My World My Justice Ch.25

Ah Brockton Bay, a fucked up city and a kettle pot of conflict and so many other problems… which I working on fixing with one punch at a time.

Today I'm on patrol in one of the nicer parts of the city right now, close to downtown, which means getting plenty of attention focused on me—and especially on Taylor, who's perched confidently on my right shoulder. If Mouse Protector could easily sit there, then so can this girl. And yes, she's finally going out as a cape publicly, wearing her brand new costume since I made it pretty clear, implicitly, that I was aware that she triggered and had powers during that whole lawsuit situation.

Taylor already debuted as an independent cape over a month ago, though she kept things low-key at first and she did a single patrol with the friendliest member of the Wards, Maple.

But back then she had a different, more basic costume which if she isn’t exaggerating then it would have looked similar to the original timeline counterpart. Since then she's been working on redesigning and changing plenty of things, even asking her dad to help her improve some aspects. And her father is surprisingly pretty handy with that when she showed it to me.

The final result is completely different from what I remember reading about her original cape persona, Skitter, from the timeline that no longer exists. Gone is the dark, intimidating look—replaced with something bright and heroic.

Now she's Buzzwing, the Winged Guardian of Justice.

The new costume is actually pretty bright and optimistic, black and gold, while still maintaining the insect theme, complete with translucent decorative wings and a half-mask featuring oversized green goggles, which hides her identity very well. She looks like she stepped right out of a Saturday morning cartoon, but it fits perfectly with the ‘True Might’ vibe, aka, my aesthetic. Even if her power is controlling bugs, which could be terrifying with some imagination.

Speaking about powers...

With Futaba's help, we came up with plenty of ways to make the most of Taylor's powers while keeping them family-friendly. Because let's be honest—Taylor's power could have nightmare inducing applications. Like she could control swarms of horseflies to attack someone's eyes and suck out their blood, or using wasps to force themselves down throats and sting the insides, use spiders to crawl inside people ears and many countless other fucked up scenarios that Futaba wisely chose not to mention to Taylor. 

I completely agreed with that decision—some knowledge is better left unshared, at least for now.

Instead, Futaba focused on helping Taylor figure out what she could already do and improve how she uses her power.

Because it turns out the girl didn't even realize she could control massive swarms of insects, not just a handful of them like she has been doing. So for now, Taylor functions like our portable radar, using bees and butterflies to detect problems or get updates across multiple city blocks around us.

Which is a rather calm zone compared to the rest since PRT and the Protectorate members constantly patrolled this area.

"There's an injustice occurring approximately one block east of our position!" Taylor suddenly announces, pointing in that direction with her small gloved hand. 

"Hold tight, valiant Buzzwing!" I boom, already preparing to leap into action. "Evil shall not prevail while justice draws breath! Let us make haste to right this terrible wrongdoing!"

Brain, only one sentence was enough, no need to be redundant.

"For justice and the innocent!" she responds with genuine enthusiasm, raising a fist high in the air.

And just like that, we rush to the scene together—well, I do most of the rushing while she holds on tight—and we discover the terrible crime in progress.

A young boy, probably around ten years old, is standing at the base of a large tree in front of a store with a dejected expression and crossed arms. About fifteen feet up, caught in the branches and mostly hidden by leaves, is what looks like...

Wait.

"Is that... is that the new True Might action figure?!" Taylor gasps audibly from my shoulder. 

I look closer and sure enough, that's definitely the figure from the new merchandise line Oracle has been talking about. 

The kid must have been playing with his new toy in front of the store and accidentally thrown it too high during some epic battle scenario.

"Oh my god, oh my god!" Taylor whispers excitedly, trying to maintain her heroic composure but failing miserably. "I've been trying to get one for weeks but they keep selling out everywhere!"

Well, I taught this girl that there's no injustice too small to matter. Though I suspect her motivation might be slightly different this time.

