My home was completely empty upon my return and with that emptiness, came the same chill of wrongness that I had felt when I first discovered my father had been captured. The distant chatter of servants or cooks that I had come to associate with the place I called home were absent, leaving silence in their wake.

Worrying that Bakuda had done something to them yet knowing that I couldn't spare any time, I ignored the wrongness I was feeling as I made my way to the War Room, ascending the stairs to the place that Kon had told me Bakuda was holding a meeting right this moment.

The moment that I reached the hall that would take me to the room, I began to hear the shouting that I wasn't able to downstairs. It grew more audible the closer I grew to the grand doors of the room, and I clenched my fists in anger as I recognized the modularized aspect that Bakuda's voice gained when she was wearing her mask.

Kon whistled lightly as we came upon the room, "Damn, she's really going at it, huh?"

She was certainly being extremely loud. I spent a moment just listening to the shouting, using it to prop up the boiling anger inside of me that was keeping me motivated even in my fatigued state. Bakuda sounded angry, her voice raising as she practically yelled at someone inside the room.

The person who had caught her ire was soon revealed as Hiashi's voice rang out in the room in the wake of the silence left by her screaming. The man's voice was calm as opposed to Bakuda's own as he spoke.

"I'm just saying that the circumstances of Yosei-sama's death are suspicious to say the least." He said, "If it is as you say, and she was responsible for the plan failing and was subsequently captured, then why have we not heard anything about it? According to my sources, there has been no talk of the PRT having obtained any other high-profile capes within the past several days. I believe that Mush was their most recent acquisition and that was days ago."

I blinked at the mention of the cape's name. I had completely forgotten that Mush was even an entity in the Bay due to his sheer inconsequentiality in the grander scheme of things. Even so, it was good to see that what I had done to the Merchants wouldn't be undone by the garbage cape.

I turned my attention back to the room as Bakuda spoke once more.

"So what are you saying exactly?" Bakuda's voice was still angry but she was no longer yelling, instead lowering her tone to one that was more threatening than enraged.

Despite this, Hiashi sounded as calm as ever, "I'm saying that you have given us ample reason to reject your rule and little to accept it. Why should we follow you under these circumstances?"

"You'll follow me, because if you don't I'll turn you into a nice little smear on the wall!" Bakuda said, enraged.

"And lose the most important aspects of running the ABB in the process." Hiashi responded, "Without us, the ABB falls apart. Lung-sama knew this, Yosei-sama knew this. It seems like you are the only one who doesn't see the bigger picture."

I couldn't help but smile at Hiashi's words, glad to see that at least one of the Faces could see Bakuda's ruse for what it was.

Still, I had waited and listened for more than long enough. It was time to deal with this.

Beside me, Kon shifted slightly as Bakuda yelled out a rebuttal to Hiashi's words, clearly unhappy that he was undermining her authority. He looked at me, a curious look crossing his face as his eyes locked onto my unmasked visage, "You sure you don't want to wear a mask? I could probably get one in a minute or two."

"There's no need. I don't require a mask for this and we don't have the time." I said simply as I walked up to the doors, "And besides," My voice turned deadly soft as I placed my palms on the solid wood, "I want to make sure that Bakuda gets a good look at my face when I do what I'm about to do."

With that, I threw the doors open with all of my strength. They flung outwards with a loud whoosh, slamming against the wall behind them with a loud and deafening bang. The room went completely silent and all eyes turned to me as I strode forth into it, gazing around at those gathered within.

I scowled as I saw that Bakuda was standing in front of my father's seat, arm held out mid-gesture as her masked face turned towards me in shock. Behind her and to her right was Lee, the man standing silently as always with his hands behind his back. His shoulders were tensed slightly, the only hint as to just how surprised the stoic man truly was.

The rest of the Faces were just as surprised, completely shocked that their meeting had been interrupted in such a spectacular and rude way. Aoi was the first to speak, the hotheaded man standing from his chair to address me with an angry expression on his face, "Who are you and what do you think you're doing!?" the man demanded, "Women are not allowed in the War Room unless specified otherwise!"

I ignored the man, dismissing his shouts easily as I stared straight at Bakuda, not breaking my gaze as I strode forward. The woman stared back at me, anger and tension in every aspect of her posture.

