Two weeks after my outing with Tammi, I found myself in one of the ABB's largest storehouses for our munitions, overseeing the transfer of weaponry to a new warehouse much closer to the center of our territory. This specific storehouse was much too close to the Empire's territory as it stood and so we were relocating to one deeper inside of our own, putting a decoy stash in its place.

If the Empire managed to get word of this storehouse and attempt to raid it, they would find nothing but an empty warehouse filled with various traps designed to slow down or kill whoever had entered, designed and deployed by Bakuda for maximum effect.

I suddenly winced, turning my head away from the group of men I was observing as a loud crash rang out through the empty street, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Be careful with those crates!" I chided the man who stood above the crate that he had dropped to the ground, "We cannot afford to damage any of our stockpiles right now. My father needs as much ammunition and weapons as possible for our conflict with the Empire."

The man turned and gave me an apologetic bow, practically trembling at having been called out, "Sorry, Yosei-sama! I didn't realize how heavy the crate was! I thought I could carry it on my own!"

I turned to one of the men who had been sitting around and just watching others work, "You! Stop standing around and assist him. We will not get done any faster with you slacking off." I ordered, eying the man as he hesitantly got off of his rear and went to actually help. I nodded as the two of them managed to pick up the crate with much more ease than before, before continuing to oversee the rest of the operation.

I had completely failed in convincing my father against war with the Empire despite my earnest attempts, and now conflict with the other gang was inevitable. I wasn't exactly sure what had gotten into the man, that he was so intent on starting a conflict that was doomed to bring the hero's attention straight to us, but perhaps he had just grown bored with his sedentary lifestyle.

It defied all logic, the idea that he would suddenly want to start an open gang was in the streets after a single, weak, attempt at invasion by the Neo-Nazi gang, but I had a feeling that our newest member had played a hand in his decision. The woman had been nothing but trouble since she had joined less than a month ago, whispering in my father's ear and trying to convince him that the conflict was in the ABB's best interest. That we needed to show the Bay that we were in control and at the top.

My father was not so weak-willed to be manipulated by the woman so blatantly, but it was likely that some of her words had struck a chord within the man, leading my own dissuasion of the whole idea to have much less effect than it normally would.

Shaking my head at the situation, I made my way into the warehouse through a door in the side. Inside were dozens of crates and boxes holding ammunition and weapons that were being loaded into several trucks. Overlooking the entire process and helping make sure things went smoothly was Nana.

For once, the woman didn't have a cigarette in her mouth, instead just leaning against the wall and looking particularly bored as she watched the grunts move around the warehouse. It was a rarity for her to be out of her shop but father had ordered all hands on deck for the preparations and so she had chosen to come with me to oversee the transfer. I didn't really need the help, but the company was much appreciated.

"Nana." I greeted the woman as I closed the door behind me, "How close are we to being finished?"
The woman hummed, taking a look around at the men stacking crates and cases into the backs of the trucks that had been parked on the warehouse floor, "I'd say another three hours or so. Some of these boys are moving pretty slowly so I might have to encourage them if you get my drift." She grinned as she said the words.

"Please don't." I sighed, "We need them all able to actually walk if we wish to get out of here in any reasonable amount of time."

Nana pouted, "You're becoming less and less fun by the day, Hime."

Her lips turned upwards soon after, "Anyway, in more interesting news, I finally finished prepping my playroom for this little scuffle we're about to get into earlier this morning. The shipping people weren't happy with how many tools I bought, not to mention all the spare lab coats, but I have no doubt that I'm about to have a lot of new visitors making their way into my little shop." Nana smiled almost eagerly, "I'll admit, I'm somewhat excited. It's been a while since I've had playthings that I didn't need to keep alive."

I looked away from the woman at the uncomfortable gleam in her eyes, instead focusing on a particularly scrawny looking man attempting to pick up a box that was clearly too heavy for him, "I wouldn't call it a little scuffle. I have zero doubts that this conflict will last a few weeks at the very least. My father is too headstrong to accept anything less than a total victory or unconditional surrender."

"Yeah, that sounds like him." Nana laughed lightly though I didn't see any sort of humor in what I had said, "By the way, has your little mole managed to find anything?"

I shook my head, a small amount of frustration leaking into my voice as I spoke, "He has not. Kon is working diligently but unfortunately he also has to work slowly if he doesn't wish to be caught. He is checking in regularly but so far, he has nothing to report."

"Which one's he starting with?"

"Takao."
Nana laughed, "Good call, if it was anyone, it would be him. Slimy bastard, I'm surprised Lung hasn't just gone ahead and done away with him."

"Unfortunately, Takao has done a wonderful job of making sure that his department would have an exceeding amount of trouble running without him." I sighed, "If he were taken out right now, we would need to level and reconstruct the department's chain of command and

"It'd be better just to get rid of it entirely."

I nodded, in complete agreement with the woman, "It would, but I have had limited success in convincing my father of that. At this point, I doubt I will be able to do so."

Nana hummed,looking back to the floor, "I see. That's unfortunate. Kidnapping the women in and around our territory isn't doing us any PR favors."