"BEHOLD!" I declare, striking my most heroic pose while gesturing dramatically toward the tree. "A grave injustice has befallen this innocent child! The forces of gravity have conspired to steal away his cherished champion of justice! Fear not, young justice seeker—we shall restore what cruel fate has taken!"

The kid looks up, and his expression transforms completely from sadness to pure amazement.

"True Might?! The real True Might!"

"And Buzzwing, Winged Guardian of Justice!" Taylor adds with growing confidence, though I can hear the barely contained excitement in her voice as she stares at the trapped figure.

"The dynamic duo has arrived to save the day!" I finish dramatically, and the kid immediately starts shouting with excitement and jumping up and down.

I have to admit, that pure, unfiltered joy from an innocent soul, that reaction never gets old.

Adorable.

I look up at the trapped toy and already know exactly how to handle this.

"No challenge is too great when justice guides our actions!" I proclaim, extending my arm toward the tree. The young heroine immediately understands the plan as she steps confidently onto my forearm.

She launches herself toward the tree trunk and gets a hold of the thick branch..

Once she gets a strong hold and practically scrambles up the rest of the way with impressive speed. All those weeks of physical training have truly paid off, and having Mirko chip in to teach her advanced techniques was definitely worth it, which makes sense, the bunny girl cannot fly and neither jump like ridiculous high heights so she knows how to climb things. 

Though I suspect the prospect of handling my action figure is providing extra motivation.

"Justice shall triumph over arboreal adversity!" I call out encouragingly as she navigates through the branches.

"The mission is almost complete!" Taylor responds from above,  as she carefully works the action figure free from its leafy prison. "Oh wow, the detail work on this is incredible..."

Within moments, she's dropping back down, landing perfectly on my arm and then jumping down on the ground. But I notice she takes just a moment longer than necessary to examine the figure before reluctantly approaching its young owner.

"Your loyal champion has been freed from the clutches of the dreaded Tree of Entanglement!"

Damn girl, you're putting competition here.

The boy's face lights up as he carefully takes his toy back. "Thank you, Buzzwing! Thank you, True Might!"

He immediately presses one button, and my voice booms out in miniature: "JUSTICE SHALL PREVAIL!"

Huh, how many phrases do these toys have now? 

Taylor's eyes practically sparkle behind her goggles.

I should ask for some now that I think about it, I want one for me, one for Taylor and one for Futaba.

"Remember, my young justice seeker," I tell him as I approach him with the same friendly grin. "even the smallest acts of heroism make the world a brighter place! Smiling in the darkest moments is the biggest victory against the forces of evil!"

The kid's face lights up even more as he clutches his rescued action figure close to his chest.

"Now then!" I boom, spreading my arms wide to address the small crowd that's suddenly gathered around us. "Let us all stoke the eternal flames of justice within our hearts! Show me your heroic spirit!"

I strike a classic superhero pose, flexing my arms in a side chest. "FOR JUSTICE!"

"JUSTICE!" Taylor shouts enthusiastically, mimicking my pose with impressive dedication.

The kid immediately joins in, holding up his action figure triumphantly. "JUSTICE!"

That's when a man emerges from the store carrying a long broom, clearly having gone inside to find something to retrieve the trapped toy. He stops dead in his tracks, staring at the impromptu justice rally happening right in front of his shop.

"Uh... what's going on here?" he asks, looking between us.

"Daddy! True Might and Buzzwing saved my action figure!" the boy exclaims, running over to show off his rescued toy with the same energy.

The father's expression shifts from confusion to surprise and finally to joyful. "Oh! Well, thank you both so much. Tommy here was pretty upset about losing that thing." He scoops up his son, who's giggling and still clutching the figure protectively.

"Think nothing of it, noble citizen!" I declare, placing a supportive hand on Taylor's shoulder. "Though I must give credit to the brave Buzzwing, she is the one who truly saved the day!"

Taylor gets a little shy under the attention, ducking her head slightly, but keeps her bright smile and nods graciously.

"Another glorious victory for our justice!" I announce triumphantly.

