Chapter 3:
She's a killer queen


It was now the end of March. Come tomorrow, shit was going to hit the fan. That was assuming things would somehow stay the same. In the end, I have no idea what to expect. There was no telling what would happen. I could only hope that Taylor Hebert didn't target my Shie Hassaikai first.

Speaking of which, I couldn't believe my luck. At least now I knew this was a fucking self-insert power fantasy bullshit. I mean, really, what are the odds of someone being reincarnated in a world they know very well and being put in the body of a guy with the most broken power ever barring JoJo Stand bullshit? I had half a mind to ask the divine powers that be why Kai Chisaki existed here on Earth-Bet, but I couldn't complain. I need all the power I need if I was going to survive.

If anything, having Overhaul was a boon in of itself. I didn't just have to deal with villains and the goddamn Illuminati after all, oh no, I had to deal with fucking Cthulhu Superman and world-destroying monsters, one of which could make me her bitch if I was within earshot. Once again, I question what sort of divine power I pissed off for it to reincarnate me in Worm of all things.

Which brings me to my next point… Namely, the woes of being the boss of a band of villains, and of course, the one thing that always falls on the head honcho to do.

Recruitment.

The apartment complex was pretty bland, all things considered. It was located right near the city outskirts, away from the more concentrated areas and where gang activity was practically zilch. There was barely anyone around, though that was probably because it so late in the evening. By now, the street lamps were on and people were preparing to go to bed. It would be easier to do this in the middle of the day, as that would mean dealing with a slightly less cranky Bakuda, but it was better to get this done and over with as quickly as possible.

"Shouldn't we go in with you?" one of my aides asked me.

I shook my head, waving her off. "In case shit goes south," I said before making my way up the stairs. The boards creaked with each step, shaking under my weight.

I went over everything I knew about Bakuda in my head as I walked. It was hard to remember what was thought of by fans and what was that sadistic fuck wildbow's words regarding her, but at the very least, I knew she was a narcissist. She prided herself on being the best and the smartest. She could turn people into glass and create singularities and black holes, after all, nevermind somehow replicating Gray Boy's time bubbles. She was also an arrogant little shit, but at least she put her money where her mouth was. Unfortunately, it was also her ego that made her dangerous and what got her into trouble.

There were a hundred and one ways this could go wrong, and half of me expected for this meeting to end as quickly as it would start and the apartments to blow sky high.

In the end, it all came down to lady luck. As usual.

Again, why did it have to be fucking Earth Bet?

I reached Bakuda's apartment. There was a camera watching me from the corner, but it wasn't tinker-made based on the appearance. It was probably built by the owners to make sure the tenants weren't up to illicit activities or if something happened out front. Anything was possible in this city. I waited all of ten seconds, wondering if Bakuda knew I was coming, then knocked on the door.

I waited another ten seconds. In that time frame, nothing happened. I knocked again.

Still nothing.

"…well, this is off to a lovely start," I muttered before reaching for the doorknob. It turned easily, and the door ever so slightly pushed open. I frowned, and out of sheer paranoia, disintegrated the door and doorknob. Sure enough, my worries were warranted as I saw dozens of explosives attached to the walls. The furthest bomb to my left had a string attached, which was now dangling. I couldn't tell if these were normal explosives or custom-made, but I doubted it mattered in the long run.

She's got this place wired to go to kingdom come and then some, I thought with a low whistle.

Carefully, I made my way through the entryway and into the living room. There were boxes and stockpiles scattered everywhere. Furniture I expected to see, like a television set and basic stuff like a couch or sofa, were nowhere to be found. Instead, there was a desk with at least four computer monitors, two different keyboards, and a customized tower.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a blinking light. I turned my head and found a camera staring back at me, the light on its upper left flashing red. One of the monitors came to life.

"Smile for the camera, asshole."

That was when the beeping started. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. Why couldn't things just be easy for once? Is it too much to ask for something as simple as diplomacy?

Bakuda unmasked was…well, she wasn't what I was expecting to see, honestly. She was Asian, with dark hair coming down to her shoulders and brown eyes. I wasn't expecting her to be wearing glasses or sporting freckles dashed around her face, though.

