9

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In his office Asa Sweet grumbles to himself as the farmers his gang used to get rid of bodies, by feeding the bodies to their pigs. The farmers did attack the warehouse that leads to the back of the underground speakeasy, they entered and none came back out. The only one that left was one of the women in Shimmer's pride, Tigeress who drove off in the car she came in with. The men he had watching, only saw her and Viktor in the warehouse, who must had took out the 4 farmers.

Asa frowns as before he was just waiting for Lackadaisy to die and he could just come in and offer Mitzi a deal, for old times sake. Besides he does owe Atlas that much at least, he wouldn't be the man he is now without him. Then Shimmer came and began supplying the speakeasy with imported alcohol, none of the moonshine that are made in bathtubs, but the good stuff. Even handing over the most expensive wine in the world that's available on the open market, each bottle costing 40,000 each. He heard one of the high rollers in the business world went and brought one of the bottles to display how much wealth he has where he could spend that much on a bottle.

Then there's that restaurant she open that she calls a fast food restaurant Egg Barrel, which they did make the egg burgers and fries fast. He glance at the brown paper bag that came from that restaurant, he had to admit the food is cheap and are filling. Even Mordecai likes the food coming from the restaurant and he's really picking about his food, like just about everything else.

Egg Barrel is making lots of money, that has its own stocks as Shimmer is making it into a brand. Like that White Castle restaurant he went to when he was up north. He heard that Sable is building his own Egg Barrel on the side of the city he's living at so that he has a steady source of income and be under the brand name of Egg Barrel, where he would pay Shimmer a percent to use the name and be supplied with all the eggs that seem to come from nowhere. (Which in a couple of years would be his lifeline as all of his other businesses fail after the stock market crash.) (1)

Asa has been looking into how she's been smuggling all of the goods she's been supplying for her businesses around the city. He still wonders why she's been smuggling turnips of all things, the soup kitchen and even the Egg Barrel has turnips on the menu. Eggs he could understand, they're used in lots of foods, but turnips? He tried to find out where the smuggle goods are coming from but nothing, the warehouse where the smuggle goods are coming from was brought by Shimmer and run by her pride members. The workers and drivers have no idea where the creates of eggs and turnips are coming from, just that they just appear in the warehouse when they come in for their shift. And seeing how the pay is 8 dollars an hour, the workers and drivers aren't looking to ruin such a good deal.

With the Feds in town he couldn't do much without drawing attention to himself. He's still making money on his side of the city but with Lackadaisy serving imports, the speakeasy has been doing better than it had been since... Thinking about Atlas always made him feel guilt. Shaking it off he has to deal with Shimmer, she's cutting into too much of his profits but he needs to do it in a way so that it wouldn't lead back to him.

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Outside of the City -

All the members of the Maitre Carrefour Cult have gathered, Nico and Serafine had gathered them all together. The ritual to summon their god the loa Maitre Carrefour has been setup and the one who will do the summoning is Sunset Shimmer who came along with a group of her pride members. The place the ritual is taking place is the farm that the pig farmers owned when they were alive, their bodies are being offered along with the other offerings for the ritual.

Sunset showed off the magic she is able to cast to the members and her pride members also showed off the magic powers they gained thanks to their queen. All of them have enhance strength and durability, enhance youth, beauty and bodies shaped by magic. They showed pictures of what they use to look like and what they look like now. All the members have been given a potion that after it's been drunk will give the same results that needs a couple of weeks for the effects , just not as breathtaking with the pride members. So that their changes can be waved off as a better lifestyle and diet.

Felicia Hardy and Selina Kyle, both have the ability to see any object they're seeking, being able to see through solid objects and see what they seek. And both are able to move around without making any noise and while they don't become invisible, people just don't notice them. Their powers make them completely nondescript, so that they're almost impossible to notice until they do something to draw attention to themselves.

Tigra and Cheetah both of them have claws that can leave claw marks on stone. They can use their claws to climb on surfaces that they otherwise couldn't climb.