But then we take one picture with the family and sign the kid's action figure with a permanent marker (because why not make the toy even more special?), we continue our patrol. 

The PHO forums are definitely going to have a field day with today's events.

But I'd already taken a selfie with Taylor before we started today's patrol and sent it to Futaba to handle my social media accounts, since she's the one managing all that digital stuff now. 

The young heroine definitely got a major publicity boost as a cape today.

"Wait!" Taylor says suddenly, pointing down another street while. "I can see our fellow heroes not too far from here. It's the Wards—Maple and Vista!"

I puff out my chest and thump it proudly. "Then we must obviously greet our noble allies of justice! United we stand!"

We head over to the next street after making a left turn, where Vista and Maple are indeed conducting their own patrol, nothing special or grandiose which is perfectly fine.

And it is Maple who spots us first and waves enthusiastically with both arms while Vista offers a more restrained but polite greeting.

"Buzzwing!" Maple calls out excitedly, when it gets close enough. "I love your new costume! You look absolutely amazing! The colors are so bright and… heroic! Yeah, heroic!"

The friendly girl acting very friendly and energetic, seemingly unbothered with the giant tower shield strapped to her back.

"When noble heroes gather, we must strengthen our glorious resolve and pass the torch to the younger generation!" I boom dramatically, striking another pose. "For justice burns brightest when shared!"

"For justice!" Taylor shouts back with equal enthusiasm, raising a fist high.

"Me too, me too!" Maple chimes in eagerly, clearing her throat theatrically and picking up her shield before raising it high. "Shield of justice and friendship!"

And then we all three then turn expectantly toward Vista, who visibly flinches under their collective gaze.

The young cape glances around, realizes there's no escape, and sighs in resignation. "Great... justice," she mutters reluctantly, making the smallest possible fist pump.

"Outstanding!" I nod. "Valiant Buzzwing, now you have steadfast allies by your side! Go forth and fight evil together, for the strength of justice multiplies exponentially with more champions united in righteous purpose!"

Taylor nods happily, clearly excited about the prospect of teaming up with the Wards again. This is so much better than the dark path she was heading down in the original timeline—working with actual heroes her age instead of becoming an edgy villain with a group of equally problematic teenagers who only end up making things worse and worse.

Maple practically vibrates with excitement. "This is gonna be so awesome! Come on, Buzzwing, let's show Vista how real patrol work is done! We can be like a super team!"

Maple is clearly the one taking the lead in organizing the group, chatting excitedly about her plans for their joint patrol while Vista seems resigned but not entirely unhappy about the situation. 

Actually, I think Taylor and Maple could become fast friends by the looks of it; they both have that earnest enthusiasm for heroics, just expressed differently.

Good for her. Taylor deserves to have some friends, also that it further pulls her away from being a world ending threat.

I wave them off with what I imagine is mentor pride as they disappear around the corner, feeling satisfied about Taylor getting the chance to work alongside people her own age who understand the hero's life...

Wait a fucking minute…

I'm around their age too.

A year older at most, maybe two years older than Vista.

Why the hell am I acting like some wise old mentor figure sending the kids off to play together?

Fuck, this crippling hero persona has corrupted my mind so much that I'm having grandfatherly moments at seventeen. 

I'm still a teenager!

No, that sounds bad too….

I’m a young adult!

Whatever, lets just enjoy this moments.

-----------------------------------------------------

-Lisa, Tattletale-

Lisa was with her team, moving for a quick bust against the Empire. She really, really didn't like that she'd changed bosses—especially to that smug bitch Oracle—but it was infinitely better than being under Coil's thumb. 

That was the price she had to pay since she couldn't finish dismantling all of Coil's defenses before the snake could worm his way out. Or more accurately, before Thomas Calvert could escape her grip. 

Failed to anticipate his escape routes. Underestimated his paranoia. Should have seen this coming — She cut off that line of self-recrimination before it could spiral.

