" One of them muttered, leaning out the window.
The sedan proceeded to creep down the alley.
Inside, four men sat tense, eyes fixed on the empty lane ahead.
"Where the hell did they go?"
"The car just vanished."
"Keep it slow." The driver said, squinting. "Maybe they turned—"
A sudden roar of an engine behind them made everyone twist around. A car shot out from a side passage.
"Damn it!" The driver slammed the brakes.
The men reached for their weapons, but before anyone could move, a figure stepped into the beam of their headlights.
A woman in immaculate blue, hat perched just so, and an umbrella dangling from her gloved hand.
"That's quite enough of that, gentlemen." She said in her London accent. "Following my children around like a pack of strays. Very unbecoming."
"What the, who the hell is that?"
The leader frowned. "Just some lady. Move her out of the way."
But before the car could roll forward, the woman raised her umbrella, aiming it straight at them.
"Gun!" One of the men shouted, ducking instinctively.
Bang!
A sharp pop echoed through the alley, followed by the hiss of air leaving a tire. The car sagged to one side.
When they looked up, smoke curled from the umbrella's tip.
"Let's not make a scene." Mary said, her voice honey-sweet. "Go home. Tell your employer that threatening children isn't proper."
The leader sneered. "You think we're scared of you and your toy umbrella, lady?"
Her expression softened into amusement. "Oh, heavens, no. You shouldn't be scared. I can only shoot it once, you see."
"…" The men blinked at each other, confused by her honesty.
The leader sneered. "Get her!"
The first thug jumped out of the car and charged.
Mary sidestepped lightly, catching his ankle with her umbrella's hooked handle.
With a graceful twirl, she flipped him headfirst into the pavement. He hit the ground with a thud and didn't get up.
"Do watch your footing." She said primly. "So clumsy."
Another thug charged with a roar. She gave a delighted hum, spun, and floated just above his grasp as he smashed into a brick wall.
His nose made an unpleasant sound.
The third, now furious, yanked a metal trash bin and hurled it at her.
Mary extended her umbrella and tapped the bin's rim.
The object froze midair.
The men froze too.
"Gravity." She said pleasantly. "Is only a suggestion."
"Oh, do be careful with littering." She chided and flicked the umbrella. The bin shot back, slamming the man into the car door.
The driver, now sporting a broken nose, staggered behind her.
"You'll regret that, dear."
"You're dead!" He yelled, swinging at her head.
Mary tilted her head slightly, and the punch sliced past her hat brim.
"My." She sighed, turning to him. "All weight, no balance."
"Your stance is dreadful."
He lunged again, she rapped his knuckles.
"No discipline."
"Shut up!" He barked, red-faced.
Mary smiled sweetly, poked his throat. "Didn't you learn any manners?"
He stumbled back, clutching his neck, eyes wide. Then…he turned to run.
Before he made three steps, the hooked handle of her umbrella snagged the back of his jacket. With a small tug, she reeled him in like a misbehaving schoolboy.
He hit the ground at her feet, trembling.
And… fainted.
Mary sighed, looking down at the unconscious heap.
"Well." She brushes a speck of dust from her sleeve. "That was disappointing."
Three men down. Not a wrinkle on her coat.
Click!
Her eyes flicked sideways.
Behind her, the last man, the one who'd stayed in the car stood with a revolver trained on her. His hands trembled, but his eyes were steady.
"Drop the umbrella."
"Oh, dear." She said softly. "You don't want to do this."
He sneered. "Lady, I've had enough of your tricks. Say your prayers."
Mary's reflection in a broken mirror smiled faintly. "You should."
The man frowned. "What—"
A horn blared behind him.
He spun around just as headlights flared at the end of the alley.
It was the same car that had vanished earlier.
Inside, two young women screamed at the top of their lungs.
"Mary!" Ming shrieked.
"MING, BRAKE!"
"I am braking!"
The thug's eyes went wide. "Oh, shi..!"
The girls' car slammed into his vehicle, crunching metal and glass, and sent it skidding forward. The man was flung against the hood before collapsing onto the ground in a heap.
Smoke and dust filled the air.
In the front seat, Ming stared wide-eyed at the crumpled hood. "Oh my god, are we dead?"
"No airbags?" Allegra groaned.
Ming stared over the wheel. "Oh… did we just?"
"He's not dead, right? He just… needed a push."
"Che disastro!"
Mary, completely composed, walked over to the fallen leader and plucked the revolver from beside his limp hand. She checked the cylinder once, then tucked the gun into her coat with a disapproving cluck.
Ming scrambled out of the car, staring at the unconscious men scattered across the alley.
"Miss Poppins… you're like… some kind of badass bodyguard!"
Allegra climbed out, brushing her hair from her face. "Madonna mia, this woman fights like an Alley cat and still looks perfect. Come? Come?"
Mary raised an eyebrow.
Allegra muttered something under her breath about British magic.
Mary exhaled through her nose. "It was quite irresponsible of you to come back." She said, though her tone was warm.
Ming bit her lip. "We couldn't just leave you."
"And I." Allegra said stubbornly, chin high, "Am not a Vigliacca."
Mary looked at them both. "No," she said gently. "Both of you most certainly are not."
She turned toward the car, umbrella tucked neatly at her side. "Now, my dears… let's go before anyone else decides to misbehave."
The two girls exchanged a breathless look, then burst out laughing as Mary Poppins led the way out.