Chapter 37: Ride or Die 2: Samedi Boogaloo
(Tuesday, December 14th, 2123)
"Well done, everyone!" Playa said, congratulating the members of the gang. "We took down the General's right-hand man, and now, the bastard is vulnerable!"
Cheers rang out as the Saints celebrated. They'd kicked the asses of the Sons, and emerged mostly unscathed. Sure, Johnny was nursing a black eye courtesy of Spincycle, Mink had a broken wrist, and a dozen out minor injuries were scattered about the Saints who'd participated in the diversionary attack, but nobody had died on either side, and Playa was considering that a major win, especially with Mr. Sunshine dead as well.
At the moment, all of the Third Street Saints' lieutenants, as well as some of the stronger members and those with important duties inside the gang, had gathered inside the Mission for a short debriefing the day after their victory.
Playa clapped his hands to get everyone's attention back onto his, the noise quieting down a bit. "Now that we've gotten him cornered like the rat he is, we need to find the General and track him down. Problem is, he doesn't have a static base. He uses that limousine of his to travel around Stilwater in style. It lets him avoid the heroes more easily. So! Ideas on how to catch him?"
"Okay. I have a plan!" Shaundi announced, standing up.
"This oughtta be good," somebody muttered in the back.
"So! First! We hijack a repairman's van, and steal their clothes," Shaundi began to explain. "Then, we go to the police HQ, pretending to have been called to fix their computers. We use that to sneak into the place they store all the traffic cam data, and upload a virus that'll shut down the entire city's traffic grid! Then, with the General's vehicle unable to drive away, we use that chance to pounce on him, taking him and the Sons out once and for all!"
Playa's lieutenants and the other high-rank Saints in the room looked amongst themselves skeptically, and even the big man himself seemed unsure of her plan.
"That has a lot of working parts," Playa said. "And it also involves sneaking into one of the most heavily guarded places in Stilwater."
Stilwater's police force may have been a joke, but their headquarters certainly wasn't. It'd been built like a fortress back in the Bad Old Days, meant to withstand attacks from Quirks in the event of a riot. It had several layers of defenses, including automatic turrets that would shoot anybody who didn't have proper clearance. Not to mention, all heroes in Stilwater were contractually obligated to respond if the place came under assault.
"Well, how else are we gonna get the data?" Shaundi retorted. "I mean, we could also fill the place with sleeping gas by sneaking in some balloons filled with the stuff by pretending it's somebody's birthday, or crawl in through the sewers…"
"Or, we could, you know, have me hack the traffic cams from the safety and comfort of the base's couch," a Saint with monkey-like features called out, raising her hand to speak.
"Weren't you the person who hacked the stadium screens at Stilwater U during my big reveal?" Playa asked, slightly recognizing her.
"Yup! That's me! Names' Twenty-One, and I work under Pierce as part of the Cyber Division," the girl said. "I run it, actually."
"Hmm. And You say you'd be able to hack the cameras from here?" he asked.
"Oh, sure! Some of the cops' digital security is airtight, but others are full of easy to exploit holes," Twenty-One replied. "All I need is a strong connection to the internet and a couple minutes."
"Really? That seems too easy," Johnny commented suspiciously.
"Not really. Do you know what the number one job in Stilwater is for hackers?" Twenty-One asked. When nobody was able to answer, she smirked. "It's hacking into security systems – which includes cameras – and messing with the data-feeds and footage. Whether to help a couple gangbangers steal from a convenience store, or to erase a getaway driver's license plate when he runs a red light, or even just to spy on people through 'em, that's really all it is. Heck, most of my job in the Cyber Division is counter-hacking and stopping the other gangs and hackers from sneaking into our own security systems when some idiot uses public Wi-Fi."
"That's interesting," Playa mused, while silently thinking he needed to keep a closer eye on this particular branch of the gang's activities. There was a lot to exploit in the digital market, and he wanted the Saints to stay on top.
After a moment to think it over, he nodded. "Very well. Twenty-One, you're in charge of figuring out where the General is. Hack the traffic cams and track him down. When that's done, alert us."
