Chapter 81: Irish Stout
-Xavier Institute, Bayville-
It had been a month or two since the whole debacle with Xavier's son, David, and the institute had finally started to wind down in those last few weeks.
And in that time, Devin Shirakumo and his girlfriend Roxy had been trying to spend more time together, since everything that'd been going on has made that a bit difficult.
Currently, though, the living T-1000 reference and legally blind scorpion roller skate punk were trying to get in touch with the latter's older brothers.
Namely because Roxy usually got calls from them every day to check on her, but had gotten nothing but radio silence for the better part of a month.
Something wasn't right.
"I don't like this…" The scorpion girl frowned. "They don't go silent for long periods of time. What's going on?" She wondered.
"I hate to even suggest it, but…" Devin said before looking at his girlfriend seriously. "I don't suppose you have a mob syndicate in your neighborhood?" He questioned.
"We do." Roxy sighed before she froze. "... Ah fuck. I think I know what's going on." She cursed, her eyes narrowing.
"That being…?" The former Yakuza kid questioned.
"They likely failed to pay the protection fee in time, and now they've been taken by the local mafia in their area." Roxy explained. "At best, they're probably being forced to do labor to pay them back." She added.
"Or, knowing the Irish Mafia, much worse." Her boyfriend said. "Come on, let's go." He said as he started walking.
"What?" The girl questioned.
"We're going to save your overprotective brothers." The boy stated as he headed out the door, straight to the garage.
(Later)
After letting everyone else know what was going on, Devin and Roxy were on the move. Gavin in particular wanted to help out, but he had CEO related matters to attend to, so he was unable to lend his aid. Xavier, however, urged the two to not hesitate in case something happened that demanded they call in backup.
"This it?" Devin questioned as he drove the two of them up to the store where Roxy's second eldest brother, Soda, worked.
The store was a convenience store, pharmacy and soda fountain called Shiloh's All Goods.
"Yeah, it's where Solomon works as a Soda jerk, part of the reason why they call him Soda." The girl nodded, just barely able to make out the blurry outline of the store. "It's run by Mr. Shiloh O'Brian. He should be able to help us." She added.
"Let's see if that's true." Devin said as they walked into the store, the bell ringing to announce their arrival.
The owner of the store was busy restocking a few shelves when he turned to see them.
"Hello, you two looking for something?" He questioned.
The man was an older man with fading red hair, blue eyes and canyons made of wrinkles in his skin. Attire wise he wore an apron, a plaid shirt and a pair of faded jeans.
Devin was silent for a moment as he took a seat at the soda fountain bar, Roxy following.
"Close, we're actually looking for someone." The boy stated as the man stepped behind the counter, taking a menu. "I'll take a strawberry ice cream soda and a vanilla one for her." He added.
"I could've ordered." His girlfriend grumbled.
"This menu isn't in braille, you'd need a magnifying glass." Devin retorted as Shiloh put three scoops of vanilla in one cup, strawberry in another, then vanilla and strawberry syrup, before blending the two and topping it with soda water.
As he turned back to them, he quickly recognized the girl next to Devin. "Roxy…? Is that you?" He questioned.
"Yup. It's me, Shiloh." The girl nodded in his direction.
"I'm gonna guess you've heard about your brothers, right?" The man guessed as he gave them their requested dessert.
"They've been quiet for over a month. What's going on?" Roxy questioned.
"They refused to pay O'Malley his protection fees for several weeks. Dallas even took a pipe wrench and nearly beat one of his enforcers to death." The man explained. "Then, a couple weeks later, O'Malley's goons stormed your house, and took 'em. Probably about to break their legs." He added.
Roxy almost choked on her drink–which she was drinking rather fast–at that.
"Son of a…!" She hissed, her stingers protruding from her wrists. "Not if I have anything to say about it!" She growled.
"Where do these mobsters congregate?" Devin questioned, drinking his ice cream soda slowly and calmly.
"At the warehouse district. They own a few warehouses, and use them for whatever they want to use them for." Shiloh replied. "But if you wanna find them at their most relaxed, I'd try Enoch's Pub down the road. They usually go there most nights."
