Dragon's Progeny [Worm/ABB OC]

[Sadguychet]

Yuko Araki hummed quietly to herself as she brought her pencil across the notepad on the table in front of her, squinting as she did her best not to smudge the graphite unnecessarily.

The scene she was currently sketching was nothing of importance, merely a way to keep her mind busy as she waited for her friend to arrive. It was fairly simple, a small willow tree overlooking a cliff, but she still wanted to at least make it look good. Practice didn't mean much if you didn't try after all.

She took a sip of her tea, savoring the bitter taste while wincing lightly at the heat. It was the middle of autumn in the Bay and as such, it was quite chilly outside. Perfect weather for cozying up in a cafe with a hot beverage by your side.

Just outside of the cafe, Yuko's enhanced hearing could just barely pick up the sounds of the waves crashing against the rocky shore of the bay or the indistinct chatter of the people who passed the cafe on the way to their destinations. It was somewhat relaxing, akin to white noise at this point in her life, helping her tune out any unwanted distractions.

*Ding*

'And speaking of distractions…' Yuko looked up as the door to the cafe opened, a bell sounding out throughout the building, and grinned lightly as she recognized the person walking in, silhouetted by the early evening light.

Said person, a blonde teenager around the age of Yuko herself, looked around the cafe, clearly searching for something. Yuko raised her hand in the air and the blonde locked into it immediately, smiling when she caught sight of the black-haired girl.

She made her way over, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulders as she walked, and stumbling slightly as she nearly bumped into someone on her way out.

Yuko gave her a small nod in greeting as she reached her, "Tammi, it's good to see you."

"Hey Yuko, sorry I'm late, dad was giving me the third degree." Tammi greeted back as she reached her, and Yuko gave her a sympathetic look.

"Does he still think you're going out to meet a boy?" She asked. Tammi groaned.

"I swear to god, one of these days I'm going to snap at him," she confessed, "Everytime I try to leave the house and he's around, he has to interrogate me about where I'm going. 'You better not be going out to see any boys Tammi!' 'Don't go talking to Jake again Tammi!' I'm sick of it!"

Yuko nodded at the blonde's words, more than aware at this point of how her father could be. Elias Herren was a strict man, far stricter than even her own to the point that he often came across as overbearing. She had lost count of the amount of times Tammi had ranted about the man's treatment of her.

"Whatever, fuck him anyway. I'm not a kid who needs to be constantly supervised." Tammi muttered, and Yuko winced at the language used. One of the first things she had learned about her friend was that she had quite the mouth on her. She had gotten used to it over the course of their admittedly short friendship, but it still surprised her from time to time.

"Anyway, I didn't keep you waiting too long did I?" She asked as Yuko made some space on the table for her.

Yuko shook her head, "No, I've only been here for fifteen minutes or so. Barely enough time to get my drink." She gestured toward the steaming styrofoam cup sitting on the table. There was no lid on it as Yuko wanted the drink to cool faster.

"Really dude? Are you drinking tea?" Tammi snorted as she caught sight of the liquid in Yuko's cup. She placed her school bag beside her chair as she took a seat across from her friend, "Could you get any more stereotypical?" She teased.

Yuko hummed, taking an especially slow sip of her drink. She made sure to make the action as noisy as possible, and was amused as her friend's face scrunched in annoyance.

After several long seconds, she returned the drink back to its place on the napkin, grinning at the sight of relief her friend gave, "I suppose I could start wearing ceremonial yukatas and only sit seiza style from now on. But I have a feeling that would get uncomfortable after a while so I think I'll pass."

Tammi waved off her words, "Oh please, like you could be uncomfortable. I've seen you sit in the same spot for over an hour as you draw in that notebook you've got. You always pick some of the most awkward positions too. I wouldn't be surprised if one day, I found you with your legs crossed behind your head like it was normal or something."

Yuko shrugged, "I'm very flexible." Sometimes anyway.

Tammi snorted, shaking her head, "Sure dude, whatever you say." She leaned down and pulled a laptop out of her bag, placing it on the table and powering it on, "Anyway, how have you been?"

Yuko smiled lightly as she and her friend settled into amicable conversation. She continued her sketches as she talked, while Tammi worked on something on her laptop. They paused briefly as the worker inside the cafe asked if they would like a drink, but other than that that talk continued uninterrupted.

Her mind went back to how the two of them had met in that very cafe some months ago. It had been an especially busy day, not a single table had been empty. Yuko has been enjoying a cup of tea and some pastries as she worked on an assignment from school. Tammi had walked up to her table and asked for a seat as all the other tables had been full, and Yuko been more than happy to share.

At the start, there had been some definite tension between them, the blonde barely said a word to her the entire time she was there, merely eating her food and beating a hasty retreat, not even bothering to say goodbye or thank you to her. Yuko hadn't even gotten her name.

Yuko had shrugged it off, it was rude, but not anything worth crying over. She went about her day, barely thinking about the odd teen.

The next day, something similar happened, the cafe was busy, the blonde asked to sit with her, and seemed determined to stay silent the entire time. Yuko however, decided not to let her. She spoke to the other teen, asking her inane things like her name or how her day was going, questions designed to get some conversation flowing. The blonde had answered her stiffly clearly not enthused by the questions, but Yuko had been able to get her name regardless. Tammi.

And now she had a goal, she would make friends with this girl, whether she wanted it or not.

Day after day, whenever Tammi sat down at her table, Yuko pried open her cold facade more and more, and slowly the tightness of her eyes disappeared, and smiles became more and more common. No longer was Tammi giving her the cold shoulder. Instead she was laughing uproariously at Yuko's dry humor and sharing jokes of her own in return.

After getting the other girl talking, Yuko found that she actually enjoyed Tammi's company. She was sharp-witted, funny, and pretty attractive besides that. And though Yuko could take or leave her crass language, she couldn't deny it fit perfectly with the blonde's personality.

Yes it seemed that after several years of living in Brockton Bay, she had finally acquired what she had desired for some time. A friend. And she found herself constantly looking forward to their little chats.

"-and so what if I was a little late turning in my project!? I still got it done!" Yuko tuned back in as Tammi finished up her story.

"-but noooo, he was all, 'Tammi if you don't try in school, you won't go anywhere in life.' Like fuck you dude! I don't want to hear that from some old man who barely makes minimum wage after going through who-knows how many years of college. He docked three whole points for that. On a midterm!" She huffed, crossing her arms angrily, "Jackass."

"Did you get in trouble with your father over it?" Yuko asked her as the worker (she really needed to figure out what to call them. Barista?) placed another steaming styrofoam cup on the table. Yuko gave him her thanks as she replaced her old one.

Tammi shook her head as the man placed her drink on the table as well, "Not my dad. My aunt though… Well she wasn't very happy. Looots of yelling." She sighed and Yuko winced.

"I'm sorry to hear that." She said and Tammi just shrugged.

"Eh, it's fine. She's been a lot more mellow now that I'm coming around more often." She took a sip of her drink, humming happily at the flavor.

"Oh, did you finally cave and join that book club she's been talking to you about?" Yuko asked.

Tammi's aunt had been brought up in conversation before, usually because Tammi was complaining about the woman pestering her to join a book club. Yuko was pretty sure that was a bit out of the blonde's ballpark, but figured that the woman just wanted to spend some time with her niece.

Either way, it was nice that Tammi had finally chosen to spend time with her voluntarily. One should always spend as much time with their loved ones as possible. One never knows when they won't have the chance anymore.

"Heh, yeah I did." Tammi nodded as she looked away, "Not like I really had much choice in the first place considering that other club…"

Yuko could just barely hear the other girl's muttered words and was confused by them. What did she mean she didn't have a choice? Other club?

'Maybe her dad forced her to join. He seems the type to want her to spend more time with her family.' Yuko shrugged, putting it out of her mind as she picked up her drink. If Tammi wanted her to know, she'd tell her. She wasn't going to pry.

"I really don't understand how you can drink that shit." Tammi piped up as Yuko took a very cautious sip of her fresh tea, "It tastes like cough syrup to me."

The Asian girl just gave her a small smile as warmth filled her mouth and throat, warming her entire body on the way down, "You just have no taste. How much sugar do you have in that 'coffee' of yours?" She made air quotes at the word coffee due to the fact that the drink inside of the cup Tammi was sipping from could barely be called that anymore.

The other teen just gave a shrug as she took a draw from her drink's straw, "Dunno. Enough to keep me awake I guess."

Their chat was interrupted as Yuko's phone buzzed on the table, indicating she had a message. She picked it up and powered it on, gazing at the message that appeared on the screen curiously, eyes widening slightly as she recognized the caller ID.

Father: Return.

That was it. That single word was the only thing she had been sent, and yet Yuko knew better than to even consider ignoring it.

She placed her phone in her pocket, standing as her friend looked at her curiously. "Sorry Tammi, I've got to go. If I'm not busy, would you like to hang out tomorrow as well? We can go to that store in the mall that sells all the weird goth stuff that you like so much." She asked as she slid her sketchbook into her bag.

Tammi was more than used to her friend's sudden exits by now, and as such was not put off at all, "Yeah, sure thing. I'll text you later tonight. Wouldn't want you getting too bored without your best friend." she grinned as she began gathering her own things.

Yuko rolled her eyes good naturedly as she retrieved her wallet, counting out several bills and placing them on the table. A tip for letting them loiter in the cafe for as long as they did, "We've only known each other for three or so months. If even that."

"And yet, you didn't deny it." Tammi smirked, "You know you like hanging out with me. I'm your best friend and you know it."

Yuko let out a huff of amusement as she slid her sketchbook into her bag, "Yes, whatever would I do without your crass mouth? Why, imagine a world where I am forced to spend time in more polite company, with people who don't insult my tastes in drinks every chance they get." She shuddered theatrically, "How horrible. I dread the very thought of it."

"Yeah yeah, get out of here grandma. And take your tea with you." Tammi waved her off as she zipped up her bag.

Yuko gave her a small smile, "I'll see you tomorrow then." She wrapped her bag around her shoulders, clipping it in the middle.

Tammi nodded at her, "Yup, see you Yuko." And Yuko gave her and the worker a wave as she stepped out into the lamp-lit streets of Brockton Bay.

As she began her trek back home, Yuko couldn't help but wonder what her father had called back for.

~~~

The Araki household was a large, two-story building with a rather large addition built in the rear. Japanese iconography littered the yard, small statues of various yokai and other creatures lined the way up to the door, where two large knockers were situated.

Considering she lived there, Yuko decided to forgo the knockers and simply opened the door, "I'm home!" She called out to anyone inside.

The foyer was completely empty, but she could hear the sounds of footsteps further into the house. She slipped her shoes off at the door as she was taught, before walking further into the house.

A tallish man in a sharp white button up greeted her as she entered the house proper, "Welcome home Hime." He bowed to her, "Your father is waiting for you in his office."

Yuko nodded, "Thank you Takada, I'll go up to him right away."

As the man walked away, Yuko began making her way up the stairs. In moments, she was standing in front of the door to her father's office

She knocked on the door once and upon the answering grunt, opened it and walked inside. The office was dimly lit. Candles burned quietly atop the desk near the back, casting a warm glow into the darkness. A silver dragon mask gleamed in the dim light, casting menacing shadows upon the walls.

Sitting at the desk was her father, hunched over as he stared at a paper with furrowed brows . Dragon tattoos, similar to the one on her own back, covered a good portion of his exposed skin including his muscles arms. He looked up as she entered, hard gaze softening ever-so slightly as he recognized her.

"Yuko." The Dragon of Kyushu greeted her as she closed the door quietly behind her, "You received my message."

Yuko gave him a bow, showing deference to him as he had taught her, "Yes father. I apologize for taking so long, I returned as quickly as I could." She spoke quietly.

He gave her a soft grunt, one reserved especially for her, as she rose from her bow, "Welcome home."

"Thank you father." Yuko smiled at his welcoming, "Though I must admit, I am curious why you have asked me to return. It was my belief that you wished for me to remain away from the house for the day."

What she did not say was that she knew the reason he wanted her out was due to the fact that he was meeting with his subordinates, specifically the ones that handled the majority of the ABB's day-to-day affairs. He had always refused to let her sit in on the meetings, which had hurt at first but she now understood that he wished to keep the fact that he had a daughter hidden for as long as possible.

However loyal those men claimed to be, both she and her father knew that most didn't get there through their undying loyalty to the gang. Backstabbing and blackmail was all too common to men like them, and the moment Yuko's existence was revealed, their enemies would find out about it. One way or another. Her father had decided to keep her existence close to his chest, and to her knowledge only Lee knew who she was. A rare show of sentimentality from the normally heartless man.

So that begged the question, why had he asked her to return so soon? To her knowledge the meeting hadn't passed yet. Why had he called her back?

"As you know, I am meeting with my subordinates," Her father rumbled, and she nodded, "There have been murmurs that some of those under me are displeased with my rule."

Yuko did know that. She very carefully did not say that there was likely good reason for the displeasure. Though her father may love her and she, him, she also knew he was not a good man in any sense of the term. The way he treated those under him left much to be desired, and though Yuko herself had never been subject to his displeasure, she had certainly heard the screams of those who had.

She did not say any of this, instead simply making an easy conclusion from what he had told her, "You suspect there's a traitor."

"No, I do not suspect." Her father rumbled angrily, "I know." He picked up the paper he had been looking at when she walked in, holding it out for her to take.

She took it delicately, studying it intently. It was clearly handwritten, and Yuko recognized the hasty scrawl as Lee's.

It was a list of observations, each time-stamped within hours of each other.

10:33 - Kaito Nanaki exits his home.

10:50 - Kaito enters a bar named 'Patt's Pub' in Empire territory.

11:02 - Kaito exited with a Caucasian male with a shaved head. No overt Nazi paraphernalia is on display.

11:57 - Kaito and the unnamed man enter a warehouse. Over the course of an hour, several other people enter the warehouse.

12:23: Victor of the Empire 88 enters the warehouse.

2:07 - Kaito exits the warehouse and makes his way home

Kaito does not leave his home for the rest of the night.

Yuko furrowed her brow as she placed the paper back on the desk. She knew the name Kaito Nanaki, he was one of the more trusted of her father's subordinates, handling a good portion of things dealing with the gang at large.

Weapons suppliers, hidden caches, recruitment tactics, brothel locations. He knew it all.

If Kaito was a traitor, then the Empire had insight into each and every one of their internal operations. There was no telling how much damage could be done.

Yuko looked to her father as she realized the direness of the situation, "What are you going to do? Are you going to send Lee to make an example out of him?" Was she in for another sleepless night filled with screams?

Her father didn't answer for a long moment, merely gazing at her seriously. She met his eyes, keeping eye contact despite the strong urge to avert her gaze.

Apparently she passed some sort of unspoken test, as after only a few moments her father nodded in satisfaction, "You will join me at the meeting." He said, and Yuko's eyes widened.

"You're going to have me sit in?" She asked, surprised and somewhat horrified at his decision.

Lung nodded, "It is well past time to introduce you to my enemies. You are my heir, and as such you will strike fear into those who would strike against us, just the same as I have."

He picked up his mask from its place on his desk, putting it on his face. The silver accessory shone brightly as the candles around the room flared with his anger, rising and falling with his every breath.

"If those under me would attempt to betray all that I have built here, then I will destroy them. And so will you." He spoke firmly, reaching down into his desk and placing the item he retrieved onto its surface.

"Your previous mask was amateur at best. That will not do for this meeting. You will wear this instead." He said as she picked up the item he placed on the desk.

It was a half-mask, a beautifully crafted one at that. It's appearance was that of a Kitsune, the upper muzzle and ears of one at least, composed of mostly red and black with silver accents, and clearly made to fit Yuko specifically. It also fit with her costume's colors perfectly.

While Yuko hadn't had a chance to truly go out and participate in the cape scene, her father had made sure she would be properly equipped in case trouble ever came to their doorstep. This included making her a costume that would allow fight without restrictions, although given the nature of her power, it was kind of a moot point.

Still, even though she technically had a costume, Lung had refrained from giving her a mask, forcing her to instead make one herself. It was his way of telling her that she was not ready to join him in ruling the ABB, to stand by his side as Lee did.

This mask was his way of telling her she was ready. She was both excited, and terrified at the prospect. Still, she knew better than to let either show on her face.

Yuko instead bowed deeply, expressing her gratitude towards her father, "Thank you father. I promise, I will not disappoint you."

He grunted as he stepped around the desk, making his way to the door, "See that you don't. Get prepared and join me in the war room. Don't be late." And then he left, heavy footsteps echoing throughout the hall.

Yuko stared at the mask in her hands, turning it this way and that as she came to terms with exactly what it meant. The moment she put it on, everything would change, she would be expected to take an active role in the gang, become one of her father's enforcers or even take on a role above that.

Her biggest concerns would no longer be schoolwork or possible commissions for her artistry, instead she would be worrying about whether or not she would be forced to fight one of the numerous dangerous parahumans who called the ABB their enemy. Would have to worry about if she would see her friend again or end up as another statistic on the forums, dead from a stray shot from a gangbanger or another cape's lower.

Or even her father's anger. Things would change between them, she would be his subordinates as well as his daughter. And she did not know if that fact would save her from his wrath should she screw something up. She loved her father, and she would like to believe he would never do that to her, but she did not know. And she would be lying if she said that didn't scare her.

Nothing would ever be the same again.

And yet It was much too late to back down now, she had lost any choice in the matter the day that she triggered. It had only been a matter of time from that point on. And it seemed that time had arrived.

She took a deep breath to steady herself, and placed the mask on her face, one hand slipping up to pull the strap behind her head and under her hair.

And as the mask slipped comfortably onto her features, sliding into place as if it had been there all along, Yuko ceased to be.

And only Yosei, Daughter of the Dragon, remained.

 

[Sadguychet]

The war room was unusually silent. That was the first thing Hiashi Nogi noticed when he entered.

As one of the six Faces of the ABB, Hiashi's duty's revolved around the creation and maintaining of the various drug smuggling routes. A very important job and one he did well, or at least he believed so. And luckily it seemed Lung did as well, considering the fact that despite his relatively young age, he had maintained such a coveted position in the ABB.

Said man was currently lounging in a large chair at the center edge of the table as he waited. His mask glistened in the dim light of the war room as he stared straight forward while he waited. Oni Lee stood silently on the left side of his master's chair, hands folded behind his back as his blood red mask scowled at them all.

Hiashi personally didn't like the Oni, though he would never say so aloud. The man struck him as…off. Doll-like. His movement, his speech, even the way he stood, gave Hiashi a sense of uncanny valley, like he was looking at something poorly attempting to pretend to be human.

That didn't mean he was any less dangerous. As a matter of fact, he was even more dangerous for it. Hiashi had been unfortunate enough to witness the facsimile of a man in action. He moved swiftly, each and every motion deliberate as he cut down his foes, leaving blood and ash in his wake as his targets fell one by one.

And he did it all without uttering a single word, a dozen lives snuffed out in mere seconds with simple stabs and slashes. Horrifying was an insufficient word for what he had witnessed, and he was glad that his responsibilities now lay behind a desk as opposed to on the field.

Hiashi gave the door a wary glance, much like his colleagues had been doing since they sat down.Usually the meeting would have long since started, but when Lung had entered he had proclaimed that they were waiting on one more. Although, considering that Hiashi could just barely hear the sounds of footsteps making their way closer, he had a feeling that their guest was about to arrive.

The door to the room opened, breaking Hiashi from his thoughts as he and all of those present turned their gazes to the person entering the room, clearly the reason they had all been waiting.

It was a woman, which surprised Hiashi, as he knew that apart from the serving girls, all women were forbidden from entering the war room.

Still, Hiashi could tell this was no serving girl. She was wearing a flowing black and red kimono, upon which were depictions of various creatures that Hiashi recognized. Raiju, Dragons, Oni, and what he was pretty sure was a Cerberus were just some of the creatures depicted. The theme was clear to see given that nearly all of the depictions were of some sort of mythical creature, perhaps a deliberate nod to her powerset? Most parahumans knew better than to do that, Yosei was either arrogant, or extremely confident in her abilities.

A black, red, and silver half-mask in the shape of a fox sat firmly on her face, obscuring the upper half of her features and leaving only her lips and jaw exposed, and Hiashi could just barely see the dark edges of what looked like a knife scar on the right side of her jaw, creeping up her cheek and ending just before the edge of her mask.

Even disregarding the fact that she was very clearly a parahuman, the sheer presence she excluded was eerily similar to Lung's own. It filled the room, a weight pressing down upon every person present and making them acknowledge her for what she was. Above them.

She moved with purpose, shoes clicking upon the laminated floor as she strode confidently towards Lung, kneeling in front of him, and Hiashi's heart nearly stopped at her words, softly spoken into the now silent room.

"Father." She bowed her head, "I have arrived."

'Father?' Hiashi's eyes widened and muttering immediately broke out around the room as they processed the woman's words. He could hear the whispers of outrage and those of worry, concern and anger prevalent for this woman who dared to claim to be the Dragon's spawn.

And yet, Lung did nothing to refute the woman's words. In fact, he looked… approving, if that was even possible. His posture did nothing to indicate his anger at least, and Hiashi had a sinking feeling that the woman was telling the truth.

He looked up and around at them all. He stood slowly, and the mutters immediately ceased to exist as he gestured toward the still kneeling woman.

"This is Yosei," He spoke clearly, "My daughter and heir to the ABB."

Murmurs began to break out once more and as Yosei stood from her kneel, Lung held his hand up to silence them all, "I have not finished speaking."

That simple statement silenced the murmurs immediately, tension filling the room once more. Lung gazed around at them all as Yosei came to stand on his side that wasn't occupied by the Oni, clasping her hands in front of her elegantly. He waited a moment to ensure there would be no interruptions before he continued, "I have kept her hidden from you all deliberately, partially for her safety, and partially because I did not deem her ready. That has changed. As my heir, she will be below only me in the ABB's hierarchy. That means that an order from her is nearly as absolute as my own. Even Lee is not exempt from this."

He sat back down in his chair, "She will be taking over my role in the managing of a large portion of the ABB's internal affairs. From now on, if you have an issue that would affect the gang at large, you will defer to her before me."

Hiashi's sharp gaze caught the sudden stiffening of Yosei's shoulders, and he had the feeling that this was the first time the woman had heard of this. Still, she apparently came to terms with the new information rather quickly, as her posture returned to normal mere moments later.

So she was level headed, or at least good at keeping her emotions in check. That was good, Hiashi would rather not have another Lung to defer to if he could help it. It was a miracle he had stayed alive so far with just the man himself, there was no telling what would happen if his daughter had inherited his explosive temper.

"Are you kidding me!?"

And speaking of explosive tempers…

A few chairs down from Hiashi, Kaito Nanaki stood suddenly from his chair, face twisted in outrage, "Why the hell should we have to listen to another crazy cape!? Just because she's your daughter!?"

Hiashi didn't think the room could get any more silent. Heads turned toward the standing man, including the three clad in masks. He could see the thin line of a frown creasing Yosei's lips and shook his head at Kaito's arrogance.

Kaito was from an extremely influential family. Or at least they were, before Kyushu was sent plummeting into the depths of the sea. He and his family had moved to Brockton Bay years before Lung had made the journey himself and, in an attempt to reclaim some of their lost prestige, had set about creating a large-scale crime syndicate.

He had failed of course, so many refugees of different nationalities do not make a good or even semi-productive gang. Despite his admittedly valiant efforts, his little empire had come crumbling down around him within the year and Lung had strode in to pick up the pieces, using his superior strength and power to beat the remnants of the various Asian gangs into submission.

Kaito had been lucky enough that Lung had seen his worth and decided to recruit him instead of making an example out of him. He had elevated Kaito to a position near the top of the ABB, giving him rein over a good portion of the gang itself. Much more than the man deserved in Hiashi's opinion, but he seemed to be doing a good job thus far.

It appeared that Kaito had been afflicted by a temporary bout of insanity however, as the man stood from his chair to address Lung as if he were just another member of the gang and not the man who had fought Leviathan to a standstill in his very own homeland.

Honestly, Hiashi wondered if the man was secretly suicidal and had just decide that it was his time, because those were decidedly not the actions of a man who valued his life, and he just barely held back a sigh at the man's foolish words. He knew what was coming, the Dragon would not let that sort of disrespect lie.

And indeed, he could see his leader tense visible with anger, hands clenching in his chair as he took in the man's insolent words. Hiashi could feel sweat begin to form on his neck as the ambient temperature of the room increased dozens of degrees in just a moment.

Kaito seemed to realize his mistake, his skin paling and his eyes widening as he was subject to his leader's rage. He scrambled into a low bow, profusely apologizing from his foolish words, but it was far too late. Had been from the moment he opened his mouth.

The temperature continued to rise, several Faces around the room beginning to pull at their collars as they began to stick to their necks. The temperature continued to climb, and Hiashi looked down at the table in front of him, finding that his once cold glass of water was emitting steam.

He swallowed roughly. This was bad, if it continued like this, the lot of them would be dead within the minute. The heat was obscene, the air of the room becoming hazy as if they were in a desert, and Hiashi's breaths began to come out in short pants.

He looked around the room, wincing at what he saw. Most of the other faces were much older than himself, early fifties at the youngest, and as such they weren't faring nearly as well in the heat. Their eyelids drooped and some of them had slumped over in their seat, borderline heatstroke taking its toll on their fragile bodies. They would cease to be very soon if something didn't change.

And then, miraculously, the temperature stopped climbing, settling down at what felt like a little over a hundred degrees before it began to slowly drop once more, dropping just as fast as it rose until finally, it was back at a relatively comfortable temperature.

As Hiashi thanked whatever gods were listening, Lung took a deep breath, slowly unclenching his hands, splinters of wood falling from his fingers from his armchair. He took a moment to calm himself, before turning to Yosei.

"Yosei." Lung spoke to his daughter, who seemed completely unaffected by the heat the man had been producing, "For your first act as my right hand, you will give this fool the proper punishment for his blatant disrespect. Ensure he regrets his decision."

What? Lung was letting his daughter take care of it? That was uncommon, while he had sometimes allowed Lee to handle the punishment of his subordinates, Lung usually preferred to handle any discourse by himself. Hiashi personally believed it was a way for the man to show his power, to show that he had not gone soft during his time leading the gang. As if anyone would believe that the man was soft in any sense of the term.

Yosei was silent for a long moment. Finally, she gave Lung a slow nod before unclasping her hands as she began to slowly walk around the table. Hiashi could tell the slowness of her movement was deliberate, and he was suddenly reminded of a scene from a nature documentary he had seen recently, that of a panther stalking its prey, moving with unnerving patience as it crept up on the unknowing victim.

Unseen until it was too late.

As Yosei walked, mist seeped from her flowing robes, spilling into the air around her and the ground below her. It was thick enough that it obscured everything behind it, and as it continued flowing forth, it consumed her form as well, blocking her from sight, transforming her.

The cloud of mist slowly wafted towards Kaito, who was becoming more and more nervous by the second. It seemed he had finally realized his error, much, much too late.

From his place on the other side of the room, Hiashi could feel the presence of something, an unseen weight pressing upon his shoulders and rooting him in place. He wondered what Kaito must be feeling at that moment, so much closer to the cause of the feeling than he himself was.

As the mist dissipated, Yosei had transformed, the changes in the woman plain as day. She was taller for one, having grown at least two feet in mere moments to stand at over seven feet tall. Her medium length black hair had become stark white and now fell down to her lower back, lustrous and full as it flowed in an unseen wind.

Her mask was also gone, and yet Hiashi had a feeling he wasn't looking at the woman's real face. Her eyes were now an orange so bright they were practically glowing, slitted pupils staring straight forward as she walked. A pair of fuzzy white fox ears emerged from the top of her head in a facsimile of her mask's design, and two large bushy tails protruded from her lower back.

Her rather modest kimono had transformed as well, now much more revealing and made from all silk instead of whatever it was made from before. Her arms were now visible as well as a good portion of her legs and thighs, feet now encased in wooden sandals that clacked along the floor as she walked. The neckline of her kimono had lowered significantly, now displaying an amount of pale cleavage that Hiashi personally thought was inappropriate. Not to mention, he was pretty sure she didn't even have that much to show off only moments before.

In fact, thanks to the clothing along with the added extremities, she now looked remarkably like…

'A Kitsune!' Hiashi realized. He remembered the stories his father had told him when he was little, of mischievous fox spirits with the ability to use magic and cast illusions on the unsuspecting mortals that happened to venture into their territory, or simply to prank them. They often took the form of beautiful women to better blend in with humans, though most were identifiable by their fox-like features. Did the woman's power truly give her the ability to transform into creatures of myth as her costume suggested?

As Hiashi ruminated on the woman's possible power, Yosei had reached her destination. Kaito stared at her with both defiance and fear as she slowly reached out her hand. He startled as she grabbed him by the chin, holding his head motionless as he tried to jerk out of her grip.

As she held the man still with unnerving ease, the transformed woman leaned forward, her other hand coming up just below her face in a cup, as if she was gently cradling a pool of water or sand. As it reached her lips, she inhaled softly, before releasing it, blowing air into her palm and Kaito's face.

Colored smoke came into being, floating on an unseen wind as Kaito tried to back away while Yosei held him still. The veritable rainbow of colors was surprisingly fast, it surged forth upon Kaito, surrounding the man's head as he yelled surprise. Yosei stepped back, clasping her hands in front of her as she watched him begin to panic with an odd calmness, flailing his arms this way and that as he tried to disperse the odd smoke.

Soon enough, as the smoke slowly dissipated, Kaito's screams of panic turned into howls of terror. Hiashi's heart clenched as he caught sight of the man through the thinning smoke. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, pupils darting around as he stared at things unseen by the rest of them.

"No! NO STAY BACK! GET AWAY FROM ME! GET AWAY!!!" He stumbled backwards, falling to the floor and holding his arm out in front of him to ward off some unseen evil. His shoes scraped against the floor as he tried to distance himself from whatever he was seeing, scrambling backwards with speed belaying his age until his back met the wall.

As the afflicted man curled into a ball of sobbing terror, Hiashi turned his gaze back to Yosei.

The woman was staring at Kaito with unnerving calmness, face set into a placid mask of indifference as she watched her victim writhe in horror and agony. She seemingly felt his gaze upon her, as her eyes flickered toward his own, and Hiashi felt a chill run up his spine as her slitted pupils met his own.

There was something unnerving about those eyes, burning orange slits surrounded by a thick layer of eyeshadow that only enhanced their dangerous appearance. He was frozen, locked into an unwilling battle as he fought to tear himself away from the predatory gaze as it kept him trapped.

Luckily, moments later she turned her gaze back to the show in front of her, and Hiashi breathed a sigh of relief, his heart beating wildly in his chest from just those few seconds of eye contact.

Soon, Kaito's screams of terror came to a screeching halt. The man's already wide eyes widened even further and his face morphed into an expression of pain as he began clutching his chest. He clawed at his shirt with both hands as if he was trying to dig into his chest. His breaths came out in ragged pants, and his eyes darted around, this time stopping periodically on the other Faces of the gang as he was freed from whatever had afflicted him.

"Help…" He whispered out, nearly choking on the words.

And then he stopped, slumping down against the wall and ceasing motion entirely.

The room was filled with an unnerving silence, the lack of screams now more eerie than ever before. Yosei walked toward the motionless man and slowly leaned down, placing a hand on Kaito's chest with an odd gentleness. She paused, ears flicking on top of her skull, before she shook her head slowly and stood once more, turning to face her father with a placid expression.

"He's dead." She spoke quietly, and Hiashi noticed that her voice was much deeper than before, indicating the changes weren't just skin deep, "A heart attack it seems."

Sweat broke out on Hiashi's forehead at the frank proclamation as Lung nodded in apparent approval, "Good. It is a fitting punishment for his crimes. Well done Yosei"

Lung stood to address the rest of the Faces, and Hiashi felt a tinge of terror as his masked gaze roved over his seated form, "Kaito Nanaki was a traitor. He believed it was okay to give up valuable information on our operations to the Empire. This was his punishment." He pointed at the body, quickly cooling on the wooden floor, before casting his hand out to the rest of them.

"Let this be a lesson to you all!" He spoke clearly, "Traitors to the ABB have never and will never be tolerated! And now, your punishment need not come from Lee or I, for Yosei can and will make your deaths as slow and painful as I see fit!"

Swallowing dryly, Hiashi turned his gaze to the woman once more, finding that she had turned back to Kaito's corpse, observing its slumped form silently. Once again, she seemingly felt his gaze upon her as she turned her head ever-so slightly to meet his eyes.

Hiasi felt his face pale at the tenseness in her gaze, her face was set in a sharp expression that he couldn't decipher. And after a mere moment of holding his gaze, Yosei turned sharply to face her father. Mist fell off of her shoulders in massive quantities, pooling on the floor at her feet as Lung's gaze turned to her.

"Father," Yosei spoke quietly as she bowed toward the man, ears flicking lightly on the top of her head, "I would ask to be excused. I require time to… collect myself, after such an ordeal."

Collect herself? Hiashi noticed her hands were shaking ever so slightly. Excitement perhaps? Did she gain such euphoria from killing a man that she couldn't stay in polite company for a short period of time!?

Lung stared at her silently for a moment, before giving the woman a nod, approving her request. Yosei bowed once more before turning sharply on her heel and striding out of the room. Mist trailed in her wake, settling lightly on the floor before dispersing as it followed her. Hiashi could see it begin to gather around the woman once more as she strode out the door.

As Yosei exited the room just as silently as she entered and the sweat in his shirt began to seep into his coat, Hiashi was filled with the sudden fear that his earlier thoughts about Yosei had been wrong. The lack of emotion as she watched a man writhe in horror and then agony, the cruelly causal way she had killed him and proclaimed his death to her father, shaking with excitement and possibly looking for some twisted semblance of approval from the powerful man…

Yosei wasn't Lung, but she certainly might be worse.

 

[Sadguychet]

The door to the greenhouse slammed shut as Yuko stormed inside, just barely managing to remember to lock the door behind her as she entered. The remnants of her transformation faded into curling mist as she grabbed her mask, throwing it violently to the ground as her stomach churned.

It landed with a clatter, spinning along the tiled walkway and coming to rest against a paved stone, staring up at her with an empty gaze. The girl's vision blurred, tears forming at the edges of her eyes. She turned away, planting her hands on the rim of a huge pot and leaning over it as she felt her gorge rising with each second. She heaved as what little was left in her stomach attempted to make a reappearance, dry hacks escaping her mouth.

The plants were luckily spared her stomach's contents as nothing came up, but that didn't make Yuko feel any better. She turned away from the pot, sliding down its wide surface to come to rest on her bottom.

The eyes of Kaito Nanaki appeared in her mind once more, bloodshot with panic, yet glazed over and sightless as the soul behind them was nowhere to be found. She shivered with the remnants of the realization of what she had done in that room, in front of the horrified eyes of the other Faces. What she had been ordered to do.

Yuko's chest clenched as she recalled the terror she felt when she had been ordered to take over Kaito's punishment for her father. She had known what was expected of her, had known just how brutal her father's punishments could be and most importantly, she knew that she would have to mimic that ruthlessness or else she would just implement his own punishment on top of hers.

She had chosen her Kitsune form because its illusions caused mental harm instead of physical. Oh sure, if she wished she could make the illusions physical, but that would have required power she hadn't had access to at that moment. And even if she had, she didn't want to hurt him too badly.

She didn't want to kill him. Didn't mean to kill him.

"I just wanted to scare him enough that he would pass out or something…" She muttered to herself as she stared down at her hands, vision blurring and making it difficult to keep them in focus, "He died so suddenly."

Did he have heart problems? Were the images she dredged up too much for him to handle? The illusion was based off of what was in his own mind, even she herself didn't know what he was seeing, were his fears just that potent?

Yuko let out a small hysterical laugh as she made a sudden, horrifying realization. Her father had handed her her mask less than two hours ago. She hadn't even been an active cape for twenty-four hours and she had already killed someone on her father's orders.

Just two hours of Yosei's existence and already she was a murderer.

Her laughter slowly transformed into light sobs, and she dragged her knees to her chest, her shoulders shaking as she came to terms with what she had done. Was this how her cape life was going to be? Killing anyone who dared to entertain the idea of betraying the gang and her father?

Was she going to just be another Lee?

No. No, she knew that wasn't true. Kaito Nanaki was a dead-man walking from the moment he had entertained the idea of betraying her father. The fact that she had been the one to kill him had just been a coincidence, and in fact, was likely just an act of opportunity by her father. It probably was just a coincidence that she had been given the mask before the disastrous meeting.

Her father loved her, he wouldn't make her a tool to swing at his enemies like that husk of a man masquerading as a demon.

And yet, despite believing this with all of her heart. It didn't stop the shaking of her hands or the churning of her stomach. Didn't stop Kaito's heart-wrenching screams from ringing in her ears, echoing loudly in her tormented mind.

'Something is wrong with me.' She realized suddenly as her heartbeat pulsed loudly in her ears. She looked down at her fingers, not really seeing them. It was like an out of body experience, she could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest and her uneven breaths escape her mouth, but it was like there was a thin film between the sensations, masking them so they couldn't truly be felt.

She had heard about something like this before, recalled the symptoms she was experiencing with an odd sense of clarity.

'I think I'm having a panic attack.' The sudden realization was odd, akin to an out-of-body experience as she stared down at her shaking hands with numb fascination.

She had heard that disassociation could be one of symptoms of a panic attack, but had never experienced one herself. And now that she was, she had no idea what to do.

She distantly recalled that having someone to talk to could help, grounding she was pretty sure it was called.

Tammi. Tammi might be able to help her.

With shaky hands, Yuko retrieved her phone from the pockets under her kimono, cursing as she fumbled with its blocky form and nearly sent it crashing to the ground. She just managed to affirm her hold on the device, powering it on and navigating through the glowing symbols.

Her shaky fingers scrolled through her limited contacts, quickly coming upon the name she was looking for. After a few fumbled presses, she finally managed to pull up the blonde's name, pressing the little green bubble that would connect her to her friend.

As the phone rang, Yuka was suddenly hit with the realization of just how late it was, almost eleven. There was a good chance that Tammi was asleep.

Still… 'Please please please pick up…' she thought to herself, pleading to whatever god was listening that her friend would answer her call.

The phone rang and rang without any answer, and just as she was about to give up and toss the phone away just like her mask, the ringing stopped, and her friend's voice came through the speakers.

"Yuko, I literally just fell asleep." Yuko could hear the sleepy annoyance in Tammi's words, clearly disgruntled at being woken up like this, "Can't this wait till tomorrow?"

With some effort, Yuko managed to untie her tongue from the knot it had found itself in, "Tammi, I-can you talk to me?" Yuko asked shakily, hands gripping the phone to the point the plastic began creaking. She did her best to ease up on the pressure, not wanting to break her phone by accident.

On the other side of the line, she could practically hear the gears turning in her friend's head as Tammi took in her distressed voice, "Huh? You wanted to talk about something?" She asked in sleepy confusion, and Yuko licked her dry lips.

"I-I just need… I just-" She couldn't get anything out. It was like a vice was constricting her throat, killing the words before they could get out and she sniffed as her vision blurred with even more tears.

Tammi's bed creaked audibly as she sat up, voice much more awake, "Hey, are you alright? You don't sound too good."

Her chest heaved, mind going back to Kaito's sightless eyes, "Please…" she whimpered, "Just talk, anything. Please…

There was a long moment where Tammi didn't say anything, before,

"The guy at Fugly Bob's messed up my order the other day." She began quietly, "I just wanted a regular cheeseburger with no pickles and extra ketchup, and he brought me out something that looked like the Challenger's younger sister. He gave me a discount which was cool, but I couldn't finish the whole thing so I brought it home but then my dad decided that it would be fine if he-"

Yuko latched onto the nonsensical ramblings as Tammi began talking about whatever inane topic came to her mind. She focused on the words the girl was spewing, focused on the syllables and their meaning as she pushed Kaito from her mind.

She listened as Tammi complained about how she had gotten a sprain in gym class last week and hadn't even been allowed to go to the nurse's office, and how her mother had been, as she put it, a real bitch recently because she was hanging out with her aunt more and more.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Yuko relaxed. Her breathing slowly returned to normal and her grip on her phone became more sure. Her hands ceased their shaking as Tammi diverted from talking about her family to the grades she had gotten in school recently.

And as she calmed down, Yuko was struck with an extreme sense of gratitude. She and Tammi had only been friends for a short while, and yet here she was doing her best to calm Yuko down without even knowing the reason for her panic.

She'd have to get the girl something nice to show her gratitude.

Eventually, Yuko was actually laughing alongside Tammi's story, shoulders free of tension as they moved up and down with her giggles.

"-and the thing had a spiked collar on and everything!" Tammi wrapped up her latest story, "Like anyone would ever think a poodle could be intimidating."

Yuko grinned softly as the last of her tension faded away, "I'm pretty sure that's to stop them from getting attacked by other dogs."

"Eh maybe. Nobody thinks that when they see it though." True enough she supposed.

"So are you okay now?" Tammi asked and Yuko gave an affirmative hum, "What was that all about?"

Yuko leaned her head back against the pot behind her, staring down at her mask, "I was having a panic attack I think."
"Yeah, no shit." She nearly laughed at the blonde's blunt response, "But why. Did something happen to you? You're at home right?"

"...Yeah, I am." Yuko hesitated. She definitely couldn't tell Tammi what the attack had been about, that would be ridiculous, "I-I cant say what caused it, sorry."

"...seriously?" Tammi clearly wasn't happy with her decision, and Yuko winced.

"I'm sorry." She repeated as she slowly stood from her place on the ground, "It's… really personal. I'm not really comfortable talking about it."

"Was it your dad? Did he do something to you?" Tammi's voice dropped from its light outrage to quiet concern and Yuko's eyes widened.

"No!" She said, immediately wincing at how loud she had been. She quietened her voice, "No, he'd never do anything like that."

Sure, her father had gotten angry before, but in all his rage he had never actually imposed it on her. Though, now that she was his right-hand, that could change.

Tammi hummed, and Yuko got the distinct impression that she was unconvinced for some reason, "Your dad, he's a-uh, he's Chinese right?"

Yuko didn't know what that had to do with anything, but gave an affirmative all the same, "Yeah, half-Chinese, half-Japanese. Both of my parents were." Yulo didn't know how exactly the racial logistics panned out with her, but it wasn't important at the moment, "Why?"

"No reason." Tammi said suddenly, and there was a short pause before she spoke again, "Just… is he really hard on you? Like has he ever…hit you for not doing good enough or something? You can tell me, you know? I'm not gonna tell anyone."

Yuko's eyes widened at the line of questioning, "What? Tammi, what are you talking about? My father has never struck me."

"...right. Sorry dude it's just, you call me in the middle of the night having a panic attack, and it's just you and your dad there and you won't tell me anything. I just kinda assumed… Sorry."

It wasn't just Yuko and her father at home, but Tammi had no way of knowing that. Despite the odd way she phrases it, Yuko knew that her friend was just trying to look out for her.

"Look, I can't tell you what caused it." Yuko spoke softly, "It-it's really personal. But I swear to you, my father is not the cause of it."

She could immediately tell that didn't sit right with Tammi, but the girl didn't say anything, "Alright."

Yuko sighed lightly. She sincerely wished that she could tell her best friend about what had caused her attack, if just to alleviate her worries. But that would mean telling her that she was a Parahuman and likely that she was a member of the ABB as well.

Somehow, she couldn't imagine that going over well with her blonde friend.

So for now, she just put it out of her mind. Maybe one day she could tell Tammi about it, but today was not that day.

"Thanks for answering so late at night Tammi. I really appreciate it." Yuko said quietly as she walked over to her mask. She picked it up, inspecting it for any significant damage and thankfully finding none apart from some small scuffs on the underside of the jaw.

"Sure thing dude. Hey, we still going to that new place that opened up in the mall? I heard they've got really weird shit in there."

Yuko gave a small giggle at the blonde's question, noting the eager tone, "Yeah, we're still going. It's not another taxidermy place is it?"

"Nah, I stopped going to those cause they always have a weird smell. Who woulda thought that a place full of dead animals would smell weird huh?"

Yuko rolled her eyes as she placed her mask back in her face, "Who indeed."

"Anyway, I'm going back to bed. Unlike you, I have to go to school in the morning." She snarked, and there was a small pause, "But hey uh, if you need anything else, you can call me. I don't really mind." She said.

Yuko giggled as she detected the hint of genuine concern in the girl's nonchalant voice, "I think I'm fine for now. Thank you Tammi, I'll be sure to make it up to you somehow."

"Nah it's fine."

Yuko shook her head even if Tammi couldn't see her, "No it's not. I want to show you how thankful I am." She bit her lip,trying to think of something she could do to show her appreciation.

"Dude, really it's fine." Tammi sounded exasperated, "I know you'd do the same for me if I was having issues. It's no big deal."

It really was, for Yuko at least. Tammi was literally her only friend and she really wanted to show the girl she appreciated her despite the few short months they had known each other.

She'd have to think on it, there was surely something she could do or buy for the girl to express her thanks.

For now, she should probably let Tammi go back to bed. She did have school in the morning after all, "Alright then, if you say so. I'm sorry again for waking you up. Try and get some sleep, don't stay up watching weird videos again."

Tammi chuckled tiredly, "We'll see, no promises. I'll talk to you later."

"Mhm."

Yuko took a deep breath as the line went dead, taking a look at the time. It was a little after midnight, the meeting was likely long since over. She was fine with that. She was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to stomach sitting through the meeting after what she had done.

Her father would surely have questions for her, but hopefully he would understand. She unlocked the door to the greenhouse, collecting herself.

She looked down at her hands, now firm and free of shaking, and thought back to what she had done one last time, coming to terms with it.

Kaito Nanaki was a dead man the moment he met with the Empire willingly. That Yuko was the one chosen to kill him was just an unfortunate circumstance. She was her father's right-hand now, and as such it was her duty to take care of the things he didn't have time for. She couldn't anguish over every traitor she would inevitably have to punish.

She took another calming breath, swallowing down any unnecessary feelings, before throwing open the door to her home proper.

Her first day as Yosei had been a short yet harrowing one, and as she began walking into the silent halls of her house, she could only pray the rest wouldn't be the same.

Or that at least it would get easier with time.

 

[Sadguychet]

Yuko winced as the van she was in rolled over a rather large pothole, bracing a hand on the seat to steady herself. Who in the world designed a van with no seatbelts?

Around her, the men who were accompanying her gave no indication of being bothered, their guns staying still on their laps as they moved with the van itself like a sailor on a ship. One of them looked at her, and she got the distinct impression the man was amused though his face didn't show it. She looked away, trying not to pout.

It had been a few weeks since her father had fully inducted her into the gang, and those weeks had been spent primarily going over the internals of how the ABB as an organization functioned. The types of drugs they sold and the types they didn't, how they acquired their munitions and where they kept them, all of this and more was crammed into her head at a dizzying pace.

Where before she didn't pay much attention to gang affairs apart from what her father did, as a part of it, Yuko was forced to take a more hands on approach thanks to her new responsibilities, which had led her to learn much more about the ABB's inner workings.

For example, the ABB as a gang itself was split into several tiers, each having more authority than the last. Yuko had known this, but over the past weeks she had gained a much more in depth look at their internal hierarchy apart from the just fact that her father sat at the top.

From most authority to least, it went like so: Lung, Yuko, Lee and any other cape enforcers her father may choose to employ, the Faces, Officers, Captains, and finally Grunts.

The first three were pretty self explanatory, her father was in charge and she was right behind him - his right hand as he had explicitly stated - and Lee was behind her. If her father cose to recruit more capes to his side, they would fall behind her as well, after they had proven their loyalty of course.

After that it got more complicated, though still relatively straightforward. From top to bottom, the ABB's hierarchy was basically a pyramid of authority, and the number of members followed suit.

Below the Enforcers were the Faces, the people who managed the day-to-day aspects of the gang. Their brothels, drugs, recruitment, guns, and money were all managed by these few individuals. Their numbers fluctuated based on who took on more responsibility and who took on less, but they always remained about the same, evening out at around six, give or take a member or two.

Below them were the Officers, who were the go-between for the Faces and their subordinates. Each Face had only one or two officers, and it was a very coveted position in the gang, and the one that most new recruits were told about to get them to join, using tales of money and women to get in their head. In actuality, being an Officer was probably the most grueling position in the gang, as you were always jerked about from place to place as you did your best to keep things running in spite of idiots trying to undo your work. Not fun.

Below Officers were the Captains. These people were most often seen out and about, herding the lowly grunts so they don't get out of hand. Coincidentally, this was also the title with the most amount of betrayals. Apparently getting put in charge of a relatively large group of men made one think they were bigger than they actually were. They were always dissuaded from that notion rather quickly.

And finally, Grunts were the lowest on the ABB's totem pole, and where the most bodies were sourced from. From new recruits to veterans, the largest chunk of the gang's manpower was located here. Last Yuko had checked,they had a little over four hundred members, a respectable number even in Brocton Bay, Massachusetts.

Of course, among the Grunts they tended to give each other titles and responsibilities, but those titles were mostly kept to their individual cells and had little-to-no bearing on the gang as a whole.

Now, given Yuko's inexperience with the ABB itself, it was only expected that she would shadow someone who would show her the proverbial ropes. It would be a disaster if she was just suddenly thrown into the deep end in regards to her responsibilities, and it seemed Lung had agreed.

The man her father had chosen, Hiashi Nogi, was one of the Faces of the gang, specifically, the one in charge of maintaining their drug trade. Despite his unusually young age, a mere thirty-six as opposed to the fifties and sixties of his peers, Hiashi was extremely adept at his job. Since he had been promoted, the number of 'missing' drug shipments had all but disappeared, and the money from sales had nearly doubled. Her father was extremely pleased with his performance.

Even with his duties having increased with Kaito Nanaki's death, Hiashi had taken the changes in stride and had quickly gotten ahold of his duties once more, adjusting things for the influx of responsibility.

He was a relatively quiet man, introspective if Yuko had to guess, and when he did speak, it was usually best to listen. Yuko was happy that she had been assigned to shadow him instead of one of the much more shady Faces, Takao especially. The pervert. He seemed to be a man of principle which was odd for the gang and she would love to hear his story.

Unfortunately for her, Hiashi also had a habit of staring at her like she was going to tear his spine out through his throat at any given moment which kind of put a damper on their conversations. Hiashi had deliberately kept their interactions brief, not staying any longer than was absolutely necessary.

Yuko had a feeling she knew why this was, she recalled seeing the man during her display in the war room, and she distinctly remembered the look of absolute horror he gave her as Kaito Nanaki died under her watchful gaze. He was afraid of her. Terrified even.

Still, showing his professionalism, Hiashi didn't let his fear of her get in the way of teaching her everything she needed to know about her responsibilities as her father's second-in-command. She would often shadow his Officers on their outings to their various caches and holdings as they made sure things stayed operational, always keeping a careful distance from the proceedings as she was shown how they were done.

It was pretty dull all things considered, and though Yuko knew how important the various visits were, she often had found herself spacing out during the proceedings. Through sheer willpower though, she managed to rein her straying thoughts in, and absorbed as much knowledge about her duties as she possibly could. She was her father's right-hand now, she would not disappoint him by bumbling around in things she should be proficient in.

Which brought her to what she was doing now. Apparently she had shown a sufficient amount of knowledge in their operations as Hiashi had allowed her to attend to one of the holdings by herself. Well, almost.

The men riding in the van with her were ostensibly her guards. While Yuko was more than confident in her abilities thanks to her power, Hiashi had insisted they follow her on this outing just in case. And really that just spoke even more to the man's character than despite his fear of her, he would say something that could so easily be misconstrued as an insult.

She had reluctantly agreed, on the caveat that this would be a one-time thing. She was not a child in need of a babysitter. Under the right conditions, she could easily be the most powerful cape in Brockton Bay.

And besides, she was pretty sure her father had Lee shadowing her from the rooftops anyways. So there was that too.

The van pulled up outside the warehouse in short order. Already somewhat used to procedures but now, Yuko waited for her guards to secure the general area before stepping out of the vehicle.

It was late, the setting sun just barely peeking over the roof of the warehouse and Yuko winced behind her mask as the light got into her eyes. She gave the man who had opened the door for her a nod, noting that he was the same one who had stared at her in amusement, and made her way up to the warehouse.

Flanked by armed men at her front and back, Yuko stopped just before the door, gesturing to one of the men to open it for her. He did so, and Yuko gave him a nod of thanks as she walked inside. As she entered the warehouse, Yuko stopped dead in her tracks, and her eyes widened behind her mask at what she was seeing.

It was a mess to put it lightly, piles of wrapped white bricks lay strewn about and ripped to pieces, cocaine spilling from plastic packaging and ruining itself upon the floor. Yuko could just barely see small craters in some of the moor intact packages, someone having taken small chunks out of the bricks for their own use.

And not only that, but it seemed that simply consuming the drugs hadn't been enough, several bricks had been stomped flat, like a child had had a tantrum atop them, crushing them into the concrete and utterly ruining them.

Beer bottles and cans, enough to supply a particularly loud frat party, were discarded around the warehouse, and in a similar vein, piles of cash were also piled up near the coke. Stacks of paper towering higher than the drugs themselves though oddly enough, they had been neatly organized into several rows.

The people who were responsible were still there, clearly enjoying their continued indulgence as they hadn't even noticed Yuko and her contingent enter. There were around twenty of them, wearing ABB colors and stumbling around drunkenly or fidgeting with energy from the drugs they had no doubt consumed.

Possible hundreds of thousands worth of drugs had been utterly ruined by a group of twenty or so idiots. Father would be furious.

Yuko shook out of her shock, eyes narrowing in outrage as she took in the chaos. She turned to her guards who looked just as dumbfounded as she had, staring at the scene with wide eyes.

"Round them up." She ordered coldly, "Do not let a single one of them slip away. They will answer for this betrayal."
"Yes, Yosei-sama!" Came the chorus from her men, before they sprung into action.

The inebriated men shouted out in surprise and fear as they were rounded up. Rifle stocks slammed into stomachs and faces as her men carried out her orders expeditiously, forcing men to their knees and tying their hands behind their backs with whatever could be found.

One of the men, a smaller individual wearing shorts and a stained T-shirt, cottoned on to what was going on and attempted to dart past her and out the door. Instead of calling out to her guards, Yuko simply flexed her power, willing the Mist into her eyes and changing them into something else.

She gave him a hard glance as he got near her, and he immediately froze as if he had been struck. She looked away, releasing her power, and the man yelped as he fell to the ground, clutching his legs in pain. Yuko spared him another glance, observing the changes her power had wrought on him or more specifically, his legs.

The gorgon was a Greek mythological creature whose gaze had the ability to turn people to stone, and for just a moment thanks to her power, so had Yuko's.

From the man's foot up to his thigh, the skin and muscle had been turned to dark grey stone, immovable, extremely heavy, and irreversible without the use of a parahuman power. He would likely never walk again. A pity.

Yuko turned her gaze away from him and back to the room proper as her men finished the fools up, tying their hands behind their backs and forcing them to kneel in a line. As she took in the terrified faces, Yuko realized something was off.

"Where is the overseer of this warehouse?" She demanded the most sober looking man.

It seemed that the reality of his situation was beginning to set in, as he quickly complied with her as opposed to arguing or just screaming in terror.

"W-we left him in the office! Up the stairs!" He started out, body jerking as he tried to point with his tied up hands, "H-he's behind the desk I think!"

Yuko kept her eyes on the man, the dark shadows created by her mask making him sweat, before she nodded in satisfaction.

She turned to her nearest guard, "Make sure they don't try anything stupid. I will be right back."

The man nodded firmly at her, before returning his attention to the inebriated individuals on their knees.

The door to the office was up a set of stairs and clearly labeled as such. As she reached it, Yuko prayed that the person inside was at least semi-lucid. She would like to get at least some answers as to what was going on and how it had reached this point.

The moment she entered the room, she could immediately hear the muffled screams coming from behind the desk. Thankful that the man below wasn't lying and even more thankful that the Overseer was conscious, Yuko made her way around the desk.

The Overseer was a heavy set man with noticeably thinning hair. He was lying on his side on the floor, hands and legs tied together in a hogtie that would look comical in any other situation. His eyes widened in surprise as he caught sight of her, relief stark in the dark orbs as Yuko leaned down towards him with a hand.

He took a deep breath as Yuko pulled the gag from his mouth, casting a thankful gaze up at her, "Thank you so much Yosei-sama! God knows what they would have done to me when they were done down there."

Yuko stepped back, folding her arms in front of her and looking down at him as he slowly stood, taking in deep breaths of relief. She looked around the office with a frown, taking in the scattered papers and open cabinets who's content's had been scattered all over the floor, deliberately opened and rifled through. Clearly the ones responsible had been looking for something in particular. How interesting. Especially so given that the majority of the men down below didn't look to have more than one brain-cell between them.

"How did things progress to this point?" Yosei asked sternly, "Surely they have been planning this for some time? How could those under you revolt so openly?"

The man scoffed as he got to his feet, before blanching as he realized what he had just done. He gave her a hasty bow, "I mean no disrespect ma'am, but the men who you call 'under me' barely tolerate me. They were conscripts."

Yuko blinked, "Ah. I see."

Conscripts were exactly what they sounded like, people (Usually young men) who were forced into the ABB for one reason or another. Given that most were plucked out of the prime of their life, early high-school usually, they had a tendency to be loose cannons at the best of times. It wasn't unheard of for them to attempt to revolt if a large enough group of them got together.

Still, what were they doing rummaging through the files in the office? They would absolutely know there was no money to be found in there. Something was off.

She followed the man back to the main floor, mind whirling with confusion and wariness. Was this truly just a revolt from conscripts? All the signs pointed to it, but something deep inside of Yuko's gut made her think it wasn't so simple.

"What should we do with them, Yosei-sama?" The same man who helped her out of the van asked.

She hummed lightly as she thought. It would be simple to just give them the 'concrete-shoes' treatment, but Yuko's gut still wouldn't shut up and she had a feeling that any answers would die with them if she did so. She bit her lip lightly, trying to decide what to do.

"We will take them to Nana." Yuko finally decided, "They were looking for something in the office upstairs. I would like to know whether or not this was a planned operation, or just a spur of the moment bout of foolishness." Better to err on the side of caution in this case. If she was wrong, nothing would come of it except for Nana's lost time.

The men on the floor immediately started to struggle in their binds, and Yuko couldn't exactly blame them, being sent to Nana was probably the worst that could happen to them.

Nana Akagi was the ABB's go-to interrogator. The woman was a bit of an oddity in the gang given that she was a woman who held a relatively high standing in the gang's hierarchy, akin to an Officer with none of the responsibilities of one. It was practically unheard of, but Nana was just that good at what she did. That primarily being torture.

She was also extremely sadistic and enjoyed her job immensely, often looking for new ways to inflict the most pain on her subjects as possible while trying to get information out of them. Though she rarely killed any of her victims, those that came out of one of her little sessions alive were never the same afterwards and often unfit for duty besides that.

If that's what it took to find out exactly what had spurred this betrayal, then Yuko was fine with that.

"Call Teruo." Yuko ordered the man nearest to her, "Tell him to send a couple vehicles out here, preferably vans. I don't want to wait here longer than we have t-"

Just then with little warning, the wall to Yuko's right exploded inward, stone and debris flying into the building as the tied up men screamed in surprise. She brought a hand in front of her face, shielding her eyes from the offending detritus as she tried to make out the cause of the sudden eruption.

Though given the lack of gunpowder in her nostrils, as well as the lack of police telling them all to get on the floor, she had a feeling it wasn't a swat team. She grimaced as she felt her power begin to churn inside of her, more mist accessible to her than she had had in a long while.

Much like Lung, Yuko's power worked off of the threat she was facing at any given time.
Though instead of simply transforming to suit the threat like her father, Yuko simply got access to more Mist with which to use her power, and more forms to choose from.

The biggest caveat of her power was that she could only transform into mythical creatures, and only those she was relatively knowledgeable about, though it wasn't limited to just eastern ones. Harpies, Gorgon, even Gnomes (though she had no idea why she would ever want to turn into one of those) all were things she could become.

The other biggest caveat was that every transformation used a certain amount of her power, or Mist, as she called it due to how it presented itself. The amount varies depending on the creature she wished to become, with each requiring different amounts.

Her Kistune form for example, varied in the amount of Mist it used by the number of tails she wished to possess. One tail would cost practically nothing, while nine would cost magnitudes more.

If she wished to, she could simply take on aspects of the forms she could choose from, say a Siren's voice or a Unicorn's affinity for sussing out negative emotion. Doing this used much less Mist than simply transforming, though the more aspects she took on, the more difficult it was to not simply undergo the change.

She wasn't sure exactly what decided how much most each form used, but she speculated it had something to do with the public consensus on their general power. Everybody knew that a dragon was stronger than a big dog after all, so of course it should cost more. It was simple playground logic.

Depending on the threat she was facing, she would gain access to more Mist and by extension, more forms. If she was facing off against a group of unarmed thugs for example, she wouldn't get nearly as much as she would fighting, say, Armsmaster or Purity, actual threats in other words.

She had felt what she was relatively sure was the upper limits of her power exactly once in her life. When she had triggered. She would rather die than be put in that situation ever again. The idea of feeling that helpless, despite having so much terrible power at her disposal once more… It made her sick to her stomach.

Luckily, while the swelling of her power within her was more than she had felt in a long time, it was nowhere near as potent as That day. No, this was much more mild, and if she had to guess, she'd say she could achieve maybe three or four tails in Kitsune form before her Mist ran dry. That meant there was definitely a cape present. A rather strong one too.

And as the smoke cleared, and Yuko got her first sight of the person responsible for the destruction, she narrowed her eyes at who she saw.

"Wrap it up boys! I'm taking this little operation of yours down and you to jail!"

Lustrous blond hair fluttered in the breeze created by her extremely dramatic entrance. Her white and gold dress seemed to be unaffected by the dust in the air, remaining just as pristine as the cape flowing behind her back.

The picture of perfection was capped up by a golden tiara, twinkling merrily on top of her head, also unaffected by her entrance. All in all, she looked the part she was so clearly trying to play, the resplendent hero, come to save the day, and Yuko felt a hint of awe that wasn't her own creep up her spine as the blonde's power went to work on her mind.

Victoria Dallon aka Glory Girl, was a known entity in Brockton Bay and had been for some time now. Yuko had seen many PHO posts talking about the blonde's reckless nature and general hotheaded demeanor, while just as many praised her for her admittedly impressive heroics when it came to the gangs.

She didn't come into contact with the ABB nearly as much as the Empire or the Merchants, but that was likely due to the fact that the ABB didn't operate nearly as overtly as either of the other gangs. Glory Girl thrived on finding out-and-about criminals during her patrols given how often she patrolled on her lonesome.

While the Nazi's liked to grandstand with their racism and the Merchants were, well, Mechants, the ABB focused more on its internal operations such as drug trade or gambling rings. Apart from the kidnapping of women for brothels (Which Yuko was still trying to make her father see reason on) the ABB didn't really do anything to catch the public's eye.

In fact, Yuko could count on one hand the number of times her father or Lee had gotten into an altercation with the heroes in the past few months, least of all New Wave. It seemed she had just broken that streak.

Glory girl's gaze roved around the room, somewhat smug as she took in the terrified forms of the cowering ABB members before her expression shifted as she spotted the ones who were already tied up. That confusion grew even more when she took notice of Yuko, clearly not recognizing her costume.

"Uhh, what's going on here?"

---

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[Sadguychet]

"Uhh, what's going on here?"

The warehouse was completely silent apart from the quiet whimpering of the traitors huddling on the floor. The men who had come with Yuko stared at the floating cape with wariness, hands clenching their guns tightly and one of them, the same man she had spoken with earlier, gave her a look, nodding his head towards Glory Girl discreetly.

Yuko shook her head minutely, and the man immediately relaxed his grip on his gun, still aiming it at the cape but with much less hostility than before, and as she turned back to the floating teen, her mind whirled.

This was an issue. What was Glory Girl doing patrolling this late, and in this part of town no less? Had she followed Yuko's van? No, there would have been no reason to do so, they had made sure to leave from a completely random location in the ABB's territory so there was no reason to be suspicious of it.

Whatever the reason for her arrival, the heroine's presence would make escaping with all of her men rather difficult. Unlike Glory Girl, Yuko could only fly in certain circumstances. Not only that, but none of the ones she had accessible to her would be able to take her men along with her if she did decide to flee through the air.

Yuko temporarily debated leaving the traitors behind, but ultimately decided against it. Not only did she need to know what they were doing in the office, it was also her duty to punish them or at the very least bring them in to be punished. Her father would be more than a little disappointed with her if she were to let them off the hook by way of simply being sent to prison.

That meant she would have to fight. And to do that she needed to get her men out of the warehouse safely.

She cast a glance to the man she had been talking to, waiting until his eyes turned towards her. She glanced at the floating blonde, back to him, then nodded her head toward the tied up traitors on the ground. His eyes widened, and the grip on his gun tightened, until she shook her head. She nodded to Glory Girl once more, then let a bit of her power seep into her eyes, causing them to glow.

She then nodded to him, and then the men on the ground once more, wishing more than anything that she could actually talk. This was extremely annoying.

Luckily, it seemed the man understood her meaning, and Yuko could see the exact moment it clicked in his mind. He gave her a shallow nod, before turning towards the man next to him, leaning in to whisper in his ear as Glory Girl looked elsewhere, pointing discreetly at the tie up men.

Good. Now all she had to do was incapacitate Glory Girl long enough for them to escape.

Easier said than done. Despite the jokes made at her expense online, Glory Girl was far from weak. Seemingly invincible and having enough strength to make the likes of Hookwolf balk at taking a straight hit from her, she had earned her title as one of the strongest Brutes in Brockton Bay.

The cape in question spoke up once more, looking a bit irritated, "Hello? Does anyone here have working ears? What's going on here?"

Yuko took the chance as she saw it, stepping forward, "I'm very sorry Glory Girl," Yuki spoke up as she strode forward, mind cycling through the forms accessible to her at the moment. Glory Girl's eyes locked onto her, watching her warily as she took in the iconography upon her costume, "This is a bit of an internal investigation. I am going to have to ask you to leave."

The New Wave cape's eyes narrowed at her, "And who are you?"

Yuko gave her a small bow, keeping her eyes on Glory Girl as her men shuffled behind her in preparation, "I am Yosei, second-in-command of the ABB. It's lovely to meet such a well-known heroine."

The blonde gave her a narrow-eyed stare, "Yosei? I didn't know the ABB had any more capes."

Yuko smiled demurely, folding her hands into her sleeves, "My father felt it necessary to keep my existence hidden from those who would wish me harm. I have just recently taken up my birthright."

"Birthright?" The blonde's face scrunched in confusion, though the hostility didn't disappear from her posture.

"The ABB." Yuko clarified, watching as Glory Girl's eyes widened as she took Yuko's words in, "I am the heir to the legacy my father has built. Should anything happen to him, I will be the one to take the reins."

"Since when did Lung have a kid!?" The floating blonde yelled out in shock, "You're like what, eighteen? How the hell did nobody know about you?"

"Like I said, my existence was deliberately kept a secret from our enemies." She reiterated as she stopped walking forward, standing just in front of the blonde, "Why, imagine if someone like, say, the Empire got hold of the information and something happened to me. I very much doubt there would have been much of a city left standing after my father's wrath had run its course."

Glory Girl blanched, her skin paling as she imagined what Yuko was thinking of. Yuko smiled dryly, "Yes, I much prefer this outcome."

As she spoke, Yuko debated on what form she should take for the upcoming battle. Glory Girl was known to be rather destructive in her fights. And while if Yuko was alone she would be more than fine with going toe-to-toe with the girl, she had her subordinates to think about. She would need to choose carefully, choose a form to incapacitate the girl without turning this into a simple slugfest.

She couldn't imagine the amount of damage they would cause if she were to turn into a Minotaur or something similarly brutish. The warehouse would no doubt collapse around their ears.

Her Kitsune form was available to her but most of her illusions would work off of her victim's own constitution with those with more willpower being more resistant, and Glory Girl was nothing if not willful. And besides, even if they did work, she imagined the blonde was more the 'fight instead of flight' type. Horrific illusions based on her own subconscious could send her into a rage and do exactly what Yuko was trying to avoid.

Eventually, she settled on a suitable form, one that would hopefully keep the damage to a minimum. He would have to do this just right however, and keep the slip ups to a minimum.

At the same time that she decided, Glory Girl reared up, floating higher in the air to stare down at her from on high, "It'll be kind of hard to run a gang from prison. I'd advise you reconsider your choices before you do something irreversible."

Yuko took a small breath, gathering her power within her, "I don't suppose I could convince you to simply leave? Surely there's no need for us to fight?" She asked the blonde teen hopefully.

Glory Girl scoffed, "Not a chance. But I'll tell you what, you surrender right now and don't interfere while I round up your goons, and I'll try to get you a lighter sentence. Maybe you could join the Wards or something, or the Protectorate if you're old enough." She offered an olive branch.

Yuko raised an eyebrow behind her mask as her power reached its apex, "Oh? Do you truly have that kind of sway in the organization?" She asked rhetorically. Her eyes flickered to her subordinate, and he gave a shallow nod. Good.

Before Glory Girl could answer, Yuko unclasped her hands, letting them fall down to her sides, "Well, either way, I'm afraid I cannot simply surrender. You see, I have a responsibility to my men as well as my father, it wouldn't do to fail both on my first actual outing."

She smiled up at the blonde, "I'm afraid I'll have to decline your offer."

The moment the words left her mouth, Yuko released her power. Mist exploded outwards from her body, eliciting a startled yelp from Glory Girl as well as some of those on the floor as it rapidly overtook their kneeling forms.

"Hey! What the hell!?" Glory Girl shouted out in surprise as the mist overtook the entirety of the warehouse, hanging thick in the air like fog rendering sight almost useless. There was a tinge in the air, like the feeling one would get when they knew they were being watched but not by what, and she could feel the New Wave cape tense as she prepared to fly out of the warehouse, only to stop as she realized that the mist wasn't doing anything to her.

"This is your power? What are you, some kind of budget Grue?" Glory Girl exclaimed in annoyance. Yuko could feel her in the mist, turning her body around as she watched warily for attacks, oblivious to the fact that none would be coming.

Yuko didn't focus on her words, instead keeping her mind on her men moving within the Mist. They burst into action the moment sight was impaired, rushing to the tied up traitors and bodily dragging them towards the door. Yuko strained herself, working against her power and keeping the Mist spread out in a way that it wasn't really supposed to be while her men rushed to the exit, dragging the traitors behind them.

Soon enough, they were gone and only Yuko and Glory Girl remained in the warehouse. The Asian girl took that as her cue, pulling her mist back into herself and finalizing her transformation.

Glory Girl looked around, narrowed eyes observing the suddenly empty warehouse as she realized what Yuko had done. She turned to her with an angry scowl, only to freeze as she took in Yuko's transformed state.

The form Yuko had decided on was no doubt unsettling for the other cape, which was part of why she had picked it in the first place. Her mask had once again disappeared, allowing her altered face to be visible as she took a deep breath. Her upper body had lengthened, her once short stature becoming much less so as she rose to her full height and her short hair had lengthened, flowing down to her lower back in straight, inky black tresses. Her kimono had gone from its normal red and black color to just black, all of the iconography upon it disappearing as it lengthened into something more akin to a flowing robe.

Her lower body, on the other hand, had seemingly disappeared completely. Her original legs were nowhere to be found and in their place were eight chitinous legs whose razor-sharp tips tapped along the concrete floor as Yuko adjusted her balance. A bulbous abdomen, complete with spinnerets jutted from the rear of the robe, marked with dark red marks that also appeared upon her legs.

Yuko sighed, feeling her mist settle within her once more as her transformation was completed, shrugging her shoulders and flexing her legs to get used to her new form.

She turned her eyes back to Glory Girl, poisonous yellow orbs staring up from a pale angelic face, "Sorry about that. A bit of a quirk of my power you see."

Glory Girl just stared at her with wide eyes, "So… not a budget Grue. Got it." She said faintly.

Yuko smiled wryly, the mandibles around her mouth twitching with the motion, "Not as such, no."

Glory Girl looked around at the empty warehouse, "I see your men escaped." She said casually, before turning back to Yuko with something akin to resignation in her eyes, "You sure I can't convince you to surrender? I'm sure you'll find some pretty cool people in the Protectorate." She offered once more.

Yuko just shook her head slowly, eyes roving around the room to make sure all of her men had truly escaped, "I'm afraid not."

Glory Girl sighed, "That sucks. You seem pretty cool, what with the lack of angry screaming or yelling slurs at me. It would've been nice to have a new hero around here. Oh well, I'll try to make it quick at least."

She suddenly burst into movement, shooting forward like a rocket towards the ABB cape, fist cocked back to slam across Yuko's face. Yellow eyes widened and Yuko jerked her body to move out of the way as the heroine flew…

Straight into the massive invisible web that Yuko had weaved moments ago. Glory Girl let out a shout of confusion as the invisible strands of silk wrapped around her, flailing her arms angrily and tangling herself further, "What the hell!? What is this!?"

The silk shimmered, becoming visible as the Yuko Glory Girl was looking at faded into nothingness. From behind the panicking girl, the air shimmered as the real Yuko made herself known, her illusion fading with her sudden movement as she surged forward on skittering legs, racing towards the downed cape who was frantically ripping the clinging strands from her body.

Unlike Kitsune, the Jorogumo's illusions worked by affecting the world around it instead of simply using the victim's imagination. That said, they weren't nearly as powerful and if one were actively looking for the illusion, it would fade. The only reason Yuko was able to so blatantly use her power like she had was due to Glory Girl having no reason to suspect that the Yosei she had been looking at was fake. She would be much more wary in the future.

Which meant Yuko would have to do this fast.

The spider-girl reached the downed cape quickly, raising up on her back legs as the front worked with a flurry of motion, spinning silk between the spindly limbs it emerged from her abdomen. Soon enough, she had a good enough amount to work with. She climbed atop the downed blonde, eliciting a shriek of terror as Yuko's legs stabbed down into the concrete beside her. Utilizing all of her legs at once, Yuko began wrapping the hero in webs, flipping her around as she wrapped sheets of silk around the blonde.

Unfortunately, just as Yuko completed the first layer, Glory Girl gained a sudden burst of strength. With a yell, she thrust her arms outwards, aided by her fear and anger, breaking through the silk with a snap and pushing Yuko back in the process.

There was a sickening 'crack' as the blonde's hand made contact with one of her legs, and as Yuko stumbled backwards, she winced in pain the moment she put pressure on it, a throbbing appearing in the limb the moment she pushed down.

She looked down, finding that even though it had been nothing but a graze, the leg that Glory Girl had smacked away was sporting a large, deep crack along the length of the chitin. It hurt, and Yuko was suddenly extremely glad that broken limbs didn't transfer to her when she turned back to normal and instead just increased her fatigue.

Still… 'Either I'm extremely fragile in this form, or Glory Girl is stronger than I had suspected. Either way, I can't let her touch me again.' She decided, bending down on her seven remaining legs as Glory Girl shot up into the air, turning this way and that as she ripped off the clinging webs, 'A drawn out fight is not in my favor, I'll have to finish this even quicker than I had thought .'

Capitalizing on the other cape's still-disorientated state, Yuko launched herself upward, spindly legs coming up to latch onto the ceiling as she activated the second of this form's abilities once more, cloaking herself in a simple illusion that would make her harder to detect. She knew it wouldn't be enough to do what she was about to attempt, but it should at least make it possible to get close to her.

By now, Glory Girl had completely rid herself of the webs, and she was angry.

"Alright, that's enough! Screw getting you a lighter sentence, you're done!" She screamed out as she shot upwards like a rocket. Her face was contorted into an expression of rictus anger as she scanned the warehouse, looking for her, "Where did you go!? Stop hiding so I can tie those legs of yours into a knot!"

Yuko slinked forward on the ceiling, somewhat hidden by her illusion. She was careful not to move too quickly as she knew the moment Glory Girl's eyes actually looked her way, the illusion would break immediately.

Luckily, it seemed that in her anger the teen had forgotten about spider's proclivities for climbing walls; or perhaps she simply didn't think Yuko could do so as well. Either way, Glory Girl didn't make any attempt to look upward as Yuko got into place directly above her. She let go of the ceiling with four of her legs, leaving four still attached, and began weaving one more, clinging strands of web being stretched between her hands and legs as she molded a thick sheet..

She waited as her prey floated beneath her, getting into position as she looked around for Yuko angrily. The moment she was directly under her, Yuko released her remaining legs, sending herself plummeting down towards the unaware cape as a strand of web kept her connected to the ceiling.

Glory Girl gave a rather impressive shriek as Yuko landed atop her, eight legs moving rapidly to tie her up once more. The ABB cape didn't let her body touch the ground, not wanting to accidentally stick her to the floor, and instead held her aloof with several legs as more and more silk was excreted from her abdomen, which she used to continue restraining the other girl, flipping her around and wrapping her up like an actual spider would do to its prey.

Unlike before, Yuko didn't stop at just one sheet of silk, instead continuing to weave several layers over top of one another as Glory Girl became more angry below her. Soon enough, she had a thick blanket of webbing laid atop the blonde, one that should be more than capable to restrain the Brute for several seconds at the very least.

She knew it might still not be enough however, so she began enacting the second part of her plan.

In numerous legends, Jorogumo are said to have the ability to excrete a venom to weaken those trapped within their webs, sapping the strength and willpower of those inside. From Yuko's lips seeped the same venom, falling down into the webs as she wrapped them tightly around the struggling cape below her, seeping into the silk and dying it a sickly green.

Immediately, Glory Girl's struggles slowed significantly as she was sapped of her strength. Her eyes fluttered and her limbs grew heavy. By the time Yuko completed another layer of webs, the blonde's struggles had all but ceased, weak jerks all she was capable of producing. Deciding it was sufficient, the flow of venom from Yuko's mouth ceased, and she continued wrapping the heroine in normal webs.

After she was sure that any escape attempt by the cape would be futile, Yuko finished her bindings with one final layer of webs. By the time she was finished, the blonde cape looked like she was trapped in an off-white cocoon that left nothing but her head and face exposed. Yuko gave her work a once over, before beginning to climb her way back up the strand of webs that had kept her attached to the ceiling.

She reached the ceiling, and began to weave even more webs, attaching these between Glory Girl's cocoon, before slowly lowering her down, stopping just before the blonde's head touched the ground and reinforcing the webbing to ensure she would remain there for the time being.

Glory Girl clearly wasn't happy with the new arrangement as she began weakly struggling once more, though it did nothing but cause her to swing back and forth like a pendulum, blonde hair swaying near the ground as Yuko lowered herself back to the floor, releasing her power's hold on her.

As her transformation faded into trailing mist, Yuko gave a small sigh. Her little smokescreen and subsequent transformation had used up basically all of her available Mist. She wouldn't be able to manage another full transformation tonight without recharging first.

Or running into someone like Purity, but Yuko would really rather not run into the second most powerful Blaster on the East Coast tonight. Or any night soon for that matter. She honestly just wanted to go home and go to bed.

She took a moment to get used to walking on two legs once more, before making her way over to the entrance of the warehouse. Just as she went to leave, Yuko was suddenly struck by a thought, and made her way back over to Glory Girl, looking up at her curiously.

"If I leave you here, will someone come to get you?" Yuko asked the dangling heroine. Glory Girl didn't answer her, face twisted into an angry scowl as blue eyes glared at her tiredly. Yuko repeated her question, and sighed when she didn't get an answer, "I see. Well it wouldn't feel right to just leave you here like this. This is far from a good part of town." She muttered as she looked around the room.

"So what? Are you gonna untie me?" Her captive finally spoke up angrily, "You do realize when I get out I'm gonna deck you right?"

Yuko nodded as she found what she was looking for, bending down to grab a discarded phone, "I do. That's exactly why I am not untying you."

She powered the device on, both happy and unhappy to see that there was absolutely zero security on the device. With a bit of difficulty, she navigated the unfamiliar ui until she found the dial pad, pressing a series of numbers and holding the phone up to her ear as Glory Girl began struggling once more.

It only took a few seconds for her call to be picked up, a weary sounding male voice coming through the phone's speaker, "Hello, this is the PRT Hotline. How may I assist you tonight?"

Yuko hummed as she watched the blonde swing back and forth in mild amusement, "Good evening, I currently have a parahuman in my captivity and would like to request transport for her."

There was a moment of silence as her words registered in the man's head, "A-ah. Yes, ok. May we have the name of the parahuman and your current location so that we can issue the proper assistance?" He sounded much more awake now, which made Yuko wonder if this was a rare occurrence.

Yuko didn't actually know the exact number of the warehouse she was in, but that shouldn't be a problem given the massive hole in the wall, "I am currently in a warehouse off of Allison Avenue. I'm unsure of the exact number, but there is a large hole in the wall so it shouldn't be too difficult to find."

"I see. Please do your best to avoid property damage in the future. While we understand that some things are unavoidable, insurance will only cover so much and you may be held liable depending on the situation." He lectured, and Yuko could hear the tapping of a keyboard in the background, along with some other noises that must have been other operators attending to their own business.

Yuko huffed at the assumption, "The hole was not my doing. That was my captive, she seemed to be intent on making a dramatic entrance despite the fact that someone could have easily been hurt in her doing so." She cast a glance at Glory Girl who gave her a scowl.

There was a beat of silence, "Ok then. And who is the parahuman you have in captivity?"

"Glory Girl."

"..."

"..."

"...Excuse me?"

"My captive is Glory Girl. " Yuko repeated, "She interrupted some very important affairs on my end and attempted to arrest me. She is now tied up and dangling from the ceiling."

'...Ma'am are you a villain?" The background noise ceased altogether at his words, the man's colleagues no doubt listening in on the conversation.

She hummed lightly, "I suppose I am, though I have yet to do anything particularly villainous in my opinion." The sightless eyes of Kaito flashed in her mind and Yuko immediately shook her head. It was not the time nor the place.

There was a long moment of silence, which was starting to annoy her, and Yuko spoke up, "Are you sending the transport? I cannot stay here all evening, I have things to do."

That seemed to spur the man into action, "The transport was sent two minutes ago." He spoke hesitantly, "Though I would like to ask that you stay nearby so that-"

"I'm afraid I can't do that sir." Yuko interrupted the man, "My father is no doubt worrying about where I am right now, so I really must be going."

"Can we at least have your name ma'am? Or your affiliation?" The man sounded somewhat desperate, probably because he would no doubt have to report this to his superiors. Yuko decided to throw him a bone.

"My name is Yosei, I am a member of the ABB." She cast another glance at Glory Girl, noting the sick look on the blonde's face, though that might have just been vertigo. Still, "I suggest you get here quickly. Like I said, she is currently tied upside down and I can't imagine that is good for her health. Something about blood pooling to the brain I believe."

"W-wait! I still have some questions for you-!"

"Have a lovely evening sir." She ended the call, cutting the man's frantic voice off in the process. As the line went dead, Yuko looked down at the phone in her hand, before shrugging and placing it in the inner pocket of her kimono.

She made her way to the exit, casting one more glance at Glory Girl whose face was turning red, "Help is on the way. In the future I hope our meetings are more cordial."

"Bitch." Was all the blonde had to say.

Yuko gave her a nod before making her way out of the warehouse. As she did so, she was happy to see that her men had seemingly done as she asked and called Teruo, as there were two more vans out front than before. One of her men was standing outside of one of them, gun held at the ready.

She made her way over and he gave her a bow, before opening the rear doors, "Welcome back, Yosei-sama. Looks like everything went well?" He phrased it like a question, giving her a discrete once-over

Yuko gave him a nod as she climbed into the van, "Well enough I suppose. I imagine father will certainly want a report when we return."

"I am sure he'll be pleased. Glory Girl is known to be pretty strong, and you beat her with little effort it seems."

Yuko hummed, "Yes… I imagine so. Father always did value strength above all else. He will likely see this as a great victory on my part."

Personally, Yuko thought her father's obsession with strength was a little odd. She had somewhat enjoyed the fight in hindsight, certainly, but she would also rather not do it again any time soon. Right now, she just wanted to report her findings to her father and go to sleep.

She turned to the man, "Now let's go home. I am more than fed up with tonight. "

"Yes, Yosei-sama."