Playa then turned his attention back to the rest of the gang. "In the meantime, I want everybody to start gearing up! I know it's only been a day since our last clash with them, but we have to strike while the iron is hot! Whether it's in ten minutes or ten hours, the Sons of Samedi are finished! So get ready to rumble!"
"Yes, boss!" everyone shouted, all of them eager to finally eliminate one more stain from the city's streets.
"I still think my idea woulda worked," Shaundi grumbled as the Saints prepared for war.
"Maybe, but it would have brought the cops and the heroes down onto us like a bag of hammers," Playa pointed out. "Now, get into costume. You're coming with me when we finally confront the General."
"Awesome," she said, grinning darkly. "I've been waiting for this a long time!"
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'I see now why her villain name is 'Twenty-One,'' Playa mused as he watched the monkey-girl do her thing.
She was sitting on the couch and had three custom built laptops in front of her. She was using her hands on one, her feet on the second, and the third was being used by her tail. Twenty-One was doing the work of three people simultaneously, and she didn't seem to be struggling. With twenty-one 'fingers' to work with, the Saint was able to multi-task to an impressive degree.
"Okay, I think I've got him," Twenty-One claimed, still frantically typing away.
"How hard is it to find a honking big green limo?" Shaundi wondered, annoyed. She hadn't gotten dressed yet, and was waiting for somebody to bring her costume, same as Playa.
"Well, for one, the General's not stupid," the monkey Quirk hacker replied. "He's got a spoofing system set up that makes it impossible to register his car using the traffic cams. A high-grade one, too, that makes it invisible to regular cameras, as well. But fortunately, I'm good enough to work around it. Here, see?"
She turned around one of her laptops, showing a still picture of the General's green Hounfor being reflected in a building's windows. "See, while cameras can't pick up the limo itself, reflections are fair game, so I'm using security cameras and people's selfies to follow the General's trail. Not easy, but I'll have him dead to rights soon enough!"
"Very clever!" Playa praised.
"Thanks, boss!" Twenty-One cheered.
"You keep working on that. Now, where the hell is Ray?" Playa asked as he changed into his villain costume. "I asked for him to be here hours ago!"
"Dunno, haven't seen him in the last couple of days," Shiver replied with a helpless shrug. "We've tried looking for him, but it's like he's just… disappeared!"
"Damnit, he was going to be a key part of the plan," Skunk sighed, now fully immersed in his villainous persona.
"Aren't you worried?" Sizzle asked, placing a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder to warm him up. The two of them, along with several other Saints, had gathered together, prepping for the final confrontation with the Sons.
"Of course I am," Skunk replied. "If he's missing, I want to find him, and punish whoever thought it'd be a good idea to… remove him."
At that, the mood turned dark as Skunk strapped his gauntlets to his wrists. "However, we have a drug lord to kill. And while his Quirk is crazy useful combined with your own, we don't have much choice but to leave it be."
"Understood, sir," Sizzle sighed, Shiver nodding in agreement.
"Got it!" Twenty-One abruptly cried out. "The General's Hounfor just pulled in to a Samedi controlled gas station inside Shivington!"
"Alright! Tell Johnny and Defender where that is, so they can move the Saints in and form a barricade around the area! Don't let him escape!" Skunk ordered, and text messages were sent off.
The two lieutenants were already waiting elsewhere, gathering their forces to strike wherever the General showed up. And now, they had a location!
The rest of the Saints with Skunk got ready to depart as well, with Shaundi hastily putting on her costume. Then, once they were geared up, they headed out, loading up into a couple of large purple vans.
Driving through the street, Twenty-One continued to help the Saints by changing the traffic lights on their route so they didn't have to slow down. She would also delay and redirect the cops when news about the fight inevitably was passed on.
The sounds of gunfire soon echoed through the city's streets as Skunk and his reinforcements approached the spot where Johnny and Defender had cornered the General's Hounfor.