For some reason, Oracle knew and had given her the bastard's real identity. Lisa had been extremely tempted to just go on the internet and expose him, or march to his civilian home and put a bullet in his face, rules be damned. 

The fantasy was delicious—watching his smug facade crumble.

But those plans had died the second she learned that Coil had rigged half the city's underground with enough explosives to leave a crater—or cause the ground to collapse and bring the entire city down—if anything happened to him. Because he was a petty piece of shit like that. 

Mutually assured destruction. Classic megalomaniac behavior. Probably has multiple dead-man switches. Definitely the type to take half the city with him out of spite.

The threat alone was a massive deterrent to making the move she wanted so desperately. She couldn't even say fuck it to everyone and run for the hills after revealing his identity, because then she'd just end up dead. And as much as Lisa prided herself on her intelligence, even she wasn't arrogant enough to think she could outrun that kind of vindictive planning.

So she'd jumped ship, unofficially. She was Team Oracle now, though her teammates didn't exactly know that yet. 

Brian suspects something. Rachel doesn't care as long as the dogs are fed. Alec would probably laugh and ask for a signing bonus. 

That was fine for now—as long as the money kept flowing, a shadowy boss was a shadowy boss.

Of course, to make things easier, she'd worked a little with that girl. Oracle now was ACTUALLY working to get the custody papers for Aisha sorted out—though Brian was still pretty clueless about how fucked up that situation really was with his sister. 

Drugs, neglect, sexual abuse…

A single look told a lot of details she didn’t want to know after all.

For Rachel, Oracle was preparing a proper dog shelter with actual legal backing and veterinary support.

As for Alec, well, it was just money. Cold, hard cash spoke his language better than any emotional appeal ever could.

Oracle was loaded. Which means she was a millionaire already or was an expert hacker who funneled bank accounts, like she did years ago. Either way, it didn't change the fact.

Once Oracle secured the first two, Lisa would tell her team the truth and everyone would jump ship with her. 

She'd make it seem like her idea, naturally. 

Let them think they were making the smart choice rather than admitting she'd already made it for them.

If not?

Well, sucks for them. She was fond of her teammates, but not that fond—not enough to risk her life. 

Oracle, as much as she hated that smug bitch, was the better option and her chance to escape. The girl had an infuriating habit of being right about things, which Lisa found personally offensive on multiple levels. Especially since she and True Might were allied, and that big himbo dumbass was a complete blank spot to all thinkers and she got first hand experience giving her a nasty headache.

Anything related to him caused Coil serious problems—which was why Thomas had been lying low for so long and unresponsive. And the only reason he resurfaced was because he finally learned a way to work around that. 

Still, by association with a blank spot, she'd have a layer of protection from the snake too.

It seemed like a solid plan. Of course, she needed to think of a Plan B.

So now they were here to bust one of the Empire dog fighting rings under Oracle orders, since Hookwolf was gone and Rachel had been constantly nagging about attacking those rings since it was a real chance to help. It was as good a starting point as any. 

They also needed a victory after being humiliated by that bootleg vampire prick. The last she'd heard, he was now busy spanking ABB thugs across town. 

Still, an attack on the Empire seemed reckless on the surface, but the Empire was crumbling and only getting weaker. At the same time, the other gangs were being hit as well by Oracle, so she could deduce it was a balance play—ensuring no breathing room for any already down opponent. 

That girl seemed to be a wannabe puppet master of sorts, pulling everyone’s strings.

They arrived at the warehouse, which was, as expected, pretty much empty. The Empire was bleeding members after all, so rather than maintaining their old public shows of force, they'd shifted to a more discreet approach. 

Fewer sentries, minimal security, desperate to maintain operations with reduced manpower.

Lisa gestured, and Rachel grinned before giving the signal. Brutus charged forward, easily smashing through the door before retreating on command. Then Lisa grabbed a flashbang grenade from her belt and hurled it through the opening, the detonation filling the air with groans and panicked yelling.