"How are you alive?" Her modulated voice silenced Aoi as the man went to speak again, ringing out in the now-silent room, "My bomb worked perfectly! I even went back and checked!"

That was new to me, though it made sense that the woman would want to see the results of her handiwork, especially with how much she was bragging about it. The fact that she hadn't witnessed my rebirth was probably nothing but pure chance as even I didn't know how long it took to take effect.

"It seems that your inventions aren't quite as effective as you would like to believe, Bakuda." I said simply as I eyed the woman from mere feet away. Behind me, I could hear Kon close the doors to the War Room and lock them soundly, preventing anyone from leaving, "As you can see, I am alive and well."

The woman's fists clenched at my words while behind her, I could see Hiashi's eyes widen as I spoke, "Yosei-sama?"

His words caused the other Faces to widen their eyes as well. They looked at me with looks ranging from disbelieving to shocked, and it occurred to me that none of them had seen me unmasked before. I nodded my head, "Yes, Hiashi. It's me. It's a pleasure to see that your loyalty to the ABB is as strong as I suspected. You have my respect for not bending the knee to such an unworthy successor to my father's place as leader."

Bakuda's fists clenched angrily at my words even as Hiashi smiled at them gratefully. He bowed his head, "I was just doing my duty as a member of the Faces, Yosei-sama. With no appointed leader, it falls to us to ensure the gang's continued prosperity."

I smiled, "And you have done wonderfully." I then turned to the rest of the Faces, "As for the rest of you, I'm afraid you have all been victims of a rather malicious ruse. There is a traitor among us, one who, in all of her hubris, attempted to assassinate me and seize control of the gang for herself." I gestured to myself, "As you can see, she failed spectacularly and I have returned to establish proper rule once more."

I was playing up my return a bit. Purposefully dismissing Bakuda's attempts as completely inadequate in order to specifically make her angry. A bit childish perhaps, but I was feeling more than a little petty at the moment.

My words had the intended effect, easily crawling under Bakuda's skin and making her snarl with rage.

"Oh yeah? Guess everyone has a fluke every now and then. Let's see if this one does the job!" Bakuda snarled, bringing a hand to her full bandolier. The moment she moved, I did as well. I closed the distance between us quickly, grabbing her arm before she could pull one of the grenades free. She cursed at me, trying to step away but I slammed my foot down on her own keeping her in place where she was.

"Ow!" Bakuda cursed, jerking away from me again, "You stupid cunt! Let go of me!"

Instead of doing anything of the sort, I instead kicked her in the leg as hard as I could, slamming my shoe into her shin with a loud, almost meaty, crunch. She let out a howl of pain and was immediately sent to the floor as her now-broken leg gave out beneath her.

I pressed my advantage, stepping forward to loom over her while at the same time reaching down to grab her mask. She growled, batting at my hands to try to get me off, but I simply put my foot on the exact same place I had kicked and applied a firm pressure, causing her to hiss loudly and change her priorities.

Gripping Bakuda's mask, I ripped it off of the woman's head, exposing the woman's angry face to my own enraged gaze. She tried to jerk out of my grip but I brought both of my hands down to grab her by her head, using my enhanced strength to squeeze her skull hard enough to hurt but not enough to damage her. She hissed in pain, squeezing her eyes shut at the feeling but I couldn't have that. My plan wouldn't work if she couldn't see me.

Adjusting my grip, I grabbed her eyelids and forced them open, making her look directly into my face whether she wanted to or not. She grabbed my hands, trying to move them but I held firm, staring into her eyes as my power went to work.

"You are so proud of your genius, Bakuda. Proud enough that you believed it would allow you to best me with such underhanded tactics." Bakuda's eyes darted around in panic as my own began to undergo a change. I held her still, leaning closer until our faces were practically touching, "In return for all you attempted to take from me, I will take that genius from you. Alongside everything else that makes you who you are."

Bakuda's struggles increased at my words until the woman was practically thrashing in my grip. I kept her still, keeping her head place as I gazed deeply into her eyes, my transformation finalizing itself. Immediately, my sight went black, blindness overcoming me and rendering me completely unable to even see the woman before me.