They found the battle soon after hearing the first shots, coming up to a large intersection. The General's infamous green limo was trapped in the middle, several green motorcycles surrounding it protectively, the cyclists armed with shotguns and handguns. The Hounfor's wheels had been obliterated by a rocket, no doubt courtesy of Johnny, but it was a surprise to see the limo was mostly unscathed. It was made of tougher materials than it seemed at first glance.
Blocking off the streets leading to the intersection were numerous purple vehicles, pulled up and cutting off the General's escape routes. Shots rang out from both the Sons of Samedi as well as the Saints, but the latter seemed unusually hesitant to engage, while the General shouted orders from inside the safety of his car.
The vans pulled up behind the blockade and the Saints poured out, quickly reinforcing the defensive lines keeping the General trapped. When Skunk stepped out of his ride, he made a beeline towards Defender and Johnny, while Rafflesia shouted orders, preparing the Saints for the inevitable counter-attack from the Sons of Samedi who were no doubt at that very moment rushing to aide their boss.
"Hey, Skunk, mind lending us a helping hand?" Defender asked, crouching behind a car with Johnny beside him.
"What happened to Johnny?" Skunk asked, looking at where his best friend was kneeling. Normally the trigger-happy Saint would have been blasting away with several highly modified and illegal guns by now!
"Bastard took my sight, boss!" Johnny growled, lifting his head up when he heard Skunk's voice. He couldn't see through the sunglasses, but Skunk could tell that Johnny wasn't looking directly at him.
"What?!" Skunk exclaimed.
"Yeah, he can take away our senses from a distance! Did you know he could do that?!" Defender asked nervously.
"No, I didn't know that!" Skunk retorted. "His Quirk is only supposed to work through touch!"
'Touch based and only for a single hour… that's how his Quirk works!' Skunk thought to himself frantically. At least, that's what Scapegoat had said, and despite it all, Skunk didn't think the hero was the type to lie.
Unfortunately, as unbelievable as it was, he had already seen evidence of another person who'd had access to an extra Quirk.
'Could that 'Baron' person Mr. Sunshine was rambling about be responsible for the General's newly modified Quirk?' Skunk wondered with a frown. 'But I thought that Quirks could only be granted instead of modified… unless…'
With dawning horror, Skunk suddenly had a sneaking suspicion about what had happened to Ray. The Saints' Quirk had been pretty useless on its own, but it could be used to project other Quirks like rays or beams that normally had a limited range, just like his namesake.
'Somehow, the Baron must have stolen Ray's Quirk and given it to the General! That's how he's able to use his own Sense Removal Quirk from a distance now!' Skunk thought to himself, a sensation of dread – but also fury – bubbling within him.
It explained why things weren't going so well for the Saints. The General could take away any sense a person possessed, and was no longer limited by having to touch people to do so. His minions that were protecting him were immune to pain while the Saints that'd ambushed him were being blinded, and without sight, they couldn't shoot back or aim their Quirks properly!
"How does it work? Is it reliant on line of sight?" Skunk asked, and Defender shrugged.
"Doesn't seem to rely on the General being able to see ya," the Inner Circle member replied. "Johnny got his vision wiped after shooting the rocket that took out the tires, but the General was still inside his car at the time. And several other Saints were in hiding, either behind vehicles or inside nearby buildings, but they still got their sight taken."
"However, people further away from the intersection haven't been targeted. Only those of us here have lost their vision," Johnny said.
"So, his Quirk is not stopped by walls or physical barriers anymore, but it does have a range limit," Skunk muttered.
"Yeah, not sure how far it reaches, exactly. Furthest person so far was… I think over by that lamppost when they were blinded. Oh! And he can only do it to one person at a time, he can't just take away multiple people's senses at once. There's a delay of about a second between each usage of his Quirk, and he has to know where his target is. That's probably the only reason we haven't all gone blind, but he is picking us off one by one," Defender reported.
Skunk nodded grimly. Moving around while staying in cover would keep a person safe but only for a little while. There was also the increased danger of friendly fire due to somebody suddenly losing their eyesight out of the blue.
"How do we do this, then?"