She signaled to Grue, who nodded and moved inside with his darkness billowing around him. After a moment, he gave Rachel the all-clear nod. 

She whistled sharply, and Brutus and Judas rushed inside at full size.

The three of them would easily dispatch everyone inside, and the rest would enter to dispatch any stragglers.

Angelica would normally be part of the assault, but since she wasn't as well-trained as the other two, she might do something wrong. Better to be safe for this operation—Rachel had agreed, reluctantly.

They waited, counting the seconds.

Lisa got to her feet and nodded to Regent—their turn to enter. 

But she stopped short as a small figure in a trench coat and broken gas mask came crashing out of the building, completely unconscious. Judas emerged a moment later, looking pleased with himself.

"Oh, that's Mustard," Lisa said.

"Who?" Alec asked, poking at the unconscious cape with his boot.

"Mustard. Krieg's apprentice..." Lisa's eyes widened as the implications hit her. "Don't touch him!"

Her power was already racing ahead, connecting dots she really didn't want connected. 

He is unconscious. Mustard was just keeping watch while Cricket was gone. Krieg protective of apprentice. Krieg has a fond spot for him. The trench-coat is a gift from him. Response time under five minutes if alerted.

"Change of plans." 

They needed to finish this operation really, really fast. The absolute last thing they wanted was to face Krieg—or worse, have Krieg convince Kaiser to let Magik to teleport directly to the scene. Knowing their dire situation he totally would just grasp at any sort of power.

And they would be facing TWO powerhouses.

Did that bitch KNEW about this?!

Then she gets a message notification from her phone.

‘Nope!’

She totally did.

-----------------------------------------------------

-Rumi Usagiyama, Mirko-

Rumi bounded across rooftops, her powerful legs propelling her from building to building through the grimy expanse of Merchant territory. But this time she'd deviated from her usual patrol route after Oracle had given her a solid tip about unusual activity - people gathering in numbers at a specific building.

The earpiece she'd finally invested in crackled to life as she pressed the talk button. Way better than that piece of shit flip phone she'd been using before. Sure, the old phone was practically indestructible, but it had a nasty habit of falling out of her costume mid-jump.

"Found the building you mentioned," she said quietly, crouched behind a rusted ventilation unit. "But this place looks dead. Too quiet, too empty for whatever kind of meeting you saw."

"Hmm, maybe they're just getting high somewhere inside?" Oracle's voice came through clearly, though there was a hint of uncertainty. "You know how the Merchants are - not exactly the most organized or intelligent bunch."

Mirko's ears twitched as she scanned the area again. "Nah, way too quiet. Usually you'd hear shitty music blasting and some idiot shooting guns in the air for fun. Plus, I don't see any of Squealer's rolling trash heaps anywhere."

"Oh, good point! She always parks her mobile garbage dumps when they're having a party."

"Exactly. And there's no sign of her vehicle." Rumi's frown deepened as she studied the seemingly abandoned building. "This feels wrong."

"Oooh, plot twist incoming? What are you seeing?"

That's when movement caught Rumi's eye. A handful of figures emerged from the building's side entrance.

"People coming out," she reported, pressing herself lower behind cover. "But these don't look like your typical Merchant junkies."

"Really? What's different about them?"

Mirko studied the figures more carefully. Clean clothes, professional gear, military-grade equipment. They moved with discipline and coordination that screamed professional training.

"These guys look like mercenaries. All of them carrying suitcases or those heavy-duty military containers, and they're armed to the teeth. Way too professional to be your average junkie."

"Whoooaaa... that's definitely not normal," Oracle's voice took on a more serious tone. "Professional mercs in Brockton Bay is never good news."

As soon as those words left her mouth, every instinct Rumi had sharpened to a razor's edge. This wasn't some drug deal or typical Merchant chaos. This was something else entirely, and in her experience, when unknown but professional forces showed up, people usually ended up dead.

"Any idea what could be in those cases they're carrying?"

"Hard to say from here. Could be weapons, could be drugs, anything really. Want me to call in backup, or are you planning to do that thing where you leap before you look?"

