Dragon's Progeny [Worm/ABB OC]

[Sadguychet]

Lisa's mind was numb as she made her way into the loft, completely and utterly out of it after what she had just witnessed. Her mind whirled a mile a minute, running through theories and possibly revelations faster than even she could keep up with.

Alec was sitting on the couch as she entered, playing some mind numbing video game as always. He looked up as she entered, " Where've you been? More importantly, did you bring back any food? Rachel ate the last slice of pizza."

"Just order more." Lisa said automatically, not even sparing him a glance as she passed him by on the way to her bedroom. He said something, probably whining about being too lazy to pick up a phone, but she wasn't listening as she entered her room, closing the door behind her and blocking out the sound of his voice.

Now in the relative safety and privacy of her bedroom, Lisa immediately beelined for her laptop, powering it on and navigating to the one site where people liked to think they knew as much as she did. Parahumans Online.

And just as she expected, the local forums were completely lit up with the most recent development in the city. Thread up on thread of people talking about Yosei and the attack earlier that day. Power speculation threads, sightings threads; even some of the shipping threads were more active than usual which was honestly not as surprising as it probably should have been after how everything ended.

"People love their damsel in distress trope. Even if said damsel runs the most dangerous gang in the city." Lisa muttered as she navigated the forums.

From the looks of things, everyone was understandably up in arms about what had happened, even though most of them barely knew the details. All they knew was that Yosei had been attacked in her civilian identity, apparently unprovoked, and that was good enough for the majority of them, though there were some who believed that Yosei deserved what happened.

And Lisa? Lisa was just left wondering where this left the rest of the city.

She leaned back in her chair, staring at the wall in front of her as she thought about the chain of events this incident was going to start in the city. Yosei wasn't going to let something like this go. Bring attacked in her civilian identity, by Empire capes no less, was basically a declaration of war. Being nearly killed on top of that…

Well, if Lisa had her powers, she sure as hell wouldn't be sending gift baskets.

Lisa's thoughts of impending doom were interrupted as her phone began ringing on her desk. She jumped, startled by the noise, and glared at the offending device.

"Who the hell-?" Her words cut off with a growl as she caught sight of the caller id. For just a moment, she debated just throwing the phone at the wall as hard as she could and claiming it was broken. It wasn't like she couldn't afford to just buy a new one.

Fuck, but then she'd have to move over all of her contacts and back up her pictures. Not to mention it wasn't like he wouldn't know. He somehow always knew.

With an angry sigh, Lisa accepted the call, "What do you want, Coil?"

"Good evening, Tattletale." His slimy voice wormed its way into her ear, "I'm simply following up on our earlier conversation. How did you fare with the task I gave you? Did you discover anything useful about Yosei?"

Oh right. That. Lisa held back the annoyed sigh that wanted to escape her lips.

"Yeah, I did. Wasn't easy with that storm but once it went down and I was actually able to see, I managed to get some stuff that might interest you."

"Well, don't keep me in suspense. Go ahead."

"Well for one, Yosei's power seems to work off of how many threats are present, not just how long she's fighting like Lung's. There might be something else to it, I'm not sure. I didn't see enough to get everything. It also has some sort of cool down, or maybe it needs to build up. She didn't transform immediately against Glory Girl and the rest of them, but I could tell she was super on edge. She wasn't just holding off to be nice."

Coil made a noise of interest, "That's good to know. We can certainly use that against her in the future. What else? How did she react when she was shot?"

His interest in the topic made Lisa pause slightly, "She… went down too fast to use her powers. They aren't automatic. She needs to be able to think in order to use them."

Coil didn't speak for a moment, before his voice returned, sounding extremely pleased about something, "Well done, Tattletale. It seems I made the right choice making sure you were there for the end of that little incident."

His words rang like a bell in Lisa's head, and she stiffened as her power helpfully connected the dots that a normal person's mind couldn't.

Coil was the one responsible for the shot that took down Yosei. He was the one who put the most powerful cape in the Bay out of commission and he had seemingly done so on a whim just to get information on her power.

But wait, that didn't make any sense. Coil was too careful to risk revealing himself like this. The moment that Yosei figured out who fired that shot, she'd be gunning for him and he wouldn't be able to hide in his little snake den any longer…

Except she wouldn't find out, Lisa realized with a start. Yosei had no reason to think that it was anybody but the Empire who was involved in her attack. All of her anger would be focused on them instead of the true culprit.

That was Coil's game. He wanted to pit the ABB and the Empire against each other. Why? She wasn't sure, but knowing him it couldn't be anything good.

Frustratingly, before she could ask any more questions and try to sus out what his plans were, Coil spoke again, "Anyway, I'm afraid I must cut out conversation a bit short. Other matters require my attention. You did well, Tattletale. I've sent you a nice little bonus for your efforts today. Please be sure not to spend it all in one place."

The call clicked dead before she could say another word, leaving Lisa stewing in her own thoughts and a bad taste in her mouth.

"Slimy bastard…" She muttered, tossing her phone on her bed out of frustration.

Taking a deep breath, Lisa turned her chair around with a squeak that grated on her nerves and stared at her cork-board of conspiracies sitting just off to the side in silent thought. Nothing on there had anything to do with Yosei, or at least not in this particular instance, but the familiar sight helped her get her thoughts in some semblance of order.

Putting Coil and his machinations aside for a moment, Lisa mentally laid out all the facts as she knew them.

Yosei had been shot badly enough to warrant an immediate hospital visit. The Empire had attacked her in her civilian identity, seemingly throwing all of the Rules out of the window just to get at a woman who hadn't overtly done anything to them since she had taken power, and now the entire city was stewing in their seats, wondering if this was going to be the start of a gang war the size of the Boston Games.