Despite that however, I could still see Bakuda. More importantly, I could see the woman for who she truly was as her very personality began to leak from her mind and into my own instead.

"NO!" Bakuda screamed, thrashing harder than ever before as I worked on her mind, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? S-STOP IT!"

I ignored her screams, feasting on her memories and reveling in the insight they brought me in regards to the woman I was currently restraining. Bakuda was a cowardly woman, so overcome by her own ego that calling it narcissism would be a massive understatement. She lived and breathed to prove that she was better than anyone else, it was all that drove her, important to her above all else. A superiority complex like none I had seen before.

Alongside that complex came a healthy amount of delusion as well. From the day that he had found her, she believed that she deserved to stand in my spot, to rule over the ABB with my father as his heir, and I was getting in the way of that. It seemed that I had caught her ire from literally the first time she had learned of my existence.

Every time I disparaged her work or dismissed one of her ideas, I was unknowingly increasing the hatred

that the woman held for me, building the pressure behind the proverbial dam that was her self control until it finally erupted. The bomb that she had used on me was a modified version of the one that she had once offered to use during our war with the Empire. She imagined it would be a poetic end to the person she thought was holding back her greatness.

It was truly unfortunate then, that she would never get the chance to try again where she had so sorely failed.

The Glawackus was a creature from North American folklore said to drain the memories of all who looked into its blind eyes. That was I was currently subjecting Bakuda to, leeching the very things that made her who she was from her mind and taking a great amount of pleasure as I did so.

Bakuda shuddered underneath me, her hands coming up to my arms to try to pry my hands from her skull. They stopped less than halfway up, falling limply back to her sides as her mental capacity was reduced even further, "S-stop… please don't…"

She fell silent as she lost the ability to even speak, her mind draining from her eyes to the point that she was no longer able to produce complex thought.

By the time that it was done, the woman had gone completely limp, my hands on her head the only thing keeping her from falling over in a heap. That changed as I let go of her, tossing her to the floor like the trash she was where she almost immediately curled up into a shuddering ball.

I took a deep breath, allowing my transformation to fade away once more. Bakuda's memories faded along with it, disappearing wherever as the power keeping them within me disappeared and set them free.

Kon was the first to speak after the show I had just put on for them all, "Is she…?"

"She's not dead, though I'm sure she would believe that this is much worse." I said, staring down at the woman as she began to babble random nonsense like a baby. Which probably wasn't far from the truth, "Alice as a person no longer exists. For all intents and purposes, she's an empty shell of a human completely bereft of all personality and memory. The genius that she coveted so much has been reduced to nothing."

The room was completely silent in the wake of my proclamation, each of the men around the table looking towards the comatose cape with varying degrees of horror.

"Damn." Was all he had to say, "That was… something."

"Indeed. A fitting end for one such as her though." I mused, turning to away from the babbling woman

Kon scratched his cheek, "I guess so. Could've done without the screaming and thrashing through. It was kinda unsettling."

I gave him a thin smile, "I'll try to remember that next time I am required to strip a person of their memories and personality and render them a vegetable. Now then…"

I turned to the Faces, my expression becoming serious once more. "I apologize to all of you for being gone so long, but as I am sure you all know by now, it wasn't exactly by choice. Now that I am back however, we can once again begin planning our assault on the heroes to free my father." I looked towards the incontinent Bakuda, "I assume that she has already set some sort of plan in place. If one of you would be so kind as to regale me on the specifics, that would be much appreciated."

Silence. I felt confusion as nobody spoke up at my words and looked back at the Faces. They were all suddenly refusing to meet my eyes and I couldn't help but feel a bit unsettled, "What? Has she not thought of anything?"

That was a bit surprising. Even for all her arrogance, Bakuda held a strange amount of loyalty to my father. I couldn't see her not at least trying to break him out.

A sinking feeling in my stomach, I spoke up once again, trying to meet any of their eyes, "Well? What is it? Is nobody going to speak?"

"Yosei." I looked back as Kon put a hand on my shoulder, a question on the tip of my tongue that immediately faded as I was met with a frown on the normally laid-back man's face. The feeling in my stomach got several magnitudes worse as he shook his head softly, gazing at me with an odd expression.