"So, Lung finally decided to stop beating around the bush, huh? I was expecting him, honestly." Bakuda sneered at me, wasting no time to monologue. "I thought he'd come here in person, or maybe send that freaky suicide bomber of his."

"Hard for a dead man to come see you," I retorted. "Lung's dead. He died 10 days ago."

"Uh-huh. Sure. Pull the other one."

I took another glance around the room. I amended my previous statement about her having enough power to blow this place to shit. She was ready to take out the entire city block with her. And I still had no idea if these were Bakuda's special bombs.

Well, since she likes to hear herself talk…

"You make these yourself?"

"Nah, didn't have enough time. They're still wired to blow you to shit."

"I heard you were a tinker, so I was expecting to see something impressive." I walked over to one of the bombs, expecting it. Sure enough, a closer inspection told me these were plain-old explosives.

…it's rather eerie how calm I am in this situation. I should be panicking, but I couldn't be bothered. I was indifferent, apathetic to it. No, maybe the correct description was that I just didn't feel threatened. Yes, that was it. I did not feel threatened in the slightest. Bakuda had me dead to rights right now, but I was in no danger whatsoever. In a way, I wasn't. All it would take is a touch, a single tap of the finger, and I could bring this entire apartment complex down like dominoes.

"Awfully calm for a guy about to be blown to high heaven, aren't ya?" Bakuda sneered. "What, you think this is some kind of bluff?"

I shook my head. "No. I know you'll blow me up. You had zero hesitation setting off the bombs you planted in Cornell, after all." After bringing it up, I grew curious. "Since I'm apparently going to die anyway, you wouldn't mind answering a question, would you?"

"Why the fuck would I do that?"

"Humor a dead man's last request, would you kindly?"

Bakuda frowned, glaring at me in suspicion. She must have thought I had some plan in mind, a way to escape this death trap of hers. She still opened her mouth to speak. She did love to hear herself talk after all. "Fine, but make it a good one."

"How the hell did you get away from the Protectorate in New York?" I asked. "From what I read, one of the Triumvirate was there when you held the entire campus hostage. Sure, Legend's no Eidolon or Alexandria, but he's still one of the top capes in the U.S. I doubt getting away from him was easy."

"Legend's an overrated blowhard who can't do shit! All it took was setting a portion of Cornell on fire, a few explosions in a nearby shopping mall, and reminding the dumb cunt I had hostages." Her face darkened, as if finding the memory unpleasant. "Sadly, I couldn't kill some of the professors there. Stupid sons of bitches managed to get to the heroes in time and disarm the bombs I strapped onto their bodies."

I didn't ask about the professors she mentioned. I didn't see a need to, not when I already knew the answer. Bakuda triggered over a bad grade. She considered herself a genius, a woman of immense talent. Her status as a tinker was proof of that. I wasn't sure what the grade was, but given what I knew about this nutcase, she probably got mega pissed when her teacher gave her a B+ on an assignment or paper or something.

"Satisfied now, idiot?" Ah, talking is over then. Bakuda grinned, a mad look in her eyes as she held up the detonator, thumb hovering the red button. "Tell Lung I said hi."

Click.

"…huh?"

I sighed. "And this is why I'm disappointed."

"W-wait, what?" Bakuda clicked the detonator again. Nothing happened. She did it five more times. Still nothing happened. "What the fuck?! How?!"

Because Quirk bullshit, that's how. Times like these remind me of how broken Overhaul was, able to dismember anything and everything it affected. Sure, it was more effective when used on objects of the same make-up, but since the objects in question were so miniscule and simple to break down, it was easy. Bakuda either wanted to save up on materials and stockpile them for a future blowout, or thought she could kill whoever came looking for her with ordinary bombs. The bombs were all connected via a series of wires and plugs, all of which connected to something further in the room.

That something, likely the connector linking all the devices to the remote control detonator in Bakuda's hand, was gone the second Overhaul activated.

"I'm sorely disappointed. I thought you would be worth my time," I said.

Bakuda's face turned crimson. "Fucking excuse me?!"