The question of the day, and the one that Lisa couldn't even begin to fathom, was why. It didn't make any sense that the Empire would attack Yosei in her civilian identity, and especially not in a place as public as a mall. Kaiser, despite leading a legitimate neo-nazi gang in the year 2012, wasn't stupid. He wouldn't sign off on something like this.

"A rogue cell? The cape that fought Yosei wasn't one I've ever seen before. Definitely not a usual player at least." She said aloud, trying to make sense of it all.

But if it was a rogue cell, what did they gain from this? No matter what their end goal was, there was no possible way that this would end well for the Empire in any sense of the word. Even if their objective was to screw Kaiser over and pin the blame on him, all that would do is paint a massive target on the entire gang. It would be Fleur all over again, except Kaiser wouldn't be able to crucify some random skinheads and call it a day. So why even try?

Unless… They weren't trying to.

Lisa's eyes widened as her mind supplied a new theory. That skinhead in the mall had no idea the mark he had pointed out was Yosei, but that could easily be explained away by him just not being told who he was looking for. Lisa had a feeling that wasn't the case though, and it all came from one specific detail of her conversation with the woman herself. A tiny little detail that was so utterly inconsequential, it shouldn't have even mattered in the first place.

Yosei had a girlfriend.

Lisa turned back towards her laptop, moving to one of the dozens of webpages in her bookmarks bar as she searched for something specific. Finding it quickly, she clicked on it, watching the video that played with new eyes.

It was barely anything. A blurry, ten-second video of someone flying around on a dumpster lid. Not an uncommon occurrence in Brocton Bay, but given that Rune hadn't been seen in action in weeks and this person didn't seem to have any overt affiliation to the Empire, it had been enough for Lisa to keep it in the back of her mind in case it ever popped up again.

And it had. She clicked on another bookmark moving to a new url with a video of much higher quality than the last. It depicted the same person as in the other video, zooming down the street on the deck of a longboard and heading straight towards the whirling wall of ice and snow downtown.

Lisa watched as a cloud of white surged upwards from a nearby alley, scaring everyone nearby including the person recording. The girl was blindsided by the cloud, falling off of her board and out of sight, and a few seconds later, the video ended.

Lisa rewound the video, taking in every bit of it that she could while letting her power run as wild as it wanted. It fed her tons of extremely interesting information, from the desperation in the girl's posture, to the familiar way she shifted her feet compared to a certain blonde telekinetic.

As the video came to its end and she was forced off of her board, a shock of holding blonde hair whipped out of her hood, and that was the final thing Lisa needed to confirm her little theory.

Somehow, Yosei had gotten her hands on Rune. Not only that, but she had convinced her to join the ABB and, if Lisa's intuition was correct, had likely managed to convert her to the 'dark side' via lesbianism.

"Kaiser wouldn't willingly take something like this lying down. He'd lose too much face with his people if he didn't retaliate in some way."

Suddenly everything started to make sense. Yosei wasn't the target, it was just some freak coincidence. They were after Rune and she just happened to get caught in the crossfire.

Lisa almost laughed. What were the chances? Unfortunately, her humor only lasted for mere moments as she realized the possible ramifications of this revelation. If the Empire's true target had indeed been Rune, and if she was right that Rune and Yosei were in some sort of forbidden relationship, then this was much, much worse than she thought.

Yosei had stormed the Rig completely alone just to get her dad back. She had gone against the preeminent hero association by herself and came out, if not on top, then certainly not with a loss. Even her dear old dad hadn't done that. So what would she do to the Empire once she figured out what they'd done, and more importantly, what would she do to Coil once she learned about his hand in her hospitalization? What would she do to the Undersiders, who were probably already on her radar after what Skitter had done.

Lisa didn't want to find out. She needed to get into Yosei's good graces as soon as physically possible.

Luckily, she might know just how to do that. Or at least how to start.

---

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[Rainsensei]

Lisa's next mission:
Convince the lesbian leader of the ABB not to kill them. Failure ends in death.
-Bonus mission: Convince her to kill Coil.

 

[Sadguychet]

My posture was relaxed yet slightly tense as I watched the men gathered before me chat quietly among one another. My Faces, alongside their respective Officers, had gathered in the War Room at my behest, filling the space with the warmth and careful noise that had been missing since their numbers had dwindled after the recent betrayals and subsequent deaths.

Normally Officers wouldn't be allowed in the War Room as it was for Faces and Enforcers alone, but I felt it important that they be present and had specifically requested so. They would be crucial in the conflict ahead so there was no reason to leave them in the dark.

I spared a glance to my left and right, taking in both Lee and Kon standing beside my throne. Lee was as stoic as always, while Kon looked especially nervous to be here. His ever-present candy was nowhere to be found and he was trembling almost unnoticeably. Clearly uncomfortable being in the presence of so many influential people.

I could understand his hesitance. It wasn't every day someone like him got the chance to be in this room, much less when a meeting was actually happening, but his presence was much appreciated. It brought me a small semblance of calm that soothed my frayed nerves.

Deciding to get things started, I raised one hand into the air, silencing the gathering before me. All eyes drifted my way as the room gave me its undivided attention, and I waited just a moment to ensure that was the case before beginning my speech.

"Thank you all for your swift response to my summons. I am glad to see all of you gathered here today, even if the subject of this particular meeting may be one many of you are not comfortable with."

"We are all glad to be here, Yosei-sama." Hiashi said, bowing his head, "And we are even more glad to see that your injuries have not left a lasting mark upon you. We were worried when we heard the news."

I smiled softly, "The credit for that goes to the heroes, I'm afraid. I doubt I would have survived without their interference. Regardless, I am here now and we, all of us, have work to do."

"Of course, Yosei-sama. We are at your command."