"I was trying to tell you earlier." His voice was quiet, almost sorrowful, "Yosei, Lung isn't in Brockton Bay anymore."

I froze, my ears not believing what they had heard. "What?"

My voice sounded small even to myself, a tiny, whimpering thing when compared to the commanding tone that I had taken only moments ago when addressing the room. It made Kon wince, and Hiashi took the opportunity to speak, drawing my attention to him instead.

"It seems that your attack on the Rig spooked the heroes." The man said, his voice filled with sympathy, "They called for priority transport of Lung-sama to the Birdcage as soon as possible. Several heroes from Boston were sent to help secure our leader for his journey."

The Birdcage? But my father hadn't done anything to merit such a harsh punishment! I stared at Hiashi in disbelief and he sighed, "The transport left yesterday." He continued softly, "Bakuda was preparing to launch an assault on the convoy but they were out of the city before we could mobilize. With how fast they were moving, Lung-sama is likely already almost there by now. There's no way we're going to be able to rescue him."

"I'm sorry, Yosei. He's gone."

Gone. The word repeated itself over and over in my head even as my heart began to beat loudly in my ears like a war drum, deafening me to all but the revelation that had just been forced onto me.

My father was gone. Taken to the inescapable cage where only the most evil of parahumans had ever set foot. While I was recovering from Bakuda's bomb. The heroes had panicked and sped things up ahead of schedule, stealing him away while I was indisposed to lock him up in a prison without a key. And unless I wished to join him there, I would never see him again.

The whole thing was made even worse as I recalled Hiashi's words. He stated that the transport left yesterday. If I had woken up just a day earlier. I would have caught wind of it leaving and been able to do something about it where she could not. With both myself and my father fighting together, there was not a hero outside of the Triumvirate who would have been able to stop us. We would have escaped and he would be back here, and I wouldn't feel like someone had ripped my goddamn heart out of my chest!

"Then… If my father has indeed been taken to the Birdcage we have no hope of rescuing him." There was a knot in my throat that made it hard to speak but I managed regardless, powering through it with sheer will, "I suppose that meant that command of the ABB falls to me."

Even as I said the words, I wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all. I wanted to scream and rage and tear everything around me apart as I vented my emotions without regard for those around me. I didn't want to lead the ABB. I wanted my father back. I wanted him to walk through that door right now and tell me that I had done a good job in his place with that proud smile that was only reserved for me, before he took his rightful place in the chair behind me, leading us all as he had always done.

But that wasn't how the world worked, I knew that. My father was gone and there was nothing I could do to change that. I would just have to accept the fact and move on, no matter how painful it was. The ABB needed me. The gang that he had built would crumble without guidance and his legacy would fade away. I wouldn't let that happen. Not when he had entrusted me with command in the case that something like this had happened.

I took a deep breath, calling upon all of my willpower and inner strength as I forced all of the horrible feelings that were threatening to consume me into the back of my mind just as I had when I awoke from my three day coma. I was sure that when I finally did break down, it would be a horrific experience, but I couldn't worry about that right now. The ABB needed its leader, and that was me now.

My eyes snapped open, a new determination filling them as I stared at all of the Faces with a stern gaze.

"To begin, there will be changes in the way that the gang itself operates." I spoke, my voice much stronger than it was moments ago as I looked around at the various men around the room, "The way things have been going is completely unsustainable and as such, will have to be put under strict review. Arms and drug dealing will continue as usual. The operation of our brothels and recruitment will continue as well."

My voice gained an edge as I let some of my rage at the situation leak into it, "However. We will be ceasing the kidnapping of women to put in said brothels, the indiscriminate violence against the people in our territory, ABB or not, and the conscription of those younger than fourteen. Voluntary recruitment will continue as it has been though their duties will depend on their age. Any younger than fourteen will be given non-combat jobs such as manual labor or couriers. No more child soldiers."

These were just the first of the changes that I had been wishing to enact under my father and they were definitely the most drastic of them all. If I was going to take charge, then I was going to do it right.

"Furthermore, preparations for the coming war with the Empire will be abandoned. We will return to business as usual without the looming threat of such a conflict on the horizon which will hopefully allow us to recoup any losses we will sustain during the changes." I turned to the rather portly man sitting next to Aoi, "Sadao, how are our funds looking?"

