Dragon's Progeny [Worm/ABB OC]

[Kylia Quilor]

This version of Lung is halfway intelligent. I'm surprised. But I suppose having a kid would change anyone.

 

[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

 

[Izurukuma]

Good chapter one of transition our protagonist realized her feelings for her friend who has a cast on her arm a few days after Rune received a blow there

I don't see how this can go wrong

Now seriously I wonder how they both became friends and it's funny Tammi thought that Lung abused her daughter and now it's the protagonist who thinks that Tammi is abused

 

[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

 

[Izurukuma]

The fight against the Undersiders is coming. My bet is that they will escape now. If it is with Taylor's help, I don't know yet.
But I am curious to see what Lisa's talk will be like.

 

[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

 

[Izurukuma]

wow that guy dodged a huge bullet, besides a daughter is usually very loyal to her father lung is not abusive and treats his daughter with respect, the chances of betrayal are low lung is surely proud

 

[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

 

[Izurukuma]

And here we are again

Each time closer to canon, plus we gave Alice a taste of reality, there is always a bigger fish that attacks, it could be Purity at that time, she was attacking the ABB because she clearly wants to be a heroine, interestingly I heard of many creatures with the ability to eat light, it would be funny if Yosei had also read

 

[Kylia Quilor]

Bakuda is increasingly likely to make a move against Yosei... from a safe distance.

 

[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.

---

Next five chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Izurukuma]

not bad,the first stage for REBELION

 

[Herofox]

Yikes. Don't get me wrong, Ophelia had this coming given how Tammi is acting, but that's still a rough situation.

Good on Tammi getting out, though something tells me that finding out her best friend is the cape that kicked her shit in is gonna be a powder keg waiting to blow.

 

[CyrneIlysraa]

Yikes. Don't get me wrong, Ophelia had this coming given how Tammi is acting, but that's still a rough situation.

Good on Tammi getting out, though something tells me that finding out her best friend is the cape that kicked her shit in is gonna be a powder keg waiting to blow.

Click to shrink...

oh absolutely, itll be glorious

 

[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."

---

Next five chapters available at Sadguychet | Patreon

 

[Izurukuma]

well shit is happening the good thing skidmark was defeated which is good I have never seen a fic where the protagonist lost against the merchants and I didn't want to see it start now.

and Dadlung was captured so if we are already in canon let's see how this deviates

 

[Herofox]

Oof. I know it was going to happen, but that's really not good when Bakuda is still around.

Still, it's good the Merchants are out for now. Empire is probably gonna take advantage of this for sure though.

Depends on how much Bakuda takes into her own hands.

 

[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."

---

Next five chapters available for Patrons!

 

[Rotceh]

Good work i LOVE this

 

[Izurukuma]

Bakuda: If all the heroes of the city and you fight, would you lose?

Yosei: Nah, I'd win

Now it really seems that Bakuda accepts our mandate for now, maybe because of our trust or maybe he's planning something.

Oni Lee is basically the calm guy, he immediately follows Lung's orders to follow his daughter's orders

Yosei's fight is approaching and the Protectorate asked me what Yosei will transform into.

 

[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.

---

Next five chapters available to Patrons!

 

[Herofox]

Welp, things are about to go to shit really fast.

Wonder if this is enough for her to go full Godzilla.

 

[DrachenEngel]

I guess she turned into a Phoenix?
It's the first creature I thought of that could reliably survive being turned into ashes.