"Thank you." Devin nodded as he finished his dessert beverage and placed some money on the counter.
As they left, Roxy didn't seem very pleased. "Why are you so calm right now? Do you even care about what's going on?!" She snapped at him, causing the boy to stop.
"Of course I do." He told her, not turning around. "But someone has to stay focused on the task at hand. Don't they?" He added before he kept walking towards the pub, his appearance changing to make himself look older with a flow of liquid metal.
The technically blind girl grumbled but said nothing further as she walked beside him.
(A short while later)
When the two of them arrived at the pub, which looked like it was from the 1800s on the outside, Devin stopped walking. Roxy was about to ask why when he spoke.
"I'll head in on my own and see what I can find out. If you wanna get a drink or something, that's up to you." He told her.
"What makes you think I can't help with the intel gathering?" She demanded, sounding rather irritated.
"If you try it, they'll recognize you in a heartbeat. It's best if I poke around since they won't know me." The metal mutant explained, causing his girlfriend to blink.
"Oh… Well, when you put it that way…" She trailed off, seeing his point. The two then went inside with Roxy going to the bar and ordering a sparkling drink while Devin looked around for the mobsters.
As he did, he noticed that one guy ordered a shot of Jameson Irish Whiskey, a Collins glass with an ice pillar, and a Coca-Cola Coffee, and combined the two.
The man was bald, probably in his late forties, and had an almost uncanny resemblance to Jason Statham. He was dressed in a fairly sharp suit.
Though what really tipped Devin off was the fact he had several healing injuries. Consistent with what Shiloh said.
'There you are.' He thought as he sat down next to the man, noticing that the bar had Japanese Whiskey available. "I'll take a two ounce pour of that Hibiki, middle shelf." He told the bartender.
"Gotcha." The bartender nodded as he got the requested alcoholic beverage ready. The man he was sitting next to glanced at him.
"I don't see many people with that kind of taste." He commented.
"Used to go to a bar with my grandfather in Tokyo. It's the only thing he drank besides a bottle of warm Dragonkiller Sake and a few beers." The boy responded as the bartender set a rocks glass on the bar, dropped an ice cube in it and poured.
"Huh. Interesting." The man mused before glancing back at the hidden mutant. "And you look like you wanna know something." He noted, lowering his voice to avoid drawing attention.
"You're certainly sharp." Devin noted, sipping his drink.
"So, what do you wanna know?" The enforcer questioned.
"How I could get an audience with one Robert O'Malley." The T-1000 reference stated rather bluntly.
"... Why are you asking?" The man asked warily.
"The less you know about the 'why' in this case, the better." Devin rebuked. He wouldn't get information if his target knew why he was asking. The man hesitated a moment before he sighed.
"If you wanna get an audience with him, you'll have to either make an appointment or do something to catch his interest." He explained.
"Tell him that the Yashida Japanese Crime Syndicate wishes to trade with him." The boy told him before finishing his drink and walking away.
Roxy, upon hearing that he had finished up and was heading out, paid for her drink and took her leave right after him. Once they were clear, Devin returned to normal and looked at his girlfriend.
"I heard what you were saying. Think he'll buy it?" She asked.
"It's a business appointment, so I doubt he'll say no." The metal mutant nodded in reply.
"Let's hope he does buy it. If he doesn't, we'll have to think of another way in." Roxy sighed, worried about her brothers.
-Irish Mafia Hideout-
It was night now and the same enforcer Devin had been talking to, a man named Shaw, was now approaching a hideout that was disguised as a gym.
As he walked inside the building, he saw that several men were towards the back, a few counting money and a couple packing up suit cases full of white bundles of powder.
Knowing how underground syndicates worked, that powder likely wasn't anything legal.
Shaw continued to his boss' office, passing by a few prostitutes that were with a few other members of the mafia. When he came to his boss' office, he gave the door a firm knock to let him know he was there and waited for a response.
"Shaw, good to see you." The man said.