"When I heard about what you accomplished in New York, I was impressed. More so when you somehow managed to escape under Legend's nose. When Lung found out you were here in Brockton Bay, he thought to use your talents. It's a shame he was wrong."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"You Triggered because of a bad grade, right?" I asked, causing her to freeze. Talking about someone's Trigger Event was like stepping on a land mine. It was taboo to pretty much everyone. Depending on the offended party, they were liable to lash out. Bakuda in particular had a visceral reaction when Tattletale brought it up. "I'm guessing a B. Tinkers are parahumans who undergo stress for a lengthy period of time. You probably struggled or something, your professor assigned you something difficult. You were smart enough, but they didn't think so. A straight-A student who threw a temper tantrum over something as minor as that."

"You…! You motherfucking bastard! Who the fuck do you think you are, cocksucker?! You don't know shit about me!"

"You're right, I don't. That's why I'm so disappointed. After all, I came here expecting a smart woman who couldn't give two shits what others think. So why do you?"

My words make give Bakuda pause. "…what?"

"You managed to sneak away from the New York Protectorate like it was nothing. You can build bombs no one's ever seen before. I'm guessing shit like black holes or turning people into glass. Hell, I bet you could make a bomb that could hurt an Endbringer if you had enough time, right?" I rapped my knuckles against the now useless explosives. "You set up a parlor trick, thinking that was enough. A smart woman would have set up something more elaborate, something that would've left a whole lot of people hurt or dead."

I cocked my head. "Everyone thinks you're dangerous. Lung thought you would be useful to his ABB. I think you're a smart woman, or at least I thought you were. So, am I wrong? Are you dangerous? Are you a smart woman?"

The silence that followed was so thick I felt almost literal bricks on my shoulders. Bakuda stared at me, half-surprised half-pissed. I considered the possibility that she might have considered this, maybe set-up a backup bomb. Say what you will about her megalomania, she was still terrifying and dangerous, and had the brains to back up her boasting. Of course, it begged the question why she hadn't blown me up if that were the case.

I was playing with fire here. Playing into her ego and buttering her up was certainly one way to get into her good graces, but at the same time, it was a double-edged sword. Bakuda was like her bombs, functioning like a live-wire and a grenade with its pin torn off. She could go off any second, and I was standing in front of ground zero waiting to happen.

After a lengthy staredown and her scrutinizing, Bakuda lowered the arm holding the detonator. "…who the fuck are you?"

"Akuma," I told her. "Of the Shie Hassaikai."

"Never heard of you."

I shrugged. "Rebranding the ABB is a lot of work, especially with all the layoffs. So many loyal to Lung who refuse to fall in-line."

"You expect me to believe your scrawny ass killed him?" Bakuda scoffed.

I shrugged again. "Of course not. To be honest, I don't care if you do." I dug into my pants pocket and set a small card down on the table with the computer screen on top of it. "If your interested, come to these coordinates. Or don't. Choice is all yours, Bakuda."

She let me leave without so much as a threat. She looked contemplative as I closed the front door behind me, perhaps giving my offer some serious consideration. I wasn't expecting much, of course. There was still a chance she might try to kill me for some perceived insult I made to her during our conversation, in which case the only option then was to cut her loose. Recruiting her would be quite the boon for me, but at the same time, I needed to handle her with care. One wrong move, and everything I've worked for up to this point will go up in smoke.

"Did recruitment go off without a hitch?" my aide asked me as I sat in the backseat. "Or was it a bust?"

"We'll find it tomorrow night," I told them. "Let's go."


Morning routine was a pain in the ass, especially at the crack of dawn. You would think a nefarious criminal mastermind in the middle of rebranding Lung's organization and molding it into a proper Yakuza would mean you wouldn't have to deal with crap like this anymore, but alas, just because life on Earth-Bet was straight from some grimdark comic book didn't mean I could skip out on my day job. Honestly, I should be lucky I wasn't on the graveyard shift and spending most of my nights here.

There was no gang related stuff that landed a skinhead or drugged-up idiot on my schedule, save for someone who apparently lacked half a brain.