"Even if he doesn't need to see to use his Quirk on us, we can still blind him with smoke, and make it harder for him to spot us when we move around. Then, I can waltz right up there and shoot the General in the face," Skunk declared.
"Again, boss? Why can't we just, I dunno, toss a bunch of grenades or something at the limo and kill him that way after covering the area with some smoke? No one-on-one duels necessary," Johnny groaned.
"He's right," Defender piped up. "We have him cornered, and unlike Maero, who had nothing to lose and wasn't going to retreat in the first place, the General will probably try and escape if you challenge him to a duel. Man's a rat, no question about it."
Skunk frowned, but nodded a bit at the idea. "Huh. Fair, I suppose."
He clapped his hands. "Alright, then, here's what we'll do. Chuck some smoke grenades at the limo, and when it's blinded the General, hit him with as many bullets and rockets as possible. We won't risk him running away."
"Good choice," Johnny said, offering a thumbs up, before pouting. "Ugh, I hate being blind. At least it only lasts for an hour."
"There is that," Skunk agreed. "Rafflesia! New plan!"
She hurried over to where he was hunkered down with Johnny and Defender. "What?"
"We're smoking the General out. Do we have any rocket launchers?" Skunk asked.
"Uh, one or two. Plus the one at Johnny's feet."
"Grab them, please." Rafflesia nodded, and hurried off to fetch the weapons. She came back with two rocket launchers, already armed, and Skunk grabbed one with a grin.
He and Defender, grabbed them, while Rafflesia picked up the one Johnny had dropped, reloading it. While that was happening, word was given to the different Saints to toss smoke bombs at the General.
Thick white and grey smoke billowed out, shrouding the disabled green limousine, and Skunk and his two lieutenants took aim along with a dozen other gun-toting Saints.
"Ready… FIRE!" Skunk roared, his voice echoing through the intersection, and three rockets streaked through the air alongside countless bullets and several other projectiles, such as Quirks and exotic ammo, but it all contributed to causing massive damage.
A trio of explosions rocked the street, and the General's Hounfor was sent skidding out of the smoke, flames pouring from it. The doors were gone, the windows were broken, and the engine was spewing sparks like a trick birthday candle, yet somehow, despite all of that, it was not enough to finish off the General, as he could be seen pulling himself out of the wreckage.
"He's getting away!" Defender gasped in disbelief as he watched the General stagger away from the burning Hounfor. Skunk's lieutenant stood up, aiming his handgun towards the fleeing supervillain only to recoil a moment later. "Argh! Bastard took my sight!"
"He's heading into the Rounds Square Shopping Center!" Rafflesia shouted, pointing out the building that the General was fleeing towards.
"That's not good!" Skunk said, really understating it. A shootout at the mall would draw heroes to them like flies to shit, and leave the civilians in danger.
"Everyone who can still see, into the mall!" Skunk ordered.
"Lookout!" Rafflesia shouted, tackling him to the side. A green car screamed past, ramming into one of the purple cars blocking the intersection, and Skunk swore. The Sons of Samedi reinforcements had arrived.
"Fuck!" Skunk shouted. "Stop the Sons of Samedi! Don't let them link up with the General!"
The Saints roared out battle cries and began to fight back as the drug dealing gang gathered its forces for a counter-attack.
"Rafflesia, it's just you and me, now!" Skunk said, helping her to her feet. She picked up an AK-47 and fired it at the Sons, nodding in understanding.
"Got your back, boss!" she assured him.
"Defender, Johnny, get to safety, you're no good to me blind or dead," he ordered, and the two groaned but agreed to be escorted away from the battlefield.
That just left Rafflesia and Skunk to run into the shopping mall, which naturally caused a commotion when people saw two armed supervillains rushing through.
Civilians screamed and scattered, while some of the brave – or perhaps foolish – stuck around to film it with their phones.
Members of the Sons of Samedi began to appear from out of the woodwork, charging at the two Saints with suicidal recklessness. Some of the Sons had clearly already been in the mall when the attack happened, but others were starting to get inside from other parts of the city, going around the Saints' blockade to sneak in from other entrances.
