HK: Interlude: Meanwhile, In Brockton (ABB)

The Yakuza Officer known as Iron Club Fujimori was nervous. The Empire had apparently torched one of their Heroin Depots out near the boundary line and killed a bunch of Old Man Yeung's Boys, with the Old Man himself being literally impaled through the chest in his restaurant upstairs. Old Man Yeung had been a good earner, and his family connections in Southeast Asia had been profitable as all Hell in getting Heroin into the Bay quick and cheap. Of course, it wasn't the possible loss of cash flow that had him upset. Old Man Yeung's business didn't really affect his own too much. They'd been part of separate organizations before the ABB had even formed, after all.

Old Man Yeung had run with the Sah Lak Kau since Seventy-One. He'd been just three years short of his sixtieth birthday when the Empire Had Torched his restaurant and all the Heroin he'd been holding in the basement. Meanwhile, Fujimori had run with the Yakuza and had been one of the Kyodai working directly under the Shateigashira of Brockton, Kuroda, when the Oyabun, Patriarch Oyama, and Wakagashira, Scar-Faced Muto, had been torched for defying the Dragon. Their businesses were only held together by their Leader's Will and weren't at all linked.

No, what scared him was their Leader's response. Lung, the Dragon of Kyushu. It was a name that struck fear into folks if they knew what was good for them. The Dragon was a hard man to work for. He didn't tolerate failure lightly and definitely didn't put up with the kind of disrespect that this showed. The problem was, the Dragon couldn't really afford to take the field himself right now. Kaiser wouldn't have made this kind of provocation without a plan to deal with Lung in the aftermath. It smacked of a trap, and the Dragon knew better than to go haring off half-cocked when there was a clear trap in the works.

Unfortunately, that meant that the Dragon was being Blue Balled in terms of being able to vent his rage. And when Lung had rage he wasn't able to vent, people died. People in the Organization. There was no easier ticket to becoming human flambe than to get in Lung's way when he was like this. Fujimori was nervous precisely 'cause of that fact, and at the fact that he was posted up at the Dragon's Lair right now. Apparently, he was needed for something, though he had no clue what that could possibly be. It was enough to drive a man to smoke, just to calm his nerves. Fortunately, he had just the thing for that. He reached into the pocket of his flashy suit and pulled out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter, popping one in his mouth and flicking the silver-plated lighter on.

Just as he began to light up, however, there was a sudden crack of displaced air next to him, and Fujimori startled, practically burning himself in the process. He forced himself to calm down as he turned to regard the Demon Masked, Ballistic Vest-wearing, Bandolier-sporting form of Oni Lee watching him from where the displaced air had sounded out. Lee was, until recently, the only Parahuman in the Organization aside from Lung himself. Line of sight teleportation, leaving behind suicide clones in his wake. The Man was a scary motherfucker, and had been the primary Hatchetman for whenever Lung needed someone dead.

"Our Leader has orders for you. You are to pick the fifteen best soldiers remaining to the Yakuza Branch and rendezvous at Pier Twelve tonight. Further instructions will be provided after you arrive." Announced the Teleporting Assassin.

"Got it. I guess the Boss is sending us out to hit back at the Empire?" He questioned.

In response, Oni Lee just cocked his head at Fujimori. The Hannya Mask the Guy wore gave nothing away, and his body language didn't help him pick up on anything either. It figured, honestly. He shouldn't bother asking questions and should probably just shut up and soldier. Oni Lee wasn't gonna let him know shit, it seemed.

"Nine PM Sharp. Don't be late." Intoned the Teleporting Assassin.

Then, Oni Lee teleported away, leaving a clone behind, which watched Fujimori as he finished his cigarette for a few moments before crumbling into a chalky, white, clay-like substance. Fujimori shook his head, stubbing out his cigarette, before heading out of the Dragon's Lair. He had calls to make and soldiers to kit out, after all. When Lung says jump, you do it as soon as you can. Otherwise, you get roasted alive, and nobody would miss you.

After all, you should've known better, especially if you were in Fujimori's position. . .