"Thank you, Hiashi. Now then, let us get down to the reason I have called you all here." I looked around the room, "Firstly, I would like to apologize to all of you. It seems I have made a liar of myself, and for that you have my sincerest apologies."

My words confused them, but that was expected. I continue despite the curious looks being sent my way, "You see, I had once professed my belief that my father's desire for war with the Empire was foolish, an action that would do nothing but hurt the ABB and the people we govern. And yet here I am, sitting before you all to ask that you consider that very same conflict once again."

Murmurs spread throughout the room but I silenced them with a gesture. I looked out at the faces of the men that I had come to know these past months, "I understand that some of you may have reservations about this and once again, I am sorry for that. However, I have had ample time to consider things after the attempt on my life and I have decided that this is how things will move forward. If you have concerns, feel free to voice them and I will take them all into consideration."

The room immediately erupted into loud chatter that echoed off of the walls and brought with it a great deal of discomfort. Wincing, I raised my hand again, ordering them all to quiet down. As the room returned to a more managed volume, I spoke again, "One at a time, please. We are adults. No need to speak over one another like bickering schoolchildren."

My Faces looked to one another, silently conversing, before Hiashi cleared his throat, "Ahem. I suppose our first question is… why? You and I have had several conversations on the subject and I was under the impression that war with the Empire was the last thing you wanted."

I hesitated momentarily, knowing I couldn't very well tell them my true reason for doing this. It would take too much time and I doubted many of the men present would understand my rationale. It would be best to be vague in this instance.

"I will not go into detail as it is a variety of factors that would each require their own explanation. What I can tell you is that the attempt on my life was either an act of opportunity, or simply a distraction from their true target."

"True target? You're saying the Empire wasn't going after you?"

I shook my head, "No, they were not. Someone else was. And they are now a captive of the Empire." My face became severe, "One of our own has been taken and that, moreso than even the attempt on my life, is something that cannot stand."

Hiashi understood what I was saying, even if his compatriots did not. His eye darted to my sides, finally noticing the absence of someone in particular, and his mouth flattened into a thin line.

"I see." He said, "I understand Yosei-sama."

After a moment of silence, Aoi was next to speak. He looked around him, before gesturing at his companions, "Well I think I speak for all of us when I say that we just don't have the manpower to fight the Empire. We've only just gotten back to our original numbers and this news is going to cause quite a few desertions. That inevitable. If we do this, we'd last maybe a week before we ran out of capable hands."

Two seats down, Takumi voiced his own concerns, "Not to mention, we don't have the weapons or the ammunition for what you're suggesting either. Even if we started making our own guns, we'd still fall short. The Empire has always been more well equipped than using thanks to their overseas backing. For every good rifle we have, they have twelve."

His words were met with a smattering of agreement from the others and though I was unsurprised, I was still pleased to see that they all had such valid reservations of my plan and were willing to voice them to me. Now I had to lay their concerns to rest.

I allowed them to continue speaking among each other for another moment, before raising my hand to silence the room once more. "You need not worry about manpower or weapons. I have no intentions on letting this war last long enough for that to be any sort of issue."

Confusion met my words which was understandable. No matter how small they were, a war between two gangs in the streets was seldom a quick thing. But I knew that in a prolonged conflict with the Empire, the ABB would lose outright. They simply had far more resources than we did, which is why I couldn't let it last long enough for that to be a problem.

I steepled my hands in front of me as I stared at them all. "Make no mistake, I have no plans for a prolonged conflict with the Empire like my father did. I understand more than anyone that such a course of action would lead to nothing but ruin for both parties. No, what I have planned will likely take no more than a few days, perhaps a week, and if everything plays out as it should, then our territory and the people within will remain untouched by the conflict."

"What I need from you is assurance. I will be unable to oversee things here as I usually have while business is dealt with, so I will be entrusting that to you. You will be managing the ABB's affairs and taking over the majority of my responsibilities to ensure things continue to operate smoothly. You will quell any panic, keep our operations afloat and if need be, defend our territory in the event of any attempted retaliation from the Empire. It will mostly be a defensive ordeal on your part, with only a few dozen of our men needing to get involved at all."

I looked around at my men, finding them staring back at me in surprise and then contemplation, "Any more objections? Please speak up now and I will do my best to alleviate your concerns, although there isn't much I can say that hasn't already been said."

Nothing. Though I could see a bit of hesitance on the faces of Aoi and some of the Officers, none of them moved to speak. I leaned back in my chair, satisfied