"Indeed."

The two of us didn't say anything for a moment, simply staring at the men working on moving boxes. It only took a minute or so of watching to realize that the woman was right in her assumptions of how long it would take, but I decided not to order them to speed up. This was the last job of the day so if they wished to lag a little, I was more than fine with that.

"Tell me, Nana," I spoke up after a long silence, "Do you believe we have a chance against the Empire? Or are we running into a war we simply cannot win?"

Nana hummed, tapping her fingers against themselves and looking thoughtful, "Well, I'd say there's probably a fifty-fifty split between us and them. They've got more capes, but ours are just better in almost every way and with that new girl, we've got the element of surprise. Not to mention they don't have a clue what we're planning. If we hit them hard and fast, we might be able to end this before it really starts."

I nodded at her words, "Bakuda's bombs are quite potent from everything the woman has demonstrated." Then I frowned, "Her ego will need to be kept in check though. I don't believe I've ever met a woman so full of herself."

Nana chuckled, "I know her type. You'd do well to keep an eye on her. Narcissistic types don't like being second rung on the ladder and I guarantee she thinks she'd be able to oust you if given the opportunity."

"You really think so?"

"I know so. That woman is unstable as a sack full of cats and I bet you a grand that she already has it out for you. You're Lung's favorite because you're his daughter and her ego won't allow that." Her face turned more serious, "Seriously, Hime. Keep an eye on her."

I nodded, taking the woman's words into account. Whenever Nana dropped the laid-back personality that she often took, it was best to listen to what she had to say.

We were prevented from any further conversation as my phone suddenly buzzed from within the folds of my costume. On the wrong side.

I had two phones, one for ABB related activities and one for personal use. The one ringing at the moment was my personal phone. Few people had that phone's number and not a single one of them would actually call me unless it was the most extreme of emergencies, so when I pulled it out and Kon's name and image lit up on the call screen, I knew it must be serious.

I brought the device up to my ear as I answered the call, "Kon? What is it?"
"Yosei! We've got big trouble!" Kon's voice sounded frantic and somewhat out of breath and I could feel my own heart quicken in response to the man's tone, wondering what could be the cause of his panic, "it's Ruby Dreams! Someone robbed the casino and made off with a load of stuff before anyone could be alerted! Lung's throwing a fit!"

Almost immediately, my heart dropped into my stomach at his words. The Ruby Dreams casino was one of my father's most profitable businesses. Despite being a somewhat recent acquisition, nearly five percent of our revenue had filtered through its glass doors at one point or another in the past year alone and this month had been particularly busy. There was no telling how much had been inside when it was hit.

Nana stared at me in slight confusion as I immediately turned towards the door, worry in my every step, "Where is he?"

Kon didn't even get the chance to answer the question as the moment I stepped outside, I bore witness to the skies of our territory lighting up with fire as the screams of my father's rage echoed throughout the night from only a few blocks away near the edge of the city. Several of the men I was overseeing stopped what they were doing, instead choosing to watch the same thing I was, pointing and muttering amongst themselves with fear in their eyes.

"Nevermind." I said faintly, staring at the glow of fire peeking over the buildings, "I know where he is. Thank you, Kon, for bringing this to my attention."

"No problem. Be careful, Yosei."

The line went dead and I stored the device in my kimono once more before turning back towards the warehouse as the door opened and Nana stepped outside with a pack of cigarettes in her hand.

Her eyes widened and she whistled slowly as she saw the same thing I did, "Damn. Looks like someone woke the sleeping dragon, huh?" She said, putting a cigarette in her mouth.

I gave her a stern look as I dredged up what little power was currently available to me, "This isn't the time for jokes, Nana. The PRT will doubtlessly get wind of this if it goes on for too long, so I need to stop this before it gets out of hand and the heroes are called out in force."

Nana shrugged, lighting her cigarette, "I wouldn't worry about that. I overheard a bit of your conversation and if someone did actually steal from Ruby Dreams, they're long gone by now. I bet he knows that there's no point chasing after ghosts and will calm down soon."

I wasn't sure about that. This was one of the biggest hits to the ABB in months. The fact that it had happened while we were in the midst of preparing for war with the Empire was just another stroke to the flames of my father's rage.

"Perhaps." I finally answered as mist began seeing out of my robes, "But I am still going to make sure of that. There is no telling what the thieves managed to get their hands on."

Nana just shrugged, "It's your call, Hime. Do what you think is best."

I nodded as the mist began to envelope me, sliding over my skin tightly as the transformation began "I will."

The Cetan was a Native American hawk spirit who was said to preside over speed and perseverance. It was a form that cost basically zero resources to turn into but even so, I didn't need its full form, just its wings.

I stretched my new appendages as the mist dissipated, flapping them experimentally and finding the instinctual knowledge of how to use them coming to the forefront of my mind. I turned back to Nana who was inspecting the wings with scientific curiosity, "I trust you can take care of things here in my absence?"