XXXX

Brass Knuckle Baek Hoon wasn't exactly thrilled to be out here right now, but he was low man on the totem pole when it came to the leadership of the ABB's Jopok Branch. Originally a Korean Organized Crime Family under Won Chunso, the Tiger Forest Group, they'd been folded into the wider ABB after Lung had come to the Bay, much like the rest of the Asian Gangs in Brockton. To Lung, it didn't matter if you were Korean, Mainland Chinese, Hokkien, Taiwanese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino, or what have you, so long as you were an Asian Gang, you belonged to him. The smarter ones knuckled under. Those who didn't found themselves grilled like Bulgogi.

Of course, the few Asian Parahumans that'd been in the bay and part of a gang all tried to resist and all quickly found themselves dead for their efforts, including Won Chunso's Primary Assassin, Imugi. Imugi had been able to contort his body around like a snake, was super-tough, had super-reflexes, and a venomous touch. It didn't help him when the time came. After all, he couldn't poison what he couldn't touch, and the Dragon of Kyushu had attacked Imugi while wreathed in flames hot enough to roast even someone as durable as Imugi alive. Hoon had seen it go down himself, and that was why, despite his anger at having to be out here, he was. He didn't want to wind up like Imugi had, after all.

What he found was that he wasn't the only one out here. Every other branch in the ABB was represented. Iron Club Fujimori of the Kuroda-Gumi Yakuza, God-Hand Wen of the Snake Flower Triad, Butterfly Sword Lin of the Golden Monkey Triad, Two-Gun Đoan of the Black Water Băng Đảng, Crowbar Manalo of the Bahala Na, and others. All of them were like him, low man on their own respective totem poles. Of course, they weren't alone either. Not only had they each brought fifteen hand-picked soldiers, but there were also a bunch of others from the main trunk of the ABB organization who weren't a part of the existing branches that'd been folded into the trunk after bending the knee to the Dragon of Kyushu.

Privately, Hoon was pretty ambivalent about those folks. Most were just kids, joining the ABB as a way to rebel. A lot of them were organized closer to something like a Kkangpae or American Street Gang. That was to say, the organization was loose and the discipline pretty close to minimal on all counts. Fortunately, it was the more organized Branch Groups that tended to have stockpiles of heavier weaponry, even if Officers like him preferred a more up-close touch most of the time. The riffraff of the Main Trunk usually weren't able to lay hands on anything heavier than a nine millimeter pistol at best. Not unless they were part of Oni Lee's group working directly under the Dragon of Kyushu.

Oni Lee tended to monopolize the best gear and men in the Main Trunk of the Organization for work directly under the Leadership. Unfortunately, judging from how the Teleporting Assassin had yet to show up, it looked like they'd be stuck with the dregs of the Main Trunk for whatever was going down tonight. That could be a problem if it came to needing to prevent enough collateral damage to not flip the Protectorate's go-switch. They could handle raiding the Empire and maybe one or two of the Protectorate Capes, especially if Oni Lee was with them, but not if the Protectorate and PRT hit the alarm and went after them full tilt.

Just as Hoon was beginning to worry, however, there was a bright light from down the docks as if a spotlight had been turned on. For a few moments, Hoon wondered if they'd been made, but quickly tracked the source of the light to the cargo ship tied up at the pier. The Kane Maru was one of the handful of container ships that had managed to survive the downgrading of the Japanese economy after the disaster that was the sinking of Kyushu, when Japan had gone from a modern, top-ten economy to a barely functional mess. Japan had been a net exporter of things like electronics, cars, and so on before Leviathan had come, exporting year-round. Now, they were lucky to export a fraction of their previous monthly tonnage. Mostly, they required foreign imports just to try and claw themselves back to some semblance of stability. It was a fight they seemed to be losing, with less trade every year.

The Kane Maru, though, was a regular visitor, one of the scant few ships still in regular operation. This was largely thanks to its association with the Yakuza, which brought people over in the secondary hold to be trafficked. There was no shortage of refugees after Kyushu who'd jumped at the chance to be indentured to the Yakuza if it got them out of Japan, a country on borrowed time, after all. Naturally, that meant the ship was friendly to the ABB. Because it was the lights on the Kane Maru that had gone off, and not a chopper or harbor patrol boat from the PRT Rig, Hoon relaxed and eased off the tension.