~~~

Yuko was struck by a sudden revelation as the van began making its way back home. She turned to look at the man sitting a few spaces away from her, the same one who had been her go-to all night. He was currently leaning back in his seat, one leg folded over the other as he sucked on a bright blue lollipop, humming some tune she couldn't make out.

It was completely unprofessional, and Yuko were anyone else the man would have gotten a stern reprimand and likely a pay cut or worse. Luckily for him, Yuko was not anyone else.

"You, with the lollipop. What's your name?"

She could see it in his eyes, the sudden fear of being called out like that, and the van suddenly became incredibly still.

He pulled the treat from his mouth, straightening, "Kon, Yosei-sama." She could just barely hear the tremor in his voice. The other people in the van shifted nervously, worried faces straying to the two of them in a way that told Yuko they were attempting to be discreet.

She didn't pay them any mind, instead keeping her eyes on the newly-named Kon. Now that she was actually looking at him, the man wasn't that much older than her. Twenty-three, twenty-four four at maximum, young in other words. And yet, despite his age he had been the most effective member of his team, the first to act on her orders and do so efficiently on top of that. It was impressive.

She told him as such, "Kon, your performance tonight was admirable. I will ensure your superior is informed and you are properly rewarded."

He clearly wasn't expecting that given the way his jaw fell open slightly, but he gathered himself quickly, "Oh! Uh, thank you, Yosei-sama. I am extremely grateful."

"Continue to perform as you did tonight, and I am sure you will rise through the ranks in no time." She gave him a small smile, before turning to address the rest of the group, "That goes for the rest of you as well. You did well tonight, much better than I had expected. We suffered no losses despite an appearance by a rather powerful hero, good work."

Yuko could tell they weren't used to the positive reinforcement by the sheer befuddlement that was visible on all of their faces. That was too bad, hopefully she would get the opportunity to utilize their skills in the future.

"And someone call Nana and tell her we've got a few gifts for her. I'm sure she'll be ecstatic, crazy woman."

---

Had to watch videos of spiders doing spider things for this chapter. In a completely unrelated note, spiders are pretty cool little critters that I would never let anywhere but my back porch or the dusty corners of my basement.

Next six chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Sadguychet]

Vicky winced as her sister's hands ran through her hair, catching on the sticky webs held there and pulling on her scalp, "Careful Ames, that sort of hurt."

Her sister gave her a snort, removing her hands from Vicky's hair and depositing several clumps of web on the kitchen table where they were sitting, "You want me to stop? There's still a bunch of webs in here, but I'm sure a haircut could get rid of most of them." She gave Vicky's head an appraising glance, "I wonder how Dean feels about bald women." She thought aloud.

Vicky paled at her words, imagining a shining dome where her beautiful hair once was, "Nevermind, keep doing what you're doing!" She insisted.

Amy gave her a smirk, before moving her hands back to her sister's hair, using her powers to loosen the bonds between the webs and her sister's blonde tresses.

Vicky winced as the tugging began once more, before turning her attention to the only other person in the room. A person who was practically shaking with her anger.

"What in the world were you thinking Victoria! You could have been seriously hurt, or worse!"

Carol Dallon was very clearly not happy with her daughter, and Vicky winced at her mother's words just as much as the pain in her head. She was pretty sure Amy was doing it on purpose.

"But I wasn't!" Vicky defended, her mother's disappointed gaze striking a cord in her, "I didn't even get hurt! My shield didn't break once!"

"And what if you had been?" Her mother countered, "What if Oni Lee had been there? Or Lung? What would you have done then?"

"I spent like an hour staking out the warehouse, I couldn't see Oni Lee anywhere nearby and Lung doesn't ever leave his house unless he has a reason to! How was I supposed to know they had a new cape, much less that it was Lung's daughter!? Nobody even knew he had a daughter!"

Her mother clearly wasn't happy with her argument, the woman's face twisting into a scowl, "That's no excuse Victoria. You know better than to ever fight an unknown parahuman on your own, especially one from the ABB."

"I just thought I could take her…" She muttered.

"And you were clearly wrong." Carol said firmly, placing her hands on her hips, "And you are lucky that she isn't as bloodthirsty as her father or, god-forbid, Oni Lee."

The fact that Lung actually had a daughter was still a bit shocking to Vicky. The idea that the man who had fought off basically the entire hero population of Brockton Bay at once now had an heir was something that didn't sit well with the blonde heroine.

Yosei seemed to be much more level-headed than her father was said to be and was definitely saner than Lee, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing. Given what Yosei had said, if anything happened to Lung, Vicky had no doubt that the woman would step forward as leader of the ABB.

And Vicky honestly had no idea whether that would be better or worse.

"That's the last of the webs." Amy said from her side as she pulled one more strand from Vicky's head. The blonde sighed in relief, leaning forward to grab a hairbrush that had been set aside and immediately went about neatening her messy hair.

"You think things made by her powers are permanent?" Vicky asked curiously, looking at the now semi-large ball of webs her sister was holding as she began running the brush through her hair.

Amy got a weird look on her face as she rolled the webs into a ball, "Maybe. It's slightly uncommon for things made by capes to stick around permanently, but not unheard of."

Vicky noticed this, "What's up? You just got this weird look on your face." Amy gave her a surprised look for noticing, before frowning slightly.

"We had a bunch of ABB guys come into the hospital today. That's nothing new of course, we get a ton of gang idiots that can't tell the barrel of a gun from their own ass and end up in the ER, but these guys didn't have gunshot wounds or even stab wounds. They were tortured." She looked at the ball of web between her fingers, squishing it lightly, "Ripped out fingernails, flayed bits of skin, electrical burns and signs of drowning, that sort of thing; definitely not accidents."

"So?" Vicky winced as her sister shot her a look as she placed the ball on the table, "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I meant, isn't that sorta normal? I thought it was common knowledge how Lung deals with people he thinks are traitors. I remember you complaining about something similar a few weeks ago, something about someone inside the ABB being a sadistic sociopath because of the kinds of wounds that were coming in."

Lung was well known for his treatment of traitors in the past. The man seemingly despised them more than he did everyone else, and treated them even more harshly as a result. Only in the past few months it seemed that the gang leader had been handing his problems off to someone else, someone who didn't just burn the traitor alive and leave them for the authorities to find.

It had been causing her sister a massive headache because more often than not, the victims had mental wounds to compound the physical, leading to them needing to be strapped down for the healer to even get near them.

Amy had once said that if she ever found who was causing it, she'd make sure their stay in the psych ward was a long one which was both funny and kind of scary thanks to the face she had made at the time.

Amy scowled at the memory, "And I stand by my words. Those wounds were from someone who definitely enjoys inflicting pain, there's no other way they could be so precise and cruel at the same time." She shook her head, clearing her thoughts, "But that's not weird. Like you said, it's become pretty common recently. What isn't common was a guy we got in the Parahuman Treatment ward."

The Parahuman Treatment ward was a section of the hospital specifically for people who had been affected by a parahuman power. Someone who came into contact with Newter and couldn't handle the high would be sent there for example. Given the lack of lingering powers in the Bay despite the sheer amount of capes present it wasn't often occupied so to hear that there was suddenly someone inside and that they were connected to Yosei was concerning.

"This guy was from the same group as the rest of the ABB victims. Both of his legs, from the thigh down, had been turned to stone. Muscles, tissue, skin and bone, nothing was left alone from what I could tell. It was like someone had taken his legs and replaced them with the legs of a statue." Amy scowled, "My powers wouldn't work on them at all which means they are actually stone. They'll have to be amputated."

"And Yosei was responsible?" Carol asked severely.

Amy nodded, "That's what he said. He said he tried to run past her and she just glanced at him, her eyes glowed, and bam, his legs were stone. Said it hurt like a bitch to." she hummed, "The PRT were heading in when I was leaving the hospital, so they'll probably have some questions for him. Maybe they'll even be able to fix his legs but I doubt it, they weren't even really legs anymore."

Carol didn't say anything about the use of language as she turned a harsh stare on her eldest, "See Victoria? What would have happened if Yosei decided to use this specific power on you? Your sister can't affect stone which is by all means what Yosei's power can cause and there is no telling whether or not your shield would have stopped a sight-based power. You could have lost a limb at the very least!"

Vicky looked away, a sudden pit in her stomach as she realized just how badly the encounter could have gone, "... Sorry mom." She said quietly.

"Don't be sorry, be better." Carol spoke sternly, before her gaze softened slightly, "Next time something like this happens, call us. You don't know how hard my heart sank when I heard you had been captured in ABB territory. They aren't the Empire, Victoria, they have little interest in keeping the status quo unless it benefits Lung."

Vicky nodded, feeling slightly ashamed, "I know I just thought I could handle her. She was new and I thought that meant she wasn't strong, so I got in over my head. It won't happen again."

Carol nodded with a slight sigh, "Make sure that it doesn't. I don't want to come home to find that you've been hospitalized and Amy isn't able to do anything about it."

She looked around the kitchen at the clock, "Now I've got to go. My firm is holding an important meeting in an hour or so and attendance is mandatory. Everyone is getting called in.."

"You think someone bumbled a case again? Another Jenkins situation?" Amy asked curiously.

Carol sighed, "God I hope not, that took weeks to deal with…" She glanced at the clock again, "Alright, I really need to go. I love you both and Vicky, you're grounded. No patrolling for the rest of the week and no Dean."

Vicky knew better than to argue at this point, and so she just nodded silently, feeling more than a little ashamed of herself and her mother gave a nod in return before leaving the room to get ready.

She and Amy sat in silence for a moment, Amy picking the ball of web up and playing with it once more, before Vicky suddenly realized something.

"Hey, wait," she spoke up, looking at her sister, "Yosei's powers turned her into a spider. What kind of spider turns people to stone?"

Amy shrugged, "If her powers can turn her into a spider, why not something else?" She didn't move her eyes from the webs in her hands, "I don't know what sort of animal can turn people to stone, but powers are weird so it might not be an animal at all. I mean, her dad turns into an actual dragon and those don't actually exist."

Vicky sighed, "Kinda wish she turned into a dragon during our fight, maybe then I'd actually have been able to do something.".

Amy raised an eyebrow at her, "Was it that bad?"

"Worse." Vicky grumbled, "When I tried to end the fight quickly, I flew straight into an invisible web she hung up when I couldn't see her. And then I found out that that wasn't even her, just some clone or something as it disappeared. After that, I didn't get a chance to hit her again before she had me tied up and the fight was over. It was embarrassing."

Amy grimaced, "So you're telling me that the ABB got someone who actually knows how to use her brain? That's not good. We already had our hands full with just Lung and Oni Lee."

Vicky groaned "I know right? At least Lung just stayed in his lane unless someone decided to kick up shit, and Lee normally stays in their territory. There's no telling what Yosei's gonna be doing."

Amy had apparently grown bored of the ball of webs, as she tossed it toward the open trash can, scowling as she missed.

"Whatever she does, it's not like it could be worse than the shit the Merchants have been doing. They've got some new drug in from Boston and unlike literally everything else, their bodies haven't built up an immunity to it so they overdose super fucking quickly."

Vicky shook her head, "Merchants will be Merchants right?"

Amy growled, "Oh don't even give me that! I've had to tread nearly twenty idiots who thought it would be a good idea to snort heroin this week. You can't snort heroin that just kills you!" she huffed, "I swear one of the only rules of being a Merchant is that you're not allowed to have any common sense."

Vicky laughed at her sister's angry demeanor, "True enough I guess. Though I honestly doubt Skidmark of all people has rules." she stood from her chair, making her way over to the fridge, "I'm hungry. You want an omelet or something?"

Amy shrugged, "Sure. I don't have to be at the hospital for a few hours so that should give me a bit of energy."

As Vicky began pulling out the ingredients, setting a pan on the stove to heat, her mind went back to a question that remained unanswered.

What had Yosei been doing in that warehouse in the first place? And even more importantly, where did her Mom put the shredded cheese?

 

[Sadguychet]

Small note, this chapter and all future ones in Yuko's pov will be in first person. This is due to the results of a poll via my patrons. Please Enjoy!

---

My shoulders were tense with discomfort as I tapped my fingers against my thighs as a way to drown out the sound of the fluorescent light buzzing just above my head. I was currently in the basement of a tattoo parlor near the center of ABB territory. It was a relatively unpopular spot, especially since it was open only a few days a week, and the reason for this was the woman who owned and operated the parlor itself. Nana Akagi.

The reason for my current discomfort was the fact that the woman herself was actually practicing her craft mere feet away from me, separated by nothing but a relatively thick stone wall.

The one currently being subjected to the woman's… treatment was the last of the bunch that had been captured at the warehouse. He was also the last one who could possibly tell us exactly what was going on as the rest of them had known exactly nothing.

Nana had actually been waiting outside for me when I had arrived to her 'playroom'. The woman had greeted me happily and when I had requested information on her progress, she had simply said that she was nearly done and that 'she could feel him about to break'. How lovely.

So here I was, waiting for nearly two hours as the woman tortured a man not a room away. Truly the best way to spend my evening.

I sighed lightly, crossing one jean-clad leg over the other as I adjusted my position on my chair to a much more comfortable one. I wasn't currently wearing my costume due to the fact that there wasn't really any reason to. Anyone who saw me enter would just think I was another patron and those that didn't would know better than to ask questions. There was also no way to tell how long I would have been stuck here beforehand, Nana was very thorough in her craft after all, and even the smooth fabrics of my costume started to get uncomfortable after a while.

Given how long I had been waiting so far, I was glad that I had made the decision.

To occupy my thoughts as I waited for Nana to finish, I turned them towards recent events. It had been a little over a week since my bout with Glory Girl, and all had been well since that particular hiccup. My role in the ABB had been solidified with her defeat, and the numerous detractors to my position in the gang had been silent since. All was well.

I personally was happy with my performance against the heroine. The fight had been a resounding victory all around and had been a good way to introduce myself to the city's heroes. My father had also been pleased with my victory, as had Hiashi. The man had even gotten over his apparent fear of me to congratulate me, even going so far as to offer me the services of the guards that had accompanied me that night.

I had declined as I didn't have any true need for guards, but I had kept true to my words to the men and commended them all for their actions, informing Hiashi to raise their pay accordingly. He had accepted my words without any fuss and last I heard, the group of men had been given much more responsibility in their respective branch of the gang.

I sighed to myself as a shrill scream followed by a happy groan broke me out of my thoughts once again. I brought a hand up to my face, rubbing lightly at the bridge of my nose as the room went silent once more. By all means Nana's playroom was almost completely soundproof. It just happened to be that I was unfortunate enough to possess powers that granted me enhanced hearing. Lucky me.

While my powers may have mainly revolved around my transformations, even while in my human form I retained some traits from my shifts. Enhanced hearing and smell, slightly enhanced strength that made me strong enough to crack stone if I really tried, and the need to only sleep an hour or so every day.

It wouldn't be apparent to anyone looking in from the outside, as unless I was actively using them my powers had no apparent signs. Only my father knew about these aspects of my power and I planned to keep it that way for as long as I possibly could. It wouldn't do to give my potential enemies any extra information, especially in a place like Brockton Bay.

At that thought, I couldn't help but wonder how much of a known entity I had become in the city thanks to my bout with Glory Girl. While our fight had taken place in the middle of the night and in a relatively empty part of the city, I knew that that didn't really matter all that much to the users of PHO. Word had a habit of getting around despite the fact that it by all means shouldn't, especially in the cape capital of the US that was the city I called home.

And even despite that, there was no doubt in my mind that the heroes had already written up a report on me and my abilities. My father was already one of the most feared individuals in the country, and as his daughter I would no doubt inherit some of that fear myself. It just made sense that the Protectorate would at the very least make a threat assessment as they tended to do with all of the parahumans in the city.

I suppose it was a good thing that I had managed to avoid using more than one transformation against Glory Girl. The New Wave cape would have a very limited scope of my powers and wouldn't be able to inform the other heroes of many of my actual abilities as a result. That was likely to be an extremely large help in any future battles.

Knowing is half the battle after all. The less my potential enemies knew, the greater my advantage.

My thoughts were interrupted once again, this time by a happy shout, "There we go! Was that so hard?" That was Nana, she sounded happy. It seemed that she had finally gotten what she wanted out of the man, "Now I need to step out for just a moment honey, I've got a very important guest to tend to. Don't go anywhere, I would just hate to pull out the clamps again~"

I shook my head lightly at her words, purposefully sadistic. There was no doubt in my mind that Nana had tied him up to whatever surface she was torturing him on, the words were simply meant to make the man quake in fear as he awaited her return.

I stood from my chair, adjusting the jacket on my shoulders as I turned to the door to Nana's playroom as it clicked open softly, admitting the woman herself.

Nana was attractive in a 'cute librarian' sort of way. Once one got past the blood that was almost always covering her at least. She was relatively tall, standing around five foot eight which was especially odd for someone of Korean descent like herself. She kept her hair pulled up in a perpetually messy bun leaving strands of hair hanging around her ears and allowing room for her glasses to sit.

The last two fingers on her right hand were missing, as became apparent when she brought her hand up to adjust her skewed glasses. They had been replaced with relatively simple prosthetics that allowed her to continue her preferred ghastly pastime. As she exited the playroom, my sensitive ears caught wind of a light sobbing, no doubt coming from the man inside, moments before Nana closed the door once more.

She gave a small sigh, before turning to me with a face flushed with what seemed like excitement and I very carefully didn't think of why that could possibly be.

"Sorry for taking so long Hime." The woman apologized, giving me a small bow, "That one was a particularly tough nut to crack."

I nodded at her, not minding the nickname since it was only the two of us and I wasn't in costume besides that. I had known Nana for several years at this point as the woman frequently met with my father and despite her… proclivities, I would tentatively call her a friend. Certainly not a friend I would invite to a wedding, but a friend all the same.

"It's alright Nana, I understand." I gave her a small smile, carefully not staring at the bloody stains on her lab coat. I rose and nodded towards the closed door she had emerged from, "Another dead end?"

At my words, Nana smiled a smile that was entirely too much teeth, "Oh I wouldn't say that. In fact, my work has turned up some very interesting results." She reached into her pocket, retrieving a small rag. She pulled her glasses from her face, wiping them free of the light speckle of blood that I had noticed earlier.

"Our friend in there was actually hired to organize the whole uprising. If you could even call something that chaotic and idiotic organized." Nana shook her head derisively, placing the rag back into her coat and her glasses back onto her face, "He was oddly protective of the information for someone of his disposition, but I suppose the person who hired him put the fear of god into him." She smiled lightly, "Too bad for them I can be much scarier than any god. I got him to sing eventually."

I hummed, "And what tune did he sing? Do we know what he was looking for in the office?"

Upon investigation of the warhouse the day after I had visited, the only things messed with in the office had been financial reports and simple spreadsheets, the kinds of things one would expect and not at all crucial to the gang or anyone looking to get a leg up on us. The overseer said that that was normal, and he knew better than to keep anything important in a warehouse on the outskirts of the territory.

Nothing of importance was lost as a result of the riot simply because nothing of importance was there in the first place apart from all the drugs. So that begged the question, why had someone set the man up to this in the first place? Were they just misinformed about the importance of the warehouse?

In response to my question, the woman reached back into her coat, producing a folded sheet of paper and holding it out. I took it with curious fingers "It's not a well known tune, but it's one that you should know. Though I'm pretty sure that's the problem in the first place." She nodded at the paper.

I unfolded the paper, examining its contents curiously. I read the words written down and my heart nearly stopped at what I saw.

Hiashi Nogi
Kaito Nanaki
Aoi Matsuda
Takumi Tani
Sadao Gumo
Takao Yamakawa

It was a list of names. Not only that, but the names were… These were the names of all the Faces! How in the world had he gotten his hands on something like this!?

"You know what this means don't you?" Nana asked rhetorically, pulling a pack of cigarettes from her coat pocket and retrieving one as I stared at the paper in quiet disbelief, "It doesn't make any sense for a low level grunt like him to know the names of the Faces. Especially considering he's never even met one of them, much less all six. Even I only know a few of them."

She put her cigarette in her mouth before bringing her hands up and fiddling with one of her prosthetic fingers. It flipped backwards, a small flame extending from the joint which she used to light her addiction. The woman took a deep inhale, holding it for a moment before exhaling smoke through her nostrils as my own nose wrinkled at the acrid smell of nicotine.

I understood what she was getting at, Faces rarely used their names when meeting with anyone but their Officers and rarely operated outside of their purview besides that. The fact that the man even knew Aoi (the head of recruitment) much less any of the others made little to no sense.

Nor did the fact that Kaito's name was on the list. I was still admittedly doing my best to avoid thinking about him but that didn't change the fact that Kaito was dead. That meant that the list was likely made at least several weeks prior to when it was found and was planted for the man to find.

Which meant that this was planned in advance by someone who knew all of the faces by name. That list was very very short. Less than a dozen people short. Three of those people were myself, my father, and Lee who was way too loyal to even think about telling anyone. That meant…

"There's a traitor." I finally answered Nana's question, a pit settling in my stomach.

Nana nodded, "Yep. High up too, can't remember the last time one of the Faces turned coat." She hummed, "Can't imagine the Dragon will be too happy about this." She mused.

No he wouldn't. I could distinctly remember the last time one of the Faces betrayed the gang. Or more accurately, I could remember the man's screams as he was burned alive. Slowly. My father didn't suffer traitors, but he certainly enjoyed making them suffer in his place.

"He'll likely tear the entire gang up from its roots to find them. It will be a massacre." I said numbly as I thought of the amount of lives that would be lost from this debacle.

I loved and respected my father, but I knew that his way of going about these sorts of things was less than desirable. The man's rage was like a hammer, smashing everything in his way until he reached the one responsible for inciting it in the first place. If I allowed him to handle this, there was no telling the amount of innocent deaths that would be caused, dozens at the very least.

I couldn't let that happen. This situation didn't require a hammer, it required a scalpel. Someone needed to find and carefully cut the traitors out of our ranks, leaving the rest of the gang undisturbed lest it all crumble down around our ears.

That meant I couldn't let him find out about it.

I turned my attention back to Nana, finding her staring at me with a raised eyebrow. I looked at the paper in my hand, before carefully folding it into my jacket out of sight.

"So what's the plan? Should I start writing up a report to the big boss, let him know we've got a little rat problem?" Nana asked, taking another puff of her cigarette.

I shook my head slowly, the beginnings of a plan formulating in my mind, "...No. I'll handle it myself, there is no reason to inform my father."

Nana gave a sharp sigh of relief, "Thank god, I hate writing reports." She finished the last of her cigarette, flicking the remains away into a random corner of the room. I gave it a slight stare as it landed among a rather large amount of its fellows. Apparently she did that often.

She turned to me, "So what's the plan? You even have one yet?" She asked. I nodded,

"Roughly. I'm going to make the rounds in the various branches to see if I can't find anything that seems suspicious. I've already done it with Hiashi so there shouldn't be any suspicion cast on me. They would likely simply see it as me wishing to know more about how the gang is run."

I could also call upon the guards that Hiashi had offered me. Though I still didn't need them, they could be useful to give me an air of legitimacy in that people who looked upon me would believe that I was still learning the ins and outs of the gang. They would believe that my father still did not trust me and would be more liable to let their guard down me.

It was a rough plan and one that would likely require much more revision before I could put it into effect, but it would work for now.

I turned back to Nana who had pulled out yet another cigarette, "The moment I find anyone with useful information, I will send them to you. Expect to be busy in the coming months." I told her seriously.

"So many new people to play with…" She sighed happily, eyes looking up to the ceiling as she thought of it. The grin slowly stretching on her face was making me distinctly uncomfortable, "I can't wait."

I grimaced, "Right… Please ensure you get your current victim to the hospital before he dies, I don't want to have people see a cleanup crew outside your parlor so soon after the last. You provide a valuable service to the gang and we can't have you compromised. Especially not now." I ordered.

"D'aww, you care about me Hime? How lovely." Nana teased, bending down as if she was going to pinch my cheek. I pushed her away with a slightly annoyed grimace, stepping away from her, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Though I have a feeling the hospital is going to have their hands full with this one." She mused, lighting her cigarette and taking a drag.

"Just make sure no DNA is left on him."

She waved her hand, "Pfft, I'm not an amateur Hime. I've been doing this for years. He'll be cleaned up before I haul him off."

I nodded at that, Nana was extremely competent but it always paid to make sure, before turning and beginning to make my way from the basement.

"Any time you want to talk, don't forget about old aunt Nana! It gets pretty lonely here you know?" The woman called after me as I exited the basement into the parlor proper, "And let me know when you want to get more work done on your back! You know I hate seeing my art fade away, Hime!"

I shook my head lightly, not giving any response. The winding dragon tattoo along my spine was far from faded given that I had only gotten it a few months ago, and it wasn't yet time to get it touched up. I knew that the woman was just looking for an excuse to try to convince me to get even more of them. Some may get tattoos for simple decoration, but I had always believed that something so permanent should have much more meaning behind it. I would get more when I had reason to.

I squinted my eyes as I exited the parlor, holding a hand up to stave off the blinding rays of the midday sun. It was a little after two by my calculations which meant I had practically the whole day left to continue planning what to tell my father.

I sighed, the next few weeks of my life would no doubt be even more busy than before and I couldn't say I was looking forward to it.

Still, just because things would be hectic, didn't mean my life needed to be completely stressful. There was always someone willing to help me unwind.

I pulled out my phone, navigating to Tammi's contact and sending the girl a text.

Are you free this weekend? Things have been busy and hectic recently and I would like to get my mind off of it.

I placed my phone back into my pocket to await my friend's response, only to have to retrieve it almost immediately as said response caused it to buzz. I brought it back out, smiling at the response I had received

Yeah Im free. Usual place?

I quickly typed back my own response as I climbed into the car that would take me back home. I was extremely glad to have met Tammi, as having a friend outside of the gang had become quite a boon as my responsibilities grew. The girl may have had a crass mouth at the best of times which I wasn't too fond of, but she was always willing to hang out and simply be my friend. That was really all that mattered.

The fact that she was easy on the eyes was just a bonus.

---

Next five chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Sadguychet]

Tammi wasn't really sure what was with the weather today. Brockton Bay was a coastal city, hence the name, so fog wasn't exactly abnormal. This much fog on the other hand, was kind of a bit much.

It was almost noon and still the clouds that should have been high in the sky were sitting happily on the ground instead, bringing a muggy atmosphere along with them. It wasn't a really good day to hang out in other words and normally Tammi would be at home in bed or doing something for Kaiser or

Tammi didn't care about all of that though, she knew that Yuko needed this. The girl had been extremely stressed at whatever job she was currently working for her dad and it had shown in her texts. That wasn't even mentioning that call.

She still wasn't able to get that phone call out of her head despite it happening weeks ago. Waking up at the butt crack of dawn by a call from someone who didn't like calling people in the first place had been a bit jarring. The panic and borderline hysteria in Yuko's voice had only turned that jarring feeling into full blown fear.

Tammi had limited experience with panic attacks. She had never had one before and had only really heard about them online and stuff, so for her closest friend to call her in the middle of one had shaken her up quite a bit.

She had been able to calm the other girl down, mostly by just doing as she had asked and Tammi was happy for that. She wasn't happy that Yuko was so cagey about the reason for her attack though, and even though her friend had assured her otherwise, the blonde had a feeling she might know the origin of her issue that night.

Tammi had met Yuko's dad once and the man was clearly some sort of thug. He was absolutely covered in tattoos and actually kind of tall and muscular despite his race, making his already intimidating demeanor even moreso. He was cold with his daughter and Tammi had a feeling that that didn't change behind closed doors.

Yuko almost never talked about the man, and that, even more than his race, was enough reason for Tammi to be suspicious of him.

Tammi was broken out of her thoughts by the sounds of footsteps approaching. She turned to find the subject of her thoughts approaching with a smile on her face, one hand coming up to give her friend a wave.

Tammi returned the wave even as she took in the outfit her friend had decided to wear for their little outing; a white and purple jacket with skinny jeans, as well as her ever-present bag slung over her shoulder. Simple, but fashionable.

Tammi had always thought Yuko was pretty good looking. Objectively of course. Her skin was pale and completely smooth apart from a small scar or imperfection here and there and her hair was a shade of black so dark that Tammi sometimes wondered if she dyed it, kept in a straight bob that ended along her jaw.

She couldn't help but wonder what her friend's mother must have looked like to produce such a beautiful daughter with her brute of a father.

Beautiful. Tammi shook her head with a small grimace at the thought, ringing in her head like a bell. What the hell was she thinking? That was the kinda talk that would get her beat within an inch of her life if she ever said it out loud near Brad. She needed to watch that shit.

"Sorry for making you wait, Tammi. I had to take care of something at home." The other girl smiled apologetically as she reached her, the scar along her jaw stretching with the movement.

Tammi's eyes took in the scar, old questions coming to her mind. She didn't focus on it for long though, instead moving to return her friend's greeting, "Hey Yuko, It's fine. I didn't really have anything else to do today." She shrugged, giving the girl a lopsided grin, "Sitting around out here beats sitting around at home."

Yuko giggled, bringing a hand up to hide her smile, "I'm sure it does. And I'm also sure that it has nothing to do with whatever homework you may have been assigned for this weekend." She said slyly.

Tammi just shrugged in a 'what can you do' sort of way. That turned Yuko's giggles into actual laughter so bright her eyes nearly closed with the force of it, drawing Tammi's gaze.

For the umpteenth time, Tammi couldn't help but notice just how unique her friend's eyes were. They were an odd shade of grey, looking almost silver in the right light, it was… striking, and Tammi often found herself staring a bit despite herself.

"Anyway, I was thinking we could go check out that crafts store by the mall." Yuko's voice broke Tammi out of her thoughts, bringing her back to reality, "I'm running out of canvas and need to grab some more. After that, we can just go over to the mall itself. Is that fine with you?" she asked, the remnant of laughter still in her voice..

Tammi nodded, clearing her throat and her brain free of imposing thoughts, "Ahem, yeah. That's good for me."

Get it together Tammi.

As they turned to walk, Tammi looked around a bit, noting the direction they were going and where they'd have to pass through to get there, "Let's be careful though. We're going through ABB territory and I have a feeling they might not like me being there very much." She said, a bit wary.

"They won't bother you." Yuko said simply and Tammi gave her a confused look at her confidence, "I know practically everyone around here. As long as you're with me, they won't bother you." She clarified.

Tammi wasn't too sure about that. In the Empire, it didn't matter who you were, hanging out with any non-whites was like waving around a sign that said 'kick my shit in, please and thank you.'. Hell, even Tammi would have to pull the cape card if any of the people at her school caught her hanging out with Yuko. She couldn't imagine things were all that different in the ABB.

Still, she decided to trust her friend on this one. She knew the area best.

"So did you have an idea on what you want to do other than grab some canvas?" Tammi asked as they made their way through the city.

Yuko shrugged, "Not really. I kind of just wanted to get out of the house and do something fun. It's been… draining here recently."

Tammi frowned at the words, draining? What was she talking about?

Tammi looked over at the shorter girl, finding her staring straight ahead with a light frown on her face. She hesitated, before deciding to go ahead and ask the question that had been bugging her for weeks.

"Hey, Yuko," Tammi did her best to make her voice as soft as possible, knowing that broaching this topic in the first place was probably a bad idea. She couldn't help it though, she was worried for her friend.

Said friend gave her an odd look at the tone she was using but didn't question it, "Yes? Do you need something, Tammi?"

"Is everything alright at home?" She decided to just come out and say it, "I know you said your dad wasn't doing anything but like…"

Yuko was giving her an odd expression, looking around slightly at the empty streets, "Tammi-"

"You can tell me you know? I'm your friend, I'm not going to judge you or anything." Tammi interrupted, wanting to let her friend know that she was here for her.

"Tammi, my father is not abusing me." Yuko's voice was firm, clearly not willing to even broach this subject. She looked at Tammi and the blonde was taken back at the intensity in her steely grey eyes, "I'm not sure where this idea came from but I want it to stop. Now."

Tammi swallowed lightly, biting back the response that wanted to leave her mouth. She had pushed too far, even she could see that. "...Sorry. I'm just worried I guess."

Yuko's expression softened slightly as she led her friend into a nearby alley, clearly wanting a more private place to speak, "I know. And you don't understand how thankful I am that you are."

Yuko stopped, turning to face her with earnest eyes, "You are a good friend Tammi, and that's why I want you to trust me when I say that my father has been nothing but caring to me since my mother died. Sure, he might be a bit cold and seem unloving but he has never in my life laid a hand on me in anger. I swear it."

Tammi stared down at the girl, a swell of emotions bubbling inside of her as she processed her words.

She nodded slowly, "Alright. I'll drop it. Just… just tell me if you need help, okay? For whatever, it doesn't matter. Just tell me. You're kinda my only friend you know? All the other people I have to hang out with are either bitches or just straight up assholes." She joked but not really.

Yuko nodded, "Only if you promise to do the same."

Tammi was sure there was quite a bit she would never be able to tell her friend if she didn't want to lose her, but she nodded all the same, "Deal."

Yuko gave her a smile which she returned despite the turmoil simmering in her head, and the two of them turned to exit the alley and continue their journey.

Only to stop mere feet later. Tammi stepped back, putting a hand on front of her friend as a man met them at the mouth of the alley, hunched over and looking shifty as fuck as he walked towards them. She looked behind her, frowning as she saw the wall of the alley behind them with no exit to be found. They were trapped.

Her wariness was proven warranted as the moment he blocked the entrance of the alley from them, the man pulled a gun out of his coat, pointing it at them angrily.

"Don't move!" The man shouted, moving towards them while pointing at them with the weapon in his hand, "I-I wanna see my-I mean your! Your hands! Show me them!"

The man was dirty and unwashed and Tammi found her lip curling at the sight of his dark skin just as much as the gun he was waving in her direction. Seemed like it was just another parasite looking to make a living terrorizing the actual working citizens of the city.

His gun, if you could even call it that, was so dirty and damaged that it barely resemble whatever it had once been, little more than a hunk of dirt and rust thanks to whatever hole the wetback had pulled it from.

Tammi had been around guns for more than long enough to know that the idea of the thing managing to shoot was just laughable, just as laughable as the idea that he actually had bullets in his magazine.

Still, he was a rather large man compared to herself and Yuko. Tammi was the taller of the two of them at five seven and he still almost towered over them, reaching six feet easily. Tammi doubted that he would have any problems overpowering them.

At least he wouldn't if Tammi was just some random girl and not a member of the most dangerous gang in the city.

That knowledge gave the girl more than enough confidence to laugh in the face of the man's threats, "Hey you stupid spi-fucker," Tammi bit her tongue before she shouted the slur in front of her friend, "Why don't you just fuck off back to whatever hole you crawled out of?"

"Sh-shut the fuck up!" The man slurred, practically swaying from side to side as he held his hand out to them expectantly, "Money! H-hand over all your shit!"

Tammi snarled at the man's demand, taking a step forward as her fists balled at her side, "Oh I am going to shove my goddamn foot up your ass you stupid piece of shit!"

Just as she moved to do exactly as she had threatened, Tammi was surprised as Yuko put a hand out, holding her back even as the much shorter girl stepped forward in her place.

Normally Tammi would have stopped her, but something was different, her face was no longer the familiar girl Tammi had come to know. Her friend's entire demeanor had changed in an instant, the easy-going, polite Yuko had seemingly disappearing only to be replaced with someone much more intense. Colder.