Rumi grinned savagely. "You know me so well."

Although after another look at the group, what had started as a handful had turned into more - a full squad now, she counted twelve guys moving in unison.

Dealing with junkies with guns wasn't a problem for her. They couldn't aim for shit after hitting the pipe all day. 

But very sober, professional soldiers? And that many? 

Yeah, she was totally getting shot in the stomach if she tried to face them head-on. She'd need a much more advantageous position - like a narrow alley or inside an apartment complex where they couldn't spread out. Otherwise they'd pin her down and turn her into Swiss cheese, and that wasn't her idea of a good time.

Especially since those weapons looked heavy-duty. She had no advanced gun knowledge besides telling apart rifles from pistols, but the size of the weapon one mercenary was carrying, along with that thick ammunition belt draped across his chest, screamed serious firepower. Probably enough to punch through walls if they concentrated fire.

Maybe an ambush? She was confident in taking out three guys quickly before pulling back and hitting them from another angle. But that still left the question - why the hell were these guys here in the first place?

A new gang sniffing around? Could be. The Empire was in shambles after Stormfront's takedown, and everyone always treated the Merchants as pushovers, despite being one of the most damaging forces to the city's population. Maybe someone was looking to fill the inevitable power vacuum and spread their roots.

"Normally I'd ask you to follow them, but it's not worth the risk right now," Oracle's voice crackled through the earpiece. "Be careful in there. If professional mercs were using that place, there might be traps or nasty surprises left behind."

Mirko nodded to herself and waited until the armed group disappeared around a corner before launching herself off the building. She slid down the rough brick wall, her hand and the plating finding purchase in the mortar joints, until she reached street level. The building they'd emerged from loomed before her - whatever doors it once had were now blown clean off their hinges.

The moment she stepped inside, a horrid stench that made her nose wrinkle in disgust hit her and visibly recoil.

"Fuck, I hate this shit," she growled under her breath. Junkies never seemed to discover soap, toilet paper, or basic human hygiene. Like they were actively competing to be the most filthy human alive.

Pushing the discomfort aside, she went on high alert, every sense working overtime as she moved through the destroyed and wrecked interior. Broken glass crunched under her boots, and graffiti covered what remained of the walls and that didn't count with broken down furniture or clothes scattered around. But the first thing she noticed was how eerily empty the place felt.

"Oi, place is completely empty," she reported, keeping her voice low.

"That's weird. My sources said there was plenty of activity here over the past few days. People going in and out. There should at least be some people in there."

"Maybe they already cleared out everything important?"

"Mmm, maybe? It would be way too organized for typical Merchants, but I guess stranger things have happened. Once in a blue moon and all that."

However, Mirko stopped dead in her tracks as she spotted something that was unmistakable. Bullet holes peppered the walls in tight groupings. Dark stains that could only be dried blood marked the dirty wooden floor in multiple locations, some splattered high on the walls.

"Oi, Oracle. Bad news. People were definitely killed here. A lot of them."

"Shoot... but is that all you're seeing? Any clues about who or why?"

Mirko crouched down, examining the scene more carefully. That's when she noticed the floor wasn't quite right in one section. What looked like broken, rotted planks was actually camouflage for something else. "No, there's more. Looks like there's a concealed hatch leading to a basement down here."

"A basement? Well, looks like this rabbit hole is getting deeper and deeper."

"Haha, very funny."

"Couldn't help it! But seriously, be extra careful down there."

"Yeah, yeah. Zip it and let me work."

"I mean it this time, Mirko. Don't want to send True Might to save your cute butt again."

"Oh shut up, you twerp!" Rumi snapped, her ears flattening against her head in irritation. She was nobody's damsel in distress, and the idea of needing rescue - especially from him - made her stomach twist in ways she didn't want to think. Plus, another hospital bill would force her into another damn modeling gig, and she'd rather eat glass.

Oracle just laughed through the earpiece, clearly enjoying getting under her skin.