Maybe he shouldn't have, however, as when the glare of the ship's lights had been dialed down, they revealed Oni Lee and the new Parahuman that everyone had been talking about, Kitsune. Apparently, she was some sort of Super Ninja, not only able to create illusions and clones, but also with some sort of Brute and Mover Package to boot. Of course, nobody was really sure who she was, but that was just about par for the course when it came to Parahumans. Honestly, the fact that she'd agreed to come on board with the ABB without having to be threatened was interesting enough. Both Kitsune and Oni Lee were accompanied by a group of the Main Trunk's Elite Soldiers.

It could only mean one thing, that the raid was about to begin, and they were about to be given their instructions. Hoon signalled his men to shut up and pay attention. Thankfully, they did so. Everyone did. You didn't talk over the Dragon of Kyushu's Right Hand if you wanted to live a long and healthy life, after all. Especially when you were about to be given your marching orders.

Then, Oni Lee began to speak, and Hoon realized exactly how right he'd been about what was going down. . .

XXXX

Suzuhara Hanako, or Hana to her friends, was having a blast so far! Sure, she hadn't recognized whatever superhero setting this was, but she knew the tropes of the genre. She'd been into both Manga and Comic Books back in her old life, after all, before she'd been sent to this place by her Great Grandmother, who claimed to be a Nine-Tailed Fox, a great-granddaughter of the Lady Tamamo-no-Mae herself, no less. Hana hadn't believed her in the least, not until her Great Grandmother had ripped open a tear in the fabric of reality and sent her to this world. Hana's powers had activated shortly afterward, and she had to quickly figure out how to use her illusions to hide the tails and ears she had spontaneously grown.

Of course, it had helped that she'd shown up and immediately gotten recruited by one of the three largest organizations in the City she had found herself in. Honestly, though, whoever heard of a place called Brockton Bay? From what she'd gathered, this city was roughly where Portsmouth should have been in New Hampshire, though not exactly. It was also a lot bigger than Portsmouth, too. Five hundred thousand people lived here, which made Brockton Bay the second-most populous city in New England after Boston, and it was a close second, too.

Regardless, Hana had joined up when the recruiters had stumbled on her and taken the codename Kitsune. It was a bit on the nose, but once she'd proved her powers, they were jumping at the chance to recruit her. Of course, she didn't really mind that the Organization she'd joined, the Asian Bad Boyz, and what a stupid name, had her hurting people and helping to wreck up stuff. She only cared that she was able to live like she wanted. If she had to rough up a few idiots and blow up a shop or two because the Boss said so, then she would. Honestly, these guys had it coming for siding with the literal Nazis, anyway.

Kitsune smirked as she sent one of her clones with one of the pipe bombs she'd been handed before all this started, to go huck the thing through the window of the target she'd been given. Every group had a target they'd been given, Empire Fronts and Illegal Holdings in the disputed territory between the Empire and the ABB. Because of her clone powers, though, she counted as a group all by herself. She'd been given a half dozen targets, too, while most groups only got two or three.

"That's why I get paid the big bucks." She smirked to herself.

Of course, there was also the added bonus that she could keep whatever she stole after kicking up twenty percent to the Boss. The Dragon of Kyushu had to have his gold, after all, but Kitsune could keep the rest. It was an arrangement that suited her just fine, and if her kickup equaled that of a whole Branch Section, well, she could handle it. After all, she was an army to herself. Besides, this whole night had already proven pretty damned profitable. The first five places she'd hit had been full of random grunts who couldn't hit her when she was casting illusions at them and picking them off from the shadows. They'd been no real obstacle, and she'd been able to loot enough cash to make the kickup more than worth it. Hell, she'd had to send clones back to base with duffel bags stuffed full of cash, just in case things got hairy. They hadn't so far, but she chalked that up to just being efficient.

"And what are you supposed to be? Some sort of Nip Spy?" Queried a gruff voice from nearby.