Cheethara has super speed, being able to move at insane speed.

Pumyra is able to jump high, leaping up high on top of the farm house in a single bound.

Wilykit is able to cling to any surface and scale them, which she showed off by walking up a tree.

Ishtovia is able to use healing magic, which she healed any wounds that the cult members have and any sickness. She explained that she use to be a woman of faith, till she saw how corrupt the faith she was apart of was and left it. She now able to use healing magic that her old faith would have called witchcraft and the work of the devil, when she's able to do is exactly the same power the person of their faith is built around could do in their stories. Who if he did come back would be seen as a devil by the very faith that is built around him, especially if he was reborn as a woman or any other race that isn't what they want him to be. (2)

Liesel has the power to control fire and is completely immune to heat. Which she showed off by putting her face into the flames of a torch for all to see with nothing done to her.

The circle runes glowed and the bodies of the farmers turn to dust and fell apart, a goat or pigs would have worked too but this way the bodies would just disappear without a trace. A dark furred young man appeared in the middle of the ritual circle and he doesn't look pleased being summoned. He looks around and frowns seeing the cult that has been praying to him who all fell to their knees before their god. He then turns to the one who summon him, frowning upon seeing her, again.

"Why have you summon me this time?" Maitre Carrefour ask.

"I need you to empower this compass so that no matter what, it will lead me to where, I want to go," Sunset said holding out an old compass.

"For that you summon me?" Maitre Carrefour ask.

"Yes, I did the ritual and adding a few others to make sure, and I have several barrels of rum mixed with gunpowder just like you like," Sunset said pointing to the 8 barrels of rum mixed with gunpowder next to the ritual circle.

"Calling upon me for such a small matter," Maitre Carrefour said growling.

"None of that, you need people to believe in you to exist. Some of the gods have either been completely forgotten or are just clinging onto any form of pray now. Phanes gave me that barrel that never runs out of eggs just so that by the egg burgers being eaten, gives him something to feed upon. Without mortals to believe in you, you will fade away and lose your power," Sunset said. (3)

"Christianity has dealt a blow to many but, I'm still a god," Maitre Carrefour growls.

"And not as powerful as what I'm use to dealing with. After all can you or any of the other gods can move the sun and the moon?" Sunset ask causing said god to frown. "Gods gain strength from praise and worship, you are only as powerful as directly proportional to how many people believe in you, you have a cult of followers right here. I casted a silent spell so that they can't hear us. But what you think will happen, if I show that their god they built up in their imagination, isn't as powerful as they believe in? I explained to them that by using this ritual and having the right offerings, you can grant them a boom. The potions I gave them, are the same as what me and my pride have but I told them I would summon you to empower the potions. You can tell them to keep the effects of the potion they just need to continue to pray to you and make offerings now and then. They will spread the tale of how if someone makes the potion and preform the ritual to summon you. With the correct offering, you can empower the potion with your magic to make them be youthful and have a better body, as long as they continue to make offerings to you, and unlike the Christian god who doesn't need to answer or do anything to keep the followers, you actually will do something for his followers instead of nothing. You can grow it into a true faith and not a cult of a small number of followers."

"Yes, that will piss that lazy god off," Maitre Carrefour smiles liking the idea. "You paint a good picture with your words."

"Then we have an agreement," Sunset said holding up the compass.

"Yes," Maitre Carrefour said empowering it with his magic to locate whatever the holder seeks.

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Far from the farm -

Having sneaked as close as he's comfortable with, Blacksad has been watching the little party that Shimmer had thrown for a strange group of people. Using a telescope he watched as Shimmer and her pride created a circle on the ground that look like some kind of occult stuff. He then saw the 4 bodies of men being place in the circle followed by Shimmer chanting something as she preformed a ritual of some kind.