"Sir, I understand that your mental facilities might not be what they used to be, but I would advise you to use what is left at your disposal to reconsider what you are doing." Yuko spoke, voice soft but intense as she folded her hands in front of her, "And if I were you, I would do so immediately. My patience is limited when it comes to fools."

Tammi was left staring at the back of her friend's head at her sudden shift in personality. The mugger was just as surprised, his anger and confidence giving way to wariness as he stared at the five foot four girl who was walking up to him so brazenly.

"You fucking s-tupid or somethin'?" The man waved his gun in her face, "You not see this? You not know what this is?"

Yuko just scoffed, the sound completely at odds with the polite girl that Tammi had come to know, "All I know is that a fool who doesn't know his place had the bright idea to attempt to mug an Asian girl in ABB territory. Has your brain been so fried by whatever drugs you partake in that common sense is something you are no longer capable of?" She taunted, causing the man's face to go red under the thick layer of dirt.

Tammi could almost taste the disgust that her friend had for the man in front of them and was more than a little shocked by it. She had no idea that her friend was capable of mean words much less this.

Putting it out of her mind for now, Tammi looked around and behind her, searching for something that might help them out of this situation. There wasn't much, just a shitload of trash and a few broken bricks. Junk really.

Wait. Bricks, she could use that.

The fog in the alley was thick and seemingly growing thicker by the second, obscuring her vision more and more. Tammi thought it was a bit odd how fast it was coming in but was thankful for it anyway. Hopefully it would obscure what she was about to do.

She stepped backwards, using the fact that Yuko was distracting the mugger to her advantage as she bent backwards, lightly pressing a finger to the largest and most intact brick she could find.

Tammi's power worked based off of the sigils she placed on objects she touched, allowing her to control them telekinetically. With her power she was able to lift multiple met shipping containers at one time, and so a single brick was absolutely nothing to her.

She stepped back into her place unnoticed, the brick she had touched silently floating up off of the ground, obscured by the fog as Tammi waited for the right moment

The man shouted something that Tammi couldn't make out as she, slurring his speech as he shook his weapon at her friend angrily. He was nearing the limit of hit patience, becoming more erratic as his eyes darted from side to side. The blonde tensed, the brick rising into the air just behind her head as she prepared to smash the bastard's face in.

Tension, extremely heavy and almost worrying, settled on her shoulders as she kept the bastard in sight. He had stepped forward, practically pressing the barrel of his poorly-maintained weapon to her best friend's head, and Tammi snarled silently, sending her brick soaring backwards towards the rear of the alley in preparation to fling it forward once more.

As she did so, the blonde couldn't help but take notice of just how calm her friend seemed despite probably death hovering mere inches from her face. Yuko hadn't moved from her spot, merely standing there with her hands folded in front of her as she stared straight at the mugger, completely still. Completely unmovable in the face of her possible death.

Tammi felt her liking for the other girl deepen slightly. Who knew her friend was such a badass?

The blonde focused on her power, doing her best to make sure that she wouldn't hit the other girl in the back of the head by mistake. The mugger stepped backwards slightly, clearly unnerved by Yuko's calm and gave Tammi the perfect opening in the process.

However, just before Tammi let the brick fly, there was a blur of blue, zooming from the mouth of the alley and straight into the man holding them hostage. The blonde flinched, her power fading and the brick falling to the ground as she lunged forward, grabbing Yuko and pulling her back as instinct took over at the familiar sight.

Her friend yelped at that, stumbling backwards as the mugger out what sounded like a curse as he fell onto the ground. Or rather was forced to it.

She and Yuko watched as the blue blur resolved into a feminine figure kneeling over their mugger with a knee on his back. She was easily recognizable thanks to the bright blue visor on her face and the glowing lines on her costume. It was Battery, a long time hero in the Protectorate.

"You two alright?" The woman asked them as the glowing lines on her costume faded away. The man underneath her foot groaned and tried to rise but Battery just pressed harder on his back, pushing him to the ground once more.

Tammi couldn't stop the small bit of fear coming to her mind as the heroine's gaze reached her, and she had to remind herself that she was Tammi, not Rune today. There was no reason for Battery to suspect much less do anything to her.

"Yeah. We're fine." Tammi's words were a bit curt as she watched the heroine warily. Yuko gave her an odd look, clearly noticing how cold she was being to their savior.

The Asian girl on the other hand, had no problem walking up to their savior with a smile on her face, "Much more than fine now that you're here. Thank you for saving us, I wasn't sure what would have happened if you didn't arrive when you did."

Tammi got the oddest feeling that Yuko was just saying that to be nice. Her earlier display had left even the blonde a bit shaken, and she couldn't help but feel that even if Battery hadn't shown up when she did, or even if Tammi didn't smash the black man's face in with her brick, things would have turned out fine.

Tammi's eyes shot past Battery and to the mouth of the alley as she caught a glimpse of red. She found the other half of the heroic duo, Assault, making his way inside with a sunny smile on his face.

"So this is where you ran off to! I was wondering what got your hackles raised so suddenly." The man said as he stopped, hands on his hips as he stared down at the mugger under Battery's boot.

"Saving damsels in distress is usually my job! Are you trying to replace me?" He asked jokingly. Battery sighed before turning back to Tammi and Yuko.

"Ignore him. He has trouble separating reality from the delusions in his head." Battery told them.

"You love my delusions and you know it!"

The heroine shook her head but didn't respond, "Anyway, the two of you should probably postpone your date for another day. It's getting dangerously hard to see out here." Battery said lightly, looking around at the evidence of her claims. The fog around them wasn't quite as thick as it had been in the alley but it was still pretty bad, bad enough that it would be hard to see any more muggers who thought to try their luck.

Wait, date?

Tammi opened her mouth to refute the heroine's obviously wrong assumption but was stopped by Yuko grabbing her by the arm, wrapping her own around it as she gave the woman an easy grin, "Oh trust me, we have no intentions of staying out after an incident like this. More than enough excitement for one day."

Assault chuckled, wrapping an arm around his fellow hero's shoulder in a decidedly intimate way, "You have fun you crazy kids. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"Which isn't a lot." Battery muttered, clearly not meaning to be overheard. Assault gave her a grin but didn't comment, instead making a shooing gesture towards the two of them.

"Come on Tammi, let's go." Yuko grinned up at her, pulling her along and away from the two heroes, "We can grab something to eat or something on our way back."

Tammi startled slightly, "O-oh, yeah. Right, let's go."

Yuko giggled as they caught more yelling coming from the alley, obviously amused by the continued byplay between the two heroes, "And they want people to believe they aren't a thing. I swear I've never met two people more smitten with each other in all my life."

That was an understatement. Assault and Battery were always a pain to fight whenever the Empire came into conflict with them. They always had each other's backs and their powers complimented each other damn near perfectly.
Hell, she'd seen Assault put Brad through a building after that girlfriend of his hit him hard enough and he was one of the heaviest capes in the Bay. It was bullshit.

Tammi looked down, noting that her friend was still holding onto her, "Hey, Yuko. Could you, uh, could you let go of my arm now?" she asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Oh. Oh sorry!" The shorter girl released her immediately, stepping away, "I'll admit, I sort of forgot I was even holding onto you."

Tammi rubbed her arm, studiously ignoring the part of her that missed the other girl's arm locked in hers, "Eh, it's fine. I get you were probably shaken up by that whole thing."

Yuko smiled, though Tammi felt there was something off about it, "Right."

"Hey, there's something I've been wondering for a while now." Tammi spoke up.

"Hmm?" Yuko looked up at her in questioning.

"Where'd that scar on your jaw come from? It looks like a knife scar but not quite as deep." She asked.

"Oh, that." Yuko brought her unoccupied hand up, rubbing lightly at the old wound, "It's been so long since I got it that I sometimes forget it's there."

Tammi noticed Yuko's voice lowered slightly, like she had been caught up in a bad memory. Her lips turned downwards in a frown and Tammi could feel her own do the same.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She said, offering a way out, "I was just a bit curious because… well. I'm gonna be honest, I thought your dad did something to you." She gave her friend an apologetic look.

Yuko gave her a look, but shook her head, "No, no it's fine. You're my friend and I'm honestly surprised you haven't asked me before."

She was silent for a moment before speaking again, "I don't think I ever told you where I was born, did I?" Tammi shook her head at her friend's quiet words, and Yuko nodded, seemingly having expected the answer, "I see. Well, my father and I are actually immigrants. From Kyushu. Well, China technically, but Kyushu was where I was born and raised for the largest portion of my life."

Tsmmi's eyes widened at her friend's words. She knew about Kyushu. Hell, there probably wasn't a person on earth who didn't. It was one of the first places that was actually rendered inhospitable by the Endbringers, nearly an entire country drowned beneath Leviathan's waves.

She could connect the dots on why the other girl was bringing it up now.

"You were…" she didn't finish her thought, a bit afraid to bring up bad memories. A bit of a moot point considering her question was what brought this up in the first place.

"I was in Kyushu when Leviathan attacked." Yuko nodded, finishing her thought, "I think I was maybe seven or eight, somewhere around there. My parents and I were visiting some family in the Oita Prefecture when the sirens went off and everything happened."

Her frown became more severe, "The Oita Prefecture was a coastal region and known for its hot springs besides that, so there was plenty of water around for Leviathan to use."

"I don't remember a lot of what happened, or at least I try not to, but one moment I was running to the shelters with my parents and the next I was drowning under gallons of scalding hot water as the nearby hot spring erupted like a volcano."

Her voice was shaking slightly, and by instinct Tammi wrapped an arm around her comfortingly. Yuko gave her a thankful look before continuing her story.

"It was absolutely horrible. I was caught under dozens of wooden boards and rocks and all sorts of other stuff, completely helpless as the water around me seemingly did its best to make sure I couldn't get a single breath of fresh air. Like that lizard was making it his personal mission to kill me." she shuddered lightly.

"My father managed to pull me out before I drowned and ripped his arm up something fierce in the process. As I came up a sharp piece of debris caught my jaw." She rubbed lightly at her scar, "Add in the extreme heat of the water as well as several other factors, and I'm left with an eternal reminder of that day."

Well that was… Tammi didn't know what to say..

Yuko smiled slightly, apparently finding humor in her bleak story, "Heh, I suppose you weren't exactly wrong in your assumption that my father is responsible for my scar. Though I personally think the alternative might have been a bit worse. Being cooked alive in an onsen is probably one of the worst ways I can think of to go."

Tammi looked down at her, feeling more than a little shitty for bringing this subject up, "I'm sorry for bringing up bad memories."

Yuko shrugged, "It's alright. Like I said, I'm surprised you didn't bring it up before now. At least now I can lay some of your ideas about my dad to rest."

Tammi was glad her friend was so pragmatic. It really helped to stop her from feeling like a tool all the time.

"Now come on, I might have told Battery we'd go home but there's no way I'll survive running out of canvas right now. We'll just take the main way to the mall and keep out of the back streets." Yuko said, moving along.

As they walked, Tammi noticed that she still had Yuko under her arm, though the position had shifted from a comforting one to something much more casual, simply resting on her shoulder instead of around it.

She moved to slip her arm free, only to freeze as Yuko pressed into her, leaning against her taller form ever so slightly as they walked. She looked down, frowning slightly as she noticed that Yuko's hands were shoved firmly in her pockets, a clear sign of her anxiety, and causally adjusted her position to bring the girl in closer

Her friend still needed comforting. She'd keep her there just a little bit longer. It wasn't like anyone could see them anyway.

Just a bit longer.

---

Next five chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Sadguychet]

Battery stared after the duo as they disappeared into the fog, arm in arm. She smiled slightly, glad to see that even in Brockton Bay of all places those relationships still found a way to flourish. It was nice to know that despite the Empire's presence, they hadn't completely instilled fear into the younger generation.

It was even nicer to have a little reminder of what they were fighting for. Sometimes the constant grind of fighting back the gang's could get… tiring.

She looked back as Assault walked up to her with a sunny smile on the exposed portion of his face, "Alright, the paddy wagon's on the way. This no good evil-doer is going away for a long time."

Battery rolled her eyes as he stopped next to her, "What a relief. I'm glad we can finally get such a dangerous criminal mastermind off the streets."

He grinned at her sarcasm, before turning to look in the same direction that she had been. His smile became a bit more sincere, "They seem like good kids." He said, "It's good that they aren't afraid to be themselves in a place like this."

Battery nodded as he echoed her earlier thoughts, "It is. Though I hope they're more careful in the future. I don't want to think about what might have happened if we weren't nearby."

"Eh, I think they would have been fine." Her husband commented, "Did you see the way the blonde pulled the other girl behind her when you showed up. She's clearly got some fight in her. She might have even tried to take you down if you got too close!" He joked, nudging her.

Before she could respond, he gave her a pat on the shoulder, motioning to the flashing lights that were making their way in their direction further down the road, "Come on. Let's go give those statements. I'm starting to mold with all this moisture."

Battery rolled her eyes but smiled softly as she joined him. She was starting to think she was growing some herself.

It took less than thirty minutes to get everything taken care of with the police and the mugger loaded up for prison.

After everything was wrapped up, Assault turned to her, clapping her on the shoulder, "Welp. I'd say that's good enough for today's patrol. We beat some baddies, saved some girls, and got thoroughly drenched from fog. We should probably head back if we don't want to be late for that meeting. Hopefully before Beardmaster decides to chew us out over comms."

"You know he hates that nickname."

"Yep!" Her husband nodded, "That's why I use it. It's good to seem him show some emotion other than focused determination. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure I've heard Miss M call him that once or twice when he's annoyed her without realizing."

That didn't surprise her. Hannah could have a vindictive streak if you annoyed her enough.

"Come on, Puppy! Let's get back! She watched with resignation as Assault climbed up a nearby ladder, giving her a mischievous grin, "I'll race you!"

"Assault, don't you dare!"

He ignored her completely as he leapt off the highest point, slamming into the ground and then immediately shooting out of the alley as his power redistributed the kinetic energy, sending him flying forward at incredible speed.

She stared after him with an annoyed grimace, "Damnit Assault…"

She sighed as she bent down in a runner's stance, the blue lines on her costume beginning to glow brighter. A race. How childish.

Despite her thoughts, Battery couldn't stop the small smile that came to her fac as she kicked off, racing after her husband, nor the competitive fire that lit inside her as she did so. Just because it was childish, didn't mean she was going to let him win.

He'd gloat about it all week if she did.

~~~

Their race ended in a draw when they both had to slow down thanks to heavy traffic, but Battery was confident she would have won. Confident.

She studiously didn't look at her husband and his shit-eating grin as they walked into the meeting room. Several of their colleagues were already present and gave them various greetings as they entered.

Battery sat down between Miss Militia and her husband. The camoed woman gave her a nod and a smile that crinkled her eyes above her mask, "Hello Battery. How was your patrol?"

"It went well enough. Stopped a few drug deals, a robbery, and a Merchant who was trying to mug two girls in an alley." She gave a small smile, "No cape fights so that's good. I wasn't really in the mood for it today."

Militia chuckled at that, "Who ever is?"

"True enough. Though I'm sure Stalker would have a few words to say on that subject."

The other woman groaned lightly, "Oh don't even get me started on her. I'm at my wits end with that girl and Armsmaster is not helping things at all. I swear I don't know what Piggot was thinking when she-"

Her words were interrupted as the door to the room opened once more, and the director slowly made her way in. Battery grimaced as she took Piggot in, noting her sickly completion and sweaty face. It seemed today had been particularly difficult for her.

Despite how she looked, Piggot's demeanor remained the same as always. "I'm glad to see everyone was able to be here on time." she commented dryly as she made her way to her chair, sitting down with a light huff and placing her briefcase on the table in front of her, "That means we don't have to waste any time which is good because I doubt you want to be here right now anymore than I do."

She leaned back in her chair, the object giving a shrill squeak as she did so. She cleared her throat, pulling a stack of papers from her briefcase, "Let's begin our first topic of discussion, the ABB."

Everyone perked up, giving the woman their full attention as she began speaking, "Around a week ago, Glory Girl performed a bust on a known ABB storehouse on the edge of their territory. It was a solo patrol, and one she wasn't supposed to be on besides that according to her mother, but thanks to her actions, we've acquired some extremely important information on a recent development in the gang itself.

"Apparently, the ABB has a new parahuman and Glory Girl had the pleasure of being her first victory against an enemy cape. Something the girl isn't very happy about, I assure you. The cape, a woman of unknown age, was apparently in the middle of doing some internal cleaning as Glory Girl burst in to find several ABB members bound on the floor with several more watching over them.

"According to her, this woman identified herself as Yosei. And more importantly, she claimed to be Lung's daughter and heir to the ABB."

What? Lung had a daughter? And not only that, he had a daughter that had not only already triggered, but was apparently old enough that he felt comfortable making her the heir to his entire gang!? That was… worrying.

Piggot looked around the room at the shocked faces of her employees, "She has since been seen in various parts of his territory and seems to hold a position of power akin to Oni Lee, giving at least a little credence to her claims."

"Wait," Velocity spoke up, "You said a week ago. Why are we just now learning about this?"

Here, Piggot gave a small smirk, "It seems that Miss Dallon was a bit embarrassed to have been beaten by a lone cape on a patrol she wasn't even supposed to be on in the first place. The only reason we're learning of it at all is due to her mother informing us about it."

That about added up to Battery's knowledge of the girl. She was glad that at least Brandish was responsible enough to know how important this could be.

Trumph sighed, "So Glory Girl was embarrassed that she got beat by a newbie and didn't tell us." He shook his head, "Do we at least know what her powers are? What she looks like, even?"

In response to his question, Piggot powered on the large projector on the table, an image already queued up to be displayed. Battery leaned forward in her chair to examine the image as it appeared. It was taken from far away, as if the photographer was afraid of being seen.

The main subject of the picture was a woman in a red and black dress. She was pointing in the direction of the building, directing the crowd of men carrying boxes around her into an open garage. Though it was hard to make out details from this distance, it was abundantly clear that the woman was a Parahuman given the mask she was wearing and her ostentatious clothing that stuck out in comparison to those around her.

"This is Yosei. And unfortunately, that's the only picture we have of her." Piggot nodded to the screen, "From what little we can gather from this picture as well as Glory Girl's testimonies, Yosei is an Asian woman aged somewhere between twenty and twenty-five. She stands around five-foot four and according to her, 'talks like she's some sort of twelfth century British noble'. Her words, not mine.

"As for her powers, Glory Girl described her as being able to create enough lingering mist to fill the entire warehouse that they were in. It was also thick enough that she didn't notice as the other ABB members fled until it dissipated. The mist seems to be a byproduct of her primary power, that being the ability to transform into a large woman with spider legs and abdomen. She could create illusions, webs, and utilize a venom that sapped Glory Girl's strength to the point that she couldn't break free when Yosei trapped her in a cocoon of webs."

"The creature she transforms into, by all accounts, seems to be a Jorogumo." Armsmaster chimed in, bringing their attention to him. His visor was glowing as he read whatever was being displayed on it, "A mythological spider creature that has been prominently displayed in various legends and texts since the Edo period of Japan. I'll forward you all the relevant ones later."

Assault snorted, "So the dad gets to turn into a dragon and the daughter gets a spider? Seems a little unfair, doesn't it?"

Piggot smiled sardonically, "It would be, yes. If it weren't for a development that happened just days before Glory Girl informed us of Yosei's existence."

The director pressed a small button on her remote and the image that had been on the projector slid over to a new one.

Battery stared at the picture with a morbid fascination. One of the man's legs was completely healthy, if a bit pale, while the other was made completely out of a dark grey stone that perfectly mimicked the flesh that should have been there instead. Even the tiny little hairs on the man's leg were stone.

"This is the leg of one of the ABB members that was present when Glory Girl broke through the wall. He was admitted to the hospital and immediately sent to the Parahuman Treatment ward. I'm sure I don't need to tell you why." Piggot said sarcastically.

"Since you're showing us this. I'm guessing petrification isn't something that these Jorogumo are able to do?" Battery asked rhetorically.

"No." Armsmaster responded in Piggot's place, "The closest thing that I was able to find reference to was long term paralysis, and nothing mentioning stone."

"Which means that Yosei either has multiple powers, or that the one that she showed wasn't as it appeared." Piggot finished. "It might be that our assumptions are wrong and she isn't related to the creature at all."

Which would make it a lot harder to figure out what her actual powers were. Lung was easy, the man was a dragon so it wasn't hard to connect his abilities. Hopefully his daughter would be the same.

"For now, Yosei will be given a rating of Changer five, Trump two, and Shaker one pending further investigation. Depending on what she shows us in the future, that rating may increase or decrease." Piggot concluded, powering off the projector and placing the remote on the table.

"If any of you encounter Yosei, do your best to make her show what she's capable of. The only thing worse than a strong enemy cape is an unknown enemy cape. Other than that, standard procedures apply."

She looked around the room, "Any questions?" Nobody spoke up, and she nodded, "Alright then. Let's get on to the next order of business, fund allocation for the next financial quarter."

Groans sounded out at her proclamation which she easily ignored, turning to switch the slide on the projector to one that was all graphs and charts. One was displayed more prominently than others, with a big red arrow pointing straight down. A title hung above the graph in big grey letters: Tinker Budget.

Battery gave a sigh that was shared by her husband as she read that. Judging by the look on Armsmaster's face, they'd be here for more than a little while.

Two hours later, she would lament being so right all the time.

---

Next five chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Sadguychet]

I frowned at what I had been told as I stood in my father's office. To my left, Lee was still as a statue, barely even breathing as we stood across from the man's desk.

"I don't mean to question your decisions father…" Lung inclined his head indicating that I was free to speak, "Are you sure this is wise? This woman is clearly unstable, there's no guarantee she'll follow your commands."

I was all for trying to supplement the gang with more capes. While we had more than enough actual power between Lee, my father, and myself, it would be nice to have more actual bodies to defend our territory.

But the Cornell Bomber? That woman was not only clearly unstable but she also had the means to cause more destruction to the gang than their enemies could if she got the idea in her head.

Not to mention she was most definitely on the Protectorate's radar. If she joined them they would begin to look at the ABB as a much more serious threat than they already were.

"What if she decides to betray us or attempts a coup?" I asked worriedly, "A tinker of her caliber could cause a great deal of damage before we could put her down."

"She will not." He said simply, "She will recognize her betters and know to follow. I will make sure of it."

He wasn't going to be swayed on this decision, I could already tell. I looked to Lee who just stared back with a placid expression and I immediately looked away. I wasn't really sure what I expected.

"Very well, father." I acquiesced, folding my hands, "When do we depart?"

"We will not. I will be going alone." He revealed, shocking me, "While I am away, you will run the ABB in my place and Lee will assist you."

I froze, "Father are you-... already? Our men just barely recognize me as one of their leaders. What if they try something?"

He snorted, "They will not. And if they do, they will face my wrath when I return." He looked towards me and his gaze softened minutely, "Yuko, you are more than capable enough to take command of the ABB while I am away. You have proven yourself a formidable force and already have an ally within the Faces. You will be fine."

The praise was unexpected and I found myself at a loss for words. I knew that my father thought highly of me, I was his daughter after all, but to know that he trusted me enough to basically hand over a position that dozens coveted, even if just for a few days was…

I bowed low. "As you command, father. I will not fail you."

His approving humm rumbled in his chest, "Good. I will depart tomorrow morning and before I do, I will inform the Faces of the change. Take tonight to prepare yourself for your duties."

He waved his hand in dismissal and both Lee and I bowed low before turning to make out way out of his office.

Lee immediately disappeared with a glance out of the nearby window and I sighed as a pile of ash was left in the wake of his disappearance. I would have to grab one of our servants to clean that up before someone tripped.

I had preparations to make. My father had trusted me with one of the most coveted positions in the ABB and at my very core I refused to fail him.

If - gods forbid - something happened to my father, then this would be a good way to test my abilities as a leader, even if temporarily.

I would not fail him.

~~~

Two days later, I sat at my father's desk, staring at the numerous files splayed out before me.

The ABB at large didn't even seem to notice the shift between my father and myself apart from the upper echelons. Business was as it always was except for the fact that at the very top, I now stood

Running the gang was… different yet the same to my original position. While my duties had increased, so had my authority. If I found myself in need of a specific file or person I could simply order them to be brought to me instead of having to seek them out myself.

That helped greatly in my self appointed task.

My father's absence made an excellent opportunity to do a more overt investigation into our potential traitor. Unfortunately I wasn't making much headway at the moment. It seemed that whoever it was was astoundingly good at covering their tracks.

Luckily, in my time with the other Faces I had narrowed down my suspicions greatly. At the moment I had two prime suspects. Those who would have an easy time betraying us and stood to gain the most from it.

Aoi Matsuda was the head of recruitment in the gang. If he decided to betray us, it would be fairly simple to do so. He could simply slip information to informants via his recruiters under the guise of scouting for new recruits.

Would he though? Aoi was seemingly content in his position within the ABB and though he certainly had disagreements with his fellow Faces, that was a normal occurrence with all of them, not much of a reason to suspect the older man.

I would need to bring my investigation to his underlings. The man himself was unlikely to implicate himself if he was the traitor, but those under him would have no reason to suspect anything was wrong unless they were in on it. I would simply attempt to find out whether or not their duties had changed in a large way recently.

As for the other possible traitor… I brought a file in front of me, frowning slightly at the scowling man pictured there.

Takao Yamakawa, head of kidnapping and brothel operations. My suspicions of the man were admittedly bias as he was currently the biggest roadblock in stopping the ABB's kidnapping operations, but Takao had always been power hungry and I wouldn't put it past him to attempt to sell us out to our enemies in an attempt to gain an higher foothold in the gang.

In fact, if I recalled correctly that was exactly how he had acquired the position he was in in the first place. Oh sure, the evidence wasn't completely concrete, but nearly all signs point to the fact that Takao had assassinated his predecessor for his coveted position. It was dishonorable and completely against nearly everything the Faces stood for. If he were ever implicated on it he would be ousted immediately.

The issue was, Takao was extremely sneaky. The man was a master at hiding his dirty deeds due to decades of practice. I had little doubt that even a thorough investigation would turn up anything relevant.

"I need to keep this under the radar. The moment that he gets even the slightest hint that I suspect something he'll go to ground and I'll never find anything out." I said to myself, placing the file back on my desk and bringing out a notepad.

I would need to do more research before I could reach a solid conclusion. For now, I would need someone to infiltrate their ranks in my place as was now much too well known and the guise of wanting to witness how the ABB operates would no longer work

"I'll write to Hiashi." I said aloud, "Kon would be the ideal infiltrator in this circumstance. Somewhat personable and extremely competent, and few would expect him due to the way he carries himself."

I would have to distance myself from him for the time being which was somewhat unfortunate. I had been growing to enjoy his company on the occasions that I called for him and the rest of Hiashi's guard. Ah well, leadership calls for sacrifice I suppose.

It only took a moment to write up the request to Hiashi. I made carefully sure that he would know exactly what I was asking while also ensuring that any outsider who might happen upon the letter would have no idea.

There. Hopefully we could get to the bottom of this relatively quickly. The longer we dawdled on this matter the more likely that my father would find out which was the entire thing I was trying to avoid.

No sooner than I had placed the letter in the envelope to be delivered, my door burst open. I nearly jumped in my seat but kept control of myself, instead turning a glare on the one responsible.

It was a Vietnamese teen, panting and out of breath as he looked towards me in panic. His outfit was soaked with sweat and he had clearly sprinted a great distance to get here.

"Speak." I commanded. The teen took a moment to regain his breath, before looking towards me with frantic eyes.

"Hookwolf and some other capes are over by the old bakery!" He nearly shouted, causing my eyes to widen, "They're talking about taking back what's theirs! They've already beat a few of our boys and trashed some stores!"

I immediately stood, startling the teen as I walked around my father's desk. He stared at me nervously, eying my mask as I stopped directly in front of him, "Where are they?"

He told me and I strode past him towards my destination, nearly bowling over a servant who was dusting a nearby cabinet in my haste. I would grab Lee along the way. He had a habit of loitering in the gardens and that was likely where he was right now.

Hopefully this would be a simple matter to resolve. The last thing I wanted was a gang war to break out while my father was away simply due to the Empire's arrogance.

~~~

It took only a few minutes for us to reach the place that the man had said the intruders were. I frowned as I realized that it was actually one of the more important areas of our territory, a place where the majority of the buildings catering to civilian needs were. Stores, restaurants, even laundromats sat in this area of our territory. Prime pickings for someone wanting to instill terror into our people.

Luckily it seemed that the civilians had already evacuated themselves. That was good.

As I rounded a corner I saw them and more importantly, I recognized each of them. Hookwolf and Stormtiger were standing beside each other and we're chatting amicably, gesturing around them at the empty buildings. Rune was floating on a piece of sheet metal, level with the roofs of the nearby buildings.

I frowned internally as I approached. Three members of Kaiser's court so blatantly entering ABB territory the day after my father left the city? It was more than a little suspicious.

Perhaps our traitor's reach extended beyond just the grunts and conscripts of the gang. If so, then that was extremely worrying.

I kept my calm as I approached them. They caught sight of me almost immediately and took up hostile stances. Those stances only intensified as Lee popped into being beside me, having been following along the rooftops as he scouted out any more potential opponents.

A discreet gesture with his right hand told me there were none, the only capes in the area were the ones we already knew about. That was good, it meant less surprises down the road.

Rune spotted me first. She called down to her fellows, saying something I couldn't hear as she alerted them to my presence. They turned in my direction, and judging from their postures they weren't surprised to see me at all. It seemed that word of my existence had already gotten to them. That or they were tipped off beforehand.

I called out to them once I was close enough to be heard, "I'm not sure why the Empire has decided to intrude on our territory, but I would advise you to return back to your own. There is nothing for you here."

They looked towards each other in disbelief, before Rune laughed loudly at my threat. "Why the hell would we leave!? Just because there's another of you!? One more chink isn't gonna make a difference! You aren't Lung and he isn't here!" She shouted mockingly from her platform.

I paused as I heard her voice, echoing slightly due to her mask. It was familiar, extremely so, and yet I couldn't quite place a face to the voice.

I didn't dwell on it, she may have just been someone I passed on the street or a frequent visitor to the stores I went to. There were more important things to take care of at the moment.

I sighed theatrically as I folded my hands in front of me, "Once again, I ask that you leave my territory before I am forced to do so for you. There is no need for this to come to violence."

In response to my words, Stormtiger held out a hand to the side. A whirling column of wind surged forth, slamming into a nearby shop and utterly devastating its interior.

"Does that give you a better idea of what we're here for? We're not leaving." The man said simply.

I stared at the damage he had caused with one gesture. That was going to be costly to repair. Sadao was not going to be happy. I turned back towards the cape who seemed rather pleased with what he had done. "I see. That is regrettable."

It seemed like a fight was inevitable then. I analyzed my opponents while I built up the mist inside of me, trying to decide which form to choose.

Even with Lee at my side, I had a great deal of mist at my disposal and as a result, several different forms to creatures from. It was all about which one fit the situation.

Hookwolf would require something hard-hitting, hard enough to keep him down while at the same time weather any attacks Stormtiger threw at my back. That threw out several options such as Sirens or Banshees which would have been ideal for getting Rune down from her perch.

Truthfully Rune was a bit of a non issue in this situation. There was almost nothing she could do to me that either Hookwolf or Stormtiger couldn't also do. Those two would be my main priority.

Divide and conquer would be the strategy here. Deal with the biggest threat first and the others would fall soon after.

"Lee." I looked towards the man, "Harass Stormtiger and Rune while I handle Hookwolf. Keep your strikes non lethal for now. We don't want to deal with a full on incursion while my father is away. Just keep them off of me and incapacitate them if possible."

The man nodded wordlessly and I looked back towards my soon-to-be opponent as he crumbled to ash beside me.

He reappeared right next to Rune, causing her to let out a yelp of surprise in that oh-so familiar voice. He swiped out at her with a blade which she scrambled back to dodge. A brick surged towards him but he was already gone the clone fading to ash in his wake.

Unlike Rune, Stormtiger was expecting him to attack, and so when Lee appeared behind him the cape immediately whirled around and struck out at him with blades of wind.

It did nothing but kick up ash as Lee relocated leaving Stormtiger to glance around warily for the psychopath's next assault.

While this was happening I had strode forward to stand across from Hookwolf. The man took in my tiny stature and grinned.

"Come on girl," he taunted, slamming his fists together with a loud thump, "Give me a good fight before I break you over my knee. When Lung comes back, it's gonna be to a dead daughter and the Empire running the show."

I smiled at him benignly even as I built up my power, having chosen what should be the perfect form to deal with my current opponents.

"I'll be sure to tell him you said as such when he returns. I'm sure he'll need a great deal of amusement to improve his mood after the task he is undertaking."

Hookwolf snarled at my thinly veiled insult, "You cocky little bitch! You think you can beat me by yourself? Don't you know who I am!?"

"A rabid dog in need of some discipline."

Mist exploded outward from under my kimono. It wanted to fill the street but I kept it reigned in slightly, not wanting to impede Lee's vision and thus his power.

My transformation was nearly as drastic as the Jorogumo, but in the opposite direction. Instead of my legs ceasing to be only to be replaced by chitin, they grew and grew even as the rest of me did with them.

My clothing disappeared, nothing but simply fur left to protect my modesty and my muscles hardened until they were more akin to steel cable than anything remotely natural, pulsing with barely restrained power with my every breath

The moment my transformation was complete, I shot out of the mist, my now bare feet slamming into the concrete with enough force to crack it as I let out a roar of bloodlusted aggression towards my enemy. Hookwolf's eyes widened and his body began to split along the seams, sharp metal poking from underneath the skin as he tried to transform.

My bare shoulder slammed into his body mid transformation and he let out a hole of pain as his hooks broke and bent against my crimson skin. He bent around me and was sent flying away from the force of my tackle, soaring backwards to slam through what was left of the glass storefront Stormtiger had ruined, disappearing inside with a crash.

"Hookwolf!" Stormtiger yelled out with wide eyes as his comrade went flying. He was forced to turn and deflect a knife aimed for his ribs as Lee appeared to his right. He swiped out only to strike ash as Lee disappeared once again, causing him to curse and bring his guard up once more.

Lee was doing his job, which meant that I was free to handle Hookwolf without any interruptions.

I breathed deeply as I stared at the store which Hookwolf had disappeared into, my massive shoulders rising and falling with the movement. I stepped forward, my muscled legs bringing me towards my fallen foe.

I licked my lips, running my tongue along the tusks protruding from my mouth before grinning. Particularly powerful forms tended to have an influence on my emotions, and the Oni was one such form.

Energy coursed through my veins, anticipation for the coming battle crackling under my skin as the Oni's bloodlust reared its head within me. Even if this was my duty, I had a feeling I would enjoy it quite a bit.

I laughed sharply as, with a loud crash and a snarl, Hookwolf tore out of the shop I had thrown him into, blades and hooks spinning around his lupine form as he bounded towards me like a rolling semi truck.

And as the cape opened his mouth to let out a roar of challenge, I couldn't help but respond with one of my own.

---

Next five chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Sadguychet]

Our bodies met with a rancorous crash, flesh meeting steel and neither giving in the slightest.

Stormtiger tried to help his comrade, bringing his claws to bear as he prepared to use his power only to be interrupted as Lee began his task of keeping him off of me.

The masked man appeared directly in front of Stormtiger, catching him off guard as the man struck out with one of his knives, forcing Stormtiger to abandon his attack to defend himself.

In the meantime, Hookwolf had begun to give ground, having trouble doing anything against my equally massive form as he slowly slid back while I moved forward. I was stronger than him.

I snarled and my muscles bulged as I threw the lupine man backwards before surging forward into him again. My fists sounded like thunderclaps against his metal skin skin, and he let out a howl of pain before rearing up and bringing his massive paws to bear.

The proceeding battle between us could only be called a slugfest. The streets echoed with the sounds of flesh and steel colliding with one another. Hookwolf's claws failed to find purchase in my skin while my fists dented and snapped the metal comprising his form yet it simply popped back into place soon after, the damaged metal falling to the ground as it was replaced.

I growled as a paw slammed into my jaw. The Oni's bloodlust made it easy to get lost in the tide of battle, but I did my best to keep my wits about me. This form had enough strength within its muscles to literally tear the metal cape into pieces if I so desired, but I was not aiming to kill the man, merely incapacitate him.

As his claws scraped across my abdomen, I slammed my fist against his jaw in a vicious uppercut, sending him reeling backwards.

As he lost his footing I grabbed one of his steel legs and pulled on it with all of my might. Hookwolf let out a startled noise as he was lifted into the air, claws scrambling along the ground desperately.

"RAAAGH!" With a roar, I slammed him into the concrete with all of the strength available to me. The concrete cracked underneath him as he impacted it, chips of stone flying in every direction before I lifted him back up to do it all again

Back and forth, I slammed him into the ground, turning my body as I swung my opponent with all of my power, beating the earth with his unwilling body over and over again.

I suddenly blinked in surprise as, with a loud snap, the weight I was hefting lessened significantly. I turned my head, watching as Hookwolf was sent flying away as my handhold on his body snapped off in my grip, leaving me holding just his leg.

A huff of amusement escaped my mouth unbidden as I watched him go soaring away to slam into a brick wall "Puny wolf."

My blood pumped powerfully through my veins, my heartbeat pounding in my ears as I grinned ferally, truly beginning to enjoy this. I threw the destroyed leg to the ground before racing after him with a battle cry.

~~~

Up above, Rune watched what was happening to one of the E88's strongest capes in silent horror. Hookwolf just barely got back to his feet, regenerating his leg as the woman bowled into him again, what sounded like laughter spilling from her lips as they began fighting once more.

"What the fuck is going on!? Why the hell is Hookwolf losing to some random bitch!?" Rune shouted out in disbelief, "That motherfucker didn't say she was anywhere near this strong!"

Her words were undercut by a small amount of fear as she witnessed the massive angry ogre or whatever grab onto Hookwolf's thick neck, squeezing hard enough that she could hear the metal shrieking from several yards away.

"Rune! Pay attention!" Stormtiger commanded her as he destroyed another clone.

The girl yelped as the masked man appeared in front of her again, giving her a swift punch to the stomach that she curled around in pain. Her platform wavered for a moment before she reasserted control on it as Oni Lee disappeared.

"Fuuuck…" She groaned, feeling bile attempt to rise up her throat, "I'm gonna be sick…"

This was supposed to be an easy mission. They would go into the ABB's territory and stir up some trouble so that they could get Yosei to show up, fight her, and report to Kaiser what she was capable of.

They got a tip that Lung was going to be out of the city by one of Krieg's contacts, so it was the perfect opportunity to get an idea of what his 'heir' was able to do.

Hookwolf and Stormtiger were two of the best close range and long range combatants in the Empire respectively, so it shouldn't have been too hard to put her down even if she was actually Lung's daughter! So why the fuck was Hookwolf loosing so badly!?

Rune was completely helpless to do anything but watch as the ABB's newest cape mercilessly beat down one of her gang's strongest members. After all, what the fuck was she going to do? Throw bricks and dumpsters at the ten foot tall monster that was throwing around a two ton wolf made of razor sharp blades?

The thought was almost laughable, and Rune felt a helpless laugh well up inside of her, only to immediately double over in pain at the feeling in her abdomen. That was going to bruise, great.

She hadn't even really wanted to come on this mission, having wanted to take the day off from the gang and maybe chill with Yuko for a while, but she was the gang's go-to mode of transportation so she had been forced to come anyway.

That was all Rune really amounted to these days, nothing by a big walking taxi for the actually powerful members of the Empire. She couldn't remember the last time she got into an actual fight.

What a fucking joke.

As Rune slowly regained her bearings up above, back on the ground Stormtiger turned to the teleporting cape as he appeared directly behind him and swung out with wind. The resulting ash cloud hid what happened next from view, but once he was visible again, the E88 cape was visibly frustrated and sporting a cut on his right arm.

"Cowardly chink! Stay and fight!" He shouted out. Oni Lee responded by appearing a few feet to his left before immediately teleporting away. The clone left behind slowly held out a hand, in which was a gunmetal grey sphere.

"Fuck!" Stormtiger threw out both hands and a column of wind slammed into the clone and sent it flying away.

The clone held together until it slammed into a brick wall at which point it fell apart like the rest. The grenade that it had been holding slipped free of its fingers, falling onto the ground with a loud clang.

It rolled on the ground for a few feet before stopping, and Stormtiger stared at it warily for several seconds and nothing happened, no explosion to be seen or heard

It didn't take long for Stormtiger to realize what had happened. "A fucking fake." He cursed to himself, "He's not taking us seriously."

As if he had heard the words, Oni Lee appeared beside him once again. The teleported lashed out with a knife which Stormtiger easily sidestepped before sending a blast of wind at the other cape.

Oni Lee collapsed into ash once more and Stormtiger dodged another knife strike aimed at his abdomen. He ducked low into a leg sweep, hoping to catch the other cape off guard but all he hit was ash once more.

Stormtiger rose back to his feet and slowly turned to the air currents that he knew to be Oni Lee. He found the other cape standing only a few feet away, staring at him. The masked demon stayed silent as he slowly tilted his head, taunting Stormtiger.

That caused the aerokinetic's already frayed temper to snap.

"ALRIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH!" Stormtiger shouted furiously. He threw out his hands, fingers curled into claws as numerous blades of wind flew in every direction, shredding everything in their path, "DODGE THIS YOU STUPID CHINK!"

The blades burst out, cutting through sign posts and slicing into brick walls as they flew. Oni Lee appeared for only a moment before bursting into ash as he teleported away just as he was struck, not reappearing again as the assault played out.

Knowing that he had a few seconds of freedom from Oni Lee's assault, Stormtiger suddenly turned on his heel, wind whirling around his hand as his eyes locked onto Hookwolf and the big red chink

He thrust the hand forward and three massive blades of wind surged forth directly at the woman who was completely unaware of his assault.

The moment that he threw them, he was forced to turn and dodge Oni Lee once more, and he cursed to himself that they hadn't brought more members with them for this excursion.

~~~

I stiffened as my ears picked up the sound of wind rushing towards me, and was just barely able to brace myself as several blades of compressed air slammed into my back.

I grunted as the sharpened air bit into my skin, slicing through it far easier than any of Hookwolf's metal ever had, sinking nearly an inch into my back before dissipating.

I whirled around to the aerokinetic who was once again focused on Lee, my blood boiling at the man's actions. That was a mistake.

The next thing I knew, Hookwolf was upon me. The man had recovered from his earlier treatment and slammed into me at full force, sending up both to the ground as my face slammed into the pavement.

His hooks and claws tore at my back, a few finding purchase and carving small furrows in my skin. I snarled angrily, trying to get back to my feet but Hookwolf had found the perfect angle to keep me pinned down.

His jaws snapped at my face but I managed to get my hand up and place it against his thick neck, keeping it at bay and away from my own.

With a shout and a burst of adrenaline fueled anger, I slammed the back of my head into his metal face, crumpling the metal held there. It didn't do anything to stun him or even hurt, but it did dent the metal comprising his features which meant that he would now find it hard to see.

Suddenly blind, Hookwolf attempted to keep his hold on me, using his body to feel for my position but I managed to twist myself in place, pulling my body out from underneath him and grabbing onto his middle.

With another roar, I flipped him over, slamming him into the ground as I climbed on top of him. The back of my head throbbed from my earlier actions but that only added fuel to the raging fire burning inside of me.

Roaring directly in his face, I held him down, pinning his body underneath my muscled legs and holding onto his forelegs with my arms. He squirmed as he tried to get free, but was apparently either unwilling or unable to simply relinquish his hold on his lupine form to do so.

That worked just fine for me.

Early depictions of Oni were said to harness the incredible destructive power of lightning and thunder to wreak havoc on the mortal world. That power welled up within me, surging throughout my body as sparks danced and crawled over my skin before surging straight into the struggling cape in my grip.

He howled and writhed as he was fried inside of his metal shell, bucking against me in agony as I held him still with a vicious snarl on my face. I pressed my clawed fingers deeper into his metal form, sending another wave of lightning through him and eliciting another noise of pain.

"Hookwolf!" Stormtiger shouted in horror at what I was doing to his comrade. He reeled his arms back, wind whirling around them as he prepared to send it at me, only for him to be blindsided by Lee's boot slamming into the side of his face.

He fell to the ground with a heavy thud, and before he had the chance to regain his bearings, Lee walked forward and slammed his boot into the man's face once more, rendering him unconscious.

Hookwolf followed soon after, the man unable to stand up to the incredible amount of lightning being pumped into his body. The metal reddened and softened underneath my grip, the electricity heating the steel and fuzing it together, trapping the wolf man inside of a steely coffin.

Unfortunately for the greater part of the Bay, I wasn't trying to kill him. With great difficulty, I reigned in my instincts to keep pouring lightning into the unconscious man and slowly let up, pulling my hands from his forelegs and noting the imprints left in the softened metal.

As I pulled back and got off of the now-unconcious man, my instincts got the better of me and I raised my head high and roared in victory. The ferocious sound echoed through the empty streets proclaiming to all who were listening that I had triumphed over my enemy.

As the sound faded, a whimper cut through the air. My eyes instantly locked onto the platform still floating high above the battlefield and the cowering cape atop it.

Right, I had forgotten about her.

In one mighty leap I cleared the distance between us. Rune let out a shriek of horror and her platform began to move backwards and upwards in an attempt to get away.

It wasn't quite fast enough though, and as I reached her I grabbed the girl around the waist in a single massive hand, plucking her from her perch and falling back down to earth.

I cracked the concrete as I landed and Rune gave a squeak of terror that morphed into a sound of pain. I turned my eyes towards her, quickly spying the issue.

Her arm was squished between her body and my hand. It was bent at an odd angle near the elbow pressing into her side in a way that was no doubt extremely painful for the girl.

Broken. It seemed that I had grabbed her with a bit more force than I had intended. That was careless of me. I let up on my hold just a tad, not wishing to be needlessly cruel yet still kept a firm hold on her.

Lee walked up to us, hauling Stormtiger on his shoulder. As he stopped beside us, he tossed the man beside Hookwolf on the pavement, the shirtless cape landing with a dull thud and an unconscious groan of pain.

Rune stared down at Stormtiger in disbelief, before slowly turning her gaze back up to me, gulping slightly as she caught sight of my sharpened tusks mere inches from her face.

I spent a moment just observing the girl, holding her in front of my face as I scrutinized her intently. She was afraid of me, that was for certain, practically frozen in terror despite the pain she was no doubt feeling as she stared at me with wide eyes from underneath her red hood.

I debated what to do with her for a moment as I stared her down, before eventually deciding that it simply wasn't worth the trouble to attempt to keep her captive. If Kaiser caught wind that one of his enforcers was being held by us, it would cause untold amounts of chaos when he inevitably tried to get her back.

Best to just release her. It wasn't worth the trouble.

"I am going to let you go." I spoke slowly, making sure she was listening through the haze of fear. My voice rumbled like a thunderstorm and I could feel Rune flinch in my grip as I spoke, "You are going to return to your master, and you will make sure he knows that the ABB is not to be trifled with just because my father is not here. Do you understand?"

Rune nodded, eyes darting between Lee and I as she practically shook in fear, "O-Okay. Yeah, I can do that, no problem."

"Good." I let go of her, allowing the teenager to fall back to her feet. She stumbled on her landing and her hood fell back, revealing bright blond locks held in a single braid behind her head and once again I was stuck with a sense of deja vu. Why was this girl so familiar?

"What about…" Rune glanced towards her downed compatriots, wincing slightly as she saw the slightly melted form of Hookwolf and I shook my head.

"I am giving you, and you alone the opportunity to leave. They will remain where they are." I nodded to her platform, laying flat against the ground where it had fallen after I snatched her from it, "Go, before I change my mind."

She didn't waste another second at my words, practically scrambling towards her fallen platform with fear-induced haste, clutching her broken arm all the while.

She hopped atop it and immediately rose high into the air with speed that I didn't think the teenage cape was capable of. She looked back down at me, and just when I thought she was going to make some remark or an ill-advised attempt to rescue her compatriots, she turned forward and flew away, leaving them behind.

The moment that I was sure she was far enough away, I released my transformation, shrinking back down to my diminutive stature from the giant I once was.

I sighed as I came back into myself, the manic energy that had been suffusing my very being fading away along with the mist, leaving me calm once again.

It had been a long time since I had needed to use a form such as that and I hoped it would be a long time before I needed it again. They always made me feel a bit off when I returned to normal

"Now then, what to do with these two…" I mused as I turned my attention to the defeated capes.

Hookwolf was twitching and I could hear faint groans coming from the slowly cooling heap of metal so he was likely alive. That was… good, I supposed. While the man was detestable at best, killing him would no doubt lead to further conflict with the Empire.

"I suppose we shall leave them here. The heroes are likely already on their way after all." I said, lightly rubbing my arm where Hookwolf's blades had bit into me. The wounds would be healed by morning apart from the slashes Stormtiger's attack had left in my back. Those would likely scar as already I could feel blood leaking into my shirt underneath my costume.

Still, a superficial wound such as that was a small price to pay for such a resounding victory. The Empire would certainly think twice about doing this again.

Lee tilted his head at me in a silent question, motioning towards the downed capes. Years of knowing the man let me know exactly what he was asking and I shook my head, "No, I doubt they'll manage to keep them for more than a few days at most. Hookwolf is far too important to Kaiser for the man to let him remain locked up, as is Stormtiger. They will almost certainly break them free before anything can be done."

Another motion of his head and I narrowed my eyes slightly, "No, Lee. Killing them would do nothing but cause the issue I was trying to avoid in the first place. We leave them for the heroes."

Speaking of which, I could already hear the sirens that indicated the Protectorate was on their way. It was time to go.

"Come, Lee. We're returning home." I ordered the man, turning to make my way in that direction, "I do not wish to be here when they show up and start asking questions."

I didn't have to look back to know that the man had already vanished, following me silently along the rooftops as he tended to do.

Today was a resounding victory, both for the ABB and for Yosei. Word of what happened would no doubt get around and people would begin to treat me with much more respect and caution than ever before

When my father returned and heard of what had occurred, there was no doubt in my mind that he would be pleased. Truly, a momentous day.

---

Next five chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Sadguychet]

I sighed as I read over the paper in front of me, taking a sip of tea to alleviate my boredom with a burst of flavor.

The document I was currently going over was an exceedingly dull report of this year's treasury expenses and the effect they might have on the gang as a whole in the coming quarter. It was necessary to make sure the gang was running smoothly and also helped keep an eye on any potential embezzlement, but it was also mind numbing work at the best of times. Paperwork like this was probably one of the aspects I liked the least about my high ranking position in the gang.

I squinted, pausing mid tea-sip as I realized something, "Why in the world is Hiashi's discretionary fund so small in comparison to Takao's? He does twice the work that that man even sees in a day."

Grabbing my pen, I pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote a note to Sadao, our Treasurer. The older man would doubtlessly agree with my sentiment and increase Hiashi's allotted funds accordingly.

Mere moments after I folded the letter in an envelope and penned it to the Face's house, I raised my head as a knock sounded at the door to the office.

Ah, I had almost forgotten I called him here. Finally, a break from this mind numbing paperwork.

"Enter." I called, smiling slightly as a young man opened the door and made his way in somewhat nervously, "Kon, it is good to see you again."

He was wearing plainclothes consisting of a hoodie and skinny jeans and once again had a sucker in his mouth, purple this time, which I was beginning to believe was a permanent fixture for the man.

He gave me a nervous smile as he approached my father's desk, bowing respectfully, "Heh, you too, Yosei-sama."

I couldn't help the frown that came to my face at the respectful form of address. Coming from Kon of all people it felt… wrong somehow.

I waved my hand, wanting to dismiss his overly respectful tone, "Please, just call me Yosei, Kon. You have earned at least that much."

His jaw fell in surprise but he recovered before his sucker fell to the floor, "A-Are you sure?" I nodded, "Alright then… Yosei. I'm happy to be here."

His words caused me to smile and I gestured for him to take a seat, "That's much better. Now come, take a seat. We have much to talk about."

He did as I requested, looking oddly nervous as he did so, "I uh, I'm not in trouble, am I?"

I blinked, surprised at his question, before shaking my head, "Oh no, Kon. Quite the opposite in fact. Your continued performance has been nothing but exemplary and while professionalism may need some work, that's neither here nor there."

I leaned forward in my chair as he blushed slightly in embarrassment, "No Kon, you're here because I have a task for you. One I believe you might be perfect for."

Kon huffed a sigh of relief, "Oh thank god. I thought that Hua actually ratted on me for swiping a few extra-I mean I'd be happy to assist, Yosei." He hastily corrected at my tilted head, "What's the job you need me for?"

While I was admittedly curious as to what he was about to say, that wasn't important right now. I schooled my face, giving Kon a serious stare through my mask that caused him to flinch ever so slightly.

"What I am about to say cannot, will not leave this room. Is that understood?" My voice was deadly quiet as I tried to impart the seriousness of the subject I was about to broach.

Kon gulped audibly, "Understood. I won't tell a soul." He promised. I stared at him for a long moment, judging the sincerity of his words as he shifted uncomfortably on his chair.

After a long moment, I spoke, "There is a traitor in the ABB, likely one of the Faces." I said simply, causing his jaw to practically hit the floor, "As of now, you are one of three people who know of this information and for the foreseeable future, it will stay that way. My task for you-"

"Wait wait wait! What do you mean there's a traitor!?" Kon interrupted me, clearly too surprised to even attempt any sort of propriety, "Who is it!?"

"We don't know. And that's the issue." I responded, "While there are a few that are above suspicion, there are just as many that would have both the motive, and the ability to betray the gang. That's where you come in."

He gave me a confused look, "Me?"

"Yes, you. That's what I called you here for. I need someone to infiltrate the ranks of our most likely suspects and keep an eye out for anything suspicious." I said, reaching into the desk for a moment, "Your… general mannerisms combined with your extreme competence makes you perfect for this task."

As Kon stared at me in shock, I held up what I pulled from the desk, "You will, of course, be generously compensated should you accept." I said, sliding the full envelope towards him.

He stared at the envelope for a long moment before hesitantly reaching out and grabbing it. In front of my watchful eyes, he opened it and ordered inside, only to bite through the rest of his sucker as he caught sight of the amount inside.

I watched with concern as he nearly choked on the shards of candy that slipped painfully down his throat, thumping his chest with one hand while the other clutched the envelope for dear life.

Luckily for me and whatever unlucky servant was slated to clean the office today, he recovered relatively quickly, swallowing the remnants of his treat, before leaning back in his chair, breathing heavily.

"That's… a lot." He said after a moment of catching his breath, "I don't think I make that much in three months!"

"Consider it hazard pay." I said, pushing forward what was left of my tea in case his throat was aching. He grabbed the styrofoam cup, lifting it to his lips and taking greedy sips of the by now lukewarm tea.

Hazard pay as well as a good deal of hush money to be precise. There was a little under twenty grand in that envelope, all hundreds, and I had a feeling that the man would understand just how serious I was about keeping this under wraps when he actually got home and counted the amount.

I waited patiently for Kon to recover from his near accident, taking the time to glance over some of the documents I still had to review.

Hmm, a request for more men by Takumi, how strange. One would think that the ABB's arms dealer would have more than enough manpower at his disposal but I suppose that you could never go wrong with extra security.

I wrote out a quick approval, making sure that he knew this would just be a temporary force to supplicate his own. No need to give the man more power than he needed, especially not now.

Meanwhile, Kon had drained the tea in the cup and now sat taking deep breaths. He looked down at the envelope in his hand with a conflicted expression, his thoughts a mystery to me as I patiently awaited his response.

Eventually, his expression smoothed as he reached some sort of conclusion, and I placed my pen down once more, giving him my full attention.

He took a deep breath, "Alright, I'll do it."

I couldn't keep the smile from my face, immensely pleased by his response, "Wonderful, Kon. I'm extremely grateful you're willing to risk yourself like this for the good of the ABB."

He just shrugged, putting the envelope into his hoodie pocket, "It's no issue. This gang has been the best part of my life for years at this point. I'm not letting some idiot ruin it just because he wasn't happy with the shit-ton of power he already had."

"Still, you are taking a great risk agreeing to this. If you are found out, I'm not sure I will be able to pull you out in time." I said, making sure he knew how much I appreciated this, "If there is anything that I can do or aquire to make this operation easier for you, just let me know and I'll have it taken care of."

Kon suddenly smirked, pulling a fresh sucker out of his pocket and unwrapping it to reveal a bright green interior, "Well if you're offering…" He said, shoving it into his mouth, "I've got a few ideas."

~~~

The next day, I kept my hands folded in my sleeves as I waited in my father's office. Mere hours earlier, I had received word that my father was on his way home with his new recruit in tow and this had begun preparations for his arrival.

Fresh barley tea, just how he liked it, as well as a bowl of warm rice sat ready to consume on his desk. A very simple snack but one he had enjoyed numerous times before, and one that I had no doubt that he would enjoy after the task he had just undergone.

Truthfully, I still wasn't sure about my father's decision to recruit the Cornell Bomber, but it wasn't my place to question him. I would still be keeping a close eye on the woman though, and I would make sure that Lee did the same.

I straightened as the door to the office opened and permitted the man I was just thinking about. I bowed low as Lung strode in, followed by a figure that was lost to my vision as my head bent in deference.

"Father, welcome home." I greeted the man, " All went well, I hope."

There was a note of approval in his voice as he spoke, "Indeed it did. Rise, Yosei, and greet our newest Enforcer, Bakuda."

Bakuda, a fitting name for a Bomb Tinker, I suppose. I rose to get a full view of the woman.

She was short, was my first impression, nearly as short as I was, wearing a makeshift costume consisting of a black bulletproof vest with a single bandolier crossed over her chest. Her face was obscured by a gas mask, tinted glass preventing me from getting a good read on her features.

I gave the woman a bow of greeting only to be met with a tilted head. Seemed that she didn't know the proper etiquette. That was fine, she'd learn.

"Bakuda, this is Yosei, my daughter and your superior. You will show her the proper respect." Lung said, dissatisfaction with the woman's disrespect plain in his voice.

That caused the woman's shoulders to stiffen and she immediately bowed low in my direction, "I-I'm sorry, I had no idea. It's nice to meet you."

The bow was sloppy and more importantly, not at all genuine. It was clear as day to me that she was simply doing this to placate my father moreso than showing any actual respect for me.

Not noticing or more likely simply not caring, my father nodded in satisfaction at her supplication before turning towards me with a surprising amount of pride in his face.

He reached forward, causing me to flinch minutely at the sudden movement as he clasped my shoulder. Any amount of fear or worry completely disappeared as I took in my father's face. He was smiling.

He gazed down at me with pride prevalent in his face, "I have been informed that you performed more than exceptionally in my absence. Hookwolf and Stormtiger are worthy foes. Besting them does credit to your strength, daughter. Well done."

I felt a surge of happiness well up inside of me at my father's words that was immediately ruined by the other occupant in the room.

"Pfft, what's so great about beating two capes?" Bakuda scoffed, "If Lung-sama hadn't recruited me, the entire Protectorate in my city would have been decimated when they tried to stop my vengeance."

I frowned, my good mood evaporating almost immediately, "Considering that Hookwolf alone has enough blood on his hands to earn him a Kill Order twice over and I had exactly three minutes to prepare myself, I'd say my feat is actually quite impressive." I said, unable to keep a bit of heat out of my voice, "Your bombs may have been impressive where you come from, Bakuda, but you will quickly learn that the Bay is different from most other cities, and not just in the number of our parahumans."

Something about this woman rubbed me the wrong way. She had been here for all of an hour and already she was making not-so-subtle comments towards me, obviously testing the waters about what she was and wasn't allowed to get away with.

My words clearly struck a chord in the woman as her shoulders stiffened, but she was prevented from saying anything in retort as my father raised his hand, silencing the woman.

He turned to me, "Yosei, as a reward for performing so well in my absence, for the next week, you can take some time for your leisure." He said, shocking me, "I will call for you if need be, but otherwise you are free to do as you wish."