"Not quite in the red but rather close, Yosei-sama." The man answered promptly, "All the preparations that we have been making, combined with all of the chaos recently, has made it rather hard to keep track of things."

I nodded at his words, "Write up a report as well as a spreadsheet on our finances and have it sent to my office as soon as possible. Together, we might be able to salvage the situation before we lose more than we already have as we adjust to the changes."

Sadao bowed, "As you say, Yosei-sama."

"Are you insane!?"

The room went completely silent at Takao's sudden outburst. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as I turned my attention to the man, my face a cold mask of stoicism as he blatantly spoke against a direct command, "Do you have concerns, Takao?"

Takao's face was practically red with anger, "Yes I have concerns! Do you have any idea what you're asking me to do? Our brothels are our most lucrative operation! What you are suggesting will cripple them completely!"

"Then we will simply make up for it in other aspects." I said, eying his shaking form, "I am not ceasing operations of your brothels altogether, although I likely should. They will remain in operation and those who wish to stay, may. However, kidnapping and selling the women in our territory is something I simply will not abide by, no matter how profitable."

"You shortsighted fool!" Takao growled, "My operations allow us a great deal of insight into the city's most affluent individuals! Even the Medhall executives have spent time enjoying our wares! The amount of blackmail we'll lose out on alone will cripple the gang if we do what you are suggesting!"

A snarl wished to come to my face at his blatant disrespect but I kept it in check, instead lowering my voice as I stared at the man in open disgust, "I have decided, Takao. Are you going to disobey my direct commands? Even knowing that my father left this gang in my hands? That for all intents and purposes, his authority is now mine?"

"Of course I am!" Takao said angrily, standing from his chair, "You're asking me to cripple my operations for the sake of some whores who aren't fit to do anything but be whores! It's pure madness! If all of your decisions are as poor as this one, then the gang won't last another month!"

I watched Takao look around at the other men sitting around the table, "Why should we have to follow her just because she's Lung's daughter? She clearly has no idea what she's doing! We're the ones responsible for keeping the gang intact! We should be the ones leading it! Not some jumped up little girl with too much power on her hands! Right!?"

He obviously expected his colleagues to rally behind him, to give him their support in deposing me from the proverbial throne that my father had sat upon. He was sorely disappointed however, as all of the men present stared at him like he was the dullest of morons.

It made sense of course. While I had taken great strides to improve the ABB and its operations, I hadn't really bothered with the brothels as it was a bit of a hot button issue for me. If I were to get more insight into how exactly they operated more than what was strictly necessary, I was liable to beg my father to allow me to tear it down to its foundations.

The other Faces were more than used to my presence within their operations as I guided and shifted things around in whichever way would benefit the ABB, but Takao certainly wasn't. That meant that while he may have believed I did nothing for the gang as a whole, his fellows knew the truth.

And in his ignorance, he had all but attempted a coup, banking on the help of men who were actually loyal to myself and what I had done for them. The poor fool.

"I'd say that's as good of a confession as any, wouldn't you, boss?" Kon spoke up into the silent room. All attention turned to me as I stared daggers at Takao who was suddenly looking a lot less confident in himself without the backing of his fellow Faces.

I took a deep breath, "Yes. Yes it is. Lee?"

As soon as the name left my lips, the masked man was already standing behind Takao, a long knife held to the man's neck as the Lee behind me faded into ash. Takao flinched at the man's sudden reappearance which caused the knife held to his jugular to bite into his neck slightly, a red pearl of blood trailing down his throat as the skin broke against Lee's razor-sharp blades.

Takao went stock-still, his eyes widening in horror, "W-What are you doing!?"

Instead of answering his question, I posed one of my own. "As a Face, you know the punishment for betraying the gang, do you not?" My voice was deathly calm as I spoke to the trembling man, "My father does not tolerate traitors in the slightest, Takao and neither do I. You should have remembered that when you decided to attempt to leak the names of your fellow Faces to unknown parties."

Heads shot towards the man whose face paled as he realized that he had been caught red-handed. Still, he tried to keep a brave face in spite of it all, "I-I did no such thing." He denied angrily, "Your accusations are completely baseless, Yosei! I demand you release me immediately!"