"Very well. I'm leaving it up to you to inform your people. We only have a few days to properly prepare for what is coming. Meeting adjourned."

~~~

Some time later, I was once again in my office, sitting at my desk as I had so often these past months. Joining me were both Kon and Nana, sitting across from me in silence. Three steaming cups of tea sat between us, untouched and slowly growing colder as the time passed us by.

There was a noticeable tension hanging in the air, a stifling silence that filled the space between us with its uncomfortable presence, and yet despite it I couldn't help but feel as if the room was strangely empty. Lacking in one crucial aspect.

…I missed Tammi.

Breathing deeply, I leaned back in my chair, pondering to myself before speaking aloud, "...Do you think I am a hypocrite?"

My question noticeably surprised my companions, and they looked extremely taken aback by the sudden break in the silence just as much as the inquiry itself.

It was Kon who spoke up first, "Uh, what do you mean, Yosei?"

My eyes flickered back down, meeting his confused gaze, "As I said in the meeting, I had been very much against my father's desire for war when I first officially joined the ABB. Though I never voiced my concerns to him directly, I knew that such a conflict would be nothing but detrimental to our way of life. I still believe that even now, and yet here I am doing the same thing."

"Didn't you say that you didn't plan for an actual sustained war with the Empire?" He asked, still not understanding.

"Plans seldom survive first contact with the enemy." I responded softly, "I know all too well how easily my own could fall apart. There is much that could go wrong, and if it does it could easily spark the lasting conflict that I had been hoping to avoid. A conflict I told the Faces wouldn't be coming. And yet despite that, I am still going to go through with it. Does that not make me a hypocrite? Or at the very least a liar?"

They shared a look with each other before Nana shrugged, "Well I guess it would, Hime, if you were doing it for the same reasons as Lung was."

"I'm afraid I don't follow your logic."

Nana sighed, "Well, if I was following what you said back there, and I'm gonna be honest, I was almost falling asleep for a good portion of that meeting, then you aren't planning off to start a massive gang war just because you felt like your position of power was threatened. This isn't just a dick-measuring contest to prove you're the strongest around, it's a play to get your girl back."

I tilted my head, still not getting it, "Yes, but that doesn't really change anything, does it? I'm still preparing to start a conflict that could end in the deaths of dozens of my people. No matter my reasoning, it doesn't change the facts."

Nana groaned like she was dealing with a complaining child, and I would admit I was a bit offended at my own comparison. "Hime, do you think your Faces are stupid? They knew what they were agreeing to. They've decided to put their trust in you because they know you'll do your best to protect the interests of the ABB. Your job is to lead them and they know that. They accept that and the responsibility that they take on in return. You aren't the only one able to protect our people."

She leaned back, "As for your reasoning, when it comes to things like this, there's never a right reason to do it. There's just good reasons and bad. I don't know about you, but I'd say your girlfriend being kidnapped is probably as good a reason as any to want to lay waste to your enemies. People are going to get hurt, that's a given. The question you need to ask yourself is whether or not you're willing to make that sacrifice if that means it'll get her back."

Was that even a question? No, I decided after only a moment of deliberation, it wasn't.

"I made a promise and I intend to keep it. No matter the cost."

Nana nodded as if she had expected that answer all along, "Then don't waste time worrying about the damage that might come from a decision you've already made. Put all that energy towards working to prevent as much of it as you can, whatever way you can. When everything is said and done, nobody will fault you if you really tried your best."

"We're here to help too. You aren't alone in this." Kon added on, "We all want to get Tammi back. If that means fighting the whole Empire with just the three of us, then that's what we'll do."

I looked between them, feeling an odd emotion swell in my chest in the face of their unerring support, "I see… You're right, I'm worrying myself for no reason. I must focus on what's important, not just what might happen. Thank you both. Truly. "

"No problem, Hime. Always happy to verbally smack some sense into my favorite customer." Nana grinned, leaning back in her chair, "Alright, now that we've cleared your conscience, what's the plan? Are we just gonna march in there and burn shit down until they give her back, or did you have something else in mind? Because I'm down for either or, though I'll admit the first one sounds pretty enticing right about now.

I smiled slightly at her enthusiasm, "As… fun as it would be to simply walk into Kaiser's territory and lay waste to their holdings until they acquiesce to my demands, we must remember that no demands have yet been made. That is something we just rectify."

Nana raised an eyebrow, "Meaning?"

"Meaning I am going to give them the consideration they would have never given us, and offer them a single chance to fix the mistakes that they have made." I said, an undertone of danger leaking into my tone. I turned my chair, gazing out the window and into my territory beyond.

"And if they refuse, then I will do what the Protectorate refuses to do and what my father never got the chance to do, and clean the rot from the city. One man at a time."

 

[Sadguychet]

Dean made his way towards the Wards room, flanked on either side by his friends and colleagues, Missy and Dennis. The three of them had been called into work on their respective days off, and some of them were less happy about it than others.

"Why do they want us here this early on a Sunday?" Dennis groaned, loping along like he was still half asleep, "I had stuff to do today!"

"What, like sleep?" Missy asked sarcastically, much more energetic than the redhead despite the early hour.

"Exactly! I'm a growing boy! I need my beauty sleep."

"No amount of sleep is going to help that." She shuddered theatrically, and Dean smiled at the playful amusement filling both of his friends even as Dennis made a hurt face, putting a hand on his chest.

"Your words are cutting, young lady. Why, I'm not sure how I'll ever be able to go on with this gaping hole in my chest!"

"Call me young lady again and that's not gonna be the only gaping hole you'll have to deal with."

"... I'll take that into consideration." Dennis said simply, and Dean chuckled at the twinge of fear that slipped into his emotions. Missy could be pretty scary sometimes.

The three of them entered the large open room to find the other Wards had already arrived. All of them were there: Carlos, Chris, Sophia, and even the new guy, Andrew. Sophia was sulking on the couch as usual, texting someone with harsh taps on her phone, while Chris was tinkering with something on the other couch, as far away from the irate athlete as physically possible.

Carlos and Andrew were standing a few feet away, engaged in some kind of conversation, though calling it engaging might have been a stretch judging by the look on Carlos's face. He looked over as they entered and his mood immediately brightened as he saw the three of them.

"Nice of you guys to finally show up." He called out to them, stepping around Andrew who lit up with slight annoyance at being brushed off, "Hey Dean, do you have any idea what this is about?"

"I know about as much as you do. I was just told we have a meeting." Dean shrugged as he walked up, "It must be important if they need us all to be here, though."

"Or they just want to waste our time with some stupid meeting or some shit." Sophia grumbled nearby. Her emotions were turbulent, annoyance and anger filling her with equal measure.

"What? Did you have something better to do?" Andrew asked jokingly, not noticing the landmine he was about to step on, and Dean winced as he noticed Stalker's emotions spike in a bad way.

"I always have better shit to do than be here." She spat, causing him to flinch, "The only reason I'm even fucking here is because I was already on base. I wouldn't have shown up otherwise."

"Okay, okay!" Andrew stepped back from the irate girl, "Jeez! I was just asking a question. Don't have to bite my head off."

"It was a stupid fucking question."

"Alright, that's enough." Carlos stepped between the two of them before things could escalate like they always did when it came to Sophia, "Someone should be coming by soon to tell us all what's going on so try to keep your cool for at least a few minutes, alright Sophia?"

