Classy Drama...

POV Glory Girl :

"You gonna tell us what that was about?" Clockblocker asks after the group reconvenes and Glory Girl confirms the ABB cat cape's escape.

Vicky quirks a brow at him, She was still kinda reeling from the conversation with Kieu earlier, but for some reason she heard an accusal in Dennis' tone. "Pretty sure Gallant would've told you, we were on a date and-"

"Not that! I mean you letting the kid go, or are you telling me some low-level brute was able to get away from you? The mini-Alexandria?" he retorts, looking between Vista and Gallant for their reactions. Assault was not far away taking the brunt of Director Piggots rage at this shit storm.

Alabaster getting shot in the face directly in front of us, seemingly with the cooperation of Glory Girl was a huge red flag. Not just because of the Empire's response to it, which more often than not is violent gang brawls through the city, but because it showed a complete lack of control on the PRT and New Waves' behalf.

The capture of Hookwolf aside, this fight would only fan the flames of hatred between the Empire and the ABB, if such a thing wasn't already bad enough, especially after the crippling of Cricket by the very same cape.

Clockblocker folds his arms, "I'm just saying it's awful suspicious the guy you were buddy-buddy with just so happens to escape without a trace!"

"Buddy-buddy?" Glory Girl sarcastically retorts.

"Kid Win saw it over the CCTV, you must've made a deal with him to help capture Hookwolf!" he jabs an accusatory finger at Vicky.

"Clockblocker, not everything always goes according to plan. Were you honestly expecting Glory Girl to fight the ABB and Empire capes at once?" Gallant dismantles Dennis' fragile argument for his girlfriend, "We have protocols, and we should be glad we got anything for this at all. The capture of Hookwolf is worth the loss of the cat."

"Yeah, I think you're off with this one, Clock... Seeing someone get their brains blown out is kinda... Nazi or not, I didn't wanna see that." Vista, the youngest of the group says, glancing at Gallant for his approval on the matter.

Glory Girl wets her lips, "It shouldn't have happened, but I'd rather see that than what would've happened if Hookwolf got ahold of the kid." She grimaces at the thought. The guy would've torn him limb from limb, and while they said they wanted to capture him, she was sure Hookwolf had abandoned that in his rage...

That's not speaking of what would've happened to him if he'd been captured at all. The Empire was known for its 'displays'. The ABB occasionally crucified their enemies, leaving bloody bodies to enforce fear of them. But the Empire took inspiration from the KKK, holding lynchings and even burnings for their more infamous targets.

Clockblocker runs a hand down his mask and lets out a long sigh, "Maybe... But-" he starts to argue his defence but Glory Girl holds a hand up.

"But you don't want dirt on your record so you'd be in the running for team captain once Triumph leaves for the big leagues?" she says, Gallant's head darting to face her as she recalls his own speculation on Dennis' recent behaviour.

A well-educated speculation due to Gallant's ability to feel emotions... Yeah, now that she was thinking about it, hitting someone's vulnerability that her boyfriend had spoken of in confidence was a shitty thing to do.

Too bad she'd already said it.

With the red visibly creeping up Dennis' neck under his mask, she'd definitely gone too far. Unfortunately, he didn't immediately speak to her, instead sending a glare at Gallant.

"Dude, what the fuck?" he asks, aware that only Gallant would've both known that and talked about it to Vicky. He was rightly pissed that his teammate had made something like that known to a girl who wasn't even in the Wards.

"What? You wanna throw shade but can't take it?" Vicky starts but is cut off as Assault finishes his call and the sound of PRT transport skids around a street corner.

"Alright kiddos, we're to accompany the trucks and make sure Fido doesn't claw his way out in transit. Armsmaster should be here soon, so let's help the guys get Hookwolf prepped to be moved."

"This isn't finished." Clockblocker quietly says to Gallant who can only silently nod in response.

"This is Glory Girl's fault though..." Vista mutters as she walks past.

-----------------------------

POV Kieu :

"Fucker, I liked this shirt too..." I grouse as I look over my bloody, bullet-ridden and torn-up t-shirt. My burgers were cold now too!

Serves me right for going outside, running into not one, not two, but eight fucking capes. It's like I'm a trouble magnet or some shit, if it's not something then it's certainly, demonstrably not nothing!

The rewards for killing Alabaster weren't all that great either, as I'd only gotten twenty times the BP I'd have gotten for a regular person. It might've been worth it if I could've sucked him dry(No homo), as that would've given a hundred times what I get for a regular human.

At least this confirmed my theory, that metahumans/capes granted far higher rewards. Now to test if the strength of the cape mattered in the equation too.

*Beep-Beep!*

"You've been invited to celebrate the murder of Alabaster by Lung. No, this is not something you can refuse. Be there or we might open a discussion on your uncoordinated and unapproved attack on Empire forces." I read aloud the text from my handler, Mr Kiyoshi...

Well, a party was better than a punishment... I think?

---------------------------

This was not what I was expecting... A ceremonial do with a long ass table, sake, and other yakuza bullshit I could accept.

But this? What amounted to a young guy's stag night in a strip club? What's the point of being Asian supremacists if you weren't going to take all the cool shit. Plus, if fear and respect are what Lung wanted, what better way than to induce old shogun-era samurai shit...

Whatever. Just grit your teeth, smile and wave.