"I'm sure they are." I nodded simply, before turning to Lee, "Take him to Nana. I'm sure she'll be able to find out what he's hiding."

Takao's face paled like I had just stabbed him in the gut with a rusty paring knife. He thrashed as Lee sheathed his knife and grabbed his arms, forcing them behind his back. "Y-You don't know what you're doing!" He screamed at the top of his lungs as Lee produced a length of fishing line from one of his pouches and began tying his hand together, "He won't let me talk! He'll kill me before he lets me talk!"

"Then I suppose Nana will have to work quickly." I said coldly, nodding to Lee, "Begone."

"NO!" Takao screamed as he was forced to stand, trying to thrash out of Lee's grip. Unfortunately, the man was fifty-two and in no position to fight against the experienced cape. He was put under Lee's control easily and made to begin walking towards the door despite his attempts, "You can't! He'll kill me! Please! No!"

Kon slammed the doors closed behind the two, muffling Takao's shouting as he was forced down the hall towards his supposed doom. As the shouts faded away, Kon turned to look at me, an oddly amused expression on his face.

I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering exactly what was so funny and he shook his head lightly, "It's nothing just… He does know that he would have been killed anyway, right? Like, betraying the ABB is the one thing you don't do unless you want a bullet in the back of your head."

That was true. Apart from special cases like Bakuda, the punishment for a high ranking individual betraying the ABB was almost always death. Had Kaito not suffered his ill-timed heart attack when I punished him some months ago, he would have likely been dead within the week.

"Perhaps he believes that whoever 'he' is, is capable of making his end much more excruciating than anything Nana could do." I postulated.

"You should tell her that. She'll definitely work faster." Kon sighed, shaking his head, "Anyway, good work, boss. Your leadership skills never fail to impress me. You took care of all of that much quicker than even I thought you would."

Boss. Though the word wasn't uncommon coming from Kon, it served as a stark reminder of my father's fate and what it meant. I immediately tried to do as I had before and shove the feelings away, but they were simply coming on too strongly for me to do so. A knot formed in my throat and I felt the sting of tears making themselves known, and used all my willpower to keep it together for just one more moment.

"Yes… I suppose I'm used to it at this point." I swallowed roughly before looking at them all once more. Hiashi's face was twisted in sympathy while the others were simply awaiting orders.

I squared my shoulders, making sure to keep a firm countenance as well as a strong voice as I spoke despite knowing I was mere moments form a breakdown, "All of you, write up and bring this quarter's reports on your respective operations to my office, as well as reports on what exactly Bakuda managed to do while I was indisposed. Hiashi, I will need to speak with you privately tomorrow after I get settled so be prepared for my call."

A chorus of agreements rang out at my words, and I then turned my eyes to Kon, motioning towards where Bakuda was still curled up on the floor, "Can you call someone to come take care of this? Have them drop her off on the edge of our territory and inform the heroes of her whereabouts."

Kon nodded, though his face was slightly concerned as he looked at me, apparently noticing that I was barely holding it together, "I'll take care of it, Yosei, don't worry."

I took a deep, shuddering breath, "Good. Then all of you tend to your duties and do not bother me for the rest of the evening."

I turned and briskly walked to the doors, throwing them open and leaving the room behind without another word. I was barely holding myself together at this point, shudders shaking my entire body and my blood pounding in my ears as my mind replayed the same thing over and over again.

My father was gone. The man who had raised me, cared for me for my entire life, was lost to me unless I wished to join him in the proverbial hell that he likely was now trapped in. I would never again feel his reassuring presence or hear his voice rumbling with fatherly approval. It was just like what happened to my mother all over again.

The thought broke what little decorum I had remaining and the first tears began to fall down my face. I sped up my pace as I felt myself begin to come undone, wanting to at least be in private before I broke down.

I just barely managed to get there before the sobs that I had been holding back finally began to escape my mouth. I practically burst into my office, slamming the door shut behind me and slumping down against it as my self control failed and a keening wail escaping my mouth as I finally processed the loss of the most stable presence in my life.

It would be the first of many.

Next five chapters available to Patrons!