"Tch, whatever." Sophia leaned back on the couch, settling down, and that was when the door to the room opened again.

"Everyone sit down." Armsmaster said as he walked inside, clad in his brightly lit armor as always, "I don't have much time so this will need to be quick."

As they all got settled, Dean was the first to speak up, asking what was on all of their minds, "So what's going on? Why did you need us all to meet here at once?"

Armsmaster looked to him, "There's quite a bit of information that I don't have time to go into right now, but rest assured you will be briefed in full over the next few days." He looked over all of them with a stern gaze, "To put it broadly, there has been a lot of movement in ABB territory over the last two days. More movement than we've seen in several months, in fact. They're gearing up for something big, and we believe we might have an idea of what it is, and how to prepare for it."

We? Dean watched as Armsmaster turned towards the large television behind him, holding a hand up to his helmet, "Dragon, put the video on screen, please."

"Right away, Colin." An electronic voice emerged from the speakers around the room, startling a few of them. Armsmaster looked at them all as the screen behind him lit up.

It was a camera feed of a hospital room, taken in the first person. Dean recognized Rory's golden armor off to the side, and realized that they were currently looking through Miss Militia's body camera. A young Asian woman was lying on the bed, staring down at her cellphone.

"Is that…?"

Armsmaster nodded, "This is Yosei. Due to the circumstances of the incident two days ago, her civilian identity is technically public, though not widely publicized. This is the recording of the conversation between her, Miss Militia, and Triumph shortly after she was hospitalized.

Together, they all watched the video play out. They watched as the arguably the most powerful cape in the city spoke with their mentors in a polite and almost genial tone, and practically threatened them to their face with horrific reprisals all in one conversation.

By the end of the video, they were all silent as they digested what they had just seen, before that silence was broken by Dennis in his usual fashion.

"What was that?" Dennis laughed, though his emotions tingled with nervousness, "The name of the Empire Eighty-Eight will be synonymous with ruin? Why does she talk like she's in Shakespeare? Does she think it's cool or is that just how she actually talks?"

His unserious words worked perfectly to cut some of the tension that had come from the video they had all just watched. It even got a chuckle out of Missy of all people, though Dean could tell it was just a gut reaction to his words.

"It's likely part of her persona. Yosei seems to prefer to portray herself as noble or at least well-spoken. It's not dissimilar to the persona Marquis utilized before he was sent to the Birdcage."

Better than how Lung acted, Dean supposed, before asking the question on everyone's mind. "So who was she talking about? Who did the Empire take?"

Armsmaster turned back to the television, "Dragon."

"Displaying now."

The screen shifted, a new image popping up in place of the body cam footage. It was a still image. A blurry picture of a cape dressed in bright red, riding through the air on a skateboard without wheels.

This wasn't a cape that Dean had ever seen before. They looked new, with a clearly self-made costume that was basically just a hoodie and a scarf, but for some reason he felt like that probably wasn't true.

Armsmaster gestured at the screen, "This is a cape that has recently allied themselves with Yosei. Whether they are a part of the ABB is uncertain, but they definitely have some sort of friendly relationship. And that is the problem."

Several other images appeared, one after the other like a slideshow, and everyone present watched as the cape on the board was blindsided by some sort of cloud and fell off of their platform, disappearing from sight over a building.

"All indications point to this being the person Yosei was talking about." Armsmaster turned back to them as the slideshow replayed from the beginning, "The cloud that attacked them was from a cape with known allegiances to the Empire, Fog. His partner, Night, was the one who engaged Yosei in the park."

"So the Empire's got two more capes?" Dennis groaned, "Great. Like they didn't already have enough of an advantage over everyone else."

"Isn't it just one? Purity isn't with them anymore." Chris said and Missy rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right. We all know she'll come crawling back the moment Kaiser asks her to. Nobody's buying this good girl act."

Dean spoke up before they got too off topic "So who is this and why does the Empire care enough about them to kidnap them?" He asked, nodding to the slideshow.

"There aren't currently any definitive answers to their identity," Dragon's voice came through the speakers once more, "But there are several theories. The most pervasive one, and the one that Colin and I agree is most likely, is that this cape is Rune, rebranded after joining the ABB."

Shock filled the faces of everyone present, and Armsmaster nodded, "Their powers match up and so does the way they use them. We have prior reports of this same figure being seen flying around on a dumpster lid just like she did. "

He looked at them all, his face set in a stoney mask, "We aren't sure how she managed to ally herself with Yosei, but if this is Rune, then the Empire isn't going to just hand her over and Yosei knows that." He said gravely, "Given what she told Miss Militia and Triumph, she is willing and more importantly ready to take her back by force. I don't think I need to tell you what that means."

No he didn't. All of them could read between the lines and get what was going on. Yosei had stormed the Rig all by herself to get her dad back, and she didn't seem like the type to make empty threats. If the Empire didn't hand over her friend, then Yosei was fully prepared to start a gang war to get her back by force.

Armsmaster's tone was severe, "Dragon has agreed to send us a few drones as a precautionary measure. Hopefully, if the situation does escalate, we should be able to contain it relatively quickly."

"They're set to arrive tomorrow afternoon." Dragon said, "These models are sturdier than my normal drones, but they also burn through fuel twice as fast. They'll have to refuel during the journey."

Andrew suddenly spoke up, confusion written all over his face, "So wait, if we're getting outside help, why don't we just go knock on Yosei's door and deal with her? We already know what she looks like and who she is, why don't we go get her and nip this in the bud right here?"

Sophia snorted derisively nearby, "Because that went so well last time, didn't it? I know you're new, but it shouldn't be hard to get that capturing that bitch would be nothing but bad news. If we even could."

Any other day, Dean would be shocked to hear Sophia practically admit that she wouldn't be able to beat someone in a one-on-one fight, but given the subject matter, all he could do was nod grimly alongside the rest of the room.

"Yosei's power is still mostly unknown to us. The amount of forms and separate abilities she has shown already would make it extremely difficult, if not downright impossible, to properly contain her. Until we know more about her, we won't be able to keep her locked up."

"We could just knock her out. Put her down the ol' k-hole or whatever they call it." Dennis suggested.

Dragon immediately shot down that idea, "It likely wouldn't work. While she was unconscious, Panacea induced her with enough general sedatives to keep her out for several hours. She was awake within forty-five minutes. Giving her enough drugs to keep her under while still remaining under a lethal dose would be a matter of trial and error. Too much could go wrong."

"And even if we could, the Chief Director has decided to take a reactionary approach when it comes to Yosei." Armsmaster said, "The incident on the Rig spooked quite a few people and she doesn't want to stir the pot anymore on our side. We'll be keeping an eye on things and seeing how they play out. If things grow too unstable, then we'll step in."

"Fuckin' pussies." Sophia muttered under her breath. Dean watched Carlos give her a look that she pretended not to notice, before turning his attention back to Armsmaster as the man turned off the television behind him.

"We'll be playing defensive for the time being, but we can't let our guard down. Everyone needs to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity. Patrols will be doubled but no less than three of you are allowed to be on patrol at one time unless you are accompanied by a Protectorate member. Absolutely no solo patrols. Anyone found breaking these rules will be put on console duty for the next four months."