I stared at him in surprise even as my mind whirled behind my eyes. This… this lined up perfectly with the task that I had assigned Kon! Now I wouldn't have to tip-toe around my father waiting for him to report back to me and could actually monitor his findings while he was undercover.

Not to mention a break was exactly what I needed after the admittedly stressful task of keeping things running in my father's absence. Keeping the panic down after the ABB incursion had been a headache and I needed some time away from the gang to recover.

Maybe Tammi and I could do something in Boston. It was a mere forty-five minute drive which meant that I could be back in mere minutes with a careful application of my power. Much as I loved it, Brockton Bay's entertainment options paled in comparison to our sister city.

I bowed low, already thinking of things I could do during my time away from the gang, "Thank you father, you're much too kind."

"You will need the rest." Lung said simply as he moved around his desk to sit in his chair, "When you return, we will begin discussing plans to punish these Nazi fools for their transgressions."

I froze at my father's words as he leaned forward to grasp his tea, all thoughts of fun and relaxation dissipating in a single instant as my brain processed his statement. Surely he wasn't suggesting…

"Father… what do you mean by that?" I asked hesitantly.

Lung rose up, power in his every movement, and my heart sank as my hunch was proven correct with his next words, "The Empire has overplayed their hand this time. Defeating both Hookwolf and Stormtiger, as well putting Rune out of commission has dealt a great blow to their manpower. And now, with the assistance of Bakuda, the four of us will be more than capable of driving the rot out of this city."

I just stared at the man in shock, too stunned to formulate a response to the fact that my father was apparently going to do the very thing I had been trying to prevent. Bakuda perked up in clear interest.

"I've got some designs for bombs that can turn their hideouts to molten slag, Lung-sama." Bakuda said almost eagerly, "If we do what I suggested on the way over then they won't even see it coming!"

"No." My father rumbled, looking slightly angry, "We will not be planting bombs into the bodies of our conscripts."

What?

I turned towards Bakuda, eyes wide in horror as the woman scoffed, "But it's not like they're even loyal anyway! Why not use their numbers in a way that could actually be advantageous to us?"

"And lose all respect with the senior members?" I spoke up, voice frigid with rage at what this woman, this maniac, was suggesting, "What happens when they decide they no longer want to work under a gang leader who kills their members on a whim? The ABB would last mere weeks before it imploded."

"Then we put bombs in them too." The maniac said like I was stupid, "Anyone who doesn't agree with us can be examples to the others. We're on top, they should bow to us."

"Bow to us?" I said incredulously, "We are not gods and they are not our subjects! They are our people. We brought them together and it is our responsibility to keep them safe just as much as it is to lead them! To do what you are suggesting would be-!"

"Enough."

Both of us froze as my father spoke the word firmly, putting an end to the impending argument with just two syllables.

He breathed heavily out of his nose, turning to the woman beside me, "Bakuda, I have already declined your proposal once. To bring it up again to me was foolish. I will hear no more of this idea of yours, is that understood?"

Bakuda nodded, much more respect in her movements than had ever appeared when the woman had been talking to me, "Yes, Lung-sama. Please forgive me, I will not bring it up again." She promised.

My father stared at her, hard and unyielding, before nodding, "Good. Make sure that you don't."

He turned to me and I bowed my head in deference, "Yosei, your time away begins now. Go rest and take time for yourself. In one week, we begin preparations to drive the rot out of our city, once and for all."

Everything in my body wanted to protest against this idea that my father was suggesting, to talk him out of the foolish idea of starting an open gang war when the E88 still had the majority of their capes.

I knew it would be futile however. I could see in the set of his shoulders and the glint in his grey eyes behind his snarling mask. My father's decision was set in stone and there was absolutely nothing I could do to talk him out of it.

So I kept my mouth shut for now, resolving to think of a solution during the coming week. I gave my father a bow, "Understood, father. I will return when my time is up. If you have need of me before the week is up, do not hesitate to call."

He gave me a wave, dismissing me and I bowed, turning to exit. Bakuda's masked face followed me intently as I walked out of the room and I shook my head as the door closed behind me.

That woman was definitely going to be trouble. I would have to keep an eye on her.

---

Next five chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Sadguychet]

"I'm just saying, there's no way that your little fried dough balls have anything on a good chicken parm." Tammi said insistently.

"Octopus dough balls. You're forgetting the most essential ingredient." I shot right back at the girl, defending one of my favorite snacks, "And it's called Takoyaki."

It was currently day two of my week long break from the ABB and Tammi and I had decided to prowl around the streets of Boston, looking for something to do and generally just having fun talking to one another.

Somehow our conversation had shifted to our respective favorite foods and it was from there that this little pseudo-argument had come from. Tammi had insisted that Italian food was quite 'the best food in the world' and I had sincerely disagreed, thus leading to this.

"Well I'm not eating octopus." Tammi shivered, clearly not comfortable with eating the tentacled sea creature.

"I guess you'll just have to live with being wrong and not knowing why then." I said, somewhat smugly.

Tammi went to respond but cut herself off as she caught sight of something off to the side, "Ooh, hey, you wanna check that one out?" She said, pointing towards what she had seen.

I looked in the indicated direction to find what looked to be a rundown clothing shop. In the window was an outfit that I would consider goth, with far too many spikes and chains for my liking.

What I could see of the inside of the store also looked particularly dirty, though that may have just been the decor. Either way, I wanted nothing to do with it.

"I'm not sure I'm properly covered for an excursion inside there." I finally said, "I don't want to catch some sort of disease if I touch something I shouldn't."

Tami snorted but shrugged at my answer, "Wimp. Alright, let's keep walking then. I'm sure we'll find something both of us are interested in."

As we continued walking, I couldn't keep my eyes from straying towards the girl's right arm and the clearly homemade cast that was wrapped around it. She hadn't mentioned it on the ride to Boston and still had yet to mention it now, but I couldn't resist finally bringing it up.

"So why are you wearing a cast, Tammi?" I broached the subject, "Did you have an accident."

To my confusion, Tammi froze as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn't have, looking back at me somewhat guiltily.

"I-uh, I guess you could say that." She said clearly uncomfortable and I frowned at the tone of her voice, "I did something really stupid the other day with a few buddies and this is the result."

"Have you gone to a hospital?" I asked, nodding towards her cast, "That doesn't look like one they'd give you. Did you make it at home? If you need money to pay for the visit, I can-"

"No!" Tammi interrupted, startling me. She saw this and gave me an apologetic look, "Sorry. Look, my aunt's a doctor. She knows all about this sort of stuff and she's the one who made the cast. No hospital needed."

I frowned at her shift tone. Something wasn't quite right with this situation, "But wouldn't it be easier to just go to the hospital? Even if your aunt is a doctor, I doubt she has access to the necessary equipment to actually diagnose the break or fracture."

Tammi sighed, "Look, to tell you the truth, this is my aunt's way of punishing me. The bitch."

My eyes widened, "What? What do you mean she's punishing you!?"

Tammi shrugged like this was a normal thing, "It's like I said, I did something stupid and my aunt's not happy with me for it. Her way of punishing me is not taking me to the hospital because she knows they'd give me painkillers or something even though it doesn't even hurt that much. That's just how she is."

I just stared at my friend for a long moment, utterly surprised and somewhat horrified by what I was hearing. I knew that some parents could be harsh when punishing their children, but withholding medical attention? That was bordering on abuse!

Tammi must have seen the horror in my eyes because she immediately moved to reassure me. She placed a hand on my shoulder, giving me one of her signature lopsided grins, "Hey, look, I'm used to it. And my arm doesn't even really hurt that much!"

I bit my lip to stop myself from shouting at the girl that that didn't make it any better, "If you're sure…"

"I am. I appreciate the concern, Yuko but I'm fine. Promise." Tammi removed her hand from my shoulder, "Now c'mon. I think that there's another strip mall up here that might have some cool stores in it."

She continued down the street leaving me staring after her with concern. My gaze strayed to her cast, an idea forming in my mind.

…I could fix her arm. Quite easily too. Already my mind came up with at least seven different creatures whose abilities included the regeneration of others, and at least three of them were currently available to me.

But that would mean revealing my status as a cape and likely my identity as Yosei in the process, no doubt endangering Tammi's life when she inevitably wanted to get involved, being the headstrong girl that she was.

After a bit of debating, I ultimately decided against it. If what Tammi said was true and the break really wasn't bothering her, it was best to leave the situation alone and not risk anything unnecessary.

I would certainly be keeping an eye on her for any signs of potential abuse though. The way she had spoken about her aunt, so casual in the face of the clear cruelty, had set of more than just a few red flags in my mind

Perhaps her suspicion of my father came from a place of experience.

"Hey, Yuko! There's a store up here with a shitload of art stuff!"

I looked up as Tammi called out to me, pointing at a store only a few feet away with excitement, "Come on! I wanna grab a few things too!"

I put my earlier thoughts aside in favor of a grin as I followed the girl towards the store, "Oh? You want to buy something here? I thought you said drawing was too boring and took too long." I poked her in the shoulder teasingly.

Tammi flushed slightly, glancing away from me in a flustered manner, "Well your art is really good and I've been thinking about trying it myself so I was kinda gonna ask if you'd help me. Y'know, getting started and all that."

I stared at her in surprise, before a grin came to my face unbidden and my chest clenched with an emotion I couldn't identify, "I'd love to help!" I said eagerly.

I grabbed Tammi by the hand, pulling her in the direction of the store with haste, "We could start you off with some simple stuff, maybe stick to pencils so you can work on sketching before moving up to colored pencils. I know a really good brand that sticks to paper really well and the colors are so vibrant, I know you'll love them. Ooh, and we could grab some paint brushes as well as some canvas. I already have a ton of paint at my place so if you want to try that you can just borrow mine!

"Yuko, slow down! I'm gonna trip!"

~~~

After calming down and shopping like a reasonable person, Tammi and I exited the store several minutes later with our pockets lighter and our arms far heavier.

Tammi was carrying two bags chock full of art supplies while I myself had gotten some stuff that I had been running low on.

"So when do you think we can start practicing?" Tammi asked as she adjusted the bags on her hands.

"We can start as soon as we get back home if you want." I said, "I'm free to do what I want for the rest of the week unless someone specific calls me in."

"Awesome." Tammi grinned, causing me to smile as well at her happiness.

I went to continue but stopped dead in my tracks as I spied something out of the corner of my eye. The longer I studied it, the more my eyes widened. This was just too good!

"Hey, Tammi. Look at this." I said eagerly, pointing to a nearby poster and grinning as Tammi walked up beside me curiously, "You think we should go?"

The poster that I had indicated was advertising a meet-and-greet with the local Wards team set just a few minutes from now.. The idea of a member and heir to a notorious gang getting the signatures of several heroes was absolutely hilarious to me.

Maybe I could hang them on my bedroom wall. Or in my father's office. I was sure he'd find humor in it.

To my surprise, Tammi didn't look all that interested in going to the event. In fact, she gave the poster a particularly odd look, like she had swallowed something gross, before shaking her head in denial.

"Nah, let's not. I don't really feel like waiting in line for just a few words and a signature." She said nonchalantly, but I could tell that she really didn't care for the idea of going.

I was a little confused but decided not to push the matter, "Oh. Alright then, let's keep looking around then I guess."

"Sounds good."

As we continued on our way down the streets once again, searching for anything that caught our eye, I couldn't help but wonder why Tammi had been so nervous about the prospect of going to the event.

The heroes in Brockton Bay were… somewhat competent. Truthfully with everything they had to deal with, from the amount of villains in the city to the size of the city itself, it was a wonder that a team of less than two dozen heroes were able to do anything at all. I imagined if they were stationed in nearly any other city, their effectiveness would skyrocket.

But they weren't on any other city, they were on Brockton Bay, home to one of the largest, and most dangerous, cape populations in the entire country. There were bound to be things they missed and when they inevitably did, people had a habit of jumping on them.

Maybe Tammi had developed a dislike for heroics from something in her youth?

As I thought, Tammi turned towards me to say something just to break the silence when her eyes widened and she nearly jumped out of the way of an oncoming teenager on a skateboard who nearly ran into her, dropping her bags in the process.

She turned as the teen laughed, practically shaking with anger, "Hey! Watch where you're going, jackass! Do you not have the brain-cells to rub together to realize you should give someone a heads-up when you pass them!?"

The teen turned back to say something in return, only for him to get blindsided by a car door suddenly opening in his path. He slammed into it startling the driver who closed it almost immediately afterwards, before falling to the ground in a daze.

Tammi laughed uproariously at the sight, actually bending in half with her laughter, "Hahahaha! Of that's so fucking funny! That's what you get you stupid piece of shit! Haha!"

The teen got back to his feet with a bright red blush of embarrassment covering his face. He practically jogged away from us, barely pausing to grab his skateboard on the way as Tammi's laughter followed him out.

I wasn't paying attention to him though. Instead I watched, somewhat entranced as Tammi laughed with her whole heart at the inconsiderate teen's misfortune, taking in the way her eyes crinkled with the force of her laughter and the way that her hair fell around her face as she struggled for breath amidst her humor.

That feeling in my chest from earlier was back, only this time I managed to put a name to it.

Attraction. Somehow, without even realizing it, I had developed a crush on my best friend. That was… unexpected but in hindsight, not really that surprising. Tammi was rather good looking and a good friend to me besides that, always there when I really needed her despite not really knowing one another that long. Given my sexual preferences, it was only natural that my feelings would evolve this way.

As I process my sudden realization, Tammi recovered from her laughing fit. She straightened from her hunched position, wiping her eyes free of the tears that her laughter had caused.

"Oh that was hilarious." She sighed, slowly calming down from her outburst, "I don't think I've ever seen karma work in real time. Serves that asshole right."

She turned to me only to raise a brow in confusion, "What's that look for? Do I have something on my face or something?" She asked, running her hand along the side of her cheek.

That startled me out of my reverie, and I blinked feeling slightly embarrassed to have been caught staring, "No. I was just… lost in thought." I said quietly.

Tammi snorted as she leaned over to pick up her fallen bag, "Well try not to hurt yourself. I know you're one of those deep thinkers."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing. Don't worry about it." She gave me a grin at my unconvinced stare, before looking around at the area we were in, "I'm hungry. Wanna grab something to eat?"

I let the matter drop, feeling a bit peckish myself, "I suppose I could eat. What did you have in mind?"

Instead of answering my question, Tammi pointed over my shoulder. I followed her fingers, only to feel my expression flatten at what I saw, "Really Tammi?"

"What? We have Loui's back in the Bay so we know it'll be good!" She defended her choice.

"You just want to eat there because it's an Italian restaurant." I accused.

Tammi grinned unrepentantly, not even bothering to respond to my guess. I sighed, "Alright. But you're paying for appetizers."

"Deal!

I shook my head fondly as Tammi raced ahead, clearly more than a little eager to get something in her stomach.

I'd deal with my little revelation later in a much more private location. For now, I had to catch up with my friend before she ordered the entire menu before I even stepped foot inside the building.

---

Next five chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Sadguychet]

Two weeks after my outing with Tammi, I found myself in one of the ABB's largest storehouses for our munitions, overseeing the transfer of weaponry to a new warehouse much closer to the center of our territory. This specific storehouse was much too close to the Empire's territory as it stood and so we were relocating to one deeper inside of our own, putting a decoy stash in its place.

If the Empire managed to get word of this storehouse and attempt to raid it, they would find nothing but an empty warehouse filled with various traps designed to slow down or kill whoever had entered, designed and deployed by Bakuda for maximum effect.

I suddenly winced, turning my head away from the group of men I was observing as a loud crash rang out through the empty street, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Be careful with those crates!" I chided the man who stood above the crate that he had dropped to the ground, "We cannot afford to damage any of our stockpiles right now. My father needs as much ammunition and weapons as possible for our conflict with the Empire."

The man turned and gave me an apologetic bow, practically trembling at having been called out, "Sorry, Yosei-sama! I didn't realize how heavy the crate was! I thought I could carry it on my own!"

I turned to one of the men who had been sitting around and just watching others work, "You! Stop standing around and assist him. We will not get done any faster with you slacking off." I ordered, eying the man as he hesitantly got off of his rear and went to actually help. I nodded as the two of them managed to pick up the crate with much more ease than before, before continuing to oversee the rest of the operation.

I had completely failed in convincing my father against war with the Empire despite my earnest attempts, and now conflict with the other gang was inevitable. I wasn't exactly sure what had gotten into the man, that he was so intent on starting a conflict that was doomed to bring the hero's attention straight to us, but perhaps he had just grown bored with his sedentary lifestyle.

It defied all logic, the idea that he would suddenly want to start an open gang was in the streets after a single, weak, attempt at invasion by the Neo-Nazi gang, but I had a feeling that our newest member had played a hand in his decision. The woman had been nothing but trouble since she had joined less than a month ago, whispering in my father's ear and trying to convince him that the conflict was in the ABB's best interest. That we needed to show the Bay that we were in control and at the top.

My father was not so weak-willed to be manipulated by the woman so blatantly, but it was likely that some of her words had struck a chord within the man, leading my own dissuasion of the whole idea to have much less effect than it normally would.

Shaking my head at the situation, I made my way into the warehouse through a door in the side. Inside were dozens of crates and boxes holding ammunition and weapons that were being loaded into several trucks. Overlooking the entire process and helping make sure things went smoothly was Nana.

For once, the woman didn't have a cigarette in her mouth, instead just leaning against the wall and looking particularly bored as she watched the grunts move around the warehouse. It was a rarity for her to be out of her shop but father had ordered all hands on deck for the preparations and so she had chosen to come with me to oversee the transfer. I didn't really need the help, but the company was much appreciated.

"Nana." I greeted the woman as I closed the door behind me, "How close are we to being finished?"

The woman hummed, taking a look around at the men stacking crates and cases into the backs of the trucks that had been parked on the warehouse floor, "I'd say another three hours or so. Some of these boys are moving pretty slowly so I might have to encourage them if you get my drift." She grinned as she said the words.

"Please don't." I sighed, "We need them all able to actually walk if we wish to get out of here in any reasonable amount of time."

Nana pouted, "You're becoming less and less fun by the day, Hime."

Her lips turned upwards soon after, "Anyway, in more interesting news, I finally finished prepping my playroom for this little scuffle we're about to get into earlier this morning. The shipping people weren't happy with how many tools I bought, not to mention all the spare lab coats, but I have no doubt that I'm about to have a lot of new visitors making their way into my little shop." Nana smiled almost eagerly, "I'll admit, I'm somewhat excited. It's been a while since I've had playthings that I didn't need to keep alive."

I looked away from the woman at the uncomfortable gleam in her eyes, instead focusing on a particularly scrawny looking man attempting to pick up a box that was clearly too heavy for him, "I wouldn't call it a little scuffle. I have zero doubts that this conflict will last a few weeks at the very least. My father is too headstrong to accept anything less than a total victory or unconditional surrender."

"Yeah, that sounds like him." Nana laughed lightly though I didn't see any sort of humor in what I had said, "By the way, has your little mole managed to find anything?"

I shook my head, a small amount of frustration leaking into my voice as I spoke, "He has not. Kon is working diligently but unfortunately he also has to work slowly if he doesn't wish to be caught. He is checking in regularly but so far, he has nothing to report."

"Which one's he starting with?"

"Takao."

Nana laughed, "Good call, if it was anyone, it would be him. Slimy bastard, I'm surprised Lung hasn't just gone ahead and done away with him."

"Unfortunately, Takao has done a wonderful job of making sure that his department would have an exceeding amount of trouble running without him." I sighed, "If he were taken out right now, we would need to level and reconstruct the department's chain of command and

"It'd be better just to get rid of it entirely."

I nodded, in complete agreement with the woman, "It would, but I have had limited success in convincing my father of that. At this point, I doubt I will be able to do so."

Nana hummed,looking back to the floor, "I see. That's unfortunate. Kidnapping the women in and around our territory isn't doing us any PR favors."

"Indeed."

The two of us didn't say anything for a moment, simply staring at the men working on moving boxes. It only took a minute or so of watching to realize that the woman was right in her assumptions of how long it would take, but I decided not to order them to speed up. This was the last job of the day so if they wished to lag a little, I was more than fine with that.

"Tell me, Nana," I spoke up after a long silence, "Do you believe we have a chance against the Empire? Or are we running into a war we simply cannot win?"

Nana hummed, tapping her fingers against themselves and looking thoughtful, "Well, I'd say there's probably a fifty-fifty split between us and them. They've got more capes, but ours are just better in almost every way and with that new girl, we've got the element of surprise. Not to mention they don't have a clue what we're planning. If we hit them hard and fast, we might be able to end this before it really starts."

I nodded at her words, "Bakuda's bombs are quite potent from everything the woman has demonstrated." Then I frowned, "Her ego will need to be kept in check though. I don't believe I've ever met a woman so full of herself."

Nana chuckled, "I know her type. You'd do well to keep an eye on her. Narcissistic types don't like being second rung on the ladder and I guarantee she thinks she'd be able to oust you if given the opportunity."

"You really think so?"

"I know so. That woman is unstable as a sack full of cats and I bet you a grand that she already has it out for you. You're Lung's favorite because you're his daughter and her ego won't allow that." Her face turned more serious, "Seriously, Hime. Keep an eye on her."

I nodded, taking the woman's words into account. Whenever Nana dropped the laid-back personality that she often took, it was best to listen to what she had to say.

We were prevented from any further conversation as my phone suddenly buzzed from within the folds of my costume. On the wrong side.

I had two phones, one for ABB related activities and one for personal use. The one ringing at the moment was my personal phone. Few people had that phone's number and not a single one of them would actually call me unless it was the most extreme of emergencies, so when I pulled it out and Kon's name and image lit up on the call screen, I knew it must be serious.

I brought the device up to my ear as I answered the call, "Kon? What is it?"

"Yosei! We've got big trouble!" Kon's voice sounded frantic and somewhat out of breath and I could feel my own heart quicken in response to the man's tone, wondering what could be the cause of his panic, "it's Ruby Dreams! Someone robbed the casino and made off with a load of stuff before anyone could be alerted! Lung's throwing a fit!"

Almost immediately, my heart dropped into my stomach at his words. The Ruby Dreams casino was one of my father's most profitable businesses. Despite being a somewhat recent acquisition, nearly five percent of our revenue had filtered through its glass doors at one point or another in the past year alone and this month had been particularly busy. There was no telling how much had been inside when it was hit.

Nana stared at me in slight confusion as I immediately turned towards the door, worry in my every step, "Where is he?"

Kon didn't even get the chance to answer the question as the moment I stepped outside, I bore witness to the skies of our territory lighting up with fire as the screams of my father's rage echoed throughout the night from only a few blocks away near the edge of the city. Several of the men I was overseeing stopped what they were doing, instead choosing to watch the same thing I was, pointing and muttering amongst themselves with fear in their eyes.

"Nevermind." I said faintly, staring at the glow of fire peeking over the buildings, "I know where he is. Thank you, Kon, for bringing this to my attention."

"No problem. Be careful, Yosei."

The line went dead and I stored the device in my kimono once more before turning back towards the warehouse as the door opened and Nana stepped outside with a pack of cigarettes in her hand.

Her eyes widened and she whistled slowly as she saw the same thing I did, "Damn. Looks like someone woke the sleeping dragon, huh?" She said, putting a cigarette in her mouth.

I gave her a stern look as I dredged up what little power was currently available to me, "This isn't the time for jokes, Nana. The PRT will doubtlessly get wind of this if it goes on for too long, so I need to stop this before it gets out of hand and the heroes are called out in force."

Nana shrugged, lighting her cigarette, "I wouldn't worry about that. I overheard a bit of your conversation and if someone did actually steal from Ruby Dreams, they're long gone by now. I bet he knows that there's no point chasing after ghosts and will calm down soon."

I wasn't sure about that. This was one of the biggest hits to the ABB in months. The fact that it had happened while we were in the midst of preparing for war with the Empire was just another stroke to the flames of my father's rage.

"Perhaps." I finally answered as mist began seeing out of my robes, "But I am still going to make sure of that. There is no telling what the thieves managed to get their hands on."

Nana just shrugged, "It's your call, Hime. Do what you think is best."

I nodded as the mist began to envelope me, sliding over my skin tightly as the transformation began "I will."

The Cetan was a Native American hawk spirit who was said to preside over speed and perseverance. It was a form that cost basically zero resources to turn into but even so, I didn't need its full form, just its wings.

I stretched my new appendages as the mist dissipated, flapping them experimentally and finding the instinctual knowledge of how to use them coming to the forefront of my mind. I turned back to Nana who was inspecting the wings with scientific curiosity, "I trust you can take care of things here in my absence?"

She shrugged, "Probably. This bunch doesn't look particularly strong willed so if worst comes to worst, I'll just put the fear of Nana into them to get them to do what I want."

I felt a modicum of amusement as the woman substituted her own name for the diety's, before sobering up almost immediately as another roar of anger echoed through the street. "Then I leave it to you." I said, before crouching down and springing upwards with my enhanced strength.

One flap of my wings turned my jump into a soaring leap, another and I was well and truly flying. The knowledge of what to do guided my body as I flattened my wings out and caught an upward draft, sending me higher into the air.

As always Brockton Bay was absolutely breathtaking from this high up and I couldn't help but bemoan the fact that I didn't have time to truly take it in. Later, I promised myself, focusing on the task at hand.

My new wings beat furiously as I gained even more altitude, sending me soaring high above the city as I made my way in the direction of my father's wrath, praying that I would be able to quench the fires of his rage before they burned everything to the ground.

~~~

Less than a minute later, I touched down over two miles from my previous location. My wings folded against my back before fading into curling mist the moment my feet touched the ground, and I looked around at the area I had found myself in.

The Ruby Dreams Casino wasn't the most opulent from the outside. Certainly, it was much more eye-catching than the buildings around it, but it paled in comparison to the grandeur of those outside of the city.

That was by design of course. Gambling was still technically illegal, and though the heroes of the city would likely care less and the cops weren't stupid enough to try and shut down one of her father's operations without their help, it wouldn't do to announce the presence of such an illegal business to the entire city.

Fire flickered on the asphalt outside the building, burning seemingly without source and lighting up the night. Three corpses were strewn about the area, skin and clothing smoking from my father's wrath and my gut barely churned at the smell of burning flesh, a scent I had long since become familiar with.

A cursory glance at one of the corpses as I passed revealed a single word written on their back in big bold letters, 'SECURITY'. That explained why they had seemingly been held responsible for what had occurred.

I shook my head at the waste of life, before turning to the doors of the casino.

Lee was standing right outside the door. The silent man had his hands folded behind his back, staring straight forward into the darkness like a statue. It was somewhat eerie and I was almost glad that he moved to give me a nod of deference as I passed him by.

Ruby Dreams was one of the most opulent and well maintained casinos that the ABB operated. That was not the case on this particular night.

Chaos. Complete and utter chaos met me as I entered the building. Statues had been thrown to the floor, delicate artistry forever ruined as the stone chipped and metal dented. Machines had been broken into, coins littering the floor along with a few stray bills that the thieves hadn't bothered to gather up, clearly not deeming them worth the trouble.

Dark scratches had been carved into the floor, as if some giant beast had been standing upon it. The door in the rear of the casino, leading to the place where all of the cash was kept had been torn off of its hinges, the door itself lying in two pieces with large bite marks in the lacquered wooden surface.

My father was standing in the middle of it all. The man was at least two feet taller than his natural height and the beginnings of scales had grown over his forearms and chest as his power transformed him.

He turned to me as I entered, and I couldn't help the small frown at the look on his face, his slitted pupils looking distinctly animalistic.

Nevertheless, I bowed to him as I approached, "Father, I came as soon as I heard the news of what happened. Have you managed to find the thieves or identify them?"

Smoke billowed from her father's nose as he growled, "They fled long before I arrived. Along with their spoils, my property."

I tensed as his temper flared, his body growing ever so slightly with his anger. Luckily he gathered himself quickly, closing his eyes and letting out a breath before he exploded.

"The cameras captured the ones responsible for the act before they were destroyed." He said after he calmed down, "It was those cowardly thieves, the Undersiders. It seems they have grown both bolder and even more foolish than before, believing they could steal from me without consequence."

"The Undersiders…" I muttered, remembering what I could about the gang. Less of a gang and more of a group of villainous independents, The Undersiders a team of four individuals who had made somewhat of a name for themselves thanks to their penchant for escaping capture or general conflict again and again. Relatively weak in the grand scheme of things, they normally stuck to low-value targets and were extremely consistent in their planning and execution thanks to the Thinker on their team, Tattletale. They were responsible for this?

I looked around again, taking in the destruction that had clearly been wrought long before my father arrived. It seemed almost sloppy. Perhaps they had gotten impatient or were on a time limit.

My father turned to me, eyes deadly serious, "They will pay for this transgression. The Empire will wait. First, we will hunt down these fools who thought to steal from me and make an example of them." He rumbled, "I have been idle far too long if fools are becoming bold enough to steal from me so blatantly. It is time to remind this city exactly who I am."

I bowed my head, even as my heart raced at his proclamation, "Understood, father. Would you like for me to gather the Faces to meet?"

"No. This does not concern them." He responded as he turned to walk out of the building. I followed close behind, stepping carefully over the broken door, "We will deal with the thieves and continue our preparations. By the end of the month, these fools will know the error of their ways and we can continue our preparations to move on the Empire."

"As you say, father."

It looked like my fears of turning the city on its head with an open gang war had been put to rest for now. Though I wasn't exactly sure if the alternative was better or worse.

---

Next five chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Sadguychet]

Over the years that the ABB had become a stable power in the Bay, things were constantly changing within the upper echelons of the gang. Positions were emptied and filled, power was gained and lost, and plays for said were made.

And yet, despite the constant changing nature of the gang, things were mostly stable. At least they were until a few months ago. Until Kaito spoke out in the most foolish way possible and paid the price for it.

Since the man's death, Hiashi's workload had increased a tremendous amount. Where at one point he may have needed around ten hours to complete the day's work, the past few months had seen him staying in his office well into the night, leaving him thoroughly exhausted by the time he laid his head down for the night.

It had been especially busy for the past few weeks as he scrambled to get his operations in order in time for war with the Empire. Being in charge of their drug trade, Hiashi was responsible for ensuring that none of their supplies of stockpiles would be in danger during the conflict that was about to break out..

It was easier said than done, moving millions of dollars worth of drugs through their territory without anybody the wiser. The ABB may be the de facto presence within their little pocket of Brockton Bay, but the authorities still came around. Police that they hadn't paid off cracked down on storehouses the moment they received tips on them, heroes patrolled just as they did everywhere else and kept an eye out for any suspicious activity.

Thanks to the suddenness of Lung's decision, there was quite a bit of said suspicious activity in the territory lately. Hiashi had been fortunate enough that none of his bigger operations had been discovered, but there had been more than a few close calls. They would have to be more careful in the coming weeks.

"Tea, Yosei-sama?" Hiashi asked the woman sitting across from his desk, gesturing to the steaming pot that he had in front of him. The woman in question smiled, nodding her head gladly as he poured some into one of a pair of cups.

"Thank you." She said as he handed it to her, bringing the cup to her lips and taking a sip. She hummed in pleasure and Hiashi smiled slightly, happy that it was to her tastes.

"This blend is one of my favorites." He said, pouring himself a cup, "It's a bit expensive to have it delivered here but it's well worth the cost."

"I'll say." Yosei nodded, "It's certainly not a common blend and even I don't have the chance to drink it often."

"Well considering the business we're about to discuss, I felt it would be best if we had something positive to keep us calm."

Yosei sighed, placing her cup on the desk, "I suppose we should get into the reason I'm here then. Have you finished calculating how much of our drug stockpile has been lost so far in the move?"

"Around six percent so far." Hiashi said, glancing at a nearby stack of papers, "Though I suspect that it will increase. A good portion of the losses could be attributed to thievery by the overseers. I have written up a list of suspects if you would like to review them."

Yosei frowned, "Possible traitors? Yes, send the list to my office and I'll review it the moment that I have the time."

Hiashi nodded, placing his own tea to the side for the moment, "Understood, Yosei-sama. Would you like a copy of our financials as well? The end of the month is coming up and thanks to this business with the Empire, this is likely the last time our revenue will be stable for quite a while."

Yosei thought for a moment before nodding slowly, "...Yes, go ahead and send those my way as well. Sadao has been falling slightly behind lately due to the sudden shift so it would be best to lend him a hand even in a small way. The man has been taking up too much work here recently."

"I'll prepare a copy as soon as I get the reports ready. I'm sure he'll be extremely thankful for your help." Hiashi said, writing a note of reminder for himself, "We could all use some help in the coming months."

"I assume things are not going so well?"

Hiashi took a sip of his tea, frowning into his cup, "No, they have not. Already we've begun seeing less returns from both our drug trades and if Aoi is to be believed, our recruitment is down quite a bit as well. It seems that word has gotten around that we're about to do something big and people want absolutely no part in it."
Yosei frowned lightly, "I see. That is unfortunate. We will need every available hand we can get in case this conflict goes on longer than predicted. Perhaps we could give more incentives to the recruiters to entice them to increase their efforts."

Hiashi frowned, "I'm not sure we currently have the resources to sustain that for any extended length of time. Truthfully, even if we do win this conflict with the Empire, it will take quite a while to recover from the damage it will doubtlessly do to our resources."

"It is what my father desires." Was all Yosei said in response to his words. Hiashi could tell that she wasn't exactly happy about the fact though and that was good. It meant that she might not just kill him outright for what he was about to say.

The reason that he had called the woman here was nothing as banal as simply discussing the reports that he was due to give by the end of the week recently. No, it was to suggest something so dangerous that it could easily end with his death if the woman took it in the wrong way.

Unfortunately, it needed to be said and so Hiashi placed his tea back on the desk and gathered all the courage available to him to do what he truly believed would be best for the gang.

"I am truly sorry for suggesting this but perhaps…" Hiashi could practically feel his heart beat in his chest and there was a lump in his throat that tried its best to prevent any words from escaping. He forced them out anyway, "Perhaps it is time for a shift in leadership."

Almost immediately after his words left his mouth, Yosei's entire demeanor turned ice cold. Her shoulders stiffened and the small smile that had been present on her face flattened into a line. She fixed Hiashi with an icy stare and he just barely managed to hold back the flinch of fear that her glare produced within him.

"Excuse me?" Just those two words sent shivers up his spine and his mind almost immediately went back to the day that Yosei's existence had been revealed to them all in the war room.

It had been a long time since he had felt fear in the woman's presence. Since his first, admittedly terrifying, experience with Yosei, Hiashi had long since come to realize just how wrong his first impression of the woman was. She wasn't a murderous psychopath hiding behind a veneer of civility as he had imagined. Instead she was a polite yet commanding woman who had nothing but the utmost respect for all of them, the type of person who commanded nearly as much respect as her father simply through her actions as well as her strength. A stabilizing presence in the ABB in the time that they needed it most.

But she was still dangerous and most importantly, fiercely loyal to her father. If he did this wrong, he easily could end up just like Kaito.

As such Hiashi chose his words carefully, "I mean no disrespect. To you or Lung-sama, but with how things have been going recently, it seems to me that he cares less about leading and managing the ABB and more about proving his superiority to others, hence this conflict with the Empire."

Yosei's eyes narrowed at his words but the woman didn't say anything which Hiashi took as a signal that he was free to continue.

"Nobody can deny that Lung-sama is our leader." Hiashi said, trying to keep his heartbeat calm as Yosei stared him down, "He is the one who brought the chaotic, warring gangs together under one banner, saving the Bay possible years of future bloodshed as we fought among ourselves. I was a member of the Black Dragons before they were forced underneath his banner, and even I could see the change that was brought by his leadership."

"The Black Dragons?" Yosei's cold demeanor gave way to slight surprise, "If I recall correctly, that was one of the violent gangs that my father subsumed. You were a member?"

"It was, and I was." Hiashi confessed, "I did many things I'm not proud of as a member of that gang, if you could even call it that. We were less of an organized crime syndicate and more a group of murderers and thieves that were better than most at hiding. When Lung-sama appeared, I was actually preparing to abandon the group and flee back to Japan. I am eternally thankful that I didn't have to. There was a reason I left, after all."
Yosei shifted on her chair, "You show an odd amount of respect to a man you are blatantly speaking to me about betraying, Hiashi. Speak plainly. What exactly are you hoping to accomplish by telling me this"

Hiashi swallowed, "Yes well, while Lung-sama may be our leader, he has very little to do with the gang when it comes to actually managing it. He allows the Faces to do as we wish, leaving the specifics of the gang up to us rather than dealing with them himself. This is a recipe for insubordination and betrayal as Kaito showed when he attempted to defy Lung, believing himself to have some sort of sway over the man."

At the word betrayal, Yosei's shoulders stiffened minutely, the woman no doubt thinking back to that day and what she had done. Hiashi continued, "In recent weeks, the majority of my own reports have gone to you instead of your father and if Aoi was telling the truth, he is much the same. Since you joined the gang, things have improved around the board. Funds have been allocated properly and any issue that pops up is dealt with swiftly, as opposed to how it would be if you weren't here."

He paused, taking a deep breath for what he was about to say, "What I am thinking, is that you should step into the role of leader in your father's place, taking command of the ABB and managing things from now on."

He froze as Yosei's lips suddenly pulled back in a snarl. Her canines had lengthened and sharpened to razor-sharp points, and she had trouble controlling the anger in her voice as she spoke slowly, "Hiashi… You had best rethink your foolish ideas before I divest you of your ability to do so. You are asking me to betray my father? Have you lost all sense?!"

"No!" Hiashi shocked himself with the volume and amount of conviction in his voice and even Yosei's eyes widened slightly, "No. I am not asking you to betray Lung-sama. I would never even think of doing such a thing, nor is it truly necessary. All I am asking is that you take a more direct position in leading the ABB. Perhaps ask your father to create the management position that you have already taken up in all but name, allowing you to lead the gang in his stead. He will still be at the top, as is natural, but he wouldn't need to truly step in for anything but the most important matters. He will be able to do as he has been without issue while the gang itself will prosper underneath your leadership."

"Ah, so a betrayal in all but name." Yosei sneered, "You would ask me to relieve my father of all that he had built and reduce him to a mere figurehead! Like some sort of puppet king!"

"I just do not wish to see everything that we have built come crumbling down around our ears due to ill-management!" Hiashi urged, "You do not understand how things were before you arrived! Before you took up your mantle as Lung's right hand, the ABB was held together by nothing but strings and tissue paper. When you began your duties, things improved massively! Under your leadership, the ABB could become the glorious thing that was imagined when I joined! Before we all lost sight of what it was supposed to be!"
There was a long silence in the room after he finished. Yosei just sat there, staring at him with enraged eyes. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped just before she did, instead closing her eyes and taking calming breaths. Hiashi could feel sweat slip down his neck both from his outburst as well as the suspense of what she would say, knowing that it would dictate his future or even if he had one at all.

Luckily, when she finally spoke, her voice was much calmer than it had been moments before, though he could still detect the anger hidden behind her words, "What you are suggesting is nothing short of treason. By all means, I should kill you for it." Hiashi flinched slightly as her eyes flashed a bright green underneath her mask, "Be thankful that I respect both your position, as well as the incredible work you have done since you obtained it. But heed my words, if you do not cease this line of thinking immediately, my father will catch wind of it, and he will not be nearly as merciful."

She stood from her chair before he had a chance to speak, staring down at him imperiously, "I myself will hear no more of this and if I do, your position will be in need of immediate refilling. Am I understood?"

Hiashi swallowed roughly, his hands feeling clammy as he was faced with the woman's cold gaze, "...Yes, Yosei-sama. It will not happen again. Forgive me I… I'm not sure what I was thinking."

She stared at him for a long moment before abruptly turning on her heel and moving to the door, "Nor am I."

The door slammed shut behind her with enough force to shake the room he was in. Her tea, forgotten and cold, couldn't handle the tremors and tipped over, spilling its contents all over Hiashi's desk and soiling his papers. He couldn't find it in himself to care at the moment though, too concerned with his uneven breathing and the way his heart was beating in his chest.

His hands shaking just slightly, Hiashi reached down below his desk and opened a drawer, pulling out the bottle found there. With slight difficulty, he pulled off the cap and immediately began pouring it into the cup that had once held his tea.

He had been saving this bottle of particularly high quality rice wine for after this war with the Empire was over but after everything that had just happened and the magnificent failure he had just experienced, he felt he was due a little relief.

---

Next five chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Sadguychet]

A scowl was plastered on my face as I stalked through the halls of my home, trailing a path to my office as I practically fumed with anger at what had just happened. It was late enough that nobody was still wandering the halls which was good as it meant that I didn't have to bottle up the anger I was feeling until I was in private. I could show just how displeased I was without anybody any the wiser.

I couldn't believe that Hiashi of all people would have the gall to suggest something like that. I had thought that the man had more sense, that his loyalty to my father was just as strong as my own. Apparently I was mistaken.

Unbidden, a growl escaped my throat, my power roiling inside of me as I remembered his words. Run the ABB in my father's place, take over leadership and deal with things in his stead. What a laughable idea.

Even putting aside the massive betrayal that it would be to my father, as well as the fact that I probably could do it, I didn't want to run the ABB. I didn't want to be responsible for all of those lives that my father had brought together. I didn't want to deal with the conflict and stress that came with being the leader of the second largest gang in Brockton Bay.

Though I may seem completely on top of things on the outside, the trust was that my father's presence was a large part of that. The knowledge that he would always be there to handle things that I couldn't was a great comfort to me and allowed me to perform at my best and even then, I was often overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work that I often had to contend with.

I couldn't count the amount of times that I had worked late into the night, fixing an issue that had popped up within the gang or even dealing with another that had been there long before I had even taken up my position. It seemed like it was one thing after another, a never ending pile of work

As much as I hated to admit it, before I had arrived, the ABB had been hanging on by a thread. Financials had been on a plummeting nose-dive for nearly a year and actual recruitment was lower than it had ever been with conscription at an all time high. If it had continued for another few months, I had no doubt that it would have begun to show even to those who were not privy to the gang's internal workings as defections grew and we began losing money.

Despite this, nobody had seemed to care enough to fix any of it and instead it was left to me. I had been forced to learn and master more skills than I had ever imagined in the months since joining the gang and while the ABB was better off for it, it was certainly weighing on me.

With how carefully polite and composed as I had crafted my cape persona to be, most wouldn't notice what was happening from the outside and indeed, it seemed that Hiashi hadn't either. Else he wouldn't have dared ask such a thing from me.

For just a moment, the idea of his loyalty being compromised crossed my mind before I immediately shook my head. As blasphemous as Hiashi's request of me was, I retained enough judgment in my anger to know that he truly believed that his request would do nothing but help the gang. Even if his way of going about it was traitorous at best.

I put it out of my mind for now, and not just because all of this anger was starting to give me a headache. My hands were more than full enough already with the upcoming war with the Empire, not to mention this business with the Undersiders. Hiashi's ideas were inconsequential, no matter how angry they made me.

With a huff, I turned into the hall that held my office. I suddenly stopped as I was met with a sight that made my gut sink.

Since my house was technically also the main hideout for high ranking ABB personnel, it only made sense that the gang's capes would have a space here as well and Bakuda was no exception, having a small workshop here for her personal use. She didn't use it often, mostly preferring her much larger workshop in one of the warehouses near the docks, but it seemed that today was different.

The woman closed the door behind her as she exited her workshop. She was wearing her entire costume sans her mask and she turned in my direction as she heard me approaching, revealing a young woman of mixed blood just like my father and myself. As her brown eyes met my own, she frowned, clearly as unhappy to see me as I was her.

"Bakuda." I nodded to the woman as I made to pass her by. As deep as my distaste for her ran, I didn't want to deal with any more incidents today. Unfortunately, it seemed I was alone in that regard.

"Hey, Yosei." The woman called out to me as I passed her. I paused at her tone, turning back to look at her with a placid expression. She was now grinning, a cocky smirk on her face as she adjusted one of the straps of her bandolier, the grenades it held clinking with the movement, "How's preparing for the war going?"
The question, spoken with seeming sincerity, wasn't one I had expected to come from the woman so I was a bit slow to respond.

"It's going slowly, but it's progressing all the same." I responded, slightly suspicious of her intentions, "Figuring out the logistics of how things are going to go as well as ensuring that our losses are minimal is a necessary, but slightly grueling process."

I paused as Bakuda scoffed before frowning at the glint in the woman's brown eyes as she turned a smirk her way, "Grueling, really? All you're doing is doing the same shit you do every day. Sure, things have picked up a bit, but compared to me, you're barely doing anything."

I stared at for a moment, actually surprised by her gall. The ego of this woman was actually astounding sometimes, to say something like that directly to my face like it was a normal thing she could just do because she pleased

"I've been in my workshop eighteen hours a day, every day, working on all sorts of nasty bombs that'll scare the shit out of those Nazi fucks." Bakuda boasted, pretending she hadn't just done what she did.

She pulled a boxy grenade off of her bandolier. There was a small screen on the side and wires were poking out of the top, indicating it was different from her normal explosives. Bakuda did something I couldn't see and the screen lit up with bright red numbers and she grinned, "This one turns everything around within fifty meters of it into sand and doesn't even need input from me because it's on a timer. Just set it, wait an hour, and watch shit disappear."

"When all of this kicks off, I'm gonna ask Lung-sama for a couple men and maybe Oni Lee too, to come and help me plant some of these babies in some of their more important stash houses. The ones they hide in the residential areas thinking nobody will come after them." Bakuda grinned, tossing the grenade up and down, "It'll catch them by surprise and send 'em scurrying like rats. They'll be easy to mop up after that. Especially if I manage to catch one of their capes in the blast."

For a moment I just stared at the woman as her words registered in my ears, wondering if I had heard her correctly. There was no way she just said that.

"And tell me, Bakuda, what happens when those bombs of yours catch innocent civilians in the blast?" I asked slowly, marveling at the woman's apparent lack of forethought.

Bakuda scowled at my question, placing her bomb back in its place, "There won't be anything left of them to identify so who cares? It's not like anyone will be able to tell if they were civilians in the first place."

Or maybe she had thought about it. Maybe she was just a fucking idiot. I stared at her for a long moment, wondering just what was going on in her mind that she thought killing civilians by the truckload was in any way a good idea.

I held my tongue before I started to openly question her sanity. Clearly, this woman was insane and if there was one thing I had learned from Tammi and her frankly egregious amount of time spent on the internet, it was that you don't argue with crazy if you want to keep your own sanity.

"Right. Well, truthfully, your bombs likely won't be needed at all so there's no need to overwork yourself." I dismissed her idea entirely, feeling a bit of satisfaction at the way that her hands clenched into fists at my words, "Between my father and myself, it is entirely possible that we will be able to deal with their cape roster in an extremely short amount of time. It is my hope that we can have all of this business said and done before we catch unwanted attention."

I turned away before she could say anything in response to my words, "Continue working on your gadgets if you wish but don't expect to see them in action any time soon. Your propensity for lethality would spell bad news for the ABB if the heroes learned of it."

I could have just left it there, but my current bad mood was making me a little vindictive. I looked back at her, unable to resist one last parting shot, "Or don't. By all means, use your bombs as you wish. Just don't expect the ABB to shelter you when you are inevitably assigned a Kill Order for your actions. Fools who can't keep themselves or their ego under control have no place in our ranks."

Bakuda's face twisted in rage but I didn't stay long enough to see her reaction, turning back forward and continuing my journey.

"....You know, it's funny," Bakuda called out towards me as I walked away, anger plain in her voice. "I didn't figure that Lung's daughter of all people would be such a coward. Guess you take after your mom or something."

Immediately, my stride came to a stop as I processed the woman's words. My hands curled into fists at my side as they registered in my brain, the rage that I had been feeling only a few minutes ago returning tenfold. It curled in my gut, hot and angry as my temper reared its ugly head.

I didn't turn to look at the woman, "Would you care to repeat that?"

"Well it just makes sense doesn't it?" Bakuda's voice was taunting, as if the woman was happy that she had gotten one up on me, "You're the daughter of one of the most powerful capes in the country, and you can't even bring yourself to kill a few civilians to get rid of the rot in a city you should have been ruling years ago. With your power, you could easily turn the Bay into your own little kingdom. Nobody would be able to stop you! But you don't! You hold back Lung-sama because you're scared of the consequences! Scared of the heroes."

I took a deep breath even as my hands clenched at my sides, breathing slowly and trying to keep myself calm before I did something I regretted.

One thing that most people got right about my father when they met him was his temper. Kenta Araki had always had a short temper and everyone knew it, exploding easily and explosively at the slightest of provocation. He had gotten a much better hold on it in recent years, but there wasn't a single person in the ABB who didn't remember how he used to be.

My late mother, though… She was the exact opposite. Her anger was like a stalking tiger, always present, but never making itself known until it was too late. On the few occasions that she did lose her cool, even my father knew better than to catch her ire. She was like a lit candle, too hot to touch until she finally burnt herself out or consumed whatever had caused her anger to catch in the first place.

Being a mix of the two, I had always prided myself on keeping myself composed in nearly every circumstance despite how easy I was to rile up, speaking slowly and calmly and practically never raising my voice unless I was forced to. Right now, though, I was finding it very difficult not to walk over to this woman and rip her throat out with my teeth.

Bakuda spat, unknowingly sealing her fate, "I don't know who your mom was but cowardice was clearly in her genes if she managed to make someone like you with Lung-sama. Pathetic."

With that final word, I had had enough. My already frayed temper snapped, and spelled the end of Bakuda's little spiel.

Thanks to my enhanced strength and speed, Bakuda had little chance to do anything but flinch back as I suddenly turned and cleared the several feet between us in a moment. As she yelped, I grabbed her by the bandolier on her chest and pulled her towards me. A swift and purposeful kick to her right knee caused the woman's leg to buckle, sending her to the floor on her knees in front of me, leaving her kneeling before me as if she was finally respecting my position.

But Bakuda was still as full of arrogance and vitriol as ever and the moment she hit the ground she was already making the move to get up, not willing to show even the facade of supplication towards me. I was not having it though.

"Stay." The single word was filled with every single bit of the frigid rage that was currently filling me. Bakuda stopped in her tracks, instinct winning out over pride as she froze in fear.

I leaned in close, bringing one hand down to the woman's face to force her to look me in the eyes. My words came slow and purposeful, carrying all of the weight of the responsibilities and duties I had taken alongside my position. The position that this woman seemed intent on disrespecting at every turn. No more.

"Baku-no, Alice." Her breath hitched minutely at her name and I felt a vicious satisfaction as her pupils dilated in fear, adrenaline coursing through her veins at her civilian name, "Hear me and hear me well. Your disrespect, of both me and my position in the gang, ends here. I have continually tolerated this childishness out of deference to my father as I did not wish to cause an incident unnecessarily. If you continue pushing me however…"

Just as I had done with Hiashi, I pulled a small amount of power from within, altering my features just enough to be noticeable. Bakuda's eyes widened as my eyes changed color, going from steely grey to pitch black.

"I will show you exactly where you stand compared to me, both in terms of authority and power." She twitched in my grip at my words but I held firm. "In the wider scheme of things, you are inconsequential at best. The ABB has gone years with only two capes in its ranks. It will do just fine with three instead of four."

Bakuda flinched back from me in fear, a clearly unconscious move as her eyes almost immediately narrowed. Her fists clenched at her sides and I realized that she was angry that I was able to cause such a visceral reaction in her. It seemed that her ego truly knew no bounds.

Coming unfrozen, the woman jerked back from me and I allowed her to go, watching her placidly as she rose to her feet. She stared at me with an enraged expression on her face and I could practically hear her teeth grinding as our eyes met. For a moment, I thought she may actually attempt to swing at me in her anger, but instead she abruptly turned on her heel and marched back into her workshop, slamming the door behind her.

I eyed the door for a long moment, somewhat expecting Bakuda to come stomping right back out with some sort of device in her hand to threaten me with. Nothing happened however, and I shook my head at the whole situation, continuing towards my office.

It had been a long time since I had blown up like that at someone and it had happened twice today. It was regretful but this continuing issue with the crazed bomb tinker was beginning to get tiresome and I was growing sick of it. If she heeded my warning then that was perfect. If not, well….