She shrugged, "Probably. This bunch doesn't look particularly strong willed so if worst comes to worst, I'll just put the fear of Nana into them to get them to do what I want."

I felt a modicum of amusement as the woman substituted her own name for the diety's, before sobering up almost immediately as another roar of anger echoed through the street. "Then I leave it to you." I said, before crouching down and springing upwards with my enhanced strength.

One flap of my wings turned my jump into a soaring leap, another and I was well and truly flying. The knowledge of what to do guided my body as I flattened my wings out and caught an upward draft, sending me higher into the air.

As always Brockton Bay was absolutely breathtaking from this high up and I couldn't help but bemoan the fact that I didn't have time to truly take it in. Later, I promised myself, focusing on the task at hand.

My new wings beat furiously as I gained even more altitude, sending me soaring high above the city as I made my way in the direction of my father's wrath, praying that I would be able to quench the fires of his rage before they burned everything to the ground.

Less than a minute later, I touched down over two miles from my previous location. My wings folded against my back before fading into curling mist the moment my feet touched the ground, and I looked around at the area I had found myself in.

The Ruby Dreams Casino wasn't the most opulent from the outside. Certainly, it was much more eye-catching than the buildings around it, but it paled in comparison to the grandeur of those outside of the city.

That was by design of course. Gambling was still technically illegal, and though the heroes of the city would likely care less and the cops weren't stupid enough to try and shut down one of her father's operations without their help, it wouldn't do to announce the presence of such an illegal business to the entire city.

Fire flickered on the asphalt outside the building, burning seemingly without source and lighting up the night. Three corpses were strewn about the area, skin and clothing smoking from my father's wrath and my gut barely churned at the smell of burning flesh, a scent I had long since become familiar with.

A cursory glance at one of the corpses as I passed revealed a single word written on their back in big bold letters, 'SECURITY'. That explained why they had seemingly been held responsible for what had occurred.

I shook my head at the waste of life, before turning to the doors of the casino.

Lee was standing right outside the door. The silent man had his hands folded behind his back, staring straight forward into the darkness like a statue. It was somewhat eerie and I was almost glad that he moved to give me a nod of deference as I passed him by.

Ruby Dreams was one of the most opulent and well maintained casinos that the ABB operated. That was not the case on this particular night.

Chaos. Complete and utter chaos met me as I entered the building. Statues had been thrown to the floor, delicate artistry forever ruined as the stone chipped and metal dented. Machines had been broken into, coins littering the floor along with a few stray bills that the thieves hadn't bothered to gather up, clearly not deeming them worth the trouble.

Dark scratches had been carved into the floor, as if some giant beast had been standing upon it. The door in the rear of the casino, leading to the place where all of the cash was kept had been torn off of its hinges, the door itself lying in two pieces with large bite marks in the lacquered wooden surface.

My father was standing in the middle of it all. The man was at least two feet taller than his natural height and the beginnings of scales had grown over his forearms and chest as his power transformed him.

He turned to me as I entered, and I couldn't help the small frown at the look on his face, his slitted pupils looking distinctly animalistic.

Nevertheless, I bowed to him as I approached, "Father, I came as soon as I heard the news of what happened. Have you managed to find the thieves or identify them?"

Smoke billowed from her father's nose as he growled, "They fled long before I arrived. Along with their spoils, my property."

I tensed as his temper flared, his body growing ever so slightly with his anger. Luckily he gathered himself quickly, closing his eyes and letting out a breath before he exploded.

"The cameras captured the ones responsible for the act before they were destroyed." He said after he calmed down, "It was those cowardly thieves, the Undersiders. It seems they have grown both bolder and even more foolish than before, believing they could steal from me without consequence."

"The Undersiders…" I muttered, remembering what I could about the gang. Less of a gang and more of a group of villainous independents, The Undersiders a team of four individuals who had made somewhat of a name for themselves thanks to their penchant for escaping capture or general conflict again and again. Relatively weak in the grand scheme of things, they normally stuck to low-value targets and were extremely consistent in their planning and execution thanks to the Thinker on their team, Tattletale. They were responsible for this?

I looked around again, taking in the destruction that had clearly been wrought long before my father arrived. It seemed almost sloppy. Perhaps they had gotten impatient or were on a time limit.

My father turned to me, eyes deadly serious, "They will pay for this transgression. The Empire will wait. First, we will hunt down these fools who thought to steal from me and make an example of them." He rumbled, "I have been idle far too long if fools are becoming bold enough to steal from me so blatantly. It is time to remind this city exactly who I am."

I bowed my head, even as my heart raced at his proclamation, "Understood, father. Would you like for me to gather the Faces to meet?"

"No. This does not concern them." He responded as he turned to walk out of the building. I followed close behind, stepping carefully over the broken door, "We will deal with the thieves and continue our preparations. By the end of the month, these fools will know the error of their ways and we can continue our preparations to move on the Empire."

"As you say, father."

It looked like my fears of turning the city on its head with an open gang war had been put to rest for now. Though I wasn't exactly sure if the alternative was better or worse.


Next five chapters available to Patrons!