"What!?" Sophia nearly shot out of her seat at that, "That's bullshit! Nothing's happened yet, why do we need a babysitter just because that bitch made a few threats!?"

"Threats she is more than capable of backing up." Armsmaster said, and Sophia went to argue, before he held a hand up, stopping her before she could even start, "This is non-negotiable. Yosei had already shown that she is just as dangerous as Lung, if not more, and there is no telling what she might be willing to do in order to get her friend back. You will patrol together or you will not patrol at all, is that clear?"

Sophia grit her teeth, and Dean eyed her as her emotions practically bubbled with barely-suppressed rage, like a wild dog on the verge of losing its mind to rabies, already frothing at the mouth and a moment away from snapping.

"Fine." She bit out, and nobody in the room was fooled for a second into believing she meant it.

It was apparently good enough for Armsmaster though, as the man moved on without comment. He looked towards them all, meeting their eyes one by one, "I'll email each of you a more complete copy of the briefing. For now, make sure you're ready to go at a moment's notice. There's no telling what the coming week might look like."

With his final piece said, Armsmaster left without another word. There was no need to waste valuable time saying goodbye, after all. Or at least, Dean was pretty sure that was something he'd say.

The moment the man was out of the room, Sophia left too. She didn't say a word to any of them as she leapt off the couch and stomped out the door, and Dean was sure that if it didn't close automatically, she would have slammed it like a child throwing a tantrum.

As the door closed behind her, Carlos stood as well, "I should probably get going. There's a family thing I have to attend later this morning so I better go get ready. I'll see you guys later."

They bid him farewell and only moments after he disappeared, Chris stood and retreated towards his workshop without a word. Dean watched him go, wondering if his abrupt exit was because of his Tinker quirks, or something else. Judging by the veritable corona of nervous energy that surrounded him, Dean knew which one he'd bet on.

Though it wasn't like he was faring much better. Dean couldn't see himself with his power but if he could, he'd imagine it'd be quite the sight.

Left in the awkward silence of their companion's exits, the remaining Wards looked at one another, none of them really sure what to say, before just like always, Dennis came to the rescue.

"Well that was fun, wasn't it? I don't know about you guys, but I love hearing about the impending possible destruction of our way of life before I have breakfast. I'm getting hungry though, so why don't we fix that." He gave them all a grin, "I'm gonna go grab a couple pizzas. Do you guys eat olives or nah?"

"Really Dennis? Now?" Despite his words, Dean was a little bit relieved that the other teen was still in the mood to crack jokes and so was everyone else. The tension in the room noticeably decreased the moment the redhead opened his mouth, a welcome change to what it had been previously.

Dennis shrugged, unconcerned, "Look, we're probably gonna be up to our ears in Asian and Neo-nazi gangbangers soon and I have a feeling that's gonna be as fun as it sounds so I'm gonna spend the time I have left inhaling as much artery clogging cheesy goodness that I can. Now answer the question, olives or no olives?"

Dean thought over everything he had said, and couldn't find any fault in his words. If they were going to have to deal with Yosei and the Empire, why not have a bit of fun while they still could?

"...No olives, and I'll spot you ten bucks if you get a large order of garlic bread."

"Is there even a place that's open this early?" Missy asked, looking hungry at the prospect of the greasy Italian dish.

"Don't worry, I know a guy."

---

Double Post today! Get chapters to this fic and all others early at Sadguychet | Patreon! Chapter 54 has just been posted!

 

[Phraxius]

I am not surprised the Chief Director is giving Yosei some leeway. Her power is even more valuable than Lung's, she's more responsible with it, and it would more feasible (read: not impossible) to convince her to attend Endbringer battles.

Not to mention the cooking club's schemes.

 

[Sadguychet]

I am not surprised the Chief Director is giving Yosei some leeway. Her power is even more valuable than Lung's, she's more responsible with it, and it would more feasible (read: not impossible) to convince her to attend Endbringer battles.

Not to mention the cooking club's schemes.

Click to shrink...

Cauldron's entire project within Brockton Bay was to see how things would play out without their direct intervention. That's likely why Contessa didn't convince Lung to fight Leviathan even though he was terrified of her. Yosei is powerful, but as you'll see later, she isn't powerful enough for them to scrap the project just to get her on their side

 

[Sadguychet]

"So what is this place we're going to again?" Taylor asked warily as Lisa turned their car onto another empty street. It was just her and the other girl in the car. The others had decided to take the much more comfortable van to their shared destination, and Taylor wanted to take the opportunity provided by their absence to question her friend in exactly what they were doing.

"It's a place called Somer's Rock." Lisa explained, "A little dive bar near the slums that cater to people like us. Just don't eat or drink anything except tap water. Actually, don't drink that either. The U.S. health code is a suggestion in this place."

Taylor ignored her confusing comment in favor of asking another question, "People like us? You mean villains?"

"Villains, vigilantes, even some rogues depending on their stance on the IRS." Lisa shrugged, "It's not exactly openly advertised, but most people know about it. Even the heroes, but they know better than to show up."

A bar catering specifically to villains? Taylor knew she should be surprised that something like that existed, but honestly she was running out of charitable thoughts when it came to how this city operated.

"So who is going to be there?"

Lisa winced, "That's the part that you aren't gonna like. It was an open call. Anyone who got it was invited here for a meeting, and anyone is everyone. Literally anyone in the city who isn't an explicit PRT affiliated hero could be there."

Lisa was right on the money when she said Taylor wouldn't like it. The brunette's eyes widened in disbelief and anxiety spiked in her chest, "Anyone? You mean all of the gangs are going to be there."

Lisa nodded, "Most likely. It's a good thing the Merchants are gone now. This is already going to be enough of a cluster fuck without Skidmark trying to pick a fight with anyone with a pulse. Still, I wouldn't bet on things going smoothly. Especially since Yosei was the one who put together this whole shindig in the first place. Apparently she has some sort of big announcement that she thinks will affect everyone."

"The ABB are the ones who we're all meeting?" Taylor asked in disbelief, "Is this an ambush? Why would she call all the gangs together in one place just to make an announcement?"

"It's definitely not an ambush. Yosei's strong but she's not that strong – I hope – and Somer's Rock is neutral ground. If she wanted to ambush us, she wouldn't do it there. She's a woman of integrity, or at least that's what she wants us to believe."

"Neutral ground? Do people actually care about that?"

Lisa laughed darkly, "More than you'd think. In a world with roaming bands of murder-hobos and giant monsters that can wipe a city off the map in hours, it's nice to have a place where you can talk things out without expecting a knife in the back. These days, most cities have at least one place where villains can meet without having a sniper perched nearby."

Lisa had a thoughtful look on her face, "I think the last time one was used here on this scale was when the Teeth got pushed out of the Bay. Places like this are usually used to gather all the top dogs around so that they can deal with threats that might pose an actual concern. The only reason it works is because who breaks the agreed neutrality ruins it for everyone, including themselves. Mutually assured destruction and all that."

"So you don't think it's a trap?"

Lisa bit her lip, looking unsure "...Let's keep our options open and our eyes on the door. Neutrality or not, that many capes in one place is a recipe for disaster. If things do go south, the five of us should be able to get away while the rest of them work it out between themselves."

She didn't seem that confident in her words, and as Taylor leaned back in her seat to stare out the window, her mind ran rampant with all of the ways this could easily go wrong and she wondered, not for the first time, how her life had led her to this.