I hadn't been lying when I said we could manage without her.

~~~ Two Days Later ~~~

All things considered, it didn't take long for us to sniff out where the Undersiders were likely hiding, or at least the general area that they were in. Using the gang's connections as well as cross referencing some of their more prolific exploits, we managed to get a broad idea of where their hideout was likely located.

Only a few hours ago, my father had gathered several of our men, as well as Lee to scare them out of their hiding places. With how the Undersiders operated, the teleporter would be needed when they inevitably tried to flee so he had enlisted the man's help in cornering them.

As terrible as it was for me to do so, I hoped that the Undersiders didn't put up much of a fight and my father would be able to wrap up this business quickly. The last thing we needed right now was to catch the ire of the city's heroes with so much going on behind the scenes.

With them gone, that left Bakuda and I alone to take care of things at home for the time being. I had been slightly annoyed at the fact but truth be told, I hadn't actually seen the hide nor hair of Bakuda since our little confrontation the other day. Apparently she had holed herself up in her shop, working on some project or another with the single-minded focus that all Tinkers seemed to share.

That suited me just fine. The woman's absence would allow me to focus on more important things than her and her overinflated ego. Namely, the progress of my own operations to weed out our resident traitor.

"So yeah, I'm pretty sure that someone might be catching on to me, I feel like I've got eyes on me everywhere I go and some people I've been talking to feel the same." Kon said, idly rolling his ever-present candy stick over his tongue.

"Have you received any overt threats? Suspicious encounters even?" I asked in slight concern.

Kon closed his eyes as he thought, "Hmm… No, not really. Nothing out of the ordinary's been happening. At least not anything I can think of."

I nodded slowly as I thought, "I see. Then it's possible that Takao suspects something is amiss but isn't sure exactly who. He likely has someone keeping eyes on any new members that have joined his branch in the past few weeks. You might have to dial back on your suspicious activity just a bit."

To my surprise, Kon waved me off, "Nah, it's fine. If he really does suspect someone, then completely changing how I'm acting will be way more suspicious. Probably not a good idea to pull out before all this shit with the Empire kicks off either.

I couldn't help the smile that came to my face at his bravery, "Alright then, if that's what you wish. Remember, if you feel like you're in danger, you have every right to pull back or contact me. The task I have given you is important but it is not worth the loss of a competent individual such as yourself."

I felt a small bit of amusement as Kon blushed at my praise. Despite his general demeanor and being a bit older than I was, he was oddly shy about receiving compliments.

"Heh, thanks, Yosei." He said, grinning slightly, "Anyway, that wasn't really why I came here. I found something that might help our investigation."

I raised an eyebrow, pleasantly surprised by the news, "Oh? That's good news. May I see it?"

In response to my question, the man reached into his pocket and retrieved some folded up papers. After unfolding them, he slid them across my desk for me to read.

"I found those papers in his office, hidden under a bunch of other stuff. Damn near got caught but I managed to slip away at the last second." He said, motioning to the papers as I looked them over, "I'm sure you can see why I thought it was really important."

I could indeed. The papers that Kon had handed me were more than a little suspicious. The first was a list of statements directly connected to Takao's personal account outside of the gang, going back several months. The fact that he used his personal account meant that he hadn't used any of the ABB's funds for any of it and more importantly, it meant that he didn't need any kind of approval from my father, myself, or even Sadao.

Why he had gone this route was abundantly clear the longer I read. While there were several benign transactions on the page, from entertainment to food and even utility bills, underlined in red marker by Kon himself were some much more suspicious transactions.

A transfer of over two million dollars from his normal bank to an unnamed one that was outside of the state of Massachusetts, as well as several more statements that were simply labeled, 'Security' seemingly happening every week.

I knew enough about the criminal world to know what that word meant. Takao was contracting mercenaries, likely to act as bodyguards given the nature of the man himself. What was surprising was just how much these mercenaries cost, each and every transaction was in the tens of thousands of dollars and went back several months. How in the world had nobody noticed?

I did a little mental math in my head and my eyes widened at the number I came out with. If the paper was telling the truth then this month alone, Takao had paid an astonishing two hundred thousand dollars of his own personal money for an anonymous security detail to guard him at all times, completely forgoing the Officers and other personnel that would normally be assigned for such a position.

Even with the amount of money that the Faces earned in revenue every year, two hundred thousand dollars was no small sum and was in fact, significantly more than it would have cost him to simply request additional guards from his fellow Faces. With that amount, even Takumi would be more than happy to lend him some support and his men were even more professional and competent than Hiashi's despite his general demeanor.

Why would Takao need his own personal security team? What was the man doing that he needed to have a separately contracted, secretive organization of mercenaries keep him safe? If he was Aoi I would have somewhat understood but he wasn't. His branch of the gang managed our brothels and the women who were forced to reside within them, there was no reason for him to need this amount of security! Especially not long before the war with the Empire was even a thought within my father's head!

"What do you think we should do?" Kon asked. I didn't answer immediately, instead looking down at the papers in thought. With this, I was pretty much secure in my suspicions of Takao being the traitor but unfortunately, while the purchases should be more than enough to incriminate the man, the ABB was in an odd position right now. Too many things were in motion to attempt to oust a member of the Faces and with Kaito still without a replacement, the work would just pile up even more should Takao be dealt with.

And besides, even if I did bring this forward, I had no doubt that any attempt to do so would be met with nothing but denials by Takao followed by a swift investigation into his branch.

An investigation that would reveal absolutely nothing as the man did what he was best at and hid any and all evidence of his wrongdoings. The man was a snake, sneaky and conniving. The moment that he caught wind of the investigation, he would go to ground and nothing would come of our weeks of hard work.

Above all of that however, the biggest question of all still remained unanswered. If Takao truly was the traitor, then why? What would the man have to gain from betraying the ABB when he was already practically at the top? What was he looking for in that warehouse and why had he given that grunt a list with the names of the Faces on is. Was someone supposed to retrieve it from him to get insight into the gang's internals? What was going on behind the scenes that I didn't know about!?

I made a frustrated face, putting the paper back down. There were too many questions left unanswered right now. We needed more information before we could act unless we wanted this entire thing to fall apart and Takao to flee the city, never to be found again.

"Continue your investigations." I finally said, "Focus on Takao and try to find something substantial. We need hard evidence before we can bring this to my father and the rest of the Faces."

"Gotcha, I'll keep snooping." Kon nodded, "Hopefully I'll be able to find some more stuff during this thing with the Empire."

I frowned lightly even as I reached down into my desk, pulling out Kon's payment and sliding it across the desk, "I hope so too. I have a feeling that once this war begins, we aren't going to get many chances to meet like this again."

"You think it's gonna go on for a while?" He asked as he stowed the money in his jacket, not bothering to look at the amount.

I didn't answer at first, turning my thoughts inward. Despite my words to Bakuda and even Hiashi, I knew that a conflict with the Empire would not be a simple one, nor was it truly in the ABB's best interest. It was what my father desired though and I would follow him without question as always.

"I'm not sure." I finally confessed, "While I do believe that we can deal with their cape roster relatively quickly if we're careful, the Empire is the largest gang in the city and though we may be in second, the difference is vast. It could easily become a prolonged conflict if we are not careful and if it does… Well, things aren't exactly stable at the moment but they could easily get a lot worse."

Kon frowned, rolling his sucker over in his mouth, "Then why are we doing it? We-well you already took care of three of the Empire's capes including Hookwolf. And even if Rune got away, they're gonna take a while to bust them out so it's not like they're coming back any time soon."

"It's what my father desires." Was all I said in response. It was the same answer that I had given Hiashi but it was the only one I had. If my father wanted war with the Empire, then war is what he would get. I would do my best to mitigate the damage that such a conflict would have on the gang but other than that, there wasn't anything I could do.

Kon clearly didn't understand my reasoning as his face twisted in confusion. He opened his mouth to follow up on his question but never got the chance as suddenly, a bright flare of light filled the room with its brightness and only a moment later, the building rumbled around us. I whipped my head to the nearby window, my eyes widening in horror as I was met with a massive plume of smoke rising high into the night-time sky from deep within our territory.

"Oh shit!" Kon stood fast enough to knock his chair to the ground, "Is that Lung? I thought he was going after those thieves."
"That's not my father." I said numbly, staring at the smoke that was rising into the air where the explosion had emanated, "He went in the opposite direction, towards the city. That's coming from near the Docks."

"Hey, that's where we've been putting a shitload of our product, right?"

With a sinking feeling, I realized that he was right. The place that had just exploded coincided with one of our largest storehouses housing a good percentage of what we had been moving away from the border with the Empire. Someone was taking advantage of our preparations and striking us where we were most vulnerable.

We were under attack.

---

Next five chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Sadguychet]

Tammi grunted as her body was filled with a power that wasn't her own, jerking her arm away from the grip that was keeping it trapped. The girl who was holding her arm frowned before putting her hands in her lap as her cousin stepped away.

The blonde looked down at her bound arm and flexed her fingers, wincing lightly as the broken bones in her arm shifted as the power that the other teen had given her went to work on repairing the broken limb. It itched and was more than a little uncomfortable, but it wasn't painful so she was glad for that. It would fucking suck if the Empire's only healer caused you pain when she healed you.

Though withholding that healing on the orders of some rich hag didn't exactly make the pain any better. Tammi was getting real sick of her aunt's bullshit.

The room was silent for what felt like several minutes, only interrupted by the small grunts that Tammi let out as her arm healed, before it was broken by the only other occupant in the room.

"I'm worried about you, Tammi." Ophelia's voice was quiet but easily heard in the silent room. Tammi gave her a sidelong glance, scoffing at the concerned look on her face.

"Why? There's nothing to be worried about." Tammi's tone was curt, showing exactly how she was feeling about the other girl at the moment. Ophelia heard this but didn't comment, instead looking to the girl's arm as it flexed in its cast.

"We know what you've been doing, outside of the gang, I mean." Ophelia confessed and Tammi immediately went still, "People have seen you hanging out with that girl and Kaiser isn't happy about it. Nobody is."

There was a long pause in which Tammi didn't say anything before, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Ophelia's lips thinned, "You're really going to do this?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tammi repeated stubbornly, turning away from her cousin.

"I can pull out pictures if you want." Ophelia offered, staring her down, "Anges suspected something was off so she had some people follow you. We've got you in plain view hanging out with that slant-eyed bitch."

At her words, Tammi's demeanor shifted so suddenly that Ophelia wasn't even able to react. The intentionally stoic look on her face gave way to an angry scowl and she immediately whirled around to face her cousin. She stalked over to her, clearing the distance between them in just a few steps as she got up into the other girl's face, causing her to lean back.

"Don't fucking call her that!" She hissed out only a few inches away, causing Ophelia to flinch and her eyes to widen in surprise.

Almost immediately, Tammi realized what she did and stepped back, smoothing her face with some effort. She hadn't meant to do that but hearing her cousin insult Yuko had set her off. She took a breath before exhaling sharply through her nose, "Don't call her that. She's my friend and you're not going to insult her to my face unless you want your shit rocked, you get me?"

"...Right." Ophelia eyed her cousin, wary of any more outbursts, "What is her name then?"

"None of your business." Tammi said simply. She knew better than to give Yuko's name to anyone in the Empire. It wasn't exactly unique but if they already had her face then they would easily be able to find her based on just those two things. Tammi would kill anyone who hurt her best friend, especially someone in the Empire, but they didn't know that so it wouldn't stop them from trying to find and hurt her anyway.

She'd keep them in the dark for as long as she could and tell Yuko to watch herself when she was out in public just in case.

Tammi reached down and dug her fingers underneath her cast. Her arm was healed enough by now and the cast was flimsy enough to easily rip off. With a few jerks, she managed to pry it loose, peeling it off of her arm and tossing it to the ground. She sighed in relief as her skin was exposed to oxygen for the first time in nearly a month.

She flexed her arm, making sure that everything was fine with the limb. Ophelia's powers worked slowly so there was a small chance that it was still working. She didn't feel any discomfort though so that meant she didn't need to stay here any longer.

"Alright, we're done here. I'll see you later, I guess." Tammi walked to the door, wanting to get out of the house as quickly as possible. It was pretty late out so there probably wasn't that much to do around the city except clubbing, but she didn't care. This conversation was one she really didn't want to have right now, or ever if she could help it.

Yuko's job had been keeping her up later given how fast she had been responding to Tammi's texts here recently, so she was probably up despite it being like two in the morning. Maybe Tammi would just walk around the city and chat with her. She had a feeling they could both use the company at the moment.
"Wait, where are you going?"

"Don't worry about it." Tammi said, picking up the bright red jacket that she had left by the door, "I'll be back before you get up in the morning. Maybe." Probably not.

"You can't." Ophelia said as she pulled on her jacket, "You can't go right now, Tammi."

Tammi paused as she went to zip herself up. She looked back at her cousin who was giving her an odd look, "What are you talking about? You trying to put me under some sort of curfew or something? Good luck."

Ophelia rolled her eyes, "No, I mean you aren't allowed to go out right now."

Tammi gave the other girl her full attention, not liking what she was hearing, "What do you mean I'm not allowed?"

"I mean Kaiser has forbidden you from going anywhere he hasn't sanctioned. At least for a while."

"...What the hell are you talking about, Ophelia?"

"Agnes isn't happy with you, Tammi." Ophelia said, and Tammi's fist clenched at the mention of her aunt's name, "She was so proud of you when you joined the Empire but you're throwing it all away by spending time with that… girl. She's asked Kaiser to keep you under lockdown until you start to behave and he agreed with her. You're not allowed to leave the house until we go get Brad and Felix from the PRT."

Tammi just stared at the other girl for a long moment, disbelief warring with anger at what she had just been told. Anger won out easily, filling her to the brim almost immediately as she registered her cousin's words.

"Why the hell would he agree with that? He knows I'm the only one who can get us around the city in any reasonable amount of time!" Tammi sounded like she was begging but she didn't care. The idea of being locked up away from the world again made her sick to her fucking stomach. She had to know what Kaiser was thinking.

Ophelia sighed, looking away, "You've been stepping out of line more and more recently. You knew you weren't supposed to go fight the ABB, Tammi. Kaiser explicitly said he didn't want us to mess with the ABB even while Lung was out of the city, especially with his apparent daughter holding the reins. If you hadn't gone with them, Brad and Felix might not be locked up right now."

Tammi scoffed at the shitty explanation, "Or they would have gone by themselves and gotten caught anyway! You know how stupid Brad can be sometimes and Felix is always right behind him! I thought at least if I tagged along, I might be able to get us out of there if anything happened!"

"But you didn't, and now both of them are locked up and you're just now back to full strength." Ophelia insisted, making Tammi grit her teeth.

"Yeah. And who's fuckin' fault is that?" She spat, kicking her cast across the room. It hit the wall with a loud thud, the materials it was made of not being heavy enough to do any real damage, "If you would have just healed me, I would have been up and running in a day, but you just had to go and listen to that bitch!"

Ophelia scowled, "Tammi! Agnes deserves your respect! She's been a sponsor for the Empire since before the Herren Clan arrived in the states!"
"She'd have my respect if she stopped meddling in my goddamn life!" Tammi snarled, "All she is now is some rich bitch who won't stop sticking her nose into my business! I was fine with joining the Empire because it meant my parents wouldn't have any more say or control over my life! I didn't join to trade two wardens for one!"

Ophelia opened her mouth to continue arguing but she immediately closed it and took a deep breath. They were getting off topic and this would go nowhere with how angry her cousin was at the moment, "I didn't want this Tammi nor did I vote for it. I'm just the messenger."
Tammi laughed, high and sharp, "Oh, you're just the messenger? Do you think that makes it any better? That you're just the person who Kaiser ordered to tell me that he was taking away all of my freedom?"

"Tammi-"

"NO! I'm not going to fucking stay locked up in the house again!" Tammi was screaming now, her voice echoing through the empty house and causing her cousin to flinch back, "This was the entire reason I joined the Empire in the first place! If I wanted my freedom to be taken away from me bit by bit, I would have stayed with my fucking parents!"

She turned around and grabbed the door handle, wrenching it open and causing it to crash into the wall with a loud bang. Ophelia flinched at the noise but spoke up anyway, "Tammi, Kaiser said-"

"You can tell Kaiser he can shove his orders up his ass. Agnes too." Tammi spat as she pulled on her hood, hiding her hair underneath the red fabric, "I'm done. Done with Agnes, done with being told what to do, done with the Empire."

Tammi may have been acting a bit hasty thanks to her anger but it wasn't like there was much keeping her in the gang anyway apart from obligation. She wasn't close to anybody apart from Ophelia and that was because they were cousins and even then they weren't even that close. There was no reason to stay if this was how they were going to treat her.

"What!?" Ophelia's voiced raised for the first time during their argument as she stood up from where she had been sitting, shock and horror written on her face at what her cousin just said.

"Yeah, you heard me, I quit. Find a new superpowered taxi because I'm fucking sick of this shit." Tammi said as she zipped up her jacket in preparation to walk out into the chilly night." She looked back at Ophelia just before she stepped out of the house, giving her a glare, "And tell that old bitch that if she wants to run my life, she can take it up with me. I'm done having other people decide what's best for me. I'm the only one who gets to do that now."

"That's not how that works! You can't just leave the Empire!"

"Touch shit! You can't do anything about it!"

"Wait! Where will you go?" Ophelia shouted, rushing forward grabbing her by the sleeve to stop her from leaving, "The Protectorate will just ship you off right back to juvie and none of the other gangs will take you unless you want to become a drug addict!"
"I'll figure it out! Now let go of me!"

"No! We need you!" Ophelia pulled her cousin's sleeve harshly, causing Tammi to stumble backwards into the house. The blonde turned to her cousin, fire in her eyes as she jerked her arm free of the other girl's grip. Ophelia glared right back, "I'm not letting you leave!"

At her declaration, Tammi just laughed, "Really? You're not letting me? Just how the hell are you gonna stop me?"

Ophelia flinched slightly as the other girl stepped into her personal space. Tammi wasn't that much taller than her but just then, she seemed to loom over her. Her blue eyes were challenging, just asking her cousin to try something, "You can't use your powers on yourself while I've got both my arms back and more than enough shit around here to use my powers on. I wonder how you'd like to be the one stuck in a cast for a few months."

Ophelia kept up her glare before a hint of unease broke through. Tammi's eyes didn't waver from her own, staring her down and showing just how serious she was in her threat. If she continued pushing this, Tammi would hurt her, there was no doubt about that. There was nothing she could do to stop her.

She slowly let go of her cousin's arm, stepping away from her silently. Tammi nodded, turning back to the door. "That's what I thought. Don't bother hiding any of this from Viktor, I'll be long gone by then. Bye, Ophelia."

The pictures on the wall rattled as the door slammed shut behind Tammi, finalizing her decision and leaving Ophelia alone in the house. She stared at the door numbly for a long moment, before slowly making her way back into the house to get her phone and tell Kaiser or anyone about what just happened.

She whimpered lightly as she realized just how bad this was. One of their most mobile capes had just walked out on the gang while Hookwolf and Stormtiger were still locked up and she hadn't been able to do a damn thing to stop it. Without her, they would have a much harder time breaking the two out or even getting around the city in any reasonable amount of time.

Kaiser was going to kill her. If Agnes didn't do it first.

---

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[Sadguychet]

Brockton Bay had one of the largest cape populations in the entire United States. That was a fact that was well known by everyone who inhabited the city because well, they had eyes. It was an odd week that the average civilian didn't see at least one cape at some point or another, be they a hero patrolling and trying to keep the peace, or a villain handling their own, less than legal affairs despite those heroes.

And yet, despite the sheer number of capes populating the city, conflicts between them weren't exactly common. Oh sure, there were periods where the various gangs around the city came into conflict, but they were few and far between and usually handled in just a few hours as things were either dealt with by the authorities or simply petered out on their own. Brockton Bay hadn't had an actual gang war since the Teeth were run out of the Bay before I and my father had even arrived.

Here recently however, things had been especially turbulent for the ABB. Before I joined, I could count the amount of times that the ABB actually got into a situation involving capes on two hands. Since then however, I had fought Glory Girl, repelled an incursion by the Empire in my father's stead, and right now said father was likely currently in a conflict with the Undersiders for another incident that they had caused. And that was all in the last two months.

And now I was heading to what was doubtlessly another issue that had been created by a superpowered individual. That explosion was large enough to be seen from dozens of blocks away and powerful enough to feel from that distance as well. No man made explosives could do that or at least not any that could be smuggled into our territory without my or my father's knowing.

As I got closer to the source of the disturbance, my ears perked up at the distinctive pop-pop of an active gunfight along with the shouts and curses of men in conflict, several of them in eastern languages that I recognized. It seemed that I wasn't the first to investigate the disturbance.

I touched down on a rooftop, the wings that I had acquired fading back into mist as I observed the scene before me with quiet anger.

This was certainly the work of a cape, or at the very least their gang. Down below, the storehouse that we had been transferring our product to had been broken into, a massive hole the size of several cars having been blown into the side of the building. Around the makeshift entrance, several rundown and rust-covered vans were parked, their rear doors opened and facing toward the building and clearly awaiting the product that would fill them.

I could honestly care less about that however, as a much more prudent matter took my attention. The gunshots that I had been hearing had been coming from a firefight that was currently taking place just in front of the building. Several ABB members were currently engaged in a shootout with the clear perpetrators of this incident, the bright purple clothing that they were wearing, denoting their allegiances. It seemed that the Merchants had caught wind of what was in that building and wished to take it for themselves.

Several ABB and Merchants were lying on the ground from their respective sides of the battlefield, clutching newly made wounds or simply lying motionless. It was easily apparent to me that the number of my men that were still firing at the Merchants from behind their improvised cover had simply just been in the area when the attack had occurred. Several of them weren't even wearing our colors and they barely had a rifle or shotgun to spar between them, instead using the small arms that any smart Brocktonite would carry this late at night.

The Merchants, by contrast, had clearly been prepared for their attack. Though their weaponry may have been filthy and barely functional, they were still much larger than anything my men were carrying. Rifles, submachine guns, even an actual machine gun that was raining hell upon two or three of my men that were crouched behind the engine block of a truck. This was clearly no spur of the moment decision.

Already, the number of my men was dwindling. My fingernails bit into my palms painfully as I watched two more of them go down, clutching their chest and arm respectfully. The one who had taken a hit to the chest only struggled for a moment, grabbing at the growing stain on his shirt, before he went still, unconscious or dead.

It was as I watched his struggles cease that I decided I had waited more than long enough. If Skidmark or Squealer were indeed here, then so be it. I was not going to sit idly by and watch those I had sworn to lead be slaughtered like dogs.

As my power boiled inside of me like the rage filling my veins, I decided not to give the Merchants the courtesy of a warning for what I was about to do. They had clearly already decided that stealing the ABB's drugs was more important than their own lives if they were so willing to take those of the people I had been tasked with protecting. I would show them just how foolish their decision was.

Mist surrounded me as I let my power loose, changing my form even as I sprung from the roof with an enhanced leap and a growl. My face twisted and morphed into a snarling muzzle filled with razor-sharp teeth while at the same time golden fur sprouted along my shifting body, a thick hide coming into being and protecting me from any and all harm that may come my way.

I landed behind the line of Merchants on all fours, my massive paws slapping against the concrete with an almost silent this despite the height I had leapt from. I wasted zero time before leaving into their ranks. I refused to let any more of my men die tonight.

I reached them in an instant, and one was sent away with a single swipe of my massive paws. Ignoring the shouts of panic that emerged from around me as they realized a massive beast was suddenly in their midst, I turned and clamped my jaws onto the calf of another druggie. I grimaced at the foul taste that filled my mouth, before turning to fling him bodily at another of his fellows, sending them both sprawling to the ground with the snap of breaking limbs.

The others were finally wising up to what was occurring now and turned their attention away from the remnants of my men to instead begin shooting at me. Their bullets splashed harmlessly against my golden pelt as I sprinted forward, my muscled limbs eating the distance between us in mere moments as I literally bowled them over, sending them sprawling to the ground, unable to rise again as I continued forward.

I turned and skidded to a halt, my claws kicking up sparks below me as I slowed myself down and came to a stop just in front of one of my down men. He looked up at me in fear and I spared him a momentary glance before looking back to the rest of the Merchants who had finally realized that there was an enemy cape in their midst. They looked unsure of what to do about that fact, their limited brain capacity working to decide if they should shoot her or flee.

While their drug-addled minds worked, I looked down at the man I was standing over, although calling him a man would be stretching it. He was younger than me, around sixteen or seventeen judging by the slight pudge to his cheeks. I frowned.

"Go." My voice was little more than a rumbling snarl, this form not at all suited for speech. I licked my chops, running my tongue over razor-sharp teeth, before repeating my command. "Go," I repeated, slightly clearer this time, "Try to rouse the wounded and leave. I'll handle this." I repeated, turning away from him as the Merchants seemed to rally themselves behind one particularly courageous individual. I frowned, eyes locking on to the man who was hyping them up. He looked cleaner than the rest of them and was wielding a well-kept rifle with a purple cloth tied to the stock. An officer, perhaps? He would be dealt with first.

I looked back to the wounded man, my frown deepening as I noticed he hadn't moved at all, "Why are you still here?"

He flinched at the growling tone in my voice, "I-I can't. I caught a bullet to the leg." He whimpered, voice clouded with pain.

Looking down, I saw he was right. I hadn't noticed it before, but his leg was laying limb underneath him, leaking blood rather profusely through his pants. It wasn't enough to indicate a severed artery, but it was still enough that standing on the leg would probably be a bad idea. I growled lightly at the injury, before turning to one of the men still crouched behind cover.

"You." I called out to him, causing him to look my way in surprise, "You and all those who can, gather the wounded and flee. I will take care of the Merchants and buy you time, understand?"

"Y-yes, Yosei-sama!" He nodded frantically, "But are you sure you can handle them?"

I scoffed at his words, turning back towards the line of Merchants who were beginning to aim at us once more. I narrowed my eyes, "I'll be fine. Now do as I said and get out of here."

Without waiting for a response from the man, I moved, charging towards the Merchants and eliciting shouts of surprise from the more panic prone members of their ranks.

"Shoot her!" The man I had singled out earlier shouted as I rapidly approached. The rapport of gunfire that followed was so loud it was nearly deafening and I felt my ears flatten to protect my hearing but didn't stop moving, just letting the bullets impact my pelt to no effect as always. As their magazines ran dry and the panic began to truly set in, I reached them, slamming into the leader of the pack and sending him to the ground with broken limbs.

Without anyone to lead them, I easily ran through their ranks, mopping them up in short order. There were around twenty-five or so when I had started and within less than a minute, that was reduced to less than ten. They had no answer for my impervious hide nor my immense strength and size, and soon enough I was faced with less than three Merchants to deal with out of the two dozen I had begun with.

One of them went down with a slash of my claws across his chest, slicing through his shirt and sending him to the ground in agony. I turned to the next, this one a woman with particularly greasy black hair. She had more fight in her than most, actually trying to cut me with a knife as I reached her, but I ignored her even more easily than the earlier bullets, swiping out with a paw across her head and flinging her to the floor, unconscious.

As that one fell, I turned to the last member. He seemed more sober than the rest though that may have been the adrenaline. He stared at me in terror as I deliberately stalked towards him, moving like a predator approaching its wounded prey, and as I did so, his fear reached its peak.

"Fuck this!" He shouted, throwing his weapon to the ground before sprinting in the opposite direction. He nearly tripped over one of his fallen fellows, but managed to right himself before he was sent sprawling and continued on his way.

I debated following him for a moment, but didn't get a chance to decide as another, much more important threat suddenly made itself known.

"What the fuck is going on out there!?" A loud voice rang out from the hole in the wall, "Why are all you cunt-munching shitheads making so much goddamn noise!? Do you want the heroes down here because if they do, I'm going to shove my foot up every single one of your cockholes!"

I looked towards the voice to find a man making his way from inside of the building. He was caked in filth and wearing a ragged costume including a dirty cape and half of a filthy baklava that allowed his chapped lips and chin to be visible.

Ah, I should have guessed. It made sense that an outing this large would have Skidmark's hand behind it. Normal Merchants weren't stupid enough to try and attack the ABB directly.

He stopped as he stepped onto the street, looking at the scene before him with a surprised gaze. His eyes locked onto me, standing among the carnage, and narrowed in anger.

"Who the fuck are you?" He called out to me as he walked forward, "Did you do this to my men?"

Ah, so it seemed that the powers of observation weren't lost to someone like him. How surprising.

I glared at the man as he approached "I am Yosei, Daughter and Heir to Lung." I rumbled as I stared him down, "And you have made a grave mistake tonight. You should have stayed in your ramshackled hovels and never cared to so blatantly attack the ABB."

Skidmark scoffed at my threat, "Yeah sure. Whatever you say, bitch. Oi, babe! Stop snorting shit and get your fine ass out here! We've got a guest!" He called back into the building, never taking his beady eyes off of me.

After a long moment of nothing happening, there was a loud rumble, like a truck engine being started magnified by ten. My eyes locked onto the hole and widened in disbelief as what looked like a massive, makeshift tank rolled from inside of the building. The remnants of the wall crumbled around its armored hull as it rolled forth, slowly creeping out of the building and into the street on massive black wheels.

The thing was an eyesore to look at, made with a variety of different metals that had been crudely welded together in various places. The armor plating on it was made of thick iron that had been bent to allow a rather long barrel to stick through the body. The entire thing was sitting on what looked like a normal vehicle chassis, with the point of connection being crafted in such a way that made it clear that it was built to swivel around.

Sitting in the cockpit–more of a reinforced glass box really–was a grease and oil-covered woman with long blonde hair and no seemingly sense of shame given her choice in clothing.

Her eyes looked around at the downed men before locking onto me, "Skiddy, who the fuck is this!? She took out all our men!"

"I can fucking see that!" Skidmark shouted back, "And that's Lung's goddamn daughter! Don't know why she's a lion or some shit but you heard what she's been doing!? Fought that New Wave bitch, those Nazi fucks, and now she's picking a fight with us! Bitch is crazy!"

Squealer's eyes widened at his words before a gleeful look came to her face, "Well let's fuck her up! You know I've been dying to test this baby out!"

"You read my mind!" Skidmark laughed, a gross, creepy thing that made my skin crawl, "Hey, Yasay or whatever. We're gonna use you as a live fire test! Hope you don't mind!"

It seemed that diplomacy was lost on the Merchants. Here I was, standing amongst the unconscious bodies of two dozen of their men and didn't have a scratch on me, and they still wished to fight.

Well, I certainly wasn't dissatisfied with this outcome. I wasn't likely to listen to any of their pleas for mercy anyway.

Not wasting another moment, I ignored Skidmark as he went to say something else that was likely to be just as crass as usual as I rushed towards the two Merchants, taking them by surprise.

Deeming him the smaller threat, I ran past Skidmark, ignoring his shout of anger as I charged at the tank instead. If I could deal with their firepower early on, then this battle would be over before it start-!

My thoughts froze and my eyes widened as I was suddenly slowed by some unknown force. It was as if the very air was pushing against me, attempting to force me back against my will and adding so much resistance that I couldn't move more than a few more feet before stopping dead in my tracks

Skidmark's powers! I looked down to find that the ground below me had shifted into a deep purple, the Shaker's power taking hold and attempting to move me in the opposite direction I was trying to go.

"You thought I was a joke, didn't you bitch?" The man laughed from behind me, causing me to look back. He gave me a rot-toothed grin, keeping his hands attached to the ground, "You aren't Lung, and I didn't last this long against cock-gobblers like you by being weak! Babe, get this cunt!"

"With pleasure!" I turned forward to find that Squealer had maneuvered the barrel of the tank in my direction, leaving me staring down its length.

I barely got the chance to widen my eyes and turn to the side before it fired with a loud bang that left my ears ringing. A massive ball of near-molten iron shot from the barrel at speeds that I was unable to comprehend, slamming into my body and sending me flying away at incredible speeds. As I flew, I felt my ribs creak from the sheer force of the impact, moments before I slammed into a brick wall hard enough to break straight through it

Debris flew around my body as my furry form smashed into the ground, smacking against my fur with what felt like light taps compared to what I had just experienced. I groaned, curling in on myself slightly at the pain I was feeling. The Nemean Lion was famously weak to blunt force trauma, and that was translating perfectly to me right now. If that attack had been even a little stronger, I was sure my bones would be powder right now.

"How's that taste, bitch?" I just barely heard Squealer's shout of victory from behind the ringing in my ears, "That was over forty pounds of pure metal propelled at supersonic speeds straight to your fucking body! That's what you get for fucking with the us!"

"Good shit, babe! Now let's deal with the rest of these cunts and get out of here!"

"'Kay Skiddy!"

I growled at the words uttered by the gang leader, before shaking my head free of starts and rising to all four feet once more. My ribs screamed at me to stop but I ignored them, instead rushing out of the hole that I had made in the building and into the cool night beyond. My eyes locked onto my target and narrowed in rage.

Both Skidmark and Squealer had turned away from me and towards my still-fleeing men instead, no doubt believing me defeated and that they were free to do as they wished to my men. I would divest them of that belief.

My massive paws slammed into the concrete as I sprinted forward, a snarl on my face as I crossed the several meters between myself and the duo in mere seconds. Skidmark heard me approach and began to turn, but he wasn't able to do anything but widen his eyes as I was suddenly in her face, slashing out at his chest with my claws.

Blood flew in the air as my razor-sharp weapons cut through his costume and into his skin. He gave a shout of agony mixed with a healthy amount of expletives, staggering away and throwing his arm out in the same motion. Purple fields appeared on the ground in front of me but I was too close to him at this point, and they failed to push me away before I landed my next attack. Skidmark's stumbling retreat turned into a tumble as I scored a massive gash in his right thigh, cutting through skin and meat and stopping just before the bone.

"Skiddy!" Squealer shouted in horror as she saw what I had done.

"AHH! You stupid bitch!" Skidmark screamed in agony as his leg gave out beneath him, sending him to the ground. He turned towards the tank, eyes filled with rage as I approached his down form, "The fuck are you doing!? SHOOT her goddamnit!"

I turned my head at the whirring of motors, narrowing my eyes as the tank began to move its barrel in my direction again. Not giving her a chance to get a bead on me, I ran in a zig-zag pattern, making my movements intentionally difficult to follow as I rushed towards her at full speed.

"Stay still so I can shoot you, you bitch!" The woman shouted as she tried to follow me with the unwieldy weapon. As I had suspected, this vehicle wasn't meant for single combat against a cape of my size. It was likely meant to be a physical deterrent against vehicles and the larger capes in the bay or simply used as an overcomplicated breaching tool as they had shown with the storehouse.

Perhaps they expected my father to show up and were intending to use the tank as cover for a defensive retreat, firing and keeping him at bay while they retreated back into their territory or waited for the protectorate to handle his wrath. It was too bad for them that I showed up instead.

As I finally got close enough, I lept upwards and onto the rusted hull of the tank. Squealer screamed in surprise and fear as we were suddenly face to face, staring at one another from mere feet away and only separated by a thick layer of glass that she likely knew as well as I wouldn't stop me in the slightest. She reached down and to her right, likely to grab something to fend me off, but I wasn't here for her. Not yet at least.

Instead, I moved towards the main weapon, crouching over the massive barrel of the tank and rearing a paw back. With a grunt, I swung my claws down at the weapon, severing the rusted metal cleanly near the base and rendering it completely inoperable.

"NOO! YOU BITCH!" Squealer screamed in rage as I destroyed her work. I looked back at a metal click and found that she had opened her cockpit and was currently pointing a sawed-off shotgun at my face in a blind rage. The moment our eyes met, she pulled the trigger, sending a blast of molten lead straight into my face. I didn't make any attempt to dodge, instead just staring at the woman passively as the bullets scattered along my invincible pelt.

That only seemed to make her even angrier, and her next scream was one of wordless rage as she shot me once more, the attack having the exact same effect as before. Squealer cursed and moved to reload her weapon but I didn't give her the chance. This had gone on for more than long enough.

I bounded forward towards her, rearing a paw back and swinging it forward. I kept my claws sheathed as I aimed for the Tinker's head with the massive limb and as I connected, a meaty thump emanated from the point of contact. Squealer's head jerked to the side and her eyes rolled into her head before she slumped forward, her shotgun falling from her limp fingers as she was sent into the land of dreams.

Making sure that she was actually unconscious, I turned away from the woman to survey the battlefield. It seemed that my men had finally managed to escape as they were no longer anywhere in sight. Neither were the dead, as a matter of fact. They must have taken them as well, to get them help or simply to remove evidence, I didn't know.

In fact, the only one who was still present was Skidmark who had maneuvered himself up against a car and was currently attempting to stand up on his bad leg. That wouldn't do.

In one mighty leap, I jumped on top of Skidmark, ignoring his shout of pain and anger as I sent him to the ground, placing both of my paws on his arms to prevent him from moving his hands.

He glared up at me, his eyes filled with rage as his chapped lips spewed a colorful variety of hateful curses and slurs my way, squirming and writhing in an attempt to free himself. It was extremely annoying and, feeling more than a little vindictive after everything he had done, I decided to ensure that even if he somehow managed to get free, his powers would be all but useless to him.

His bones shattered easily as I purposefully put more weight on them, snapping like twigs underneath my heavy paws. He let out a shrill scream and his cursing became even more intense and vitriolic as he let his hate for my actions and myself be known, causing a small amount of satisfaction to leak past my anger for him.

That didn't last long however, and soon my thoughts turned inwards as I stared at this disgusting insect, wondering what I should do with the man and his partner.

The Merchants were a blight on the city and everyone knew it. They were parasites, sucking the life out of the downtrodden and pushing them down a self-destructive path. The drugs they ran were regulated poorly and of even poorer quality, meant to be sold cheap and plentiful. Nobody would miss them.

Not to mention, they had already killed several of my men, even if just as a byproduct of their actions tonight, and clearly had no issue with ordering their men to take out the rest. What would stop them from simply coming back with some new contraption that Squealer managed to put together with rusted cogs and frayed wires? What would stop them from returning and killing even more of the people I was meant to protect?

The Merchants weren't the Empire. There would be no fear of reprisal if I were to destroy their leadership. Sure, the Protectorate may take some issue with it, but I sincerely doubted they would risk an open conflict with the ABB over Skidmark and Squealer of all people.

What, other than my admittedly loose morals, was stopping me from killing them right here and now and ridding us of the potential issues altogether?

The answer to my silent question came in the form of a voice from on high. Not a god or anything even slightly similar, but certainly someone who would make my decision that much easier to make.

"Yosei! Step away from Skidmark immediately!"

My gaze rose to the speaker of the command and I was met with an armored teenager on a hoverboard flying high in the night sky. Despite being silhouetted by moonlight and thus harder to see, he was extremely easy to identify from his glowing red armor and the futuristic pistol in his hand.

Kid Win, one of the many Wards that called the Bay their home. And where one Ward is, more are close behind. A cursory scan of the rooftops revealed nothing, no figures standing out in my vision nor my-wait.

I narrowed my eyes, focusing my gaze. There, in the shadow of an air conditioner, a figure cloaked in darkness was pointing some sort of weapon right at me. A small movement and a stray beam of moonlight caught their mask, revealing an expressionless silver face that glared back at me from underneath a hood. Shadow Stalker. It seemed my hunch was correct.

She would be an issue. Her powers would likely allow her bolts to completely ignore my impervious hide and strike at my insides directly. Of course, that was only if we actually fought.

"Step away from him! I won't ask again!" Kid Win's voice came from above once more, the false timbre of a child trying to be commanding. I glanced up at him, unable to read his features shadowed by his helmet, before slowly stepping off of Skidmark's broken arms.

He screamed in pain at the crunching of bones, "You cheap, cock-sucking whore! I swear to god I'm gonna shove my foot up your ass you stupid fucking-!"

A swift but deliberate strike of my paw across his face shut him up. His head lolled, a stream of blood escaping his mouth as he was forced into unconsciousness with a low moan of pain.

"Hey!" Kid Win shot down from the sky, coming to hover just a few feet off the ground between Skidmark and I as he pointed his pistol at me, "Back up! Now!"

There was a surprisingly little amount of fear in his voice despite the way that he glanced towards the carnage I had wrought on the Merchant's ranks. Out of respect, and because there was no reason not to at this point, I followed his command, stepping off of Skidmark's broken limbs and away from the downed cape.

Almost immediately, he dropped down to kneel behind Skidmark, reaching a hand into the utility belt at his waist and retrieving a long roll of gauze that he began using to staunch the still-bleeding wound I had left in the man's thigh.

As he worked, I released my hold on my powers. As it stood, this current form was insufficient if I were to get into a conflict with these two. My feline form slipped away, leaving me bipedal once more. A light tiredness set into my limbs, an exhaustion born of my powers rather than the late hour, but I didn't let it show, instead staying calm and composed as I settled into a more diplomatic stance, resting my hands in front of me as I usually did.

"Kid Win." I greeted the teen amicably, "It is good to see that the heroes of this city can respond so fast to such an event. It hasn't even been more than twenty minutes by my reckoning, since this all began."

"Yeah well, we were already out and about. Yours isn't the only issue we've had to deal with tonight." he said quietly as he finished tying off the tourniquet and stood once more. I raised an intrigued eyebrow at his words but no explanation came.

As he stowed the gauze away, the space beside him warped in an unnatural way and suddenly another child appeared, this one much shorter and wearing a costume of swirling greens and whites. Vista. One of the more irritating members of their team simply due to the sheer havoc she could wreak on one's sense of the battlefield. Her appearance only solidified my earlier decision. Combined with Shadow Stalker's potential ability to break through my cloak, this had suddenly become a fight I would have had difficulty winning in my earlier form.

That being said, there was a possibility that, should we battle, this still might not go so well for me. Changing into such a powerful form without a potent threat to myself present had depleted a great deal of my mist and even the appearance of the Wards had not done much to replenish it. Unless something changed, I would be limited in the forms I could tap into unless the battle wore on for much longer than I would care for.

Diplomacy was key here it seemed. It would be best to comply to the best of my abilities for the moment.

As I thought to myself, Kid Win looked at his shorter compatriot and she answered his unasked question, "It's just her, no one else is around. Probably came as soon as she heard the explosion like we did and didn't have a chance to call for backup."

"She is partially correct." I suddenly spoke up, not content to be left out of a conversation pertaining to me, "Several of my men were wounded or killed in this skirmish. They have been removed from the battlefield so that we can properly identify them and their potential mourners." A bit of a white lie, but it wasn't like they would know.

Kid Win's shoulders stiffened slightly, and he tilted his head to the side as if he was listening to someone. Likely someone back at base telling him how to handle this situation.

"You aren't supposed to do that." He said after a moment. I narrowed my eyes at him but he continued, "But considering everything that's gone on tonight, we're going to give you a pass. Please vacate the area immediately and leave the Merchants to us."

His voice was slightly tense, unsure, as if he didn't know how to go about the task of speaking in such a commanding way. He clearly wasn't normally the leader when it came to outings like this.

"And if I don't?" I asked, more out of curiosity than anything else. They tensed at my words, and I looked towards the tank that Squealer was slumped on top of, "These two are responsible for the deaths of several of my men. Leaving such a slight unpunished would make me a bad leader."

Kid Win didn't say anything for a moment, which I took to mean that he was once again listening to his little friend in his headset, "Because if you don't, we'll be forced to fight you. Right now, we've been given orders to allow you to leave without a fight but we have permission to engage if need be."

"Miss Militia and Velocity are currently heading this way as well." Vista piped up, staring at me challengingly, "I doubt you want to be here when they show up."

I huffed in amusement. Even the Nemean Lion would likely be enough to handle both of the individuals suggested and more heroes arriving would just increase my power even further, giving me more forms to choose from. There was no reason to antagonize the already on edge junior heroes.

I looked behind them as Skidmark groaned, feeling my distaste for the man swell once more, "Will you ensure they are properly contained? I do not wish to reenact this night because you failed to keep the two of them in the proper confinement."

"We aren't at liberty to discuss the containment procedures that we employ." Kid Win stated almost automatically, as if he had recited the words, "But with how they are now, I doubt we'll have any issue."

I stared at him for a long moment, judging the truthfulness of his statement. After a moment, I nodded, "Very well then. I leave them in your capable hands." I gave them a short bow, hiding my grimace of pain at the action before stepping back.

Mist seeped from my body as I rose to my full height, causing them to tense slightly, "Please enjoy the rest of your night, heroes. Farewell."

With that final goodbye, I allowed my transformation to take hold. Surging from the mist on powerful, flapping wings, I soared upwards and away from the area of conflict before the heroes had a chance to do much more than gasp in surprise at my abrupt exit.

It was unfortunate that I had to leave behind the stockpile held within that building, but it was lost to us the moment that the heroes found out about it. The loss wasn't a small one, but neither was it major. We would simply have to eat the hit to our stockpile and recoup the losses in whatever way we could.

As I flew away, my enhanced hearing just barely managed to catch the beginnings of a conversation on the wind.

"I think we could have taken her." The gruff, slightly edged voice could only belong to Shadow Stalker. It seemed that she was displeased with the way they had handled the situation. How unfortunate for her.

"Yeah, well I didn't want to find out and we had orders not to engage anyway. But hey, if you want to chase after her, be my guest. I'm sure your shadow form would stand up great against whatever she did to Hookwolf." Vista's voice shot right back.

I was too far away to hear the cloaked girl's response, but I felt a small amount of amusement at the Shaker's words. It seemed like their earlier words to me might have held little truth to them. It was unlikely that either Miss Militia or Velocity were in the area at all.

Despite the lie, I didn't turn to go back and take care of the Merchants as I originally wanted to. They were in the hands of the heroes and fighting children in order to execute two drug addicts was not something I had any desire to do.

I'd had more than enough fighting for tonight.

~~~

My home was dark and completely silent as I walked in the front door. This late at night, even the staff had long since retired to their own homes and left a wonderfully clean, but slightly empty dwelling in their wake. I pulled my hood off of my head, having long since divested myself of my costume in favor of something more comfortable, before making my way to the kitchen.

It was well after four in the morning at this point so there was no reason to go to bed now unless I wished to sleep through the day. A cup of tea would revitalize me and help me stay awake long enough to get an early start on the day's work, at which point I was sure my body would realize I had no intention of sleeping any time soon and simply keep me awake as always.

It was almost certainly unhealthy, but some sacrifices had to be made.

As I watched the pot of water heat up atop the stove, I reached into a nearby cupboard to grab the things I needed to prepare my drink. As I gathered them and set them to the side, my thoughts strayed back to what had happened tonight.

Both Skidmark and Squealer were now in the hands of the authorities. Kid Win had mirrored my earlier thoughts when he had said they would likely stay that way as well. It was unlikely that any of their number would be coming to break them out unless they were hiding another, much more competent cape in their ranks who would be able to rally that admittedly large number of Merchants to attempt a jailbreak.

In other words, as it stood, the Merchants were akin to a chicken with its head cut off, floundering and running around without the knowledge that it was already dead.

Sure, some more enterprising individuals may attempt to rise up and take command of the remnants of the gang, but without a cape there was little chance that they would be successful. Say what you will about Skidmark and Squealer, but as foul-mouthed and wretched as they may be, their powers were not weak. They were just foolish in how they chose to employ them.

It seemed that was common in most capes apparently. There were a number of parahumans in the Bay who could be potent force multipliers if they simply applied themselves differently and yet they didn't. Truly a shame.

Once the dust settled and the Merchant's ashes cooled, the rest of the city would swoop in like carrions and claim whatever they could of the leftover territory, or the little they even had at least. The ABB was no exception to this, adding yet another fight we would have to fight on when we inevitably came into conflict with the people who wished to take a slice of the pie. Another conflict to join this upcoming war with the Empire.

I couldn't help but frown as I took the pot off of the heat to begin preparing my tea. I would never imagine going against my father's wishes, but a small part of me in the back of my mind was beginning to wonder if Hiashi might have been right.

I knew my father, and so I knew that even this wouldn't deter him from war with the Empire. That was just who he was at his core, never one to back down from a challenge, no matter how large and even despite the dangers to himself and those around him, if there was even the thinnest possibility that he may come out on top.

He may cherish me above all else and I him, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't lead the ABB to near-destruction to sate his desires. Were those same desires going to be the end of all that he had built, putting all of those that we were tasked with leading and protecting in danger?

Unbidden, my mind flashed back to the scene at the storehouse. My men, dead or dying in their defense of our territory. Shot dead in a minor scuffle against the Merchants of all people. The drug addicts could barely hold a gun, much less shoot straight half of the time. How would they have fared against the Empire? The Empire who had access to much better munitions and training?

I doubted I would have gotten there in time to save even as few as I had.

I shook my head, pushing the traitorous thoughts away. I wouldn't let what Hiashi had said get to me. I was my father's second-in-command as well as his daughter. That meant that it was my job to see his desires fulfilled despite my feelings in the matter.

If war with the Empire was truly inevitable, then I would do my best to make sure it ended as quickly as possible, with the least amount of damage incurred to our ranks and resources as I could manage. It was all I could do at the moment.

I sighed, taking a sip of my tea, "This is going to be a mess. I can feel it."

Suddenly, the loud tap of a shoe deliberately being smacked against the tiled kitchen floor rang through the silent night. Startled by the noise, I whipped my head to the entrance of the kitchen, my powers jumping underneath my skin as I was met with a thin man dressed in a dark suit. Dark circles bulged underneath his eyes, indicating the near constant lack of sleep and yet his hair was as neat and orderly as it always was, even his thin beard trimmed to perfection.

His dead eyes stared at me silently and I placed a hand to my chest to calm my beating heart as I recognized him. "Lee. You startled me." I greeted the man, eying him warily, "You usually don't visit so late unless it's important. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

For a long moment, he just stared at me, fixing me with that eerie gaze of his that never seemed to brighten or change in any way, remaining the same dull, lifeless black that they always were.

And then he spoke, and I was just barely able to keep a hold of my cup at the words that came out of the normally silent man's mouth. It was nothing but four simple words, and yet they sent my head spinning and my heart racing with panic and fear all the same.

"Lung-sama has been captured."

---

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[Sadguychet]

My father's office felt even more empty than it usually did when he wasn't here. It seemed colder… more lifeless, despite the fact that there were currently three bodies occupying its rather large space.

I ran my hand along the varnished wood of his desk, the space seeming empty without his massive arms resting up on its surface next to his mask, and clenched my fists, a severe frown coming to my face. Never in my life had I imagined that he would ever be captured in such a manner. I always imagined I would be able to see the bout that found him incarcerated from miles away, plumes of fire and ash rising high into the sky as he fought to his last.

Instead, he was captured with nary a roar splitting the sky, stolen into the clutches of the Protectorate thanks to the efforts of a lone cape.

Taking a small breath to calm myself, I turned to one of the other two people in the room, "Lee, you said you know who is responsible for his capture. Describe her to me."

Lee inclined his head slightly, answering in a deadened tone, "I saw her but she is not known to us. She is an insect controller. Tall and female with curly black hair. Her costume is clearly professional. Grey and black panels with an insect-like mask with yellow lenses." He recited, staring into the distance as he recalled.

I stared at him for a long moment, barely believing what I just heard, "Did you say insect control?"

He nodded and the disbelief filling me grew. Insect control. My father, a man who went toe-to-toe with the creature that had sent our country soaring to the bottom of the ocean with its mere presence alone, was bested by someone who could control insects. How?

Lee had said she wore a professional costume. Was she an out-of-towner? Had she come to this city specifically seeking out my father to prove her worth, or was she simply a new cape who happened to get extremely lucky during her first bout?

I believed one's power was only as weak as the wielder's imagination. Skidmark was one such example, a potentially potent power wasted on a foul-mouthed drug addict. Even so, the idea that someone like my father was beaten by someone who could insects of all things, no matter how many, somewhat stretched my belief.

I shook my head. No, that didn't matter now. Unbelievable or not, that didn't change the fact that my father was beaten, and this mysterious woman was the person responsible.

I turned my gaze back to Lee, " Did she have any overt affiliations? Did anybody come to her aid during the bout or even after?"

"Oh come on!" The other person in the room suddenly spoke up, a scowl on her face, "Some random chick shows up while Lung-sama's chasing after those dumbasses who stole from us! It's obvious she's with the Undersiders! Why else would she stick her neck out for them against him of all people!?"

I looked at Lee and he nodded his head, "She spoke to the thieves after Lung-sama was defeated. I was not able to hear what they were speaking about before I was forced to flee from approaching heroes."

"See!? She's clearly with them!" Alice continued, a glint of excitement in her eyes, "I say we go after them and take them out for what they did. The heroes won't be able to move Lung-sama anytime soon anyway. They usually don't have the stuff on hand to transport super powerful capes and have to get it shipped in from out of the city. That gives us plenty of time to find the Undersiders' little hidey hole and flush me out like the rats they are!"

"We don't know that though." I interjected, "It's easily possible that they have the equipment on hand for this specific occasion. My father has never been captured like this before but he is likely one of the highest priority targets in the city alongside Kaiser. Likely even moreso. It would be foolish not to have anything to contain him already prepared.

"No, the Undersiders will have to wait. Our first priority is getting my father back, then we can deal with the thieves. What we need to focus on now is a plan of attack."

Almost immediately, Alice spoke up again, the earlier gleam in her eye coming back tenfold, "Oh, in that case, I've already got one."

I raised a brow, "Already? By all means, let's hear it."

Alice's smile widened into a maniacal grin, "I've been working on some new designs here recently. Stuff made to be detonated from nearly anywhere in the city at the push of a button. No more fuses, no more timers. If you give me a few hours, I can modify some of the ones I set aside for the Empire with the same modification."

The gleam grew once more, "If you can fly over the Rig without being seen and drop a few of those bad boys on their shield, I can knock it down in a few shots and after that, we just need to blow a massive hole in whichever part of the prison Lung-sama's being kept in and get out of there while the heroes are still scrambling to put their boots on. Nobody will be able to stop us while their base is coming down around their ears!"

Shock and awe. An extremely loud way to go about things, but one that could also feasibly work given the right circumstances. Unfortunately, just like everything the woman suggested, it was overkill.

I shook my head, causing Alice's grin to fall almost immediately, "Your plan has some merit, Alice, but we are trying to break him free, not acquire the ire of the entire hero population of the city. We need a plan that will minimize possible casualties."

Alice rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and leaning on the desk, clearly annoyed that I had shot down her plan so quickly, "Okay then, you got any better ideas, Hime?"

I held back a scowl at her words, "As a matter of fact, I believe I do."

Somewhat. There really wasn't any way that we would be able to free my father while staying undetected. Only Lee's power lended itself even slightly to stealth as my own actually had prerequisites before I would have any suitable forms. The only way we were going to do this was by being loud. Deliberately loud, yet much more controlled than what Alice had suggested.

"I suggest a bait and switch." I said to the expectant Alice, causing her to blink, "One of us distracts the majority of the heroes while the others take care of the actual breakout. If done right, there shouldn't be more than two or three heroes remaining inside while the rest of them deal with the disturbance we will deliberately be making."

"And I'm guessing you're the one who's going to be making the disturbance?" Alice asked rhetorically. I nodded. "I thought so. You think you're strong enough to go up against basically the entire Protectorate by yourself?"

"My father was, and my power has the potential to be much more potent than even his." I bit my lip, "Depending on the number of heroes who respond, it's very likely I'll be able to access my most powerful forms."

"And they're strong enough to take on, what? Twelve heroes at once?" She asked, stepping closer to me in challenge.

I thought back to the last time I had that much power at my disposal. My mind went back to the feeling of the torrential rains soaking me to the bone. Went back to the panic filling my mind that was only exacerbated by the incredible potent yet unfamiliar power coursing my body and most importantly, the helplessness I felt despite it all as glowing green eyes caught my own from so far away through the downpour.

These heroes weren't that monster. They couldn't wash away cities with a swipe of their hands or shrug off powers from some of the strongest capes across the planet. They were human. They could be beaten instead of just forced away.

"I can." I answered Alice's question, resolute in my belief. The woman stared into my eyes for a long moment, before clicking her tongue and stepping back.

As she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, I took that as a sign to continue, "We will take the rest of today to prepare and strike first thing tomorrow morning, when they are likely to be most unaware. Just the three of us. We'll strike suddenly and be gone just as fast with my father in tow."

I thought for a moment, "As far as we know, the Protectorate does not know the specifics of my power. When I arrive, they will doubtlessly respond in force which means you should only be dealing with unpowered individuals inside of the base itself. Meanwhile, the amount of forms I will have access to should be more than sufficient to hold the heroes at bay while the two of you handle whoever doesn't respond. I'm sure that between Lee's martial skill and your bombs, nobody will be able to stop you from freeing my father."

I looked towards them for their opinion on my tentative plan. Lee's face was placid as always, but there was agreement in his eyes as he nodded his head.

"And what happens if you get caught? Are we gonna have to stage another rescue just to get you out too?" Alice suddenly spoke up, somewhat challengingly.

"I won't be." I said simply, "But if I am, your priority is my father. Do not concern yourselves with me until he is back to where he belongs."

I stared into Alice's eyes, "I assume you won't have any issues with that?"

The woman held my gaze for a long moment, before, surprisingly, a grin split her face, "No, none at all. At the very least, it'll give me a chance to finally show you what I'm actually capable of."

Oh? I wasn't under the impression that she cared about my opinion of her power. Perhaps I had been wrong.

"I'm sure you'll impress me." I said, for lack of anything better to say, "Now then, are we all on the same page on what the plan is? No questions or concerns?"

Lee was silent as always while Alice wasn't even paying attention to me anymore, staring off into space as she muttered something to herself, eyes flicking back and forth as if she was reading something I couldn't see. Right, for all the woman was a pain in my rear, she was still a Tinker and as such, was affected by their little habits.

Either way she was clearly on board. That's all I needed to know right now.

"Alright then. Begin your preparations, I have some of my own to make."

~~~ Later That Night ~~~

The first step of what we were about to do was to inform the Faces. The ABB rarely made this much noise pertaining to the heroes, and so it was always good to let those who were important enough know at least the broad aspects of what we were doing.

Calling a meeting so suddenly and at such an hour doubtlessly ruffled a few feathers, but they all knew better than to even think about sitting the meeting out under the thon excuse of having some important matter to attend to or something similarly asinine.

Of course, they were all more than a little surprised to find that I was the one who called the meeting instead of my father, but didn't make much of a fuss as they sat in their designated places.

I looked out over them all from my place at the center of the room, taking in the aged faces of those under me. My eyes momentarily strayed to the empty seat on Sadao's left, and I lightly shook my head. We still hadn't had time to replace Kaito with everything that had been happening.

I doubted we would any time soon truth be told. The amount of people suited for his position were few and far between and with loyalties being called into question as they were…

But that was neither here nor there. I had much bigger things to worry about at the moment than who would take up the position that had been empty for over three months.

I cast my gaze out at the room, a thin frown on my lips, "As you all know, our leader has been captured. Currently the ABB is without its head and that is unsustainable." I looked around at the gathered Faces, their expressions just as grim as my own, "As of right now, I am in charge, and I declare our first priority is restoring proper leadership."

All non-essential operations will be put on hold for the moment until we retrieve him. Protection fees will be collected as normal, Drugs will continue to be sold but relocating them will have to wait, while brothel operations shall cease entirely. The last thing we need right now is for someone to slip up and expose the locations to the heroes. The entire ABB will be on standby until further notice."

One of the Faces looked ready to speak at that, I turned to him, incoming my head in his direction, "Sadao, you have concerns."

The elderly man nodded his head, "I do, Yosei-sama. We've already used quite a large amount of our quarterly budget preparing for this little scuffle with the Empire. If we halt these operations as you are suggesting, we will surely begin operating at a loss in less than a month."

"Then that is what we'll do." I said simply, "Returning my father to his rightful place takes priority above all else. If we must lose a few hundred thousand dollars to do so, then so be it. I have little doubt a man such as yourself will be able to minimize the damage."

The man took the blatant compliment with grace, smiling at my words, "As you say, Yosei-sama. I'll do my best to ensure we do not pull ourselves under."

"Good. Hopefully, you will not need to work long. We have already come up with a tentative plan as to how we are going to break my father free of the heroes' clutches." I looked out at the rest of the room, "Of course, the specifics will remain secret for now, but rest assured that if everything goes according to plan, it shall be as if he had never left in the first place."

"Excuse me, Yosei-sama, but if I may ask." Takao spoke up from his seat. I suppressed a small scowl at the man's tone, respectful but just the slightest bit condescending, as if he was putting on a veneer of respect for myself and my position, "Why are we not privy to the details of your plan? Would it not be better to know what you are getting into and how it will affect the gang as a whole? Is there going to be collateral? Are we going to lose men? What are we going to be dealing with here in terms of logistics?"

The other Faces echoed their own agreements, wondering why they were being left out on such crucial intel, and I cast a look towards Takao, narrowing my eyes severely.

With a single raise of my hand, the room went silent, nobody daring to make another sound as I called for their collective attention.

After making sure that I had it, I lowered my hand, speaking loudly and clearly, "You don't need to know the specifics of my plan because it does not concern you. It is that simple. Whether or not you have any information regarding what we plan to do has no beating on its success and in fact, your knowledge may well be a detriment to it instead."

My words caused a small uproar within the men gathered, their shrewd minds reading into the subtext of what I had just said, knowing that I had all but blatantly called them untrustworthy.

I watched the scene play out, taking in the outrage present on some of their faces, namely Takao and Aoi. The former made sense. Aoi had always been more hot headed than most and so his outrage was understandable, if not expected, Takao though…

The man was slightly pale, studying me with much more scrutiny than ever before. I stared back at him placidly, not breaking eye contact, and his eyes widened minutely, before he glanced away in a hurry, staring down at his lap to avoid my gaze.

That right there was all I needed to truly confirm my suspicions. It was a shame that it had to happen at a time such as this, but just that alone put any remaining whisper of a doubt of the man's failing loyalties to rest. While there was nothing I could do about it at the moment, I allowed myself a small bit of satisfaction at spooking the man so thoroughly.

Turning my attention back to the room at large, I slowly raised my hand once more and all noise immediately ceased. I left it there for a moment, before slowly lowering them and looking out over the men with a placid gaze.

"I understand that my words have upset some of you and for that I am sorry. However that is simply the way that it has to be. Rest assured, my plan is one that will have little effect upon the ABB at large apart from my absence and above all else, it should not take more than a few hours at most."

That seemed to pacify some of them. The knowledge that whatever I was going to do wouldn't affect the gang as a whole likely made them feel much better about the whole situation.

Of course, I wasn't going to tell them that there was a possibility that I or even Alice and Lee might be captured, thus depriving the ABB of even more manpower. That would just be foolish. Besides, I already had a plan for that as well.

"If, by some unfortunate circumstance, something does occur in the hopefully short amount of time that I am away and Lee is not available, you are all to defer to Hiashi. He will be the de facto leader in mine and my father's stead."

My words surprised all of those present and none more than Hiashi himself. It made sense, considering that we hadn't spoken as friends since the incident earlier that week, but he got over his surprise quickly, bowing his head low as his compatriots looked towards him in shock.

"I will do best to live up to your expectations, Yosei-sama." He said dutifully, causing me to nod in satisfaction.

"I'm sure you will. And as for the rest of you," I looked towards the rest of her men, "Do not cause a ruckus. No disturbances should be reported while I am away. If there is another incursion while I am gone then by all means, fight it off, but you are not yo stir the pot any more than it already has been, am I clear?"

My tone brooked no disobedience, cold and unyielding as I channeled every bit of leadership I had learned over the course of the past few months into my voice and posture. It worked to cow those of them who would have otherwise spoken up and so, despite their displeasure, all of the men present nodded their assent with my decision.

I looked around, meeting each of their eyes one by one, before slowly nodding, masking the nervousness I felt at what we were about to do.

"Very well then, meeting adjourned. If you have need of me, I'll be in my office."

---

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[Sadguychet]

Even after Kyushu fell to that monster, I had always thought the ocean was quite beautiful. Peaceful even. There was something calming in the smooth motion of the waves, the tranquil push and pull as the moon worked its magic on the planet's vast ocean, and to this day, I was often soothed while viewing it.

Unfortunately, today was not one of those days.

The dark waters of the ocean rolled softly under the moonlight as I stared out at the bright, glowing bubble that was suspended several dozen meters above the sea, lighting the starry sky around the structure a dark blue. It was a distinctly peaceful atmosphere, though on this particular night that did nothing to soothe my frayed nerves.

Footsteps emerged from the darkness behind me, breaking me out of my thoughts. I didn't turn as they stopped beside me, Bakuda crossing her arms as she stood on my right to enjoy the same sight I was.

"Looks tacky." She commented, staring at the Rig. Silently, I agreed with her. The massive shield that the heroes had erected around their base took away from the beauty of the ocean around it.

Still, "Don't lie. You would do the exact same thing if you had the materials and the ability."

Bakuda snorted, her voice slightly distorted, "Oh trust me. I have the ability. Materials? Not just yet."

I didn't comment on her words, instead finally turning away from the ocean to look at the woman herself. I paused slightly as I took her in, "You've upgraded your costume." I commented, looking over the much more professional attire that the woman was wearing, "It suits you."

I couldn't see Bakuda's face but her pleasure with my comment leaked through her voice, "I thought I was overdue for an upgrade and this seemed like the perfect field test. I've been working on this outfit for over a month now and just finished it up the other night."

Her work clearly showed. What she was wearing right now was a far cry from the amateurish costume that she had been wearing thus far. The entire ensemble was a mix of steely grays and blacks, blending in with the darkness incredibly well. Her simple bulletproof vest had been traded for a sleek, but slightly bulky top that was covered by a criss-crossing set of bandoliers, numerous grenades holstered in its straps. Thick leather gloves and boots covered her hands and feet, clearly made for durability more than anything fashionable though they still somehow worked, and numerous blinking tools sat on her belt.

Her mask was probably the most overt change. Where before it had been a simple gas mask, it was now a full face mask with bright red, opaque goggles that shone in the dim light. My sharp eyes could just barely make out the soft glow of light peeking out from underneath the edges of her mask, indicating that she had some sort of LEDs within, likely something to do with her bombs.

"Oh, yeah. Here." The woman broke me out of my thoughts as she reached behind her and retrieved something, "This should deal with the shield for long enough for us to do what we need to do."

She held it out for me to take. It was a dark grey, beeping box that was around the size of a brick and at least twice as heavy, "What is it?" I asked as I took it.

"A bomb."

I just stared at her, not in the mood for jokes at the moment. Bakuda tilted her head in a way that I could tell was her rolling her eyes before explaining, "It's a delayed charge EMP. It won't activate until it comes into contact with something with high enough voltage, i.e, the shield. If you fly above and drop that thing on top, the detonation should bring the whole shield down along with the grid it's attached to."

She shrugged, "Can't do anything if they have backup generators though. That shit's usually not even connected to the grid until it turns on so you're on your own with that one."
I nodded slowly as I stowed the bomb away in my costume, "Hmm, that's fine. I should have a solution for that. Where's Lee?"

The moment his name exited my lips, there was a light thump further into the warehouse. I turned to find that the man in question had appeared, standing slightly in the shadows and leaving only his bright red mask visible.

"Lee." I greeted the man, "I assume everything is prepared on your end?'

He gave me a swift nod and I let out a breath, turning to look at the glowing Rig once more as I began to gather my power within me, "Good. And I assume you both know the plan?"

They both nodded and Bakuda bright a hand to the side of her mask, "You'll break the shield and keep the heroes occupied while me and the Oni will take care of breaking Lung-sama out. Once we get a good distance away from the Rig, I'll shoot up a flare and you'll get out of there."

It was barely a plan, but it was the best they had at the moment so it would have to do. I nodded slowly, turning my eyes back to the glowing building in the center of the sea. My eyes narrowed and my lips thinned as I prepared my power, "Then let's begin."

No use in delaying. The sooner we got this done, the sooner my father returned to his rightful place.