He watched the show not believing what he's seeing as the ground began glowing red and the bodies crumbled away like sandcastles. Then a man rose from the ground and he Shimmer talk to each other, while the non pride members kneeled before the man and stayed that way as they waited. He had watched before the ritual started of the pride members displaying something out of pulp magazines, walking up a tree, moving super fast, leaving claw marks on stone, and one of them putting her face in fire and not screaming.

Blacksad has seen lots of stuff over the years and seen many gruesome crime scenes in his line of work. But what he just witness is something that he has never seen. He couldn't help but think that just maybe magic is actually real.

"Look what we got here," Cheethara said having sneaked up behind Blacksad.

Turning around Blacksad saw that she's not alone as she has Tigra and Cheetah with her. Cheetah Is holding a large barrel over her shoulder. He also saw Felicia standing behind them looking through his wallet.

"He's a private detective, name John Blacksad," Felicia said.

"Better make sure no one will believe anything he says," Tigra said as Cheetah poured the liquid contents of the barrel on Blacksad.

"Hey!" Blacksad shouted as high grade rum is poured onto his face and clothes. Licking the liquid Blacksad recognized it as rum. "Rum?"

"That's right we can't just kill you off, so we're making sure that no one will be believing you telling them you saw us preforming real magic. Who will believe a drunk?" Cheethara said as she takes out some knock out powder and dumps it onto his face.

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Next day -

Blacksad woke up in a prison cell still in his rum soaked clothes. A cop saw him awake and went off for something. Blacksad wondered how he ended up in jail when Feral not looking happy walk into view.

"Pray tell why did my officers found you ass out in your car, soaked in rum?" Feral ask who couldn't help but be somewhat amused at what happen to Blacksad.

"Followed Shimmer and was caught and they decided to make sure that anything I say wouldn't be believed," Blacksad said rubbing the bridge of his nose feeling the hangover from the rum.

"Try me," Feral said.

"I followed her and some of her pride to a pig farm where I saw them preform a ritual using four male bodies. They were there with a group of other people and they displayed being able to leave claw marks on stone, walk up trees and one of them stick her face into fire and wasn't harm. Then Shimmer preform a ritual and the circle glowed red and the bodies just broke away like sandcastles. And a man appeared in the circle and talk with Shimmer. Then some of the pride members found me, poured rum all over me and knock me out with something else, telling me that way no one would ever believe me. They didn't want to kill me so they just made sure I wouldn't be believed," Blacksad explains.

"Believe you I don't," Feral said shaking his head. "While I do think you saw something. You being drunk doesn't make what you saw believable."

"Look even if I didn't see what I saw thanks to them pouring all that rum on me, they know who I am now. One of them took my wallet," Blacksad said.

"Then you're exposed now," Feral said.

"They might even took a photo of me while I was out," Blacksad said.

"I make the call and see what will happen next. As for you some time here in the drunk tank should do you some good," Feral said taking his leave.

Out in the hallway he sees that Dominic "Dom" Drago is waiting for him. He's a sharp-eyed, suave member of the Treasury Department who has been called in to look into the smuggling. He's been listening in, he's been looking into Shimmer and her pride.

"Drugging and soaking him with rum. Smart," Dominic said walking with him.

"That's the only thing I believe. If they had killed him, I would have checked the manor for anything," Feral said.

"Better send some men to the pig farm and see if they can find anything," Dominic said.

"Plan to but there be little evidence to link Shimmer with what happen to Blacksad," Feral said.

"She's too good and we have to be careful how we do things with her. She's rich and has the right connections," Dominic said.

"Well this isn't Europe," Feral said.

"True but the backlash of a raid on her manor and turning up nothing will be big. She has made friends in Washington and this will not look good for my bosses," Dominic said.

"Prohibition is nothing but a huge mistake, more cats are drinking than not now," Feral said. (4)

"That, I agree with," Dominic said.

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Authors Notes -

1 - The comic takes place 2 years before the Great Depression hits.

2 - Someone who is able to use healing magic would still be seen as being the work of the devil by the church.

3 - Phanes the Greek god of eggs.

4 - Prohibition in the end caused more problems and didn't solved anything.

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