O'Malley wasn't exactly a very intimidating person upon looking at him. Honestly he looked rather average. Hazel colored hair with brown hair and a slightly heavy body type that was covered by a simple overshirt and pants, not much else.
"Sorry about the delay sir, was just grabbing something at the pub." The man said, sitting down across from his boss.
"That's fine." O'Malley said, waving it off. "Anything of interest come up on your way back, though?" He asked.
"Just one: A Japanese mobster is in town wanting to talk to you." Shaw explained. "Didn't give me a name, just that they call him Full Metal." He added.
"Hm… I see." O'Malley nodded as he mulled it over. After a minute or so, he spoke again. "If you can get in touch with him again, tell him that I'm willing to talk." He told his subordinate.
"Alright then." He nodded. "And what about the Styles boys? Think they've had enough?" He questioned.
"Why?" His boss questioned.
"Aren't you the slightest bit worried that their little sister will get suspicious and have her X-Men or SHIELD friends bust our doors down looking for them?" He questioned.
"I see why you're concerned, but they need to learn their lesson." O'Malley stated firmly. "I'll release them next week. Hopefully we can dodge that particular bullet before it's shot." He added.
"I hope you're right, boss, or we're fucked." Shaw sighed as he left the office.
Meanwhile, outside the building, a thick and viscose silver liquid slowly poured out from under Shaw's car before it rose up and started taking a more defined shape.
Devin narrowed his eyes as he looked around, and seeing he was clear, he looked for a vent and turned into metal again before making his way into the building.
Slithering around he soon reached the part of the building where a man was doing an inventory. Deciding to try out something he saw in Terminator 2 when he was six, he seeped into the wall and moved in front of the guy through the floor.
What happened next freaked the guy out bad.
The mass of changing liquid made no sound as it slowly morphed into his likeness and then the figure held out a finger–that turned into a needle and stabbed him through the brain with surgical precision–killing him instantly.
The mobster dropped to the ground when the needle was removed, and Devin started making his way to the security room so he could find out where Roxy's brothers were being kept. Once he was there, he snuck up on the guard and quickly snapped his neck before positioning the body to look like he'd fallen asleep.
"Alright. Time to get to hacking." The boy said as he turned his finger into a jack and plugged himself in, immediately starting to use his new techno organic technopathy to coerce the computer into giving him the information he needed from the cameras.
After a bit, he managed to locate the Styles brothers. They were in the basement, the door to it being disguised as a utility closet for the gym. Withdrawing himself from the system, he turned and walked out of the room before he began making his way there.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, outside, a pushed up trail of earth reminiscent of the kind Bugs Bunny left behind when he moved underground made its way to the building, until it stopped under Shaw's car and…
BONG!
Roxy bonked her head on the car's undercarriage. "Ooooooh, I knew I should've taken that left turn at Albuquerque…" She groaned, rubbing the knob developing on her skull. After she cleared her head, she went back underground and dug a bit more before she popped back up beside it this time. "Okay, if these lugheads have a basement, I better find my way there do make an escape tunnel for the boys." She muttered to herself, concocting a plan to get her brothers to safety.
Then she burrowed back underground, using her scorpion senses to help guide her.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back in the compound, Devin was still disguised and making his way to the basement where the brothers were apparently held. He passed by a few mobsters that were either chatting, taking inventory, counting cash or making out with a prostitute.
After a bit, he managed to reach where the brothers were being kept, but someone tried to stop him.
"Hey, you can't–" He tried to say before he got a lobotomy.
Pushing the man aside with his foot, he then morphed his finger into a bar and stuck it in the key hole, the bar morphing into the correct shape and allowing him to get inside.
Once Devin entered the room, what he saw made him angry.
The brothers were all beaten within an inch of their lives, their faces swollen and covered in both bruises and blood, and Darry and Dally in particular all had electrical burns. Probably from the generator and jumper cables in the corner.
'This mafia won't exist anymore when evidence against them lands in official hands!' He growled in his head. Shaking away those thoughts, he went and shook them all awake, knowing that they'd be unconscious in their states.
"Huh…?" Dallas groaned as he slowly came awake.
"Don't worry, I'm here to save you." Devin told him.