~~~ Private Andrews ~~~

Private Timothy Andrews had always been a night owl. Even when he was young, being awake in the earliest hours of the morning had always felt much more natural than the reverse and that hadn't changed at all with age. That was why, when he was given the choice between doing a nightwatch on the Rig or being on the day team later that afternoon, he eagerly took the former. It wasn't like he had to do anything but stand around and look busy on the night shift anyway.

Though, as he stood on the balcony overlooking the sprawling deck of the Rig, he would admit that it could be a little boring at times. Thankfully, he had one of his best buddies to keep him company.

"You know, my wife's taken up some weird hobbies here recently." James broke the silence between them with idle chatter. The two of them were leaning up against the railing of the balcony, Andrews with a cigarette in his mouth and James with a tired look on his face that was currently twisted in amusement.

"What's she on this time?" Andrews asked, "Last time you told me she was doing that keto diet, right?"

James snorted, "Yeah, for a week. Turns out she loves a good burger just as much as I do. Who would've thought, huh? No, she's doing yoga now. Can you believe that? That woman hates working out as much as I hate doing laundry."

Andrews chuckled, shaking his head, "You act like that's something to complain about. I don't know a man out there who'd bitch about his wife wanting to get more fit but I guess you've always been a weird one."

"Oh shut up." James slapped his arm with a grin, "Gimme that cigarette."

Andrews took one last puff before handing it off, "She'll be sick of it before July, I'd say." He mused as James inhaled deeply. "She never did like to stick to one trend for very long."

"Ain't that the truth." James chuckled, breathing out a cloud of smoke, "Wonder what she'll get onto next. Hopefully nothing that requires me to join in. I had enough of that during that tofu phase."

"I feel that."

Comfortable silence stretched between the two of them as Andrews returned his gaze to the deck, watching the people down below go about their duties. Even this late at night, the Rig was abuzz with activity. He turned his eyes upwards, smiling slightly as he was met with the bright silver orb hanging in the sky, surrounded by glittering stars.

'Sure am glad I'm not on first response tonight.' He thought idly, 'Full moon's pretty as hell but I'd rather not deal with all the crazies-'

Andrews stopped mid thought, straightening from his slouch as something flew directly in front of the glowing moon. He squinted, taking the thing in as it steadily grew larger and larger, massive flapping wings bringing it closer to the shield.

"Hey." He grabbed James' shoulder, shaking the man and directing his attention upwards, "That's not a bird, is it?"

James squinted as he saw the same thing that Andrews did, "Can't be. Birds hate the electric field the shield puts up, won't go within a mile of it."

Andrews nodded, having already known that. But if that were the case, then what the hell was that thing?

Whatever the thing was suddenly banked extremely hard, fleeing away from the light of the moon and into the darkness of the night sky. It left behind a rectangular object in its wake, falling rapidly downwards and towards the brilliant blue dome surrounding the rig. Andres had just enough time to widen his eyes as the object slammed against the shield, the energy rippling outwards from the point of impact, before erupting spectacularly in an explosion of blinding color.

"GET DOWN!" James' voice was loud in his ear as the larger man suddenly slammed into his body, tackling him to the ground as the world erupted into sounds and sirens around them both, and the last thing that Private Andrews felt of the waking world was his head slamming into the cold concrete as the world shook around him.

He should have taken the first response position.

~~~ Miss Militia ~~~

The most prevalent thought in Hannah's mind as she stood atop her perch with her power-created shotgun in her hands, was that his woman was astoundingly calm for someone who was surrounded by dozens of Prt personnel as well as some of Brockton Bay's most powerful heroes. Velocity locked eyes with her from his place in a crowd of soldiers, and she gave him a small nod, before turning her attention back to the woman of the hour.

Even though they had been debriefed on her general appearance, Yosei was much shorter than she had imagined the woman being. Despite this, she was the textbook definition of composed as she stood there, surrounded on all sides by her enemies. Her face was completely unreadable as she stared straight forward, hands folding in front of her as mist curled off of her shoulders in ever-increasing amounts to pool on the deck underneath her.

It was eerily still on the deck, the silence left in the wake of the power being shut down leaving them all on edge as they stared down at the cape responsible for the current state of affairs. Hannah glanced to her right, locking eyes with Triumph for just a moment. Rory's helmet covered his face but his stance was extremely nervous, making it clear that the young man felt just as wary about this situation as she did. She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring nod, before turning her gaze to her other colleague as he approached.

Armsmaster's armor looked even more vibrant than it usually did in the darkness that was created by the shield's destruction. The glowing LED's cast menacing shadows on his face as he strode forward with a confidence born from years of command and fighting. He gave Hannah a tiny nod as he passed her by, before continuing forward to stop mere feet in front of Yosei.

The woman inclined her head towards the Tinker, the first bit of movement she had made since she had arrived, "Armsmaster. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Why are you here?" As always, Armsmaster wasted no time getting to the point of the interaction. Yosei tilted her head at his question, seemingly mulling it over in her mind before responding. As she did so, the amount of mist pouring off of her shoulders only increased, and Hannah was finding it very difficult not to go ahead and take her down. Unfortunately, protocol insisted that they at least attempt to deescalate in situations dealing with capes as powerful as Yosei was.

Hannah's mind recalled what she had done to the Merchants just a few nights ago. The damage caused to Skidmark's legs and Squealer's tank spoke of a cape who was extremely capable of destruction and careful in how she applied it. Spooking her and causing her to go on a rampage in the presence of so many unpowered troopers was a bad idea, no matter if they had signed up for it or not.

"You have my father in your custody." Despite how softly she had spoken, Yosei's voice rang out across the empty deck, causing all nearby to tense, "I would ask that you release him before we are forced to come to blows."

"Your father is a criminal, Yosei." Armsmaster responded back succinctly, tightening his hold on his halberd, "You are as well. Surrender immediately and we promise you will be taken into custody unharmed."

Even as he spoke, Armsmaster was getting into a ready position, lowering his body in preparation to spring forward at the ABB cape at a moment's notice. His state of readiness urged Hannah into one of her own, and she cocked her shotgun, a fresh beanbag round being loaded into the chamber. Yosei's eyes flicked to her for a moment at the movement and sound but didn't linger, instead turning back to the more prevalent threat..

She spoke again, just as softly as before yet carrying an undercurrent of steel, "My father's mere presence in this city has been the most stabilizing force in the Bay since Marquis. His place leading the ABB has kept the Empire from consolidating too much territory, stopped the Merchants from spreading like the rats they were. Without him, there would be nobody to keep the ABB together and that assurance would disappear."

"Except for you." Hannah spoke up, causing Yosei to turn her eyes towards her, "If your father wasn't around, you'd step up into his position, right? I'd have thought you'd want to be the leader of one of the most powerful gangs in the bay."

Yosei's eyes narrowed underneath her mask and her mouth turned down in a sharp frown, "Then you know exactly nothing about me. My father saved me from the drowning waves of Kyushu and the chaos that spread across Asia in the wake of our country's destruction. From the clutches of the Yangban who would have used us as nothing but puppets for their cause and the rest of the CUI who wanted much the same. For all he has done for me I would follow him to the ends of the earth and even further beyond at the mere suggestion that it would assist him in any way. I would never so flagrantly betray him."

By the end of her speech, Yosei's voice had risen tremendously, yet it still remained the same even tone that it had been the entire time, as if she was simply loudly making a statement instead of a declaration of fanatical servitude. Hannah shared a look with Triumph and swallowed thickly. This woman clearly valued her father more than anything else. She wouldn't be leaving without him.

Armsmaster clearly realized the same, "I will not ask again. Surrender before we are forced to take action against you. You have already given us more than enough reason to detain you by force simply by being here. Don't make this any harder than it needs to be."

Yosei sighed, "I take your continued hostility to mean that you will not release him to me?" She asked, the simple question hanging in the air like a silent warning. Hannah's hands gripped her weapon tightly and Armsmaster scowled.

"We will not." He said simply but resolutely.

"I see." Yosei's voice was that of a disappointed parent believing that her child could do better, "That is unfortunate."

Without any warning, the mist hovering just above the ground around Yosei suddenly surged upwards, engulfing her completely and obscuring her from view. Armsmaster jumped backwards, a hand retrieving his halberd from his back and bringing it forward into a ready position.

Moments later, a rumble emerged from the mist, low yet constant, like the rumbling of a thunderstorm several miles away and Hannah's hair stood on end as if the very air itself was suddenly charged. Her nostrils flared, the scent of ozone filling her senses as the mist slowly disappeared, revealing the transformed cape in all of her glory

Where Yosei once stood was a wolf. A massive, semi-truck-sized wolf with snow white fur and icy blue eyes glared straight at them. Its bristling fur was covered with unnatural streaks of dark blue that trailed all along its muscled body from tip to tail. Said tail was massive and lashed about in the air behind it, a proclamation of its anger if for some reason the snarl on its muzzle failed to suffice.

As Hannah watched, the fur all along Yosei's back bristled and she flinched as bright blue arcs of lightning flew from the furry surface, electricity springing out to sing the concrete and those who happened to be too close to the transformed cape. A larger band caught one of the troops standing too close and he was immediately sent to the ground, convulsing as if he had been tased.

Hannah wasn't given any chance to wonder about the wellbeing of the man as the cape in front of them suddenly moved. Opening her massive muzzle, Yosei reared up on two of her four furry legs and raised her head to the sky, letting out a wild howl that shook all of those present to the core.

And as the sound echoed across the silent waters of the Bay, Hannah felt a very familiar fear crawl its way up her spine.

~~~ Director Piggot ~~~

Piggot hadn't received her position of Director of the PRT ENE by being prone to panic. A position like her own required a calm disposition and the ability to think with a clear head despite the tumultuous situations that she would doubtlessly find herself in.

That was why when the entire Rig shook and shuddered while she was in the middle of a meeting with a longtime acquaintance, and the power to the entire building shut off and trapped them inside her office, she did not panic. Instead, she calmly but swiftly reached down into her desk and retrieved her handgun, making sure there was one in the chamber as always, before placing it on the desk just in case.

Across from her, Thomas Calvert raised an eyebrow, looking no less calm in the situation they had suddenly found themselves in than she herself was. "Still use the same model as ever, I see. That old thing hasn't been regulation for at least ten years." The man noted as she closed the drawer once again, "You never change, do you, Emily?"

"You know as well as I do that to stay stagnant is to die, Calvert." The director said dryly, sitting back in her chair, "But I'll admit that I have some vices I haven't quite been able to let go of. My choice in firearms just happens to be one of those."

Calvert acknowledged her point with a nod, "Understandable, I suppose. I myself haven't been able to kick my own taste for the scotch we had that night. Absolutely disgusting, but I always find myself buying a bottle when I come across it."

Piggot nodded at that as she herself had a bottle of the stuff stashed away for those days she was feeling particularly reminiscent. It was actually on her desk right now and she'd offer to share some with the man himself but now was not the time. Something was off.

It only took a moment of looking around her office to figure out what it was, "The backup generators aren't coming online."

Calvert looked around, realizing much the same that she had, "You're right. That's strange. Do you think whoever's responsible for the outage is also keeping the generators from activating?"

"Probably. If they were able to take those shields down so easily, I doubt they'd have any trouble with the generators too."

"And yet you seem remarkably calm." Calvert observed astutely, "Why?"

Piggot smirked, "Simple. I haven't heard gunfire. If this was a full force attack on the base, this entire place would have been lit up with the sound by now."

Calvert raised an eyebrow as she reached for the cup of coffee that she nearly always had on her desk and took a sip. Cold. "That doesn't necessarily mean anything. It could be that whoever's responsible for this has a power that nullifies sound. You wouldn't hear any gunfire then."

Piggot rolled her eyes, "One strong enough to blanket the entire Rig? I haven't heard any shouts either and I know there'd be a massive panic if there was a full incursion. No, I'd say it's probably one cape who's in over her head, hoping to get back something she believes we took from her."

"You're talking about Yosei." Calvert realized, "You think she's here to try to break her father out."

"More than likely, but I've got news for the girl. She's not Lung." Piggot took another sip of her coffee, "Even if she was, even he didn't dare to fight the entire Protectorate at once. Especially not on our home base."

Piggot savored the taste of the bitter drink, using it to calm her slightly frayed nerves as Thomas stared at her with slight amusement in his eyes.

"If she thinks she can waltz in here and rip her father back from underneath our noses, then she's got another thing coming."

~~~ Miss MIlitia ~~~

The longer that this fight went on, the more that Hannah was reminded of the day that Lung had made his own power known to the Bay. It was eerie just how similar it was to that day, a single cape decimating nearly a dozen heroes on his lonesome and escaping the battle practically unharmed.

Yosei was not Lung, but she was certainly proving that she was his daughter as she danced around each and every one of them as if it was no challenge at all. Whatever beast she had become was extremely difficult to fight, spraying electricity in every direction on a whim and racing across the several meter long deck at a moments notice, making it even harder to get a bead on her.

She had already dealt with every single one of the unpowered troops that had been deployed to contain her, literally running through them as a streak of bright blue lightning and sending them to the ground, sizzling and smoking as their bodies twitched with residual shocks.

Some quick checking by Velocity had shown that she hadn't killed them, merely rendered them unconscious, but the ease with which she had done so was still frightening.

Hannah's eyes sharpened as the lupine woman strayed a bit too close to one of the many downed agents scattered around the deck, the constant electricity arcing off of her form singing the ground near them. Her rifle barked in her hand, the round slamming into Yosei's neck and piercing it easily. Like all others however, it did nothing but make the woman's fuzzy form shiver, bright sparks running over her snow-white fur and dissipating to show that her shot had done absolutely nothing but draw the woman's attention to Hannah herself.

The only silver lining to this situation was the odd lack of focus that Yosei seemed to possess while she was fighting. It was as if she was having trouble choosing which one of them to go after, flitting between each of them and getting distracted by the smallest action. That made it easy to lead her around, to pull her away from each other if someone had bitten off a bit more than they could chew.

Like she just had.

Hannah's eyes narrowed as Yosei opened her mouth, blinding light gathering in the back of her maw, before a torrent of bright blue electricity was sent racing towards her unmoving form far too fast for her to even attempt to dodge. She grit her teeth in preparation for the hit, only to flinch as the back of her shirt was suddenly grabbed in an iron grip and she was lifted into the air and away from danger.

Her hair stood on end as she narrowly avoided the attack which went screaming just under her boots, and her heart thudded powerfully in her chest as Yosei gave a growl that sounded more like rumbling thunder than anything resembling an animal's expression of displeasure. She angled her head upwards, more lightning building in the back of her throat as she prepared to shoot and Hannah grimaced, knowing that Dauntless wouldn't be able to dodge with her attached to him.

"HEY!"

Shards of glass and metal flew away from Triumph as his sonic shout rang in Hannah's ears, aimed directly at the massive wolf, breaking her concentration Yosei shied backwards, snarling in pain and rage as her doubtlessly sensitive hearing was assailed by the loud noise. Her form shuddered as she broke into particles of light and electricity, racing backwards and away from the man to escape his attack.

She coalesced several meters away, lunging towards Velocity who was bent over an unconscious troop, but he blurred away before she could reach him, causing her to let out a growl of frustration.

"You good, Militia?" Dauntless' voice sounded out from above her, revealing her rescuer. Given his own powerset, he hadn't been able to do much during this fight, not wanting to chance using his Arclance on the cape made of living lightning. He'd been relegated to helping her and the other's reposition in case Yosei strayed too close to them.

"I'm alright, Dauntless! Thank you for the rescue!" Hannah called up to the man, her weapon shifting in her hand until she was left holding a containment foam launcher. Whatever Yosei had become was completely immune to her bullets, simply healing any damage the moment it was caused. She'd need to shift things up. "How much longer until the backup generators are online?"

"They should have already been up!" The man answered as they set down on a nearby balcony. There were two unconscious troops up here, one crouched over the other, but they seemed safe enough to Hannah paid them no mind, "Something's wrong here, Militia! What's she even doing here? Lung is on the other side of the base!"

Hannah's eyes widened immediately at what he said, her mind making a connection that he had not. She looked over to Armsmaster, adrenaline filling her as Velocity strayed a bit too close to the woman and was almost clipped by a burst of lightning that she let off, "Armsmaster, what's the situation with Lung?"

Armsmaster wasn't able to respond immediately, too busy grappling out of the way of Yosei as the woman charged towards him on a streaking bolt of lightning. The ground sizzled in her wake as she skidded to a stop meters away and opened her mouth once more. Electricity built in the back of her throat as she prepared to spit lightning again, only for her form to fizzle as triumph once again directed a shout her way. She snarled, turning her head away from Armsmaster to face the other cape instead.

The man took the opportunity that had presented itself to answer Hannah's question, "Communications are down right now. She's doing something that's interfering with electronics. The only reason I'm not affected is likely due to how I've wired my own power supply. We've got no contact with the rest of the base until this is dealt with."

As he spoke, he flipped the top half of his halberd down, spraying a thick white foam at the ground where several wires were burning in the wake of Yosei's sprint. He then turned, his halberd flipping back into the proper position as he leapt down from his perch and rushed at Yosei once more. He flipped his weapon forward, sending a rope made of a material that Hannah couldn't identify shooting towards Yosei. It wrapped around her rear legs, causing her to trip as she went to take another step and fall on the ground instead.

Hannah's eyes narrowed as Yosei's entire body seemed to shiver, her fur glowing with electricity that then suddenly erupted outward in every direction, blowing the rope off of her legs. Triumph was close enough to her that he was also hit by the blast and was sent flying backwards, sparks arcing all over his armor as he slammed into a nearby wall hard enough to crack the stone.

He fell to the ground and let out a groan, trying to angle his head in Yosei's direction to scream again. Seeing this, Yosei huffed, beginning to stalk towards him to finish him off.

She didn't make it more than a single step before Dauntless suddenly shot down out of the sky, Arclance held tightly in his grip as he brought it down on the top of the transformed woman's head. Electricity, this time white instead of Yosei's blue, arced outward from the point of impact but seemed to do absolutely nothing to the woman herself.

Dauntless realized this and immediately went to retreat. He was caught before he could do so as Yosei suddenly stretched her head back, chomping down on one of his armored legs and capturing it in her massive teeth. The man let out a pained scream as metal crumpled and bone snapped in the wolf's maw, before she suddenly twisted her head, sending him rocketing towards the ground.

He slammed into the ground and his scream was silenced as he was immediately rendered unconscious even through his armor.

Yosei's head lifted to the sky as the cape let out a howl of victory, and Hannah took the opportunity to fire her launcher, sending a thick stream of containment foam flying directly at her unmoving form. She cursed as Yosei's ears swiveled on her head and she suddenly lunged to the side, dodging the attempted capture easily.

The transformed woman snarled as her celebration was interrupted, turning her enraged blue eyes in Hannah's direction. Hannah's eyes widened and she braced herself as Yosei lowered her body and her fur bristled in that telltale way that it had every time she had transformed into a lupine streak of lightning.

Suddenly, without any warning, a bright white flare of light appeared over the city, seeming like a second moon for all of its incredible brightness. It caused all of those present to freeze and look over at it, and even Yosei ceased her charge to gaze in its direction as it made its presence known.

As the light slowly faded, Yosei looked back to them and Hannah couldn't help but tense.

"It has been a pleasure, but I must go." The words came out with clear difficulty, Yosei's muzzle twisting awkwardly as if the woman was fighting herself to even say them, "Goodbye, heroes."

The woman's massive form suddenly glowed brightly, her fur disappearing as it was replaced with pure energy and forcing Hannah to squint to even gaze in her general direction. Then, faster than ever before, Yosei suddenly streaked straight upwards like a reverse lightning bolt, flying into the night sky and disappearing from sight, leaving all of them staring after her at her sudden departure.

Silence filled the deck for a long moment as they all stared in disbelief at what just happened, before it was suddenly broken as the backup generators hummed to life. The shield snapped back into place in an instant and the lights returned, illuminating the deck once more and calling an end to the conflict. Hannah just stood there for a moment, wondering what in the world just happened and if it really had ended just like that.

After a moment though, Triumph let out a loud groan from his place slumped against the wall and she decided that he and Dauntless were more important at the moment.

She stowed her power away, green light convalescing as a knife on her thigh as she sprinted to where Dauntless had fallen down. Velocity beat her to it by several seconds, blurring into place by the downed man's side and immediately moving to situate his broken leg in a way that wouldn't damage it even further.

The man groaned as he regained consciousness, immediately trying to rise only for Velocity to put his hand on his chest, "Stay down, we'll get you some help. It's over."

"For now at least." Hannah couldn't help but comment, looking around at the chaos around them. Triumph was back on his feet and looking around blearily, clearly out of it while Dauntless still hadn't moved from his spot on the ground.

"True." Velocity nodded as he continued working on Dauntless, "At least now we can put any of our doubts to rest. That woman is definitely his daughter."

Hannah nodded grimly, "She might be worse. At least with Lung I felt like I was doing something. Triumph was the only one able to even do anything to hurt her and even that looked like it was annoying at best."

Velocity made a noise of agreement, "True. Anyway, I've got this handled, go check on Triumph. I don't think he should be up given how hard he hit that wall. With how Armsmaster's yelling over there, we probably don't have long before we've got to move again."

The moment that he said that, their radios hummed back to life. Hannah winced slightly at the cacophony of noise that was output by her walkie talkie as the people around the base tried to figure out what was going on, yelling over each other. She pressed a button, switching to the channel that was exclusively for higher level personnel, and happened to catch the tail end of a conversation between Armsmaster and Battery.

"Repeat, Battery." The man's gruff voice demanded as Hannah made her way to where Triumph had begun to lean against the wall, holding his head in a daze. She grabbed him by the shoulder, gently but firmly lowering him to the ground.

"I repeat, everything is fine on our end, Armsmaster." Battery's voice came back, completely calm in the face of all of the chaos that had just been wrought by a single cape. Or maybe she just didn't know what was going on, either way, as Hannah moved Triumph's golden helmet out of the way to check his head for injuries, keeping her body in the way of any prying eyes, she heard something that made her smile despite the situation they had found themselves in.

"Lung is still secure."

~~~ The Docks ~~~

I grimaced as I returned back to my human form, bringing a hand up to my head as the lingering presence of my transformation faded away. If the Oni had been like an urgent whisper in the back of my head asking me to give into the bloodlust that had filled me, then the Raiju was ten times worse.

Being what basically amounted to the living embodiment of thunder and lightning, it only made sense that everything about the Raiju screamed manic energy. Its desires and interests flitted from one thing to the next like a hypomanic puppy with a fresh dose of caffeine. It made fighting against that many opponents at once an extreme challenge, not to mention the task of making sure that the backup generators underneath the deck wouldn't come on. Keeping a constant stream of electricity to the specific nodes that watched for outages was a pain, but necessary.

Heck, even fleeing back to the city was a challenge. I was almost constantly fighting against the urge to race across the night sky searching for the nearest storm, or even simply diving straight into the ocean to see where the tides would take me if I let them. I was glad to be back in my own body.

I was filled with fatigue as I made my way up to the side entrance of the warehouse I had touched down outside of. It had been far too long since I had taken on a form as powerful as the Raiju and I could still feel the lingering effects of its personality trying to rile me up once more. I wouldn't be doing that any time soon.

I opened the door cautiously, before striding in with much more confidence as I took note of the lack of people inside. The darkness was nearly oppressive as I closed the door behind me, only the thin streams of moonlight coming from the glass ceiling panels providing any light in the massive building, "Bakuda, are you there?"

A slightly modulated voice came from deeper into the building, "Yeah, I'm here. By the loading bay."

I made my way in the direction that the voice had come from, navigating my way through stacked crates and boxes of who-knows-what as I went, before I finally came upon the loading bay. Lee was nowhere to be found, likely somewhere nearby or already making his way back home. Bakuda was present, though the woman wasn't looking at me, bent over as she dug in the hood of her jeep and fiddled with something that I couldn't see.

I looked around, worried building in my gut as I noticed a distinct lack of my father's presence anywhere nearby.

"Where is he?" I asked the preoccupied woman, "Did he already return home?"

"Doubt it." Bakuda said, not taking her attention away from her task, "Unless he managed to break himself out, I mean. Our mission was a bust. They knew we were coming."

My blood ran cold, "What? What do you mean?"

"I mean that someone tipped them off or something because there were way too many people in our way!" Something inside the jeep dinged loudly and Bakuda cursed, "Shit! There had to be at least forty fucking guards in there, and some of the heroes too. Lee said he saw Assault and Battery hanging around and I caught a glimpse of that clock kid before we decided there was no way we were going to be able to do shit to get him out of there. Even if you didn't care about casualties, I'm not sure I brought anything that'd be able to deal with that many people and not hurt Lung-sama at the same time."

One of her arms came out of the jeep, dropping something heavy and metal to the floor with a loud clang as I digested what she was saying, "The Oni's gone to make sure nobody followed us. We ditched the boat a few miles up and drove here but better safe than sorry, I guess."

I just stared at her in silent disbelief, the warehouse filled with nothing but the sound of her quiet tinkering as I processed what I had just been told. Slowly, the numb disbelief that I was feeling gave way to intense anger, and my face twisted as my mind whirled at what I had just been told.

The mission had failed. Someone, somehow, had told the heroes that they were coming. Who? How?

Was it Takao? Had the man somehow sussed out the specifics of my plan with nothing but the little I had told him and the other Faces? Or had he simply told the heroes that we were planning something in the first place, leading to them increasing the amount and quality of guards allocated to my father's cell.

If so, then why? Takao had nothing to gain in the event that my father remained in the Protectorate's clutches. His position in the ABB was one that was only secure so long as Lung remained in charge and he knew that.

…Had my words during the meeting been the catalyst for his betrayal? Had I inadvertently made him panic by hinting that I was on to his duplicitous nature and actions and caused him to go to the heroes in some hope that they would be able to save him from my father's inevitable wrath?

No, that didn't make any sense. He would know for a fact that if I was forced to take charge, he would be the first to go. It didn't matter if it was myself or my father, he was done either way. Someone like him would know that it was better to just go into hiding as soon and as thoroughly as he possibly could instead of goading the already angry dragon into doing something even more drastic. I was missing something.

I scowled viciously. Even so, Takao was due for a long, thorough chat with Nana when I returned. I would find out what he knew and if he played a hand in what had transpired tonight one way or another.

I turned my attention back to Bakuda as the woman removed herself from the jeep, closing the hood behind her and pressing down on it to lock it in place, "We'll have to rethink our plan. Now that they know that we're coming for him and how, they will doubtlessly increase the amount of protection he has been given even more. I would also imagine that that show just now gave them more than enough hints as to extrapolate how my powers work."

I paused awaiting her opinions, only to be confused as the woman just shrugged her shoulders, "Whatever you say. I'm kinda pissed I didn't get a chance to try out some of my shit but I guess I got to use one so the day's not a total bust." She jumped down from her jeep, her boots thudding on the concrete floor of the warehouse, "You can go ahead and load up. I've gotta go grab something real quick. We'll figure out what to do back at base/"

I wasn't able to get a word in as she suddenly turned and walked deeper into the warehouse, leaving me staring after her in confusion and slight annoyance. Despite her words, she was clearly much more disturbed by our failure than she would like me to believe. I could feel it in the tone of her voice, obscured as it was, or the set in her shoulders as she stalked away into the darkness.

'She must be taking the failure just as hard as I am.' I mused to myself as I made my way towards the jeep, 'It only makes sense, I suppose. She has quite an ego on her so failing like this must hurt quite a bit. Hopefully this won't cause any more problems between us.'

I wasn't really counting on that.

I opened the passenger door to the jeep, knowing that Bakuda would definitely want to be the one driving, only to pause as I caught sight of something strange off to the side.

From the seats to the floor, the back of the jeep was filled with the bombs that she hadn't gotten the chance to use. Exposed wires and plastic shells filled the space to the brim, lights blinking periodically to indicate their armed state. I frowned at that. Even given the fact that her specialty would allow her to identify them at a glance, it seemed more than a little dangerous to keep them in such a state of disorganization.

A single light shifting from red to green and a low beep was all the warning I got before my world was suddenly engulfed in pain. I let out a shrill scream as the jeep exploded in a ball of fire and shrapnel, a wave of heat slamming into me and sending me back as shards of nearly-molten metal bit into my clothing as well as the skin underneath. My mask shattered as I hit the floor, bits of metal and porcelain breaking across my face as I slammed into the concrete.

I convulsed, the pain radiating through my entire body in a way that was distinctly unnatural. It was like someone poured molten lead into my veins, fire racing through my limbs and torso and making it impossible to focus on anything but the excruciating sensations that were consuming me.

I could vaguely hear a full droning in my ears, and it only took a moment to realize that it was my own screaming, completely drowned out by the constant ringing in my head as my nerves screamed in white-hot agony.

By the time I came down from whatever had been done to me, my cheeks were covered in tears and my throat was raw from screaming. I tried to get up, to move in any way, but even that felt impossible and so I was stuck just laying there pitifully as I tried to figure out what just happened.

"You know, I didn't actually think I'd be able to catch you with that." I slowly looked up as Bakuda's modularized voice appeared from the direction she had disappeared in moments ago. The woman was standing a few meters away, shadowed by the darkness around her as her red lenses gazed at my fallen form maliciously, "Thought you'd just shrug it off with that power of yours. You really don't live up to expectations, you know that? Just one disappointment after a-fucking-nother."

My mind was sluggish with pain as I stared at the approaching woman with confused and bleary eyes, "Ba…kuda? W-What…" I couldn't speak. Even the vibration of my vocal chords hurt enough that my vision nearly went white with pain. My tongue felt fat in my mouth, like I was at the dentist and they had just given me a fresh dose of anesthesia.

She clicked her tongue, "Don't try to talk. Your little whimpers are pathetic. Just let me speak."

She approached with deliberate slowness, her boots thudding methodically against the floor as she strode towards me, "This has been a long time coming, you know? You've been a pain in my ass since I joined this fucking gang. When Lung-sama found me, he told me about the incredible victories we'd win together, about how the ABB was one of the most powerful gangs in the country with a fraction of the capes. Quality over quantity, and I was going to be one of the highest ranking members."

She spat, "What a crock of shit. From day one, you've been there whispering in his ear, holding him back with your fucking moral bullshit. We could have been at the top the week I arrived with how much shit I'd already made, but you had to hold us all back with your fucking moral bullshit!"

Her boot lashed out, sending a piece of shrapnel from the jeep skidding across the floor. It slammed into something metal with a loud bang, the noise ringing out in the wake of Bakuda's rage. She inhaled deeply, the sound distorted through her mask, before letting it out.

Bakuda suddenly kneeled down, squatting right in front of me as she grabbed her mask, pulling it off of her face and leaving it to dangle on her neck. Her brown eyes were full of derision and her face was set into a superior smirk as she stared down at my trembling form, "Now though, that's changed and when you're out of the picture, things will be as they always should have"

I inhaled softly, the action feeling like someone was taking a hammer to my chest as I struggled to speak, "My f-father… He'll-"

"Shhhh…" Bakuda pressed a gloved finger to my lips, pain radiating through my entire face at the simple pressure, "Don't worry about Lung-sama. He'll have his hands full dealing with the Empire after what they did. And I'll be there to help him exact his revenge."

What?

I just stared at her, unable to do anything else as she rose back to her feet. "Really, it's such a shame you got caught off guard by those racist bastards and they put a bullet in your head before you were able to transform." She tutted, a sick smile coming to her face as she pulled a square package from the shoulder of her bandolier, "It's especially unfortunate that we weren't able to recover your body to be buried. Those tides, I tell you. They'll wash away damn near anything given enough time."

Kneeling down, she put the box on its side in front of my face. I was met with a black screen with bright green LEDs on its surface. 01:00, it read. Exactly one minute.

Bakuda patted the bomb's plastic shell almost lovingly, "I doubt even one of the Enbringers would be able to stand up to what's inside this puppy. By the time all is said and done with, all that's left will be ashes. Pitiful little bits of carbon will be the only physical reminder that you ever existed in the first place. Isn't that great? Nobody's gonna pay any attention to a pile of ash in some random warehouse by the docks."

The woman's manic grin shifted into one that was a bit more dissatisfied but still just as insane, "Unfortunately, as much as I wish I was here to watch it all go down, I'd get caught in the blast radius too, and we don't want that. I'll just have to rip the footage from one of the security cameras or something. Not exactly what I would prefer but what are you gonna do?"

She gave me a grin as I stared at her, grabbing her mask and bringing it up to her face, "Don't worry, I'll take care of the gang. We'll get Lung-sama back and turn this city on its head." She placed the mask back on her face, obscuring her features once more. The red lenses glared down at me like an angry pair of eyes, yet somehow seemed mocking despite it all, "It's like you said, the ABB has gone for years with only two capes in its ranks. It'll manage just fine with three instead of four. I'm sure I'll be a much better heir than you ever were."

'He'll kill you the moment he finds out what you did.' I so desperately wanted to say. Actually, I wanted to do much more than that. I wanted to scream my rage at this woman, I wanted to lunge up and tear her throat out with my teeth. Transforming would be completely unnecessary thanks to the blinding rage and pain filling my body.

Unfortunately, I was unable to even twitch the muscles in my legs of my own volition, so I had to settle with just glaring at Bakuda. She clearly found it pitiful at best, given the way she snorted at my attempts of conveying my rage.

"Anyway, I guess I should get going. The Oni's probably wondering where we are and I'm not taking the chance with that psychopath. I'll have to figure out something special to deal with him just in case he finds out about this." Bakuda turned away, waving at me over her shoulder as she began to walk away, "Enjoy the time you have left, Yuko. All sixty seconds of it."

She disappeared from view and moments later, the sound of a door slamming in the darkness marked her departure. With it, came a quiet beep from the bomb sitting in front of me as it activated. The timer began ticking down. Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, the shifting LEDs of the clock marking the passage of time to my destruction.

In response to the device's activation, my power began slowly boiling under my skin, the mortal danger I was suddenly put in marking an increase in the mist available to me. Unfortunately, thanks to my earlier actions on the Rig, it was a mere cupful of the ocean power that would be necessary to escape my sudden predicament.

I couldn't even move. The pain running through my body had completely paralyzed me, any input from my brain interrupted as my very nervous system twitched with residual agony. I could do nothing but lay there and watch as the timer on the bomb slowly ticked down, the green LED shifting with an almost horrific slowness, as if Bakuda wanted me to spend the last moments of my life panicking at my approaching death.

Unfortunately for her, I was in far too much pain to panic. All that filled my mind as I stared at the bomb was an intense numbness. That, and a slowly encroaching sense of sadness at all that I was about to leave behind.

'So that's it then, is it?' I thought to myself as I stared at my encroaching death, barely able to blink much less move away from the creation that would spell my end. Twelve, eleven, ten. 'Father… Tammi… I'm sorry.'

My power was building even quicker as my death approached but I could tell that it wouldn't be enough. My transformations took time to undergo and even if I turned into something durable I knew it wouldn't be enough to survive whatever Bakuda was doing to me. Thanks to my earlier transformation, I didn't currently have anything that would survive being turned to nothing but ash.

'...Wait!' My eyes widened as I suddenly realized something, my power singing within me as I latched onto a sudden, impossible hope, 'That's it!'

Unfortunately, the moment that the idea manifested itself in my head, the clock hit zero. The bomb gave a shrill beep, and I was given just enough time to stare at the device with heartstopping horror before it erupted in an explosion of plastic, metal, and energies too esoteric for my mind to even comprehend. I was given the uniquely visceral experience of my body shifting and tearing, my very essence being torn apart at the cellular level before everything went black…

And I died.

---

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[Sadguychet]

Danny Hebert's job as head of the Dockworker's Association wasn't all management and long talks with jumped up bureaucrats. Sometimes he needed to get down and dirty to deal with issues that popped up in the docks or even between his boys. It wasn't often that it happened, but it did happen some days.

Today was one of those days. It turned out that the Merchants had taken to squatting in some of their less used warehouses recently and were in desperate need of being run off before they did as they always tended to do and multiply by the dozens. He and Kurt had been spending the morning going from warehouse to warehouse, dealing with any unwanted trespassers as they came across them. The Merchants were a skittish bunch so the two of them would be more than enough to deal with anyone they came across.

They'd already had to run off at least five groups and it wasn't even ten yet. Thanks to Kurt's massive size and the equally large shotgun that Danny had taken to carrying with him, they hadn't had any actual trouble, but the day was just starting and both men knew better than to open their mouths and comment on that fact.

"I'm thinking this'll be the last one before we break for lunch." Danny said to his friend as he pulled out a key and unlocked the door to the warehouse, "I skipped breakfast today and kicking out all these crackheads is making me a bit peckish."

"You always skip breakfast, Danny." Kurt snorted as the door opened, "I don't think I've seen you in the morning with more than a cup of coffee and maybe a breath mint."

Danny laughed, "True enough, I guess."

The inside of the warehouse was much more packed than all of the rest, lined wall to wall with boxes. That meant that there were plenty of hiding places for potential trespassers.

Danny inhaled deeply, frowning at the slightly off smell. "Look alive, Kurt. We might have company again."

"Fantastic. Hopefully this bunch aren't all high off their asses too." Kurt huffed as he followed his friend inside. He let his arm hand loose, banging his aluminum baseball bat against the ground to spook whoever might be inside, "HEY! IF YOU'RE IN HERE, YOU'VE GOT UNTIL WE FIND YOU TO GET THE HELL OUT OF THIS BUILDING!"

The shout echoed through the warehouse before fading away. There was no response and the man looked over to Danny, "Guess we're going in."

"Looks like it." Danny racked his shotgun, the sound echoing just as Kurt's shout had. Still nothing. "That usually sends them running. If we're lucky, they're already gone."

"Or they're so drugged up they didn't even register it."

"That too." Danny pulled out his flashlight, shining it into the darkness and illuminating the numerous boxes and crates scattered around. This warehouse didn't have power because they didn't use it often enough to warrant it, "Let's just hope we aren't dealing with corpses. It's too early in the morning for that."

They made their way through the warehouse, maneuvering around boxes and crates as they looked for any signs of Merchants or even just a random homeless person who had decided to make this place their temporary home.

"What do we use this one for anyway?" Kurt asked as they searched, "I don't recognize any of these boxes."

"Mostly for storage." Danny answered, turning his flashlight into a space between two boxes. Nothing but dust and rat droppings, "We drop anything we don't need in here. This one's pretty full so we don't use it often but we still can't let the Merchants settle down in here."

"Of course." Kurt agreed easily, "Give them an inch and they'll take a mile. Before long we'd have practically the entire gang set up down here."

"Like they weren't already?" Danny chuckled as he moved some boxes that had fallen into their path. The smell had gotten worse but his earlier thoughts of it being Merchants were fading somewhat. What he was smelling wasn't the usual filthy stench of body odor that he had come to associate with them. It was more robust and cloying, like smoke.

"True enough, I guess." Kurt said, "Though with what the ABB did to them a week back, I doubt we'll have to deal with that for too much longer."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Danny said, "I'd say we're going to be dealing with them for a few more months at least. They're like rats, always popping up where you want them the least."

"Ain't that the truth."

Slowly but surely, they cleared the warehouse, starting on the edges and working their way inwards. They found no signs of any Merchants or anything of the sort, and Danny was moments away from calling off the search and moving onto the next warehouse when he pushed a pallet out of the way and paused.

"What the hell…?" He muttered at what he saw, moving forwards to get a better look. His eyes widened. "Oh hell. Kurt, come here!" He yelled back at his friend who had moved to check another spot, not taking his eyes off of what he was seeing.

Right in front of him was the loading bay. Several meters of the floor had been completely cleared of any crates or boxes in a near perfect circle around the center. Not only that, but a thin layer of what looked like fine grey ash caked absolutely every inch of this part of the warehouse. It was on the walls, the floor hell, even the ceiling and overhead lights as well, sticking to the concrete and sheet metal like it was nothing.

Danny ignored all of that in favor of staring at the heap in the middle of the floor. It was a pile of ash much larger than anything he had ever seen before, at least the size of a king-sized mattress and shaped like a bowl or some sort of nest. It was glowing softly with the heat of the embers inside of it, casting an orange glow for several feet.

Laying in a heap in the very center of the bowl was what appeared to be a young Asian woman. She was completely nude, not a single stitch of clothing on her body as she lay completely motionless atop the pile of glowing ash. Danny could easily see steam rising into the air around her from the heat that the ash was putting off and yet he couldn't see a single burn on her skin, the woman seemingly completely unscathed despite the heat.

"Oh shit." Kurt said as he came up behind him, seeing the same thing that Danny did, "Is she alive?"

The woman hadn't moved an inch despite Kurt's words, but Danny looked closer, staring at the outline of her shoulder against the nearby floor. To his surprise, he caught a faint hint of movement, a rising and falling in the limb that indicated she was breathing.

"I think she is." Danny said, giving Kurt his gun and moving to get closer to the odd scene, "She's breathing at least."

Danny crouched down beside the woman, careful to keep his bare hands away from the burning hot ash underneath her and his eyes away from her more private areas. Even still, he could see that practically all of the skin on the woman's body was a bright pink, like she had gotten a really bad sunburn without any of the peeling that normally came along with it.

But Danny knew what burnt flesh smelled like. A few too many accidents with welding equipment had ingrained that smell into his memory. What he was smelling right now was nothing like that. It was the smell one got after burning a pile of kindling down to nothing but charcoal and hot ashes. For whatever reason, this woman's skin was completely immune

"Should we call the PRT?" Kurt asked, having realized the same thing that Danny had, "I mean, she's clearly a cape, right? With how hot that ash is, there's no way she'd still be unconscious unless she was in a coma."

Danny thought on his friend's words before slowly shaking his head, "No, they wouldn't answer us anyways. We'll have to deal with this ourselves."

The PRT had its hands completely full right now. After that attack on the Rig a few days ago and the sudden increase in Merchant activity around the docks and Boat Graveyard, they were swamped enough that they'd stopped taking calls altogether, instead putting people straight through to the police.

Danny definitely wasn't going to trust them to take care of this, not in this part of the Bay. There was a reason that his dockworkers took matters into their own hands when it came to criminals and the sort. Crooked cops were a dime a dozen over here and he'd rather cut off his own hand than hand over a naked woman who seemed to be in some sort of coma to one of them.

That meant the options were to leave the woman here and hope she woke up, toss her out with some clothes and hope someone else helped her, or get her help themselves.

It shouldn't have been that difficult of a choice, Danny had a responsibility to the Dockworkers Association and to keep his boys safe, and mingling with an unknown cape was definitely not a way to do that, but it wasn't as easy as it should have been. He wasn't sure why, but something about this woman reminded him of his daughter. Despite looking nothing like Taylor, Danny couldn't help but see his little girl in the woman's sleeping face in a way that he couldn't explain. Maybe it was the vulnerable state she was in or even just the dark color of her hair, but he couldn't bring himself to not help her.

Shucking off his jacket, Danny leaned down and wrapped it around the woman's naked body, concealing her nude form. He then hooked his arms around the woman's knees, ignoring the way the hot ash heated his shirt as he supported her back with his other hand and lifted her up. She remained still as he raised her, not moving or making a sound as he stood and cradled her to his chest.

"Woah, what are you doing, Danny?" Kurt asked as he stood.

"Taking her to my truck." Danny answered, turning to make his way out of the warehouse, "I'm gonna get her comfortable and then see how things progress from there. If she doesn't wake up in an hour or so, I'll take her to the hospital."

"Seriously?" Kurt looked a bit incredulous at Danny's words, "You do realize she's probably with one of the gangs, right? ABB most likely. This whole scene stinks of concrete shoes gone wrong man, you're probably getting wrapped up in something bad here."

"I know. I can't just leave her here, though." He didn't say anything else and though he still looked unsure, Kurt sighed and followed his boss and friend out. Danny wouldn't do something like this without a reason and Kurt would follow his lead like always.

They made their way out of the warehouse, following the same path that they had taken when they entered and exited into the parking lot. Luckily there was nobody around, this area of the Docks practically empty this time of day as always. That meant that nobody would be there to report the grown man stowing an unconscious naked woman in his truck.

"What do you want me to do about the mess?" Kurt asked as Danny loaded the woman up into his truck, "Or do you just want to leave it for another day."
"Call Shane and some of the boys to take care of it." Danny answered, walking around to the driver's side, "That ash is still hot and definitely a fire hazard. We also need to take stock of what we lost because I know the loading bay wasn't that empty before. You'd maybe be able to fit three trucks in there before, not eight."

Kurt nodded, "Got it. I'll tell Shane to grab some people and head over. Are you coming back any time today?"

"Yeah, I'll be back. Just give me a few hours and I'll come help with the count."

"Alright. Hope you know what you're doing, Danny. Stay safe." Kurt called after him as he loaded up into his truck.