~~~

The bell above the door rang quietly as Taylor entered with the rest of her team. The chime was almost silent, but it was heard clearly by every patron in the bar who turned to gaze at them as they entered.

Lisa hadn't been lying when she said this place was a hole-in-the-wall establishment. Taylor hadn't been to many bars in her life, but this one was by far the dirtiest, and least put-together establishment that she had ever had the displeasure of entering. The scent of burnt grease hung in the air and nearly every surface was coated in some form of dust or grime, indicators of owners who had long since stopped caring about how their business was perceived.

It was set up like a normal bar, with booths on the sides along the walls for customers to sit, but the tables had all been pushed together in the center of the room and converted into one large table. Most of the people inside weren't sitting at that table though, instead choosing to occupy the dirty booths.

Taylor looked around slowly, taking in the numerous faces that were occupying the dingy bar and recognizing almost every one of them. As a matter of fact, the only people she didn't recognize was a man wearing a tophat flanked by a cape in a black and red sun-themed costume and another in a similarly colored outfit that was absolutely covered in small pouches and pockets. There was a large red arrow on his chest, though Taylor couldn't discern if that was just a stylistic choice or a thematic one to fit with his powers. Hopefully she wouldn't have to find out.

A woman in a welding mask was sitting in a booth near the door, her hands steepled on the table in front of her as her head turned towards the Undersiders as they entered. She was surrounded by several capes of different sizes and shapes. Faultline, Taylor's mind supplied as she walked behind Brian, a mercenary. It looked like Lisa was telling the truth that it wasn't only villains here.

Taylor spotted other familiar faces. People who weren't exactly notorious supervillains but definitely weren't heroes. Uber and Leet had a booth all to themselves and were chatting quietly, while someone who Taylor was pretty sure was Circus was loitering nearby. They clearly weren't there together, few people would willingly associate themselves with Uber and Leet of all people, but they were close enough to give at least the sense of being allies. Likely an idea by Circus to dissuade anybody messing with the only lone cape in here.

Taylor doubted that they would matter at all in the grand scheme of things. Sitting around the table in the center of the room, holding an air of barely-concealed hostility between them, were the real players in the Bay. Or at least two of them.

Kaiser's armor gleamed even in the dirty bar as the man sat atop an iron throne he had seemingly created all on his own. To his right was Hookwolf, the shirtless man gazing at them like his namesake, while on his left was Krieg who was much more composed comparatively.