I walk through the front doors unmolested, my feline ears and tail making the guards more than aware of who I am. Around me, things had already started, mostly because I'd elected to arrive 'fashionably' late.

The fact a bunch of pre-teen boys and girls were getting liquored in the corner was something I had to force myself to accept, at the moment at least. I recognized some of them from that 'Merchant execution' all those days ago.

I sigh and drop into a seat at the bar, not far from where Nishihara and his cohort were. The guy instantly waved me over as soon as he spotted me, however.

"Kaibyō, good to see that you could make it." he drawls with a knowing eye. "Congratulations on your recent successes, Lung is impressed at your effectiveness despite your, lacklustre abilities."

I stifle the sigh growing in my chest, "We make do with what we've got." I respond stoically. "Is he here...?"

"Lung?" he idly nods, "In the back with some women. I doubt he'll be out tonight, so if you wished to speak with him I'd suggest another day..."

"Is there anything you need me to do tonight?" I query. I was under no illusions that this 'celebration for my successes' was actually that. Just another scheme for these cunts to push their agenda, case and point the drunk tweens.

"No, not particularly. I would, however, like you to socialize with our youth." he gestures over to a group of booths that held boys from the ages thirteen and up, all staring at the nearby stripper shaking her ass and tits of them.

What was worse? Predating on kids, or the fact the woman was probably a sex slave?

"Is that an order...?" I neutrally ask, spotting the assholes who'd stabbed me. No sign of Takata though? Weird. They used to follow him around like lost ducklings.

Nishihara crooks a brow at me with thinned lips, "Implicitly."

I stand to leave but he calls for me once more and shoves a glass of who-knows-what alcohol into my hands. "Do try to enjoy yourself, Kaibyō... This celebration is for you, after all."

"Yeah, I'm really feeling the love." I drawl and walk over to the drooling douchebags. All of which don't even notice me approach, too focussed on the stripper's gyrating body until I cough into my fist to announce myself.

"Yo."

"H-huh-, oh shit!" one kid jumps to his feet and bows so deeply I suspected he'd been training to suck himself off... "You're so cool!"

...

"Okay..." I awkwardly respond and lean on one of the booths, unwilling to sit in close proximity to these glue-sniffers.

"Did you really take out two Empire capes? Everyone's talking about it! The last time a cape was killed in Brockton Bay was that New Wave bitch years ago!" the fanboy exclaims.

Funny that, years of gang fighters between superpowered cunts and the only corpses were civilians. Did I say how much I hated this world yet? Yes? Well, let me say it again; Fuck this place.

"It's not that big a deal, the guy he knocked off was that pale prick. He barely even counted as a cape!" another boy remarks.

"And Cricket? Or fighting off Hookwolf?" the fanboy continues... And all I did really was run for Hookwolf, no idea where he was getting his info from.

"Giji, if you wanna fuck him go somewhere else and leave the girls to us." Kenji, the kid whose face I'd fucked up with a red-hot wok grouses.

Despite myself, I couldn't hold my retort. "What girl wants to touch you, scar face?"

"Ha! He's onto something there, Kenji!"

"Shut up! You think you're hot shit because you got powers!? Any loser can get lucky!" he shouts, getting to his feet and facing off against me. I could smell the alcohol on his breath, probably where his bravado came from.

Kazuma stands behind him as Kenji points a finger at the fanboy, "You're only here because your family owns land! You haven't had to fight for it like the rest of us!"

"Didn't you get your ass beat by some kid younger than you, that you outnumbered?" Giji retorts with a shit-eating grin, his nervousness vanishing as glances at me, likely hoping I'd step in if something started...

"T-that's because of that Okubyōmono Takata!" he sputters, pushing Giji in the chest. "That kid's dead and gone now anyway! Boss said so!"

My brow rises at that, Nishihara told them I was dead? Jackass.

"Three verses one and you had to resort to stabbing a kid because he beat you. Wow, I'm so impressed." Giji mocks, drawing laughs from those listening.

Of course, Kenji's fragile ego wouldn't take that, so he swings a fist at Giji's face... Which I catch, mostly as a reaction, I was still unsure if I wanted to get myself involved in a playground fight.

"Stop. You've had enough to drink, maybe you should sit outside and sober up." I suggest, which isn't, as you can imagine, well received.

"Fuck off!" he swings his other fist at my face, which I catch with ease.

"You aren't dead, meaning you don't treat Oni Lee or Lung like this... Why am I not the same?" I growl, remembering Lung's words last we met. "I don't give a fuck if you stinking drunk, try that again and I'll respond without kid-gloves." I squeeze his fists briefly, causing him to let out a squeal and step backwards, bumping into Kazuma who'd been looking incredibly sheepish.

"I killed Alabaster and lynched Cricket. What makes you think I won't kill some punk kid?"

Senses overcoming his alcohol, Kenji's eyes widen as he hurriedly makes his way to the toilets, followed by Kazuma who wanted to be anywhere but here. Some teens laugh, some stay quiet, but I glance over to where Nishihara is and notice the man sending a side-eye at me.

He gives a short, permissive nod, miming a look at the clock on the wall before going back to a conversation with his drinking mates.

"Hey, thanks for that, really!" Giji eagerly says from my side.

...

Well, if I have to stay here then I might as well do some recon. What better way to get intel than from the mouths of loose-lipped, partially drunk, horny teenagers?