"I hope I do too." Danny muttered, slamming the door closed and starting his truck.

~~~ Yuko ~~~

Regaining consciousness wasn't quite like waking up from a dream. I didn't have anything to compare it to of course, but it was more like I simply hadn't existed in one moment, and the next my eyes were wide open, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling with an even more unfamiliar bed cradling me softly.

My body felt weird. Raw. Like the feeling one gets after an incredibly hot shower a hundred times over, and even the clothes rubbing against my skin felt like sandpaper.

Still, I didn't move. I just laid there on the bed for several minutes, staring at the ceiling as I got used to this new state of affairs. My mind churned behind my eyes as I came to terms with what had happened to me, the memories of what had occurred still fresh in my memories as if they had literally just occurred.

I died. Bakuda betrayed me and blew me up and I died. If it wasn't for my quick thinking and her need to force me to watch my own death approach, I would have stayed that way permanently. I could feel panic set in in my mind as I realized this. My breath began to quicken and my vision blurred, the beginnings of a panic attack coming upon me much more quickly than my previous experience as my death replayed in my head over and over again.

The ticking timer, the feeling of resignation mingling with pain inside my mind as I stared at the countdown to my inevitable end displayed on a tiny LED box. I was going to die. I was going to die and I couldn'tdoanythingaboutit-

I clenched my eyes shut, gritting my teeth hard enough to taste iron in my gums as I drove those thoughts from my mind with all of my might, slamming them into the deepest recesses of my brain along with all of the existential dread that they induced. Now was not the time. I'd deal with it later, when I was fully confident in my location and safety.

As I slowly calmed myself down, my mind flitted to the last minute gambit I had employed, such a far shot that I truly wasn't sure whether or not it would work at the time.

I hadn't had enough time to fully transform, or even take on the physical traits of any of the creatures at my disposal before my death. Metaphysical traits on the other hand, I was able to employ near instantaneously so long as I had the mist to do so. Enhanced insight, sharper memory…

Or a phoenix's ability to reincarnate after its own death.

It was a complete shot in the dark whether or not my powers would even remain active after my own death or if I would just fade away into whatever afterlife or lack thereof awaited me, but it seemed that my gamble had paid off and saved me from the icy embrace of oblivion.

And now I was… somewhere. This was certainly not the warehouse that I had died in, and I very much doubted that my costume had survived the blast that Bakuda believed would leave nothing but ash remaining.

That meant that whoever had found me had also dressed me… I wasn't really sure how to feel about that information.

Deciding that I had spent long enough in my head, I decided to finally sit up and take in this new place I had found myself in. It was a bedroom, that much was clear, but definitely not one in my house. The wallpaper was unfamiliar and the floor was carpeted as opposed to the hardwood present in every bedroom room back home.

I looked around, quickly spying a small mirror on the far wall. I gazed at myself in it, taking in my disheveled appearance, from my oddly pink skin to my normally straight hair that had been thrown into disarray. The clothes I was wearing were unfamiliar as well, a sea green sweater that was clearly too big on me as well as some sweatpants.

Unfortunately, that was all I was wearing. Whoever had dressed me clearly wasn't the most comfortable with doing it because I wasn't wearing any undergarments, leaving me completely bare underneath this stranger's clothes. How lovely.

Swinging my legs to the floor, I stood from the bed, only to wince and almost immediately sit back down as my legs nearly gave out below me. It seemed that my resurrection had caused more issues than just raw skin. I waited a moment before trying again, taking it much more slowly this time. I placed my feet on the carpet, putting a bit of weight on them before adding more and more. Once I was convinced of my ability to hold myself up, I slowly rose again.

This time, I was able to actually walk without falling over, though every step I took was a stumbling, unsure thing. Still, I powered through it and managed to get to the door, opening it and walking out into the hall beyond.

There was a staircase at the end of the hall leading downwards. With some difficulty and a great deal of help from the nearby wall, I made my way to it on shaky legs. There was a voice coming from down the stairs. It was a man and he sounded a bit angry or maybe exasperated. Either way, that was likely the person responsible for my relocation. Guess it was time to meet my rescuer.

I made my way down the stairs, taking them one at a time as my body slowly began to cooperate with me a bit more. As I walked, the voice became clearer and clearer to my ears, until finally I reached the bottom and found myself on the cusp of a rather modest living room. The decor wasn't exactly to my tastes but the soft yellow light drifting from a lamp in the corner brought me a sense of comfort that I had sorely been lacking.

The owner of the voice turned out to be a rather tall, thin man with glasses. He was leaning up against the kitchen counter, a landline held to his ear as he spoke angrily to the person on the other side.

"...sn't waking up any time soon and Taylor'll be home in a few minutes anyway. I should probably start heading over there. Yeah. Yeah, I'll talk to you later, Kurt. Bye. Jesus christ."

I stood back as the man put the phone back in its place. He sighed, grabbing the bridge of his nose underneath his glasses, "Just great. How in the world am I going to get an unconscious woman who clearly isn't related to me across the city without looking like a creep or getting arrested?"

"It probably helps that the woman is awake now." I finally decided to speak up, making my presence known. The man startled, jumping slightly as he turned to find me standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"You're up." He said, a bit of relief leaking into his tone as he looked me up and down, "That's good. I couldn't find anything wrong with you but I figured that I wouldn't, considering… you know."

I raised an eyebrow at his words, making my way down the last few steps with some difficulty, "I'm afraid I'm not sure what you're referring to. My memories are a bit… tumultuous, to say the least. I assume you're the one who rescued me and," I looked down at the clothes I was wearing, "dressed me as well?"

The man nodded, only looking slightly embarrassed at my words "I did. Couldn't just leave you there and the PRT isn't taking any calls right now. Figured it was better to get you out of there and somewhere safer until you woke up or didn't and I took you to the hospital."

It seemed that I had awoken at a good time then. If he had taken me to the hospital in my current state, I had little doubt that my identity would have been in danger.

"I see. Then may I know the name of my rescuer?" I asked the man.

"Daniel Hebert, but just call me Danny." He said simply.

The name somewhat rang a bell in my mind but with how sluggish my thoughts were at the moment, I wasn't able to put a finger on it. Resolving to figure it out later, I committed the name to memory even as I nodded, "Then thank you, Danny. I am extremely thankful for what you have done for me."

"Of course. I couldn't just leave you there." Danny said, before his gaze turned slightly stern, "Though would you mind telling me why you were in one of our warehouses in the first place? I don't recognize you and I'm sure you aren't with any of my boys."

I paused slightly at his question, "That is… difficult to answer. I assure you that my presence in the warehouse was nothing untoward but I cannot tell you why I was there. Truth be told, you are probably better off not knowing at all."

He nodded, a slightly unhappy look on his face, "Yeah, I figured. You don't talk like some street thug. You're probably someone pretty important, huh?"

I just gave him a thin smile, not answering his question. Thankfully he got the message and sighed, running a hand through his thinning hair, "Alright then. Guess I won't get an explanation for all that ash either, huh?"

Ash. The word made my mouth go dry but I suppressed the panic that wanted to rise as a result and answer his question, "No, I'm afraid not. Would you mind telling me the day? I haven't quite managed to regain my bearings just yet."

"It's Saturday." He responded, causing my eyes to widen.

Saturday. When I had enacted my plan to free my father, it was Wednesday. I had been unconscious or dead for three days. In that amount of time, Bakuda would have been able to come up with nearly any story as to what had happened to me. She would have doubtlessly assumed command of the gang by now and done who-knows-what with the position.

I needed to get back right away.

I must have stood there frozen a bit too long as Danny gave me a concerned look, "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked, startling me out of my thoughts, "I can get you to a hospital if you need it."

I took a deep breath, gathering my thoughts. "Thank you, Danny but I must decline. I've already spent far too much time away from my duties and I must return."

I turned to him and suddenly bowed low to the man, shocking him, "Rest assured, I will not forget this kindness. I'll make sure to return it someday soon."

Danny's face was uncomfortable as I rose back to my full height, "Oh, you don't have to do that." He waved me off, "It really wasn't a big deal."

"I was." I insisted, "My father taught me to always pay my debts and right now, I owe you a rather large one. I was in an extremely vulnerable position, and there's no telling what could have been done to my unconscious body before I woke up."

"I wouldn't say that. You were only out for a few hours."

"Even so, I know how much could happen even in that short amount of time." I gave him a look silently telling him that I wouldn't take no for an answer, "You've done me a service, Danny. I will not take no for an answer."

Danny sighed but seemed content to drop the subject, "Alright, I guess. If you're that insistent then I won't stop you."

I smiled lightly, "Wonderful. Now then, would you mind if I used your phone? There is someone who should be available to come get me."

He nodded, gesturing towards the landline, "All yours."

"Thank you."

By now, my legs were working almost fully, nothing but residual pins and needles remaining, so it was simple to walk over to the phone and pull it off the wall. A few button presses later, I held the phone up to my ear and listened to it ring as I awaited for a response.

Luckily, I didn't have to wait long. After only three rings, the phone was picked up, an angry voice appearing on the other end of the line.

"I'm not sure how you got this number but don't call it again." Kon's voice had an intensely calming effect on me, even in spite of his extremely angry tone, "I've got like three people on my contacts and I'm on the do-not-call list. I can sue you for this, you know? You aren't allowed to just use people's information however the fuck you want-"

That said, this little tirade he was on was a bit much, "Kon."

The single word stopped the man in his tracks. There was silence on the other end of the line for a long moment before, "Boss?"

"Yes, Kon." I smiled slightly at the surprise in his voice, "It's me. I can't explain things right now but I need you to come retrieve me. Can you do that?"

Kon was silent for nearly thirty seconds, clearly completely and utterly befuddled at the sudden turn of events which was understandable. He had clearly thought I was dead or at least missing so calling him suddenly from an unknown phone number was likely a mental flashbang to say the least.

"I-uh. Yeah! Yeah, I can do that." He finally got out. There was a rush of movement in the background, "Where are you at?"

Turning to Danny, I called out to the man who was watching me curiously, "Excuse me, Danny. What's the address?"

He told me and I relayed it to Kon. The man made a noise of surprise, "I'm actually really close to there right now. It won't take me more than five minutes, so sit tight."
How lucky. "Wonderful, I'll see you shortly, Kon."

"You sure you want to just head home? You don't want to go to the hospital?" Danny asked as I put the phone back on the wall.

"There's no need." I shook my head, "I'm not hurt. Not anymore at least."

He gave me a skeptical look, "Right. I'm guessing that's another one of those things I'm better off not knowing, huh?"

I gave him a small smirk as I made my way to the front door, opening it, "You catch on quickly. Thank you again for helping me, Danny."

"It's nothing. Just try to keep from doing… whatever it is you did again. I've still got to help my boys clean up that mess you made and take stock of our losses."

I gave him an apologetic smile, "I'm sure it won't happen again though I'm very sorry it did in the first place."

Although that did give me an idea as to how I could pay the man back. HIs words had jogged my memory somewhat, and I now knew where I knew this man's name from. Daniel Hebert was the name of the head of the Dockworker's Association, a rather well known man in the ABB due to his efforts rebuffing any of our gang's expansion into the area. He and his associates were responsible for stopping nearly all of our pushes to take the Docks as our territory. A rather impressive feat.

Well after today, all those efforts would be stopping. The Association itself would also find itself receiving a rather generous donation from an anonymous source if I could at all justify it to Sadao.

I smiled secretly, giving the man a small wave of farewell, "Have a good day, Danny."

"You too. Stay safe, alright?" He said, returning my wave with a small nod, before I stepped out of the house.

The moment that I stepped onto the porch however, I bumped straight into someone's chest. I took a step back, slightly confused as to what happened, only to pause as I took in the person I had just run into.

She was rather tall, was my first thought, standing above me enough that she actually had to look down to meet my eyes. Black, curly hair ran down her shoulders and back, sliding over her baggy hoodie and framing a bespectacled face that reminded me remarkably of the man I had just concluded my conversation with. She was clearly related to him. Likely a daughter or a niece judging by her age.

She gave me a surprised look at my appearance, before her eyes almost immediately narrowed into a dangerous scowl. I blinked, a bit taken aback by the intensity in her gaze. Were I anyone else, I certainly would have flinched at such a glare.

Even still, as I stared up at this girl, my power, which had been completely silent thus far, began slowly building. The glare wasn't just for show it seemed. This girl was dangerous.

"Who are you?" She asked, suspicion present in every facet of her tone. As she spoke, my mind flitted back to what I had overheard Danny say on the phone, that someone named Taylor was due to return soon. This must be her.

Not wanting to make a bad impression, I gave the girl a small nod of greeting, "You must be Taylor, it's a pleasure to meet you."

She was still as leery as ever even as she returned my greeting with a nod of her own, "Nice to meet you. Now what are you doing here? And why are you wearing my mom's clothes?" Her tone was slightly dangerous, threatening even.

I wasn't exactly sure what I had done to get her so angry. Perhaps she was overprotective of her dad and assumed he and I had done something though that was a bit far-fetched. I was turning twenty in a few months and certainly looked like it while Danny was clearly in his late thirties at least.

I hummed, thinking of the best way to explain what had happened, "Your father helped me out of a rather tough situation and I'm afraid my clothes were rendered… unwearable, to say the least. He loaned me these for now but I intend to return them at the earliest opportunity."

Taylor went to say something, but she was interrupted by a car pulling up to the side of the road just off to the side of the driveway. It was a black sedan with windows that were tented so dark that I couldn't see inside of the car at all.

That was soon fixed as the window rolled down, and I couldn't help the smile that crossed my lips as I was met with the familiar face sitting in the driver's seat, gazing back at me with a great deal of relief, "Kon. It's good to see you again. How have you been since we last hung out?"

Kon gave me a confused look but as he went to say something, I subtly motioned behind me where Taylor was still watching us with an intent gaze. He got my meaning immediately and the smile of pure relief on his face slowly faded into something much more natural and easy-going.

"I've been good. I'd be better if I didn't have a cousin who disappeared halfway across the city on a whim." Kon said, shaking his head in disappointment, "Come on, let's get you home. Auntie's worried sick about you."
"That certainly sounds like her." I nodded, opening the door and climbing into the car, "We'd best not keep her waiting."

I turned to look back at Taylor as Kon put the car in drive, "Thank your father for me, please and remind him I'll be repaying his kindness someday soon. He seemed to think what he did for me was not a big deal but I beg to differ."

Taylor stared at me for a moment, but she slowly nodded her head, not saying a word. She then turned around and opened the door to her home, walking inside and slamming the door shut behind her.

"She was intense." Kon commented as he pulled forward and onto the road proper.

I couldn't help but smile lightly as we began to head towards ABB territory, "She certainly was. It appears that she took issue with my being there, though I'm not sure why."

"Some people are just paranoid I guess." Kon said, before turning to give me a warm look as I got situated, "I'm glad to see you're alright, boss."

I breathed deeply, remembering my near panic attack earlier, "Alright is… pushing it."

He frowned, "Bakuda's been telling us all sorts of stories, you know?" He said, chewing on the stick of his sucker angrily, "Spun us some bullshit about how you fucked up the rescue plan and got locked up too. The Faces ate it up but I didn't believe it for a second. Especially not after she immediately started barking out orders like she was the leader now."

So my fears had been valid. Without my father there, and with myself 'incarcerated' there was nobody to step up as head of the gang. Lee was neither interested, nor capable of leading and that left only Bakuda to take the reigns of the ABB as the only cape left. There was no telling how much damage the woman had done even in the short time that I had been unconscious/dead.

"Well, I'm back now." I assured the man as much as myself, "Bakuda's rule will not last another hour. I will ensure it."

"I know you will, boss. Although…" His face became uncertain, as if he was unsure about what he was about to say, "There's something else you need to know."

Judging by his demeanor, this was likely more bad news. I shook my head, not wanting to hear anything else that could shake my resolve right now.

"Not now." I said firmly, "Let me deal with Bakuda first then we'll get our affairs in order, alright?"

Kon looked unsure, "Are you sure? This is kind of super important."

"I'm sure."

"Alright, I guess. You're the boss." Kon leaned forward in his seat, fiddling with the radio for a moment, "You don't mind metal, do you? It's kind of all I've got on this CD and the radio in this car is busted."

It wasn't exactly my preferred genre, but it was his car. I nodded, settling back in my own seat as I prepared myself for the journey ahead and the task that lay at the end of it, "Do as you please."

Kon pressed a button and the car's speakers came alive with the sounds of a strumming guitar, quickly followed by a voice and a drumline. I recognized the music somewhat from my time with Tammi, a song about the end of something that was required to begin anew.

How appropriate.

---

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[Sadguychet]

My home was completely empty upon my return and with that emptiness, came the same chill of wrongness that I had felt when I first discovered my father had been captured. The distant chatter of servants or cooks that I had come to associate with the place I called home were absent, leaving silence in their wake.

Worrying that Bakuda had done something to them yet knowing that I couldn't spare any time, I ignored the wrongness I was feeling as I made my way to the War Room, ascending the stairs to the place that Kon had told me Bakuda was holding a meeting right this moment.

The moment that I reached the hall that would take me to the room, I began to hear the shouting that I wasn't able to downstairs. It grew more audible the closer I grew to the grand doors of the room, and I clenched my fists in anger as I recognized the modularized aspect that Bakuda's voice gained when she was wearing her mask.

Kon whistled lightly as we came upon the room, "Damn, she's really going at it, huh?"

She was certainly being extremely loud. I spent a moment just listening to the shouting, using it to prop up the boiling anger inside of me that was keeping me motivated even in my fatigued state. Bakuda sounded angry, her voice raising as she practically yelled at someone inside the room.

The person who had caught her ire was soon revealed as Hiashi's voice rang out in the room in the wake of the silence left by her screaming. The man's voice was calm as opposed to Bakuda's own as he spoke.

"I'm just saying that the circumstances of Yosei-sama's death are suspicious to say the least." He said, "If it is as you say, and she was responsible for the plan failing and was subsequently captured, then why have we not heard anything about it? According to my sources, there has been no talk of the PRT having obtained any other high-profile capes within the past several days. I believe that Mush was their most recent acquisition and that was days ago."

I blinked at the mention of the cape's name. I had completely forgotten that Mush was even an entity in the Bay due to his sheer inconsequentiality in the grander scheme of things. Even so, it was good to see that what I had done to the Merchants wouldn't be undone by the garbage cape.

I turned my attention back to the room as Bakuda spoke once more.

"So what are you saying exactly?" Bakuda's voice was still angry but she was no longer yelling, instead lowering her tone to one that was more threatening than enraged.

Despite this, Hiashi sounded as calm as ever, "I'm saying that you have given us ample reason to reject your rule and little to accept it. Why should we follow you under these circumstances?"

"You'll follow me, because if you don't I'll turn you into a nice little smear on the wall!" Bakuda said, enraged.

"And lose the most important aspects of running the ABB in the process." Hiashi responded, "Without us, the ABB falls apart. Lung-sama knew this, Yosei-sama knew this. It seems like you are the only one who doesn't see the bigger picture."

I couldn't help but smile at Hiashi's words, glad to see that at least one of the Faces could see Bakuda's ruse for what it was.

Still, I had waited and listened for more than long enough. It was time to deal with this.

Beside me, Kon shifted slightly as Bakuda yelled out a rebuttal to Hiashi's words, clearly unhappy that he was undermining her authority. He looked at me, a curious look crossing his face as his eyes locked onto my unmasked visage, "You sure you don't want to wear a mask? I could probably get one in a minute or two."

"There's no need. I don't require a mask for this and we don't have the time." I said simply as I walked up to the doors, "And besides," My voice turned deadly soft as I placed my palms on the solid wood, "I want to make sure that Bakuda gets a good look at my face when I do what I'm about to do."

With that, I threw the doors open with all of my strength. They flung outwards with a loud whoosh, slamming against the wall behind them with a loud and deafening bang. The room went completely silent and all eyes turned to me as I strode forth into it, gazing around at those gathered within.

I scowled as I saw that Bakuda was standing in front of my father's seat, arm held out mid-gesture as her masked face turned towards me in shock. Behind her and to her right was Lee, the man standing silently as always with his hands behind his back. His shoulders were tensed slightly, the only hint as to just how surprised the stoic man truly was.

The rest of the Faces were just as surprised, completely shocked that their meeting had been interrupted in such a spectacular and rude way. Aoi was the first to speak, the hotheaded man standing from his chair to address me with an angry expression on his face, "Who are you and what do you think you're doing!?" the man demanded, "Women are not allowed in the War Room unless specified otherwise!"

I ignored the man, dismissing his shouts easily as I stared straight at Bakuda, not breaking my gaze as I strode forward. The woman stared back at me, anger and tension in every aspect of her posture.

"How are you alive?" Her modulated voice silenced Aoi as the man went to speak again, ringing out in the now-silent room, "My bomb worked perfectly! I even went back and checked!"

That was new to me, though it made sense that the woman would want to see the results of her handiwork, especially with how much she was bragging about it. The fact that she hadn't witnessed my rebirth was probably nothing but pure chance as even I didn't know how long it took to take effect.

"It seems that your inventions aren't quite as effective as you would like to believe, Bakuda." I said simply as I eyed the woman from mere feet away. Behind me, I could hear Kon close the doors to the War Room and lock them soundly, preventing anyone from leaving, "As you can see, I am alive and well."

The woman's fists clenched at my words while behind her, I could see Hiashi's eyes widen as I spoke, "Yosei-sama?"

His words caused the other Faces to widen their eyes as well. They looked at me with looks ranging from disbelieving to shocked, and it occurred to me that none of them had seen me unmasked before. I nodded my head, "Yes, Hiashi. It's me. It's a pleasure to see that your loyalty to the ABB is as strong as I suspected. You have my respect for not bending the knee to such an unworthy successor to my father's place as leader."

Bakuda's fists clenched angrily at my words even as Hiashi smiled at them gratefully. He bowed his head, "I was just doing my duty as a member of the Faces, Yosei-sama. With no appointed leader, it falls to us to ensure the gang's continued prosperity."

I smiled, "And you have done wonderfully." I then turned to the rest of the Faces, "As for the rest of you, I'm afraid you have all been victims of a rather malicious ruse. There is a traitor among us, one who, in all of her hubris, attempted to assassinate me and seize control of the gang for herself." I gestured to myself, "As you can see, she failed spectacularly and I have returned to establish proper rule once more."

I was playing up my return a bit. Purposefully dismissing Bakuda's attempts as completely inadequate in order to specifically make her angry. A bit childish perhaps, but I was feeling more than a little petty at the moment.

My words had the intended effect, easily crawling under Bakuda's skin and making her snarl with rage.
"Oh yeah? Guess everyone has a fluke every now and then. Let's see if this one does the job!" Bakuda snarled, bringing a hand to her full bandolier. The moment she moved, I did as well. I closed the distance between us quickly, grabbing her arm before she could pull one of the grenades free. She cursed at me, trying to step away but I slammed my foot down on her own keeping her in place where she was.

"Ow!" Bakuda cursed, jerking away from me again, "You stupid cunt! Let go of me!"

Instead of doing anything of the sort, I instead kicked her in the leg as hard as I could, slamming my shoe into her shin with a loud, almost meaty, crunch. She let out a howl of pain and was immediately sent to the floor as her now-broken leg gave out beneath her.

I pressed my advantage, stepping forward to loom over her while at the same time reaching down to grab her mask. She growled, batting at my hands to try to get me off, but I simply put my foot on the exact same place I had kicked and applied a firm pressure, causing her to hiss loudly and change her priorities.

Gripping Bakuda's mask, I ripped it off of the woman's head, exposing the woman's angry face to my own enraged gaze. She tried to jerk out of my grip but I brought both of my hands down to grab her by her head, using my enhanced strength to squeeze her skull hard enough to hurt but not enough to damage her. She hissed in pain, squeezing her eyes shut at the feeling but I couldn't have that. My plan wouldn't work if she couldn't see me.

Adjusting my grip, I grabbed her eyelids and forced them open, making her look directly into my face whether she wanted to or not. She grabbed my hands, trying to move them but I held firm, staring into her eyes as my power went to work.

"You are so proud of your genius, Bakuda. Proud enough that you believed it would allow you to best me with such underhanded tactics." Bakuda's eyes darted around in panic as my own began to undergo a change. I held her still, leaning closer until our faces were practically touching, "In return for all you attempted to take from me, I will take that genius from you. Alongside everything else that makes you who you are."

Bakuda's struggles increased at my words until the woman was practically thrashing in my grip. I kept her still, keeping her head place as I gazed deeply into her eyes, my transformation finalizing itself. Immediately, my sight went black, blindness overcoming me and rendering me completely unable to even see the woman before me.

Despite that however, I could still see Bakuda. More importantly, I could see the woman for who she truly was as her very personality began to leak from her mind and into my own instead.

"NO!" Bakuda screamed, thrashing harder than ever before as I worked on her mind, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? S-STOP IT!"

I ignored her screams, feasting on her memories and reveling in the insight they brought me in regards to the woman I was currently restraining. Bakuda was a cowardly woman, so overcome by her own ego that calling it narcissism would be a massive understatement. She lived and breathed to prove that she was better than anyone else, it was all that drove her, important to her above all else. A superiority complex like none I had seen before.

Alongside that complex came a healthy amount of delusion as well. From the day that he had found her, she believed that she deserved to stand in my spot, to rule over the ABB with my father as his heir, and I was getting in the way of that. It seemed that I had caught her ire from literally the first time she had learned of my existence.

Every time I disparaged her work or dismissed one of her ideas, I was unknowingly increasing the hatred
that the woman held for me, building the pressure behind the proverbial dam that was her self control until it finally erupted. The bomb that she had used on me was a modified version of the one that she had once offered to use during our war with the Empire. She imagined it would be a poetic end to the person she thought was holding back her greatness.

It was truly unfortunate then, that she would never get the chance to try again where she had so sorely failed.

The Glawackus was a creature from North American folklore said to drain the memories of all who looked into its blind eyes. That was I was currently subjecting Bakuda to, leeching the very things that made her who she was from her mind and taking a great amount of pleasure as I did so.

Bakuda shuddered underneath me, her hands coming up to my arms to try to pry my hands from her skull. They stopped less than halfway up, falling limply back to her sides as her mental capacity was reduced even further, "S-stop… please don't…"

She fell silent as she lost the ability to even speak, her mind draining from her eyes to the point that she was no longer able to produce complex thought.

By the time that it was done, the woman had gone completely limp, my hands on her head the only thing keeping her from falling over in a heap. That changed as I let go of her, tossing her to the floor like the trash she was where she almost immediately curled up into a shuddering ball.

I took a deep breath, allowing my transformation to fade away once more. Bakuda's memories faded along with it, disappearing wherever as the power keeping them within me disappeared and set them free.

Kon was the first to speak after the show I had just put on for them all, "Is she…?"

"She's not dead, though I'm sure she would believe that this is much worse." I said, staring down at the woman as she began to babble random nonsense like a baby. Which probably wasn't far from the truth, "Alice as a person no longer exists. For all intents and purposes, she's an empty shell of a human completely bereft of all personality and memory. The genius that she coveted so much has been reduced to nothing."

The room was completely silent in the wake of my proclamation, each of the men around the table looking towards the comatose cape with varying degrees of horror.

"Damn." Was all he had to say, "That was… something."

"Indeed. A fitting end for one such as her though." I mused, turning to away from the babbling woman

Kon scratched his cheek, "I guess so. Could've done without the screaming and thrashing through. It was kinda unsettling."

I gave him a thin smile, "I'll try to remember that next time I am required to strip a person of their memories and personality and render them a vegetable. Now then…"

I turned to the Faces, my expression becoming serious once more. "I apologize to all of you for being gone so long, but as I am sure you all know by now, it wasn't exactly by choice. Now that I am back however, we can once again begin planning our assault on the heroes to free my father." I looked towards the incontinent Bakuda, "I assume that she has already set some sort of plan in place. If one of you would be so kind as to regale me on the specifics, that would be much appreciated."

Silence. I felt confusion as nobody spoke up at my words and looked back at the Faces. They were all suddenly refusing to meet my eyes and I couldn't help but feel a bit unsettled, "What? Has she not thought of anything?"

That was a bit surprising. Even for all her arrogance, Bakuda held a strange amount of loyalty to my father. I couldn't see her not at least trying to break him out.

A sinking feeling in my stomach, I spoke up once again, trying to meet any of their eyes, "Well? What is it? Is nobody going to speak?"

"Yosei." I looked back as Kon put a hand on my shoulder, a question on the tip of my tongue that immediately faded as I was met with a frown on the normally laid-back man's face. The feeling in my stomach got several magnitudes worse as he shook his head softly, gazing at me with an odd expression.

"I was trying to tell you earlier." His voice was quiet, almost sorrowful, "Yosei, Lung isn't in Brockton Bay anymore."

I froze, my ears not believing what they had heard. "What?"

My voice sounded small even to myself, a tiny, whimpering thing when compared to the commanding tone that I had taken only moments ago when addressing the room. It made Kon wince, and Hiashi took the opportunity to speak, drawing my attention to him instead.

"It seems that your attack on the Rig spooked the heroes." The man said, his voice filled with sympathy, "They called for priority transport of Lung-sama to the Birdcage as soon as possible. Several heroes from Boston were sent to help secure our leader for his journey."

The Birdcage? But my father hadn't done anything to merit such a harsh punishment! I stared at Hiashi in disbelief and he sighed, "The transport left yesterday." He continued softly, "Bakuda was preparing to launch an assault on the convoy but they were out of the city before we could mobilize. With how fast they were moving, Lung-sama is likely already almost there by now. There's no way we're going to be able to rescue him."

"I'm sorry, Yosei. He's gone."

Gone. The word repeated itself over and over in my head even as my heart began to beat loudly in my ears like a war drum, deafening me to all but the revelation that had just been forced onto me.

My father was gone. Taken to the inescapable cage where only the most evil of parahumans had ever set foot. While I was recovering from Bakuda's bomb. The heroes had panicked and sped things up ahead of schedule, stealing him away while I was indisposed to lock him up in a prison without a key. And unless I wished to join him there, I would never see him again.

The whole thing was made even worse as I recalled Hiashi's words. He stated that the transport left yesterday. If I had woken up just a day earlier. I would have caught wind of it leaving and been able to do something about it where she could not. With both myself and my father fighting together, there was not a hero outside of the Triumvirate who would have been able to stop us. We would have escaped and he would be back here, and I wouldn't feel like someone had ripped my goddamn heart out of my chest!

"Then… If my father has indeed been taken to the Birdcage we have no hope of rescuing him." There was a knot in my throat that made it hard to speak but I managed regardless, powering through it with sheer will, "I suppose that meant that command of the ABB falls to me."

Even as I said the words, I wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all. I wanted to scream and rage and tear everything around me apart as I vented my emotions without regard for those around me. I didn't want to lead the ABB. I wanted my father back. I wanted him to walk through that door right now and tell me that I had done a good job in his place with that proud smile that was only reserved for me, before he took his rightful place in the chair behind me, leading us all as he had always done.

But that wasn't how the world worked, I knew that. My father was gone and there was nothing I could do to change that. I would just have to accept the fact and move on, no matter how painful it was. The ABB needed me. The gang that he had built would crumble without guidance and his legacy would fade away. I wouldn't let that happen. Not when he had entrusted me with command in the case that something like this had happened.

I took a deep breath, calling upon all of my willpower and inner strength as I forced all of the horrible feelings that were threatening to consume me into the back of my mind just as I had when I awoke from my three day coma. I was sure that when I finally did break down, it would be a horrific experience, but I couldn't worry about that right now. The ABB needed its leader, and that was me now.

My eyes snapped open, a new determination filling them as I stared at all of the Faces with a stern gaze.

"To begin, there will be changes in the way that the gang itself operates." I spoke, my voice much stronger than it was moments ago as I looked around at the various men around the room, "The way things have been going is completely unsustainable and as such, will have to be put under strict review. Arms and drug dealing will continue as usual. The operation of our brothels and recruitment will continue as well."

My voice gained an edge as I let some of my rage at the situation leak into it, " However. We will be ceasing the kidnapping of women to put in said brothels, the indiscriminate violence against the people in our territory, ABB or not, and the conscription of those younger than fourteen. Voluntary recruitment will continue as it has been though their duties will depend on their age. Any younger than fourteen will be given non-combat jobs such as manual labor or couriers. No more child soldiers."

These were just the first of the changes that I had been wishing to enact under my father and they were definitely the most drastic of them all. If I was going to take charge, then I was going to do it right.

"Furthermore, preparations for the coming war with the Empire will be abandoned. We will return to business as usual without the looming threat of such a conflict on the horizon which will hopefully allow us to recoup any losses we will sustain during the changes." I turned to the rather portly man sitting next to Aoi, "Sadao, how are our funds looking?"

"Not quite in the red but rather close, Yosei-sama." The man answered promptly, "All the preparations that we have been making, combined with all of the chaos recently, has made it rather hard to keep track of things."

I nodded at his words, "Write up a report as well as a spreadsheet on our finances and have it sent to my office as soon as possible. Together, we might be able to salvage the situation before we lose more than we already have as we adjust to the changes."

Sadao bowed, "As you say, Yosei-sama."

"Are you insane!?"

The room went completely silent at Takao's sudden outburst. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as I turned my attention to the man, my face a cold mask of stoicism as he blatantly spoke against a direct command, "Do you have concerns, Takao?"

Takao's face was practically red with anger, "Yes I have concerns! Do you have any idea what you're asking me to do? Our brothels are our most lucrative operation! What you are suggesting will cripple them completely!"

"Then we will simply make up for it in other aspects." I said, eying his shaking form, "I am not ceasing operations of your brothels altogether, although I likely should. They will remain in operation and those who wish to stay, may. However, kidnapping and selling the women in our territory is something I simply will not abide by, no matter how profitable."

"You shortsighted fool!" Takao growled, "My operations allow us a great deal of insight into the city's most affluent individuals! Even the Medhall executives have spent time enjoying our wares! The amount of blackmail we'll lose out on alone will cripple the gang if we do what you are suggesting!"

A snarl wished to come to my face at his blatant disrespect but I kept it in check, instead lowering my voice as I stared at the man in open disgust, "I have decided, Takao. Are you going to disobey my direct commands? Even knowing that my father left this gang in my hands? That for all intents and purposes, his authority is now mine?"

"Of course I am!" Takao said angrily, standing from his chair, "You're asking me to cripple my operations for the sake of some whores who aren't fit to do anything but be whores! It's pure madness! If all of your decisions are as poor as this one, then the gang won't last another month!"

I watched Takao look around at the other men sitting around the table, "Why should we have to follow her just because she's Lung's daughter? She clearly has no idea what she's doing! We're the ones responsible for keeping the gang intact! We should be the ones leading it! Not some jumped up little girl with too much power on her hands! Right!?"

He obviously expected his colleagues to rally behind him, to give him their support in deposing me from the proverbial throne that my father had sat upon. He was sorely disappointed however, as all of the men present stared at him like he was the dullest of morons.

It made sense of course. While I had taken great strides to improve the ABB and its operations, I hadn't really bothered with the brothels as it was a bit of a hot button issue for me. If I were to get more insight into how exactly they operated more than what was strictly necessary, I was liable to beg my father to allow me to tear it down to its foundations.

The other Faces were more than used to my presence within their operations as I guided and shifted things around in whichever way would benefit the ABB, but Takao certainly wasn't. That meant that while he may have believed I did nothing for the gang as a whole, his fellows knew the truth.

And in his ignorance, he had all but attempted a coup, banking on the help of men who were actually loyal to myself and what I had done for them. The poor fool.

"I'd say that's as good of a confession as any, wouldn't you, boss?" Kon spoke up into the silent room. All attention turned to me as I stared daggers at Takkao who was suddenly looking a lot less confident in himself without the backing of his fellow Faces.

I took a deep breath, "Yes. Yes it is. Lee?"

As soon as the name left my lips, the masked man was already standing behind Takao, a long knife held to the man's neck as the Lee behind me faded into ash. Takao flinched at the man's sudden reappearance which caused the knife held to his jugular to bite into his neck slightly, a red pearl of blood trailing down his throat as the skin broke against Lee's razor-sharp blades.

Takao went stock-still, his eyes widening in horror, "W-What are you doing!?"

Instead of answering his question, I posed one of my own. "As a Face, you know the punishment for betraying the gang, do you not?" My voice was deathly calm as I spoke to the trembling man, "My father does not tolerate traitors in the slightest, Takao and neither do I. You should have remembered that when you decided to attempt to leak the names of your fellow Faces to unknown parties."

Heads shot towards the man whose face paled as he realized that he had been caught red-handed. Still, he tried to keep a brave face in spite of it all, "I-I did no such thing." He denied angrily, "Your accusations are completely baseless, Yosei! I demand you release me immediately!"

"I'm sure they are." I nodded simply, before turning to Lee, "Take him to Nana. I'm sure she'll be able to find out what he's hiding."

Takao's face paled like I had just stabbed him in the gut with a rusty paring knife. He thrashed as Lee sheathed his knife and grabbed his arms, forcing them behind his back. "Y-You don't know what you're doing!" He screamed at the top of his lungs as Lee produced a length of fishing line from one of his pouches and began tying his hand together, "He won't let me talk! He'll kill me before he lets me talk!"

"Then I suppose Nana will have to work quickly." I said coldly, nodding to Lee, "Begone."

"NO!" Takao screamed as he was forced to stand, trying to thrash out of Lee's grip. Unfortunately, the man was fifty-two and in no position to fight against the experienced cape. He was put under Lee's control easily and made to begin walking towards the door despite his attempts, "You can't! He'll kill me! Please! No!"

Kon slammed the doors closed behind the two, muffling Takao''s shouting as he was forced down the hall towards his supposed doom. As the shouts faded away, Kon turned to look at me, an oddly amused expression on his face.

I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering exactly what was so funny and he shook his head lightly, "It's nothing just… He does know that he would have been killed anyway, right? Like, betraying the ABB is the one thing you don't do unless you want a bullet in the back of your head."

That was true. Apart from special cases like Bakuda, the punishment for a high ranking individual betraying the ABB was almost always death. Had Kaito not suffered his ill-timed heart attack when I punished him some months ago, he would have likely been dead within the week.

"Perhaps he believes that whoever 'he' is, is capable of making his end much more excruciating than anything Nana could do." I postulated.

"You should tell her that. She'll definitely work faster." Kon sighed, shaking his head, "Anyway, good work, boss. Your leadership skills never fail to impress me. You took care of all of that much quicker than even I thought you would."

Boss. Though the word wasn't uncommon coming from Kon, it served as a stark reminder of my father's fate and what it meant. I immediately tried to do as I had before and shove the feelings away, but they were simply coming on too strongly for me to do so. A knot formed in my throat and I felt the sting of tears making themselves known, and used all my willpower to keep it together for just one more moment.

"Yes… I suppose I'm used to it at this point." I swallowed roughly before looking at them all once more. Hiashi's face was twisted in sympathy while the others were simply awaiting orders.

I squared my shoulders, making sure to keep a firm countenance as well as a strong voice as I spoke despite knowing I was mere moments form a breakdown, "All of you, write up and bring this quarter's reports on your respective operations to my office, as well as reports on what exactly Bakuda managed to do while I was indisposed. Hiashi, I will need to speak with you privately tomorrow after I get settled so be prepared for my call."

A chorus of agreements rang out at my words, and I then turned my eyes to Kon, motioning towards where Bakuda was still curled up on the floor, "Can you call someone to come take care of this? Have them drop her off on the edge of our territory and inform the heroes of her whereabouts."

Kon nodded, though his face was slightly concerned as he looked at me, apparently noticing that I was barely holding it together, "I'll take care of it, Yosei, don't worry."

I took a deep, shuddering breath, "Good. Then all of you tend to your duties and do not bother me for the rest of the evening."

I turned and briskly walked to the doors, throwing them open and leaving the room behind without another word. I was barely holding myself together at this point, shudders shaking my entire body and my blood pounding in my ears as my mind replayed the same thing over and over again.

My father was gone. The man who had raised me, cared for me for my entire life, was lost to me unless I wished to join him in the proverbial hell that he likely was now trapped in. I would never again feel his reassuring presence or hear his voice rumbling with fatherly approval. It was just like what happened to my mother all over again.

The thought broke what little decorum I had remaining and the first tears began to fall down my face. I sped up my pace as I felt myself begin to come undone, wanting to at least be in private before I broke down.

I just barely managed to get there before the sobs that I had been holding back finally began to escape my mouth. I practically burst into my office, slamming the door shut behind me and slumping down against it as my self control failed and a keening wail escaping my mouth as I finally processed the loss of the most stable presence in my life.

It would be the first of many.

---

Next five chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Sadguychet]

"And your total comes out to 14.88." The cashier said happily, as if he hadn't charged Tammi nearly fifteen dollars for a fucking sandwich and nothing else.
Tammi sighed, reaching into her wallet to grab a five and ten dollar-bill. She put it on the counter, grabbing her sandwich in exchange, "Keep the change, I guess." She said, turning to leave with her meal.

"Have a lovely day, ma'am!" The cashier called after her.

Tammi held back the snort that wanted to come out of her mouth at his words, instead just waving her arm in a silent farewell to the surprisingly polite man. Have a lovely day. She hadn't had one of those all week, and she had a feeling that wasn't going to change any time soon.

She frowned as she got to the door of the shop, noticing that the Boardwalk had become quite a bit busier even though she had been in the store for less than ten minutes. That was just great. She should have come here earlier.

Making sure that all of her belongings were properly secured, Tammi stepped out of the shop and made her way into the crowd of meandering bodies, doing her best to not make eye contact with anybody as she did so. Thanks to all the shit that happened to the Merchants, the Enforcers had been particularly nasty lately and she definitely didn't look like she should be here. She'd rather not set them off if she could help it.

Journeying this far away from downtown was a bit risky but she had been craving this sandwich for some reason and decided that the journey was well worth the trouble. As long as she didn't take too long, she'd be back to the shelter in time to get her spot with more than enough time to spare.

Being homeless wasn't something that Tammi had ever thought she'd have to deal with but now that she had, she suddenly found herself much more sympathetic towards people who chose to join the Merchants. She was getting by well enough because she was a somewhat high-profile villain and as such, had managed to make quite a bit of money on the side that nobody in the Empire knew about. If she didn't have that, she could see how turning to pushing and using drugs would be a preferable alternative.

Still, even if she sympathized with them, trash was still trash, and the Merchants were the trashiest of them all. Tammi may be homeless now, but even if she didn't have money she'd die before becoming one of their whores or something disgusting like that.

Her face curling in disgust, Tammi purged the thought from her mind, instead preoccupying herself with finding somewhere to sit so she could eat her sandwich before the bread got soggy. After only a few seconds of searching, she managed to spot an empty bench overlooking the pier through the crowd and bee-lined towards it, pushing through the throng of people to reach it before someone else took it.

She made it to it in time and plopped herself down, sighing happily as the weight was taken off of her feet. As she settled in, she got stared at by people walking by as she took up practically half the bench with her backpack, but she didn't give a shit what they thought. She'd been for over two hours and this was her bench now, and would be until she decided to get up again.

She unwrapped her sandwich and bit into it, closing her eyes in bliss as garlic and oil slid over her tongue and coated her mouth in its delicious flavors. Oh yeah, this was definitely worth the hour-long walk.

As she ate, Tammi reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her phone, rolling her eyes as she turned it on and was immediately met with over a dozen messages from people she was almost certain she had blocked. Guess they really wanted her back if they changed their numbers just to get ahold of her.

Deciding that there was no harm in looking, she picked one of the message chains at random and opened it up, reading what they'd sent her. Threats from Alabaster and Krieg, some attempt to appeal to family by Purity which she probably could have predicted, and pleading by Ophelia to come back before her aunt did something crazy to try to get her back.

Tammi scoffed at the notion. Agnes probably didn't even know she was living in a homeless shelter now, much less which one she was at. The old bag could try and find her but with her power, she could be halfway across the state in just a few hours.

Tammi deleted her cousin's message, and then went through the rest of them and did the same, not even bothering to read what they said. They were probably all threats or some shit anyways.

As she deleted the last one, a bright white box lit up on her screen, causing her to scowl as she was met with a warning that her phone was dangerously low and would need to be charged soon.

She dismissed the alert angrily. That was just fucking great, there was no way any of the stores around here would let her sit in them and charge it. They were all tourist traps, they didn't like sit-ins and she wouldn't be surprised if she got the Enforcers called on her.

Hell, the only place that she could think of that had outlets and would let you sit and use them was that cafe she and Yuko always hung out at but that was at least ten miles away and in the other direction of downtown and she was not walking that far from her only place of shelter right now.

Yuko. The thought of her friend made Tammi frown slightly as she tossed her empty sandwich wrapper into a conveniently-placed trash can nearby. She hadn't heard from her best friend in way too long and even though her own state of affairs wasn't exactly the best, she couldn't help but start to worry about the other girl. They had been texting basically every day before this sudden lapse in contact, but she hadn't heard a single thing from the girl since before she abandoned the Empire. What was she up to? Was she okay?

Her frown deepening, she looked down at her phone, debating with herself as she took in the eight percent of charge the device had left.

'Screw it.' She decided as she pulled up her contacts to find Yuko's name, 'Not like I'll die if my phone does.'

As she pressed call and put the phone to her ear, Tammi wasn't really expecting much. She had been trying to get a hold of her friend for the last week and hadn't been able to. None of her texts had gone through and her calls didn't even connect, and she had a feeling today wouldn't be any different-

Tammi's thoughts halted as the call was picked up before the first ring could even finish, "Hello, Tammi." Yuko's soft voice came through her phone speaker, "I'm very sorry if I've missed any of your calls or texts. My phone was broken and I only just managed to replace it today."

Yuko's voice was like a soothing balm on Tammi's frazzled mental state, even moreso since she hadn't even truly been expecting to hear it. The worry for her friend that had been sitting in the back of her mind for the past week disappeared, replaced by an intense feeling of relief that filled her easily.

"Holy shit dude, I've been trying to call you for like a week!" A nearby person gave her a dirty look at her language but she didn't, ignoring them in favor of her best friend, "What happened to your phone? Is everything okay?"

"I'm alright, Tammi. Thank you for your concern." Despite her words, Tammi could hear something hidden in her friend's normally sincere tone that she was doing her best to hold back.

"You don't sound alright. What's going on, Yuko?" Tammi said, a bit of concern leaking into her voice.

There was a small pause after her blunt remark, "I… may have exaggerated a bit." Yuko admitted, "Truth be told, I received some horrible news recently and am having trouble coping with it. I believe I was on the verge of another panic attack the other day but of course, with my phone broken I simply had to deal with it."

Tammi sat up on the bench slightly, "Wait, really? Shit, I'm sorry to hear that. What got you so worked up?" She asked.

"It is a variety of things. Though the news definitely played a rather large factor in it." Yuko sighed, "Not to mention, on top of that, my workload has increased nearly threefold in the last two days alone. The combination of the lack of sleep and the stress of my occupation is not doing wonders for my mental health."

"You haven't been sleeping."

"Not much. Maybe two or three hours a night."

Tammi winced, knowing how hard Yuko already worked before the change, "Seriously? Is there nobody around to help you?"

"Even if there was, I likely wouldn't trust them to." Tammi could almost see Yuko shaking her head and heard the shuffling of papers in the background, "My job is extremely important. If someone else were able to do it, it wouldn't be nearly as required as it is."

"You want to talk about it? The bad news, I mean." Tammi asked, despite knowing what the answer would be. Yuko was oddly secretive when it came to certain things and she had a feeling this was one of those things.

She was proven right as Yuko immediately denied her help, "No. I appreciate it, Tammi, truly, but I think I need time to truly process things before I'm ready to talk about it. I hope you understand."

"Of course. I get it." Tammi said, understanding leaking into her voice, "If you ever do want to talk about it though, just give me a call. You're my best friend, dude. I don't want you feeling bad if I can do something to help, you know?"

"Thank you, Tammi. I'm very grateful to have someone like you in my corner." Tammi could hear Yuko's smile in her voice as she spoke, and it caused the blonde to smile as well, happy that she had cheered up her friend.

"Anyway, did you need something or would you just like to chat?" Yuko asked, her chair creaking in a way that Tammi assumed meant she was leaning back, "I'm not doing anything that requires a great deal of attention at the moment."

At Yuko's words, Tammi suddenly had an idea. She wasn't sure if it was a good one, but it was one that would get her out of that homeless shelter if it paid off.

She bit her lip, debating for a moment before deciding to just go for it, "I did need something, actually. If you don't mind, I mean."

"Of course I don't, Tammi." She could tell Yuko was smiling, "You're my friend. Ask away."

Tammi took a deep breath, gathering her courage, "Alright so uh, this is gonna sound super weird, especially since I haven't even really been to your house before but… You mind if I chill at your place for a few days? Maybe a week or two? I kinda got kicked out of mine and don't really have anywhere to stay."

There was a pause on the other end of the line as Yuko processed what she just said, before her voice came back, a small layer of anger underneath her polite tone, "Your parents kicked you out?"

"Well they didn't say they were kicking me out exactly but uh, there was a lot of shouting, screaming about responsibility and maybe about sending me to juvie too." Tammi sucked her teeth, "I miiiight have broken a lamp and maybe a really nice vase too before I left so I guess it was more me running away than being kicked out. Sorry."

"When did this happen?"

Tammi winced slightly, "A week ago? Give or take a few days."

"You've been on the street for a week!?" Yuko's polite voice gave way to one filled with horror which just made Tammi feel like shit.

Tammi tried her best to reassure the other girl, "Nah, I got a spot in the shelter downtown the first day so I've been mostly fine. I'd rather not stay there longer than I have to, though."

"Tammi, I'm so sorry. If I had known I would have done something right away. Of course you can stay with me."

Tammi smiled, a massive amount of relief filling her, "Seriously? Thank you so much, dude. I really appreciate it. I'll try to stay out of the way as much as possible and not overstay my welcome, I promise."

"Nonsense, I enjoy your company and would be more than happy to host you for however long as you'd like, Tammi." Yuko said and the sound of something moving in the background bled through the speaker, "There are several unused guest rooms in my house that I can get prepared for your arrival. Would you prefer the ground floor or the second floor?"

Tammi's mind stalled at her friend's words. Several unused rooms? Tammi had always suspected that Yuko had money given the clothes she wore or even the way she spoke, but she was thinking upper middle-class at best. If she was actually telling the truth, then Tammi had severely underestimated just how loaded her friend was.

"Uh… ground floor, I guess. I don't think I'm capable of using stairs when I first wake up." She said after a moment of thought.

"Wonderful, I'll tell someone to make sure it's clean for your arrival."

And she had servants too!? Holy shit, was she some sort of princess or something? Now Tammi couldn't wait to get over there and take a look at the house her friend lived in. It was probably absolutely massive.

Yuko spoke again, this time with much more hesitance in her voice, "Although…"

Tammi's smile fell at Yuko's tone, "What? Is there something wrong?"

"Possibly." Yuko said, "Before we do this, I need to speak with you about something. Something I've been meaning to speak with you about for while now."

Tammi's eyes widened slightly. A sentence like that could mean many things, but her mind automatically went to one. One that had been on her own practically all week after she was freed from the constraints that being in the Empire forced on her.

Her mouth felt dry as she spoke, "Yeah? What is it?"

"Not on the phone. It is something best explained in person. Do you know the fancy Italian restaurant off of Sixth and Cedar downtown?"

Tammi did. It had been a place she had been wanting to try with Yuko for a while now but had never asked. It was the kind of place that you didn't bring someone to unless you were with a party or had intentions. That made it off limits, Or at least it did while she was still in the Empire…

"Yeah, I know the place. Osteria-something, right?"

"That's the one. Would you like to have dinner there tonight? Say around…" Tammi could hear Yuko shuffling paper's in the background, "Eight? It would be my treat, of course."

Tammi's breath caught slightly, "Are you asking me out?" She asked before she could think. The moment the words were out of her mouth, she realized what she had said and immediately went into full-panic mode, trying to recover from her fuckup, "B-Because I wouldn't mind, you know. If that's even what you're asking, I mean."

What the fuck was she doing!?This wasn't some cheesy romance movie, people don't just ask that! They just kind of hope it silently until they get to the restaurant and are disappointed that they got their hopes up! She'd just primed herself for rejection and humiliation at the same time!

Fuck, she might have just screwed this all up. She hadn't wanted to let her feelings be known until she was sure that Yuko actually returned them! Spouting shit like that out of the blue was not the way to do it!

Yuko was silent for a long moment, only adding to Tammi's anxiety, before she finally spoke, "...That wasn't quite what I had in mind, no. The talk I had in mind was of a much different nature and certainly not so fanciful. I just felt it would be better received over your favorite meal. My apologies."

A knot of intense disappointment formed in Tammi's stomach, but she tried not to let it show in her voice, "Uh, right. Sorry I just thought… you know." She said after a moment, finding it oddly hard to speak all of the sudden.

"Of course, I understand. It's just… this is something that I probably should have told you quite a while ago. I would like to get it out of the way before you commit to living with me."

"Yeah. Yeah I get it, dude. Sorry for jumping the gun like that." Tammi said softly, cursing at herself in her head for being so hasty.

"It's completely fine, Tammi, really." Yuko's voice took on a different quality, much lighter and far less serious, "I will say, I certainly wouldn't be opposed to revisiting that subject after our talk. Should you still wish it after what I need to tell you."

Tammi blinked, barely believing what she had just heard, "...Really?"

Yuko giggled, the sound ringing in Tammi's ears like a soothing bell, "Of course. I'm rather fond of you, Tammi. You are probably the person I find myself looking forward to speaking to out of everyone I know." As Tammi was left stunned by Yuko's words, there was the sound of an opening door and a male voice saying something that Tammi couldn't understand, "Ah, I need to go now. I have a meeting I need to attend in a few minutes and need to get ready for it. I'll see you at eight?"

"Yeah." Tammi said, nodding her head automatically, "I'll be there."

"Wonderful. I look forward to seeing yo-"

Yuko was suddenly cut off in the middle of her sentence, breaking Tammi out of her daze, "Yuko? You there? Hello?"'

Nothing. Tammi pulled back her phone and was met with a completely black screen, and it only took her a second to realize that it had finally died on her, just barely lasting to the end of the conversation between herself and her friend.

Tammi stared at her now-dead phone for another moment before slowly putting it away. Afterwards, she just sat there for a few minutes, thinking about the conversation that had just ended. And what it meant for her and Yuko's relationship.

Tammi wasn't some stupid schoolgirl who had never had a crush before. She knew exactly how she felt about her friend, had for a while now actually, though she'd admit it took her an embarrassing amount of time to actually get there.

Even just a year ago, if someone had said that she would have developed a crush on another girl, much less an Asian girl, it would have sent Tammi spiraling into a raging denial that would probably have ended with a few thousand dollars in property damage at the very least. But that was a year ago when she still bought into everything that they were selling. Since then, Tammi had met Yuko and had had plenty of time to be introspective and more importantly, truthful to herself.

Tammi always knew in the back of her mind that the way that she interacted with Yuko was different. At first, she had just chalked it up to the fact that Yuko was pretty much the only friend she had, but there were only so many times that you could have your entire mood lifted by a single text from said 'friend' before you started to wonder if something else might be there.

Denial was the first reaction that she had to the realization of the depths of her feelings. She was still firmly in the Empire mindset, and although that mindset had been loosening more and more as the two of them hung out, she still maintained that she was completely straight. She'd had boyfriends before and even enjoyed the relationships for as long as they lasted. That meant she couldn't be a lesbian, right?

That defense fell apart extremely quickly as the two of them spent more and more time together, before eventually crumbling to dust completely after the trip to Boston. It had taken a little while, but she and Yuko had finally managed to get together so the girl could teach Tammi how to properly use the supplies that she had bought.

Since neither of their houses were available, they had rented out a room in a local store that was meant for board games and D&D and the like. They had set up there for a few hours as Yuko did her best to teach Tammi how to partake in one of her favorite hobbies.

Spending that much time with Yuko, just the two of them in that tiny room as she showed Tammi the basics of color theory and how to properly shade and all that jazz, had been extremely enlightening to her. As the hours went by, she found herself scooting closer to the girl to take a look at an example she was being shown and not moving back afterwards, instead remaining right there, their shoulders touching as Yuko practically gushed about art, ecstatic that Tammi was taking an interest in one of her own interests.

It was in that room, when Yuko had turned to her to answer a question and left their faces mere inches away from one another, that Tammi was forced to admit her feelings. A straight girl wouldn't have glanced down at her best friend's lips and wondered how said friend would have reacted if she leaned forward to close those last few inches. A straight girl wouldn't have spent the entire next day wondering how her best friend would have reacted if she had actually followed through on her fantasies and closed those last few inches between them, pressing their lips together in a decidedly not friendly kiss.

Faced with all of these facts, Tammi had to face the truth for what it was. She wasn't straight. Not only that, but she had feelings for her best friend. Her Asian best friend. While being a well known Empire cape.

That realization had led her to be much more careful with Yuko on the occasions that they spent time in person. She tried her best to ignore the things she was just now noticing, like how she had a tendency to close her eyes when she laughed too hard or the way that the other girl's touches seemed to linger just a bit too long on occasion and the hope that stirred within Tammi when they did. She ignored all of this and more, because she knew that she wasn't sneaky enough to hide a relationship from Kaiser and that being discovered would mean a beating at best and something happening to Yuko at worst.

…But now she wasn't in the Empire anymore. She didn't have to give a single shit what they thought or approved of. She was free of them. Free to do whatever the hell she wanted without them being able to do a damn thing about it.

Free to date the girl who, if she was reading the conversation right, might actually return her feelings.

Picking up her things, Tammi stood from the bench and began the long walk back to the homeless shelter. It was a little after five right now so she should have time to actually take a shower and make herself a little bit presentable for her date.

'Not a date, Tammi. Not officially.' She reminded herself as made her way back into the crowd, 'Yuko has something important she needs to tell you and you're gonna listen to what she has to say before trying shit.'

Her thoughts did absolutely nothing to bring down her mood however, and for the first time in days, Tammi found herself smiling as easily as she had before all this shit went down. She was glad that even when life had completely fallen apart, she at least had a best friend who was willing to assist her in her time of need and help her pick it all back up.

And maybe a bit more if she plays her cards right. Yuko said this talk might change her mind on wanting to date her but Tammi severely doubted it.

After all, it wasn't like Yuko's secret could be worse than her own.

---

Next five chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Sadguychet]

Sitting in a booth in the back of the restaurant, I tried my best to keep myself from fidgeting too overtly as I awaited Tammi's arrival. I kept my fingers laced together, deliberately not looking towards the clock that was hung on the wall to my right.

This… might not have been a good idea.

"Excuse me ma'am." A voice came from my left. I turned to find a well-dressed waiter giving me an expectant look, "Would you like an appetizer while you wait for your companion? We have an excellent selection to choose from."

I gave him a smile, shaking my head, "Just water will be more than fine, thank you."

"Of course, ma'am. I'll be back in just a bit."

I stared after the man for a moment before returning my eyes to the table in front of me and turning my thoughts inward.

The last thing that I had suspected yesterday was a call from Tammi. I had been fully prepared to call the girl once I finished with my duties, and to have her call me herself was a bit of a surprise. Even more surprising was the subject of the call itself.

I could barely believe that Tammi had been kicked out of her home. Parents were supposed to care for their children above nearly all else. Barring the most extreme of crimes or actions, there was absolutely no reason for an adult to tell their child that they were unwelcome in their home. For them to kick out Tammi, a girl who, at least to my knowledge, was a completely normal teenager and threaten her with juvie was absolutely abhorrent.

I had half a mind to find out exactly who these people were and pay them a visit to find out what in the world they were thinking, preferably while in costume. Unfortunately, I had a feeling that Tammi would react to that rather poorly.

Almost as poorly as she might react to what was going to be revealed tonight.

Footsteps approaching me broke me out of my thoughts. I looked up, expecting to see the waiter having returned with my drink, only to be met with a very different sight.

Tammi gave me a slightly-nervous smile as she approached, along with a small wave, "Hey, Yuko. Sorry I'm late. I had a bit of trouble deciding what to wear."

I swallowed dryly as I took her in. Tammi had always been pretty, but tonight it was clear that she had deliberately stepped it up a notch. Her hair had been carefully brushed and hung in a draping curtain over her left shoulder and I could spot the barest hint of eyeshadow around her eyes that definitely hadn't been there ever before. I didn't even know she owned makeup.

"You're wearing a skirt." I said before I could think about it. Tammi's current outfit was pretty far removed from her usual attire, and to my knowledge she had never worn anything like it before. A denim skirt that hung around her knees and an open leather jacket that showed off her dark top.

The ensemble had a decidedly punk theme, yet somehow looked more refined on Tammi than it would on practically anyone else. It suited her perfectly

"Is it too much?" She asked, looking a bit embarrassed as she patted down her skirt, "I packed it without thinking when I left my parent's house and it's probably the nicest thing I've got right now. Figured a place like this would require at least a little dressing up."

I shook my head immediately, "No no, it looks nice. You look nice, Tammi."

It was too dark to tell, but I could swear that Tammi blushed at my compliment, "Thanks." she said softly as she sat down in the booth, "You look great too. I like what you've done with your hair."

I brought a hand up at her words, pushing the dangling black bangs out from in front of my left eye, "You think so? I thought it might be a bit too bold when it was suggested to me."

Tammi gave me a nod, smiling softly, "Yeah. It looks great on you. Adds a bit of flair and really accentuates your scar. I-In a good way, I mean. It's striking."

"Thank you, Tammi." I said, feeling a slight blush cross my cheeks.

I hadn't changed my hairstyle in years, always opting for the same straight and serious bob that I had maintained since I was thirteen. After all of the drastic changes that had happened in my life recently though, I felt that I was due one as well.

It had been a spur of the moment decision, but that single compliment made it more than worth it. I gave Tammi a smile as she grabbed her menu, looking through it eagerly, "Alright, so what do we have her-jeez!" I giggled as Tammi's eyes practically bulged out of her skull as she took in the prices on the menu. She looked up at me, "Dude, what the heck is with these prices? Forty dollars for a Rigatoni Martino? I can't afford this!"

"Which is why I said I'll be paying for it." I smiled gently at the blonde, "I told you. Tonight is my treat. I don't expect you to pay for it." Especially not with the talk that would take place afterwards.

This time, the blush that crossed Tammi's cheeks was plain as day as she returned my smile with one of her own, "Okay, Yuko. If you insist. Don't say I didn't warn you though. You know Italian is my favorite type of food."

I just giggled lightly as I picked up my own menu, doing my best to hide my anxiety as I gave her a soft smile, "That's why I picked it."

Hopefully the food would do its job of softening the blow of the revelation that was to come.

~~~

"Oh my god, that was so good."

I echoed Tammi's sentiment with a satisfied hum as I placed my own fork and knife on my plate, using a napkin to wipe my face free of the bolognese left on my lips. I wasn't the biggest fan of Italian, finding it a bit too oily and overly filling besides, but this was definitely a restaurant I was going to be patroning again. The meal was absolutely delicious.

But now it was over, and what I was about to do next loomed heavy over my head like a dark cloud. I temporarily debated ordering dessert as a way to postpone the impending talk, but that idea was quickly thrown out as I realized I was far too full to eat anything else. It seemed that it was time to get this over with.

"Tammi…" I spoke up, breaking her out of the food-induced haze of pure bliss. 'I think it's about time we have that talk."

She looked confused and slightly worried, before her eyes widened in understanding. "Oh yeah, that talk. Right, I almost forgot about that with all the fun we were having." Tammi chuckled lightly. I wished I could join her, but I couldn't bring myself to find any merriment in the current situation. She picked up on that, and her chuckles quickly faded into a frown and she became much more serious, sitting up in her chair, "So what's up. You got some bad news for me or something?"

"...I suppose you could say that." I nodded, "Truthfully it depends on your reaction to the news."

Tammi grinned, completely unworried, "Well you've done a fantastic job of buttering me up with this whole dinner date thing. So that's already a few points in your favor. Go ahead and let me hear it."

I couldn't help but wonder if she would say the same thing by the time this was all over. I closed my eyes, taking a moment to gather myself, before opening them once more.

"I suppose the easiest explanation begins with the reason for my near panic-attack last week." I said, lightly tapping my fingers on my thighs, "I received some extremely disheartening news that night and, combined with numerous other factors, caused the episode I told you about over the phone."

"You said you didn't want to talk about it." Tammi said, though her voice was curious instead of accusing.

"And I still don't. At least, not right now." I sighed, "Most of them are unimportant, or are a combination of several things that would require more explanation. The crux of the issue is that a little over a week ago, I lost my father, even though I wasn't aware of that fact."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that dude." Tammi immediately said, her voice heavy with sympathy and compassion. Though I was glad to hear the concern, I immediately knew that she had misunderstood me.

"He's not dead." I clarified, causing her to blink "He's just… permanently indisposed. I doubt I'll ever see him again."

Tammi's face twisted in slight confusion, "Was he like, arrested or something? For how long? Fourty, fifty?"

"Indefinitely." I answered, causing her to whistle lightly.

"Damn. He must've done something bad, huh?" She said, before suddenly wincing, "Oh uh, sorry. That's probably super fucking insensitive of me, isn't it? Keep telling your story, I'll just shut up for now. "

I sighed lightly, "You are not wrong, unfortunately. For all that he was a fantastic parent towards me even in the unfortunate absence of my mother, my father was far from a good man. He committed innumerable actions that would see him put away for life had he been anyone else, but he somehow always managed to escape capture. Until now."

This was it, there was no going back now. I took a breath to steel myself for her reaction before continuing.

"Somehow, some way, my father was captured by the Protectorate." I said simply, causing Tammi to freeze, "They brought him in a little over a week ago and decided that for his crimes, he was to be sent to the Birdcage. The transport left last week, while I was indisposed and that revelation was what caused my panic attack."

"What?" Tammi was shocked, looking at me with wide eyes, "But there haven't been any big arrests recently. They haven't caught any villains that would be sent to the Birdcage except for…" She trailed off, her mind making the connection almost instantly. Her eyes grew even wider if that was possible, her face going slightly pale, and something horrible curled in my gut. "Wait, you mean your dad is… Lung?"

"He was." I confirmed with a quiet nod.

"And that means you're…." She stopped before she said it, as if she was afraid of the answer.

"Yes." I took a breath, before looking into Tammi's eyes with a serious gaze, "I am Yosei. Daughter of Lung, once-heir to the ABB, and as of this week, its new leader."

My proclamation was met with stunned silence. Tammi was completely frozen, just staring at me with wide eyes as she processed what I had just said. I did my best to continue to meet her gaze, but the silence quickly managed to get to me, and I looked away.

"I'm sure you know why I wanted to tell you this before you decided to move in with me." I said, looking down at my empty plate, "It wouldn't be fair to you if I suddenly sprung this on you while you were living with me and left you with nowhere to go. I understand if you-

Tammi stood from her booth abruptly, rattling the table and causing my words to die in my throat. I stared up at her and she looked back with an indecipherable expression, before turning away from the table, "I've got to go."

She left before I had a chance to respond, walking away from the booth and out of the restaurant at a brisk pace. The speed at which she left caught the attention of practically every patron within the restaurant, and as she rushed out of the door and into the night beyond, those eyes turned to me, both pity and silent condemnation present in the gazes of those seated around me.

None of them concerned me. I was far too busy dealing with the knot that had suddenly appeared inside of my throat as well as the clenching in my chest that came alongside it. My eyes stung as I turned my eyes to my empty plate, tears making themselves known behind my eyes with the realization that I just lost my best friend.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had known this was an inevitability. There was no way that even someone like Tammi would be willing to continue associating themselves with such a dangerous person. Much less the new leader of a gang like the ABB.

The clattering of plates on the table caused me to startle, and I looked up to find that the waiter had returned and was cleaning up the dishes that Tammi had left behind. He looked at me with a slight amount of pity, before turning his head to look in the direction she had fled.

"If you don't mind my input, I would go after her if I was you." He said, causing me to raise an eyebrow. He shrugged, grabbing Tammi's empty plate and glass and stacking them atop one another, "It's not really my business, but that look on her face wasn't exactly angry. She looked conflicted. I'd say you still have a chance."

I chuckled sadly, "I doubt it. What you just saw was the result of irreconcilable differences, I'm afraid. I doubt she'll want anything to do with me after tonight."

The waiter looked oddly skeptical, "That wasn't what it looked like to me. I might be watching too many romantic dramas, but that look on her face told me that she really didn't want to leave, but felt like she had to. I'd go see what that was about. Try to get that happy ending that none of us do."

He suddenly shrugged, lifting up the dishes that he had been gathering, "Or don't. I'm just a single waiter who barely makes minimum wage. What do I know?"

What indeed…? I stared at him for a moment, before looking in the direction Tammi had fled in. I bit my lip, warring with myself internally, before coming to a decision.

Though he had misread the situation completely, the waiter was right. There was no way I was going to just let Tammi leave like that before I had a chance to properly explain myself. If I did, there was every possibility that I would simply never see her again. I would lose her for real.

I stood, ignoring all of the eyes on me as I reached into my wallet and pulled out three hundred-dollar bills. I slapped them on the table, giving the waiter a nod. "Keep the change. For the advice." I said, turning away from the surprised man to make my way out of the restaurant.

The amount was likely well over the price of the meal but I was technically dine and dashing since my payment hadn't been processed in any formal capacity. Hopefully this would keep me from being banned from the restaurant or something similar as I would admit that this was a rather enjoyable experience.