Sitting across from them was a rail-thin man in a spandex suit that clung to his ribs and made him seem even thinner somehow. A white snake wrapped around the length of his suit, sliding around his waist and sliding up over his chest and shoulders. Coil.

Noticeably absent from this meeting was Yosei or anybody affiliated with the ABB, and as all eyes in the bar followed them, Taylor wondered why she would call them all here if she wasn't even going to show up.

Hookwolf leered at them all from the head table as they approached, and Taylor was reminded all at once that the people in this room were some of the most dangerous people in the city. So far, her interactions with her fellow villains had been limited to the other Undersiders. The stark difference between her teammates and the people sitting around the room was… unsettling.

Taylor pushed her rising anxiety into her swarm, squaring her shoulders putting on a brave face as Hookwolf broke the silence that had shrouded the bar with their entrance.

"Well look who decided to show their faces instead of running away. This city really has gone to hell if dregs like you are crawling out of the woodwork." Hookwolf sneered at them all.

"It must be an epidemic." Lisa shot back without pause, quick on the draw as always "I saw three honest-to-god Nazis earlier, can you believe that? You'd think that in the current year people would have a little more sense but I guess you can't really get rid of stupid."

"Maybe we should put them in the camps." Alec chimed in from behind, and Taylor knew he was sporting a shit-eating grin underneath his mask, "See how they like it. We could have our own little Nazi zoo."

Brian sighed in front of Taylor as Hookwolf growled at the blatant jab and went to stand from his chair. Everyone inside the bar tensed noticeably at the man's hostile action and Taylor was no exception. Her fists clenched at her sides and she was moments away from calling her swarm out of the woodwork and bathing the entire bar in insects for their impending getaway before Lisa elbowed her in the side, giving her a look and shaking her head.

Taylor stared at her for a moment, before sending the insects back to where they had come from, letting them crawl deeper into the cracks and crevices once more as she relaxed. Everyone in the bar watched as Kaiser reached up and placed a calming yet firm hand on Hookwolf's shoulder, stopping him from doing anything rash.

"Calm yourself, Hookwolf." Kaiser spoke in a smooth tone, "Don't allow the lessers to get under your skin. This place is neutral ground for the time being, and we wouldn't wish to be the ones responsible for changing that."

Hookwolf's shoulders tensed as Kaiser touched him, but eventually the man relented with a huff, sitting back down in his chair and turning away from the Undersiders.

And with that, the tension in the room settled back to something only slightly above murderous intent, which was a fair change in Taylor's opinion. Now that they weren't under immediate threat, Brian made his way towards a booth close to the door, and just as they all settled in, the door opened once more.

All eyes turned to the group who entered and immediately, the aggression that had been lost returned in full force as the woman of the hour made her entrance.

Taylor had never seen Yosei in person before, but the moment she laid eyes on her, she could instantly see why the woman had become one of the most feared parahumans in the city in her short tenure as a cape. Even disregarding her immense power, she carried herself with a quiet confidence that few could hope to replicate at their best, and yet she made it seem as effortless as breathing. Even her companions seemed all the more intimidating in her presence.

Yosei was flanked by three people, though Taylor only recognized one. Oni Lee looked as intimidating as usual, with his blood red mask glaring at them all through the eerie silence. His bandolier was stocked full of blinking orbs and rectangular boxes that even Taylor could recognize for what they likely were. The ABB had somehow gotten their hands on tinkertech.

Beside her, Lisa cursed quietly, "So that tip wasn't just bullshit. That's not good." She muttered, and Taylor gave her a questioning look but she shook her head, mouthing 'later' and the brunette nodded, turning her attention back towards the group.

To Yosei's right was a figure that Taylor had never seen before. They were extremely tall, with their head almost scraping the admittedly-low ceiling above, covered in a dark trencoat that acted more like a cloak than a functional piece of clothing. They were hunched over, long, gangly limbs hanging nearly to their knees, and even though Taylor couldn't see a single inch of their actual skin, she could tell that they weren't a normal cape. It was an instinct in the back of her mind, a feeling of uncanny valley that made itself known from the moment that they walked in the door and told her something wasn't right. They weren't human.

Comparatively, the man on Yosei's left looked about as normal as you could imagine. He was decked out in full tactical gear and was carrying a rifle loosely in his hands, but there was an easy expression on his lips underneath his helmet, as if he wasn't concerned in the slightest that he was walking into a room with some of the most dangerous people in the city. That, combined with the sucker in his mouth, made Taylor think that he wasn't nearly as dangerous as his compatriots, though she had a feeling that was the intention.

As she stepped into the bar, Yosei's head slowly moved around the room, taking in the various faces held within, and for the first time Taylor noticed that the woman's costume was different. It wasn't the normal robe and half-mask that she remembered seeing all over PHO after the woman's debut. It was more practical and less ceremonial, clearly made for fighting instead of just presentation. Similarly, her new mask covered the entirety of her face instead of just the upper half, painting her features with the face of a snarling fox.

As Yosei's head turned towards her, Taylor's mind immediately flashed back to the woman's father and the night that had led her to this place. The image of the angry fox glinting in the light brought her back to that night, surrounded by fire and an angry dragon out for her blood, before Yosei looked away once more and she was left with the feelings that image produced.

Taylor wasn't alone however. The tension in the bar spiked noticeably at Yosei's entrance, like a simmering pot of water reaching that critical temperature that took it over the edge of boiling, and Taylor shared a look with Lisa and Brian, who both seemed just as nervous as she was.

Without words, each of them reached a similar thought. This could go very badly, very easily.

---

Get chapters to this fic and all others early at Sadguychet | Patreon! Chapter 56 has just been posted!

 

[Piknos]

Well this is going to go well. I can't imagine what plan Yuko could have that would deal with the empire in a few days except her taking them out at somers.