"Wait. I know you, you're Devin, Roxy's boyfriend." The young man groaned as he sat up as he cut them loose.
"What're you doing here?" Darry questioned, his head throbbed.
"I don't even have time to explain why I don't have time to explain." The mutant said as he unlocked the handcuffs on Soda's hands.
"Let's just get outta here." Dallas groaned as he got to his feet shakily. After a moment, Roxy dug through the wall in the room right as Devin cut Pony loose.
"Hey guys." She chirped quietly. It took a moment because of her vision, but she did manage to register the state of her brothers. "Oh, I have half a mind to crack some skulls right now…!" She growled.
"Not the time, darling." The metal mutant told her as he helped the brothers hobble over to the escape hole.
"I know." Roxy sighed as she helped her brothers into the hole. "Come on, guys. We don't wanna be here when someone walks in." She beckoned.
When her brothers and Devin made it into the hole, she collapsed it to cover their exit and keep mobsters from following. Once they were clear, Roxy and her boyfriend were quick to get them to the hospital to get treated.
"Phew, that was close." Roxy sighed as the two sat down in the hospital.
"We should probably have your brothers stay somewhere else, at least until things calm down." Devin told her in a serious tone.
"Yeah. Their current house is too much of a hazard right now." The girl nodded in agreement. "Think we can get Gavin, Johan or Katerina to pull a few strings to get them a temporary home?" She asked.
"I'll start with my brother." Devin nodded as he pulled out his phone and dialed his brother, getting up so he could talk elsewhere.
This left Roxy to lean back in the chair and slowly go to sleep, needing a nap right now.
(Elsewhere)
In an undisclosed location, a lone figure stalked through halls lit by torches.
The figure was tall, about as tall as Colossus or Sabertooth, with pale green skin, long white hair and glowing red eyes. His garb was a Romanian suit of armor with a flowing cape.
This was Vlad Nosferatu Tepes. Aka: Count Dracula–Sarah Shirakumo's great great grandfather and Gavin and Devin's unknown ancestor.
He was pissed off by what had transpired. Namely the fact that Gavin had plunged his nation into a war against HYDRA that left him and his people crippled.
His forces were cut in half and scattered, he was besieged on all fronts by minor annoyances that had become a much more outward threat, he had several rebellions spring up all over his kingdom from the many monster tribes. And worst of all, he had lost his chance to claim a marriage to Queen Shikla of the Succubus clan, losing her instead to the most infuriating of all his adversaries: Deadpool.
He wanted retribution against his impudent descendant for this transgression, and he would get it. He didn't care if he'd draw the attention of that fool, Blade– he would make Gavin pay for this!
It was then that one of his ghouls appeared beside him.
"Are my armies gathered?" He questioned.
"Yes, Lord. They prepare for the assault now. The lunar eclipse will be the perfect cover for your attack." The underling nodded.
"Good. Then set the time in the sun dial." The dark lord said. "We march on All Hallows Eve." He added as he plucked a beetle from his shoulder. "And this "Bayville", will know the weight of my wrathful heel." He added, crushing the bug in his hand before walking away, his cape swishing behind him.
ThermalsniperN7: Oh damn it. First the Asgard fiasco after Gavin's crusade against HYDRA, and now Dracula is making his thoughts known… Probably should've seen that coming, in retrospect.
Dragon Emperor0: Yeah, if Dracula didn't respond to Gavin literally playing the two off each other in hopes of causing mutually assured destruction of the two factions–it would have been cited by critics as a big plot hole.
ThermalsniperN7: True. But at any rate, Devin and Roxy rescued the latter's siblings from an Irish Mafia, and they were not in good shape. Something tells me that Mafia is gonna be either destroyed or wish it was off screen… So to speak.
Dragon Emperor0: Something along those lines. Next chapter will be the Halloween special "Night of the Vampyrs" and then after that will be Uprising. We're still gonna try and stretch this story out to 100 chapters the best we can, so expect a few mini arcs or small one off chapters here and there.
ThermalsniperN7: Right. We still have other plans for this story. Anyway, see you next time.