"I swear, there has to be something wrong with this city," I groused, drinking my morning cup of joe. "I thought I saw all kinds of idiots before, but this takes the cake. For fuck's sake, who in the hell thinks it would be a good idea to go skinny-dipping in a goddamn sewer?"

Amy Dallon gave me a sideways look. "How long have you been in the Bay?"

The nurse next to her sniggered in a not-so-discreet manner, making me huff. "Long enough to question why I bothered coming here." And wasn't that the question? I had no idea what was going through Kai Chisaki's head when he made the decision to come here, and quite frankly, I didn't want to know. There was an entire sub-forum on a social media website I frequent besides PHO dedicated to talking about how bad things were in this city. People even voted it was the worst place to live in 2010.

I knew there was no point crying over spilt milk, but I still reserve the right to wonder what the hell this idiot was thinking.

Speaking of Panacea, though… "Isn't it past your bedtime, brat?" I asked. "You've been here all night. Don't you have school?"

"Today's Sunday," Panacea pointed out to me. "Don't have any today. Also, I'm 15."

"Whatever you say, brat."

The biokinetic tinker glared, about to fire off a rebuttal or quip when a doctor showed up in the lounge. "Excuse me. Panacea? Doctor Wilson wants to see you in Room 302." Amy didn't so much as ask why the doctor wanted to see her, instead chugging down the last of her coffee and following him out the room.

The nurse spending her break with me sighed. "That girl is going to break down one of these days, mark my words."

"Everyone takes her healing for granted," I said in agreement. "Everyone and their mother relies on her, and she just lets them walk all over her without so much as a complaint. I'll be surprised if she doesn't crack if an Endbringer shows up here in town."

"Not funny, Kai."

"Just stating facts. We're due for another one next month. At least this time we'll have to deal with a giant sewer lizard and not you know who."

It should say something about how, for all the fear and despair surrounding the Endbringers, the nurse couldn't refute how dealing with Leviathan was the lesser of two evils. Masters were scary shit, and at the top of the list was Ziz.

Speaking of Masters, the courts were getting ready to finally deal with the Canary case. Although I had no personal interest in the Canary case, I couldn't help but bemoan the PRT's stupidity in throwing away a potential asset. Sure, she'd be thrown in the Birdcage and let out when it was convenient, but it seemed like such a waste. The girl could make you do whatever she wanted just by making you hear her voice. Imagine the applications and uses. But no, everyone has to be all concerned about the threat of Masters and everyone on Earth Bet just being fucking apathetic to anything that doesn't directly involve them.

Were it up to me, I'd spring her and offer that girl a place in my crew. Sadly, such a thing would warrant attention from people I could not afford at the moment. Dragon was involved in the Canary case, and I wasn't willing to risk getting her involved so early in the game, especially not if she brought along her boyfriend.

"Gangs have been quiet lately." I decided to change the subject and direct it to someplace more curious. I could always check social media, but it was better to hear it straight from someone's mouth. "Especially the ABB. What's it say that I'm used to seeing guys in colors coming and going out of this place almost every day?"

The nurse appreciated the change in topic. "It just means you've finally started to realize how bad this city is. It used to be so much worse when the Teeth were here. Speaking about the ABB, I've been hearing some interesting rumors going around lately. They're saying there's some kind of power struggle going on and that someone else is in charge of the ABB!"

"Oh yeah? How'd they manage that? I sincerely doubt Lung would let some newbie take over his gang like that."

"No one knows. It's just rumors. Although I have been hearing the neighborhood in Docks South has been doing better. Gang graffiti's being cleaned up and chinks don't come snooping around as often. That little cigarette store by Wong's place started selling again."

I smiled underneath the surgical mask.

As part of my first wave of positive PR, I had the Shie Hassaikai start taking down old ABB slogans and graffiti as part of "community service". They were also told to stop wearing their colors out in public. Wanting respect was all and fine, but there was no sense in putting a target behind your back. I cracked down on the protection rackets, doxxing Lung's faithful and tossing out the worthless garbage who couldn't tell their head from their ass. The rackets didn't try to run a business out of town once they could no longer afford to pay; they just took the money and left, and if someone couldn't pay, they'd be left alone. If some other gang, like the Empire showed up and started shit, that was their own fault for not being able to pay the protection fee. Smaller, longtime businesses were revived through various negotiations. Some stores would act as a front, while others would remain legitimate.