There wasn't any time to do anything but keep chasing the General, though, and a wave of smoke bombs accompanied by bursts of Skunk's Quirk cleared the mall out from both regular Joes and green-clad criminals.
"Damn it, where did he go?!" Rafflesia growled, looking around helplessly after loosing sight of the General a little bit ago. They'd run all the way to the center of the mall, but he was completely gone!
"He can't have gone that far," Skunk muttered, before freezing. "Hang on, do you hear that?"
"What do you mean?" Rafflesia, before tilting her head. "Oh, wait, I hear it now."
Behind them, the conflict between Saints and Sons of Samedi grew fiercer as it spilled into the shopping center, but the sounds of the fighting was soon overwhelmed by the roar of a loud truck's engine.
Exploding onto the scene, a huge truck with a chain gun mounted on a turret on top and given a military camo paintjob plowed through several benches and planters.
"Where the hell did they get themselves a goddamned Bulldog?!" Skunk shouted in disbelief as he dodged out of the way of the military vehicle. The turret opened up and shredded the surroundings, and several Saints and Sons were shot to pieces, caught in the crossfire.
"I dunno, but it's tearing everything apart!" Rafflesia exclaimed. "And look! There he is!"
She pointed to the turret, and the General was inside, bringing the chain gun to bear.
"Shit!" Skunk growled, rolling out of the way. If he got hit by the General's Quirk, he'd soon end up dead afterwards. Being blind and unable to see anything was a quick way to get shot to pieces by a turret-mounted weapon, after all.
"Get outta here!" Skunk shouted at the other Saints, who quickly started scrambling away. Rafflesia meanwhile ducked into a nearby store, hiding behind the mannequins as the General tore up the mall.
"Okay, come on, Shaundi! You can do this!" Rafflesia murmured, trembling in fear. However, despite the terror she felt, she gripped her rifle tightly, and stood up. Using a mannequin as cover, she aimed the AK-47 towards the madman rampaging around in the Bulldog.
She pulled the trigger and sent a stream of bullets flying at the turret. The projectiles hit the reinforced glass of the car's windshield, cracking it, but doing little else. Though when the turret swung around to point in her direction, Skunk leapt out of his hiding spot and fired off three rounds from his revolver.
They were explosive bullets and all three hit the turret, destroying the chain gun. Shards of metal and a spray of blood erupted from the top of the Bulldog.
Startled, the driver of the military vehicle hit the brakes, coming to a halt. Of course, Skunk took advantage of this, and fired two rounds at the driver's side window. The first shot destroyed the bullet-proof glass, the second one splattered the General's chauffeur all over the interior.
Silence descended onto the mall, even as alarms blared in the distance and the screaming of civilians echoed in the background.
Skunk stepped up to the Bulldog and yanked the door open, pulling the corpses out of it and dropping them both onto the ground.
"I-is he dead?" Rafflesia asked nervously, peeking out of her hiding spot at the corpses on the ground, her eyes zeroing in on the bald black man Skunk was standing over. The General had caught a face full of shrapnel when the turret had exploded, and his neck was barely keeping his head attached to the body.
"I think so," Skunk muttered, kicking the body of the General. It flopped bonelessly around and a second nudge caused the head to pop clean off.
"That was… a rush," Rafflesia huffed, stepping out of the store.
"Huh. Well, congrats, Rafflesia!" the leader of the Saints grunted. "We did it. He's dead."
"We should leave," his lieutenant suggested. "You know, before the heroes get here."
"Good idea," Skunk nodded. "Let's go!"
The two ran for the exit, leaving the disaster behind. Skunk did make sure to take a photo of the General's remains and send it to the rest of the lieutenants, who would post the information all over the internet.
By dinner, everyone in Stilwater would know that the General was dead, and the Sons of Samedi was doomed. They would collapse soon, and without hardly any territory or leaders left, the Saints would have to move in quick to claim as much of it as possible before the Ronin. But that was for another day. Now? It was time to flee as police sirens got ever closer.
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Author Notes: Happy Easter, everyone! I hope you all have a great day!