Chapter 7

"The… gangs?" Monica asked with a tilt of her head and a look of pure confusion on her face. Honestly, it wasn't such a complex request.

"Yup, the gangs. I know this city has them, tell me about them." I said with a smile as we continued walking, not caring about any of the people around us.

"Well, there are four gangs in the city who control pretty much everything. Azn Bad Boys, the Empire, the Merchants and the PRT."

"Isn't PRT part of the government?"

"That's just means they are a more well funded gang, which makes their incompetence even more disgusting." Monica scoffed and I had to stop myself from laughing, which required a herculean effort.

"PRT, aka Parahuman Response Team, are the 'heroes'; they are a branch of PSC, Parahuman Safety Commission. In theory, they are the super powered police that is supposed to keep the city and the citizens safe. In reality, they are just a bunch of incompetent morons trying to look good for PR points. The vigilantes that pop out sometimes stop crime more than them, before ending up in the morgue anyway." Monica explained with a snort, showing exactly what she thought of the government.

"Azn Bad Boys, better known as ABB, is probably the strongest power in the city due to their leader. Lung. He is an immensely powerful parahuman that even has been compared to the likes of Triumvirate and Allmight. A few years ago he took every Asian gang in this city and brought them under his control. They don't have as many capes as PRT or the Empire but they have quality and brutality on their side." She continued her explanation.

"The Empire is… there is no way of saying it in a nice way, they are just a bunch of Nazis. They have many capes and their leader Kaiser is probably the most competent leader in the city. They also have a few strong capes as their elite that stand a few notches above the rest. They have quantity in forces and their leader is smart." She said and I still had to figure out how exactly a Nazi organization was allowed to exist in America! What kinda bullshit is that?!

"Lastly you have the Merchants. Honestly calling them a proper gang is generous. They are bunch of drug addicts who like to hurt people in order to feel like they aren't the dregs of society and to forcefully addict them with their drugs. Lead by a moronic parahuman named Skidmark who is likely too high to remember his actual name."

"Sounds like kind of a group that would take anyone a week or two to deal with." I said with an arched eyebrow.

"And they would have been if it wasn't for two of their members. A tinker called Squealer who can make vehicles that are pretty much tanks in all but name, there are also rumors that she is Skidmark's girlfriend but I do not believe merchants actually know what that word means. The second is the only powerhouse they have, Snowflame. A real nutcase pyromaniac who gets his power by inhaling drugs, worships it as a deity and sees Skidmark as some sort of prophet. Unfortunately he is also one of the stronger capes in the city. Other than those two they probably have a drug tinker but that is more of a rumor, the remaining parahumans in their group aren't anything impressive." She ended her explanation.

"Anyone else that one needs to know?"

"There is a small villain group called the Undersiders, they aren't actually strong and they don't do anything big but they are somewhat famous simply for still being at large with the other gangs around. And then there are the heroes who are not affiliated with the PRT, the biggest of them is the New Wave. A Team made out of Dallon family who decided to come out with their secret identities for some reason."

"Sounds dumb." And also like an open invitation to get sniped while in the toilet but maybe that was just me.

"They endanger their own lives in order to help people who are by nature ungrateful and rude. They are dumb." She said with a shake of her head.

"Why do you want to know anyway?"

"Oh, I needed information before deciding on our first target." I said with a shrug while Monica looked worried.

"First… target?"

"Yup. I think I will deal with the Merchants. They sound incompetent enough, not to mention they also sound like the most offensive ones excluding the actual Nazis." Because fuck Nazis.

"You can't!" She said with a harsh tone and a scared look in her eyes.

"I am pretty sure that I can."

"No! I means as in you shouldn't!" She waved her arms around in frustration.

"Why?"

"Because it will bring more heroes and villains to the town!"

"…you lost me." I was man enough to admit that.

"The situation in the city is a four way stalemate. But because of that stalemate no new villains ever come from outside and neither do heroes. In a way, Brockton is a shit hole that only has a certain kind of shit. You remove any of the big players, it will be like bleeding in a pool of sharks. The players from outside the city will start to pour in!" She yelled the last part which would have caused quite a bit of disturbance in the street if it wasn't for me regulating the way people around us hear us.

"Yeah, so?" I asked, as far as I was concerned none of the things she said was inherently bad. It just meant that the game would have more players in it.

"…you really don't care." She said with a haunted look in her eyes.

"About more people with powers coming? Not particularly. Also, what did you think I was going to do anyway? I ain't exactly the hero type."

"Yeah, that time you tried to cut me open made that clear. I had thought that you would just kidnap some random people that nobody would miss and experiment on them. Not try to take over the city!"

"First of all, that's messed up. Second, I like to do some different things. This will be the first time I try to take over a city." That time in Izmir didn't count.

"Also, it's not like we can avoid the gangs."

"And why is that?" Monica asked with her hands on her hips, the universal way of saying that 'I am not amused with your shit' that also was very distracting on a woman with a waist like that.

"Because we already are surrounded by them." I said as I gestured to the likely gangsters getting out of the street corners with bloodshot eyes along with knives and pipes in their hands.

"…how did I miss that?" Monica asked as she whipped her head around, she was amusing.