I left the gambling rings alone. Places like the Ruby Dreams were major moneymakers, and as the saying went, don't fix what isn't broken.

Slowly, but surely, the Shie Hassaikai was changing, breaking away from Lung's vision. Of course, while putting a new spin was all well and good, there was another matter that I needed to address: Recruitment. Lung rallied pan-Asian ethnicities under his banner through fear and oppression, more or less gang-pressing, and because of his way of doing things, the Brockton Bay community at large held a natural fear of Asians. You never knew which one might actually be part of the gang and who wasn't. Paranoia and fear seeped in deep, and it wasn't just the community in general. Normal Asians, the ones who wanted nothing to do with gangs and live out their lives without any problems, were often the subject of scrutiny and often targets of recruitment.

Even though I was steadily working on removing Lung's taint from the organization I took from him, people were likely to still be afraid. They would probably be even more scared of me than Lung once they knew I killed him. Building a good rep was a good first step to alleviating those concerns, but at the moment, recruiting new blood was going to be difficult.

On the subject of recruitment, one place I quickly nipped in the bud was, of all places, Winslow fucking High School. Impressionable young teenagers, racial prejudices, the place was a prime recruitment center with no shortage of kids looking for protection or a chance to become the bully for once. They were teenage members in the Shie Hassaikai, both loyal to me and ones remaining for the sake of survival, but they had actual value. Kids from Winslow didn't. They were too damn rowdy.

That, and the less possible contact with Taylor Hebert, the better.


With my shift done and gone for the day, I returned to the main office in time to receive a phone call. A few minutes later, the car I was in rolled to a stop in front of a dingy, beat up building. It was scheduled for renovations in the next few weeks, so rarely anyone ventured inside. That made it perfect for squatters and the occasional thug to hide away in until the renovations neared the appointed date. Waiting for me inside was Oni Lee and Akami, the latter of whom was now out of street rags and into something more presentable. While she wasn't attractive by any means, I have to admit, there's a certain appeal to a woman wearing a suit.

"The target hasn't arrived yet," Akami told me as she and Oni Lee followed me up to the rooftop. "Honestly, I'm doubting she will. From what I've heard and what you told us, this girl sounds like a ticking time bomb waiting to happen, no pun intended. What's to stop her from turning on us?"

"The goal for the moment isn't to recruit her," I told Akami. "It's to secure her loyalty." Akami gave me a confused look. "Bakuda is a narcissist who wants to be the smartest person in the room and won't settle for anything less. If she works for someone, it's because she wants to use them for her own ends. Tinkers require support to make full use of their abilities. Having a boss means access to supplies and materials. The Shie Hassaikai can provide her with all of that, but if we do, she won't be loyal. We'll just be tools for her to use at her leisure to improve herself."

"And throw us aside once we're no longer useful," Oni Lee surmised. "We risk much bringing her into the field."

"Which is why you and those you implicitly trust will handle her if she expresses an interest," I told him to ease his concerns. "As I said, the goal isn't to recruit her, but to ensure her loyalty. To achieve that, I need to win her trust and cultivate her talents. Tinkers like Bakuda don't come often. I won't shed tears if we're forced to put her down, but I'd rather not waste a potential asset unless she becomes too unruly."

We arrived at the rooftop. The sun was sinking into the horizon, sky tinted dark orange and slowly turning black. There was hardly anyone at this time in this part of town, mostly homeless folks and two-bit thugs with no affiliations to the gangs. The roof had an excellent view over the low-level buildings of the city, making me realize just how jam-packed this city was. It was no New York, but everything was so clustered together, it started to make sense why this place was so disgusting. So many people, crammed together like fish in a barrel at full capacity, struggling for breathing room.

I was in no position to cull numbers just yet, not when the power block was still changing. The Shie Hassaikai wasn't mature just yet. The process wouldn't be done in a few days or weeks. More importantly, I hadn't truly earned the loyalty of my people just yet. Sure, some would gladly follow me into hell, but others were hesitant, unsure what to do. They were waiting for me to screw up, to prove I was just as bad as Lung. If I proved otherwise, their loyalty was all but assured.