Now all I had to do was ensure that I would be able to repeat it in the future.

~~~

Finding Tammi wasn't that difficult. At this time of night, there were only a few places she could go and more importantly, I knew her. After a revelation like that, she would want to be somewhere where she wouldn't be bothered so that she could clear her head.

The closed public park was the perfect place for such a thing. The fence was easy enough to bypass, more of a polite suggestion than anything that would keep any sufficiently motivated individual from entering, and finding Tammi was nearly as simple. The girl was standing right under a street lamp, leaning up against it and staring at the sky as her hands fiddled with her phone.

Her hair was in complete disarray from her sprint here, frizzy and windswept as opposed to the neat style that she had put it in for our talk

She didn't look at me as I approached her, but I could tell that she knew it was me by the way her shoulders tensed and her fingers stopped moving on her phone. My heart sank slightly as I saw that and I stopped a few feet away from her.

For a moment, I just sort of stood there, not really sure what to say. Tammi seemed to be the same, or maybe she was just ignoring me, I wasn't sure. The silence stretched and I berated myself for not coming up with a plan on how to talk about this on the way here.

Eventually, I decided to just come out and say what was in my heart. It wasn't like I could make things much worse anyway.

I followed Tammi's gaze up to the sky, taking in the few stars that were visible through the light pollution, and spoke, "...I'm sorry, Tammi, for concealing this from you for so long. Truly I am. I should have told you long ago."

There was a noise as she shifted against the pole, but she didn't speak. I took that as a sign that she was willing to hear me out and continued, "I've been wanting to tell you for a while now but I guess I was just too scared. You were pretty much the only escape that I had from all of the stress and doubt that came with my position. The only lifeline in an ocean of responsibilities that threatened to drown me at any moment."

The words were flowing easily now as I explained myself the best I could. I looked at my friend, my eyes misting slightly, "With you, I didn't have any expectations or responsibilities. I didn't have to put on this… front of stoicism and leadership that I do with my men, pretending that I'm this impenetrable figure who always knew what she was doing even when she was lost. With you, I could just be Yuko and forget the ABB altogether, at least for a little while. I didn't want to lose that."

Tammi didn't respond at first, just continuing to stare up at the stars above us. My heart sank as she ignored me, her intentions made plain as day. Clearly, my apology had been insufficient. I had screwed this all up.

And then, just as I thought all hope was lost, she spoke.

"How long has… this," She gestured vaguely, "been going on? Since before you met me?"

Hiding my happiness that she wasn't ignoring me, I shook my head, "I've only been Yosei for a short while, six months at most but…I've been a parahuman for years now. I haven't been active in the cape scene due to my father's wishes."

"A while now?"

I thought for a moment, "I believe I triggered when I was around seven."

Tammi's head snapped towards me, all anger gone from her posture as she stared at me in wide-eyed horror, "You triggered that young?" She said, her voice just above a whisper.

I nodded solemnly, "Yes. I triggered during Leviathan's attack on Kyushu when I was a child."

"When you were drowning in that hotspring?" She asked, her voice oddly soft.

I shook my head, "No. It was after that. My father and I were unable to escape before he began sinking the country and I-" I cut myself off as the repressed memories reared their head, the image of asymmetrical green eyes peeking through the torrential downpour appearing in my mind and causing my heartbeat to quicken immediately. I swallowed roughly, "I… don't want to get into it right now if that's alright. It's not a happy memory."

Tammi just nodded, an odd amount of understanding in her eyes, "I get it." She said softly, before a bit of anger returned into her posture, "What I don't get, is why you're only deciding to tell me this now?"

I licked my lips, unsure of how to put this, "Well, along with all of the other factors I mentioned… I suppose I didn't want to get you involved. I know how headstrong you are and I also know that you wouldn't be content to just sit by and not play an active role in things. I…"

I hesitated slightly at my next words, but decided to follow through. I had already bared my biggest secret, what was one more?

"I care for you, Tammi." I confessed, "You're one of the most important people in my life. I didn't want to lose you by dragging you into the danger that Yosei often finds herself in."

Tammi snorted, but it was a short, humorless thing, "Yeah well, fat chance of that." She muttered angrily, though somehow, I could tell that the anger wasn't directed at me.

Still, I was confused by what she had said, "What do you mean?" I asked, before my eyes narrowed and my tone dropped drastically, "Have my men been giving you issues?"

"No, nothing like that. It's just…" Tammi shook her head, an oddly agitated expression coming over her face before she huffed, "Look, my own personal shit isn't exactly as bad as yours, but my life isn't all peaches and cream either. Even before all the shit that went down with my parents."

She pushed off of the pole that she was leaning against, and my gaze followed her curiously as she made her way towards the bench that we were standing beside.

She reached out with a hand, running it along the back of the bench as a conflicted expression came to her face, "Honestly, I don't really have any right to be angry with you, and I'm not even sure that I am." Tammi said softly as she rubbed the cool metal, "I think I'm more angry with myself. You're not the only one who's been hiding shit she shouldn't have. You're just the one who actually decided to man up and be straight with everything…"

She sighed, before looking at me. I was surprised to see that there was little to no anger there, just wariness, "So I guess I should follow your lead, huh?"

I gave the girl a confused look, but before I was able to say anything, I was left frozen in surprise as the bench that she had been touching suddenly began to move. It raised upwards, beginning to float into the air at the apparent behest of the girl next to me in a very familiar way. This was…

"I'm Rune." Tammi confessed, gesturing to the floating bench as I stared at it in shock, "Or well, I was. I left all that behind a week ago. It's part of why I was kicked out of my house. My parents didn't want anything to do with me when I was a part of the Empire, and because I left like I did, they didn't want Kaiser knocking on their door demanding me back."

I stared at her as I registered what she said. Tammi stared at the bench under her control and my mind almost automatically interposed an image of the telekinetic cape over my best friend. Her build was the same, as was the shade of her hair, a golden blonde that gleamed even in the dim light we now found ourselves in.

My mind went back to the cape's voice and how oddly familiar it had been. At the time, I had just thought I frequented a place that Rune happened to as well, but that wasn't the case was it. The reason that Rune's voice had been so familiar to me wasn't just random coincidence, it was because it belonged to my best friend as well.

And with that realization, came another, much more concerning one.

"The trip to Boston..." I said slowly as I remembered that last encounter I had with the cape, the fear on her face as I held her in my grip, "I was the one who broke your arm, wasn't I?"

Tammi snorted, looking at me, "That's what you got out of this? Not that I was a neo-nazi until a week ago?" My face held no humor in it and she immediately sobered up, looking away again, "Yeah, you broke my arm, and I called you a… yeah."

The silence stretched, and Tammi took the time to lower the bench back down to the ground, placing it back in its proper place with a soft motion. There was a tight frown on her face

"Do you… share their beliefs, as well?" I couldn't help but ask.

Tammi was silent for a long moment, much longer than I had hoped she would be. Then finally, she spoke.

"I used to." She admitted, "When I first joined, I practically ate up everything they fed me, from the racism to the other bullshit propaganda. I really believed that whites were better than anyone else, that all other races were… violent savages or just stupider than we were."

"...Oh." What could I even say to that?

"But I don't think that anymore!" Tammi insisted, staring at me imploringly, "O-or at least I'm trying not to. I still sometimes find myself thinking all these horrible thoughts when I look at people who aren't white, but I'm trying my best to fix that."

I processed what she had said, or at least tried to. I was more than a little overwhelmed by this sudden turn of events. I had come prepared tonight to reveal my greatest secret and possibly lose a dear friend in the process, not… this.

"What made you change your mind?" I couldn't help but ask.

Tammi paused, before looking me right in the eyes, "You did."

She said it so bluntly that it took me aback, "What?"

"I said you did." Tammi repeated, continuing to look at me with that oddly soft gaze, "When we started hanging out, I thought you were just… one of the good ones, as horrible as that sounds. But then we spent more time together and that started to change. I finally found an actual friend whose opinion I could care about, and suddenly theirs didn't matter anymore."

"I started questioning things that I hadn't before. Like what made white people so much better than all those other races even though we were the ones hunting minorities in our territory for sport. What made us better when we do the exact same shit that the ABB does, or even the Merchants? The only difference with us is that we like to pretend we're better than them because we were born with lighter skin tones."

"The hypocrisy made me sick. Even more so because I was a part of it for so long and even though I'm not in the Empire anymore, all of their bullshit stuck. I saw a black guy helping a woman pick up her fallen groceries the other day, and the first thing I thought was that he was going to ask for a handout or something." Tammi spat angrily, clenching her fists, "I don't want to think like that anymore, and I'm trying not to, but it's hard."

Tammi shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket, looking away again, "So yeah. You're not the only one with a secret, though I'm not really sure who's is worse anymore."

I was silent as I thought about what had been revealed to me, my mind whirling as the silence stretched between us. That my best friend and crush had been a racist neo-nazi who probably would have been more than fine participating in the persecution of minorities if she was asked. I had never in my life imagined that someone like Tammi would be capable of such a thing. Sure, I knew that the girl was rough around the edges, that was what endeared me to her in the first place, and I may have suspected that she was hiding a bit more than she let on but this? This was so far out of left field I could never have guessed it.

But… When compared to my own secret life, was it really any worse?

After only a moment of thought, I ultimately decided that it wasn't. It wasn't like I was free of sin given that I currently ran the largest and most dangerous Asian-only gang on the East coast and perhaps even the entire country. And though I myself had nothing against other races joining the ABB, I knew that not everyone shared my beliefs. (That didn't matter of course. My word was law just as my father's was, but the law rarely changed people's way of thinking.)

And that wasn't even considering what I had done for my father in my short span as an active cape. Even in the few short months that I had been a member of the ABB, more blood than I cared to think about soaked my hands and continued to do so. The indirect killings from our drugs alone had likely earned me a reserved spot in hell, and I had no intention of changing that part of our operations any time soon.

Compared to all that I had done and would doubtlessly continue to do, Tammi's actions were practically nothing.

Not to mention, apart from the comments that she had made about my father, which I truly believed were out of concern instead of prejudice, Tammi had shown zero bigotry to anybody, including myself, while I was around. That, alongside the fact that she was clearly aware that her previous way of thinking had been wrong, made her a step above her former compatriots in nearly every regard.

She was at least trying to change. Which was more than I could say about myself.

"Tammi." I spoke up, causing her to look at me. I stared into her eyes, my own searching "Do you hold a grudge towards me for what I did? For… breaking your arm and sending Hookwolf and Stormtiger to jail?"

Tammi immediately shook her head, "Of course not. We were enemies and you didn't know it was me. As for those two, I couldn't give a damn what happens to them. It wasn't like we were friends anyways. They just saw me as a flying taxi or a punching bag or some shit."

I nodded, filing that away for later, "...Are we still friends?"

Tammi gave me a confused look, "What?"

"Are we still friends?" I repeated, completely serious.

She was still confused, "Are you for real? I just told you I was an active member of a neo-nazi gang and you still want to be friends with me?"

"And I am the leader of a gang that is just as large and dangerous as that one. I have no intention of changing that either." I said in response, causing her to blink, "So I will ask again, are we friends?"

She stared at me, trying to decipher my words and their meaning before nodding slowly. "...I'd like to be." she said softly.

I nodded at her words, making my decision, "Well then, in that case…" I drew myself up, straightening noticeably and causing Tammi to raise an eyebrow, "I suppose I should inform you that the ABB is no longer limited to those of Asian descent. If it suits you, I would offer you a place with us. As Rune, or if you would like to retire from cape life, as Tammi."

Tammi stared at me for a long moment as the offer hung in the air, before a scowl crossed her face and she shook her head slowly, "Yeah, no. Don't talk like that. You sound too much like Yosei right now and I don't want to talk to her. I want to talk to Yuko."

Her words brought me up short, and Tammi waited patiently as I gathered myself, standing there silently as I did my best to get my thoughts in order.

Finally, I spoke, this time in my own voice instead of the polite, serious one I took on in my parahuman persona, "Tammi… if you would like to live with me, the offer is still open." I licked my dry lips, looking away from her, "You don't have to join the ABB if you don't want to, but I certainly wouldn't refuse you if you did. Just having my best friend around will be enough."

Tammi walked up to me, her shoes just visible in my peripheral vision as I stared at the ground, "That sounds great."

I was suddenly wrapped in a hug, the taller girl pulling me close and pressing me against her chest. I didn't resist, happily accepting the embrace and leaning into her. She rested her chin on top of my head, holding me tightly as if she was trying to ward off the cool night air around us, "I'm not sure about the whole, 'joining the ABB' thing but we can talk about that later if that's alright."

I nodded, enjoying the way her arms felt around me, "That's more than fine. I understand if you wouldn't want to join my gang so soon after leaving the Empire. Whatever your decision is, I'll support it."

I could feel her smile into my hair, "...I appreciate that, Yuko. More than I think you realize." She pulled away, looking down at me with a much more somber expression, "You realize the Empire is definitely going to come after me, right?" She asked softly.

My expressions hardened, "Let them try. I fought the heroes on their own terms and still came out on top. In terms of power, I am just as strong as my father was. If they must learn that the hard way, then so be it."

Tammi stared at me, blue eyes wide in surprise by my proclamation, before they softened, "You'd seriously fight them for me?"

"Without hesitation." I protected what was mine, be they friends or those I led. If the Empire wanted Tammi back, they would have to go through me first.

Tammi chuckled, "Well damn, you're making this a whole lot easier than I thought it would be."

Huh?

Before I could process her words, Tammi leaned down and pressed her lips against my own in a chaste kiss. It was a quick motion, and she only held her lips against my for the barest of moments before pulling back with a satisfied smile on her face, leaving me wondering what had just happened.

As she stepped away, I blinked slowly, bringing a hand up to my tingling lips as I felt my cheeks warm as I realized I had just been kissed. Tammi laughed at my actions, though there was a clear blush on her cheeks as well, "Oh yeah. Just the look on your face makes this whole night worth it."

I pouted slightly, though it was undercut by a smile that wanted to peek through, "I wasn't expecting it. We just got done talking about all that serious stuff and then you go and do that. How am I supposed to react?"

"Just like that." Tammi grinned, and I couldn't help but drop my pout and return it with one of my own, far too happy to keep up the expression, "Now how about we revisit that whole date idea that you promised me, yeah?" Tammi gave me a mischievous grin, holding out a hand, "Maybe ice cream? There's got to be a place open at ten, right?"

I giggled at her words, "I doubt it." I said, reaching out to grab her hand. As our fingers laced together, I couldn't keep the slightly giddy smile from my lips which still tingled with the remembrance of Tammi's own pressed against them.

I stepped towards her, moving her arm around my back so she was holding me around the waist and not bothering to hold back a grin at her slightly shocked expression, "But it couldn't hurt to check."

~~~ Elsewhere ~~~

Agnes Herren was a woman of staunch discipline and control above all else. Those two factors had gotten her far in the corporate world and with some luck, they would take her further still.

As she listened to the man on the other end of the phone prattle on however, she found that control slipping more and more.

"...And we managed to rescue both Brad and Felix from the clutches of the heroes but Ophelia still has no leads on Tammi's location. It's possible she has fled the state, though I'm not sure how she would manage such a feat." The man sighed, as if he was exhausted by the current state of affairs that were his fault to begin with, "Alongside Brad and Viktor's latest argument, tensions are at an all time high in-"

"Enough." The single word was more than enough to stop the self-important man's speech dead in its tracks, "You've prattled on long enough. I do not care about the state of affairs within your inner circle. The only thing that concerns me is the current state of my family, and it seems to me that you have little to inform me of in that regard."

"I apologize. I was just-"

"I wasn't finished speaking, boy." Agnes' voice was angry, silencing the man before he could even begin, "I have supplied the Empire with much in the last several years, Maxwell, but hear me and hear me well. If my niece is not back in the Empire before the end of the month, so help me god, I will cut every single bit of funding that I have supplied that little outfit of yours."

"Frau Herren, please don't be hasty!" The man practically pleaded, a far removal from his earlier decorum, "I promise you, we're trying all we can to locate her."

"Your promises aren't worth the spit you shine your shoes with, Maxwell," Agnes said derisively, "I'll be putting some of my own resources towards this little issue. The pair of them will be arriving in the Bay by the end of the month and I expect you to treat them just like you would myself, is that understood?"

"...Understood."

She could practically hear the boy gritting his teeth, clearly unhappy with her interference. Well tough shit. Her brother had already abandoned the clan thanks to his father's rule; she'd be damned if she lost her niece as well.

"Good. I expect to hear good news soon. Goodbye, Maxwell. Give Kaiden and her children my regards."

She hung up on him before he could respond to her not-so-subtle jab, and placed her phone back in its holder. She then reached across her desk to press a delicate finger to her intercom, a voice coming through a mere second later.

"How may I be of service, Frau Herren?"

"Hans, dial the Schmidt's handler. I have a job for them."

"At once, Frau Herren."

It was perhaps a bit overkill to send those two of all people to retrieve what amounted to a rebellious teenager, but Agnes was fed up with everything that had come out of Brockton Bay and that whole operation and she wanted this done quickly.

If that brat wanted to be just like her father and failed to see the possible future that she could have with the Empire, then Agnes would be forced to show her.

By the end of the month, she would have her niece returned to her and perhaps even the other one while she was at it, and then she'd wash her hands of the Empire and this country that she had so stupidly decided to move to.

The company wouldn't suffer from another relocation, and the Herren clan always were far more comfortable in the Fatherland anyway.

---

Next five chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Sadguychet]

Coil sat in silence at his desk, his hands steepled in front of him as he stared at the far wall, deep in thought about the recent developments in the city he hoped to one day rule.

Just a few short months ago, things had been going completely fine. His power and underground influence had been used to great effect, allowing him to move pieces on the board and witness the effects of his plays without anyone the wiser. This advantage had allowed him to prepare things to suit him, to set the stage just as it needed be for his eventual takeover.

In due time, the entire city would be under his control and completely oblivious to that fact.

Or at that was how it would be, if not for the thorn that had been lodged deeply in his side just a few months ago and thrown a wrench into all of his carefully laid plans.

Yosei was a variable that he could never have hoped to account for. Coil had no idea how he had never known that Lung had a daughter before the fact was made public, but it was a glaring oversight on his information network. And he hated nothing more than oversights in any of his operations.

As he gathered information on the woman to rectify this, he wasn't quite sure what he would find. At first, he had imagined that she would be like her father, powerful but lazy. He had been half right.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the half he wished for. Yosei was just as powerful as Lung, that much was easily apparent . Unlike her father however, she wasn't content to simply react to threats as they came along, languishing in her position until it was threatened. No, she had taken an active role in the ABB, cleaning up their operations and managing things from the top, becoming the boss in all but name, while at the same time holding a fierce loyalty to her father.

From what his informants had managed to gather the ABB had seen a nearly thirty percent increase in productivity in just the first few months she had been in charge.

Sp only was Yosei powerful, she was also an extremely competent leader. Her existence turned the ABB from a simple obstacle to be carefully played around, into an actual threat to his eventual rule over the city so long as she was at her father's side.

Coil would admit, he was at a loss for what to do for a long while. Careful poking and prodding had revealed little except for what he already knew, but there was one interesting tidbit of information that Coil believed might actually come in useful.

According to his sources, Yosei held her father in extremely high regard, placing his desires and commands above literally everything else. It was clear that he was the reason that she had taken up such a role in the ABB and perhaps if he was gone, she would lose the motivation needed to lead the gang and things would go back to normal.

It was a thin hope, truthfully, but it was also the only thing Coil had been in a position to do at the time. He couldn't simply just sit back and wait, watching as the ABB consolidated it's power and grew. He needed to strike as soon as possible to stop this before it got out of hand.

Convincing Emily and the other directors to send Lung to the Birdcage had been no easy feat. He had called in numerous favors and had likely put himself at odds with multiple people, but he imagined it would all be worth it. After all, without her father to lead her, Yosei would certainly be no threat.

Or so he had thought. To his horror and utter frustration, it seemed that Yosei was made of sterner stuff than he realized. Instead of crumbling underneath the pressure of leading the ABB, it seemed that her father's imprisonment had lit a fire under the woman and the ABB itself.

In the short amount of time since her father had been sent away, Yosei had underwent the arduous process of restructuring the entire gang and the way that it operated. With this restructuring, came a vast amount of scrutiny in basically every level of the gang.

Already, Coil had lost at least three moles to said scrutiny and had to pull out six more before they were caught as well. His play had been a complete and utter failure.

Any subsequent attempts to infiltrate the gang once again had quickly been sniffed out and taken care. Frustrated with the lack of progress, he had simulated an actual attack on the ABB itself, just to try and gain an idea as to the scope of Yosei's power.

It had been enlightening to say the least. If the attack on the Rig hadn't proved that Yosei was indeed Lung's daughter, then this certainly had.

The Undersiders and his newly hired Travelers put together did little to slow her down, much less stop her, and even when the Empire joined in, taking advantage of their biggest enemy's supposed preoccupation, Yosei and the ABB's pet demon had managed to hold their own quite well.

Not only that, but it seemed that she either had contacts in the Empire, or the few informants he had left in the ABB were in dire need of replacement. He wasn't sure exactly what kind of connection Rune had to the Asian gang, but the way she had defended their territory alongside Lung's heir had made it clear where her loyalties lied. And it certainly wasn't with Kaiser.

It had only taken a few hours of this simulation, during which the Protectorate from Boston was called in to assist with quelling Yosei's rage, before Coil had decided that he had seen more than enough and closed the timeline, musing on what he had witnessed and what it meant.

Overall, it was made abundantly clear that he couldn't touch the ABB right now. Not unless he wanted to arouse her suspicion or gain the ire of the city itself, villain population included. Any attempts at subterfuge were sussed out far too quickly, and even the more overt attempts would end in nothing but disaster. There was nothing he could do.

For now, he would have to leave the ABB be and focus on other, much more tangible pursuits.

Reaching down into the folds of his costume, Coil retrieved his phone, flipping it open and dialing a familiar number before holding it to his ear, waiting for an answer.

He didn't have to wait long of course, despite the early hour in the morning, she knew better than that.

On the third ring, the call was picked up, a carefully respectful voice undercut by a thin layer of annoyance coming through the speaker, "Yeah boss? What do you want?" Tattletale asked, her voice slightly gruff with sleep.

Coil raises an eyebrow at the teen's tone but decides to let it slide this time. He was always sure to give his Tattletale a bit more leash than his other subordinates. Just long enough to give her the illusion of freedom that she desired so much, but also short enough that a swift yank on said leash would bring her right back to him when she stepped out of line.

"Good morning, Sarah." Coil deliberately used the name he knew she loathed, "How is our newest recruit?"

"...She's doing fine." Tattletale answered, anger hidden in her tone, "She's a bit skittish, may be from an abusive household though I'm not sure, and she's still planning to sell us out to the boys in blue but I might be able to change that. Types like her tend to latch onto the first positive relationship that comes their way, so I'll see if I can't cozy up to her and convince her to stick around."

Coil nodded in satisfaction, "Good. Though, please ensure you don't get too close. I know how much the girl's situation may remind you of another that you keep close to your chest, but this is not the time to get distracted by ghosts from the past."

He continued before she could say anything in response, "Moving on, I have an assignment for your team. I'm going to need you to perform a high-profile heist on Brockton Bay Central Bank in a few days."

"What?" Tattletale was both confused and angered by this turn of events, "There's no way they'll agree to that! We both know that hitting a bank isn't worth the risk. We could make ten times as much going after one of the stashes the Merchants left behind. Not to mention, we might have another person to split the cut with if Skitter does decide to stick around!"

Coil frowned at her words, "You are hitting the bank because I am telling you to. I don't care about the money, that's none of my concern. I simply need a distraction from another one of my operations. And as for risk, the Protectorate will be out of town or husky on the afternoon you hit the bank, I'll make sure of it, so you'll only have the Wards to contend with. If you plan it correctly, and I know you can, I'm sure you will be able to deal with the children and escape unmolested." He said, deliberately playing to the teenager's ego with his last sentence.

Tattletale didn't say anything for a long moment, clearly mulling it over, "...I might be able to get them to agree. Alec might go for it. Rachel probably won't care as long as she gets a good cut. It's getting Brian to agree that's going to be an issue, and maybe the newbie too depending on how far she is willing to go to maintain her 'cover'."

"Try to convince them." Coil ordered, "If necessary, tell them I'll throw a little extra on top of what you can expect to take away."

Tattletale let out a low whistle, "Wow. You must really want this done, huh?" She said, her tone making it clear that she was trying to figure out exactly why that was.

Coil didn't say anything, continuing right past her words like they hadn't even registered, "Do your best to convince Skitter to come along as well. Her abilities will mesh well with the rest of the team and would be extremely useful to have on a heist like this."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Good. I'll contact you later with more details." He hung up without another word, ending the call right there.

He sighed, placing his phone back into the folds of his costume. Speaking with Tattletale was always a stressful affair, even over the phone. That power of hers was like a trip-wire, the smallest mistake setting off a chain reaction in her brain to lead her to a conclusion. He had to chose each word carefully lest she figure out what he was planning. He couldn't afford any screw ups. Not this time.

Reaching across his desk, Coil pressed on his intercom, "Mr. Pitters. Prepare the room for my pet's arrival. Ensure that you are well stocked just in case she turns out to be more resistant than we expected."

"Yes sir. I'll begin the preparations right away." The reply came promptly, causing Coil to smile. At least some of his men were competent.

He leaned back in his chair, glancing towards a closed file on his desk, the contents held within already more than familiar to him thanks to countless nights pouring over their every detail.

Soon, his pet would be in her rightful place by his side. And then everything would be much, much simpler.

---

Next five chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Sadguychet]

Six days later

My face was set in a mask of seriousness as I listened to Nana speak, an expression that was mirrored by the woman herself as she stood in front of my desk.

"...-and I've been working him over just as good as anyone else but he just isn't talking, Hime." Nana said, a small amount of frustration leaking into her voice as she spoke, "Either that old bastard is more resilient than we realized, or he just doesn't know a damn thing and was spouting bullshit about someone coming to kill him for talking."

My frown deepened at her words, "And what do you think? Would continuing his treatment provide any results or should we just give up our endeavors? I don't want to waste your time if you think you're trying to get blood from stone at this point."

Nana shook her head, "This is important. If there's any chance that Takao knows who put him on the job, then we need to know."

I nodded, leaning back in my chair, "And do you think he actually knows anything or was he simply, as you said, spouting bullshit?"

Nana clicked her tongue, "Hard to say. He's been squeaking like a mouse but it's mostly been things we already know. Kidnapping women he wasn't allowed to to put in his brothels, embezzling funds, selling out our people. Takao's been a naughty boy for sure, but I still don't know if he actually knows who he's been selling all that shit to."

That wasn't good. Takao was the lynchpin in all of this and literally our only lead at the moment. If he actually didn't know anything and was just bluffing, or was just unwilling to say anything even under the threat of torture then all of our leads dies with him. If he didn't talk, then we'd never know who was so interested in the ABB's internal operations.

The last thing we needed right now was an enemy in the shadows, poking and prodding at us in search of weaknesses in a time of such great reform. We needed to know who had been responsible for Takao's duplicity and why. It was much more difficult to fight an enemy whose face you didn't even know.

Nana was right, this wasn't something we could just give up on.

"Do what you must to get him to speak." I told the woman seriously, "If it doesn't work or is too much on him, then we can simply cut our losses. Any information he has, if any, is simply too valuable to lose. You have my full permission to use your own discretion from here on out, Nana."

It was a rare occasion that Nana was given leave to do whatever she wanted to her prisoners. The woman's normal methods could be constituted as cruel and unusual at the best of times. The things she would likely think up now that she wasn't held back by the normal conventions were horrifying to even consider, but now wasn't the time to be conservative. We needed results

Nana's resulting smile couldn't be called anything but chilling, "That right there is music to my ears, Hime. Give me a few days and I'll have him squealing like a pig in whatever key you want. I promise you that."

I held back the small shiver that was nearly produced at her words, "Right. Well, as always, I appreciate your efforts Nana. Please make sure to-"

Before I could say anything else, I was interrupted as the door to my office was opened unceremoniously. Both Nana and I looked over, surprised that someone had entered without giving any sort of warning or asking permission, though my surprised look faded into a smile at the person we were met with.

"Hey, Yuko, I've gotta ask you something." Tammi said as she came in. As always, Tammi had exactly zero cares to give as she practically barged into my office like she owned the place, not paying any mind to the fact that I was technically her leader now.

It hadn't been as much of a surprise as it probably should have when Tammi asked to join the ABB a single day after moving in with me. As unfortunate as it was, we both knew that it wasn't likely possible for her to return to a normal civilian life after all that she had done in and for the Empire. There was nothing saying that her former colleagues would follow the Unwritten Rules and leave her be, especially after she had so blatantly abandoned their cause. It only made sense that she would ally herself with the next largest gang in the city, barring the Protectorate.

The fact that her girlfriend was the current leader of said gang probably had something to do with it, but who could say?

Getting over her surprise, Nana turned towards the blonde, a smile slipping across her face, "Well look at what we have here." Nana's expression was like a cat eyeing its prey and I held in a sigh at what I knew was about to happen, "Hime's little girlfriend has come to visit? Don't you know that it's common courtesy to knock before you enter your leader's office? Even if she is your partner, what you just did was pretty rude, sweetheart."

Tammi crossed her arms, a scowl coming to her face at the woman's words and the sigh I was holding back came out full force, "And who the hell are you?" She demanded, not backing down an inch even when faced with Nana's intimidating demeanor, "I know she doesn't give a shit if I drop by unannounced, what I don't get is why I should care what you think."

Nana laughed at Tammi's words, surprising her, "Well aren't you just a treat? You've gone and snagged yourself a real spitfire here, Yuko!" Nana said, before the smile on her face turned slightly dangerous, "You should come visit me in my shop sometime, sweetie. There are a few things that I would love to show you."

Tammi's scowl returned and she went to respond, but I interrupted before this could get out of hand.

"That's enough," I said sternly, stopping her before she could form a rebuttal. Looking towards Nana, I continued, "I'll contact you in a few days to check on your progress, Nana. If anything pertinent comes up involving Takao, bring it to my attention immediately."

The woman saw the dismissal for what it was and pouted, "You really are no fun, you know that?" My stare didn't relent and her pout only deepened, "Fine fine, I got the memo. Have fun with your girlfriend, Hime. I'm off to have fun with our resident rat."

"Make sure to come by my shop again soon, alright? We still have to redo that tattoo on your back." She called back to me as she made her way to the door that Tammi had unceremoniously thrown open. Her face turned dark, "Months of work, completely ruined in a single second. I swear if that bitch wasn't already drooling at the walls and babbling like an idiot, I'd put her there myself. Ruined one of my best pieces and it was completely original so I don't even have stencils to remake it…"

She continued muttering obscenities towards the former Tinker as the door closed shut behind her, cutting her off. I gave it an amused look before turning my attention back to my girlfriend who looked completely befuddled by what she had just heard.

There was a moment of silence before she turned to me, surprise evident in her eyes, "You had tattoos?"


I giggled, surprised that that was what she singled out from everything that had just happened, "Yes, I did. A rather large one on my back that Nana took quite a bit of pride in, as I'm sure you can tell. She called it one of the finest works that she had ever produced."

"Was it?" Tammi asked as she stepped forward in front of my desk, sitting down in a chair.

I shrugged, "It was one of my own designs so I'm afraid my opinion would be biased in that regard. I quite liked it though. For the relatively small time I had it anyway. I can show you the design some time; I believe I still have it somewhere."

"Huh." She said, giving me an appraising look, "Y'know, now that we're basically all out in the open and junk, I'm just now realizing that I had you pegged completely wrong when we first started hanging out."

I raised a brow, "Is that so?"


She nodded seriously, "Yep. At first, I thought you were just some rich girl or something. Maybe your parents were really good lawyers or something and that was why you always had to leave in the middle of our hangouts. Y'know, to escape the hit men that were being sent after you."

"Lawyers?" I asked, amused by her words. She nodded seriously, though the glint in her eyes spoke otherwise.

"Yeah, lawyers. You wouldn't believe the amount of people that hate lawyers. Especially the really good ones. Figured that maybe your folks were on the 'right' side of the law and managed to make some enemies." Her face shifted in mock thought, "Though I guess being the daughter of a gang leader and a gang leader yourself isn't much better. Probably less hitmen though."

"I'm afraid I wouldn't know." I sighed, playing along, "I've only ever been the one set of parents, I'm afraid, and lawyering certainly isn't in our history."

"Yeah, I figured that. You can only have so much evil in your blood after all. StilI, I could get over the whole crime boss thing, but tattoos?" She shook her head, staring into my amused eyes with faux disappointment, "I can't believe I thought I knew you. I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to forgive you for keeping something like this from me."

I gave her a sad look, thoroughly enjoying this now, "Is that so? And should I be expecting a heart-wrenching text sometime tonight proclaiming that the spark has died? I would like some forewarning so that I can make sure to keep my freezer stocked with ice cream for my inevitable heartbroken soap binge."

"Nah, I'm too lazy to break up with you. I mean, we just got together a few days ago and that was a whole thing. I'm not going through that again any time soon." She gave me a charming grin, "I guess you're stuck with me for now."

My lips twitched, "What a shame. However will I cope?"


"I'm sure you'll figure it out. You're smart like that."

"I suppose you're right." I sighed at her words, before dropping the act and giving her a smile, "Now then, not that I'm unhappy to see you here, Tammi, far from it in fact, but might I ask why you've decided to pay me a visit so…" I looked back at the door which she had practically slammed open, "...abruptly?"

Catching my glance, Tammi actually had the decency to look a bit embarrassed at her actions, "Uh, sorry about that, I wasn't really thinking. I'm just starting to lose it because I've been so freaking bored these past few days. That's why I came up here in the first place."

I blinked, "Excuse me? You're bored?"

"I'm bored." Tammi nodded, "I've been a cape for years now and I'm not used to just sitting around like this, you know?"


"...Is that so?" I asked, somewhat confused, "I'm sorry, I thought your position in Kaiser's court was much like the one you currently have with the ABB. Was I mistaken?"


She nodded, "No, you're right, it was, but he also ran things a whole lot differently than you. The Empire has a ton more capes than you do and they used us a lot more, sending us out to check on shit or even just to patrol our territory. You haven't told me to do any of that yet so I've just been sitting on my ass so far and I'm getting antsy. I need something to do."

I was left momentarily stunned as I realized that she was right. I had been so caught up in managing the gang itself, that I had momentarily forgotten to utilize the resources that were now at my disposal.

Though, now that I thought about it, it made sense that I hadn't. Though our gangs were of similar size, the way that the Empire and the ABB operated couldn't be more different, and not just in our illicit activities. The Empire could field more than triple the amount of capes that we could at any given time and certainly weren't afraid to do so. Tammi had explained it to me that her job was akin to a courier or human transport, that she was always moving around their territory doing one thing or another at almost all times, and it seemed that the rest of the capes in the gang were like that as well, always having something to do to keep them busy.

The ABB, on the other hand, relied more on non-parahuman manpower. The way the gang was structured gave more authority to the individual members of the various branches of the organization. This was mostly out of necessity, as unlike the Empire, we simply couldn't afford to field a cape every single time there was an issue within our territory and instead left it to whoever was in charge of that area, usually an Officer.

This led to capes having a much more auxiliary role in the gang. I was a special case due to my status as heir to the gang, but both Lee and Bakuda were normally left to their own devices unless specifically called upon for a task. Bakuda used that time to tinker or try to fill my father's ear with nonsense, while Lee just disappeared until he was called upon.

I wasn't actually sure what Lee did in his spare time but given the nature of the man himself, I imagined it wasn't very exciting. The only thing I could be completely sure of was that he wasn't spending that time sleeping. Those bags under his eyes were practically etched in at this point.

My own position in the ABB was that of a manager, directing and overseeing things within the gang as I make sure things run smoothly and effectively. If there was an issue that required a cape to deal with it, I would either send Lee to deal with it or take care of it myself. Other than that, there was basically nothing for an Enforcer to do except wait.

But Tammi wasn't used to that and now that I actually thought about it, it wasn't exactly the most effective way of going about things. There were a lot of changes happening within the ABB; perhaps this could just be another.
"I'm sorry, Tammi. I never considered the fact that you might not be used to how things are run here." I finally said, giving my girlfriend an apologetic look, "Like you said, Enforcers in the ABB are used much differently than in the Empire. The position is more reactionary instead of proactive.
"That said, you're also right that you should have something to keep you occupied. Hmm… give me a moment."
I glanced down at my paperwork-covered desk as I tried to think of something that she could do that would keep her occupied and alleviate her boredom. As I did so, one sheet in particular caught my gaze and my eyes widened in remembrance of an issue I had completely forgotten about.

"You know what, I actually think I do have something for you to do." I said, as I moved some papers out of the way to get a better look at it, looking it over for a moment. Yes, this was perfect.

I looked up at Tammi who was giving me an eager look, "With all of the changes that our operations are undergoing, as well as the business with consolidating the territory that we gained from the Merchants, I have had my hands full and haven't quite been able to turn my attention to an issue that has popped up recently." I gave Tammi a small smile, "I was going to send Lee and a handful of men to deal with it later today if I couldn't get to it, but if you'd like, I can let you handle it instead."

Tammi gave me an eager look, "Let me hear it."

"For the past two days or so, I've been getting reports of an issue with one of the warehouses that we recently acquired from the Merchants leftover territory. It's a smaller warehouse that was probably used as housing, but we aren't sure yet." I explained, "My men say that nobody has been able to actually enter the building itself, though not for lack of trying. The way it was explained to me, it is as if there's an 'aura' of some sort that permeates the warehouse and the surrounding area, causing unease to anyone within a certain distance and only getting stronger the further into it you go."

She connected the dots quickly, "You think a cape set up over there?"

I nodded, "That's what I believe, yes. The aura they described is clearly some sort of Master effect, but it is localized entirely on that single warehouse and several meters outside of it. Clearly a parahuman at work.

"It's possible that it's a new trigger or it might even be a leftover member of the Merchants hoping to get their own fill of the scraps left by their former gang. Whatever the case, it is disrupting operations in the area and with things in such a tumultuous state, we need to know whether or not it is an actual threat to the ABB or not."

I lifted the paper up, revealing the report that one of my men had written out, "I was going to send a small taskforce to deal with the issue, but if you are really itching for something to do, I could give the assignment to you instead." I offered. Her mouth opened and I could immediately tell that she was going to agree, but before she could I held out the report to her, "Before you agree, read this over and tell me what you think."

She took it from me curiously, looking it over as she read the report. It contained a few key things such as the location of the warehouse and its proximity to our borders and possible civilians, but most importantly, it gave a detailed explanation on what exactly the aura did to one who entered it, courtesy of a particularly brave grunt who had already been commended for his admirable actions.

According to him, the effect was minimal if you were standing a good distance from the warehouse, akin to a minor amount of apprehension at best. That apprehension only grew more intense the close that one grew to the building. Mere shivers down the spine gradually grew into a feeling of being watched or even stalked, and if you actually made it to within a foot of the building, that feeling would have grown to a gut-curling fear akin to being stuck with a home-intruder in the dead of night.

The man who wrote the report hadn't actually had the ability to enter the warehouse, but I imagined that it only got worse from there.

Tammi read the report, taking in what was written, and frowned slightly.

"The cape, you think it's a Master?" she asked, putting the report back on my desk.

"That, or a Shaker of some sort." I nodded, "Though I find it unlikely that a Shaker would be able to keep their power active for this long. As you can see by the report, the effect hasn't dulled in the slightest since it began, remaining the same constant size and intensity. A Master with an area of effect power is most likely. Do you still want to take the assignment?"

Tammi nodded almost immediately, "Hell yeah, I'm gonna take it. This is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. If causing fear is the only thing they can do, then I shouldn't have too much to worry about."


"Alright then, it's all yours. I'll be assigning someone to join you on your task though, just in case of any unforeseen complications." I thought for a moment, "Let's see… Kon has been complaining about a similar boredom to you since he no longer has his task with Takao to keep him busy. He'll be more than happy to assist."

"The guy with the sucker?" I nodded, "Alright, I don't mind. He's pretty cool."

That was probably a bit of an understatement on Tammi's part. Though they had only spoken a few times since Tammi joined the ABB, she and Kon had gotten along like a house on fire. Something about Tammi's general abrasive nature paired extremely well with Kon's laidback attitude, and once they had gotten past the initial distrust due to Tammi's background, it hadn't taken long for them to become something akin to friends.

Part of me felt I should worry how they might influence each other, but the larger part of me was happy that two of the people closest to me got along so well. I had been somewhat worried that Tammi would only have me as a friend due to her background and the distrustful nature of my men towards anybody non-Asian.

Though with the changes I was making, there was only so much longer that that could go on. Pride in one's heritage was all well and good, but I was not going to be the leader of an Asian supremacist gang for any longer than I had to.

As I mused to myself on the possible effects of the ABB's sudden loss of their Asian-only status, Tammi hopped to her feet, a not-so-small amount of eagerness in her posture at the idea of finally going back out onto the streets, "Alright, I'm gonna go get suited up. Is he gonna meet me here?"


I nodded, "Yes, I'll call him in a moment. He lives nearby so it shouldn't take him too long to get here."

"Cool. I'll try to be quick then." Just before she turned to leave, Tammi paused for a moment, catching my attention. As I turned to look up at her, she grinned and leaned across the desk towards me, puckering her lips. Catching her intentions, I leaned up and met her halfway, happily pressing my lips to her own. After a lingering moment, Tammi pulled back, smiling like an idiot.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that." She said as she settled back to her feet, grinning from ear-to-ear.

I giggled quietly at her words despite the blush that was doubtlessly covering my own cheeks, "Neither will I, I don't think. Though I'm certainly not going to complain about that fact."

"Heh, me neither." Tammi chuckled, still grinning like a loon, "We really need to go on another date soon. One without the heavy talks and mind-shattering revelations that basically ruined our last one."

I paused at that, thinking back to all of the work that I still needed to take care of. I doubted I'd be able to leave my office any time soon, "I'll see what I can do. I might be able to clear my schedule some time in the next week or so."

GIving me a grin, Tammi turned around and began heading towards the door, "I'll hold you to that, Yuko. I'll see you later."

"Oh, actually, one more thing before you leave, Tammi." I called out before she could actually leave the room. She paused at the door and looked back at me in slight confusion.

Despite the flush on my cheeks, I made sure that my face was as serious as possible as our eyes met, wanting to convey that I was speaking to her as her leader in this regard, and not just her girlfriend. She was surprised by my sudden shift in demeanor, but quickly gathered herself, sobering up quickly and gazing back just as seriously.

My lips twitched in slight approval at that, before I became serious once more, "Remember, your main goal is to figure out exactly what is going on down there. If you can manage to open a dialogue with whoever is responsible and negotiate, then you should prioritize that. If not, then just leave things alone and come back. The warehouse isn't important enough to start a fight over. Not right now."

Tammi gave me a solemn nod, "Got it. I'll keep the fighting to a minimum."

I returned her nod with one of my own, happy to see that she understood how serious this was, before my continence became much softer, "Wonderful. I'll contact Kon and have him ready to meet you outside for transport. Keep the flying to the minimum if you can. I doubt the Empire has figured out exactly where you've gone off to and there's no need to tip our hand this early."

"Honestly, they probably already have an idea." Tammi commented, "I wasn't exactly subtle with my friendship with you. My argument with my cousin probably made it to Kaiser by now, and there's no telling what Agnes knows."

"True enough. Even so, the element of surprise is not one I like to give away so easily. Let's try to keep it a secret at least until we get your new costume prepared if at all possible."

Tammi shrugged, "Makes sense, I guess. I'll do my best to keep it under wraps."

"Thank you, and good luck, Tammi. Call me if you run into anything the two of you cannot handle alone."

---

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[Sadguychet]

"So yeah, Yosei is still doing damage control on everything Bakuda managed to do during her little three-day stint as leader. Because it's all tinkertech, we're probably going to have to call in outside help. With everything else going on though, it's going to take a while." Kon wrapped up as they pulled onto the street the warehouse was on.

Tammi processed his story she had just been told, "All of that, combined with what happened to Lung… She's really got her hands full, doesn't she?" she asked quietly.

Kon nodded, a slightly solemn look on his face, "She does, but she's handling it much better than I think anyone else would have. Despite everything that's happened, it's like that fire under her is only burning hotter and she hasn't slowed down at all since she took over."

Tammi thought back to how stressed Yuko had been even before she took over the ABB and frowned, "Hopefully she doesn't burn herself out taking on too much."

"Well that's why she's got us." Kon replied, "Yosei's workload honestly probably hasn't even increased that much from what it was before, but the emotional stress from everything that's been happening recently is probably taking a toll on her. She needs friends now more than ever."

He glanced over at her, grinning, "And her girlfriend, of course. You just being around is definitely helping her stay on top of things so keep doing what you're doing, yeah?"

Tammi smiled at the man's words, "That's the plan."

"Good to hear." Kon nodded as they turned onto an empty street surrounded by warehouses on all sides, "You know, I wasn't too sure about Yosei letting you of all people into the gang so easily, especially after we nearly went to war with the Empire, but I'm glad she did."

"Me too." Tammi nodded, before her expression became slightly thoughtful, "You know, it's funny, if you told me a year ago that the ABB and the Empire might have gone to war, I would have put my money on the Empire with no hesitation. Now though, even though Lung's gone, I'm not so sure."

"Yeah, we took a hit when he got shipped away, but since you joined up basically right after, it sort of evened out, didn't it?"

Tammi laughed out loud at his words, "You telling me I'm worth the same as Lung? That's fucking funny, dude. I know what my strengths are, and they definitely aren't on par with a man who can turn into a giant, fuck-off dragon with four arms."

"Eh, we'll see." Kon shrugged, "Your power might not be that strong, but it's all about how you use it. I'm sure you could be pretty strong if you put your mind to it."

Maybe. Tammi hadn't really had a chance to really use her powers when she was Rune. She was their only form of transport so too close to a fight was normally something she was told to avoid. Maybe now that she didn't have to worry about that, she could use her power to its full potential.

Whether or not that potential was anywhere near Lung, she doubted it. She could probably manage Glory Girl or Triumph though.

"And besides, depending on how this mission goes, we might manage to get another member of our little group." Kon continued, looking over at her, "Nice costume, by the way. Way better than your old one even if it's not as complex."

Tammi grinned, adjusting the bright red scarf wrapped around her face, "Thanks. I'm working on an actual costume but it's gonna take a while to finish so for now, this is me."

Tammi's 'costume' wasn't anywhere near what she had as Rune, being what basically amounted to a hoodie and a scarf to conceal her face. Yuko had found her some other bits and bobs as well, like a pair of fingerless gloves and a bulletproof vest to make the costume more practical, but it was still a far cry from what she was used to.

Tammi had never been an indie cape before joining the Empire. She had come into her scene with a professional costume made by Empire tailors and a name that she had picked out herself. That meant that this was the first time she had cobbled together a passable costume herself and she had to admit, it was somewhat satisfying. The whole costume had a sort of rustic feel to it and she kind of liked it. Especially the scarf. She couldn't wait to see how cool it looked when she was flying.

As for weapons, Yuko had told her to try not to advertise her former identity if she could help it, which meant she'd have to mix things up a bit and not just chuck whatever heavy shit she could find lying around. She had a few dozen ball bearings on her that she could use with her power, as well as a handgun that was sitting a bit uneasily in a holster on her hip.

Tammi was a bit unsure about the gun. She knew how to use one, having received basic firearms training from Victor, but she'd never actually had to use one on someone else and hopefully it would stay that way. Fighting with her power felt normal, using a gun felt… oddly personal.

Kon gave her an appraising look, "Well it looks good for a placeholder. Have you thought of a name yet?"

Tammi shook her head, "I've got a few but haven't really decided on one in particular. Got any suggestions?

"Hmm…" Kon made a thinking face, before a shit-eating grin spread across his lips, "How about Sabrina?"

Tammi's smile was immediately replaced by an angry scowl at her hated nickname, "No. And if I find out who came up with that name, I'm going to drop them from so high up, the splatter will reach the top of the Medhall building."

Kon snorted as the van came to a stop, "Good luck with that. That nickname has been around for years at this point, you'll never find who came up with it."

"Oh I'll find them. Trust me on that. And when I do, I'll make sure what I do to them gets on the trending page of PHO." Tammi said darkly as she got out of the van. They were surrounded by warehouses on all sides, but the one they pulled up in front looked especially run down, as if it hadn't been maintained in months if not years.

Tammi put her hands on her hips, looking around, "So this is the place?"

"Looks like it. Feels like it too." Kon said as he got out of the van as well.

Tammi stared at the warehouse with a small frown on her face. It looked completely normal, like any other rundown building that you could find in this part of the city, and if she didn't know any better, she would say that they had the wrong place.

There was something off though, a tingling in the back of her mind that told her that something wasn't quite right, unsettling her. That must've been the Master effect at work.

"So how should we do this?" She asked Kon as he walked up to her. "Do we just like, walk in? The effect is supposed to get worse the closer you get, right?"

Kon shrugged, not really sure himself, "I guess? It's not like we're going to be able to do much from here unless we want to just yell at whoever's causing this to try to get them to come out." He eyed the building for a moment, "Really should have brought a megaphone or something cause, gonna be honest, I'm not really looking forward to getting closer. Just standing here is enough to heebie my jeebies."

Tammi rolled her eyes, eying the building "That was so lame, dude. Don't ever say that again."

Kon grinned unrepentantly, "I just call it how I feel it."

"Well your feelings suck. Do better." Tammi said, "Now let's go see what's causing all of this. Ten bucks says it's actually a Tinker or something and our guesses were way off base."

"I'll take that bet."

Together, they began making their way towards the dilapidated building. As they approached the warehouse, the tingling in the back of Tammi's mind gradually increased, creeping from a general discomfort to actual fear that she couldn't quite place the origin of. It grew and grew, until it was actually a struggle to not simply turn around and head back towards the van instead of facing whatever might have been inside of that warehouse.

She wasn't going to turn back though. She had asked for this assignment and she'd be damned if she turned tail and ran before even stepping foot inside.

'It's just some stupid power fucking with my head. There's nothing to be scared of.' She told herself, rationalizing the feelings that she was feeling in hopes that it might help her get over them.

It did, though not much. She took a deep breath as they reached the door to the warehouse, her hands literally shaking from the fear that she was feeling. Kon looked over to her as he grabbed the handle, "You alright? Gonna be able to handle this?"

Despite his words, Tammi could tell that the fear was hitting him just as hard as it was hitting her. Sure was doing a good job of acting like he wasn't affected, but she could tell that he was just as scared as she was.

Still, the act did wonders in helping Tammi's own fear, and the blond nodded slowly despite the thumping of her heart ringing in her ears, "Yeah, let's do this."
Kon gave her a serious nod before throwing open the door in one quick motion. The inside of the warehouse was dark, the lights inside either just not functioning or turned off as the entire building was bathed in dark shadows, the only illumination coming from the windows high above the floor. Tammi shared a look with Kon, before hesitantly stepping inside, the man half a step behind her.

The moment that they cleared the threshold of the entrance, Tammi was struck by a fresh wave of terror, this one much, much stronger than anything she had felt previously. It caused her to freeze in place as her eyes went wide, her mind almost overcome by the emotion forcefully shoved into her brain as she trembled, rooted in place.

Beside her, Kon was clearly experiencing similar effects, his jaw clenched tightly around the wooden stick of his sucker to the point that he was in danger of snapping it in half. Somehow, managed to shrug it off much faster than Tammi did e and began moving again, jerkily taking another step inside as he looked around at the warehouse's interior.

Tammi was slower to follow his lead, having trouble moving past the fear that was keeping her stuck. She closed her eyes, reminding herself that this was just some messed up power and that there wasn't anything to be afraid of, and managed to follow her friend inside.

With some difficulty, both of them moved past the instinct to turn around and run in the opposite direction, pushing through the fear that they were feeling to continue into the warehouse, albeit much less confidently than before. The effect didn't seem to grow any more powerful than it already was as they moved, but that was a small mercy given the sheer potency that the effect already had.

Tammi shoved her hands in her pockets, placing her fingers against several of the ball bearings held inside of her jacket and tagging them as they slowly made their way inside of the dark warehouse. Her eyes darted every which way, scanning the darkness for any hint of movement that might be the one responsible for what was going on.

She couldn't see anyone yet, but there were signs that someone had definitely been there, and somewhat recently. Empty food boxes, chairs and a small table sitting in a corner surrounded by what looked like sleeping bags and blankets. It was clear that someone had made this place their home, and judging by the needles and discarded dime bags littering the ground alongside the rest of the garbage, it was clear who. Merchants.

Hopefully they weren't still here. Though given how hard it was for Tammi herself to keep from literally quivering in fear, she doubted any of the druggies were still around.

"Hello?" Tammi flinched as Kon called out into the darkness from right beside her. She shot him a glare for doing that without any warning, and he gave her an apologetic smile before yelling out again, "Hello? Is anyone there? We aren't here to fight! We're just here to find out what's going on with this warehouse!"

There wasn't a response, or at least not at first, but then suddenly a loud noise reverberated from out of the darkness. A bang, like someone knocking something over, followed by even more silence that left them more shaken than the noise had.

Tammi's jaw clenched with tension. The ball bearings came sliding out of her pockets, beginning to orbit her body in a tight ring as both she and Kon turned their attention towards where the noise had come from. Tammi couldn't see past the thick veil of shadows that practically covered the entire warehouse, but she could tell something was there. Some part of her could tell that she was being watched and she didn't like it one bit.

As Tammi mentally prepared herself for a fight, Kon managed to push past his fear and call out to the shadows where the noise had come from, "Hello? Please come out! We aren't here to fight you, we just want to talk! I swear!"

There was no answer and Tammi tensed even further, the orbit around her tightening with her anxiety, before suddenly, the fear that they had been feeling all but vanished as whatever power had been affecting them stopped doing that. The tension was still there, but the underlying terror that had followed them every step of their journey suddenly ceased to be, allowing them to breathe much more easily.

Before they could react to this sudden change in atmosphere, there was movement. Both Tammi and Kon's eyes snapped to the side as something shifted in the darkness to their left, before a massive figure slowly shambled out of the black, seemingly fading into being straight out of the shadows as it approached them.

Tammi could feel her eyes widen and her jaw go slack as more and more of the figure was revealed. Monstrous was the only way she could describe him. His skin was so pale that she could almost mistake him for Alabaster, and his face was so gaunt he looked starved. Jet black hair hung limply around his face and obscured his eyes and the majority of his nose underneath the tangled and poorly managed strands.

He wasn't wearing anything except for a pair of sweatpants that were at least two sizes too small for him, though that was understandable considering his size. He was easily over seven feet tall, even slumped over, and his arms practically dragged on the floor below him as he moved forward, long, clawed fingers gliding mere centimeters above the concrete. The slump was clearly natural as Tammi could see a hump on the man's back, like that one guy from that spartan movie Brad made her watch that one time.

To tie the image together, a massive tattoo in the shape of an upside down omega symbol was scrawled on his chest, the arms of the arch following the curve of his chest towards his protruding ribs, ending just below the first two, indicating what was obvious at a glance. This guy was a Case-53.

The moments that her eyes caught on him, the fear was back, though not quite as strong as before. The best that Tammi could equate it to was the feeling that she had felt back near the van, a feeling that something wasn't quite right, and her ball bearings began orbiting her just a bit faster as she eyed the man in front of them.

"Stop looking at me." Tammi flinched, jumping slightly the voice reverberated through the warehouse. The cape turned his head towards her, looking at her through his curtain of shaggy hair.

"Don't look directly at me." He repeated, his voice incredibly soft and extremely at odds with his appearance, "It only exacerbates the fear you're feeling. Keep your eyes off of me."

With some difficulty, Tammi followed his instructions, shifting her gaze over his right shoulder while making sure to keep sight of him in her peripherals. Almost immediately, the unease went away, disappearing just like it had when Kon had called out to him, and she sighed in silent relief.

While Tammi recovered from the experience, Kon managed to plaster a friendly smile on his face and speak, "Hello there. You must be the one responsible for all of this." He gestured around at the warehouse though Tammi noticed that just like her, he also didn't look fully away from the cape, "You've been scaring basically everyone who walks by this building, you know?"

The monster cape tilted his head slowly, "Is that so? I didn't realize that my power reached that far. It's an effect I'm not capable of turning off. I can only direct it or hold it back as I am doing now. I'm sorry if I caused any issues."

Tammi found her face twisting at his words. She couldn't imagine looking like that while also having a power that made people around you constantly on the verge of wetting themselves with fear. "Geez, I bet that fucking blows." She said quietly.

Kon was much more understanding of the man's plight, "I'm sorry to hear that." He said sincerely, "Thank you for dialing it down for us. Do you have a name?"

"Not one that I remember." He said in a matter-of-fact tone, "I just woke up one day and everything in my head was gone. I don't even remember what I looked like before." He tilted his head, as if thinking, "If you want to, you can call me Spook. It feels fitting."

Spook. He was right, that was extremely fitting. Tammi eyed the man warily or well, as best as she could without looking directly at him. She hadn't had much experience with Case-53's outside of the occasional run in with Faultline's crew, so she wasn't really sure how to handle this situation.

Kon noticed this and was more than happy to take the helm so to speak, "Alright then, Spook it is." He said happily, dispelling some of the tension that was present, "Now Spook, would you mind telling us what you're doing here? I haven't seen you around the Bay before. Are you from out of town?"

Spook shrugged, the gesture somewhat awkward with his long limbs, "Your guess is as good as mine. I only remember things as far back as a week and a half ago when I woke up."

"A week?" Tammi was slightly skeptical, "And you're telling me nobody's noticed you yet? That fear thing you're doing extends pretty damn far. Anyone walking on the other side of the street would have noticed it. How haven't the heroes paid you a visit yet?"

"This warehouse is pretty out of the way and in a pretty bad area besides that." Kon said before Spook could answer, "Nobody comes down here unless they have a reason to, so it's likely that he just hasn't been noticed. Have you been out of the warehouse much, Spook?"

Spook shook his head, "No. Not for long at least. The sun burns my skin like acid, and even moonlight is enough to make me itch. I haven't been able to go outside for more than a few minutes at most."

"So you've just been cooped up here for that long?" Tammi asked, wincing at the thought, "How haven't you gone nuts yet? Hell, what have you even been eating? All those food boxes look older than that." She nodded towards the pile of trash in the corner.

"I don't need to eat or sleep, or at least I haven't so far, so that isn't a concern. And as for boredom, I've been using this as a way to keep myself entertained and learn a little bit about things outside." Spook pulled a phone out of his pocket, showing it to them, "Apparently a rather large group of people were already inhabiting this warehouse before I arrived. I didn't know how to control my powers yet and they weren't as brave as you were. They ran away and haven't returned."

Tammi looked around at the warehouse, taking in the remnants of drug paraphernalia that were collecting dust all over the floor. "Were they Merchants?" She asked the obvious question.

Spook tilted his head, "Merchants? I've heard the term before but the context escapes me."

"They're a gang. Or well, were." Kon said, crossing his arms, "A pretty large group of mostly drug pushers and drug addicts. They liked to hide out in warehouses like this in groups before our leader defeated their's and sent them packing. What's left of them have been spreading around the area like rats but we've mostly cleared them out. We think."

"Your leader?" Spook asked, "You are a part of an organization?"

Tammi and Kon shared a look. 'Should we tell him?' Kon's mouthed to her, the words a bit hard to make out in the dark.

Tammi thought for a moment. This guy seemed friendly so far, but whether or not he would stay that way once he learned that they were a part of a gang as well was completely unknown.

'Up to you.' She mouthed back, before glancing towards Spook who was waiting patiently, 'I'll back you up if this goes wrong.'

Kon nodded, before turning his attention back to the Case-53 who was watching them curiously, "Yeah, we're both part of the ABB, another gang that holds territory over this part of the city. That's actually why we came here originally. When we took care of Skidmark and Squealer, we also took the territory that the Merchants held. This warehouse is part of that and your power was disrupting operations in the area so Yosei sent us to investigate."

"Yosei." Spook said the word like he was tasting it, "She's your leader?" Kon nodded, "I see. May I meet with her?"

Kon was shocked by the sudden question, but Tammi was immediately suspicious, "Why?" She asked.

Spook gave her a glance, and even though she wasn't looking directly at him, she could tell he had an amused grin on his face, "So that I can ask to join your organization, of course."

Both Kon and Tammi were completely shocked by Spook's words, and Tammi actually turned to stare directly at Spook, completely forgetting about the effects of his power in her shock. Spook was amused by their reactions, a small grin on his face that revealed a row of extremely sharp teeth.

Kon managed to recover first as Tammi hurriedly looked away again, "You do realize that we're not heroes, right? The ABB might be better than the Merchants and maybe even the Empire in some regards, but most of us aren't good people. We aren't going to force you to join, so why would you want to?"

"To tell you the truth, I don't really have much interest in being a hero in the first place." Spook said matter-of-factly, "Maybe I was a selfish person before… this, I'm not sure, but the idea of helping people I don't even know doesn't exactly appeal to me."

"And as for being bad people," Spook hummed thoughtfully, "I very much doubt most people in the world are purely good. You may be part of a gang, but you have neither attacked me, nor threatened me despite having nearly every right to do so given the circumstances. Instead, you spoke to me as if I were just another person and tried to resolve things peacefully. That alone tells me that you are likely not bad people. I'll reserve my judgment of your leader for when I meet her. If you'll allow it, of course."

Tammi and Kon exchanged another look, a silent conversation occurring between them. Eventually, Kon grinned and Tammi shrugged, turning back to Spook, "Sure, why not. We were supposed to let her know what was happening anyway."

It may have been a trap, sure, but it wasn't like Yuko wouldn't be able to defend herself if things came to that. Her power was basically a built-in danger sense and she had them as well. There wasn't really much this guy could do against her even if he wanted to.

"We'll contact her and see if she'd be willing to meet us here. Do you mind waiting a little while for her to get here?" Kon asked as Tammi's ball bearings began sliding back into her pockets.

"I'm not going anywhere." Spook replied, a small amount of amusement in his voice.

Kon smiled happily, bringing a hand up to his vest, "Great. Now just give me a second to get a hold of… her…"

Tammi raised an eyebrow as Kon suddenly frowned, patting down his vest as if he was looking for something and couldn't find it. His hands moved down to his pants, patting his front pockets, then the back, before he cursed, "Ah, dammit. I forgot my phone in the van."

Tammi snorted, causing him to give her an annoyed look, "Sloppy, dude. You really shouldn't forget shit like that. It sets a bad example for the rest of us. You need to be a better role model for our potential recruit here." She nodded towards Spook.

"Yeah? Well I guess it's a good thing you remembered yours, then." Kon said happily, "Go ahead and call Yosei so we can tell her what we've got."

Tammi nodded, reaching down to grab her own phone which was… not strapped to her thigh where it should have been because she wasn't wearing her old costume. Shit.

"Shit." She said aloud, not bothering to look inside of her empty pants pockets for something that she knew wouldn't be there.

"You forgot yours too, didn't you?" Kon asked, smiling at her wryly. Tammi scowled.

"Shut up. I normally have it strapped to me because I fly so much but I left that with my costume. I must have left it in the van too because of that."

"Excuses, excuses. You know, Tammi, you should really be a better role model for our possible recruit here." Kon threw her words right back at her, causing her to flip him off. He grinned at the gesture, before turning back to Spook who was watching the whole exchange with amusement, "We'll be back in just a minute. Hang tight, alright?"

"I'm not going anywhere." Spook repeated, walking back into the shadows and disappearing from sight once again. Tammi looked around, trying to spot a single hint of that alabaster skin in the darkness and shivered when she couldn't.

"That's so fucking scary, dude." She said as she and Kon began making their way out of the warehouse and back to the van, "Someone that big shouldn't be able to just disappear because there are a few shadows around."

"No, they shouldn't." Kon agreed easily, "And someone shouldn't be able to control objects with their mind just because they touched them for a few seconds or turn into a giant wolf literally made of lightning just because some guy wrote about it and it got popular over a thousand years ago."

Tammi cracked a smile at his words, "True. I guess all powers vary in degree of bullshitery, huh?"

Kon nodded, "That's what the PRT's scale is actually for, I bet. To tell whoever's fighting a cape how much bullshit they should have to expect to put up with so they can be prepared."

"You might be onto something there." Tammi chuckled before a thought suddenly crossed her mind as they made it outside, "Huh. You know, I just realized something?"

Kon gave her a curious look, "Yeah? What's that?"

"This is probably the interaction with another cape that didn't end with me throwing a dumpster or something heavy at someone. I was fully expecting some sort of fight today."

Kon chuckled as they reached the van, "Yeah well, don't jinx it. There's still more than enough time for that. I don't know about you, but any exchange with a cape that doesn't end in a fight is a win in my book. Actually getting a new member from it? That's just the cherry on top."

"Heh, true enough, I guess."

This hadn't turned out how she had expected but it definitely cured her boredom. If this was how things were going to go normally in the ABB, then she could definitely get used to it.

---

Next six chapters are available at Sadguychet | Patreon