Rumi decided to ignore the brat and focus on the task at hand. She pressed her hearing, searching for any sound from the basement below. When she heard nothing but silence, she carefully pried open the concealed hatch.

The moment it opened, a wave of putrid air hit her like a physical blow. The stench was so overwhelming it made her gag, forcing her to cover her mouth and nose with her gloved hand.

"Jesus... it really… stinks down here. Hard to breathe," she struggled to say through her makeshift filter.

"I can imagine. Be quick, Mirko, and breathe through your mouth," Oracle advised.

She did as told, though she immediately regretted it as the disgusting taste coated her tongue. Still, it was bearable compared to the assault on her nose, so she pressed on.

Descending into the basement, the source of both the mystery and the smell became clear. This had been one of those secret drug labs, but now it was completely trashed. Tables were flipped over, equipment shattered and scattered across the floor, chemicals spread everywhere without any concern for safety or cleanup.

"Great, it's already a toxic hazard. I'm going to need like five showers after this," she muttered.

But a picture was already forming in her head. She just needed to confirm one more thing.

Moving toward the corner, she found what she was looking for - and immediately wished she hadn't. 

Bodies. Dozens of them, piled like discarded trash.

"Dead Merchants down here, lots of them."

"Damnit. So Coil's men went and raided a Merchant lab. But usually they'd torch the place afterward. Why leave it destroyed with bodies behind? Too much evidence."

"Wait, what? Coil's men?"

"Yeah, the only group in the city who can field professional, well-armed soldiers like that. They're dangerous mercenaries, specifically trained to hunt parahumans. Unless you've got an invulnerable body, you won't win a straight fight. And if you somehow manage to get the upper hand, they'll pull every dirty trick in the book to take you down."

Other capes would pull dirty tricks too, but with mercenaries it could be a lot worse. Fighting them was the opposite of a fun time.

"Anyway, that means Coil learned about a big drug lab and sent his men to kill everyone inside and steal the drugs. That seems to be the full picture."

Rumi looked around, keeping her distance from the bodies. The smell coming from them was mostly shit and piss, so it was relatively recent - otherwise the whole place would be crawling with flies and maggots and someone would have called the cops about the unbearable stench of death.

"Mmmmm. Violent and ugly, but not out of the norm for how the gangs operate. Still, something doesn't feel right about this. This isn't how Coil usually runs his operations."

Mirko shrugged. She didn't know all the intricate details of gang politics, so she kept looking for anything else of interest. "Yeah, I think so... Wait a minute."

She stopped and stared at a very specific body in the pile - or more accurately, the legs sticking out from under the others.

Those legs stood out because they were huge, the muscles so developed they'd ripped through the pants fabric and boots. And she knew for a fact that the Merchants didn't have anybody of that size in their ranks. 

"Oi, did the junkies recruit a new brute or something?"

"Not that I know of. The only connection they had with a big muscle guy was Muscular, but that was just a temporary truce to escape prison. Muscular's back in ABB territory and hasn’t left since then."

That didn't help much.

She took a step closer, knowing she'd have to pull the body out as much as she hated the idea of touching a corpse.

Steeling herself and getting into the right position, she grabbed the thick leg and slowly but steadily pulled the body from the pile.

It was a big guy, heavily muscled with a physique that was almost on True Might's level. But the key difference was that he was Black, wearing torn blue clothes and a tattered blue cape and mask that covered half of his face. He had some empty vials sticking on his arms. Also, the rotted teeth were...

Her red eyes widened as she immediately recognized the dead person beneath her.

"Oracle."

"Yes?"

"Bad news. Really bad news."

"...Hit me."

"Skidmark is dead."

"Oh..."

"...Shit." 

Mirko finished the sentence, holding her head and her ears going flat against her head.

-----------------------------------------------------

AN: The world doesn’t wait, it keeps moving after all. Let’s just say somebody was messing with something they shouldn’t have been messing with and found out the consequences far too late.