Kitsune turned to see a man in a brown shirt and slacks, with pale, ivory white skin, white hair, and white, pupilless eyes. The man carried an old school submachine gun in one hand, and she couldn't help but feel that he was glaring at her, even though his facial expressions were a bit difficult to read with all that glare. She had no idea who this Guy was, but she knew a Nazi Cape when she saw one. He had a literal brownshirt on for fuck's sake! He couldn't have been more blatant if he tried!

"Better than a Nazi Albino. You know if your lot gets what they want, you're gonna be the first to be long-knived, right?" She asked.

"I wouldn't expect a Slant Bitch like you to understand the intricacies of the White Man's politics." Scoffed the Nazi Albino.

"Yeah, the White Man. If you were any more white, you'd be see-through." She taunted.

"Better than some Rice Monkey with delusions of grandeur." Spat the Nazi Cape.

The bickering was all part of the plan. Kitsune was on her last target for the night, and while she could fight, she had no clue what this Asshole's powers were. Thankfully, her clones meant that she didn't have to do any of the actual dirty work herself, and so long as she kept this Asshole busy here, her Clone with the Pipe Bombs would be able to handle the Meth factory that was last on the list. True, it would be more of a huck the bombs through the window and run sort of deal, but making Meth was a volatile process. So long as the bombs went off the way they were supposed to, the chemicals inside the warehouse that was being used as a factory should do the rest for her.

"That's pretty bold talk coming from a guy who looks like you. Does Pilsbury know that their Doughboy is moonlighting as a Skinhead? Someone ought to tell them." She Insulted.

"I don't know what I expected from a Chink Whore like you. We'll see if you're still laughing after I put a few rounds of nine millimeter into you!" Scowled the Albino Nazi.

As the Nazi shouldered his submachine gun, however, and Kitsune prepared to cast an illusion to cover her escape, a massive explosion sounded out from the direction of the warehouse that she had sent her Clone with the Pipe Bomb toward. As she braced herself against the shockwave, using her unique breathing method to help give her the power to buttress herself, she received a flash of memories from the dispelled clone. It had landed the thrown pipe bomb right into the middle of a group of containers of Methylamine, which, naturally, amplified the explosion, being highly flammable and all.

Of course, the Nazi Albino didn't seem to have the same capacity to stay on his feet that Kitsune did and was knocked off of them. That was her chance, and she tossed a trio of shuriken at the Nazi Cape with enough force behind them to punch through steel plate. The relatively lightweight anti-ballistic fabric that the Nazi's shirt was made of didn't stand a chance. The Nazi Albino let out a shout of pain as she let fly with her illusion, that of a blinding flash of light, before leaping up to the fire escape on a nearby building and beginning to roof hop away. The Nazi sprayed a few bullets after her, but his aim was off from the razor-sharp throwing stars that had sliced into him, and she was too fast to be caught by spray and pray regardless.

That was the last of the targets on her list, and it had been blown up with extreme prejudice. The Dragon of Kyushu would be pleased and hopefully reward her with a bonus for doing such a good job. If not, well, Suzuhara Hanako could always find other ways to make up the shortfall in funds.

She'd already done so by looting tonight, after all. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we have the next chapter. Lung is pissed at the disrespect that the Empire showed to so blatantly firebomb a front in his territory like that. His response was, as befits his character, both disproportionate and immediate. We also get to see the ABB's latest cape, one of the other SIs, in action as she distracts Alabaster long enough for one of her Clones to finish the job. Kitsune is a bit of a tricky fighter. She likes to use a lot of illusions and clones to fuck with people and isn't above mind games on top of that. In short, she fights like her namesake.

Beyond that, we also got a brief look at the structure of the ABB. There are branch organizations, holdovers from the Asian Gangs and Organized Crime Groups that existed in the city before Lung showed up and that he conquered and folded into the ABB on arrival in Brockton, and the Main Trunk of the Organization, which works directly under Lung or one of his Cape Lieutenants, either Oni Lee or Kitsune. Ironic that a pyrokinetic would structure his organization like a tree, something that is famously flammable.

At any rate, in the next chapter, we'll be back with Trito for the next part of his story as he trains the force he wanted to put together to join the war with. I'll also have a character sheet for Kitsune up before then, as well as a few more images.

Stay tuned. . .