Of the tens of thousands of pan-Asian members within the organization, little under 400 had to be removed. Some were threats and openly protested, often in violent means. They were the ones I could afford to kill or main. The rest had their identities leaked to the public, their former affiliations visible for all to see, and easy pickings for lynch mobs or the Empire looking to string up some stupid 'chink'.

Once I had everyone's loyalty, once the Shie Hassaikai was fully realized, I could get started for real.

Oni Lee handed me binoculars. I mumbled a 'thank you' as I looked through them, finding the building where the target was due to arrive. True to the report, she had yet to arrive.

Bakuda arrived fifteen minutes later, having rode to the building on a motorbike. She parked it off the side of the road and entered the building. Five minutes later, Oni Lee's phone rang. Wordlessly, the suicide bomber handed it over to me. I didn't bother to look at the caller ID and answered immediately.

"I'm surprised. I half-expected you to blow the building to smithereens just to spite me or just not show up at all."

Bakuda scoffed. "Believe me, I was tempted… But I have to admit, you got me curious. I've done a little research on you and your little gang. Lung really bit the bullet, huh? And you're the one who killed him?"

"I was."

"Was it difficult?"

"Does it matter?"

She was quiet for a moment. Then she snorted and laughed. "No, I guess not. Alright, Akuma, we have a deal. I'll work for you, but you better be worth my time."

I smirked under my mask. "That's my line, Bakuda. I'm still waiting to see if your really as good as you say you are. In fact, I want you to prove it to me. Consider this your initiation test. Feel free to let your inner anarchist come out and play."

"Oh yeah? What do you have in mind?"

I told her the specifics and parameters of her initiation. As I expected, she thought I was crazy, but sounded gleeful that she could get creative. Once everything was said and done, and recruitment was over, I ended the phone call and handed the phone back to Oni Lee. Akami stared at me like I was insane.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me," she gaped. "We're seriously doin' this?"

I shook my head. "No, this will be Bakuda's test. As I said before, she's Oni Lee's responsibility. If she fucks up, that's that and we wash our hands of her."

"But still, if this goes sideways…"

"Akami." I looked her in the eye. "Trust me."

She did. It was hilarious how frightened this woman was of me. She still was, half-expecting me to kill her like I had her friends and Lung like I did so many others who dared to go against me just because I didn't do things like Lung. And yet she worked to prove herself, to show she was useful. Truth be told, she was. That was why I didn't kill her despite the danger she posed.

Like I keep saying, good help is so hard to find.

At any rate, I had to admit, I was expecting this to go sideways. Bakuda came willingly and even expressed an interest. A step in the right direction, but not quite near the finish line. Not by a long shot.

A sense of excitement and anticipation bubbled in my chest. I had no idea if it was mine or Kai's. I couldn't help but grin.

This was going to be an interesting week…


Aaaand here we are with Chapter 3. Oh my god, this was such a damn bitch to write.

Nothing really going on in this chapter beyond the Bakuda recruitment. Trying to nail down Bakuda's character really is a pain, even if she is a narcissistic trigger happy bomber bitch. Things on the rebranding stuff is well on its way, though. Good PR is a step in the right direction, but its not going to have immediate results. It will be a while before a gang like the shie hassaikai really starts to take off and people start developing an active interest, much less see the results of their activity.

And, of course, the aftermath of said activity. I have an interlude chapter prepared, but I'm waiting until we hit the good shit.

Namely, the inevitable encounter between Kai and Brandish. Its still a ways off, but it's going to happen eventually. And all the misconceptions and misunderstandings that will happen from said meeting. Having said that, I will admit, these ideas never even occurred to me until someone brought it up.

That's it for now. If anyone is interested, I recently published a new fanfic titled "Invincible Girl of Another World", a RWBY fanfic that is essentially Pyrrha isekai. Give it a read if you are interested. Also, if you are interested in supporting me financially, please consider buying my book "Chase Ryder and the City of Lost Memories" over on Amazon.

Cheers everyone.